Most economists see Fed holding key interest rate through March: Survey -Most economists are expecting the Federal Reserve to hold key interest rates steady, according to a Wednesday survey. A Reuters poll found that 58 percent of surveyed economists predict no change this quarter, while a majority expect two cuts later this year. In a narrow vote last month, the Fed cut interest rates to a range of 3.5 to 3.75 percent, marking a reduction of 0.25 percentage points.President Trump has touted economic growth from tariffs and urged the embattled Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates substantially to maintain the purported gains he describes.”The economic outlook on the surface suggests the Fed should remain on hold, maybe even consider putting hikes on the table sometime later this year or next year,” Jeremy Schwartz, a senior U.S. economist at Nomura, told Reuters.“In reality, though, we think the Fed will remain on hold for the remainder of Powell’s term through May, but we suspect the new leadership will likely manage to get another 50 basis points of rate cuts later in the year.”Powell is currently under investigation by the Justice Department for testimony he delivered before Congress last year. JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon and others have said the probe into Powell could result in increased inflation and interest rates.Still, economists expect interest rates to remain stable at the Jan. 27-28 meeting.Looking further ahead to the conclusion of Powell’s term, 55 percent of surveyed economists predict rates will be cut following his departure.“There’s going to be more pushback than ever on the selection of the next chair, all because of the criminal investigation. … I don’t expect Trump to be able to really fill the Fed with people who will cut interest rates,” Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said in a statement to Reuters.“We are looking for a very strong U.S. GDP growth in 2026 due to further investments in AI, but even more because of the tax cuts under the fiscal bill. We estimate the boost to the economy from the bill will amount to six-tenths of a percentage point in terms of annual average real GDP growth this year,” he added.
Fed's Favorite Inflation Indicator Refuses To Show Any Signs Of Runaway 'Trump Tariff' Costs (10 Graphs Source: Bloomberg) -Before we all get too excited, bear in mind that this is November's data - so still horribly stale (and also missing October's data point entirely) - but it's all we have for now, so let's dive in... The Fed's favorite inflation indicator - Core PCE - rose 0.2% MoM (as expected), which leave it up 2.8% YoY (as expected), slightly lower than September's +2.9%... Bear in mind that this morning's third look at Q3 GDP printed a +2.9% YoY for Core PCE. Under the hood, the biggest driver of Core PCE remains Services costs - not tariff-driven Goods prices... In fact, on a MoM basis, Non-durable goods prices saw deflation for the second month in a row... Headline PCE rose 2.8% YoY (es expected), stubbornly refusing to show any signs of runaway Trump tariff costs... The closely-watched SuperCore PCE rose 0.2% MoM which ticked up the YoY rise to 3.1%... After surging in October, November saw Financial Services & Insurance and Healthcare cost inflation slow... Meanwhile, amid rising prices, Americans' spending outpaced incomes once again... ...with wage growth slowing for all: Private worker wages and salaries:
- Private worker wages and salaries: 4.1% YoY, down from 4.5%, lowest since June 2025
- Govt work wages and salaries 2.6%, tied for lowest since March 2021
All of which dragged the savings rate down to its lowest since Nov 2022... TL/DR: While this data is admittedly stale, it shows no signs of 1) tariff-driven inflation or 2) a slowing consumer.
Rate-Cut Odds Tumble As Jobless Claims Hover Near 56-Year-Lows (5 Graphs Source: Bloomberg) Following last week's plunge back below 200k, analysts expected a small rise to 209k this week but the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time remained flat at 200k. Notably, as is usual at this time of year, non-seasonally-adjusted claims spiked... ...basically hovering at its lowest levels since 1969... New York and Georgia saw the largest drops in jobless claims while Puerto Rico saw a modest increase in claims... Continuing jobless claims also ticked down (to 1.849 million Americans) - the lowest since November... All of which fits with the ebbing of rate-cut expectations for this year... ...likely much to the chagrin of President Trump.
Justices wary of Trump's urgent need to remove Fed's Cook — The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case concerning President Donald Trump's purported removal of Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, and justices appeared unconvinced of the Justice Department's expansive view of presidential removal power at the central bank.
- Key insight: The Supreme Court Wednesday expressed skepticism of the government's argument for expansive presidential power in removing Federal Reserve governors.
- Expert quote: "Your position that there's no judicial review, no process required, no remedy available, [and] a very low bar for cause that the president alone determines. That would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve." — Justice Brett Kavanaugh
- Forward look: Experts fear that the case could have profound implications for interest rates and global confidence in U.S. financial markets if the president is able to freely remove members of the central bank.
The Supreme Court Wednesday appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's argument that removal of a Federal Reserve governor is unreviewable or that the president's preference for Fed governors outweighs the harm to the Fed from curbing the central bank's political independence.
Trump Fed majority stalled, not stopped, if Cook remains - An almost two-hour Supreme Court hearing Wednesday on whether Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook can remain on the board of governors left observers with the impression the court is unlikely to rule in the Trump administration's favor.
- Key Insight: The Supreme Court's focus on procedural and due process concerns suggests that Fed Governor Lisa Cook is likely to remain in her post while her case against the Trump administration proceeds.
- Expert quote: "While it's always perilous to try to predict where the Court will come out, it seems to me that the Court leaned in the direction of Lisa Cook and is poised to find she can stay on the Fed Board while the courts sort out the merits of the case." — Former Fed General Counsel Scott Alvarez.
- Forward look: Some observers predict that the Supreme Court's apparent skepticism in Fed Gov. Lisa Cook's case could provide relief for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is under investigation by the Justice Department over renovations at the central bank's headquarters.
Observers said the Supreme Court likely will allow Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook to remain at her post while she challenges her purported removal by President Donald Trump. But her continued presence would slow, rather than stop, the president's quest for a voting majority on the central bank board.
US Q3 GDP Revised Up to 4.4%, Highest In Two Years - While it's ancient history now - even preceding the record long government shutdown - and nobody will care, moments ago the BEA reported that its first revision of third quarter GDP came in a bit hotter than expected as US GDP grew slightly more than initially reported, supported by stronger exports. Due to the recent government shutdown, this updated report for the third quarter of 2025 replaces the release of the third estimate originally scheduled for December 19, 2025, the BEA reported. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product increased at a revised 4.4% annualized rate, the fastest in two years, and up 0.1% from the initial estimate, primarily reflecting upward revisions to exports and investment that were partly offset by a downward revision to consumer spending. That said, the change was minuscule: it went up from an unrounded 4.340% to 4.370%. Compared to the second quarter, the acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter reflected upturns in investment, exports, and government spending, as well as an acceleration in consumer spending. Imports decreased less in the third quarter than in the second. Real GDP was revised up 0.1 percentage point from the initial estimate, primarily reflecting upward revisions to exports and investment that were partly offset by a downward revision to consumer spending. Imports were revised up. Here is the breakdown:
- Personal consumption contributed 2.34% to the bottom line, slightly lower than the 2.39% originally reported.
- Fixed Investment added 0.15%, also revised lower from 0.19%
- Change in private inventories was a net improvement, raising from -0.22% to -0.12%, if still subtracting from the bottom line
- Net trade (exports less imports) was also revised favorably up from 1.59% to 1.62%
- Finally, government added 0.38% to the bottom line print, effectively the same as 0.39% before.
And visually:
Ken Griffin says America was sent an ‘explicit warning’ from the bond market, and it’s time to get the national debt in order -- While it might appear that the most significant updates about the global economy are currently coming from a small town in the Swiss Alps, Tokyo may disagree. This week Japan’s bond market suffered a major selloff, with yields hitting an all-time high. Ten-year yields spiked to 2.2%, while 30-year yields hit 3.66%. While the onset of the selloff can’t be pinpointed, it is likely a combination of geopolitical tensions and simmering concerns about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ¥21.3 trillion ($134 billion) economic plan to bolster Japan’s debt-heavy economy. This, warned Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, should be a cautionary tale to the U.S., where yields neared the danger benchmark of 5% this week.“I think there’s an explicit warning that if your fiscal house is not in order, the bond vigilantes can come out and retract their price,” Griffin said at a Bloomberg event in Davos. The 5% threshold is a concern for investors because it’s the point at which holding U.S. debt is comparable to the returns on stocks. This is a worry because bonds are seen as a stable, low-risk component of a balanced portfolio; if yields are at a level comparable to stocks, then risk may also be too high for investors who want stability. “What’s particularly troubling is … when bonds and stocks move together in price, then bonds are no longer a hedge for your equity portfolio, and they lose a substantial part of what makes them so special in constructing a portfolio,” Griffin said. U.S. Treasuries had a shaky week after President Trump announced over the weekend that a bevy of European nations would face additional tariffs if they did not support his bid to purchase Greenland. Yields spiked as speculation mounted over how Europe and its investors would respond: namely, whether they would continue to hold U.S. debt. The speculation bothered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who claimed that Deutsche Bank’s CEO called him personally to apologize for a note published by his institution over the weekend, which suggested European investors may vote with their feet in response to Trump’s threats. Deutsche’s note was one of many that suggested Treasuries could be used to right-size Trump’s plan, including UBS’s Paul Donovan, who suggested Uncle Sam’s deficits were the nation’s “Achilles’ heel.” While recent yield shifts have resulted from short-term foreign policy, this does lay bare the broader question about U.S. funding. National debt now exceeds $38 trillion, with the government forking out in excess of $270 billion in debt interest payments alone in the final three months of fiscal year 2025. Everyone from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to Fed Chair Jerome Powell are concerned not necessarily about the value of the nation’s debt, but its borrowing in relation to its economic growth. While some might argue a debt crisis will never come to pass because the Federal Reserve can simply print more money (inflationary in its own right), others fear investors at some point will feel the U.S. has reached an unstable spending threshold and demand higher returns as a result. “If U.S. Treasuries are viewed as being at risk because the United States is not seen as creditworthy, then bonds and stocks will move together in price. That will result in bonds having a much higher demand yield in the marketplace, so mortgage rates will be higher; the cost for us to finance our deficits will be higher,” Griffin said. So far, investors seem relatively sanguine about America’s fiscal trajectory. Yields fell fairly rapidly after President Trump delivered yet another TACO trade (Trump always chickens out) and unwound his tariff threat on European nations. Likewise, 30-year bonds are sitting between 4% and 5%, in keeping with the general trend of the past few years. That confidence may not last forever, added Griffin. While the nation is not currently “playing with fire,” he warned: “The U.S. has so much wealth, we can maintain this level of deficit spending for some period of time. But the longer we wait to change direction, the more draconian the consequences will be of that change.”
Top appropriators release text for four remaining appropriations bills - The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday rolled out its last four remaining appropriations bills, as lawmakers race to meet the Jan. 30 funding deadline. The last four bills would fund the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies. With the House set to recess next week, lawmakers will need to push the four bills through the floor this week. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill will likely be the biggest point of contention among lawmakers, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot an unarmed woman in Minneapolis earlier this month. Democrats in both chambers had threatened to oppose the bill unless it included tougher oversight and conduct guidelines for ICE officers, along with cuts to the agency’s funding. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement that the bill reduces funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations by $115 million, reduces the number of ICE detention beds by 5,500 and cuts Border Patrol funding by $1.8 billion, among other things. The bill would keep the “overall budget for the agency flat,” according to a news release. “I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE. I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to review the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities,” DeLauro said. But she cautioned that a shutdown would leave Transportation Security Administration agents without pay and delay Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, while a short-term stopgap measure would merely cede authority to the Trump administration. She added that House Republicans promised a “separate vote” on the DHS bill, rather than tying it to the package containing the other three bills. But the rest of the package will also provide an opportunity for Democrats to take a stand on certain hot-button issues. For instance, the Health and Human Services bill doesn’t include an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which Democrats have been pushing for. The health care issue is what precipitated last year’s 43-day government shutdown, the longest in history. And several House Democrats have said they would want their Senate colleagues to withhold their support for spending bills if the ObamaCare issue isn’t resolved by the end of January, even if it results in another shutdown. Some Democrats could also hold back their support of the package until their concerns regarding President Trump’s threats to Venezuela and Greenland are addressed. DeLauro said in a statement that she strongly supports the package. The House last week passed a two-bill minibus package funding the Department of State and Department of Treasury. The Senate is expected to take that package up next week when they return from recess.
Funding bill claws back some EV charging cash, seeks to shield FEMA from Trump - - A funding bill released this week would claw back hundreds of millions of dollars passed to fund electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure passed under the Biden administration. The bill in question, released Tuesday, would fund the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies. It seeks to claw back $879 million that passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 as part of an effort to fund a nationwide EV charging network. The law originally included billions in funding for the network. An emerging point of contention in the new legislation, meanwhile, is more about what’s not in the bill, as opposed to what is. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) are pushing for the inclusion of a provision that would include sales of high-ethanol gasoline year-round. A spokesperson for Bacon confirmed Punchbowl’s reporting that he brought up sales of high-ethanol gas at a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday morning but is not planning to vote down the bill over the issue. “I’ve heard from our NE farmers and this is their #1 priority,” Bacon wrote in a post on the social platform X. Bipartisan lawmakers from the Midwest have pushed for sales of E15 gas, named for its 15 percent ethanol content, year-round. This type of gasoline has historically been restricted in the summer because of concerns about smog — which can form more easily from evaporation in the heat. Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told The Hill in an email there is a “full-fledged push to get year-round E15 in the final package.” He said “several” Midwestern lawmakers are “drawing a line in the sand on this issue because it is vitally important to jobs and economic vitality in their districts and states.” He did not specify which lawmakers are doing so. “This should not be controversial — E15 is a more affordable, American-made, cleaner-burning fuel that boosts the farm economy,” Cooper said.
House To Vote On Bill To Fund The Government - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a multi-bill package to fund the federal government on Thursday. The legislation includes funding for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. Most portions of the bill are expected to pass easily as members of both parties seek to avoid a repeat of the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, that accompanied the previous government funding fight. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are among those, and both leaders have expressed a desire to work with Republicans to pass the 12 annual government funding bills ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline. Though it includes some spending cuts, the package largely holds funding levels at fiscal year 2025 rates. Republicans are expected to back the legislation largely along party lines. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the lead Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, praised the bill in a statement, saying it “reflects the core tenets of American strength: combat-ready forces, secure communities, effective education and health systems, and modern transportation. At every level, it applies innovation and discipline to deliver results without waste.” In line with leadership’s desire to avoid a government shutdown, the sections of the bill related to funding for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development are expected to gain Democratic support as well. However, one segment of the funding has proven divisive. Ahead of the vote, Democrats came out en masse against the portion of the bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Democrats have been increasingly critical of the agency that oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), criticism that has only intensified in the wake of the ICE-involved shooting of Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis. In the aftermath of the shooting, Democrats have called for President Donald Trump to back off on the deployment of ICE agents to Democrat-run areas, while the party’s progressive wing has renewed calls to “abolish ICE.” In Congress, lawmakers have largely urged funding cuts or policy reforms. While this package includes reforms, several Democrats have indicated that they don’t go far enough and have expressed an intention to oppose the bill.
House passes final fiscal 2026 spending bills - The House passed the final batch of fiscal 2026 bills Thursday afternoon — a major step toward avoiding a partial government shutdown ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline. The four spending bills — and two others the House approved last week — now head to the upper chamber, where senators will have just a few legislative days to get the six-bill package across the finish line. While nearly four months late, House passage of all 12 fiscal 2026 bills represents a significant accomplishment for Republican and Democratic appropriators, who struggled for months to coalesce around bipartisan compromise measures.If the Senate passes the six bills next week, Congress will have provided federal agencies — including EPA, the Department of Energy and the Interior Department — fresh funding levels and congressional direction for the first time since fiscal 2024.
House Passes $839 Billion Defense Bill Bursting With Pork - The House of Representatives on Thursday approved an $838.7 billion fiscal 2026 defense spending bill, moving one of the largest appropriations measures in U.S. history toward final passage in the Senate. In a 341-88 vote that crossed party lines, lawmakers advanced the sprawling defense and related appropriations package, underscoring persistent majorities in both parties willing to expand military outlays even amid growing concerns about fiscal discipline. The total exceeds the Pentagon’s original FY 2026 budget request by $8.4 billion but still falls far short of more than $50 billion in additional funds the Defense Department sought after submitting its budget to Congress. That gap reflects, among other things, a stark $26.5 billion in “funding discrepancies” between the Pentagon’s request and the broader reconciliation bill – essentially accounting errors that left vital programs underfunded and were partly addressed by the House’s topline increase. To fiscal conservatives and critics of Washington’s military spending consensus, those discrepancies signal deep structural problems in defense budgeting: an inability to accurately forecast needs, manage programs, or adhere to prudent fiscal stewardship. Lining up nearly three dozen major weapon systems, force structures, and procurement lines every year, the Pentagon’s budget process has consistently produced overruns and unpredictable spending swings that funnel money to entrenched interests rather than identified national priorities. Yet the House markup did not merely bridge gaps; it added money to programs that the services themselves did not request – or, in some cases, explicitly asked to cancel. Lawmakers tacked on $897 million for the Navy’s sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter program, directed a contract award for engineering and development, and preserved $1.1 billion for the Air Force’s E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft, which the service had sought to terminate. The Army’s agile funding proposal was rejected, while about $300 million was allotted for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program despite the Army’s call to end it. Such additions comprise what critics deride as classic “pork-barrel” spending: earmarks and authorizations that serve narrow local or industrial constituencies rather than measurable defense needs. Funding lines for munitions procurement, disparate platforms, and legacy systems balloon irrespective of operational justification, raising perennial questions about legislative oversight and taxpayer value. Compounding those concerns, the House Rules Committee refused to allow several amendments aimed at reigning in spending or constraining executive war powers to reach the floor. Measures that would have restricted funding for operations in Venezuela and others that would limit the scope of presidential military action were blocked from debate, leaving the core text untouched since its release. To some observers, the procedural closure itself was as significant as the topline figures: despite robust majorities on the floor, substantive policy alternatives were stifled before they could be considered. Historically, the sheer scale of the defense appropriation reflects decades of incremental growth in U.S. military spending. Annual defense budgets have routinely eclipsed half a trillion dollars for more than a decade, and the FY 2026 package continues a long trend in which appropriators add funds above and beyond executive branch requests. By contrast, civilian programs and domestic discretionary spending have struggled to keep pace, prompting both political and public disquiet about national priorities. Supporters of the bill defend the scale and scope as necessary to maintain U.S. military readiness, industrial base capacity, and technological edge in an era of renewed great-power competition. They argue that predictable and robust funding deters adversaries and reassures allies, even if some line items exceed Pentagon forecasts. Opponents counter that emboldening the military establishment with ever-expanding budgets encourages intervention abroad and diverts resources from pressing domestic needs. While the House’s 341-88 vote gives the bill substantial momentum, its journey is not complete. The Senate must act before the end of the current funding deadline on January 30 to avert a lapse in appropriations. Senate debate may give rise to further amendments or adjustments, but the core framework reflects a bipartisan consensus that large and growing defense outlays are politically durable, even as questions about accountability, efficiency, and strategic purpose multiply.
Zelensky Claims Deal for Security Guarantees from US Is ‘Done’ After Meeting Trump - President Donald Trump and Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelensky met in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Following the meeting, Zelensky said an agreement had been reached with the US that would grant Ukraine security guarantees.On Thursday, Zelensky told reporters that the document on US security guarantees has been completed. He noted that “we need to sign” the deal, which “will come only after the war stops.”Zelensky also said that Trump had organized a trilateral meeting between Ukrainian, Russian, and American officials in the UAE that will take place on Friday. Moscow has not stated if it plans to send representatives to the Emirates. Trump said the meeting with Zelensky was “very good,” but did not provide details on what the leaders discussed. After the meeting, a Ukrainian official told Axios, “It was one of the best meetings they’ve had. Trump was in a good mood.” The US signing a treaty or security pact with Ukraine will likely be rejected by Russia. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that one of Moscow’s core objectives in Ukraine is to force Kiev to adopt neutrality. However, Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, claims that the White House is making progress toward a deal to end the conflict. He told reporters in Davos that there was only one issue to resolve before a deal to end the Ukraine war could be reached.
Massie rips Trump’s sale of Venezuelan oil ‘for his own piggy bank’ - Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) criticized President Trump on Tuesday over his administration’s handling of Venezuela’s oil after ousting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, highlighting the funds it will receive from selling that oil. Massie, a fiscal hawk who has been known to break with GOP leaders on issues related to spending, described oil acquired from Venezuela as “stolen” in a post on the social platform X and argued the administration was circumventing Congress’s power of the purse. “Selling stolen oil and putting billions of dollars in a bank in Qatar to be spent without Congressional approval is not Constitutional,” the lawmaker wrote. ”Only Congress can appropriate money.” “The President can’t legally create a second Treasury overseas for his own piggy bank,” he added. “Wake up Congress.” Trump announced earlier this month that Venezuela would turn over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to be sold by the U.S. “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. His administration announced last week that it completed its first sale of the oil. Semafor reported the $500 million revenue from the sale was being held in bank accounts, including one in Qatar, that are controlled by the U.S. government.
US Seizes Seventh Tanker Carrying Venezuelan Oil - US forces boarded and seized control of an oil tanker in the Caribbean, which it alleges was violating sanctions on Venezuelan oil. President Donald Trump declared a blockade of Venezuelan oil that US forces maintained after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. “This morning, US military forces, in support of the DHS, apprehended Motor Vessel Sagitta without incident,” US Southern Command wrote on X Tuesday. “The apprehension of another tanker operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.” The US began seizing tankers, alleged to be carrying Venezuelan oil that is sanctioned by Washington, in December. The Motor Vessel Sagitta is the seventh vessel seized by the US in six weeks. Earlier this month, the US seized a Russian-flagged tanker in the Northern Atlantic. While Russia deployed some naval vessels to escort the ship. However, US forces boarded the ship without a confrontation with the Russian Navy. Trump has declared a complete and total blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers in the Caribbean. While Trump imposed the blockade in an effort to force Maduro from power, the US has continued to enforce the embargo after the Venezuelan President was kidnapped and brought to the US. The White House intends to sell the oil and use the funds to execute its regime change in Venezuela.
What happens to the oil tankers the US keeps seizing? - — For more than a month, the Motor Tanker Skipper has bobbed about 50 miles off the coast of Galveston.It was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard on Dec. 10 off the coast of Venezuela, accused by the United States of being part of an oil shipping network that supported groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.The Skipper is now at least the seventh oil tanker seized for violatinga partialU.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan oil exports and being part of a so-called shadow fleet of vessels that work to transport sanctioned oil. On Wednesday, the Coast Guard seized the Motor Vessel Sagitta — a vessel that was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022, according to the Associated Press. But as the number of U.S.-seized oil tankers grows, legal questions are also mounting about the fate of the ships and their oil.“The legal position in relation to many aspects of this is very far from clear, both in terms of national law, which will be relevant now that the ships and the oil are in U.S. territorial waters, but also international law in relation to the original seizure of the vessels,” said Martin Davies, director of the Maritime Law Center at the Tulane University Law School. “All of it is very murky, as I must say are the administration’s plans.” The seized tankers are spread out, with at least the Skipper floating in waters off Texas, another tanker off the coast of Scotland and a third off the coast of Puerto Rico, according to social media updates from TankerTrackers.com, which tracks the movements of oil tankers.The White House did not respond to questions about whether the Trump administration believes the U.S. now owns or controls the seized tankers or their oil, or whether it is offloading any of the crude to U.S. storage facilities or refineries.The Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security referred POLITICO’s E&E News to the White House, which declined to comment on the tankers. The Treasury Department also declined to comment.The quarantine is focused on sanctioned shadow vessels transporting sanctioned oil associated with Venezuela’s state-run oil company, according to a U.S. official granted anonymity to discuss government plans.President Donald Trump’s push to capture sanctioned and shadow fleet vessels near Venezuela reflects the administration’s ongoing efforts to control Venezuela’s massive oil reserves and increase leverage over that country’s government. A U.S. military raid on Jan. 3 led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was sent to the U.S. and held on drug and weapons charges. Trump earlier this month called for oil companies to invest at least $100 billion as part of plan to rebuild and produce more oil from Venezuela’s crumbling infrastructure. But oil executives have been hesitant to commit, citing the country’s political instability and potential legal issues down the road. Specific details about how U.S. oil companies would work with Venezuela’s government — which is led by Delcy Rodríguez as the country’s interim president — and how the U.S. may split oil revenues with Venezuela have yet to be announced. There are numerous questions about how the United States may use proceeds from Venezuelan oil.But Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the oil tanker seizures are part of a continuing “maximum pressure” campaign to influence the Venezuelan government.“Washington is completely determining whether and how much oil Venezuela can export, and to whom,” Seigle said. The Trump administration has used several legal justifications for the seizures, but with one unifying allegation: The ships violated the U.S. quarantine of Venezuelan oil. Last Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security seized the Motor Tanker Veronica and said it was operating in defiance of Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”The Veronica has been renamed several times, according to its registration data with the International Maritime Organization.A tanker with its registration number was sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2022. More recently it was listed as being registered in Russia and named the Gallileo before being named the Veronica and sailing under the flag of Guyana, according to the International Maritime Organization’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System.The country of Guyana has said the vessel faked its registration in Guyana and is flying under a false flag. If the vessel is faking its registration and not from the country it purports to represent, Davies said it is then considered stateless, and United Nations law dictates authorities from any country can board it, even if it’s not in their territorial waters.It’s more complicated if a vessel is not considered stateless, Davies said.A U.S. district magistrate judge in November signed a seizure warrant for the Motor Tanker Skipper under a statute that allows the seizure of all assets “foreign or domestic … of any individual, entity or organization engaged in planning or perpetrating any Federal crime of terrorism” against the United States.Seizing a boat in that way is called interdiction, Davies said. Countries have used interdiction to seize vessels like those carrying migrants from Africa to Europe, or smuggling drugs from the Caribbean into the United States, he said.Countries that intercept a boat in international waters under interdiction need to show that it’s a direct threat to the country, according to Davies.“But whether that then authorizes the United States to seize the vessel on the high seas is when you sort of lose touch with international law,” Davies said. “Then, as a matter of international law, the only justification for interdiction of a foreign flag vessel on international waters is if it poses a direct threat to U.S. interests.”The fact that several of these tankers may not have been headed for the United States raises questions about whether that argument would stand up to international scrutiny, although Davies said the Trump administration may argue that trading Venezuelan crude itself threatens the well-being of the United States.But Kenneth Engerrand, a shareholder at the Brown Sims law firm and an adjunct professor of admiralty law at the University of Houston Law Center, said the U.S. played by the rule book in seizing the Skipper by court order.“If the United States has a legitimate interest in that, even though I’m on the high seas, because it’s violating U.S. law, then the government has the right to get a warrant of arrest for forfeiture because it’s violating our law,” Engerrand said.Determining what happens with the vessels and their oil now that they’ve been taken could take years to parse out, however.
Energy secretary says US won’t provide security for oil companies in Venezuela - Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday the United States will not provide on-the-ground security to oil companies operating in Venezuela as part of efforts to revitalize the country’s energy industry. “We are not going to get involved in providing on-the-ground security for people in Venezuela,” Wright said during an interview with Bloomberg Television.“Oil and gas companies operate all around the world in all different settings; they’re well versed in those challenges.”Wright’s comments come as major oil companies have raised a litany of concerns about investing in the country, which has vast oil fields but also high rates of crime and deep corruption.“We’ve had our assets seized there twice. And so, you can imagine to reenter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here and what is currently the state,” ExxonMobil’s CEO Darren Woods said during a White House meeting earlier this month. After the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan regime leader Nicolás Maduro, President Trump urged American oil companies to invest in the Latin American country. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump said during a press conference on Jan. 6.Chevron is the only American oil company operating in Venezuela through joint operations with its state-run oil and gas company PDVSA under a special permit from the Treasury Department. U.S. companies had their assets seized in 2007 under then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who forced ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to exit the oil sector backed by Caracas. Wright told Bloomberg the U.S. had already made Venezuela a safer place to operate, but he conceded that changing laws to improve the investment environment would take time. “There’s always different risk and reward situations in time, which is why the wildcatters will move first,” Wright said. “The bigger, longer-term, tens of million of dollars of investment, they’re going to wait until there’s more clarity in that environment.”
Venezuela War Powers Resolution Fails in House - The House of Representatives failed to pass legislation that would block President Donald Trump from waging war in Venezuela. The vote ended in a tie, 215-215, with two Republicans voting with all Democrats for the War Powers Resolution on Venezuela. One Republican did not vote. The legislation was cosponsored by Thomas Massie (R-KY) and over 120 Democratic Representatives. The vote caused a commotion on the floor as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) held the vote open for 30 minutes. One Democratic member shouted at Johnson to close the vote. Voting was closed after Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) arrived to cast the vote that killed the legislation. Speaking in favor of the legislation, several Democrats argued that President Trump failed to follow Constitutional procedures when ordering military operations against Venezuela that led to the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro. However, Erik Sperling of Just Foreign Policy notes that some Democrats criticized Trump for not removing the government of Venezuela. “In effect, they criticized him for not going far enough with regime change,” Sperling explained to Antiwar.com. The Senate previously rejected a War Powers Resolution for Venezuela on a narrow vote. President Trump has lashed out at Republicans for voting in favor of bills that attempt to limit his war-making.
Trump Plotting Regime Change in Cuba by Year’s End: WSJ - The Donald Trump administration hopes to execute a regime change in Cuba by the end of 2026, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The report comes just weeks after the US military kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on dubious drug charges. The newspaper said Washington is now “searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out the Communist regime by the end of the year,” with senior US officials holding regular meetings withCuban exiles and pressure groups in recent months.The administration believes the Cuban government is more “fragile” than ever and its economy “close to collapse,” the Journal added. While there is currently no “concrete plan” to topple the Cuban state, the paper said thecapture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month serves as a “blueprint” for US officials. Maduro’s January 3 kidnapping was reportedly helped along by “an asset within the Venezuelan leader’s inner circle,” an outcome the White House hopes to repeat in Cuba. Dissidents and exiles have been used in a number of prior US regime change operations – including in Cuba itself – with opposition activists playing a major role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Asked whether Cuba was “the Trump administration’s next target” during an appearance on Meet the Press the day after Maduro’s capture, Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to answer directly, only saying that the country’s socialist government was “a huge problem.” “I’m not going to talk to you about what our future steps are going to be and our policies are going to be right now in this regard. But I don’t think it’s any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro,” Rubio said. An unnamed White House official said much the same to the Journal, and warned that Havana should “make a deal before it’s too late,” echoing a recent social media post by Trump verbatim. While it’s unclear what kind of deal the administration is seeking, in the same post the president insisted that Cuba stop receiving oil and subsidies from Venezuela. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected that demand, saying that “Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. No one tells us what to do.” He added that his country was “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”
White House Aims For Cuba Regime Change By Year-End --Brimming with bravado after snatching Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a lightning raid on Caracas earlier this month, the Trump administration has now set a goal to end Communism in Cuba by the end of the year,according to sources who talked to the Wall Street Journal. Using the Venezuela operation as a blueprint, the White House is working to identify people inside the Cuban government who could be ripe for making a deal in which they use their position to help oust the current leadership, including President and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel. Maduro's capture was reportedly enabled by an asset in his inner circle, who helped the CIA closely monitor Maduro's movements and daily habits ahead of the brazen snatch-and-grab mission. Following Maduro's ouster, Trump used his Truth Social account to warn that the Venezuela operation spelled doom for the communist government of Cuba, and that they should cut a "deal" soon: "Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack...THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."According to the Journal's sources, the White House views the Cuban regime as teetering on the edge of collapse, and increasingly vulnerable with the loss of its Venezuelan trading partners. Assessments by the U.S. intelligence community paint a grim picture inside the communist nation, with Cuba’s tourism and agriculture industries significantly affected by shortages of medicine and basic necessities, routine blackouts, trade sanctions, and a host of other problems. Tourism has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cuba's economy has retracted alongside Venezuela’s over the past decade.
White House weighs naval blockade to halt Cuban oil imports - The Trump administration is weighing new tactics to drive regime change in Cuba, including imposing a total blockade on oil imports to the Caribbean country, three people familiar with the plan said Thursday. That escalation has been sought by some critics of the Cuban government in the administration and backed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to two of the three people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive discussions. No decision has been made on whether to approve that move, but it could be among the suite of possible actions presented to President Donald Trump to force the end of Cuba’s communist government, these people added. Preventing shipments of crude oil to the island would be a step-up from Trump’s statement last week that the U.S. would halt Cuba’s imports of oil from Venezuela, which had been its main crude supplier.But there are ongoing debates within the administration about whether it is even necessary to go that far, according to all three people. The loss of Venezuelan oil shipments — and the resale of some of those cargoes that Havana used to obtain foreign currency — has already throttled Cuba’s laggard economy. A total blockade of oil imports into Cuba could then spark a humanitarian crisis, a possibility that has led some in the administration to push back against it.
Sheinbaum Says She Received Written Assurance There Will Be No US Military Flights Over Mexico - In an effort to quell concerns that US bombs would soon be falling on Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she received assurance from Washington that there would be no military flights over Mexico. On Monday, Sheinbaum explained she had received “written” assurance from the US that no military flights would take place over Mexico. She added that Washington pledged to inform Mexico City of any military operations before they take place. Sheinbaum’s remarks followed warnings from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to civilian aircraft to watch for military flights over Mexico and parts of Central and South America. The FAA issued a similar advisory before the US attacked Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump has pressed Sheinbaul to allow the US to conduct military operations against cartels in Mexico. She has repeatedly refused to permit any foreign ministry actions inside Mexico. Multiple outlets have reported that the US is preparing to conduct military operations inside of Mexico, including strikes on suspected drug labs and raids targeting cartels. Under Trump, the US has designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The White House justified its strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean by arguing the vessels were operated by cartels designated as a narco-terrorist group.
FAA Warns of Military Activity Over Mexico, South America - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a series of advisories suggesting aircraft should be prepared for US military activity over Mexico and South America. The FAA warns of “potential risks exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and the arrival and departure phases of flight.” A spokesman for the agency said, “The FAA issued flight advisory notices to Airmen for specified areas of Mexico, Central America, Panama, Bogota, Guayaquil, and Mazatlan Oceanic Flight Regions, and in airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean.” The FAA issued a similar warning about Venezuela before the US attacked the country and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Mexico and Colombia. In November, NBC News reported that the Department of War was preparing to conduct operations against cartels in Mexico. At the time, the plans called for strikes on suspected cartel targets. Trump has repeatedly offered Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum American military support in fighting cartels. Sheinbaum has rebuffed Trump, arguing it would be a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty. However, Trump has suggested that he could still order military operations in Mexico. “We are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump told Fox News. In December, a US military aircraft nearly collided with a civilian airliner near Venezuela. “We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said. “They passed directly in our flight path. … They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”
Donald Trump invited Vladimir Putin to join Gaza 'Board of Peace': Kremlin - Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the world leaders who have been invited to join President Trump’s “Board of Peace” formed to implement the U.S.-brokered peace plan between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. “Putin received an invitation through diplomatic channels to join the Peace Council. We are studying all the details of this proposal, including hoping to contact the American side to clarify all the nuances,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to state-run news outlet RIA Novosti. Trump is reportedly asking countries to pay $1 billion for membership on the board, with funds going toward rebuilding the Gaza Strip, which was largely destroyed under Israeli bombing following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The United Kingdom, Canada, Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina and India are among the countries that have confirmed receipt of invitations to join the board. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday the government was still discussing the terms of the board. The invitation to Putin comes almost five years into his war on Ukraine, which has killed some 15,000 Ukrainian civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides of the fight. Casualties have only escalated amid Trump’s push for peace since returning to power. Trump announced the initial membership of his Board of Peace at the same time he is threatening to overtake Greenland by force. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote Sunday that Trump risked making Russia’s dream of NATO’s destruction come true with his push to seize the Danish-owned territory. Peskov appeared to encourage Trump’s ambitions Monday. “Perhaps here we can detach ourselves from the question of whether this is good or bad or whether it complies with international law or not,” he said, according to state-owned TASS. “But there are international experts who believe that by resolving the issue of Greenland’s accession, Trump will go down in history. Not only in US history, but in world history as well. And, I repeat, without discussing whether this is good or bad, it is difficult to disagree with these experts.” The White House on Friday announced the founding members of the Board of Peace. The body, headed by Trump, will also include three of his closest diplomatic advisers — Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner — along with former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Ajay Banga, billionaire investors Marc Rowan and U.S. national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
Israel Opposes Trump’s Advancing Gaza Peace Plan - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the White House’s executive committee to run Gaza is problematic for Israel. Tel Aviv did not provide details on its issues with Trump’s Gaza board. A source told Haaretz that the public rebuke was for show, and Netanyahu was aware of the planning for the executive committee. Netanyahu’s public statement drew a sharp rebuke from Washington. “This is our show, not his show. We managed to do things in Gaza in recent months nobody thought was possible, and we are going to continue moving,” a US official told Axios in response to the Israeli Prime Minister’s statement. “If he wants us to deal with Gaza, it will have to be our way. We worked over him. Let him focus on Iran and let us deal with Gaza. We are not going to argue with him. He will do his politics and we will keep moving forward with our plan. He can’t really go against us.” On Friday, the White House announced that Trump was the chair of the executive committee that includes Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.The executive committee will carry out the directives of the Board of Peace, led by President Donald Trump. The President has invited some world leaders to join the board and is selling seats for $1 billion. With the creation of the executive committee, the White House claimed that Trump’s Gaza peace deal had advanced to phase two. However, Hamas also objects to the executive committee. The Palestinian group points out that Tel Aviv has failed to uphold several of its commitments in phase one, including opening the Rafah crossing and allowing temporary housing into Gaza. Tel Aviv claims that Hamas is violating the agreement by not returning the body of an Israeli captive. So far, the Palestinian group had released the 20 living hostages and the bodies of 27 of the 28 deceased captives. Netanyahu has stated he will not allow the Rafah crossing to open until the remains of the final Israeli is returned.
Israel Flouts US Demand to Open Rafah Crossing - Top Israeli officials defied a demand from the White House to reopen Gaza’s only border crossing with Egypt. On Sunday, the Israeli Security Cabinet voted against reopening the Rafah Border Crossing. Under the peace agreement brokered by President Donald Trump, Tel Aviv agreed to reopen the crossing. While Washington announced last week that the peace agreement had advanced into phase two, that designation was rejected by Hamas and Israel. Hamas said the deal cannot move forward until the Rafah crossing is reopened and Israel allows temporary housing into Gaza. However, Tel Aviv said it will not allow aid to enter Gaza via Egypt until Hamas returns the body of the last Israeli captive in the Strip. So far, Hamas released the 20 living captives and returned the remains of 27 of the 28 deceased hostages. On Wednesday, a senior official said Washington had a “very good line of communication” regarding recovering the remains of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili. There has been some disputebetween Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad over who was holding the body of the final captive. Trump threatened Hamas that he would do things the “hard way” if Gvili’s remains were not immediately returned. “Hamas must IMMEDIATELY honor its commitments, including the return of the final body to Israel, and proceed without delay to full Demilitarization,” the President wrote on Truth Social. “As I have said before, they can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” During the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting, Tel Aviv also rejected Qatar and Turkey’s participation in a board that will assist in governing Gaza post-war. According to the senior official, the “inclusion of Turkey and Qatar was on Netanyahu’s head. This is [Jared] Kushner’s and [Steve] Witkoff’s revenge on him, because of his insistence not to open the crossing before the return of hostage Ran Gvili.”
Trump rolls out his Board of Peace, but it’s not clear how many leaders will join him — President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting “everyone wants to be a part” of the body he said could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate.In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, then by a dramatic retreat from that push.The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, with Trump as chairman, but it has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a pass.Norway and Sweden indicated they wouldn’t participate in the board. France declined, citing concerns the board could seek to replace the U.N. Canada was uncommitted.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had given unusually blunt remarks about the“rupture” in the rules-based order at Davos. On his way home from the forum, Trump hit back.“Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” he wrote to Carney on social media. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”It wasn’t immediately clear how many countries have signed on. In Davos, Trump told reporters “we’re going to have, I think, over 50” countries join.But at his launch, Trump was joined by officials from 19 countries. He told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to Paraguay to Hungary, “You’re the most powerful people in the world.”Flying back to Washington, Trump told reporters: “The letter only went out two days ago. We had almost 30 people already.” Trump said some leaders have told him they want to join but first require approval from their parliaments, specifically naming Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish President Karol Nawrocki.The charter for the board has not yet been publicly released. Asked whether the document would allow him to remain chairman beyond his time in office, Trump said he would have the right to stay on if he so chose. “It’s in theory, for life — but I’m not sure I want that,” Trump said.
Trump Threatens 200% Tariffs as France Declines To Join Board of Peace - President Donald Trump has threatened to hit French wine and champagne with a 200 percent tariffafter France signaled it would not join his proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza. “I’ll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” he told reporters. France’s agriculture minister Annie Genevard called the threat “blackmail” and said it was shocking because it sought to force compliance. A senior French official said Paris does not intend to join the board because its charter extends beyond Gaza and could undermine the United Nations.According to a Bloomberg report, nations seeking a permanent seat must pledge at least $1 billion, and the board’s charter says the three‑year term doesn’t apply to members that contribute more than $1 billion in the first year. Sources say more than ten countries have already signed on, though it’s still unclear which nations are being asked to pay the fee or which have actually agreed to do so. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney initially accepted a draft invitation to the board on Monday. But Canada reversed its decision a day later, with its finance minister Francois-Philippe Champagne telling reporters in Davos, “There [are] a lot of details to be worked out, but one thing, which is clear, is that Canada is not going to pay if we were to join the Board of Peace.” Britain is also balking with Prime Minister Keir Starmer citing the board’s billion‑dollar price tag and the idea of sitting alongside Russia as his objections to the plan. Downing Street expressed concern that Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Aleksandr being invited sends the wrong message, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper telling Parliament the Russian president “doesn’t belong in any organization with peace in the name.” British ministers warn the board could supplant the United Nations and say its financial obligations and legal framework remain unclear.The Trump administration unveiled the Board of Peace last week as part of its blueprint to oversee the Gaza cease-fire and reconstruction. The Board would supervise Gaza’s demilitarization and reconstruction under a 20‑point plan announced by the White House. It is structured as a three‑tier panel chaired by Trump and would elevate U.S. and European figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former British prime minister Tony Blair, while Palestinians would be relegated to municipal positions. Moscow confirmed that President Vladimir Putin had been invited and was seeking clarification. Israel has also received an invitation but has not publicly committed. Critics argue that including states engaged in active conflicts while excluding Palestinian leaders undermines the board’s credibility and risks entrenching Western and Israeli interests.Trump’s tariff threat is part of a pattern. Earlier this month he wrote to Norway’s prime minister to complain about being passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he would no longer feel obliged to “think purely of peace” and that the world is not secure unless the United States controls Greenland. He argued Denmark could not defend the island and, when several European nations objected to his plans, slapped a 10 percent tariff on their exports and warned the levy would rise if they did not relent.Using trade pressure to coerce partners risks economic blowback. A 200 percent tariff would effectively price French wine out of the U.S. market and could prompt retaliatory measures. European ministers have warned they will not be blackmailed and have discussed deploying anti‑coercion tools. France’s refusal to join the board therefore pits Washington’s unilateralism against a Europe intent on protecting multilateral institutions. As trade threats mount and crises from Gaza to Greenland remain unresolved, Trump’s “Board of Peace” faces skepticism even before its first meeting.
Kushner’s WEF Speech Pitches ‘Glitzy Gaza’ Rebuild - Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner on Thursday pitched an ambitious plan to transform war-ravaged Gaza into a Mediterranean resort hub, telling global business and political elites at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos that reconstruction could be completed within three years if Hamas fully disarms under the next phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan. Speaking at a signing ceremony for Trump’s newly announced “Board of Peace,” Kushner said Gaza’s rebuilding would depend entirely on demilitarization. “Without that, we can’t rebuild,” he said, adding that Hamas’s continued armament would be “what holds back Gaza and the people of Gaza from achieving their aspiration.” The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, is intended to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and broader postwar governance. Kushner concluded his remarks with an appeal for critics – both international and Israeli – to withhold judgment for a month, including those objecting to the participation of Turkey and Qatar, countries Israel has accused of backing Hamas. “Just calm down for 30 days,” he said, arguing that the initiative’s ultimate goal was peace and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians through cooperation among Arab, Muslim, and Western states. Trump echoed the optimism, describing Gaza in real-estate terms. “I’m a real estate person at heart,” he said, pointing to Gaza’s coastline as a “beautiful piece of property” that could become something “great to watch” if the plan succeeds. Kushner labeled the proposal’s ambition as aiming for “catastrophic success,” a phrase he used to describe a sweeping redevelopment rather than incremental relief. Slides shown during the presentation depicted terraced apartment towers, promenades, a seaport, and an airport. Reconstruction would begin in Rafah and move northward to Gaza City, with Kushner insisting there was “no plan B.” He argued that similar cities for millions of residents had been built elsewhere in the region within a few years and that the same could be done in Gaza under the right conditions. Central to the plan is an economic overhaul. Kushner said roughly 85 percent of Gaza’s economy has long depended on aid, a model he called unsustainable and demeaning. The proposal seeks to introduce “free-market” principles, with a target of $25 billion in investment to rebuild infrastructure and public services destroyed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the current war. Kushner claimed that within a decade Gaza’s GDP could reach $10 billion, with average household incomes of $13,000 a year and “100 percent full employment.” Security provisions were outlined in a slide titled “demilitarization principles.” Heavy weapons would be immediately decommissioned, while personal arms would be phased out as a new Palestinian police force gains capacity. Militants who surrender weapons would be offered amnesty, reintegration, or safe passage, with some potentially vetted for roles in a new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic body overseen by the Board of Peace. Israeli forces would withdraw to a perimeter only after Gaza-wide demilitarization, according to the plan. The proposal fits a pattern in Kushner’s approach to the conflict. His presentation leaned heavily on investment, governance reforms, and security guarantees, while setting strict preconditions that place the burden of progress on disarmament. Critics note that this echoes his earlier efforts during Trump’s first term. Kushner was the architect of the 2019 “Deal of the Century,” a plan that Palestinians widely rejected as an economic inducement divorced from political realities. The initiative promised tens of billions in investment while sidelining issues such as occupation and refugee rights, and it was boycotted by Palestinian leaders. That history, along with Kushner’s close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his role in moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, fueled perceptions of a pro-Israel tilt. Also drawing ire are Kushner’s past comments treating Gaza as a real-estate opportunity, including remarks suggesting the enclave’s waterfront could be “very valuable” if residents were relocated during a cleanup and rebuilding phase. Those statements have resurfaced as Kushner again frames Gaza’s future in terms of redevelopment potential. Whether the “glitzy Gaza” vision gains traction now will depend less on architectural renderings than on political realities on the ground. For the moment, Kushner’s Davos pitch underscores the administration’s belief that security first, markets second, and peace last is the sequence through which Gaza’s future will be decided.
Netanyahu’s Warning Was a Significant Factor in Trump’s Decision Not to Attack Iran - A call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinced President Donald Trump not to order an attack on Iran last week. Netanyahu was concerned that the attack would not be decisive, and Israel would be unable to repel an Iranian counterattack without more American military support. On Wednesday, American diplomats and military officials in the Middle East were convinced they would receive orders from President Trump to strike Iran. Expectations for a US attack on Iran were built over the previous two weeks as Trump threatened the Islamic Republic for cracking down on protesters. Members of his cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance, were pushing Trump to authorize strikes. Vance argued Trump had drawn a red line that Iran had crossed by killing protesters, and the President must enforce it. However, the President received a call from Netanyahu, who warned that the planned strikes would not be decisive and that the US lacked the military equipment in the Middle East to repel an Iranian counterattack. Axios reporter Barak Ravid spoke with several US officials who said Netanyahu’s warning and the potential for Iranian retaliation were significant factors in Trump’s decision not to order an attack. Since the US and Israeli was on Iran in June, two aircraft carrier strike groups and an advanced air defense system have been deployed out of the Middle East. Late last week, Trump dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the region. An Iranian official said on Sunday that at least 5,000 people had been killed over three weeks of demonstrations. The protests often turned into riots, and over 500 members of the Iranian security forces had also been killed.
Trump: It’s Time to Look for New Leadership in Iran - President Donald Trump suggested that the US was still planning to conduct a regime change in Iran. “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told POLITICO on Saturday. The remarks came after the President decided not to attack Iran on Wednesday. Trump was considering strikes on Iran after the Islamic Republic cracked down on protesters. The President made multiple statements encouraging the demonstrators and threatening the Iranian government. Trump has also said he would attack the Islamic Republic for rebuilding its nuclear program and missile facilities. While Trump elected not to attack Iran last week, US officials say strikes are still an option. According to sources speaking with Axios, a decision point could come within weeks. The US currently has a significantly smaller military presence in the Middle East than it did during the Israeli war against Iran in June. One reason Trump backed away from attacking Iran was the concern that the strikes would not successfully remove the government. Additionally, the US lacks missile defense systems in the region to protect American forces and Israel from retaliatory strikes. However, the US is ramping up its military footprint in the Middle East as the USS Abraham Lincoln is set to arrive in the region later this week. Advocates for regime change in Iran often call for installing Reza Pahlavi in Tehran. Pahlavi is the son of the former Shah of Iran, who was deposed by the Islamic Revolution. Trump dismissed the idea of Pahlavi taking power, suggesting he lacked popular support in Iran.
Trump Asks For ‘Decisive’ Military Operations for Iran - The White House is developing military options for President Donald Trump to attack Iran. According to sources speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Trump is pressing top American officials to develop plans for attacking Iran that would be “decisive.” The options under development range from striking Iranian military facilities or attempting to overthrow the government with a bombing campaign. US military personnel in the Middle East and the Iranian government believed Trump was going to order strikes on Iran last week. However, after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he declined to give the order. An official said that Netanyahu told Trump that Israel was unprepared for an Iranian counterattack. Trump’s advisors also could not give an assurance to the President that the planned attack would cause the Iranian government to fall. US officials were additionally concerned that the Department of War lacked the necessary military equipment in the Middle East to defend American soldiers from Iranian retaliatory attacks. Trump will have more options for a larger attack on Iran in the coming weeks as the US is moving military assets to the Middle East. The President has ordered an aircraft carrier strike group, air defense systems, and additional fighter jets to the Middle East.
Trump Blasts Britain Over Deal To Return Diego Garcia - President Donald Trump made an about-face on Britain’s plans to hand over the Diego Garcia atoll to the nation of Mauritius, calling the move “an act of total weakness.” He had previously endorsed the deal, but now says it’s just another reason Washington must take control of Greenland. Trump took to his Truth Social account to blast the UK’s Diego Garcia agreement early on Tuesday morning, insisting the decision would only benefit Moscow and Beijing. “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” he said. “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.” “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING,” the president added. The comments marked a major U-turn from last May, when the Trump administration explicitly endorsed the deal with Mauritius, calling it a “historic agreement” that would secure “the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility at Diego Garcia.” “We commend both the United Kingdom and Mauritius for their leadership, vision, and commitment to ensure that Diego Garcia remains fully operational for the duration of this agreement,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. Part of the remote Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia came under British control in 1814 following the Napoleonic Wars, but was administered from Mauritius until 1965. That year, the UK purchased the atoll for £3 million, and soon after struck a deal with Washington to allow for a US troop presence there. As part of the island’s militarization, UK forces opted to expel its native inhabitants beginning in 1968, completing the task by the early 1970s. After the the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling in 2019 which called on the UK to cede control of the territory, London worked to reach an agreement with Mauritius, ultimately announcing a deal last year. Though the agreement still must be ratified by the UK parliament, it would allow the US and UK to retain control of their joint military base through a 99-year lease. The attorney general of Mauritius, Gavin Glover, responded to Trump’s comments about the deal later on Tuesday, stressing that the agreement was “negotiated, concluded and signed exclusively between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius.” “The sovereignty of the Republic of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago is already unambiguously recognised by international law and should no longer be subject to debate,” he said in a statement. “We expect the treaty to be implemented as soon as possible, in accordance with the commitments made.” The joint base on the atoll was used throughout the War on Terror, providing a launchpad and hub for long-range bombers striking Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. Last spring, the Pentagondeployed at least six B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia in an apparent show of force toward Iran and Yemen’s Houthis, according to satellite imagery released by Planet Labs.
Keir Starmer accuses Donald Trump of Chagos Islands deal reversal - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer went after President Trump on Wednesday for reversing position on a deal surrounding the Chagos Islands, suggesting the president did so because of tensions over his plan to acquire Greenland. “I made out my position on Greenland absolutely clear on Monday and a moment ago. President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House,” Starmer said in the House of Commons. “He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland,” he added, emphasizing he would not give in. Both the U.S. and U.K. operate a joint naval and bomber base in the Chagos Islands, which is in the Indian Ocean. On Tuesday, Trump went after the U.K. over yielding control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which the Trump administration had previously supported. In the deal, Mauritius would regain power over the islands and the U.K. would pay an average of $136 million to the Mauritians to lease back the island of Diego Garcia for a minimum of 99 years. The president said on Truth Social early Tuesday that the U.K. was handing over Diego Garcia “FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.” “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness,” Trump continued. “These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.”
The Navy’s largest ship continues to be plagued by plumbing issues - The world’s largest aircraft carrier is experiencing difficulties with a service that is an integral part of every sailor’s life — the bathroom. The USS Gerald R. Ford, which cost roughly $13 billion to manufacture and most recently played a part in U.S. strikes against Venezuela that saw the capture of its sitting President Nicolás Maduro, is facing consistent plumbing issues with the nearly 650 toilets aboard the vessel. The complications primarily involve the Ford’s vacuum collection, holding and transfer system, or VCHT, which transports and disposes wastewater by sucking fecal matter through pipes using pressure. Ad The issues, however, have had no effect on operational readiness or mission execution, according to Lt. Cmdr. David Carter, a spokesperson for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The problems were also typically isolated incidents that didn’t wreak havoc on the rest of the sewage system, Carter said. “A repair takes, on average, between 30 minutes and two hours,” Carter said. “During this time, the rest of the system continues to operate independently.” Carter also said that the maintenance demands have decreased as the deployment has gone on and that system improvements are coming down the pike, as maintenance availabilities arise. While Carter said the Ford couldn’t see service call logs regarding maintenance requests for outside assistance, NPR published a report that said the Ford had called for assistance with the lackluster toilets 42 times since 2023, with 32 calls coming in 2025 alone. A dozen speci‰cally came after the Ford left Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025, and began its regularly scheduled deployment, which eventually shifted to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, NPR reported. NPR also reportedly obtained copies of emails that showed there were 205 breakdowns with the toilets over a span of four days. One of the emails placed the onus on sailors and said they were mistreating and destroying the sewage system. Carter con‰rmed to Military Times in an emailed statement that the Ford averaged about one maintenance call per day and that those calls were often the result of “improper materials being introduced to the system.” Military Times requested further information on what those improper materials were.original.antiwar.com
Iran's top diplomat issues most direct threat yet to US as crackdown over protests squeezes nation (AP) — Iran offered its first government-issued death toll Wednesday following a crackdown on nationwide protests, giving a far lower figure than activists abroad as the country’s theocracy tries to reassert control after unrest recalling the chaos surrounding its 1979 Islamic Revolution. State television carried statements by the Interior Ministry and the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, an official body providing services to families of those killed in wars, saying 3,117 people were killed. It added that 2,427 of the dead in the demonstrations that began Dec. 28 were civilians and security forces. It did not elaborate on the rest. Iran’s government in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the death toll early Thursday was at least 4,902, with many more feared dead. The human rights group has been accurate throughout the years on demonstrations and unrest in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. Other groups similarly have offered higher numbers than the Iranian government tally. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, in part due to authorities cutting access to the internet and blocking international calls into the country. Iran also reportedly has limited journalists’ ability locally to report on the aftermath, instead repeatedly airing claims on state television that refer to demonstrators as “rioters” motivated by America and Israel, without offering evidence to support the allegation. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued his most-direct threat yet to the United States, warning the Islamic Republic will be “firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack.” House SPLIT Over Support For Trump's Greenland Ambitions Amid Tensions With NATO Allies | TRENDING The comments came as Araghchi saw his invitation to the World Economic Forum in Davos rescinded over the killings, and as a U.S. aircraft carrier group moved west toward the Middle East from Asia. U.S. fighter jets and other equipment appeared to be moving in the Mideast after a major U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean saw troops seize Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution that brought the Islamic Republic into being. Although there have been no protests for days, there are fears the toll could increase significantly as information gradually emerges from a country under a government-imposed shutdown of the internet since Jan. 8. Nearly 26,500 people have also been arrested, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Comments from officials have led to fears of some of those detained being put to death in Iran, one of the world’s top executioners. Mass executions and the killing of peaceful protesters have been two red lines laid down by U.S. President Donald Trump in the tensions. Araghchi made the threat in an opinion article published by The Wall Street Journal. The foreign minister contended “the violent phase of the unrest lasted less than 72 hours” and sought again to blame armed demonstrators for the violence. Videos that made it out of Iran despite an internet shutdown appear to show security forces repeatedly using live fire to target apparently unarmed protesters, something unaddressed by Araghchi. “Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” Araghchi wrote, referring to the 12-day war launched by Israel on Iran in June. “This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war.” He added: “An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe.” Araghchi’s comments likely refer to Iran’s short- and medium-range missiles. The Islamic Republic relied on ballistic missiles to target Israel in the war and left its stockpile of the shorter-range missiles unused, something that could be fired to target U.S. bases and interests in the Persian Gulf. Already, there have been some restrictions on U.S. diplomats traveling to bases in Kuwait and Qatar.
US Declares End to Military Support for Syrian Kurds - With the fighting continue to rage and north and northeast Syria between central government forces and the nation’s Kurdish minority, the US government appears to have decided that they are backing the former, and that US military support for the Syrian Kurds is over. US envoy Tom Barrack declared the Kurds to have a “great opportunity” to be taken over by the Islamist central government of Syria, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). He assured that the Kurds would definitely be offered “equal rights” under the law in this scenario. In many ways, Barrack’s comments were less about why they are no longer backing the Kurds than why they did in the past, saying at one point in the fight against ISIS, the US didn’t consider the Assad government a “viable partner” so they backed the Kurds instead. Now, with the US seeing the HTS as aligned with their interest, that’s no longer the case, so they’ll be backing the HTS instead. Syrian Kurdish officials and locals have expressed disappointment with this turn of events, saying that after more than a decade of being aligned with the US they are being effectively “abandoned” at the exact moment the HTS has begun launching military offensives against Kurdish-controlled territory that the US helped the Kurds gain in the first place. Though the US has broadly supported the Kurds through the Syrian Civil War and after, it has not been uniform. In 2019, Turkey launched an offensive against the Syrian Kurds and the Trump Administration at the time similarly (and controversially) withdrew backing for the Kurds, with President Trump famously claiming it was because he had just learned that the Kurds were not present at the Normandy Invasion during WW2. This move may similarly be controversial, even if Normandy isn’t invoked as a justification this time. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) had warned the HTS against continuing attacks on the Kurds and had warned that the US might reimpose sanctions against Syria if the attacks continued. That position may have some support in the Senate, though it plainly does not within the White House, as President Trump has been loudly enamored with HTS leader and former al-Qaeda in Iraq figure Ahmed al-Sharaa, praising him as “young, attractive tough guy.” When push came to shove, it was perhaps unsurprising that the administration chose Sharaa over the Kurds when the two sides were at odds. Sharaa, for his part, has given the Kurds a four-day ultimatum to accept his terms for integration into the Syrian state. Since Sharaa had previously denied the Kurds a single spot in his cabinet and postponed parliamentary elections in Kurdish parts of the country, what if any representation that will actually entail remains unclear.
Scrapping Support for Syria’s Kurds, US Has Chance to Boost Turkey Ties - The US has effectively declared an end to their military support for the Syrian Kurdish SDF is causing no small amount of resentment in the Kurdish community, which after a long-term partnership feels that they are watching a “betrayal” in real time, as Syrian military forces overrun the Syrian Kurdish northeast and the US cheers them on to “unify” the nation.US-SDF ties unraveled rather quickly, considering how long that faction was America’s go-to ally in Syria. But the side effect of this is that US relations with Turkey, which has long been strained by US support for those Kurds, stand to quickly recover. Turkey’s policy on Syria has been rather cynically built around keeping the Kurds in the nation under thumb, fearing that a successful autonomous Kurdish region within the neighboring nation would give Turkey’s own Kurdish minority ideas that contradict with their government’s policies.Turkey had for over a decade complained about US ties to the SDF, and similarly voiced disquiet about the Syrian government’s plan to “integrate” the Kurds into the government, cheering loudly when the government, instead, launched offensives against SDF territory, demanding that the Kurds unconditionally disarm and disband.The US decision to scrap support for the Kurds stands to make the job substantially easier for US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who has been involved in Syria for months and has been steering US policy toward encouraging the dismantling of the SDF, declaring this week that the group’s mission had already been accomplished and that it no longer needs to exist. After spending months warning the Kurds that federalism doesn’t work, Barrack has spent recent days accusing them of trying to drag Israel into the fight over the future of Syria’s Kurds, which he argued is an exclusively “internal Syria” matter.Turkey stands to gain substantially economically from a centralized Syrian state that is its puppet in all but name, and Israel is pretty openly opposed to that idea, arguing it threatens regional security. The SDF has some historical support from Israel, indeed, and at this point it would beunsurprising to see them trying to get the Israeli involved in the conflict, because they are seemingly the one ally that they have left now that the US has chosen sides.
US Begins 'Transfer' Of ISIS Prisoners From Syria To Iraq, Mulls Full Withdrawal -US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a fresh statement that it has launched a mission to transfer ISIS fighters from Syria to Iraqi government-controlled facilities. The announcement came hours after the Syrian army entered the Al-Hawl Camp in the country’s north, resulting in the escape of thousands of ISIS and ISIS-linked prisoners.“CENTCOM launched a new mission to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq … to help ensure the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities,” the CENTCOM statement said. “The transfer mission began while US forces successfully transported 150 ISIS fighters held at a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq. Ultimately, up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities,” it added.CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper was quoted as saying that Washington is “closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS.”“Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security,” he added.The CENTCOM chief failed to mention the release of scores of ISIS members in Syria over the past few days.This week, the Syrian military entered Hasakah Governorate’s Al-Hawl Camp, which for around a decade housed tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners and their families, including foreigners who entered Syria illegally to join the US-backed war against former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government.Since the Syrian army entered the camp on 20 January, thousands of ISIS members and their families have been released from Al-Hawl. Videos on social media showed government-affiliated troops arriving at Al-Hawl and allowing the prisoners to leave. Over 25,000 people were held in the camp prior to the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which recently lost most of its territory across northern Syria following the start of a massive assault by Damascus.
Saudis Join Israel, US and UK in Resuming 2025 Strikes on Yemen - 2025 marked the deadliest year in awhile for Yemen, with heavy air campaigns from the US and UK, along with high casualties strikes from Israel being joined by Saudi Arabia in December, which hadn’t carried out its own strikes against Yemen since 2022, then started a large campaign at the end of December in the south and east.The late December Saudi strikes centered on the city of al-Mukalla, and were the start of a move to try to eliminate the STC, the southern separatist movement in Yemen. This continued into January, and is starting to set the stage for a challenging 2026 for Yemen.2025’s airstrikes led to 1,336 civilian casualties, a massive increase from the 297 caused in 2024. More than half of those casualties were from US strikes, while Israel only carried out about 10% of the strikes but caused around 47% of the civilian casualties. 2026 looks like it may be defined less by external attacks than by internal concerns, particularly the persistent food shortages running up against slashed humanitarian aid budgets, which are leading the UN and aid groups to warn that pockets of the country could quickly fall from food insecurity to outright famine. Yemen has struggled with food access since the Saudi invasion well over a decade ago. The nation doesn’t produce nearly enough food to feed the population, and historically would have to import much of its food from abroad. During the war, Yemeni ports have repeatedly come under attack, particularly in the north, severely limiting the ability to bring in food. While the international community has managed, so far, to keep the Yemenis from starving to death during this siege, massive budget shortfalls from the UN and a growing percentage of the Yemeni population relying on food aid is going to make 2026 much more difficult. That is going to add to the strain in a situation that has long been unstable at any rate.In South Yemen, that’s likely to mean further pushes for outright secession, as despite Saudi claims, the STC very much is still an active force in the south, one that in recent weeks has attracted multiple massive demonstrations in Aden in support of them. Pro-Saudi Yemeni factions are trying to present the STC as eliminated, because that’s the Saudi position, and are also trying to portray the UAE as having used the separatists to abuse locals. In practice, however, the situation remains unresolved, and internal unrest in South Yemen over its future will likely also be a defining aspect of 2026, as it, like food scarcity, is yet another thing that this protracted war has never resolved.
New Scrutiny of Nigeria Strikes as Activist’s Data Unravels - A Nigerian activist’s disputed statistics, adopted by several US Republicans and echoed by President Donald Trump, have come under fresh scrutiny after they were used to justify American airstrikes on Christmas Day. Emeka Umeagbalasi, a screwdriver salesman who runs the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law out of his home in Onitsha, Nigeria, claims that more than 125,000 Nigerian Christians have been killed since 2009. He admits he rarely visits attack sites or confirms victims’ religions, instead relying on local media, advocacy groups, and Google searches. Yet Senator Ted Cruz and Representatives Riley Moore and Chris Smith have cited his reports to allege a genocide. Umeagbalasi told interviewers that when kidnappings occur in southern Borno he simply assumes the victims are Christians. The reliance on his figures illustrates how narratives about religious persecution can distort complex conflicts and spur interventions that may do little to improve security. The controversies around Intersociety’s methodology are substantial. Independent analysts note that Nigeria’s federal government does not publish comprehensive data on violent deaths or the faith of victims, making accurate tallies difficult. Nnamdi Obasi of the International Crisis Group said Intersociety’s reports are impossible to audit because they include basic arithmetic errors and unverified claims. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, the northwestern state targeted by the US strike, argued that focusing on religious headcounts obscures the real problem: a weak Nigerian state that cannot protect its people. Research adds that Islamist groups like Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians, with attacks on mosques exceeding assaults on churches. Violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt often arises from land disputes, ethnic rivalries, and criminal banditry rather than a campaign of religious extermination. Despite these uncertainties, Trump announced on Truth Social that US forces launched a “deadly” strike against “ISIS terrorist scum” in northwest Nigeria, saying the targets were killing Christians. According to Nigeria’s government, the December 25 operation hit two Islamic State–linked camps in the Bauni forest of Sokoto state using 16 GPS‑guided munitions. Officials said the camps were staging areas for militants infiltrating from the Sahel and claimed the strikes caused no civilian casualties. Trump praised the mission as “perfect” and warned there would be more to come. No independent group has verified the identities of those killed. Critics warn that US bombs based on dubious data risk inflaming grievances and reinforcing jihadist narratives that the West is at war with Islam. By elevating unverified claims of Christian genocide, US politicians may be encouraging a sectarian lens that misrepresents Nigeria’s turmoil. Most victims of violence in northern Nigeria are poor villagers – Muslim and Christian – caught between jihadists, bandits, and a failing state. Without credible data and a focus on the root causes of insecurity, foreign military intervention risks adding another layer of violence to a country already struggling with it.
Donald Trump links Nobel Prize snub to Greenland acquisition push -- President Trump suggested the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to award last year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was a factor in his continued push to acquire Greenland in a letter to Norway’s leader over the weekend.In a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre shared with multiple European ambassadors, the president questioned why Denmark has a “right of ownership” over the mineral-rich island.“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote, according to News Nation, The Hill’s sister station.Støre, in a statement to Bloomberg, clarified that Norway’s government does not award the Nobel prizes.“Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize, I have several times clearly explained to Trump what is well known, namely that it is an independent Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government, that awards the prize,” Støre said.While campaigning for the award last year, the president incorrectly claimed he ended eight wars. The Nobel Committee, which Støre is not part of, selected Machado — Venezuela’s opposition leader — as the recipient in October. Machado presented her prize to Trump at the White House last week, amid questions over the future of Venezuelan leadership after the U.S. captured the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. The committee later clarified the honor cannot be transferred to another person.The president has ramped up his interest in acquiring Greenland over the past month, arguing it is essential to national security. His overtures were met with pushback from Greenlandic, Danish and European leaders, with multiple European countries sending troops to the semiautonomous Danish territory last week. Trump responded by threatening those countries — the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland — with 10 percent tariffs starting Feb. 1, and 25 percent levies starting June 1. The import taxes will remain in place until a deal on U.S. control of Greenland is reached, the president added.In his letter to Støre, Trump reiterated his claim that U.S. control of Greenland was imperative to U.S. and European security.“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also,” Trump wrote in his letter to Støre.
Trump Says US Will Seize Greenland Over Peace Prize Snub - President Donald Trump said he shifted his foreign policy in response to not receiving the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. The President explained that his new worldview has led him to seek total control of Greenland. “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump wrote in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store that Bloomberg obtained. “Although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.” He continued, “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”Store responded by saying he previously explained to Trump that the Norwegian government does not award the Peace Prize. “Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize, I have several times clearly explained to Trump what is well known, namely that it is an independent Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government, that awards the prize,” he told Bloomberg. Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado was awarded the Peace Prize in 2025. She has advocated for the US to sanction and use military force against Venezuela. After US military forces kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro, Machado gifted her Peace Prize medal to Trump. However, Trump has dismissed Machado as a potential future leader in Venezuela. Trump has argued that the US must seize Greenland to protect the Danish colony from Russia and China. “Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China,” Trump wrote in the letter to Store. “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
Democrats hammer Trump for Greenland-Nobel letter: 'Unhinged and embarrassing' -- Democrats on Capitol Hill slammed and mocked President Trump’s letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, in which the president elaborated on his motives for acquiring Greenland. In the letter shared with multiple European ambassadors, Trump questioned why Denmark has a “right of ownership” over the semi-sovereign territory. He also cited the Norwegian Nobel Committee not awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize last year as why he is not interested in peace above all else. “Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote, according to NewsNation, The Hill’s partner network.Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.), who is on the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on the social platform X on Monday that “these are the ramblings of a man who has lost touch with reality.”“He isn’t ok,” Murphy added. “He’s degraded significantly in the last year and he’s about to get us into a war with our allies.” Støre, in a statement to Bloomberg, clarified that Norway’s government does not award the Nobel prizes.“Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize, I have several times clearly explained to Trump what is well known, namely that it is an independent Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government, that awards the prize,” Støre said.Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote on X on Monday that the U.S. is “now the enemy of the free world because a pathetic man got his feelings hurt.” His colleague, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), called the president “unhinged and embarrassing, but also incredibly dangerous” for writing the letter.“Trump is doing lasting damage to our global position, which will harm our ability to keep America safe, secure, and prosperous,” Kim added on X on Monday.The president has argued Greenland is essential for national security and said in the letter that Denmark “cannot protect that land from Russia or China.” Trump also claimed he has “done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something” for the U.S.“The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland,” he added.
Donald Trump insists Norway controls Nobel Peace Prize -- President Trump insisted Monday he does not care about the Nobel Peace Prize but maintained that Norway “controlled” the award despite the country’s leaders denying any involvement in deciding who receives the prize. “I don’t care about the Nobel Prize,” Trump told reporters. “First of all, a very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel Prize, and I appreciate that,” he added, referring to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s decision to give her 18-carat gold medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House last week. That move, though not mentioned directly, prompted the Nobel committee to note that while the symbols of the prize, a medal and diploma, can be given away the honor itself is “inseparably linked” to the winner. Trump’s comments came days after he linked the prize — which he has long coveted — to his aspirations to acquire Greenland in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minster Jonas Gahr Støre, writing that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace.”“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” the president wrote, according to News Nation.Støre clarified in a statement on Monday that the Norwegian government holds no sway over who is receives the Peace Prize.
Former Trump aide on threatening allies over Greenland: 'Mentally ill, deranged' -- A former aide to President Trump from his first term, who broke with the White House over its handling of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol, on Tuesday berated his push to annex Greenland. “Yeah, I don’t say this lightly. I think this might be the most mentally ill, deranged thing that Donald Trump has done to date, to be threatening our allies and wanting to go to war, potentially over Greenland, when his reasoning doesn’t even make sense,” former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews said during a Tuesday appearance MS NOW’s “The Weeknight.” “He says we need Greenland because Russia and China will take over Greenland if we don’t. But then he invites [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to sit on his [Gaza] Board of Peace. Make it make sense for me because it doesn’t make any sense,” she added. The Trump administration argues Greenland is essential to “national security purposes” and has bucked NATO allies for defending the island’s self autonomy. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10 percent tax on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland set to go into effect on Feb. 1 and increase to 25 percent on June 1. The tariffs would be imposed, per Trump, unless the countries accede to U.S. control of Greenland,. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged countries not to retaliate but to speak with the president during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland later this week. “Everyone, take a deep breath. Do not escalate, do not escalate. And President Trump has a strategy here,” Bessent said during an appearance on CNBC.
Democratic senator calls for Trump’s removal from office under 25th Amendment - Liberal Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who faces a Democratic primary challenger this year, is calling for President Trump to be removed from power under the 25th Amendment after Trump acknowledged he would be less likely to pressure Denmark to give up Greenland had he won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. “Invoke the 25th Amendment,” Markey posted on social media along with an image of a New York Times article reporting Trump linked his push for Greenland to not winning the Nobel Prize in a text message to Norwegian leader Jonas Gahr Støre. The Times reported that Støre received a text message from Trump on Sunday informing him bluntly that not winning the Peace Price has emboldened him to make an aggressive play for Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark. “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars Plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is a private entity, not a government body, but its members are appointed by the Norway Parliament. Markey’s call to remove Trump from office under the 25th Amendment isn’t likely to have any traction. Doing so would require Vice President Vance and a majority of Trump’s Cabinet to transmit to Congress a declaration that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. That would immediately transfer power to the vice president.
EU's Ursula von der Leyen meets Congress members to discuss Greenland, trade -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with members of Congress about a range of issues Monday, from transatlantic trade to President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland. “In Davos, I met with a bipartisan delegation from the United States Congress. We discussed our shared efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. This process benefits from strong EU–US coordination, from security guarantees to a pathway to prosperity,” von der Leyen wrote on the social platform X. “I also addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark. This is of utmost importance to our transatlantic relationship. At the same time, the European Union remains ready to continue working closely with the United States, NATO, and other allies, in close cooperation with Denmark, to advance our shared security interests.” She also noted transatlantic trade and investment are “a major asset” for both the European and U.S. economies, arguing “tariffs to these shared interests.” Her comments come as Trump continues to push for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, the semiautonomous Arctic territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Despite pushback from European allies, Trump this week announced plans to implement 10 percent tariffs on goods from eight European countries as part of his bid. Trump is set to address the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this week. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) were slated to be part of the bipartisan delegation to Denmark this week, along with Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Madeleine Dean (Pa.), Sara Jacobs (Calif.), and Sarah McBride (Del.) — with some of the lawmakers continuing on to Davos, according to Coons’s office. “President Trump’s threats to slap tariffs on the EU to coerce Denmark into giving up Greenland risk a disastrous trade war with the EU and collapsing NATO,” Coons wrote on X after meeting with the EU leader. “I appreciated the chance to meet with EU President @vonderleyen at a decisive moment for US-EU relations. America’s safety and standing in the world are at stake.”
EU's Ursula von der Leyen condemns Donald Trump Greenland tariffs - Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, criticized President Trump for proposing tariffs on European Union (EU) nations over their support of Greenland’s sovereignty. “Artic security can only be achieved together, and this is why the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies,” von der Leyen said Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July. “And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.” Trump, who will head to Switzerland for the summit Tuesday evening, announced Saturday that imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland will be subject to 10 percent tariffs starting Feb. 1. The levies will increase to 25 percent on June 1. The president added that the import taxes will be in place until Denmark and Greenland agree to a deal that grants the U.S. control of the mineral-rich island. “We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration,” Trump said. “Now, after centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!” Von der Leyen and Trump previously reached a trade deal between the EU and U.S. last July. Under the agreement, European imports into the U.S. faced 15 percent tariffs, while the EU agreed to purchase $750 billion worth of energy from the U.S. and invest an additional $600 billion in the U.S. for other goods. “I think it’s the biggest deal ever made,” the president claimed at the time. Von der Leyen, meanwhile, said the deal would “bring stability, it will bring predictability.” European leaders, including von der Leyen, pushed back Saturday against Trump’s proposed levies. The European Commission president wrote on the social platform X the tariffs “would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.” “Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” she added. Days before the president unveiled the new import taxes, European nations sent troops to Greenland as part of a joint exercise led by the Danish military. The buildup comes after Denmark boosted its military presence on the island last summer in an effort to strengthen Europe’s “footprint” in the Arctic.
Trump Slaps Tariffs on European States Opposed to US Takeover of Greenland - President Donald Trump has announced a 10% tariff on eight European countries that have objected to his efforts to “purchase” Greenland, insisting that Washington must control the territory for the sake of “world peace.” Announced on Saturday, Trump said the “strong measures” will target Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, adding that they would take effect on February 1. He vowed to ramp up the tariffs further in the coming months should those states continue to oppose US control of Greenland – a Danish territory since the 18th century.“On June 1st, 2026, the tariff will be increased to 25%. This tariff will be due and payable until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland,” the president continued, adding that Washington “is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these countries.”Trump went on to insist that “world peace” was at stake, claiming that both Beijing and Moscow “want Greenland.” He provided no evidence for that claim, but added that the territory is vital to the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense shield. The move follows a new round of military exercises by several European states in Greenland, which were announced with little notice earlier this week. Though the head of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command – Major General Soren Andersen – said the drills were “not at all” focused on the United States, the decision appeared abrupt, and followed weeks of escalating US rhetoric over Greenland. Andersen dismissed Trump’s earlier claims that Russian and Chinese military vessels were “all over the place” near Greenland, saying that the closest Russian research ship was some 310 nautical miles from its shores. Nonetheless, he said the latest drills were intended to counter Moscow. On Friday, two Danish F-35 fighter jets took part in exercises over Greenland alongside a French tanker, though Denmark’s military described the flights as routine drills. US Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, offered a much different take on the exercises, however, arguing that they were indeed a warning to the United States. “Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on X. “If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.” The US president has repeatedly suggested that Washington could take control of Greenland since his first term in office, initially calling to simply buy the country in 2019. While local officials rejected the idea as “absurd” at the time, Trump has not relented on the issue in the years since – even hinting at the use of force.
Bessent to Europe on Trump tariff threats over Greenland: ‘Do not retaliate’ - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned European countries against retaliatory tariffs Tuesday, days after President Trump threatened multiple allies with additional import taxes over their criticism of the president’s push to take over Greenland. Speaking to Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bessent said European leaders should “sit back [and] take a deep breath.” “Do not retaliate,” the Treasury secretary warned, repeating the line twice. Bessent also noted Trump is set to arrive at the summit Wednesday. At that point, the president will meet with NATO and European allies to “get his message across.” “Have an open mind,” he added on how officials should approach such meetings. “Why this rapid response in terms of, ‘This is a no’?” Bessent made similar remarks to CNBC on Tuesday, saying, “Everyone, take a deep breath. Do not escalate, do not escalate. And President Trump has a strategy here.” “Hear him out, and then everything will be fine,” the Treasury chief added. Last week, the president said goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Finland, the U.K. and the Netherlands will face a 10 percent tariff starting Feb. 1. If a deal is still not reached granting the U.S. control of Greenland by June 1, the levies will increase to 25 percent.Those countries previously backed Greenland earlier this month amid Trump’s continued interest in acquiring the semiautonomous Danish territory. Days before the president threatened the tariffs, multiple European countries sent troops to the Arctic island as part of joint military exercises led by Denmark. Danish forces have also ramped up their presence on the island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned earlier this month that a U.S. attack on Greenland would lead to the end of the NATO alliance.Still, Trump has maintained the acquisition of Greenland is necessary for the U.S.’s national security.“These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” the president wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “Therefore, it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures must be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question.”Leaders in Denmark responded to the tariffs late Saturday, saying they will not “back down” to the Trump administration.“Trump must not be allowed to divide us,” Danish lawmaker Pelle Dragsted wrote in a post on the social platform X. “The EU must respond united and hit back hard. Go hard after the tech oligarchs in Trump’s inner circle. Enough is enough!”
Trump Refuses To Rule Out Military Option for Greenland - President Donald Trump declined to rule out the use of force to take control of Greenland, soon after several European allies dispatched troops to the territory in an apparent warning to Washington.Asked by NBC News whether he would use military force to seize Greenland during a brief interview on Monday, the US leader simply replied “No comment.” He previously hinted at a military option, saying last week that the United States would take the territory “one way or another.”Further ratcheting up tensions over the issue, Trump additionally said he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of peace” with regard to Greenland, according to a letter he penned to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and obtained by Bloomberg. The president went on to blame the Nordic state for failing to award him with a Nobel Peace Prize, adding that “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”After Trump vowed to impose a 10% tariff on eight European states opposed to any US takeover of Greenland – the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland – the nations in question deployed a small contingent of troops to the Danish-controlled territory for a round of military drills. On Monday, Copenhagen reportedly sent additional forces to Greenland, with around 100 stationed in the capital city of Nuuk and a similar number deployed to Kangerlussuaq, a town not far from Greenland’s west coast.The US president has insisted that Greenland is vital to American national security, claiming without evidence that Russia and China also seek to control the territory. He has also argued US control of the country is needed for the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.Trump’s escalating rhetoric has stoked outrage in Denmark, which has ruled Greenland since the 18th century, with some 10,000 Danes turning out to protest a US takeover on Saturday. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen previously condemned “unacceptable pressure” by the Trump administration, and warned that any US military intervention to seize Greenland could destroy the NATO alliance.In Washington, lawmakers in both major parties have decried the president’s push to “acquire” the territory, with some openly protesting the move, while others have quietly sought to reassure Greenland, Denmark and other US allies. Delaware Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat who arranged a bipartisan trip to Greenland last week, told the Associated Press that he was seeking to “bring the temperature down a bit,” adding that “When the most powerful military nation on earth threatens your territory through its president over and over and over again, you start to take it seriously.” Republican Senator Thom Tillis (North Carolina) previously slammed the plans to take Greenland as “nonsense” and “a distraction,” adding that “the amateurs who said it was a good idea should lose their jobs.”
US Spying on Danish Military Facilities in Greenland - The Danish Defense Ministry report concluded that the US has increased spying on its bases in Greenland. President Donald Trump has threatened to seize Greenland from Denmark and has refused to rule out military forces to take control of the colony.The Danish outlet Berlingske reported on Sunday that defense officials said the US had been spying on its military bases and ports in Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the Wall Street Journal, “We do not spy on friends.” However, the US has a long history of spying on its allies. NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden showed Washington surveilled European leaders. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had ordered a “collection emphasis message” to intelligence agencies to collect information in Greenland. In recent weeks, Trump has threatened to seize control of Greenland multiple times. The President has argued that Russia or China will invade the island if it is not part of the US. Trump has refused to rule out using military force to take Greenland from Denmark. On Tuesday, Danish MP Rasmus Jarlov said that if the US military invades Greenland, “it would be a war, and we would be fighting against each other.” The threats aimed at Greenland and divided the US and its European allies. In response to European states condemning Trump’s plan to seize Greenland, the President slapped tariffs on eight countries. Some European countries are discussing counter-economic measures, such as dumping US Treasury bonds.
Danish MP Warns US Takeover of Greenland Will Start a War - Amid threats from President Donald Trump to take over Greenland, a Danish politician said that if the US seized the colony, a war would break out. Danish MP Rasmus Jarlov said that if the US military invades Greenland, “it would be a war, and we would be fighting against each other.” “There’s no threat, there’s no hostility. There’s no need, because the Americans already have access to Greenland, both militarily and in all other ways.” He continued, “There are no drug routes. There is no illegitimate government in Greenland. There is absolutely no justification for it– no historical ownership, no broken treaties, nothing can justify it.”In recent weeks, President Trump said the US will take control of Greenland. The President argues it is a matter of national security, as Russia or China will seize Greenland from Denmark if the US does not gain control first. In response to Trump’s threats, Denmark has begun increasing its military presence in Greenland. Trump’s plan to take Greenland has met stiff opposition in Europe. The President has slapped 10% tariffs on eight European countries. Trump said the tariffs would increase if those nations did not change policy and support the US seizure of Greenland. An executive at Deutsche Bank suggested that European countries could pressure the US to back away from Greenland by refusing to buy US bonds. George Saravelos, head of FX research, explained, “For all its military and economic strength, the US has one key weakness: it relies on others to pay its bills via large external deficits.”Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the risk of a currency war with Europe. “The media has latched on to this. I think it is a completely false narrative. It defies any logic,” he said Tuesday. “If you look, the US Treasury market was the best-performing market in the world, or the best G7-performing bond market, and we had the best performance since 2020. It is the most liquid market.” Bessent continued,” It is the basis for all financial transactions, and I am sure that the European governments will continue holding it.”The President said he did not expect Europe to push back too much if he annexed Greenland. “I don’t think they are going to push back too much,” he said, adding, “We have to have it.”
US Military Archbishop: ‘Morally Acceptable To Disobey’ Attack on Greenland -Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, has warned that U.S. troops could refuse an order to attack Greenland on grounds of conscience. Speaking on the BBC’sSunday program, he said Catholic service members “could be put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something that’s morally questionable.” While acknowledging that it would be difficult to defy a direct order, he maintained that “within the realm of their own conscience it would be morally acceptable to disobey.” Broglio’s remarks follow inflammatory comments from President Donald Trump, who threatened to seize Greenland after being passed over for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Trump told Norway’s prime minister that he would now “think about what is good and proper for the United States” and that the world is not secure unless America has complete control of the island. He insisted Denmark cannot defend the territory from Russia or China, drawing condemnation from European governments. Broglio, whose archdiocese ministers to Catholic service members, condemned the idea outright. Greenland, he said, “is a territory of Denmark and Denmark is an ally,” so it “does not seem really reasonable that the United States would attack and occupy a friendly nation.” He recalled issuing a statement in December denouncing a U.S. strike on a suspected drug boat and insisting that the moral principle forbidding the intentional killing of noncombatants “is inviolable.” Any assault on Greenland, he warned, “doesn’t seem necessary, doesn’t seem acceptable” and would violate the “proper” moral way to respond to crises. Such rhetoric, he added, tarnishes America’s image abroad. The president’s language marks a sharp break with diplomatic norms. He argued that the world is not secure unless America has total control of Greenland, even though the island belongs to NATO ally Denmark. European governments have denounced the threats as a potential armed occupation and an affront to Danish sovereignty. Roman Catholic leaders in Rome share Broglio’s concerns. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said “solutions by force cannot be employed” and warned that reliance on force “will always lead closer to a conflict.” Broglio’s stance underscores the tension between political directives and personal conscience. Under U.S. military law, service members are required to refuse unlawful orders, and Catholic teaching forbids obeying immoral commands. His criticism of aggressive rhetoric echoes the Vatican’s call for multilateral solutions and Greenlanders’ plea for dignity and peace. As Trump vows to “think about what is good and proper for the United States” and seeks “total control” over Greenland, Church leaders insist the moral cost cannot be ignored.
Why getting Greenland may not mean more minerals - Greenland holds large quantities of rare earth elements, but experts say annexing the territory may not vastly improve U.S. access to them. President Trump said Wednesday that he’s reached the framework of a deal with NATO on the future of Greenland after escalating rhetoric in recent days about acquiring the island. While Trump also recently said, “We need Greenland for national security, not minerals,” some of his allies are eyeing both the territory’s location and its natural resources. “Greenland has massive rare earth minerals and critical minerals. There are enormous economic benefits to America,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo” over the weekend. Greenland has significant quantities of rare earth elements — minerals that can be used in various technologies, including semiconductors, batteries, lasers, magnets and nuclear energy. Ultimately, such technologies can be used in everything from data centers to military weapons to renewable power and electric vehicles. But there could be hurdles in getting to them. “Greenland is large. Some of these mining sites are quite remote. They require people with specialized skills … to access these minerals, and most of these places are not settled and not near places where people live,” said Penny Naas, senior vice president for innovation and competitiveness at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank that promotes transatlantic cooperation. “There’s still … other places around the world that are easier to mine” Naas added, also noting that mining in Greenland often faces local opposition. And, she said, an American takeover may not actually yield different results for companies than just working with existing authorities. “Greenland is relatively open on investment,” Naas said. “In general, right now the U.S. could go in and mine in Greenland as is.”
Trump’s Greenland threats spark outrage from EU and test longtime NATO alliance (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pledge to provoke a sweeping tariff fight with Europe to get his way in taking control of Greenland has left many of America’s closest allies warning of a rupture with Washington capable of shattering the NATO alliance that had once seemed unshakable. The European Union’s top official on Tuesday called Trump’s planned new tariffs on eight of its countries over Greenland a “mistake” and questioned Trump’s trustworthiness. French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU could retaliate by deploying one of its most powerful economic tools, known colloquially as a trade “bazooka.” The rising tensions concerning Greenland, and threats of a deepening trade war between the U.S. and Europe, caused global investors to shudder Tuesday, as stocks on Wall Street slumped. Trump prides himself on ratcheting up pressure to try to negotiate through a position of strength. He was leaving Washington Tuesday — the anniversary of his inauguration — for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a venue that offers Trump the chance to defuse tensions as quickly as he stirred them up.But European leaders — digging in and vowing to defend Denmark and its control over semiautonomous Greenland — may be trying just as hard to meet an extraordinary moment with a show of their fierce resolve.That could hurt the chances of Trump finding a quick way to turn around the crisis. Greenland’s leader insisted on respect for its territorial integrity and called international law “not a game.” Trump made an unusual appearance in the White House briefing room and spoke at length while stocks fell. Asked how far he’d be willing to go to acquire Greenland, Trump said only, “You’ll find out.” He also mistakenly referred to Greenland as Iceland at one point.Still, the president predicted there could be a deal in the making. “I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy, and where we’re going to be very happy,” he said, without providing specifics.Trump said he’d been encouraged that NATO had increased military spending, but he also belittled the alliance, saying other members may not protect Washington’s interests. The president suggested NATO members expect the U.S. to come to their rescue but “I just really do question whether or not they’ll come to ours.”European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed back against Trump’s announcement that, starting in February, a 10% import tax will be imposed on goods from eight European nations that have rallied around Denmark. Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member. “The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July,” von der Leyen said in Davos. “And in politics as in business – a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.”“We consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape,” she added. AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on EU leaders pushing back against President Trump’s proposed tariffs over opposition to his Greenland takeover plans.She vowed that the EU’s response “will be unflinching, united and proportional.”Taking firmer stances defied the approach that many European leaders have offered since Trump returned to office. It had mostly entailed saying nice things about the president to try to stay in his good graces, while working furiously through other avenues to find compromise.Trump says the U.S. needs Greenland to deter possible threats from China and Russia. But his continued insistence in recent weeks that anything short of the U.S. owning Greenland is unacceptable is testing the limits of the softer strategy.Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said “the worst may still be ahead of us.” Speaking to parliament, she said: “We have never sought conflict. We have consistently sought cooperation.”Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a news conference in the island’s capital, Nuuk, that “we need to have respect for international law and territorial integrity.” He said those principles should unite Western democratic countries, and expressed gratitude for EU allies’ support.“International law, it’s not a game,” he said, adding, “We are willing to cooperate much more, but of course in mutual respect, and if we cannot see that, it will be very difficult to have a good and reliable partnership.”Trump’s threats have sparked outrage and a flurry of diplomatic activity across Europe, as leaders consider possible countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs and the unprecedented use of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument.Unofficially known as the “trade bazooka,” the instrument could sanction individuals or institutions found to be putting undue pressure on the EU. The EU has two other major economic tools it could use to pressure Washington: new tariffs or a suspension of the U.S.-EU trade deal.
Putin Puts A Price Tag On Greenland, Appears To Relish NATO Turning On Itself - "This certainly does not concern us," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday at a moment it seems the entirety of the West's attention is fixated on President Trump's designs on Greenland. "I think they will sort it out among themselves." Putin acknowledged the US and Denmark must ultimately settle the question, but he interestingly hinted his sympathies could be with the US position, given he offered up as a model for resolving the dispute America's historic acquirement of Alaska. He also offered up some quick math. He distanced himself from the inter-NATO spat and standoff, presenting some mediation-type advice at a meeting of the National Security Council in Moscow, which he chaired. Putin explained that Russia has experience in selling Arctic territories to the United States, recalling that the Russian Empire sold the sprawling and resource-rich Alaska peninsula for $7.2 million in 1863. "At today's prices, taking into account inflation over the decades, this sum is equivalent to about $158 million," Putin said. He then said that given Greenland is a bit bigger than Alaska, a similar deal would have seen Greenland priced at roughly $200 million to $250 million. Factoring in the relative value of gold at the time, he described that the true valuation could be pushed up to "probably about $1 billion." And he concluded, "Well, I think the United States can afford such a sum." On the politics of it, while stressing Moscow has no interest in entering this purely Western dispute, he said, "Incidentally, Denmark has always treated Greenland as a colony and has been quite harsh, if not cruel, towards it. But that is a different matter altogether, and hardly anyone is interested in it now." This well-timed swipe at Denmark came in the context of Moscow having long been miffed at the tiny Scandinavian country for its outsized role in supporting Ukraine - even hosting a pilot program and sending fighter jets. The Russian leader also made passing reference to acquirement of the US Virgin Islands:
What are the military assets in the Arctic? – ArcticToday- U.S. President Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland as he says it is the only way for the United States to secure its defence. Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous territory, refuse and say any concerns Washington has can be addressed via their existing defence agreement. Eight nations have territory in the Arctic: Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Here is an overview of their military assets: Half of the landmass in the Arctic is Russian territory. Since 2005 Moscow has re-opened and modernised tens of Soviet-era military bases, both on its Arctic mainland and on the islands off its northern coast. Russia maintains a high state of readiness at its nuclear testing site on Novaya Zemlya, an Arctic archipelago, although it has not conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion since 1990. Last October, it carried out a test launch of its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile from Novaya Zemlya. In the European Arctic, the Kola Peninsula hosts about two-thirds of Russia’s second-strike nuclear capabilities – its ability to answer a nuclear attack with its own – according to Mathieu Boulegue, a senior fellow for the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. The area is also home to Russia’s Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk, which operates six of the country’s 12 nuclear-armed submarines, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The other six are operated by the Pacific Fleet based in Vladivostok. The only way for the Northern Fleet to access the North Atlantic is via the Barents Sea, between the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago and the northern coast of Europe. Keeping that access free is therefore essential to Moscow. Since 1957, the U.S. and Canada have jointly defended against threats to their homeland, including from nuclear missiles, via the North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD. They are modernising NORAD, according to the IISS: Canada is procuring two over-the-horizon radar systems covering the Arctic and polar approaches, with the first due to reach initial operating capability by 2028. President Trump is keen to develop a new missile defence system, called Golden Dome, for which he says Greenland is crucial. Washington has the Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland under a defence agreement with Denmark. Otherwise, most of its Arctic forces are located across eight bases in Alaska and count approximately 22,000 military personnel, according to IISS and the U.S. Northern Command. Canada has five Arctic bases, including Alert, a signals intelligence station on Ellesmere Island that is the world’s northernmost permanently inhabited settlement. South of the Arctic Circle, Canada operates a base at Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, which hosts a ranger patrol group and an air base. Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, headquartered in Greenland‘s capital, Nuuk, counts around 150 military and civilian personnel. JAC is also present at the Kangerlussuaq air base as well as four smaller military stations in eastern and north-eastern Greenland. JAC has one liaison officer at Pituffik. Its Sirius dog sled patrol – derided by Trump – is a military unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance in the extreme conditions of northeastern Greenland. Sweden has no bases north of the Arctic Circle, but has an air force base at Lulea, on the northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, and an army base with two regiments in Boden, some 40 km (25 miles) inland. Finland has an air base in Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle, and a Jaeger Brigade base further north in Finnish Lapland. Since joining NATO, the two countries have been integrating their militaries with the rest of the alliance. Norway is NATO’s monitor for a vast maritime area of some 2 million sq km (770,000 sq miles) of the North Atlantic, including the Arctic. Many of its military installations are above the Arctic Circle. It has four air bases, including one for its new F-35 fighter jets, two navy bases, a string of army bases and a reception centre for NATO allies coming for reinforcement in case of attack. There are no military installations on Svalbard, Norway’s Arctic archipelago. ICELAND is a NATO member but has no military, only a coastguard service. It hosts U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime-patrol aircraft in a rotational deployment, based at Keflavik air base, near Reykjavik. NATO fighter jets periodically rotate at Keflavik to keep Icelandic airspace secure. The deployment usually lasts two to three weeks, three times a year.
Trump Says He Won’t Use Military Force to Take Greenland, But the US Will Acquire the Territory --Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Donald Trump said he would not use military force to seize Greenland. However, the President called for immediate negotiations for the US to acquire the Danish colony. “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable, but I won’t do that,”Trump said Wednesday. “All I’m asking for is a place called Greenland.”The President went on to argue that the US should have annexed Greenland at the end of World War 2, but the US mistakenly returned it to Greenland. Concern has grown in recent days that the US would use military force to seize Greenland. Prior to his remarks at the WEF, Trump refused to rule out deploying the military to claim the territory. In his addresses, the President demanded that Denmark enter into immediate talks with the US about transferring control of Greenland to Washington. On Tuesday, Danish MP Rasmus Jarlov said that if the US military invades Greenland, “it would be a war, and we would be fighting against each other.”“There’s no threat, there’s no hostility. There’s no need, because the Americans already have access to Greenland, both militarily and in all other ways.” He continued, “There are no drug routes. There is no illegitimate government in Greenland. There is absolutely no justification for it– no historical ownership, no broken treaties, nothing can justify it.”
Donald Trump agrees to 'framework' deal on Greenland, backtracks on European tariffs - President Trump said Wednesday that he’s reached the framework of a deal with NATO on the future of Greenland and will not impose tariffs he previously threatened on European countries. “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post from Davos, Switzerland. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress,” he continued. When asked by reporters in Davos about the deal, Trump described it as “infinite.” “It’s the ultimate long-term deal, and I think it puts everyone in a pretty good position especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else,” the president said. Trump’s backtrack came shortly after he met with Rutte at Davos. When asked about Danish officials’ unwillingness to discuss the U.S. acquiring Greenland, Trump said Rutte was “more important” than Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Earlier Wednesday, Trump made headlines when he said he would not use military force to acquire the Danish territory, but he continued to argue in favor of the U.S. owning it.
Trump: Greenland plan includes mineral rights - President Donald Trump’s new Greenland deal includes mineral rights, he announced Wednesday — just hours after he insisted on the global stage that accessing rare earths and minerals were not a driving force in his push to acquire the country. “They’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The White House did not respond when asked for details about which mineral rights the administration is pursuing.Trump’s comments followed a broader announcement that the administration — while backing off the threat of tariffs and use of force — has reached an agreement that will allow the U.S. to access to the self-governing Danish territory. Trump in a Truth Social post said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” and that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff would be leading those negotiations.Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen welcomed the dialogue on Thursday, but reiterated that Greenland’s sovereignty is not up for discussion.On stage at Davos, Trump insisted his focus on the island is solely about security while acknowledging the difficulty of accessing minerals there.In Greenland, “to get to this rare earth, you got to go through hundreds of feet of ice. That’s not the reason we need it. We need it for strategic national security and international security,” Trump said during his speech.The “enormous unsecured island” lies in “a key strategic location between the United States, Russia and China,” Trump said. “That’s exactly where it is, right smack in the middle.” Vance during a speech in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday echoed that the Danish territory is critical for American national security “because our entire missile defense relies on security” in the Arctic region. “The negotiations with NATO are going fine,” Vance added. “Fundamentally, NATO and the Danes and everybody else have to recognize the simple fact that this matters not just to American security, but to world security. So we’re gonna keep on trying to make sure that we secure that land mass so that we can protect the American people, as we’ve done and will continue to do.”Energy Secretary Chris Wright downplayed the opportunities for rare earths extraction in Greenland in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Thursday. “Think of, you know, it’s 50,000 people, and it’s a tougher climate to do business in, physical climate. Rule of Law, fine, but it’s a tougher physical climate there,” he said. “I think when President Trump talks about that, it’s more what would be additional upside for the residents of Greenland, yes, American businesses, as we just talked about in Venezuela, they’ll go in far-flung places.” Greenland’s rare earth metals and minerals deposits remain undeveloped despite ranking eighth globally for reserves, largely due to a dearth of infrastructure, regulatory barriers and geographic constraints, according to a report the energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie released Thursday. The territory has no active mines, and most rare earth projects there are in early-stage development, the firm noted, even as demand increases as countries like the U.S. move to diversify away from China. The Australian company Energy Transition Metals’ development of the Kvanefjeld project has been stalled since 2002 due to legal challenges over uranium, Wood Mackenzie noted. Another project in play is Critical Metals’ Tanbreez project, which received a $120 million letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and is planning to launch a pilot facility later this year. Tanbreez, through a joint venture, would supply a facility in Louisiana, the report states. Any companies hoping to develop a robust mining sector in Greenland would have to create their own transportation and energy infrastructure, a challenge made greater given that the island’s population is small and there’s a dearth of skilled mining labor. Adding to those challenges are freezing temperatures, Arctic winds and limited daylight, as well as regulatory uncertainty given that Greenland’s Parliament in 2021 banned uranium exploration and exploitation, the report notes. “Projects in Greenland must compete for investment with projects in countries such as Canada, Australia and the U.S. that have more developed infrastructure and established mining sectors,” said David Riley, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, in a statement. “The lack of infrastructure, low labour pool and high capital requirements are the main barriers to development.”
Trump says NATO secretary-general is 'more important' than Danish foreign minister -- President Trump told reporters Wednesday that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is “more important” than Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen when asked about Danish officials’ unwillingness to discuss the U.S. acquiring Greenland. “They didn’t tell me that, so when they tell me because I don’t like getting it second hand. And if he wants to tell me, he’ll tell me right to my face,” Trump responded. When asked when he will be discussing the possible acquisition, Trump said he has “no idea.” “I’ll be discussing it with this man right here,” Trump said, pointing to Rutte. “He’s frankly more important.” Rasmussen addressed reporters following Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, in which he reiterated his goal to acquire Greenland but ruled out using military force. “What is quite clear is after this speech, the president’s ambition remains intact,” Rasmussen said, calling Trump’s statement that he will not use military force “positive.” “But that does not make this issue go away because it is being expressed very clearly that it is better to own than to rent, and that Denmark cannot look after Greenland.” “We stand on a foundation that the United States itself largely helped create after World War II where there are international legal rules where one must respect the people’s right to self-determination, the sovereignty of nations,” Rasmussen added. “And that’s how we enter these discussions, and we’re not going to budge an inch on that.”
Trump Says Greenland Deal Gives US ‘Total Access’ Without the US ‘Paying Anything’ - President Donald Trump said the agreement he is negotiating regarding Greenland will give the US “total access.”“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it, but essentially it’s total access. There’s no end. There’s no time limit,” Trump said in an interview on Thursday. “We will have everything we want, we’re getting everything we want, at no cost.” On Wednesday, Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Greenland. Following the meeting, Trump announced that they had reached the “framework” of an agreement for the Danish colony, without providing details. A Danish politician told The New York Times that Denmark was willing to give the US sovereignty over small portions of Greenland to build military bases. The new agreement does not appear to be substantially different from the1951 treaty that governs the US relationship with Greenland. Under the pact, the US is allowed to build new bases and expand its existing ones in the Danish colony. Trump has argued that the US must seize Greenland from Denmark to protect the colony from Russian or Chinese invasion.
White House Posts AI Slop of Trump and a Penguin in Greenland, Which Doesn’t Have Penguins - On Friday, the White House’s official X account posted an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump walking toward Greenland’s flag, hand-in-hand — or wing — with an American flag-touting penguin, even though penguins do not live in Greenland and are found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. “Embrace the penguin,” read the post’s caption. On Wednesday in Davos, the president spoke at the World Economic Forum, once again demanding that the U.S. take over Greenland, which is part of Denmark. He went on to allege that he has the “framework” and the “concept of a deal” regarding the Arctic territory, citing “national security” reasons. Notably, however, a 1951 treaty allows the U.S. to strengthen its military presence on the island, where it already maintains a base. The White House’s latest promotion of AI slop — and its failure to Google whether or not penguins are native to Greenland — has already picked up traction on social media. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have dismantled the Department of Education so quickly,” wrote @patriottakes on X in reference to the flub. The former Canadian Minister of Defense, Jason Kenney, wrote on Friday via X that just this week, during his speech in Davos, Trump “confused Iceland and Greenland multiple times, and now his staff is confusing Antarctica with Greenland… The most powerful nation on Earth being run like a clown show.”
Greenland Remaining With Denmark Not Raised During Trump Talks, NATO Chief Says --NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Jan. 21 that the issue of Greenland remaining part of Denmark did not come up during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Rutte, in an interview with Fox News, was asked about Greenland’s sovereignty under a proposed framework Trump mentioned earlier in the day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations,” Rutte said. “[Trump] is very much focused on what do we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region—where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and the Russians are more and more active—how we can protect it.” Rutte told the crowd at the World Economic Forum that Trump was accurate about Chinese and Russian aggression in the region. “When it comes to the Arctic, I think President Trump is right. Other leaders in NATO are right. We need to defend the Arctic,” Rutte, who previously served as the Dutch prime minister, said. NATO spokesperson Alison Hart, in a Jan. 21 statement to The Epoch Times, said that discussions would focus on “ensuring Arctic security through the collective efforts of Allies, especially the seven Arctic Allies.” Trump announced he had formed the “framework of a future deal” on Greenland and the broader Arctic region following his meeting with Rutte. The president had threatened 10 percent tariffs on eight European NATO members—Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland—opposing U.S. acquisition, set to take effect on Feb. 1.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb: 'It's not over yet' after Greenland de-escalation --Finnish President Alexander Stubb warned Wednesday that “it’s not over yet” after President Trump de-escalated his aggressive stance on possibly acquiring Greenland for the U.S. by force. “I took two positive takeaways from this speech,” Stubb said on “Amanpour & Co” with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “One was he said there will be no military intervention, and the second one is he wants to improve our Arctic security for national and ‘international’ reasons. So, I think we’ve now de-escalated but, obviously, it’s not over yet.”Stubb said Europe faced three scenarios with the U.S. plans over acquiring Greenland. He called these scenarios the “good, bad and ugly.”“And the good would be to find an off-ramp and create a process to improve Arctic security through NATO,” he told Amanpour. “The bad one would be to have a tariff war continued, and the ugly one would have been military intervention.”Trump said he reached the framework of a deal with NATO about Greenland’s future and chose not to impose 10 percent tariffs on Denmark and other European countries. The president has frequently said the U.S. needs Greenland for national security reasons.The president met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, where they talked about the “critical significance of security in the Arctic region to all Allies, including the United States,” according to a statement obtained by MS NOW from a NATO spokesperson.“Discussions among NATO Allies on the framework the President referenced will focus on ensuring Arctic security through the collective efforts of Allies, especially the seven Arctic Allies,” the spokesperson wrote. “Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold — economically or militarily — in Greenland.”
Dimon: US ‘less reliable’ as economic partner under Trump - JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday that the U.S. is “less reliable” as a global ally under President Trump, but he was otherwise reluctant to criticize Trump during his interview with The Economist at the World Economic Forum. Asked if he agrees with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assessment that there’s been a “rupture in the world order,” Dimon rejected the binary question. “It’s not a rupture,” he said. “If you said to me, ‘has America become unreliable?’ No. It’s just, you had total reliance, and now it’s less reliable.” Dimon pushed back when Economist Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes suggested that being “less reliable, at some point, you become unreliable.” “We’re still a military ally to all 40 countries. When I talk to our military, they’re geared up to defend their allies around the world. You know, Trump hasn’t stopped all that. So, I just I, you know, I think it’s time for people to take a little bit of a deep breath,” the CEO said, adding, “That does not mean I like it all, you know.” Dimon’s most adamant disagreement with the Trump administration came when he was asked about the president’s recent proposal to impose a 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates. “It would be an economic disaster,” he said, noting that his company “would survive it” but “you have to have a drastic reduction of the credit card business. I mean drastic.” He added the move could remove credit from 80 percent of Americans. He joked that two left-leaning states, Vermont and Massachusetts, should enact the credit card cap proposal first, saying advocates of the policy “will learn a real lesson.” “And the people crying the most won’t be the credit card companies,” Dimon said. “It’ll be the restaurants, the retailers, the travel companies, the schools, the municipalities, because people will miss their water payments, their ‘this payment’ and ‘that payment.’ It would be, it would be something else to watch. I think they should test it.”
Economic leaders at Davos say global growth is resilient despite disruption from Trump (AP) — Leading global economic policymakers at the World Economic Forum in Davos urged countries and businesses to filter out the turmoil from a week of clashes with the Trump administration and focus on boosting growth and fighting inequality in a world where trade will continue to flow and international cooperation is still badly needed. The global economy is showing unexpected resilience despite the noise, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund head Kristalina Georgieva and World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a panel discussion. But while growth is holding up, troubles like worrisome levels of government debt and inequality loom. That resilience is holding up despite disruptions from US trade policy under President Donald Trump, who roiled the weeklong forum with threats to impose tariffs on countries supporting Greenland against a US takeover bid, then withdrew the tariff proposal.What is now needed, they said, are efforts to boost growth to offset heavy debt levels around the world and ensure that disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence don't worsen inequality or devastate labor markets. And Europe needs to boost productivity and improve its business climate for investment. Georgieva said the IMF’s recently raised forecast of 3.3% global growth for this year was “beautiful but not enough... do not fall into complacency.” She said that level of growth wasn’t enough to wear down “the debt that is hanging around our necks” and that governments need to take care of “those who are falling off the wagon.” "We have to look at Plan B, or Plans B," said Lagarde. “I think we've had a lot of noise this week... and we need to distinguish the signal from the noise... we should be talking about alternatives." She responded to the “Europe bashing” heard during the summit by saying, “we should say thank you to the bashers” for underlining Europe’s need to improve its investment climate and promote innovation. Lagarde downplayed a provocative speech at the forum from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who called Trump's approach a “rupture” with an international order based on rules, trade and cooperation and said that way of doing business was “not coming back.” “From an economic and business point of view we depend on each other,” she said. Okonji-Oweal pointed out that 72% of global trade still takes place under WTO rules, where countries agree to charge all trading partners the same tariffs. That's despite “the biggest disruption in 80 years.” “Resiliency is built into the system, and that is showing up,” she said. She conceded that “I don't think we'll go back to where we were.”
Trump Tells Davos Crowd 'You'd All Be Speaking German' if Not for U.S. - President Donald Trump took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday to tell European leaders the U.S. won World War II “big,” and “Without us right now, you would all be speaking German and a little Japanese.” The president’s remarks came after he arrived three hours late to Davos, Switzerland, after Air Force One turned around due to apparent electrical trouble. Trump brought up his Greenland takeover hopes during his speech, mentioning how the U.S. “literally set up bases on Greenland for Denmark.” He added: “We fought for Denmark. We weren’t fighting for anyone else. We were fighting to save it for Denmark.” But as he went on, he veered toward gloating about America’s success in the war. “After the war, which we won, we won it big. Without us right now, you would all be speaking German and a little Japanese perhaps,” quipped the president. In Switzerland, the predominantly spoken language is actually German. Read Trump’s remarks below: But every NATO ally has an obligation to be able to defend their own territory and the fact is no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States. We’re a great power. Much greater than people even understand. I think they found that out two weeks ago in Venezuela. We saw this in World War II when Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting. And was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So the United States was then compelled, we did it and felt an obligation to do it, to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory and hold it we did at great cost and expense. They didn’t have a chance of getting on it. And they tried. Denmark knows that. We literally set up bases on Greenland for Denmark. We fought for Denmark. We weren’t fighting for anyone else. We were fighting to save it for Denmark. Big, beautiful, piece of ice. Hard to call it land. It is a big piece of ice. We saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere. We did it for ourselves also. Then after the war, which we won, we won it big. Without us right now you would all be speaking German and a little Japanese perhaps. After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that, but we did it. But we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now. Now our country and the world face much greater risks than it did ever before because of missiles, because of nuclear, because of weapons of warfare that I can’t even talk about.
‘Nostalgia is not a strategy’: Mark Carney is emerging as the unflinching realist ready to tackle Trump - For much of Mark Carney’s career as an economist and central banker, he existed at the nexus of global thinkers and multilateral institutions. The “rockstar banker” was a fixture at summits, where he spoke beside business leaders and the political elite, espousing the values of international cooperation and the need for open economies and shared rules. But after less than a year as prime minister of Canada, Carney offered a blunter assessment of the world on Tuesday: “the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.” In a wide-ranging speech that was at times elegiac for the predictable rules-based order, Carney laid out a doctrine for a world of fractured international norms, warning “compliance will not buy safety”. “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it,” he said. “Nostalgia is not a strategy.” The remarks, delivered to politicians, media and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, were received with a standing ovation. While they did not explicitly mention Donald Trump, Carney nonetheless alluded to growing frustration and concern that the White House is eager to dismantle and weaken the “the architecture of collective problem solving” that has defined much of the past eight decades. “Leaders in other western capitals have alluded to ‘dangerous departures’ Trump has taken from norms, but they always return to the possibility that he can be appeased or accommodated. Mr Carney has exposed that as simply inaccurate,” said Jack Cunningham, a professor of international relations at the University of Toronto. Leaders increasingly realise they will not be able to “manage” Trump for the remainder of his term, says Cunningham, and are reckoning with the fact that the systems of international order that the US helped craft are crumbling. “Carney is the first major western leader to basically acknowledge the reality. A lot of leaders abroad are looking for somebody to set a direction. And this speech is planting a flag.” Canada’s prime minister warned that the “great powers”, a thinly veiled reference to the US, have started using economic integration as “weapons”, with “tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited,” he said. In recent days, Trump has threatened to place levies on European nations that oppose his bid to seize control of Greenland. But Carney also warned against diplomatic and economic retreats, telling attendees that a world of “fortresses” will be poorer and less sustainable. “The question for middle powers, like Canada, is not whether to adapt to this new reality. We must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls – or whether we can do something more ambitious,” he said. … Carney’s speech, written by the prime minister himself, comes as the two nations prepare for a protracted trade negotiations and Trump’s repeated threats to annex Canada.“Carney understands that while there’s no need to poke him in the eye, there’s also no need to excessively flatter the president,” said Cunningham. “The prime minister knows that Trump’s commitment and his words are essentially worthless. He can- and often does, go back on them on a whim. And so this is a position we are being forced into by growing American unreliability.” Carney touted his government’s recent trade mission to China, where he courted Chinese investment in Canada’s oil sector and dramatically scaled back tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the latter of which signalled a break with US policy. But as Canada shifts to become more “principled and pragmatic” in its dealings with other nations, Carney laid out his vision for how his government and other middle-power countries could navigate the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of global politics. “Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu. Great powers can afford to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, the leverage to dictate terms,” he said. “Middle powers do not.”
The Canadian PM’s Davos Speech Is Unmissable in a Time of “Rupture” – President Donald Trump famously doesn’t like to read. And if his increasingly frequent public naps are any indication, his attention span is only getting shorter. But he did claim to watch what one historian praised as a “riveting, extraordinary and brutally honest” speech by Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada yesterday in Davos, Switzerland. And Trump’s reaction was typically petulant. Imploring an audience chock-full of European officials at the annual World Economic Forum to recognize that “nostalgia is not a strategy,” Carney rallied middle powers—countries with economies similar to Canada’s—to bind together in the face of unilateral military and economic coercion by bigger powers. (Unspoken but clear among them: Trump’s America.) In doing so, Carney painted a stark view of a new world in which old rules have been torn up, and countries should stop pretending otherwise. “We are in the midst of a rupture,” he said, “not a transition.”His call to the world: Resist subordination to the “great powers” who “have the market size, the military capacity and the leverage to dictate terms.”“The middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” Carney said.Trump was clearly irked. “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us,” he said today. “They should be grateful, but they’re not.”“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.” Carney’s speech, which received a standing ovation, is rooted in Carney’s personal experience after winning an election fought on protecting Canada’s sovereignty against economic attack from the United States in the form of tariffs and bellicose threats that Canada should be the 51st state of America. At Davos, Carney framed Trump’s attempts to “buy” Greenland as part of the same intimidation campaign: “Great powers began using economic integration as weapons,” he said. “Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”“We know the old order is not coming back,” he added. “But we believe that from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, more just.” Read the full transcript here. And watch the speech below.
Canada's Carney fires back at Trump after Davos speech - — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to U.S. President Donald Trump comment that “Canada lives because of the United States” on Thursday by saying Canada thrives because of Canadian values. Carney said Canada can show the world that the future doesn’t have to be autocratic after returning from Davos where he gave a speech that garnered widespread attention. In Davos at the World Economic Forum, Carney condemned coercion by great powers on smaller countries without mentioning Trump's name. Upon returning home to Canada, Carney responded to Trump directly by referencing Trump’s remarks in Davos. “Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.” “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian,” Carney responded Thursday. Carney said Canada and the U.S. have built a remarkable partnership in the areas of economy, security and rich cultural exchange, but said “we are masters in our home, this is our own country, it’s our future, the choice is up to us.” Trump later revoked his invitation to Carney to join his Board of Peace. “Dear Prime Minister Carney: Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump posted on social media. Carney left Davos before Trump inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas. Trump has talked about making Canada the 51st state and posted this week an altered image of a map of the U.S. that includes Canada, Greenland, Venezuela and Cuba as part of its territory. Trump said in Davos that Canada gets many “freebies” from the U.S. and “should be grateful.” He said Carney’s Davos speech showed he “wasn’t so grateful.”Trump said Canada wants to participate in “Golden Dome” — a multibillion dollar missile defense system that he says will be operational before his term ends in 2029.In a speech before a cabinet retreat in Quebec City, Carney said staying true to Canada’s values is key to maintaining its sovereignty. “We can show that another way is possible, that the arc of history isn’t destined to be warped toward authoritarianism and exclusion; it can still bend toward progress and justice,” Carney said. Carney said “Canada must be a beacon — an example to a world at sea.” Carney said in a time of rising populism and ethnic nationalism, Canada can show how diversity is a strength, not a weakness. “There are billions of people who aspire to what we have built: a pluralistic society that works," Carney said. He said Canada delivers shared prosperity and has a democracy that chooses to protect the vulnerable against the powerful. "It’s a great country for everyone. It is the greatest country in the world to be a regular person. You don’t have to be born rich, or to a landed family. You don’t have to be a certain color or worship a certain god,” he said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick earlier complained about Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum. “Give me a break,” Lutnick said on Bloomberg TV. “They have the second best deal in the world and all I got to do is listen to this guy whine and complain." Canada has been shielded from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as USMCA, but the agreement is up for a mandatory review this year. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, told the forum that multiple leaders in the United States sent him transcripts of Carney’s speech. “I respect what Carney did because he had courage of convictions. He stood up and I think we need to stand up in America and call this out with clarity,” Newsom said. “We can lose our republic as we know it. Our country can become unrecognizable." Newsom said that fact that Carney came back from China with a deal to introduce low, cost high quality electric vehicles into Canada, not made from Michigan, but from overseas shows how reckless Trump’s foreign policy is. “It’s a remarkable thing to break down 80-plus years of alliances,” he said.
Canada-Trump tensions grow after Carney ‘rupture’ speech -- Tensions between the United States and Canada have rapidly escalated this week after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a rousing speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, declaring a “rupture” in the old world order and calling on “middle powers” to unite. The once jovial public relationship between Carney and President Trump has descended into a barbed back-and-forth, with Trump on Friday disinviting Canada from his Board of Peace, which Ottawa was already hesitant to join. Aaron Ettinger, a political science associate professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the relationship was “on a precipice.” “We don’t know if this ends well for Canada at all. There’s the realization from the past week that Canada is not dealing with a reliable or maybe even a rational leader of the United States,” he told The Hill. Carney’s defense of Greenland and opposition to tariffs during his moment in the Davos spotlight rankled Trump, who responded during his speech the next day, saying that Canada receives many “freebies” from the U.S. and said Carney was not “grateful.” “But they should be grateful to us, Canada,” Trump said. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, before you make your statements.” Carney responded with praise for the relationship between the U.S. and Canada, but he said Canada “doesn’t ‘live because of the United States.’ Canada thrives because we are Canadian.” Trump on Friday withdrew his invitation for Carney to join his Board of Peace, which was formed to oversee a peace process in the Gaza Strip but has drawn skepticism from U.S. allies over its $1 billion price tag for permanent membership and seeming ambitions to rival the United Nations. Carney, a former central banker, visited the White House just weeks after winning election on April 28, 2025. The tone of that meeting was a marked contrast with Trump’s condescending attitude toward former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump called Carney a “very talented person” and said they had a “very friendly conversation,” despite the Canadian leader pushing back on Trump’s talk of Canada potentially becoming the 51st state. Trump has largely backed off his imperialist talk toward Canada, but he has continued to ramp up tariffs, and public opinion toward the U.S. remains at a 20-year low.
Canada Prepares for ‘Hypothetical’ US Invasion - The Canadian military has developed a theoretical model for how it would combat an American invasion, envisioning mujahideen-style insurgency tactics and other forms of unconventional warfare, according to the Globe and Mail. While Canadian officials told the outlet that such a scenario is “unlikely,” the move reflects growing tensions between the two neighbors, with President Donald Trump having repeatedly floated the idea of making Canada the 51st US state. On Monday, he shared an edited photo depicting both Canada and Greenland as American territories. “The Canadian Armed Forces have modelled a hypothetical US military invasion of Canada and the country’s potential response,” the Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed senior officials. It added that the model “includes tactics similar to those employed against Russia and later US-led forces in Afghanistan,” which would aim to “impose mass casualties on US occupying forces.” In the event of an attack, Canadian military planners believe US troops could overrun the country’s strategic positions both on land and at sea in as little as two days, the senior officials said. The model therefore proposes various types of “unconventional warfare,” including “ambushes, sabotage, drone warfare or hit-and-run tactics” by small groups of Canadian soldiers or “armed civilians.”The new military modelling comes as the Trump administration steps up its threats toward Greenland – even hinting that it could seize the territory by force. Ottawa is now reportedly considering sending troops to Greenland, where several European states have deployed soldiers for military drills in an apparent warning to Washington.Responding to recent comments by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – who indirectly suggested the US president was causing a geopolitical “rupture” – Trump insisted Ottawa should be “grateful” for its relationship with the United States.“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful, also, but they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful,” he said. “Canada lives by the United States. Remember that, Mark, next time you make your statements.”Even as Canada’s military considers a hypothetical US invasion, one of the senior officials told Globe and Mail that relations between the two countries “remain positive,” noting that joint work continues on the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense shield. However, Trump has argued that acquiring Greenland is vital to that project, a move that Canada opposes.
Canada's Military Preps Model Of Hypothetical US Invasion In Historic First - It's quite surprising, and a bit absurd, to read these lines in one of Canada's premier and most widely read newspapers: "The Canadian Armed Forces have modelled a hypothetical US military invasion of Canada and the country’s potential response, which includes tactics similar to those employed against Russia and later US-led forces in Afghanistan, two senior government officials say." This is widely believed to be a first in the history of Canada's military, given there's never been reason for this founding NATO member to be attacked by another founding member of NATO, Globe and Mail additionally stated. The two neighbors also partner and closely coordinate in continental air defense via NORAD, or North American Aerospace Defense Command. But Canadians no doubt woke up shocked Tuesday when beheld the US President sharing the following on social media... Trump has also lately raised eyebrows in publicly talking about Canada as a potential 51st state, also while expressing his desire for the US to take over Greenland, and coming fresh off the Jan.3rd military assault and incursion on Venezuela to overthrow longtime leader Nicolás Maduro. According to the Globe report, Ottawa’s contingency thinking and 'model' of a hot conflict with US forces reads less like a conventional defense plan and more like an insurgent playbook - even borrowing from the same guerrilla tactics used in Afghanistan by fighters who bled the Soviets and later the Americans. This would include clashes along the border focused on ambushes, sabotage, as well as classic "hit-and-run tactics," according to the report. The Globe stressed that what's being mulled remains a "conceptual and theoretical framework, not a military plan, which is an actionable and step-by-step directive for executing operations." Naturally, Western media and tabloids are having fun with this one: The two senior government officials said military planners are modelling a U.S. invasion from the south, expecting American forces to overcome Canada’s strategic positions on land and at sea within a week and possibly as quickly as two days. Such an 'insurgency-style' response, as opposed to setting up a conventional battlefield 'front' - seems an acknowledgement that America's armed forces would be far superior to Canada's small military by comparison.
Jamie Dimon tells Davos they haven’t done a good job ‘making the world a better place’ -When Jamie Dimon stepped onto the stage at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos today, he didn’t have outstanding feedback for the congregation. The CEO of JPMorgan Chase was questioned about whether there is a “climate of fear” among America’s CEOs, particularly when it comes to speaking about the policies of the White House. The question, which drew applause from the audience, prompted some blunt feedback for what he called the “Davos elite.” “I’ve been coming to Davos all these years and listen to chatter and stuff like that,” he said. “And you didn’t do a particularly good job making the world a better place. I think it’s great we get together and talk.” Dimon leveled the criticism amid questions throughout the interview on whether he thought President Trump’s policies had been good or bad for the economy and geopolitical climate. The Wall Street veteran’s response was that he didn’t see the issues as binary, either better or worse, particularly until more information about outcomes became clear. The 69-year-old banker, having sidestepped some more politically fraught topics like Greenland, robustly summarized his views as: “I’ve made it clear I want a stronger NATO, a stronger Europe. Some of the things Trump has done are causing that, some are not. I’m not a tariff guy, though I’d use it in [some] cases. I think they should change their approach to immigration. I’ve said it. “What the hell else do you want me to say?” The leader of America’s biggest bank has been a critical friend to the second Trump administration. He has backed some policies, for example, saying the White House was right to address trade imbalances between the U.S. and its partners. He told Fox in an interview in May that at first, he thought tariff rhetoric was “too large, too big and too aggressive when it started.” He added: “It was part of a master plan to get people to the table.” At Davos last year, he also told people to “get over” tariffs if it meant better national security. He has been similarly complimentary about Trump’s drive for better border security, but said he was an advocate for “merit-based immigration.” To that end, he was concerned by the Oval Office’s proclamation imposing a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. The specialist visas let U.S. employers temporarily hire non-U.S. workers, typically for specialized tech-sector jobs, and have been held by some of Silicon Valley’s most notable names. “I would beg the president,” he told CNBC at JPMorgan’s 10th annual India Investor Conference in September. “We should have good immigration. I think there will be some pushback on the H-1Bs.” But Dimon’s overarching message about recent policy has been the need for unity with key allies. Most notably, he wrote in his letter to shareholders last year that “our country’s goal should be to help make European nations stronger and keep them close. If Europe’s economic weakness leads to fragmentation, the landscape will look a lot like the world before World War II.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom denied entry to USA House in Davos --California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was denied entry to the USA House in Davos, Switzerland, where he was invited to speak during the World Economic Forum. “Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom to speak with media after Fortune — the official media partner — invited him to speak,” his press office wrote in a statement on the social platform X. USA House is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States in Davos with a series of speakers at “a small number of marquee venues along the Promenade, including penthouses and historic locations inside and adjacent to the security zone,” according to the USA House website. Fortune served as a media sponsor alongside others including McKinsey & Company, Microsoft and C3 AI. “Governor Newsom had been invited to participate in a Fortune conversation at USA House in Davos,” Fortune said in a statement to The Hill. “Subsequently, USA House determined it would not be able to accommodate the Governor’s participation and communicated that decision to Fortune.” “Fortune programs all editorial conversations independently, though it is common with high-profile international events that participation can be affected by logistical, security, and other access considerations that involve multiple stakeholders and evolve over time,” the statement continued. The White House didn’t address Newsom’s abrupt speech cancellation but did share a statement regarding his appearance in Davos. “No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Hill.
DOJ subpoenas Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey -- The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Tim Walz DOJ threatens to ‘come down hard’ on protesters who disrupted Minnesota church service New Hampshire bishop warns clergy: Prepare for ‘new era of martyrdom’ Noem confirms ICE officer’s conduct under review after Renee Good shooting More(Tim Walz) (D) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), accusing them of standing in the way of federal law enforcement officer’s abilities to carry out their jobs, The Washington Post reported. Both were given subpoenas as part of an investigation at the DOJ, the Post reported. “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin,” Walz said in a statement obtained by The Hill’s sister network NewsNation. “Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.” “This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets,” Frey said in a statement obtained by NewsNation. “I will not be intimidated. My focus will remain where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.” “America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance,” he added. “Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.” The Post added that Walz and Frey are being investigated in connection with a federal statue on conspiracy to impede a federal investigation. Prior to the subpoenas being issued, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller was asked on “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Thursday if the federal government was looking at possible charges against Minnesota officials “abetting and encouraging” protests. Miller said the decision was up to the DOJ but claimed that there was “an insurgency against the federal government” coming from Minnesota.The Trump administration has set its sights on Walz and Frey after deploying thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to Minnesota. Part of the focus has been on a growing welfare fraud scandal involving some members of the state’s Somali community. In November, President Trump ended the temporary protected status of Somalis in the state. During one operation in Minneapolis last week, ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good. The shooting led to outrage, with Frey telling ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis.” Outrage grew after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Good tried to run over Ross with her car and that he defended himself. Noem accused Good of attempting an act of “domestic terrorism.“ Good’s death led to thousands of protests across the country, with Frey and Walz asking demonstrators to keep protests peaceful. Some protests resulted in clashes with ICE and law enforcement. After the Trump administration said there would be a surge of federal immigration officers to be sent to Minnesota, the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) sued the administration to block the surge. Walz called on Trump to “turn the temperature down” after the president initially threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota to squash protests, a threat the president later stepped away from. “I am making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down,” Walz said in a post Thursday on the social platform X. “Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are.”
Chris Van Hollen says ICE agents are breaking the law, not peaceful protesters - Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday, saying it needs “dramatic reform” after recent turmoil surrounding the agency. “ICE agents are the ones breaking the law, not the peaceful protesters. So, I believe we should not be funding an ICE operation that is completely lawless. It needs dramatic reform. You know, Donald Trump said he was going to go after the, quote, ‘worst of the worst,’” Van Hollen told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl. “If you look at their own data, 80 percent of the people they’re apprehending around the country posed no public threat whatsoever,” the Maryland senator added. “Instead of addressing that problem, they pulled down the data so we can no longer see it.” The recent fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an ICE officer has further inflamed tensions surrounding the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, which have been present throughout President Trump’s second term. Trump on Thursday warned he may use the Insurrection Act following demonstrations in Minneapolis, but said a day later there was no reason to invoke the law immediately. “I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump told reporters. On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed her agency is working on an internal review of the actions of the ICE officer who killed Renee Good. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz) also said Sunday that he believes “ICE needs to be totally torn down.” Trump on Thursday warned he may use the Insurrection Act following demonstrations in Minneapolis, but said a day later there was no reason to invoke the law immediately.“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump told reporters. On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed her agency is working on an internal review of the actions of the ICE officer who killed Renee Good.Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz) also said Sunday that he believes “ICE needs to be totally torn down.”
‘Another Incredibly Idiotic Story’: Jake Tapper Can’t Believe Trump Officials Reportedly Told FEMA Not To Say ‘Ice’ Amid Winter Storm --CNN’s Jake Tapper expressed disbelief that Homeland Security officials reportedly advised the Federal Emergency Management Agency to avoid using the word ‘ice’ as they continue to update the public on major upcoming winter storms, so as not to encourage comparisons to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, quipping, “Another incredibly idiotic story.” The moment occurred during Friday’s The Lead With Jake Tapper, as CNN’s Gabe Cohen told Tapper that DHS officials under President Donald Trump asked FEMA to use the term “freezing rain” instead of ice in public messaging and social media posts about the upcoming winter weather event, in which the storm and ice track is forecasted to stretch over 2,000 miles across the East Coast.“What they are worried about here is that by posting something like, ‘Watch out for the ice,’ that it’s gonna become an opportunity for a meme, for internet fodder, for public ridicule against the Department of Homeland Security,” explained Cohen, mentioning heightening anti-ICE protests in Minnesota after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer.“Part of the problem here, as I talked to agency officials about this, is they’re saying, ‘What we’re talking about is ice and what we’re talking about is saving lives,'” continued Cohen.“When you say ‘freezing rain,’ that makes me think, ‘Oh, I’ll put on a raincoat.’ It doesn’t make me think ‘ice,'” said Tapper.“This is largely an ice event,” clarified Cohen, emphasizing that “a lot of states that I’ve talked to” say they are expecting “destructive ice” causing widespread damage to power grids and roads. “It is pretty remarkable that Homeland Security is saying, ‘Please try to avoid using that word.'”Tapper summed up the Trump administration’s reasoning, stating, “Because they’re afraid of memes. Meanwhile, lives are on the line. Another incredibly idiotic story.”
Judge warns Trump administration against changing immigration status of plaintiffs in case --A federal judge ruled Thursday that university association members may seek relief from the court if their immigration status is changed as retribution for challenging an alleged Trump administration policy to single out campus activists critical of Israel’s war in Gaza for immigration enforcement.U.S. District Judge William Young’s order follows a trial last year where he found top Cabinet officials conspired to target noncitizens for deportation on account of their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel.At a hearing last week, Young said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio operated an “unconstitutional conspiracy” to deport certain people so the university association members would be hesitant to speak out.“The big problem in this case is that the Cabinet secretaries, and ostensibly, the president of the United States, are not honoring the First Amendment,” Young said. “There doesn’t seem to be an understanding of what the First Amendment is by this government.”The judge, an appointee of President Reagan, described his Thursday order as a “remedial sanction to protect certain of the Plaintiffs’ non-citizen members from any retribution for the free exercise of their constitutional rights.”For a noncitizen to seek relief for their immigration status change under the order, Young said they would first have to show they were a member of the American Association of University Professors or Middle East Studies Association — the two university associations that sued — between March 25, 2025, and Sept. 30, 2025. Additionally, they would need to prove their immigration status had not expired and that they committed no crimes after Sept. 30, 2025.If they prove as much, Young ruled the presumption will be that the alteration in their immigration status came “in retribution” for exercising their First Amendment rights during the course of the case.It would void alteration of the person’s immigration status unless the government can prove their immigration status had expired, they were convicted of a crime where a jury trial was their right or there was an “APPROPRIATE reason” under immigration law for changing their status.
House Republicans Pass Reconciliation Bill Banning Welfare For Illegal Aliens -The proposal, which was led by the Republican Study Committee (RSC) also seeks to reform federal funding allocations to states, ensuring that taxpayer funds are spent solely on U.S. citizens. Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) emphasized the urgency of the reconciliation bill during a press conference earlier today, saying, “Republicans in Congress can and must go it alone with the second reconciliation bill.” Hamadeh spoke of how the framework “is all about making life affordable again for the American people” and seeks to put the American worker first. He added, “It prevents illegal immigrants from obtaining all government handouts, cracks down on rampant fraud like the abuse and mess that we’ve seen in Democrat states like Minnesota, and reforms funding so only citizens count when they’re doling out federal funds to the states.” The Arizona congressman also noted that he and his colleagues “didn’t run for office to continue the status quo” and described the primary goals of the measure, saying, “This is our moment to flip the script, restore balance for the American people, and put power back in your hands—not bureaucrats, foreign nationals, or illegal immigrants.’ The measure only requires a simple majority of 51 votes in the U.S. Senate in order to pass. The emphasis on prioritizing American citizens in federal spending could spell budget trouble for states like California that rely on federal funds to serve illegal aliens and mixed-status families. The bill, introduced as H.R. 1, builds on the first reconciliation package passed in 2025, which included major tax cuts and border security funding. This latest version focuses on putting an end to what Republicans call “rampant fraud” in welfare programs, implementing spending cuts estimated to save $1.6 trillion over the next decade and codifying former President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration. Loading recommendations...
Legislation Proposed To Make It Easier To Denaturalize Somali Fraudsters | ZeroHedge --In the wake of the massive Somali-fraud scandal out of Minnesota and other states, President Donald Trump wants to denaturalize American immigrants convicted of crimes and deport them, but the current legal framework and federal bureaucracy make such sweeping denaturalization efforts difficult to achieve quickly. “I would do it in a heartbeat if they were dishonest,” Trump told the New York Times earlier this month. “I think that many of the people that came in from Somalia, they hate our country.”Existing federal law provides limited pathways for revoking the citizenship of naturalized citizens. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act the government can denaturalize individuals who obtained citizenship through fraud, misrepresentation, or the concealment of material facts during the naturalization process. The law does not allow automatic revocation based solely on crimes committed after naturalization. Current denaturalization proceeding srequire civil lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice in federal court or criminal prosecutions for naturalization fraud, both demanding individualized evidence, extensive litigation, and meeting high burdens of proof. Civil cases require “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence,” while criminal prosecutions demand proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
House panel advances bill allowing Congress to block advanced chip exports- The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow Congress to block advanced AI chip exports to U.S. foreign adversaries, after securing overwhelming bipartisan support. The panel voted 42-2-1 to advance the AI Overwatch Act, a measure that would require the administration to give lawmakers a chance to review chip exports to countries like China, Russia and Iran — a process modeled after congressional oversight of foreign arms sales. “If we are selling another country anything that could give them an advantage on the battlefield, it requires congressional notification,” House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.), the bill’s sponsor, said Wednesday. “This bill creates the same congressional oversight for advanced AI chips that are being requested for sale to China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba Why? Because AI chips are used by our enemies’ militaries just as much as they are used by our military,” he added. Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) were the only two on the committee to oppose the measure. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) voted present after suggesting the bill would put Congress in the “position of being a regulator” and calling for changes. “Let me assure you, Congress is not a good regulator,” Issa added. The AI Overwatch Act secured support from the Democrats on the panel, many of whom expressed frustrations with President Trump’s decision last month to allow Nvidia to sell its more powerful H200 chips to China.
Trump Suggests He Can Send $2,000 Tariff Rebate Checks Without Congress - President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that his administration could distribute $2,000 direct payments to Americans - a “dividend” from tariff proceeds - without congressional authorization, citing the absence of a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his sweeping import duties. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump suggested that the surge in tariff revenue could fund the payouts while also reducing the national debt, which is approaching $38.5 trillion. “We have so much money coming in from tariffs that we’ll be able to make a very substantial dividend to the people of our country,” the president said. “I believe we can do that without Congress.” The proposal would largely benefit moderate-income households, potentially with eligibility caps based on income. Tariff collections rose sharply in 2025 following the imposition of duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from major trading partners. An analysis conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center shows gross federal revenue from tariffs reached approximately $288.5 billion—nearly triple the $98.3 billion recorded in 2024. Independent estimates have placed the 2025 figure in a range of roughly $260 billion to $300 billion. In the meantime, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has adopted a more measured stance on Trump’s tariff “dividend.” In November, Bessent told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that enacting the payments would require new legislation from Congress. “We will see. We need legislation for that,” the Treasury secretary replied when questioned about the checks, adding that they “could go out” if passed by Congressional lawmakers. Bessent said the intended beneficiaries could be “working families” and stressed that an income limit would apply, potentially focusing on households earning under $100,000 or similar moderate-income thresholds.
Jamie Dimon says he’d have no issue paying higher taxes if it actually went to people who need it. Right now it just goes to the Washington ‘swamp’ - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is not a man known for mincing his words, and his appearance at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos today was no different. Dimon, a longtime advocate for policies that support America’s most disadvantaged communities, repeated a call to increase income tax credits—even if it meant taxing the rich more. The Wall Street veteran said he’d be perfectly happy to pay more taxes himself if he knew the funds were going to land in the hands of people who needed it, as opposed to Washington’s coffers. The 69-year-old banker said that while the U.S. economy is faring relatively well, consumers are living in a K-shaped economy. This describes the diverging fortunes of wealthy individuals and those on the lower end of the income spectrum: Those on the higher trajectory keep tracking up, while those on the lower end trend down. Upper-income earners are doing “far better,” said Dimon. “They got houses and stocks.” The lower-income side doesn’t have a rainy day fund, he added, with jobs getting harder to find and income growth stalling. One way to redress the balance, he said, is to double the income tax credit.He explained: “I would give people working more money as a negative tax … I’d get rid of the child requirement. You’re giving it to the people who actually use it to further their lives, spend in their communities, take care of their kids, as opposed to government dictating how you spend money on every little thing.”Of course, there are two ways to pay for such a fiscal stimulus. One, which has been tried and tested by many administrations, is to simply write off the income the taxes would have generated for the government. This, argues Dimon, might be justified because the growth generated by consumer spending would offset the losses in taxes. On the other hand, the U.S. is facing a significant federal deficit at the moment. For example, for the fiscal year of 2025, the government spent $7 trillion running the country and only raised $5.32 trillion in revenue from sources like taxes and import duties. This left a deficit of $1.78 trillion, which was promptly added onto the ever accumulating national debt.That national debt figure now exceeds $38 trillion, with the government spending some $276 billion in interest payments alone in the last three months of FY 2025. To further reduce revenue through tax cuts, as Dimon suggests, may therefore be a tough sell. But even if you had to raise taxes a little bit, “that’s fine,” Dimon said. The problem is when taxes are increased, and the man on the street sees no change in the world around him. “Who thinks that sending another trillion dollars to Washington, D.C., will actually improve anything?” the CEO asked. “If you said, ‘Raise taxes and directly give it to the people who need it’? I’d do it.”But “that’s not what happens,” the banker continued, claiming the funds are instead handed to interest groups and their “friends … Which is why the people consider it a swamp,” Dimon added. “It’s kind of a swamp.”
Trump is canceling $30B in Biden-era green loans - The Trump administration is canceling $30 billion in green loans and revising another $53 billion, it said Thursday night. The administration said the changes or eliminations from the $83 billion in total funding come after its review of $104 billion in loan obligations issued by the Biden administration. While some cancellations have been already announced — such as the nearly $5 billion loan that would have helped finance a power line that would have gotten more wind and solar on the grid — it’s not clear what exactly the rest of the cancellations or revisions are. The Energy Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for more information, though its website did state that it has eliminated $9.5 billion in wind and solar projects and replaced them with natural gas and nuclear energy where possible. The department also said it has the ability to offer up more than $289 billion in loans and that it plans to prioritize nuclear, coal, oil, gas, minerals, geothermal energy, electric grid upgrades, manufacturing and transportation. “Over the past year, the Energy Department individually reviewed our entire loan portfolio to ensure the responsible investment of taxpayer dollars,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a written statement. The administration has repeatedly clawed back funding for green projects under the Biden administration. Last year, the Energy Department announced that it had canceled some $8 billion in funding while the Environmental Protection Agency has also sought to revoke billions.
Trump erased the Senate’s 1992 vote on a climate treaty. Can he do that? - A legal debate is swirling about President Donald Trump’s intention to withdraw the U.S. from the world’s oldest climate treaty.At its center are questions about whether it’s legal for a president to unilaterally leave a treaty approved by the Senate — and if a future president could reenter it without the Senate voting again.Whether a president can unilaterally leave a treaty under U.S. law is not addressed in the Constitution. The Supreme Court declined to answer the question in 1979, in Goldwater v. Carter, when President Jimmy Carter terminated a bilateral defense treaty with Taiwan, in order to establish formal relations with China. Congress opposed the move and Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) sued with other lawmakers. A four-justice plurality determined that while the Constitution outlines the Senate’s role in ratifying a treaty, it is silent on the chamber’s role in abandoning one.The mainstream legal view is that the president may quit a treaty if it’s permitted under international law and “neither the Senate’s resolution of advice and consent nor a congressional law has put limits on withdrawal,” former deputy climate envoy Sue Biniaz and law professor Jean Galbraith, argue in a recent piece in Just Security.Some legal scholars argue that just because presidents exercise the practice of quitting treaties, it doesn’t mean the law grants them the power to do it. There have been various attempts in recent years to codify whether the power of withdrawal is exclusive to the president, or if they need help from lawmakers.An opponent of Trump’s move could trigger a lawsuit at any time, but showing standing to sue — which legal scholars say is likely to prove challenging — would be harder if the withdrawal hasn’t been formally instituted.A White House official said the State Department was preparing the official notification that will be sent to the U.N. Once that occurs, the U.S. would withdraw from the treaty one year later. Lawmakers could argue that the president’s action seeks to nullify a legislative branch vote and legally challenge it using what’s known as congressional standing, said Koh.Or Congress could pass a bill saying congressional approval is needed before Trump can withdraw. The chances of that are extremely unlikely in a Republican-dominated Congress, where lawmakers have generally shrugged off Trump’s plan to quit the treaty. Even if both chambers passed such a bill, Trump could veto it. Overriding it would require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.It’s also possible that another party could sue Trump, such as an individual, a state or an environmental group. The case might be difficult to bring to court, because they would have to show standing — or that they were injured by the withdrawal, said Koh. “The standing problem with climate change, obviously, is that everybody is harmed by climate change,” he added. “So it’s hard for one individual to claim an unusual or extraordinary harm.” A state, such as California or Massachusetts, could argue that global warming leads to a greater chance that disasters, like floods, cause increasingly expensive damage to its infrastructure or economy. The challenge there is that the UNFCCC doesn’t contain specific obligations to reduce emissions, making it hard to show how a particular state could be harmed in a concrete way by the U.S. leaving the convention. “I think there are real and serious harms to U.S. withdrawal,” said Galbraith at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, who added that tying those damages to a geographic location, and showing how they could be redressed, would be difficult. “If there is a party who can sue, my guess is that the courts would either hold that the dispute presents a political question that cannot be resolved by the judiciary or they would side with President Trump on the merits,”
House votes to repeal 2023 Biden wilderness protections in Minnesota using Congressional Review Act -The House voted to undo the Biden administration’s decision to block off mining in a wilderness area in Minnesota on Wednesday, using a limited legislative tool to go after the 2023 action.The 214-208 vote seeks to undo protections for an area around Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.The vote came under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows congress to cut regulations finalized in the previous 60 legislative days.The decision to block mining in the area occurred more than 60 legislative days ago, but a press release from sponsor Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) says that the action was not properly transmitted to Congress until the Trump administration. By locking up the Duluth Complex — the world’s largest untapped copper-nickel deposit — President Biden cemented our nation’s reliance on foreign adversarial nations like China for critical minerals that will be necessary for the United States to compete and win in the 21st Century,” Stauber said in the press release.The measure also needs approval from the Senate and President Trump to take effect. It comes after other Republican moves to use the CRA in contentious ways, including an effort to axe an Environmental Protection Agency waiver allowing California to issue climate regulations for cars that went beyond federal standards.
US formally withdraws from World Health Organization, leaving debt -Today the United States officially withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO), one year after the Trump administration shared its intention to leave the global agency. At that time, the United States was said to provide about 20% of the WHO’s operational budget, but this week WHO officials said the United States has failed to pay membership dues for both 2024 and 2025, leaving the global alliance with a $278 million debt. The WHO says withdrawal is not complete until the United States pays its debts. “The United States will not be making any payments to the WHO before our withdrawal,” the State Department told NPR in a statement earlier this week. "The cost born by the U.S. taxpayer and U.S. economy after the WHO's failure during the Covid pandemic—and since—has been too high as it is." The United States is the only country to have withdrawn from the WHO since its founding 1948. During his inauguration last year, President Donald Trump said the WHO had gouged the United States, and he blamed the agency for covering up China’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic.Trump had also tried to leave the WHO during his first presidential term, after the pandemic began, but President Joe Biden reversed that plan on his first day of office in 2020.WHO bylaws require nations to give a one-year advance notice of withdrawal and to settle all debts before the exit is complete. Today the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) said the move will jeopardize virus surveillance for the United States. “The U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization is a shortsighted and misguided abandonment of our global health commitments,” IDSA President Ronald G. Nahass, MD, said in a statement. “Whether facing emerging threats like Ebola or the persistent burden of annual flu outbreaks, international tracking is essential. By withdrawing from WHO, the U.S. will no longer participate in the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, the vital platform for monitoring flu cases and sharing data and viral samples used to develop yearly flu vaccines. This will severely hamper efforts to match vaccines to circulating strains of flu.” Also today, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) criticized the Trump administration for its past year of withdrawing foreign aid from a number of agencies. The group also said the America First Global Health program unveiled by the White House in September 2025 does little to address sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, and non-communicable diseases.Moreover, the America First strategy is openly transactional, MSF said. “The claim that these agreements advance national ownership rings hollow when, at the same time, you have State Department officials openly telling countries that global health assistance is contingent on their willingness to strike a minerals deal with the US,” said Mihir Mankad, MPA, MBA, global health advocacy and policy director at MSF USA.
California sticks with WHO as US exits -Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) affirmed his state’s continued departure from current federal health policy by announcing Friday that California will be the first state to join a World Health Organization (WHO) public health network. The announcement came just one day after the U.S. officially withdrew from the organization. During his visit to the World Economic Forum this week, Newsom’s office shared that he had met with the WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This U.S.’s withdrawal from the WHO became official one year after President Trump initiated the process. Trump had moved to withdraw from the WHO during his first term, but this did not pan out when he lost his first reelection bid. “The Trump administration’s withdrawal from WHO is a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans. California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.” This action aligns with how California has managed its public health response since the start of the second Trump administration, publicly moving away from federally backed policies and instead joining with independent public health collaborations. Last year, California joined coalitions of states in launching the West Coast Health Alliance and the Governors Public Health Alliance to lead public health policies that diverge from those of the White House. Trump cited “unfairly onerous payments” as part of the reason why he moved to withdraw from the WHO last year. Tedros maintained that the U.S.’s withdrawal marks a “lose-lose” situation. “It’s not really the right decision, I want to say bluntly, because I believe that there are many things that are done through WHO that benefits the U.S., and only the WHO does, and especially the health security issues,” he said. “That’s why I say the U.S. cannot be safe without working with the WHO.”
NPS removes slavery exhibit in Trump admin crackdown on ‘negative’ history - The National Park Service tore down slavery exhibits Thursday at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell and the remains of a house where George Washington resided during his presidency along with a retinue of enslaved servants. The exhibits were affixed to an outdoor facade, built on the foundation of the former residence, and included several large educational panels about enslaved Africans, including ones titled “Life Under Slavery” and “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”Their sudden removal Thursday afternoon, which prompted a lawsuit in federal court by the city’s mayor, was first reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer and other local outlets. It is the most visible removal ordered as park leaders attempt to comply with the Trump administration’s effort to purge national park sites of content that runs afoul of President Donald Trump’s vision of U.S. history.The overhaul of the national park site — and potentially many others — comes as the Trump administration turns its attention to the celebration this summer of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.The exhibit “Freedom and Slavery in Making a New Nation” opened on Dec. 15, 2010, in Philadelphia. The installation was put on the footprint of the home and executive mansion of Presidents George Washington and John Adams when Philadelphia was the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800. | APPhiladelphia City Council member Kenyatta Johnson called the removal of the exhibit an effort to “whitewash American history” that threatens public understanding of the past.“History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable,” Johnson said in a statement. “Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record.”Trump issued an executive order last year titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” that demanded U.S. historical sites depict the country as a consistent progressive force and slammed what the president characterized as a focus on negative history that generates “a sense of national shame.” The order called out the Independence park by name as a place subjected to “corrosive ideology.”Interior Secretary Doug Burgum followed up in May with an order telling the NPS and other agencies to comply with the presidential order, calling for a sweeping review of national park sites for “negative” depictions of U.S. history and historical figures. A subsequent internal review at parks flagged exhibits depicting the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and chattel slavery, including a Georgia national monument’s display of a photo of an enslaved man with a back scarred by whipping.Interior defended the removals in Philadelphia as in compliance with the presidential order.“All federal agencies are to review interpretive materials to ensure accuracy, honesty, and alignment with shared national values,” the agency said in a statement. “Following completion of the required review, the National Park Service is now taking appropriate action in accordance with the Order.”The agency also slammed the city of Philadelphia over what it called a “frivolous lawsuit in the hopes of demeaning our brave Founding Fathers who set the brilliant road map for the greatest country in the world.”Park sites around the country are now ratcheting up efforts to alter potentially hundreds of exhibits and educational panels to comply with the Trump administration ordered changes, one senior NPS official said.They were granted anonymity because they feared reprisal for speaking to the press.
Court Blocks Feds From Searching Materials Obtained In Raid On WaPo Journalist A federal judge has blocked the government from searching data obtained in a raid last week on the home of Washington Post journalist Hannah Natanson. The order from U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter comes after the federal government on Jan. 14 executed a search warrant at Natanson’s home. According to The Washington Post, federal authorities seized a phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin watch during the raid.The Standstill Order granted by Porter specifically says that the government must “preserve but ... not review” the materials obtained in the raid while litigation on the matter moves forward.An additional motion filed by Natanson and The Washington Post called on the court to order the government to return Natanson’s seized materials. Oral arguments on this motion will be held Feb. 6, with the court holding off on any intervention until then.The brief order contains no discussions of the case’s merits or arguments, which will be delayed until after the Feb. 6 hearing.Federal authorities say the search warrant was part of an investigation into a national security leak. Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a government contractor with top secret security clearance, is at the center of the investigation. According to the FBI, Perez-Lugones is believed to have brought classified information from his job to his home. In a criminal complaint, the FBI said it found documents marked “secret” and described as “related to national defense” in his basement, lunchbox, and car. The raid on Natanson was related to this leak, though additional details on the nature of the information have not been provided.“This past week, at the request of the Department of War, the Department of Justice and FBI executed a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a post on X.“The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”Meanwhile, critics of the move—including The Washington Post—say that the unprecedented raid represents a major threat to First Amendment protections related to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press—which tracks issues affecting First Amendment freedoms as they relate to members of the media—the raid on Natanson’s home marks the first time in U.S. history that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has raided a journalist’s home in connection with a national security leak.The president of the organization, Bruce Brown, described the raid as “a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press.”
Speaker Johnson backs impeachment of 2 federal judges, claiming ‘egregious abuses’ Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he would support impeachment articles against two federal judges, including one who has ruled against President Trump’s interests in high-profile cases. Johnson during a press conference Wednesday was asked about calls from some Republicans to bring up articles of impeachment against Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge Deborah Boardman of the U.S. District Court in Maryland. “I’m for it,” Johnson said. “Judge Boasberg is one who’s been mentioned. And these are some egregious abuses.” Johnson noted that his background is in constitutional law, and he used to sit on the House Judiciary Committee, which would process any impeachment articles. “Impeachment, as we have discussed all together many, many times, is an extreme measure. But extreme times call for extreme measures. And I think some of these judges have gotten so far outside the bounds of where they’re supposed to operate, it would not be, in my view, a bad thing for Congress to lay down law, so to speak, and, you know, to make an example of some of these egregious abuses,” Johnson said. The Speaker, however, did not commit to bringing such articles to the House floor. “We’ll see where it goes,” Johnson said. Sign up for the Morning ReportThe latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Cruz took issue with Boasberg issuing a nondisclosure order requiring that phone carriers keep secret for one year subpoenas that were requested by former special counsel Jack Smith in his Arctic Frost investigation into 2020 election interference, which resulted in the Department of Justice obtaining phone records for several members of Congress. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) in March 2025 introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg over his court decisions blocking Trump from deporting some migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, including an order that directed the government to turn around planes of migrants who were heading to El Salvador. The resolution impeaching Boasberg for “abuse of power” has 23 co-sponsors.Gill followed up with another impeachment resolution against Boasberg over the Arctic Frost decision in November, which has 19 co-sponsors. Cruz also took issue with Boardman’s sentencing decision for Sophie Roske, who was charged under birth name Nicholas Roske for traveling across the country with the intention of killing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Boardman sentenced Roske to eight years in prison, far less than prosecutors’ request of at least 30 years. In the sentencing, Boardman brought up Trump’s executive order that requires transgender women be housed in male prisons.Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) in October introduced a resolution to impeach Boardman for “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” over her sentencing of Roske, and it has 16 co-sponsors.
Navy admiral removed by Hegseth announces run for Congress --Nancy Lacore, a three-star admiral and former chief of the Navy Reserve before she was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, announced a run for Congress in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Lacore, who began as a Navy pilot and rose to vice admiral during more than three decades of service, said in a video on social platform X she was removed without cause “along with dozens of other military leaders.” She added that she “never put the uniform on again” after leaving the Pentagon the day she was ousted, but she noted she “can’t stand by while Americans and South Carolinians are struggling.” While Lacore registered Tuesday to run as a Democrat, she broadly criticized elected officials in Washington, D.C., for caring “more about party politics than standing up for the Constitution.” “Our leaders in Congress are not working for us,” Lacore said. “They have lost the courage to act, to fight for and to serve the people they represent.” Hegseth fired Lacore and a slew of other senior military officials last August, including Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who oversaw the Defense Intelligence Agency’s assessment of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. A Pentagon officer declined to comment on Lacore’s assertion she was fired without cause. Lacore is running to succeed Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is seeking the Republican nomination for South Carolina governor and is not currently running for reelection. The deadline to file in the race is March 30, with the primary set for June 9. The Democratic field includes Coast Guard veteran Mac Deford, who lost the 2024 Democratic primary in the district. On the Republican side, physician Sam McCown and retired Air Force Col. Alex Pelbath are among a crowded group of candidates. As of last February, the Cook Political Report rated the seat as solidly Republican.
Trump threatens to upend GOP agenda, Senate race with Louisiana endorsement -President Trump is giving Senate GOP leaders a major headache with his decision to endorse Rep. Julia Letlow’s (R-La.) Senate campaign over Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.), tossing fresh uncertainty over key parts of their agenda and upending the race in a red state. Trump preemptively backed Letlow’s Senate campaign over the weekend. The move roiled the contest for a safe GOP Senate seat, put him at odds with Senate GOP leaders and created fresh tumult for the party’s forthcoming legislative push. Headlining that effort would be a second partisan package passed with only GOP votes and a potential health care bill, both of which would likely run through the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee — which Cassidy chairs. This year could offer Republicans’ last chance to usher through a bill with only GOP support if the party loses the House in November. “Did anyone explain that to the president?” one GOP operative with knowledge of the Trump-Cassidy relationship asked. “Cassidy as a free agent is one of the scarier ones in the Senate Republican Conference.” The operative noted the HELP panel not only features the two-term Louisiana lawmaker, but also Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — two members who are notoriously cool to the president’s wishes. “To get a majority with Dems on things to f‑‑‑ the president [on the committee], it’s not complicated,” they added. Trump has zeroed in on Cassidy for years, especially after the Louisiana Republican voted to convict him in his impeachment trial over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. Cassidy, a physician, has worked to make amends and stay in Trump’s good graces after the president was reelected. He notably voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his reservations. Cassidy was already facing several primary challenges from his right flank prior to Letlow’s entrance GOP leaders are continuing to back the incumbent Republican. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters Tuesday that he’s backed Cassidy “from the beginning,” and that plan isn’t changing. “We’re going to do everything we can to build the majority,” Barrasso said when asked how much of a “headache” the president’s endorsement is for the party. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are also fully behind Cassidy, with Thune appearing in Louisiana alongside the senator for an event to promote the GOP’s tax cut bill and a fundraiser Thursday. The appearance came a day before Trump phoned Thune to inform him of his plan to support Letlow, who won her seat in 2021 after her husband died. Chatter had been percolating about her potential entrance dating back to the fall. According to a source familiar with the leader, Thune “did what he could do” to try to sway Trump to Cassidy’s side, including laying out the Louisiana senator’s accomplishments. He also pointed out the narrow margins Republicans have to work with on various bills and nominations and that “having someone like Cassidy on our side is important” to secure many of Trump’s priorities. A bipartisan group of lawmakers have been working toward a compromise bill to extend the enhanced ObamaCare tax credits, but they have run into a brick wall in recent weeks that is making members pessimistic a deal can come together. GOP leaders have kept the door open to a second reconciliation package, with health care among the topics under consideration for inclusion — especially if a bipartisan deal does not come together. Republicans were also quick to note that Trump’s move complicates things for Thune, who has the already difficult task of keeping the chamber together heading into an election year.
Democrats join Republicans to hold Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton in contempt over Epstein subpoena - A group of Democrats voted with Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to advance resolutions holding former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress. Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) sought to penalize the political couple for failing to respond to a congressional subpoena tied to the committee’s investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons were supposed to appear before the committee last week. The nine Democrats who voted to advance the resolution concerning former President Clinton were Reps. Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Emily Randall (Wash.), Lateefah Simon (Calif.), Melanie Stansbury (N.M.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) voted “present” on both resolutions, and Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) voted “present” on only the legislation related to the former president. Only Lee, Stansbury and Tlaib voted to advance the resolution pertaining to Hillary Clinton. Following the vote, Lynch explained the difference in his votes on the Clintons to the amount of evidence in the released Epstein files, saying, “I do my homework.” “There was nothing in there — not a shred of evidence against Hillary,” the congressman said. “It was more dragging her in because of the animosity between her and the president, I believe.” Lynch said his vote on the former president was supported by the “substantial nexus between Epstein and him.” “This is serious business,” Lynch said. “I know he’s indignant about it, but the possibility is there [that] he might be able to help the investigation. He’s not being accused himself. … I think we’ll be able to find out if he has helpful information or not.” Lee, the congresswoman from Pennsylvania, similarly pointed to the limited files provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The department has yet to release the full trove of documents, which are reported to amount to about 5.2 million pages, despite a congressional order to release all files related to the Epstein probe last year. “We cannot investigate this fully if we do not have the full files,” Lee said during Wednesday’s meeting. “We cannot see all there is to see if the DOJ is not complying. We cannot move forward.” However, the congresswoman joined the eight other Democrats in advancing the measure against the former president. Stansbury, who voted for both measures, said during the meeting that she was “deeply troubled” that the Clintons “did not appear on their scheduled date.” However, she also expressed her concerns that the action was one-sided, echoing comments from Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.). Garcia, who voted against both measures, repeatedly shifted blame from the Clintons to the Department of Justice’s failure to meet the demands of a congressional subpoena during Wednesday’s meeting.
EPA pokes Musk over using unpermitted turbines for AI - A provision tucked inside an EPA regulation finalized last week could complicate Elon Musk’s efforts to rapidly expand his artificial intelligence company.The tech billionaire’s company, xAI, has been under fire from environmental advocates since last year for relying on methane gas turbines to power its Memphis, Tennessee-area data centers. Until this spring, the company behind chatbot Grok had no Clean Air Act permits for dozens of turbines at its facility in South Memphis. Officials at xAI argued that they didn’t need the permits unless the generators were on site for more than a year. That argument was supported by local health officials tasked with air permitting decisions.Now, EPA has weighed in with a provision inside its final rule posted online last week regarding Clean Air Act rules for natural-gas-fired power plants. The regulation weakens restrictions on nitrogen oxides, harmful gases from burning fossil fuels that form smog and cause health problems like asthma. But the rule also seems to address xAI’s arguments by siding with environmental groups that have pushed for pollution controls at the Memphis facility. The rule specifically mentions arguments about “temporary” turbines not being subject to air pollution standards, and concludes, “Historically, however, the EPA has not regulated combustion turbines, even those that may be portable, as nonfood engines, but rather as stationary sources.”
How Trump's anti-renewables policies collide with growth of AI - The Allegheny Front (podcast) Driven by the growth of data centers for artificial intelligence,, and electricity prices are surging. In Pennsylvania, some consumers are seeing double-digit price hikes. At the same time, President Donald Trump has opposed the fastest growing sources of new energy – renewables. Trump’s big tax bill last year effectively ended renewable energy tax credits, slowed renewable projects on public lands and – most recently – his Interior department cited national security in pausing federal permits on several big offshore wind projects.The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier spoke about the intersection of these policies and the nation’s rising electric demand with Julian Spector, a reporter at Canary Media, an independent non-profit news outlet that covers renewable energy, about Spector’s recent article on the issue.
Study: AI Fuels Wave of Fraud — Corporate Losses Multiply -According to a recent study, the damages suffered by companies as a result of fraudulent schemes have multiplied in recent years. Artificial intelligence (AI) is making it increasingly easy for criminals to deceive employees and trick them into transferring funds, according to a report released Tuesday by credit insurer Allianz Trade. "It's a cat-and-mouse game: criminals are perfecting their scams using AI, while companies are struggling to keep up with their security measures," said Marie-Christine Kragh, an expert at Allianz Trade. On average, reported losses currently fall within the single-digit million euro range, while major losses in some cases have soared well into the double-digit millions. Losses from so-called "fake president" fraud — in which criminals pose as company executives — tripled in 2024 and rose by another 81 percent in 2025, despite a decline in the number of cases. The most common scam is now "order fraud," which has surpassed payment fraud. In this scheme, criminals impersonate an existing, often well-known company to order goods on credit from its suppliers. These damages more than doubled in 2025, with the number of cases rising by 61 percent. Overall, losses from all so-called social engineering fraud schemes increased by 60 percent in 2025. In these attacks, hackers use psychological manipulation and false identities to trick employees into divulging sensitive information or transferring company funds. According to experts, fraudsters are leveraging AI tools to craft flawless emails or to create highly convincing deepfake voices and images. Specialist knowledge is often no longer necessary, said IT law expert Dirk Koch. "Such tools are readily available on the dark web, practically off the shelf." This lends a high degree of credibility to attacks and significantly increases their chances of success. However, a frequently underestimated threat comes from within the company itself. These so-called "insiders" are responsible for 60 percent of cases and, at 65 percent, also account for the largest share of losses. "Humans remain the weak link here," Kragh said. Fraudsters deliberately exploit emotions such as appreciation or time pressure. In addition to technical measures like multi-factor authentication, the insurer recommends organizational safeguards such as the four-eyes principle for payment approvals.
Hong Kong Woman Loses HK 21.4M in Crypto Scam after Social Media Pitch -A considerable cryptocurrency scam case is being examined by Hong Kong law enforcement where a woman was reportedly fooled after arranging a meeting on one of the social media networks with a man. The authorities claimed the suspect earned the trust of the victim and persuaded her to invest in virtual assets using an online trading platform. The victim acted according to the guidelines given and started sending out cryptocurrency thinking that she was engaging in a legitimate investment venture. During the period between August and December last year, the woman had transferred cryptocurrency valued at approximately HK 21.4 million to several accounts associated with the platform. It created issues when she later tried to withdraw her assets only to realize that she could not do so as the access was blocked and that no money could be accessed. The victim suspected that he was being defrauded and forwarded the case to the police and it was further investigated by the Tseung Kwan O District Crime Squad. The authorities have categorized the case as obtaining property by deception, which is popular in cases of large-scale investment fraud. No suspects are arrested as of the last update and the investigations are still under progress. Law enforcers are looking into payment histories, platform information, and history of communication with a view to tracking money trails and its participants. After the incident, the police repeated their warnings to the population to be ready for suspicious high-return investment offers and insider tips circulated through social networks. Authorities emphasized that investments in virtual assets have both market and security risks, and one must check the platforms and be sure of them before investing.
IT specialist loses $280k life savings after '80s love song' romance ends in 'pig-butchering' scam disaster -- JOE Novak, a 52-year-old IT specialist from New Jersey, was just getting back on his feet after several years filled with challenges when a seemingly harmless message on Facebook Messenger ultimately turned his world upside down. What followed was months of tactical manipulation as part of a so-called “pig-butchering” scam that left Novak out of his entire life savings of $280,000 and with a key piece of advice for fellow Americans.When the 52-year-old received the innocuous text on Facebook Messenger, he was bouncing back from a 2020 ransomware attack at his job that he helped to fix, a tough divorce in 2023, and being terminated from his role after 28 years with the company that he brought back afloat. The following summer, the vulnerable Novak’s young son was diagnosed with celiac disease, prompting him to spread awareness of his child’s story with a Facebook post – the only public post the New Jersey man had ever posted, he told The U.S. Sun. In early October 2024, someone with a profile under the name “Ailis Danner” left him a comment, commending him for speaking out for his son and claiming that Facebook suggested him as a friend. Novak initially ignored the comment but added her back on Facebook because he found her attractive, prompting “Danner” to reach out to him via Facebook Messenger, where the two ultimately began chatting every day. “I checked it out. I was very cautious. Every picture she would send – I would do the Google image search just to be sure,” said Novak. About two days into their back-and-forth conversations, “Danner” video called Novak via WhatsApp randomly in the middle of the afternoon, and the pair talked for around 15 minutes, with nothing seemingly out of the ordinary, according to Novak. “She had the webcam on the computer so I could see her. Her face and picture matched the profile that I was looking at,” he said, noting that he analyzed her appearance for things like jewelry and tattoos to solidify in his mind that he was speaking with a real person The woman eased Novak’s nerves by explaining that she had only been in the US for six years, and another time, when he found a photo the scammer had sent him posted to another woman’s social media, “Danner” convinced him that the other woman was impersonating her. “Danner” eventually built up a sense of trust in their relationship, and the pair would send each other voice notes, messages, and pictures all day, from 7 am to midnight, according to Novak, who noted that their conversations never turned vulgar. “We just chatted on and off about different things – just getting to know you stuff. I just felt like I was at home. All those ’80s love songs that you listened to in the car – I thought I had a chance at that,” he said. “Danner” eventually began mentioning her investments to Novak, leading him to ask her questions over the course of a few months about cryptocurrency – a form of decentralized banking in which investors can gain interest from loaning out their money. Then last January, “Danner” introduced Novak to an investing website called defiai.top, from which the woman said she and her sister had been making passive income, ultimately persuading the New Jersey man to invest in cryptocurrency. Over the course of a few months, Novak wired money from major banks, including Chase, Ally, and Wells Fargo, to cryptocurrency wallets on big-name exchanges like Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Strike. Novak’s banks attempted to warn him that he might be the target of a scam, but Novak trusted the crypto exchanges and proceeded. “I felt comfortable putting my money there because those are nationally known companies. The thing is, once the money was there, she guided me to get it to defiai.top,” said Novak, with the victim transferring a large chunk of his savings onto the site, which he would access through a portal on an app called Onchain. He explained that the minimum buy-in on the platform was $40,000, with defiai.top guaranteeing that the investor would receive daily interest – and that he did, with Novak seeing thousands of dollars in profits over time. Novak began by investing the minimum amount possible and received $1,500 in interest, and upon seeing that the returns were legitimate, he continued funneling money into the platform until he had built his cash pool up to $110,000 or so. At that point, defiai.top was notifying Novak that he needed to invest a higher amount of money in the platform in order to see more gains, with the minimum buy-in spiking to $100,000. “I was hesitant, but this person eased my fears. She sent me screenshots of one of her orders for $3 million, paying about $25,000 in interest,” said Novak, who continued to invest in the platform and watch his money grow from January through March, all the while building up his relationship with “Danner.” “It was just incredible the amount of detail we would give each other every single day,” said Novak. “It’s almost like, in hindsight, this person was dedicated to just scamming me.” The minimum buy-in eventually reached $500,000, and “Danner” attempted to convince Novak to invest with her. “I was at a point where I had seen money come in. I had had video calls with her. We were on a trusting basis. Now we’re talking months of daily communication here – through holidays, through everything,” said Novak. It was just incredible the amount of detail we would give each other every single day. It’s almost like, in hindsight, this person was dedicated to just scamming me.” “Danner” eventually wired the victim $250,000 so he could match her contribution to invest, prompting Novak to gather every cent that he could and place the half-million-dollar order in defiai.top for them, leaving him with no money left to pay his bills. Novak patiently waited a week and attempted to make a modest withdrawal of about $4,000 to cover his bills for a month, but it would not go through, with a customer service representative informing the man that he had to pay a “gas tax fee” worth 5.6% of the value of his defiai.top account from an external wallet to help cover some of the platform’s backend operations At this point, Novak had transferred roughly $280,000 – his entire savings – into that account, and with no money to access his funds or get into his account, he began to panic – and “Danner” had essentially vanished. “That day, one of my best friends texted me something that he heard from a friend that was called a pig butchering scam. I read the description and it was exactly what happened to me,” said Novak. “And my God, my world fell apart once again. I lost everything – my way to survive, my college funds for my own children, my way to support my own children, my own life. Gone,” he told The U.S. Sun.
$12 billion crypto scam market Tudou shuts down -- The collapse of the illicit escrow marketplace disrupts a major hub for "pig butchering" scams, though experts warn the ecosystem will likely fragment.
- Key insight: Tudou Guarantee ceased operations in January following the arrest and extradition of alleged scam tycoon Chen Zhi.
- What's at stake: Tudou's collapse disrupts critical infrastructure for "pig butchering" scams that rely on U.S. banks to launder funds.
- Expert quote: U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro described the scams as a "generational wealth transfer" from Main Street to organized crime.
Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review
SEC drops lawsuit against Winklevoss twins’ Gemini crypto exchange | TechCrunch -The Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its lawsuit against Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The Winklevoss twins were donors to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and also backed his family’s business ventures.In a joint filing on Friday, the SEC and Gemini asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, which centered on the collapse of an investment product called Gemini Earn, with some investors losing access to their money for 18 months.New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Gemini in 2023and accused the company of defrauding investors. To justify dismissing the SEC’s case, the new filing points to a 2024 settlement between New York and Gemini, with investors ultimately receiving “one hundred percent of the crypto assets they had loaned […] through the Gemini Earn program.”This appears to be a larger pattern of leniency from the Trump administration towards the crypto industry. The New York Times previously reported that the SEC has either dismissed, paused, or reduced penalties in more than 60 percent of the crypto lawsuits pending when Trump took office last year. Gemini has also filed to go public.
Complaint Accuses Trump’s Criminal Attorney of “Blatant” Crypto Conflict in His Role at DOJ — ProPublica -An ethics watchdog group filed a complaint Thursday seeking an investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s criminal defense attorney — now the No. 2 at the Justice Department — broke federal conflict-of-interest law when he issued a new prosecution policy that benefits the cryptocurrency industry.The complaint comes after a ProPublica investigation revealed last month that Todd Blanche owned at least $159,000 worth of crypto-related assets when he ordered an end to investigations into crypto companies, dealers and exchanges launched during President Joe Biden’s term. Blanche, the deputy attorney general, issued the order in an April memoin which he also eliminated an enforcement team dedicated to looking for crypto-related fraud and money-laundering schemes.Blanche had previously signed an ethics agreement promising to dump his cryptocurrency within 90 days of his confirmation and not to participate in any matter that could have a “direct and predictable effect on my financial interests in the virtual currency” until his bitcoin and other crypto-related products were sold.Later ethics filings show Blanche divested from the investments more than a month after he issued the memo. Even when he did ultimately get rid of his crypto interests, his ethics records show he did so by transferring them to his adult children and a grandchild, a move ethics experts said is technically legal but at odds with the spirit and intent of the law. In its complaint this week, the Campaign Legal Center asked the Justice Department’s acting inspector general to launch an investigation. The complaint alleged that the evidence suggests that Blanche “blatantly and improperly influenced DOJ’s digital asset prosecution guidelines while standing to financially benefit.”“The public has a right to know that decisions are being made in the public’s best interest and not to benefit a government employee’s financial interests,” Kedric Payne, the organization’s general counsel and senior director of ethics, wrote in the complaint. The inspector general’s office “should investigate and determine whether a criminal violation occurred.”
OCC won't delay World Liberty Financial charter review — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency won't delay its review of a national trust charter application from Trump family-connected crypto firm World Liberty Financial despite concerns about conflicts of interest.
- Key insight: The OCC's review of World Liberty Financial will go on despite Democrats' concerns about the Trump family's conflict of interest.
- Expert quote: "The OCC's review is a sham." — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
- Forward look: The OCC's decision to proceed apace with WLF's national trust charter application signals that the agency will review crypto and other de novo charters quickly.
Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that the OCC "intends to act consistent with this duty rather than your demand."
BankThink: Crypto banking belongs inside the federal regulatory perimeter -- Efforts to exclude crypto firms from the provision of a number of different core financial services are doomed to fail. The only correct response is to bring them inside the federal regulatory perimeter, writes Summer Mersinger, of the Blockchain Association. A U.S. bank charter has always been a public-private compact: If you want access to the nation's financial infrastructure, you accept rigorous supervision in return. That compact hasn't changed. What has evolved is the range of firms and technologies now performing core functions of the financial system. Payments, custody, settlement and reserve management increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, including blockchain-based systems. Efforts to exclude crypto firms from the provision of a number of different core financial services are doomed to fail. The only correct response is to provide the prudential regulation necessary to assure safe and sound operation.
Sen. Gillibrand 'optimistic' Senate Agriculture will advance crypto bill -Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is "very optimistic" the Senate Agriculture Committee's updated legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies will advance, even though Republicans have yet to reach a deal with Democrats. "Senators have been working on a bipartisan basis for the last six months pretty intensely, and we have two different bills," Gillibrand told CNBC in an exclusive interview. One piece of legislation is in the Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the second piece is at the Banking Committee, which oversees the Securities and Exchange Commission and banking issues, she said. "Because these types of digital assets have some characteristics of both commodities and securities, you need regulation under both those committees," Gillibrand said. The Democratic senator is not a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, but has been involved in negotiations on crypto market structure. She explained that the two bills, which address different parts of crypto market structure, are being worked on simultaneously. "I think both senators on the Banking and Ag committee are working in a bipartisan way and in good faith," she said. On Wednesday night, the Senate Agriculture Committee released the updated legislative text, which builds on a previously released bipartisan discussion draft. The bill would give the CFTC new authority to regulate digital assets. In a statement, the chairman of the committee, John Boozman, R-Ark., acknowledged that "differences remain on fundamental policy issues," but that the bill "builds on our bipartisan discussion draft while incorporating input from stakeholders and represents months of work." "Although it's unfortunate that we couldn't reach an agreement, I am grateful for the collaboration that has made this legislation better," Boozman said, adding that "it's time we move this bill." Markup of the Senate Agriculture Committee's legislation to regulate digital commodities is scheduled for Jan. 27. The Senate Banking Committee's markup hearing on its draft text to regulate digital assets was scheduled for Jan. 15, but was postponed at the last minute after opposition from the crypto industry, including Coinbase. When asked if she thinks the Senate Agriculture Committee's hearing is also at risk of delay, Gillibrand told CNBC that there are still areas that need bipartisan resolutions, but she believes the markup will take place on Tuesday. Gillibrand noted that the Senate Agriculture Committee's draft is still in review, adding that "hopefully the senators will work on a bipartisan basis to amend that draft to make it stronger, to make it better, to continue their negotiations in the areas where there wasn't resolution." She said that an earlier draft from the Agriculture Committee had a lot of bipartisan compromises in it, some of which were left out. "My hope is that those senators can get back to the drawing board and try to re-include some of those compromises that I thought were very strong," Gillibrand said.
Ex-TD employee pleads guilty to helping move $26M to Colombia
- Key insight: The guilty plea means that at least three former employees of the bank have admitted to crimes that helped move dirty money.
- What's at stake: The Justice Department has continued to investigate former TD employees who were involved in the bank's historic anti-money-laundering failures.
- Forward look: TD said that it still has "important milestones" to hit in its compliance revamp in 2026 and 2027.
TD Bank has said it's completed "the majority" of the action items for its U.S. compliance remediation. Raymond Chun became CEO of TD Bank Group in 2025, as the company ramped up efforts to fix its American compliance program. UPDATE: This story includes a comment from a TD Bank spokesperson.
First Citizens eyes loan sales to repay FDIC after SVB deal -- First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, North Carolina, beat analysts' fourth-quarter earnings expectations by a wide margin, but its lending in 2026 may be crimped by the need to repay its debt to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
- Key insight: First Citizens made its first payment on a $35 billion debt to the FDIC connected with its Silicon Valley Bank acquisition in 2023.
- Expert quote: "We're continuing to explore some strategic loan portfolio sales … to provide liquidity." — Chief Financial Officer Craig Nix
- Forward look: The bank expects to make additional payments to the FDIC throughout 2026.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based bank recently made its first payment on a $35 billion note held by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The note was arranged as part of First Citizens' purchase of the failed Silicon Valley Bank.
FDIC adds banker to regulatory appeals board in final rule -The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Thursday issued a final rule revising its supervisory appeals process, incorporating commenters' requests requiring a former banker on the supervisory appeals panel and expanding banks' ability to appeal findings that contribute to enforcement-related cases.
- Key Insight: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is restructuring its supervisory appeals process.
- Supporting data: The final rule requires the three-member appeal panel to have at least one member with supervisory or examination experience and another with industry experience.
- Forward look: Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plans to issue a similar regulation in a forthcoming rulemaking.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Thursday finalized a framework for banks to appeal supervisory determinations, replacing the agency's existing appeal committee with an independent three-member panel, one member of which must have industry experience.
Trump Sues JPMorgan And CEO Jamie Dimon For $5 Billion Over Alleged 'Political' Debanking - President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, claiming the banking giant debanked him for political reasons. The lawsuit was filed Thursday morning in a Miami state court by his attorney, Alejandro Brito, on behalf of Trump and several of his hospitality companies. The complaint cites JPMorgan's code of conduct, which reads: "We set high expectations and hold ourselves accountable. We do the right thing—not necessarily the easy or expedient thing. We abide by the letter and spirit of the laws and regulations everywhere we do business and have zero tolerance for unethical behavior." According to Brito, "Despite claiming to hold these principles dear, JPMC violated them by unilaterally—and without warning or remedy—terminating several of Plaintiff’s bank accounts." Trump and his companies have "transacted hundreds of millions of dollars" through the bank, the lawsuit reads, adding that Feb. 19, 2021 was the day that "forever altered the dynamic of the parties’ relationship," when the bank allegedly "without warning or provocation," notified Trump and his companies that several of their bank accounts or were beneficiaries of, "would be closed just two months later, on April 19, 2021." "JPMC did not provide plaintiffs with any recourse, remedy, or alternative—its decision was final and unequivocal," reads the suit. In a statement following the filing of the suit, the bank blamed "rules and regulatory expectations." "We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company," adding "We regret having to do so but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so. We have been asking both this Administration and prior administrations to change the rules and regulations that put us in this position, and we support the Administration’s efforts to prevent the weaponization of the banking sector." According to Trump's attorney, his team is "confident that JPMC’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations, and JPMC’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views." "In essence, JPMC debunked plaintiff’s accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so," reads the complaint. "In addition to the considerable financial and reputational harm that Plaintiffs and their affiliated entities suffered, JPMC’s reckless decision is leading a growing trend by financial institutions in the United States of America to cut off a consumer’s access to banking services if their political views contradict with those of the financial institution." Trump’s attorney alleged that, "JPMC’s conduct, in violation of its code of conduct and Dimon’s lofty assertions, is a key indicator of a systemic, subversive industry practice that aims to coerce the public to shift and re-align their political views." The lawsuit goes on to allege that JPMorgan Chase and Dimon have "unlawfully and unjustifiably published some or all of their names, including the names of President Trump, the Trump Organization with its affiliated entities, and the Trump family, on a blacklist." -Fox News According to the lawsuit, the JPMorgan blacklist is accessible by federally regulated banks and is comprised of individuals and entities that are not to be served. Over the weekend, Trump quashed a WSJ article claiming that he offered JPM's Jamie Dimon the job of Fed Chairman, which he said was "totally untrue, there was never such an offer and, in fact, I'll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th Protest..." In response, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, Trish Wexler, told media outlets that the bank does not "close accounts because of political beliefs."
Trump, again, calls on Congress to cap credit card rates — President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, renewed his call for Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.
- Key insight: Trump continued to call on Congress to pass credit card legislation.
- Expert quote: "Whatever happened to usury?" — President Donald Trump.
- What's at stake: Earlier in the day, JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon said that a 10% rate cap would be an "economic disaster."
President Trump in Davos, Switzerland, talked about his call for lower credit card interest rates and more affordable housing in a lengthy speech that mostly focused on his plan to take over Greenland.
Bank Of America, Citigroup May Launch Credit Cards With 10% Rate --Once again Trump's brash negotiating style appears to be paying off. Two weeks after Trump shocked the world by demanding lenders cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, Bank of America and Citigroup are exploring options to do just that in an attempt to placate the president. Bloomberg reports that both banks are mulling offering cards with a 10% rate cap as one potential solution. Earlier this week, Trump said he would ask Congress to implement the proposal, giving the financial firms more clarity about what exact path he’s pursuing. Bank executives have repeatedly decried the uniform cap, saying it’ll cause lenders to have to pull credit lines for consumers. The alternative proposal is to offer credit cards that would have a 10% rate specifically targeted to those consumers... who would already be eligible for the lowest rates around. And while it would do nothing to alleviate the near record high APRs for most Americans, it would let Trump declare that he managed to get the banks to yield - even if it was only a nominal success. As Bloomberg notes, some executives have publicly said they agree with Trump’s focus on affordability, and the latest options they’re mulling are one way to potentially work with the administration in its effort to lower costs for consumers. Many issuers including Bank of America and Citigroup already offer introductory rates for consumers as low as 0% for a period of time. On Thursday, Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said a 10% cap would slow consumer spending, but noted that the bank has been talking to the administration about it. “We’re working hard,” Moynihan said Thursday on a Bloomberg TV interview. “We’re trying to come up with solutions
Community bank bill moves forward, but with some caveats — The House Financial Services Committee voted in favor of a community bank tailoring bill Thursday evening, although without significant bipartisan support.
- Key insight: The bill would index more than three dozen regulatory thresholds to nominal GDP.
- What's at stake: Bank groups say that community banks have been pushed into higher regulatory categories because of growth in the economy rather than their growth as an institution.
- Forward look: The bill did not pass by a wide bipartisan margin, but House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., signaled willingness to narrow the scope of the bill.
The House Financial Services Committee passed a community bank tailoring bill 33-21.
BankThink: A 'K-shaped' US economy augurs ill for the country's banks -A significant majority of Americans are now living lives of permanent financial stress, and debt delinquency is on the rise. For bankers, that's a recipe for problems with profitability, and perhaps with safety and soundness, warns Gene Ludwig. Describing our economy as "K-shaped" is all the rage. Unlike many shorthand descriptions of economic realities, however, this characterization is, as a general matter, fundamentally accurate. Yet much of the existing commentary still understates how profound and deeply embedded this structural divergence has become — and how critically consequential it is for the banking industry. A significant majority of Americans are now living lives of permanent financial stress, and debt delinquency is on the rise. For bankers, that's a recipe for problems with profitability, and perhaps with safety and soundness.
Trump signs executive order barring Wall Street investors from buying single-family homes - President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday stopping Wall Street investors from buying and owning single-family homes, amid his push to focus on affordability ahead of the November midterm elections. “Buying and owning a home has long been considered the pinnacle of the American dream and a way for families to invest and build lifetime wealth,” Trump’s order reads. “But because of the recent high inflation and interest rates caused by the previous administration, that American dream has been increasingly out of reach for too many of our citizens, especially first-time homebuyers.” Trump said “large” Wall Street investors have bought a “growing share of single-family homes,” creating competition with “hardworking young families. “Neighborhoods and communities once controlled by middle-class American families are now run by faraway corporate interests,” Trump continued. “People live in homes, not corporations. My Administration will take decisive action to stop Wall Street from treating America’s neighborhoods like a trading floor and empower American families to own their homes.” The order stated that in 30 days, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will develop “definitions of ‘large institutional investor’ and ‘single-family home.'” Cabinet members will issue guidance to prevent “providing for, approving, insuring, guaranteeing, securitizing, or facilitating the acquisition by large institutional investors” of a single-family home. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson will review substantial acquisitions by heavy investors “and prioritize enforcement of the antitrust laws, as appropriate, against coordinated vacancy and pricing strategies by large institutional investors in local single-family home rental markets,” the order reads. Trump called for the ban earlier this month, writing on Truth Social that he was “taking steps” to implement it, adding that he “will be calling on Congress to codify it.” “For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” he wrote. “It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans.”
Trump pulls back from 401(k) use for down payments - President Trump is said to have expressed reluctance to back penalty-free use of tax-advantaged 401(k) funds for down payments as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump, during his return from Davos, signaled reluctance to allow 401(k) withdrawals for home down payments, but other tax-advantaged options remain on table.
Billionaire Sports Mogul Has Quietly Become America's Largest Private Landowner --Stan Kroenke, the billionaire sports magnate who owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and England’s Arsenal FC, has quietly ascended to the top of America’s private landownership rankings, controlling more than 2.7 million acres following a blockbuster off-market acquisition in December, according to The Land Report. The deal saw Kroenke purchase over 937,000 acres of ranchland in New Mexico from the heirs of Teledyne founder Henry Singleton, marking the largest single private land transaction in the U.S. in more than a decade, according to The Land Report’s 2026 ranking of the nation’s 100 largest landowners. The noncontiguous parcels, focused on cattle and horse operations, vaulted Kroenke from fourth place into the No. 1 spot, surpassing the Emmerson family’s 2.44 million acres of timberland through Sierra Pacific Industries, Liberty Media’s John Malone at 2.2 million acres, and former CNN owner Ted Turner’s 2 million acres, Fox Business reports.
President To Sign Bill Allowing Return Of Whole Milk In Schools - President Donald Trump will sign the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act on Wednesday, overhauling previous U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines that required milk served in school cafeterias to be fat-free or low-fat. Now, schools have the freedom to serve whole milk, flavored or unflavored, as well as organic milk. The Senate passed the bill unanimously in November; it easily cleared the House a month later. It was sent to Trump on Jan. 6. A 2 p.m. signing ceremony is planned in which the president will reverse an Obama-era policy that banned whole milk in public schools, White House officials confirmed to NTD, sister media outlet of The Epoch Times. “This is common sense and great news for America’s children, dairy farmers, and parents who deserve choice, not big government mandates. President Trump is delivering on his commitment to Make America Healthy Again,” said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman. The legislation also stipulates that schools must provide milk substitutes to students with dietary restrictions upon presentation of a letter from a parent or licensed physician. Additionally, liquid milk no longer counts toward the 10 percent maximum allowance of saturated fat calories. Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.), who sponsored the House bill, previously said this legislation goes a long way in helping U.S. dairy farmers while also providing students the diets they need to “thrive in the classroom.” “As a teacher for almost 30 years, I saw firsthand how proper nutrition supports student success,” said Mannion, whose district contains many dairy farms. A 2012 federal law prohibited school cafeterias from serving whole milk, which led to a significant decline in student milk consumption in the past decade, according to Mannion’s Dec. 15 news release. In the two years between 2014 and 2016 alone, schools served 213 million fewer half pints of milk despite rising public school enrollment. Mannion also said children over the age of 4 are not getting the recommended daily dairy as outlined by federal dietary guidelines aimed at promoting stronger bone health, lower blood pressure, and reduced risks of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. By contrast, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit agency represented by about 17,000 physicians, has criticized this legislation, saying that more saturated fats are unhealthy options for children. Instead, the committee said, Congress should push soy milk as a healthier source of protein, and alternative healthy calcium sources such as nuts, kale, broccoli, and fortified orange juice. In a related action last week, the federal departments of agriculture and health and human services unveiled a new “upside-down” food pyramid that reduces the recommended amount of grains and healthy fats and oils while increasing the amount of meats and vegetables. Those guidelines, which will be updated every five years, also provide a stronger stance against sugar and alcohol consumption while promoting unprocessed or lesser-processed foods with saturated fats like yogurt, cheese, and whole milk. Previous guidelines contained more sweeping generalizations against all types of saturated fats, federal officials said
Texas attorney general takes aim at pediatricians who vaccinate, claiming they are part of illegal scheme - On the heels of a measles outbreak in Texas that killed two unvaccinated children, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he has opened an investigation into pediatricians who vaccinate because, he claims, they receive illegal financial incentives to do so. “I launched an investigation into unlawful financial incentives related to childhood vaccine recommendations,” he said in a press release yesterday. “I will ensure that Big Pharma and Big Insurance don’t bribe medical providers to pressure parents to jab their kids with vaccines they feel aren’t safe or necessary.” Without providing any evidence, Paxton, a Republican who has been state attorney general since 2015, said he is targeting a purported “multi-level, multi-industry scheme that has illegally incentivized medial providers to recommend childhood vaccines that are not proven to be safe or necessary. The wide-sweeping investigation will analyze an incentivization framework that has historically forced Texas kids to receive over 70 shots from birth to age 18 in order to continue receiving medical care.” But the Texas Health and Human Services website doesn’t support his claim of 70 required doses and discusses the availability of nonmedical exemptions for “religious or personal belief that goes against getting immunized.”Paxton said he would look into medical providers, insurance companies, vaccine makers, or other groups that “failed to disclose financial incentives.” “The investigation comes as children across the state are expelled from pediatric practices and denied medical care based on their vaccination status,” he alleged. “Doctors’ wages, bonuses, and even employment often hinge on the number of vaccinations they administer.”Paxton said he is issuing more than 20 civil investigative demands to some of the nation’s largest health care entities, including UnitedHealthcare and Pfizer.“Alongside President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s significant efforts to ensure safety when it comes to childhood vaccines, my office will fight to protect kids’ health and uphold transparency in the medical industry,” he vowed. “I will not tolerate a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to healthcare recommendations.”
COMMENTARY: When confusion replaces clarity about vaccines, children pay the price | CIDRAP --When the US government changes long-standing childhood vaccine recommendations, parents deserve clarity: what changed, why it changed, and what it means for their children’s health. Instead, the recent revamp of the US childhood immunization schedule was announced abruptly by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with limited explanation and evidence, and little transparency about how decisions were reached or how they are expected to improve health outcomes. One thing, however, is clear: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. achieved his intended goal. He created even more confusion about and distrust in the use of vaccines. When purposeful confusion leading to doubt is the goal, the consequences show up quickly, not in abstract debates, but in pediatric wards, neonatal intensive care units, and grieving families. Much of the public commentary since the announcement has focused on the remaining policy levers available to HHS to reduce access to vaccines, such as changes to insurance coverage, liability protections, or federal programs for under- and uninsured children. Those concerns are real. But they obscure a more immediate and troubling reality: vaccine uptake is declining, not because access has disappeared, but because vaccination itself is being steadily de-normalized through uncertainty, mixed messages, and the spread of inaccurate information coming from the political appointees at HHS. In an environment already saturated with inaccurate information, silence or ambiguity can be as damaging as falsehoods. When official health guidance lacks transparency and consistency, inaccuracies fill the vacuum. HHS’s restructuring of the childhood immunization schedule illustrates the problem. A single, clear set of routine recommendations was replaced with a complicated three-tiered framework: routine vaccination, vaccination for high-risk children, and vaccination based on “shared clinical decision-making.” For parents already navigating an overwhelming volume of health information, this approach introduces ambiguity where clarity is paramount. And the accompanying documents, including adecision memo and assessment, did little to explain the rationale for the changes or demonstrate how they would improve health outcomes. Confusion of this kind has predictable effects: When parents are uncertain, many delay. Some opt out entirely. And as vaccination rates fall, preventable diseases return. HHS has widely circulated accusations about vaccine risks without accompanying data, corrections, or context, and we are already seeing the consequences with decreasing pediatric vaccination rates and an increase in life-threating diseases. For example, pertussis (whooping cough) outbreaks are increasing, putting infants who are too young to be fully vaccinated at particular risk. Outpatient visits for respiratory or “flu-like” illness are at their highest in nearly 30 years, and 32 children have died this season after contracting influenza, according to the latest FluView report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And measles, which was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000, is making a comeback, with 2,242 cases reported in 2025, and 171 cases reported in the first two weeks of 2026. These are not failures of modern medicine; they are the result of elected officials, those who lead our federal health agencies, sowing confusion and raising doubt about vaccines’ safety and effectiveness. Now, their plans are expanding, with efforts to fund questionable research that seems designed to yield predetermined outcomes under way in Africa. Congress has a responsibility to ensure sustained funding for immunization programs and to insist on transparency, rigor, and accountability from federal health agencies, standards that should apply regardless of who is in leadership. Vaccines remain one of the most effective tools in modern medicine. When they are undermined, not through bans or shortages, but through confusion and doubt, the harm is quiet at first, then unmistakable. The question before us is not whether vaccination still works. It is whether we will communicate its value clearly enough, consistently enough, and responsibly enough to protect the children who depend on us to get this right.
Years after COVID peak, diagnoses for depression, other chronic conditions remain low, study finds -An analysis of electronic health records from England suggests that diagnoses of several health conditions have not returned to expected levels more than four years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a population-based cohort study published today in BMJ. A team led by researchers from King's College London used data from the National Health Service (NHS) OpenSAFELY network to track diagnosis rates for 19 long-term conditions from April 2016 through November 2024. They compared 2024 diagnosis levels with projected levels based on pre-pandemic trends and observed declines for several conditions. The most pronounced decline was seen for depression, with diagnoses nearly one-third (27.7%) lower than expected. Other conditions with lower-than-expected diagnosis levels included asthma (16.4% below expected), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; 15.8% below), psoriasis (17.1% below), and osteoporosis (11.5% below). Multiple factors may be contributing to this trend, the authors speculate. Early in the pandemic, many patients avoided medical facilities owing to infection fears and delayed seeking care for less- urgent conditions. At the same time, many health care systems necessarily prioritized responding to COVID over routine care. The decline in depression diagnoses was “particularly striking and somewhat puzzling,” said co-author Sam Norton, PhD, professor of medical statistics and applied health research at King’s College London, in a press release. “After an initial decrease during the early pandemic, diagnosis rates partially recovered by late 2021, but have declined markedly since 2022. This pattern was most evident among younger adults aged 20 to 39 years, and among individuals of white or mixed ethnicity.” The authors speculate that the large cumulative decline in depression diagnoses may not indicate a decrease in the true incidence of depression but rather a delay in diagnosis due to lingering pandemic-related pressures on the health care system. “Although the total number of face-to-face [primary care] consultations has increased, so has the proportion of remote consultations, which together with time pressures in consultations, may make it more challenging to identify non-verbal cues associated with depression,” they write. It’s also possible that more people with depressive symptoms are receiving care without a formal diagnosis. Referrals to NHS talk therapy services increased by nearly two-thirds from 2013 to 2024, with self-referrals (meaning no doctor referral or diagnosis was required) accounting for 69% of all referrals. “The recent decrease in new diagnoses of depression warrants further investigation,” the authors write. The findings suggest that the pandemic’s effects on non–COVID-related health outcomes may be long-lasting, reflecting stresses on health care systems and changes in health-seeking behavior. The authors call for strategies to improve diagnostic capacity and to ensure that people with chronic conditions receive appropriate diagnosis and care. The study also highlights the power of large-scale, anonymized data to reveal trends and gaps in health care. “Importantly, this study showed the potential for routinely collected health data to enable monitoring of disease epidemiology in near real time,” the authors write.
Research ties long COVID in kids to chronic school absenteeism, learning problems -- A large Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study suggests that US school-aged children diagnosed as having long COVID are at 2.5 times the risk of related chronic absenteeism compared with those without the condition. The study, published last week in Emerging Infectious Diseases, also found double the prevalence of memory impairment, problems concentrating, and learning difficulties in this group. The researchers used data from the 2022 and 2023 US National Health Interview Surveys to evaluate functional limitations and illness-related chronic absenteeism in a nationally representative sample of 11,057 children aged 5 to 17 years who ever or never had long COVID. The analysis revealed that roughly 1.4% of children had long COVID at one time, and older children and girls were disproportionately affected. Relative to children who never had long COVID, those who had the condition had a higher prevalence of functional limitations in five of six functional domains. Children who had long COVID had about twice the rate of problems with memory (18.3% vs 8.6%), concentration (14.3% vs 7.7%), and learning (19.8% vs 10.4%). This group also had a higher rate of difficulty making friends (18.4% vs 11.3%). They also had more challenges in accepting changes in routine (37.8% vs 23.0%). In the psychosocial domain, the long-COVID group had a higher prevalence of anxiety (31.3% vs 17.5%) and depression (18.9% vs 6.2%). Among children who had long COVID, 10.7% missed more than 30 days of school for health reasons in the year before the survey, and 13.9% missed more than 18 days. In the adjusted multivariable model accounting for race and Hispanic ethnicity and parental education level, long COVID was linked to 2.5 times the likelihood of illness-related chronic absenteeism. “School accommodations, such as reduced workload and rest periods that are recommended for other conditions affecting cognitive and academic functioning, such as concussion or ADHD [attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder], could be options to improve outcomes,” the authors wrote.
Analysis adds evidence that shingles vaccine prevents or delays new-onset dementia -Two natural experiments in Canada suggest that herpes zoster (shingles or varicella zoster) vaccination averts or delays dementia diagnoses.The analysis, published in The Lancet Neurology, was led by Stanford University researchers. The team estimated the effect of live attenuated shingles vaccination on new-onset dementia in 232,124 Canadians aged 70 years and older based on a natural experiment in Ontario. The researchers then triangulated the findings with a second natural experiment in Ontario and a quasi-experimental approach that used data from multiple provinces.A quasi-randomized rollout of shingles vaccine took place in Canada in 2016. In Ontario, residents who turned 71 in or after January 2017 were eligible for free vaccination, while those who turned 71 before that month were ineligible.“The date-of-birth eligibility thresholds of Ontario's herpes zoster vaccination programme created three comparison groups: ineligible because they were born before Jan 1, 1945; eligible for only 3.5 months because they were born in 1945; and eligible for at least 1 year and 3.5 months because they were born between Jan 1, 1946, and Sept 15, 1951 (ie, aged 65–70 years on Sept 15, 2016),” the study authors wrote. Participants were born in Canada from January 1930 to December 1960 and registered with one of 1,434 primary care providers in the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network as of September 2016. Dementia diagnoses were counted using electronic health records from January 1990 to June 2022, and Ontario residents aged 65 years and older were surveyed to estimate shingles vaccine coverage. The investigators also used synthetic difference-in-differences and a synthetic control method to compare trends in dementia rates before and after the start of the shingles vaccination program among eligible birth cohorts in Ontario with ineligible birth cohorts in other provinces.Microbes have long been thought to be involved in the development of dementia, the researchers noted. “Targeting herpes viruses through vaccination might be a particularly effective approach because the immune system is thought to be crucial in the development of dementia,” they wrote. “Indeed, vaccines, especially those that are live-attenuated, often show broader health benefits beyond their intended target. The only vaccine in clinical use against a neurotropic herpesvirus is the herpes zoster vaccine.” Being born immediately before, rather than immediately after January 1946, was tied to a lower likelihood a new dementia diagnosis by an absolute difference of 2.0 percentage points over 5.5 years of follow-up. Using a January 1945 threshold, dementia diagnoses were also 2.0 percentage points lower over the same period. After the shingles vaccine program began, new dementia diagnoses among people eligible for shingles vaccination in Ontario were significantly less common than in similar groups in other provinces without such a program. “This analysis of natural experiments provides evidence, which is more likely to reflect a causal relationship than previous evidence from more standard observational data analyses, that herpes zoster vaccination prevents or delays incident dementia,” the authors wrote. “Mechanistic research into this effect could provide insights into the pathophysiology of dementia and maintenance of neuroimmune health in older age.” In a related commentary, William McEwan, PhD, and David Hunt, MB BChir, PhD, both of Edinburgh University in Scotland, said that further evidence could help increase shingles vaccine uptake. “The potential benefits of varicella zoster virus vaccination in preventing dementia are not formally communicated in the benefit–risk analysis, but with further evidence the benefits could become an important consideration in decisions to vaccinate, and part of a wider effort to use vaccination as a global strategy to promote healthy ageing,” they wrote.
Flu activity elevated across the US with at least 18 million cases: CDC - Flu activity continues to remain elevated across the United States, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC estimates there have been at least 18 million illnesses, 230,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths from flu so far this season. Currently, 14 states are seeing "very high" levels of flu-like illnesses while 19 states are seeing "high" levels, CDC data shows. Flu activity continues to climb in US with at least 15 million cases: CDC At least 15 flu-associated deaths were reported among children for the week ending Jan. 10 for a total of 32 pediatric deaths this season. Last season saw a record-breaking 289 children die from flu, the highest since the CDC began tracking in 2004. There is a lag in reporting of pediatric deaths and the number of deaths is likely undercounted, according to the CDC. The CDC says that among children who were eligible for the flu vaccine and with known vaccination status, 90% of pediatric deaths this season were among children not fully vaccinated against influenza. About 18.6% of tests returned positive for flu during the week ending Jan. 10, which is a downward trend, according to the CDC. Also trending downward is the share of visits to a health care provider for respiratory illnesses, which was 5.3% during the same week. Data shows that the majority of this season's cases are linked to a new flu strain called subclade K -- a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is itself a subtype of influenza A. Subclade K has been circulating since the summer in other countries and was a main driver of a spike in flu cases in Canada, Japan and the U.K.
41 flu deaths reported in Maryland so far this season amid spike in respiratory illnesses - Maryland has recorded 41 flu-related deaths so far this season, a drastic increase from the seven deaths that were reported in early January. The surge in flu deaths comes as the U.S. continues to see a spike in cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of Jan. 16, there have been 9,300 deaths, 18 million illnesses and 230,000 hospitalizations so far this flu season, according to the CDC. The agency also recorded 32 pediatric deaths so far this season. According to the Maryland Health Department,respiratory illness activity remains high across the state. Data shows there have been 4,202 hospitalizations in Maryland so far this flu season. No pediatric flu deaths have been reported in the state. Health experts said H3N2, a strain of Influenza A, is fueling the surge in cases this season. The flu strain is known to be harder for the immune system to detect, causing a tougher flu season. Experts also pointed out that fewer people received the vaccine this year. According to Maryland health data, most counties have a vaccination rate of between 16% and 36%. Montgomery and Howard Counties have the highest vaccination rate, while Allegany and Cecil Counties have the lowest. In response to the high respiratory illness activity, the Maryland Health Department recommended that hospitals enact masking policies in early January.The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) requires visitors and patients to wear a mask when visiting hospitals and healthcare centers. Luminis Health implemented a similar masking policy for staff, patients and visitors at 200 of their facilities.
Flu activity nationwide declines but ER visits for school-aged kids increasing: CDC --- Flu activity is starting to decline nationwide, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC estimated on Friday that there have been at least 19 million illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths from flu so far this season. Currently, seven states are seeing "very high" levels of flu-like illnesses while 23 states are seeing "high" levels, CDC data shows. At least 12 flu-associated deaths were reported among children this week, for a total of 44 pediatric deaths this season. Last season saw a record-breaking 289 children die from flu, the highest since the CDC began tracking in 2004. Despite flu activity on the decline, flu-related emergency department visits for school-aged children between ages 5 and 17 increased since last week while hospitalizations remained stable. "I think what distinguished this year's flu season to previous seasons is that, first of all, it began a little bit earlier," Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, senior physician of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Mass General Brigham, told ABC News. Kuritzkes added that although data does not show that cases increased more dramatically than last year, "we may have perceived it as being worse than it really was, and it now seems like it peaked rather abruptly and is on a rapid decline." However, Kuritzkes noted that last year, flu season had a second bump in late winter. He warned that the same thing could happen this year. Data shows that the majority of this season's cases are linked to a new flu strain called subclade K -- a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is itself a subtype of influenza A. Subclade K has been circulating since the summer in other countries and was a main driver of a spike in flu cases in Canada, Japan and the U.K. Dr. Geeta Sood, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, explained that the annual flu vaccine formulation was decided before subclade K emerged, meaning the vaccine is a "mismatch" for the strain, to an extent, while still providing protection against serious disease, hospitalization and death. "So, this year, we have a couple of problems," she told ABC News. "One is that the circulating strain that's predominantly out there is pretty different from the strains that we've seen in previous years. ... Again, it changes every year, but the amount that it changes can be a lot some years and not so much other years." However, she said that early data from the U.K. shows that the vaccine has been protective against serious complications, particularly among children. "It certainly protects against severe disease, but it's not one of our best matching vaccines," Sood said. Another problem, according to Sood, is that vaccination rates are lower than she would like to see. As of Jan. 10, 45.6% of adults aged 18 and older and 44.2% of children have received an annual flu vaccine, according to CDC data.. Sood said it's not too late to get vaccinated, especially because influenza season can last through early spring. "Even though it takes two weeks to get full immunity, you still get immunity sooner rather than later," she said. "There's still plenty of influenza out there, and there's reactivity to protect you against other strains" Doctors told ABC News they recommend other hygiene methods, including thoroughly washing hands with soap and water, avoiding crowded places, getting good circulation by opening windows and considering masking.
Iowa flu deaths double in a week, latest report shows - The latest data from the state show flu deaths more than doubled in a week. The latest respiratory virus report for the week covering January 4 to January 10 shows there have been 31 flu deaths in Iowa this season. That’s an increase from 14 deaths reported the week before. State health officials say flu activity in Iowa remains “very high.” The new report also shows COVID-19 activity is picking up, going from “moderate” last week to “high” this week. There were 11 schools reporting 10 percent or more of its population out sick.
Pediatric flu deaths double in a week. See states with most cases.- Flu pediatric deaths have doubled week-over-week, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, despite influenza numbers continuing on a downward trend overall. Fifteen new influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to the CDC the week ending on Saturday, Jan. 10, bringing the season total to 32. This was nearly double the number (eight) reported in the previous week. Meanwhile, the 2024-2025 flu season tied with the 2009-2010 influenza pandemic for the highest number of pediatric deaths since tracking began in 2004. The 2025-2026 flu season has been particularly tough, with the CDC previously reporting that 8% of visits to medical professionals were related to the flu or a flu-like illness, the highest since tracking began in 1997. Cases began to drop after a peak in late December, bringing the current total to at least 18 million illnesses, 230,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths from the flu so far this season, according to the CDC. A new mutation, subclade K, continues to drive the spread, with some experts warning that it could supercharge the season. Flu cases skyrocketed through December but have taken a downward turn in January. Flu activity is categorized as "moderate" nationwide, according to CDC tracking.CDC data through Jan. 10 showed that just under 19% (17,983) of the 94,649 flu tests administered that week were reported positive to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System. This was down from approximately 25% during the previous week ending on Jan. 3.In some regions, specifically Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, that number was as high as 23%. The CDC also noted that flu activity was high to very high in the Northeast the week ending Jan. 10, including in New York, Maine and Massachusetts.Wastewater data maintained by WasteWaterSCAN, a Stanford University-led tool for tracking the spread of disease, categorized flu activity as "high" but marked a 39% decrease in the median concentration between a peak on Dec. 26 and Jan. 7, which means less of the virus has been detected in the wastewater of more communities nationwide.As of Jan. 13, CDC projections showed that flu infections were on the rise in two states, unchanged or not reported in 14 states and declining or likely declining in 31 other states. While the overall trend was declining, the weekly percentage of emergency department visits related to flu remained moderate.
Fewer older adults being vaccinated against flu, pneumonia, CDC data reveal --The proportions of older US adults vaccinated against influenza in the previous year and those ever vaccinated against pneumonia were lower in 2024 than in 2019, according to a report published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics. The authors used 2024 National Health Interview Survey responses to estimate the percentage of adults aged 65 years and older who received the flu and/or pneumonia vaccines by temporal trends and sociodemographic factors. “Older adults face higher risks of certain diseases because immune systems tend to weaken with age, and they also are more likely to have other underlying health conditions,” they wrote. “The majority of deaths from flu and pneumonia occur in adults age 65 and older.” The percentages of older adults who received a flu vaccine in 2023 and who ever were vaccinated against pneumonia were lower in 2024 (67.1% and 64.7%, respectively) than in 2019 (70.5% and 67.0%, respectively). Rates of flu vaccine uptake were comparable in men (67.9%) and women (66.3%). Flu vaccination rates were lowest among adults aged 65 to 74 years (62.6%) and higher among those aged 75 to 84 (71.9%) and 85 and older (75.3%). The proportion of older adults who ever received a pneumonia vaccine was 64.7% and was higher in women (66.7%) than in men (62.2%). White adults were more likely to have received a flu vaccine (68.0%) than those who were Black (63.2%) or Hispanic (61.7%). The proportion vaccinated against flu rose with increasing family income as a percentage of the federal poverty level (FPL), from 57.9% in people with incomes less than 100% FPL to 73.6% in those with incomes of 400% FPL or higher. For pneumonia, women (66.7%) were more likely than men (62.2%) to have gotten vaccinated. Adults aged 65 to 74 years (57.9%) were less likely than those aged 75 to 84 (73.8%) or 85 and older (71.2%) to have done so. White adults were more likely than their Black or Hispanic peers ever to have had a pneumonia vaccine (68.3% vs 54.6% vs 48.6%, respectively). The proportion of adults aged 65 and older who ever received a pneumonia vaccine climbed with increasing family income, from 51.1% in those with incomes less than 100% FPL to 70.3% in those with incomes of 400% FPL or more.
South Carolina measles outbreak expands by 200+, reaches 646 cases - In the past week, South Carolina officials have confirmed 212 new measles cases, raising the state total to 646 and threatening to overtake last year’s West Texas outbreak as the largest in decades in the United States.There are currently 538 people in quarantine and 33 in isolation, the South Carolina Department of Public Health said today. Six schools have recent public exposures that have resulted in new quarantines.The outbreak centered in Spartanburg County has been primarily rooted in elementary and secondary schools that have large portions of unvaccinated students. Now two universities have reported new infections and exposures, with officials saying Clemson University has 34 students in quarantine, and Anderson University has 50 in quarantine. Each school has reported one confirmed measles case.Among the South Carolina cases, 563 patients are unvaccinated, 12 are partially vaccinated, 13 are fully vaccinated, and 58 have unknown status. Of the 646 case-patients, 155 are under the age of 5 years, and 419 are between the ages of 5 and 17.The South Carolina outbreak is now the largest in the country and will likely surpass the 762-case West Texas outbreak that began one year ago today, putting the United States at risk of losing its measles elimination status. That outbreak was declared over in August 2025. Now officials in Washington state have confirmed that three measles cases in a family from Snohomish County are linked to an exposure from a South Carolina family who visited multiple locations in King and Snohomish counties over the holidays.The three cases, in unvaccinated siblings aged 23 months to 9 years, are the state’s first measles cases since 2023.Additionally, one person in Kittitas County has also been confirmed to have measles. This is Kittitas County’s first measles case in at least 18 years, and the patient is a student at Central Washington University.In related news, the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO’s) Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission for Measles, Rubella, and Congenital Rubella Syndrome has formally invited the United States and Mexico to a virtual meeting on April 13 to review their measles elimination status.“The meeting date has been set to give national health authorities and national sustainability committees sufficient time to prepare comprehensive reports, including descriptions and analyses with detailed epidemiological and laboratory evidence, for review by the Commission,” PAHO said. Measles elimination status may be lost if the commission finds uninterrupted measles transmission chains lasting for more than 12 months in both countries. The two countries experienced the beginning of large measles outbreaks in January and February of last year.
Utah measles total rises to 216; CDC deputy director says losing elimination status ‘cost of doing business’ -Utah has reported six new measles cases this week, raising state totals in the current outbreak to 216. Of those, 154 cases are in the Southwest Utah health district, which is still battling a cross-border outbreak along with Mohave County, Arizona. Arizona officials have recorded 12 measles cases so far in 2026, eight of which are in Mohave County. Pima and Maricopa counters each have a case, and Pinal County has two cases.Elsewhere, two residents younger than five years old have tested positive for measles in Jessamine County, Kentucky, the first cases of the year. Kentucky had 13 confirmed measles cases in 2025. Yesterday, Ralph Abraham, MD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s principal deputy director, said during a press conference that the United States losing its measles elimination status is the “cost of doing business,” suggesting the loss will be due to imported measles cases from international travel. Measles elimination status does not hinge on imported cases, but rather sustained transmission of virus chains within one country for 12 months or more. Abraham, a doctor and the former Louisiana surgeon general, said he did not think the loss of US measles elimination status was a big deal.“We have these communities that choose to be unvaccinated. That's their personal freedom,” Abraham said. “You know, the president, the secretary, we talk all the time about religious freedom, health freedom, personal freedom, and I think we have to respect those communities that choose to go a somewhat of a different route.”
Measles is off to an ugly start, EPA removes lives lost, ICE and hospitals, and lots of good news --- Katelyn Jetelina - Your Local Epidemiologist - What’s happening here is not normal. It’s dark and disorienting, and it’s hard to keep all the balls in the air, including our health. infectious diseases are moving, policy shifts are reshaping health protections, and communities are navigating new realities, including how to respond to ICE. But there is also real, meaningful good news. I’m finding myself holding onto that more these days. Measles. This year is off to a rough start—the worst January in more than 30 years. The U.S. has already reported hundreds of measles cases. That’s especially concerning because January is usually a slower month for measles. School breaks often slow spread, and temperatures help measles peak later, closer to spring. Number of measles cases in the United States. Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist. Most of the cases are coming from a large and fast-growing outbreak in South Carolina:
- 243 cases in just the past 10 days
- 558 total cases since October
- 96% of cases are unvaccinated
- 90% are children
- 531 people are in quarantine, meaning weeks of missed school or work
- Spread has reached other states, including North Carolina, Colorado, and Washington
This outbreak could easily become larger than last year’s Texas outbreak. Number of measles cases per week in South Carolina. Source: Yale School of Public Health. Another outbreak in Utah and Arizona has reached 433 cases since late last year, but the pace there seems to be slowing.Like wildfires igniting in dry tinder, measles ravages areas with low vaccination rates. A new tool from Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai highlights high-risk pockets. Zooming in on the South Carolina hot zone shows multiple very high-risk zip codes. Some news outlets reports some schools have less than 30% vaccination rate. (Measles herd immunity requires 95%.) Check out your zip code here. Visits for fever, cough, and sore throat are finally dropping. That’s good news. But respiratory seasons often have two waves. Schools are back in session, and different flu strains—like Flu B—can take over. Flu season often lasts into March, so we’re not done yet.Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist.Covid-19 levels are moderate nationwide but vary by region. The Midwest is seeing very high levels, followed by the Northeast. Overall, things seem to be slowing, which suggests another relatively mild Covid winter. One of the most important ways the U.S. government protects public health is by regulating pollution so that companies’ activities don’t harm people’s health or the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets and enforces limits on air, water, and soil pollution under laws like the Clean Air Act. When the EPA evaluates a new regulation, it typically uses cost-benefit analysis to compare:
- Costs— what companies (and sometimes consumers) will have to spend to comply (e.g., upgrading equipment, changing processes).
- Benefits — how much better off the public will be if pollution goes down, including fewer illnesses, fewer hospital visits, less lost work time, and lives saved. To do this, economists estimate the value of reduced health risks in dollar terms, including a widely used figure called the value of a statistical life. This is essentially the amount society is willing to pay for reductions in mortality risk and has ranged from $6.8 million under the Bush administration to roughly $9.8 million under Biden.
Last week, the EPA announced a big change. For some major air pollutants, such as fine particles and ozone, cost-benefit analyses will no longer include the dollar value of health benefits. This is a significant shift because health benefits, especially avoided premature deaths, historically accounted for a large share of the quantified benefits in air pollution rules. This tilts the math in favor of corporate interests. Pollution rules now appear far more costly, making it easier for companies to push for weaker protections. Companies now have stronger legal arguments that pollution rules cost “too much.” Expect lawsuits aimed at weakening air quality standards. The effects won’t be immediate, but they will add up over time. Communities near highways, factories, and industrial sites, which are often low-income or historically marginalized communities, are likely to be hit hardest. Track your local air quality. AirNow uses official data and can be found in your phone's weather apps. PurpleAir offers community-level data, though it’s less precise (but getting better). Also, you may want to purchase an indoor air filter (Wirecutter has some good ones).
Mpox doesn’t always cause illness, yet many patients have long-term effects, studies suggest - A new study uncovers “silent” mpox circulation in Nigeria, while another concludes that 58% of mpox patients still have signs or complications up to 1.5 years after diagnosis.For the first study, published today in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Cambridge and Nigeria analyzed stored blood samples from 176 healthy Nigerian adults who had participated in COVID-19 vaccine studies, including health care workers sampled in 2021 and community volunteers sampled in 2023. Participants hadn’t received mpox or smallpox vaccines as adults and had no known exposure to mpox.The team measured responses to six different mpox virus antigens, or structural parts of the virus to which the immune system responds, allowing detection of both the strength and scope of immune responses. “While most public health attention has focused on symptomatic mpox cases, little is known about how often people may be exposed to the virus without developing classical disease,” the study authors noted.At baseline, 14% of participants had antibody profiles consistent with immunity derived from smallpox vaccination. Most of these participants were born before 1980, meaning that they were more likely to have been vaccinated during childhood. Their antibody responses were strong and broad, recognizing several mpox antigens even decades after smallpox vaccination campaigns ended. But to the researchers’ surprise, five of 153 participants (3%) with follow-up samples collected roughly nine months after baseline had clear evidence of new immune responses indicative of recent mpox exposure—but no symptoms. These adults had no documented mpox diagnosis and did not report compatible illness, suggesting exposure without recognized disease.“What we’re seeing is evidence that mpox exposure doesn’t always look like the textbook description,” lead author Adam Abdullahi, PhD, of the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, said in a university news release. “In some people, particularly in settings with partial population immunity, the virus may circulate quietly, leaving immune footprints that routine clinical surveillance will miss.” The second study, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, involved 154 people in New York City and Houston diagnosed as having clade 2 mpox from May 2022 to January 2023 and 201 never-infected but at-risk participants. Follow-up was 11 to 18 months. Participants completed psychosocial and behavioral self-assessments, and a clinician evaluated post-mpox participants using a clinical history and physical examination, to determine any link between lingering mpox physical symptoms and medical history, mpox severity, and sociodemographic factors. The median participant age was 35 years, and most were Black or Hispanic (80%), male (90%), men who have sex with men (67%), and publicly insured (56%). The percentage of participants reporting increased psychobehavioral symptoms was comparable between the two groups. In total, 58% of post-mpox participants had one or more persistent effects, and 56% were related to physical appearance (mainly skin scarring), of which 51% occurred at one or two sites. Thirteen percent of post-mpox participants had functional impairment, of whom 50% and 35% had ongoing anorectal and urinary dysfunction, respectively. Two percent reported limitations to their activities of daily living.“Mpox remains a public health threat, with the World Health Organization declaring a public health emergency in response to a 2024 upsurge of clade I and clade II mpox virus cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries,” the investigators wrote. “That outbreak has prompted calls for research into the long-term sequelae of clade I mpox.”
CDC-funded hep B vaccine study in Africa suspended pending review, officials say The saga of the US-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau took another turn today, with health officials in the western African nation saying the study has been suspended pending further technical review. The comments were made during a press briefing today from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Guinea-Bissau’s director general for public health, Armando Sifna, and public health minister Quinhin Nantote said that the trial is suspended until a committee reviewing the study has the technical resources required to make a final decision. Last week, Africa CDC officials indicated the trial, which has set to begin this month, had been canceled. But their statements were challenged by officials with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who said the trial was going ahead as planned.Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, said the decision about whether to move forward with the trial belongs to Guinea-Bissau.“Africa CDC is respecting and supporting the sovereignty of the country,” Kaseya said. “It’s not Africa CDC that will say this clinical trial will take place or not. It’s not any other international body that will say this clinical trial is taking place or not.”Kaseya added that he was told by a health official in Guinea-Bissau earlier this week that they were still awaiting a briefing and recommendations from the country’s National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and National Ethical Committee (NEC) before making a final decision. “As leader of Africa CDC, I fully support that,” Kaseya said, adding that the agency will provide technical support to help officials in Guinea-Bissau evaluate the study.
Chair of CDC’s vaccine panel questions need for polio vaccines, citing personal autonomy - Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist recently appointed as chair of a highly influential federal vaccine committee, questioned the need for immunizing against illnesses like polio in a podcast interview released Thursday. He argued that public health is not the “first order” of his group. Last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed Milhoan to be chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month. Appearing on the podcast “Why Should I Trust You?” — which explores the gap between scientific data and public trust — Milhoan was asked to discuss how he views the efficacy and risk of vaccines like those for polio and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). “As you look at polio, we need to not be afraid to consider that we are in a different time now than we were then,” he said. “Our sanitation is different, our risk of disease is different and so that those all play into the evaluation of whether this is worthwhile of taking a risk for a vaccine or not.” During the interview, Milhoan referred to school vaccine requirements as “authoritarian” but rejected the label of “anti-vaxxer.” Brinda Adhikari, one of the podcast co-hosts, noted many people consider both the MMR and polio vaccines as safe, particularly because of their significant “proven” history in helping to lower the rates of these diseases. Milhoan pushed back on this characterization. “I think that ‘proven’ might be a little bit harsh, a little bit stronger, for what it’s done because of the pre-vaccine decrease in incidence of disease, but I understand what you’re saying,” he said. “Remember, we’re just an advisory panel. We can’t make any declarations. We can tell you what we believe the evidence shows and we try to do that as transparently and honestly as the data supports and present data,” Milhoan added. “But it’s been very important to us, members of committee, is that what we are doing is returning individual autonomy to the first order, not public health, but individual autonomy to the first order.”
- A Wall Street Journal poll shows half of US voters are less confident in federal vaccine guidance due to Trump administration policies, with 50% disapproving of Trump’s handling of the changes to routine vaccine recommendations. About 36% of those polled said they approve of changes to federal vaccine guidance, while 13% said they were unsure. The poll also showed that health insurance costs, including rising premiums, are a top priority for voters in a midterm election year.
- Middle Tennessee is seeing an emerging cluster of histoplasmosis cases, with one family going public to say their 14-year-old daughter died from the fungal infection in December. The family of that girl is urging residents and clinicians to be on the watch for histoplasmosis and increase early testing. The girl’s mother said she did not receive a positive histoplasmosis diagnosis until after her death. According to local news, histoplasmosis is commonly found throughout the soil in Tennessee. A cluster of more than 30 human cases has been identified in Williamson and Maury counties, but so far there has not been a clear source of exposure.
- The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Western Pacific Region Office (WHO’s WPRO) describedthree new human H9N2 avian flu cases in mainland China. All three cases were reported to the WHO from January 9 and 15, and all three involve children, including a 5-year-old from Hubei province, an 8-year-old from Jiangsu province, and a 1-year-old from Guangxi province. All had symptom onset in November and December of last year. Only the child from Hubei province had a known exposure to backyard poultry. All three patients have recovered.
- One year after the Trump administration began its dismantling of USAID, a model that tracks the impact of USAID funding cuts on global disease prevention programs estimates that more than 762,000 people have died as a result of those cuts, including more than 500,000 children. According to ImpactCounter, a project built to model the effect on morbidity and mortality from the 90-day USAID funding pause announced on January 20, 2025, cuts to funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) have had the largest impact, resulting in more than 158,000 adult deaths and 16,000 child deaths. Terminated USAID funding has also resulted in more than 164,000 additional child deaths from pneumonia, 125,000 additional child deaths from diarrhea, 70,000 additional adult and child deaths from malaria, and 48,000 additional adult and child deaths from tuberculosis.
- French vaccine company Valneva said earlier this week that it’s pulling its chikungunya vaccine from the US market. In a January 19 press release, the company said it has decided to voluntarily withdraw the biologics license application and Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Ixchiq, its live-attenuated chikungunya vaccine, following suspension of the license by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2025 over safety concerns. The company said it had been waiting to hear from the FDA on its formal response to the vaccine license suspension, which was linked to reports of severe adverse events in older recipients of the vaccine, but was recently informed by the agency that the IND was now on clinical hold pending investigation of a newly reported serious adverse event.
- The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) yesterday announced a $30 million investment to make Merck’s Ebola vaccine cheaper to make and more accessible. The investment aims to update the manufacturing process for the vaccine, which was developed during the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, to make it easier and cheaper to produce at scale and enable it to be stored in a regular refrigerator, which in turn could make it easier to deploy in outbreak settings.The vaccine currently must be stored in freezers at ultra-low temperatures.
CDC warns about New World screwworm just across the border in Mexico - Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory on recent animal cases of New World screwworm (NWS) in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which shares a border with Texas.“No NWS infestations related to this outbreak have been identified in people or animals in the United States as of January 20, 2026. However, given the potential for geographic spread, CDC is issuing this Health Advisory to increase awareness of the outbreak,” the CDC said.NWS myiasis (maggot infestation) is transmitted when parasitic flies lay eggs in wounds or in other body cavities, such as the nose, ears, eyes, or mouth. Cattle and horses are typically infected, but flies can also lay eggs on people and other warm-blooded animals. If untreated, infections can be deadly in humans. As of yesterday, Central America and Mexico have tracked 1,190 cases and seven deaths in people in an ongoing outbreak. Tamaulipas currently has eight active animal cases.The United States has previously eradicated NWS through releasing sterile male flies to mate with the female NWS fly, which is a type of blowfly. The United States will use that tactic again if NWS is reintroduced in Texas or elsewhere, the CDC said. Last year, the United States did see a travel-related case in Maryland, the country's first human case in 50 years. For clinicians, the CDC recommends considering a diagnosis of NWS in people who present with visible egg masses in wounds or orifices, and other symptoms in anyone who has recently traveled to an area where NWS is present. “The treatment of NWS in humans is removal of all eggs and larvae, which might require surgical extraction if the larvae are embedded deeply into tissues,” the CDC said. “There have not been any studies to prove that any specific medication is useful in treatment in humans.”
‘Devastating’ parasitic screwworm that can lay eggs on people creeps closer to US – A “devastating pest” known as the New World screwworm is dangerously close to the United States, American health officials warn. The parasitic screwworm has been found in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which is just across the border from Texas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert Tuesday advising health departments stay ready to identify the screwworm and treat cases if they see them. The New World screwworm flies lay their eggs in animals’ wounds, noses, ears, eyes or mouths. Their eggs develop into parasitic larvae, or maggots, that feed on the surrounding flesh as they burrow deeper. The CDC says the screwworm primarily impacts livestock animals, but the flies can lay eggs on any warm-blooded animals, including people and pets. People are at the highest risk of being exposed to the screwworm if they spend time in areas where the flies are present, like Central America and Mexico, and if they have open wounds like scratches or cuts. Those who spend more time outdoors and around animals are at the highest risk of exposure. To treat a screwworm infestation, the CDC advises clinicians to remove all the eggs and larvae from the person’s body. That may require surgery if the maggots are deeply embedded. If untreated, screwworm cases can be fatal. The U.S. has long been working to keep the screwworm out of the country, releasing sterile male flies into the wild. The hope is that females, which only mate once in their short lives, will mate with sterile males, resulting in eggs that are never fertilized. The strategy helped eradicate the New World screwworm from the Florida Keys in 2017. The latest outbreak in Central America and Mexico has 1,190 human cases and seven deaths. More than 148,000 cases have been reported in animals. As the parasite creeps closer to the U.S. border, public health experts fear it’s only a matter of time before the screwworm starts laying eggs on Americans and their animals. The cattle industry fears screwworm infiltration could cost the industry billions in damages.
Turkey farm in Minnesota hit hard with avian flu --A large turkey producer in Meeker County, Minnesota, was the site of one of the avian flu outbreaks the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) noted last week. In the past 30 days, APHIS has confirmed avian flu in 67 flocks across the United States, including 18 commercial flocks and 49 backyard flocks. A total of 1.48 million birds have been affected. The Meeker County, Minnesota, January 16 detection involved 250,600 birds; that same county tracked avian flu in 77,300 birds the day before. Also noted were smaller outbreaks of 70 and 30 birds, respectively in Edgar County, Illinois and Yakima County, Washington. Minnesota and Kansas have had the most commercial poultry detections in the past month.For wild bird detections, APHIS tracked 72 birds across the country this past week, many hunter harvested. Of note, six detections in Hyde County, North Carolina, included several American widgeons.
Recalled tuna accidently shipped to stores in 9 states -(WJW) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that previously recalled canned tuna was recently shipped to retail stores in several states.According to a new recall alert shared by the FDA on Monday, a third-party distributor “inadvertently” shipped quarantined canned tuna that Tri-Union Seafoods recalled roughly a year ago.Officials said the initial recall was issued after the company learned that some of the product’s “easy open” pull tab lids were defective and could cause the cans to leak, “or worse, be contaminated with clostridium botulinum, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning.” Clostridium botulinum can create a toxin that causes botulism, the U.S. Department of Agriculture explains. The disease can lead to trouble breathing, muscle paralysis, and, in serious cases, death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Foods that have been improperly canned, preserved, or fermented are known to create the right conditions for the toxin to form. More recently, a widespread outbreak of infant botulism was linked to recalled baby formula.
- Meijer: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
- Giant Foods: Maryland and Virginia
- Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions: California
The cans also bear specific UPC and can codes, as well as best-by dates:
PFAS contamination in Pawcatuck River traced back to old textile mill ponds - A study led by University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography alumnus Jarod Snook, Ph.D., identified a long-term source of PFAS, or "forever chemicals," entering the Pawcatuck River from two historically contaminated textile mill waste retention ponds located in Bradford and Westerly, Rhode Island. Published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Water, the study was co-authored by members of the Lohmann Lab at the Graduate School of Oceanography, including Assistant Professor Jitka Becanova, Marine Research Associate Simon Vojta, and Professor Rainer Lohmann. Using a combination of environmental sampling techniques and modeling, the team characterized how PFAS stored in pond sediments continue to migrate into, and be deposited within, the river decades after textile operations ceased.In fact, one of the study's key findings is that sediment at one of the ponds could continue releasing PFAS into the Pawcatuck River for more than 100 years, highlighting the long-term nature of the contamination and a problem that will persist unless steps are taken to remediate.PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s, do not readily break down and can build up in people, animals, and the environment over time. They can persist for decades and travel long distances, moving from inland rivers like the Pawcatuck to coastal waters and the Atlantic Ocean.When PFAS enter a river, they can contaminate water and sediments, accumulate in aquatic organisms, disrupt local ecosystems, and pose risks to humans and wildlife through drinking water and seafood consumption. The Pawcatuck River is widely used for recreation and fishing, creating potential exposure pathways for Rhode Island residents and raising concerns about long-term health impacts. "Rhode Islanders value their aquatic environment," said Snook. "Keeping it free from pollution is part of that value. We hope this study sheds light on the PFAS issue affecting the Pawcatuck River so that action can be taken to remediate contamination at its source."
Scientists trace microplastics in fertilizer from fields to the beach- Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied how polymer-coated fertilizer (PCF) applied to fields ends up on beaches and in the sea. They studied PCF deposits on beaches around Japan, finding that only 0.2% of used PCFs are washed into rivers and returned to the coastline. When there are canals connecting fields to the sea, this rises to 28%. Their findings, published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, highlight a potentially significant "sink" in the global circulation of plastics. Plastic marine pollution poses a serious threat to wildlife, ecosystems, and human health. It is estimated that around 90% of the plastic that has flowed out to sea has disappeared from the sea surface, accumulated on the sea floor or any number of other "sinks." To effectively reduce the amount of "missing plastics," scientists have been studying the complex ways by which plastic material is transported from its point of use to the sea. Polymer-coated fertilizer (PCF) is a major source of microplastic pollution. Certain fertilizers are coated in a thin layer of plastic to delay the release of chemicals, making it last longer. They are widely used in Japan and China for rice cultivation, as well as for wheat, corn, and other crops in the U.S., U.K., and Western Europe. In fact, it has been shown that 50–90% of plastic debris found on beaches in Japan is derived from PCFs. Yet, the way in which PCFs are carried from land to sea, and how that affects its eventual disappearance, is not well understood. A team of researchers surveyed the amount of PCFs ending up on beaches across different environments. They focused on beaches near river mouths and direct drainage points from agricultural fields to the sea, surveying 147 plots across 17 beaches. Near river mouths, they estimated that the PCFs found on beaches there amount to less than 0.2% of what was used in surrounding areas. With 77% staying on fields, the remaining 22.8% wash out to sea. On the other hand, surveys around direct drainage points from agricultural land to the sea showed that 28% end up back on the beach. The team concluded that waves and tidal action help them wash back onto land, making beaches a temporary sink for microplastics. Given that most PCFs lost from fields end up in rivers, the majority of these plastic capsules end up going "missing."
Cigarette filters: An underestimated source of microplastic pollution - It is well known that discarded cigarette butts release nicotine, heavy metals and other toxins into the environment, including natural water systems. Less understood, however, is what happens to the plastic-based filters that shed these chemicals. A new study from the University at Buffalo examines this issue, with findings showing that one cigarette filter can release up to two dozen microfibers almost immediately upon contacting water. More than 100 additional microfibers may break free of the filter within 10 days depending on how the water is moving. This quick release of cellulose acetate fibers—what most cigarette filters are made of—had not been precisely measured before, the study authors say. This and other findings from the study build upon the evidence that cigarette butts –the most littered item worldwide—are a direct and underestimated source of microplastic pollution. "Microfibers in natural waters have been primarily associated with laundry and clothing. This work shows that microfibers from littered cigarette filters cannot be ignored," says the study's corresponding author, . The findings were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics. For the study, Atkinson and Vasseghi placed cigarette butts in water under three conditions: still water (0 revolutions per minute, or rpm), moderately moving water (80 rpm) and more intense moving water (200 rpm). The researchers found that when a cigarette filter initially contacts water, it releases about 24 microfibers within 20 seconds, regardless of water movement. After 10 days, they found that a single filter—which contains more than 10,000 microfibers—can release 63 to 144 microfibers, depending on water movement. Using this data, the researchers estimated the prevalence of microplastic pollution from cigarette filters in New York State. Under conservative estimates, they calculated that anywhere from 71 million to 1.4 billion cigarette butt microfibers are released into New York waters every day. Areas with large populations are hotspots. "Direct release of pre-contaminated microfibers is unique—we typically consider microplastics problematic because of the chemicals they adsorb in the environment, but these are released with contamination. You get both physical pollution of the fibers and chemical pollution of everything that's stuck to them," Atkinson said. "In a way, this is a new 'bad thing' associated with cigarettes."
Plastics everywhere, and the myth that made it possible If there's one material that defines modern life more than any other, it's plastic: present from the moment we're born in newborn stool, in product packaging, in the soil beneath our feet and the air we breathe.Hard as it is to imagine, it wasn't always thus—and doesn't have to remain this way, argues Judith Enck in her new book, "The Problem with Plastics." "Half of all plastic ever produced was since 2007," the year the iPhone debuted, she told AFP in an interview. "We have a fighting chance to reduce plastics because it's very much a contemporary issue."Enck, a former senior environment official under Barack Obama, is clear-eyed about the challenges posed by the "rabidly anti-environmental" President Donald Trump. Last year, the administration helped derail a global plastics treaty and reversed a phase-out of single-use plastics in national parks.Nevertheless, she sees momentum building at the state and local level—hailing, for example, New Jersey's "Skip the Stuff" law enacted this week, which requires restaurants to provide single-use cutlery only upon request, a measure shown to significantly reduce waste. Enck's book traces the history of plastic: from its earliest incarnation in 1909, when Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, through the "myth" of plastic recycling promoted by industry from the mid-20th century onward.Along the way, Enck argues that responsibility for the crisis has been systematically shifted onto consumers, even as plastic production continues to soar."In the United States, only 5 to 6% of plastics actually get recycled," she notes. Unlike metal, paper or glass, consumer plastics are made up of thousands of different types, or polymers, making large-scale recycling economically unviable.Early advertising campaigns helped popularize terms like "litterbug," while today the focus has shifted to "chemical recycling," promoted by industry as a way to break plastics down into their basic building blocks.Dig deeper, though, and this too is a "false solution," Enck said, a report by the Beyond Plastics nonprofit she leads found just 11 such facilities handling about 1% of US plastic waste—three of which have since shut down. Around 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean every year, "the equivalent of two large garbage trucks filled with plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute." Microplastics, along with ultra-tiny nanoplastics, can kill or severely sicken marine life before entering the food web and ultimately ending up on our plates.Research into the health effects is ongoing, and some findings are contested. But a 2024 study found that people with microplastics in their heart arteries face an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and premature death.For those living in the shadow of the expanding petrochemical industry, the impacts of toxic emissions have long been felt. Nowhere is this more evident than Louisiana's "Cancer Alley," where cancer rates are seven times the national average."Our zip code is dictating our health, and plastics therefore are a major environmental justice issue, because these are communities of color and low-income communities," Enck said.The recent surge in plastic production, she argues, is driven by a "glut" of gas generated since the mid-2000s by the hydraulic fracturing industry, which has sought new markets for its product even as it fuels climate change.It may be easy to lose hope, but Enck says it is not too late to make a difference—pointing to a twofold approach that combines personal action with collective pressure. Her book is replete with advice on how to organize, lobby local governments and advance model legislation.While Enck would prefer consumers shop at stores that sell toiletry refills, ditch plastic coffee pods and take other steps, she acknowledges that such choices are not yet realistic for many people."I am not into plastic shaming," she said. "We don't have a lot of choice when we go to the supermarket, so you do the best you can. But what we really need is systemic change—and what I mean by that is new laws that require less plastic."
House votes to repeal 2023 Biden wilderness protections in Minnesota using Congressional Review Act -The House voted to undo the Biden administration’s decision to block off mining in a wilderness area in Minnesota on Wednesday, using a limited legislative tool to go after the 2023 action.The 214-208 vote seeks to undo protections for an area around Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.The vote came under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows congress to cut regulations finalized in the previous 60 legislative days.The decision to block mining in the area occurred more than 60 legislative days ago, but a press release from sponsor Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) says that the action was not properly transmitted to Congress until the Trump administration. By locking up the Duluth Complex — the world’s largest untapped copper-nickel deposit — President Biden cemented our nation’s reliance on foreign adversarial nations like China for critical minerals that will be necessary for the United States to compete and win in the 21st Century,” Stauber said in the press release.The measure also needs approval from the Senate and President Trump to take effect. It comes after other Republican moves to use the CRA in contentious ways, including an effort to axe an Environmental Protection Agency waiver allowing California to issue climate regulations for cars that went beyond federal standards.
Water rule rollback stokes affordability concerns - As President Donald Trump pledges to help lower costs for Americans, his administration’s plan to reduce protections under the Clean Water Act is fueling new concerns about water affordability. The administration is racing to finalize a rule that will chip away at federal oversight for millions of acres of streams and wetlands. Those resources play an important role in filtering pollutants out of drinking supplies and absorbing rainwater during floods — at no direct cost to consumers. Trump administration officials say their proposal will provide clarity for farmers and landowners and ease costs for businesses. Yet local officials who oversee sewer systems and water treatment plants say the changes could shift costs to them, putting pressure on water bills at a time when millions of Americans struggle to pay them.“The affordability issue is already a challenge, and this is going to exacerbate that even further,” said Tony Parrott, executive director of the metropolitan sewer district in Louisville, Kentucky. “If we’re losing that layer of wetlands as a tool, it means we’re going to have to make larger investments on the back end.”Often described as nature’s sponges, wetlands absorb large quantities of water during rainstorms, which are becoming more frequent and intense in parts of the eastern U.S. due to climate change. Wetlands also help keep nutrients and other pollutants out of surface waters, making it easier to treat water to meet federal drinking water standards. The Trump administration proposal redefining what counts as a “water of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act would exclude over 80 percent of wetlands in the lower 48 states, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers estimated. That means that companies building homes, power plants, data centers, highways and other infrastructure might not need to pay mitigation fees or obtain permits to fill in wetlands. Once finalized, the changes will be “a huge win” for affordability, said EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch. Under the current regulatory system, farmers and landowners must hire expensive consultants to tell them whether they need a permit to build on their property, she said. “The new rule, if finalized, will put dollars back in the pockets of American families and business and make sure they aren’t bogged down with confusing regulations,” Hirsch said in a statement. “Having a durable, consistent, and clear definition of WOTUS is essential to lowering costs for Americans and accelerating economic growth while protecting human health and the environment.” Republican lawmakers and industry trade groups have backed the changes as key to accelerating infrastructure build-out. Still, the administration has not quantified how the effort may affect the cost of treating drinking water or of dealing with floods.“The essential nature of the Clean Water Act is protecting sources of drinking water, and that doesn’t even appear in the preamble of the rule,” said Peter Goodman, director of water quality and research for Louisville Water, which runs the city’s drinking water system. The changes to the “waters of the U.S.” rule come as some stormwater utilities are increasingly turning to wetlands and floodplains as natural solutions to flooding.In the Cleveland metro area, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is seeking to “weave back into the landscape” streams and wetlands that were lost to development years ago, said Matt Scharver, director of the district’s watershed programs. An uptick in intense rain events across the Midwest has made it more expensive for the public utility to manage stormwater across its 360-square-mile footprint.“If rule changes enable natural streams — perennial, intermittent or ephemeral — and natural wetlands to be not properly managed and removed from the landscape, that adds to that pressure,” Scharver said.The draft rule would require wetlands to physically touch a larger waterway and have standing water at least for the duration of the “wet season,” in order to be federally regulated. Wet season isn’t defined in the rule, but the agencies said it would be based on past weather patterns in a given area.The proposal would also end protections for many streams that do not flow year-round, including those that trickle into the drinking water supplies of major cities.
Western governors called to Washington as Colorado River impasse drags on -- With western states deadlocked in negotiations over how to cut water use along the Colorado River, the Trump administration has called in the governors of seven states to Washington to try to hash out a consensus.The governors of at least four—Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Wyoming—say they'll attend the meeting next week led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom won't.Newsom is "unable to attend but plans to send key representatives of his administration to attend in his place," spokesperson Anthony Martinez said in an email. Representatives of the seven states that depend on the river have met regularly for two years trying to agree on how much less water each will take after the current rules expire at the end of this year. Federal officials have told the states' leaders to come to an agreement, giving them until Feb. 14. The states are "actively engaged and doing the hard work needed to reach consensus," said JB Hamby, chairman of California's Colorado River Board, who will attend the meeting. Hamby said California will "continue to lead" with real commitments to water reductions "because shared responsibility means every state has to do its part." California has used less water the last three years under a temporary deal, with farmers being paid to leave some of their hay fields dry part of the year."My expectation for this meeting is that everyone comes prepared to put forward what every state can contribute … to support the system that sustains us all," he said in an email. In the negotiations, the three downstream or lower basin states—California, Arizona and Nevada—are at odds with the four states in the river's upper basin—Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.Rhett Larson, a water law professor at Arizona State University, said it's hard to say whether bringing the governors together might help unjam the negotiations."These are pretty technical conversations, and the distance that would have to be bridged is pretty far right now," Larson said. "So I'm not sure how much progress is going to be made by having governors in the room, but I think it's still a good sign."California's farmlands and cities use more Colorado River water than any other state. If Newsom ends up being the only governor absent from the meeting, it will look like a snub, Larson said. "Not going isn't good optics," Larson said.Addressing the Colorado River's crisis is one of the most important issues facing the country, Larson said, and there is a chance that being absent from the meeting might not sit well with federal officials who have authority to order cuts in water use in the river's lower basin."Why would you want to upset someone whose power is so great?" Larson said, "and that power is over your water supply."The Trump administration hasn't said what it will do if there is no agreement. But it released an outline this month of four options, each of which could dramatically cut the water available for Southern California and Arizona.Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a Jan. 12 speech that for years the three lower basin states "have regularly brought proposals, offers of collaboration, and a commitment to the long-term health of a river that sustains nearly 40 million people."The federal government "must ensure the upper basin is stepping up and conserving water like Arizona does," she said. "The upper basin states, led by Colorado, have chosen to dig in their heels instead of acknowledging reality," she said. "As negotiations continue, I refuse to back down."Hobbs is going to the Jan. 30 meeting in Washington focused on protecting Arizona's farmers and businesses, spokesperson Christian Slater said. She is "glad Secretary Burgum heard her calls for greater involvement from the federal government," he said, "and hopes the meeting will be a productive conversation."As the negotiations remain at an impasse, the possibility of the states suing each other is increasing. It's a path riddled with uncertainty that water managers in both camps say they hope to avoid. The Colorado River provides water for cities from Denver to Los Angeles, 30 Native tribes and farming communities from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. It has long been overused, and its reservoirs have declined dramatically amid unrelenting dry conditions since 2000. In the last quarter-century, the river has lost about 20% of its flow. Research has shown that climate change has intensified the long stretch of mostly dry years. Lake Mead, the river's largest reservoir, is now just 34% full, and Lake Powell, its second-largest reservoir, is at 27% of capacity.
Conservation may not be enough to sustain water supplies, researchers find - As temperatures rise and water supplies drop, public policy could bolster municipal water provisions under pressure. But one policy prescription—pushing conservation—will likely be insufficient as a standalone fix to sustain some reservoirs, according to research led by scientists at Penn State.The study, published in the journal Water Resources Research, centers on three western U.S. cities connected by the Colorado River: Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Drawing from resident surveys and a new computational model, researchers found that reducing demand would be effective in buoying supplies under relatively mild climate change scenarios but have minimal impact in more dire circumstances.If climate change brings more severe or prolonged dry conditions, managing customer demand "starts to fail as a way to maintain water availability," said Renee Obringer, assistant professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS)."A lot of policymakers out West may be thinking that conservation policies might solve a lot of the problems—if they can just use less water and store the rest for emergency situations," said Obringer, the lead author on the paper. "We found that's not always going to be effective, especially given conditions across the drought-prone Colorado River Basin." The work builds on Obringer's prior work in the region, where she and collaborator Dave D. White, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at Arizona State University, examined which groups are most likely to conserve. In another study, published in 2024, Obringer and White investigated how varying conservation attitudes might influence water availability in Phoenix. Obringer said the recent study stems from her longstanding interest in the effectiveness of water-demand management. This latest collaboration includes Grace Peterson, a Penn State undergraduate majoring in environmental systems engineering.As reported by the Public Policy Institute of California, Colorado River water use outpaces the river's annual supply by some 1 million acre-feet per year—an average established over the last quarter-century. Shortages are worsening amid higher temperatures and diminished snowpack, the institute noted.That's a deepening concern for communities across seven states that depend on the river system for water since nearly 40 million people rely on it, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System."If a lot of people just simply don't care to follow demand-management protocols, recommendations or even mandates, then implementing those policies is not going to have any sort of real, lasting change," Obringer said. In this research, the team estimated reservoir storage under a variety of climate change and demand-management scenarios in Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. All three cities receive drinking water from the Colorado River Basin and, because of a complex allocation system, have few ways to increase their supply.
For every dollar we spend protecting nature, we spend $30 destroying it: Report --For every US$1 the world invests in protecting nature, it spends US$30 on destroying it. This stark imbalance is the central finding of a new UN Environment Program (UNEP) report released today. It calls for a major shift in global financing of nature-based solutions and phasing out harmful investments to deliver high returns, reduce risk exposure, and enhance resilience. The report, "State of Finance for Nature 2026: Nature in the red: Powering the trillion dollar nature transition economy," which uses data for 2023, finds:
- US$ 7.3 trillion in total nature-negative finance flows
- with US$ 4.9 trillion from private sources highly concentrated in a few sectors: utilities, industrials, energy, and basic materials) and
- public environmentally harmful subsidies to fossil fuels, agriculture, water, transport and construction of US$ 2.4 trillion in 2023
- US$ 220 billion in NbS finance flows, with close to 90% coming from public sources, reflecting a steady rise in domestic and international support for NbS.
- Private investment in NbS amounted to only US$ 23.4 billion—10% of total NbS investments. Business and finance have yet to invest at scale in NbS despite the growing awareness of dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to nature.
- NbS investments need to grow 2.5 times to US$ 571 billion per year by 2030. This constitutes just 0.5% of global GDP (in 2024).
"If you follow the money, you see the size of the challenge ahead of us. We can either invest into nature's destruction or power its recovery—there is no middle ground," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. "While financing nature-based solutions crawls forward, harmful investments and subsidies are surging ahead. This report offers leaders a clear roadmap to reverse this trend and work with nature, rather than against it."
Over 200 killed by heavy rains, flooding and storms across Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe - More than 200 people have died in weeks of torrential rain and severe flooding across southern Africa, with Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe bearing the worst impacts. The prolonged La Niña pattern has intensified the region’s rainy season, leaving widespread damage to homes, roads, crops and public infrastructure. Heavy rains that began in late December 2025 triggered extensive flooding across much of southern Africa, affecting Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and neighboring countries. As of January 17, 2026, the cumulative death toll across the three countries has surpassed 200. National emergency services continue to warn that river levels remain critically high and that further rainfall could extend the crisis. The flooding was driven by a combination of regional and global meteorological factors. Persistent La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific strengthened the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over southern tropical latitudes, drawing deep moisture from the southwestern Indian Ocean into the subcontinent. December 2025 had already been unusually wet across much of southern Africa, with several provinces recording rainfall well above the monthly average and soils approaching full saturation. When a quasi-stationary low-pressure system formed in early January 2026 over northern South Africa and southern Mozambique, it interacted with the moisture-laden ITCZ, sustaining multi-day convective storms across the region. The resulting combination of saturated ground and persistent heavy rainfall led to rapid surface runoff, widespread river overflow, and severe flooding. MozambiqueThe National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD) confirmed at least 103 deaths since late December 2025 as prolonged rainfall inundated central and southern provinces. Fatalities resulted from drowning, collapsed buildings, lightning strikes, electrocution, and water-borne diseases such as cholera. The INGD lists Zambezia, Sofala, Gaza, Inhambane, and Maputo as the worst-affected provinces. According to INGD and the World Food Programme, more than 200 000 people have been affected, and tens of thousands have been relocated to temporary shelters established in schools and public buildings on higher ground. Evacuations continue along the Pungwe, Buzi, Limpopo, and Save rivers as water levels remain above alert thresholds. Many of these basins were already swollen before the January downpours, leaving embankments saturated and floodplains prone to breach. Thousands of dwellings have been destroyed or severely damaged in low-lying districts near Xai-Xai in Gaza Province and around Inhambane and Beira. Traditional wattle-and-daub houses collapsed as floodwaters undermined foundations, while brick structures sustained long-term damage after prolonged immersion. INGD and WFP estimate that about 70 000 ha (173 000 acres) of cropland, mostly rice, maize, and cassava, are waterlogged or destroyed. Irrigation dikes in the lower Limpopo basin were breached, seed stocks washed away and grazing areas submerged, raising concerns over food security through mid-2026. Livestock losses have been reported across flood-affected districts, with thousands of cattle, goats, and poultry drowned or swept away as pastures and kraals were inundated. In many rural areas, wells and boreholes have been contaminated by floodwaters and animal carcasses, leaving communities without safe drinking water. Health authorities warn that the combination of livestock decay and polluted groundwater is heightening the risk of cholera and other water-borne disease outbreaks. Sections of the EN1 and EN6 highways, Mozambique’s main north–south and east–west routes, have been cut by washouts, isolating districts from ports and markets. Several bridges over the Pungwe and Buzi rivers were damaged, and rail traffic to the port of Beira was temporarily halted. Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) reported widespread power interruptions across central provinces as intense rainfall and strong winds damaged sections of the national grid. More than 8 300 consumers in Sofala and Manica were left without electricity after conductors and poles were brought down in saturated ground, particularly near the Buzi River crossings. Hydrological gauges along the Limpopo and Save rivers show persistently high flows as upstream rainfall from Zimbabwe and South Africa moves downstream. The government has warned communities in flood-prone districts to remain on alert. In northern South Africa, the most severe impacts have been recorded in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, where heavy rain between January 8 and 14 produced extreme flooding along the Limpopo, Olifants, and Crocodile rivers. By mid-January, at least 30 fatalities had been confirmed in incidents linked to flash floods, collapsed buildings and drownings. Several people remain missing in rural areas near riverbanks. The South African Weather Service recorded rainfall totals of 100–200 mm (4–8 inches) over several days in many locations, with localized totals approaching 400 mm (16 inches). This represents several times the January average. The agency issued repeated impact-based warnings, culminating in a Level 10 red alert for disruptive rainfall over Limpopo and Mpumalanga. More than 1 000 homes were damaged in Limpopo alone, with entire sections of informal settlements in Makhado, Musina, and Tzaneen districts inundated. Walls and roofs collapsed under water pressure, and mud-brick dwellings were washed away. Thousands of residents were evacuated to temporary shelters by provincial emergency services. Sections of the R81 and R71 highways that connect rural municipalities to the provincial capital, Polokwane, were washed away after prolonged heavy rainfall caused severe scouring and undermined bridge abutments. Multiple smaller bridges and culverts along these routes failed under sustained flow, cutting off access to villages in Makhado, Tzaneen and Giyani districts. The Limpopo Department of Transport confirmed that several road sections remained impassable as of mid-January, hindering the delivery of food and medical supplies. Provincial emergency services, supported by the South African Police Service and the National Defence Force, deployed boats and helicopters to rescue motorists and residents stranded on submerged roadways and to deliver essential relief materials to isolated communities. Extensive agricultural losses have been reported across northern Limpopo, where floodwaters inundated citrus orchards and maize fields along the Limpopo and Letaba river basins. Irrigation systems, including pumps, pipes, and canal intakes, were destroyed or buried under sediment, while heavy runoff stripped topsoil and deposited silt over cropland. The provincial agriculture department confirmed that several commercial citrus farms near Tzaneen and Musina suffered severe production losses, and smallholder plots along riverbanks were entirely washed away. Livestock losses were recorded as kraals were submerged, while boreholes in rural settlements were contaminated by floodwater infiltration, leaving many communities temporarily without safe drinking water. Kruger National Park sustained extensive flood damage as multiple rivers, including the Sabie and Crocodile, overflowed their banks following several days of heavy rain. Floodwaters submerged access roads, bridges and low-water crossings throughout the reserve, cutting off internal transport routes and isolating several tourist camps. Park authorities closed all visitor gates as a safety measure while emergency crews and rangers coordinated evacuations. Approximately 600 tourists and staff were airlifted or moved by high-clearance vehicles to higher ground after key bridges and causeways became impassable. Zimbabwe has endured its most destructive mid-season floods in several years. The Civil Protection Unit reports at least 70 deaths since early January 2026 in incidents related to flooding, landslides, lightning, and structural collapse. The worst impacts have been recorded in Masvingo, Manicaland, Midlands, and Mashonaland East provinces, where sustained rainfall overwhelmed river systems and inundated low-lying communities. The Meteorological Service Department reported totals of 250–300 mm (10– 12 inches) in Masvingo and Chipinge districts within one week — nearly double the January average. Continuous heavy rain and flood warnings were issued from January 9 to 16, urging residents near the Save, Runde, and Manyame rivers to move to higher ground. The floods destroyed more than 1 000 homes and damaged thousands more. Entire sections of rural settlements in Gutu and Chiredzi districts were washed away while urban areas, including Mutare, experienced flash floods that damaged infrastructure and disrupted transport. Bridges, roads, and schools across Masvingo and Manicaland collapsed or became impassable, cutting access to services. The Birchenough Bridge on the Save River was closed to light vehicles after inspection found compromised supports. Heavy rain and standing water destroyed large areas of maize and sorghum, while grazing land was lost to flooding. The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture reported livestock deaths and well contamination and warned of local food shortages if replanting is delayed. Authorities declared states of emergency in multiple districts and set up temporary evacuation centers in schools and churches. The Meteorological Service Department warns that saturated soils and high river levels will maintain a high risk of renewed flooding through February as La Niña-related moisture persists.
Woman killed, homes damaged as heavy rainfall and landslides strike New South Wales, Australia - 3 YouTube videos - Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms swept across New South Wales and southeast Queensland between Saturday and Monday, January 17 and 19, 2026, forcing evacuations around Sydney’s Narrabeen Lagoon and causing one death at Macquarie Pass. The storm system brought flash flooding, landslides, and dozens of rescues as the NSW State Emergency Service continued operations across inundated coastal suburbs. Severe thunderstorms moved along Australia’s east coast between Saturday and Monday, bringing heavy rains, flash flooding, and damaging winds to large parts of New South Wales (NSW) and parts of southeast Queensland. The heaviest rainfall struck Sydney’s northern beaches, where Narrabeen Lagoon overflowed late Saturday, prompting an emergency evacuation order. Residents and visitors were instructed to move to higher ground as floodwaters rose rapidly through low-lying streets and properties. The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) conducted at least 25 flood rescues and advised that floodwaters would take several days to recede. In the Illawarra region, a woman died on Saturday when a large tree branch fell onto her vehicle while she was driving at Macquarie Pass, south of Wollongong. NSW Police confirmed she was the driver and that the force’s Crash Investigation Unit is preparing a report for the coroner. Meanwhile, a man remains missing after falling from a cliff into the sea off the South Coast near Mystery Bay Beach. A landslide damaged at least three homes, leaving debris scattered across hillside properties at Great Mackerel Beach. One person reportedly sustained minor injuries. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) reported that thunderstorms brought around 60 mm (2.4 inches) of rain in parts of southeast Queensland, while coastal New South Wales experienced locally intense downpours of over 100 mm (4 inches). Forecasters warned that unstable atmospheric conditions could sustain further storms during the week, prolonging flood recovery in several areas.
Record-breaking rainfall leaves dead and missing in New Zealand - YouTube videos - Record-breaking rainfall left at least two people dead and several others unaccounted for in parts of New Zealand on January 21, 2026. The event produced multiple rainfall records and damaging winds, marking the 20th Red Warning weather event since the alert level was introduced in May 2019. Red Warnings associated with the tropical low that produced extreme rainfall across parts of New Zealand were lifted on Thursday, January 22, as the system moved eastward away from the country. MetService has confirmed the event as one of the most significant rainfall episodes in recent decades, resulting in multiple daily rainfall records and damaging wind gusts. Whitianga recorded 247.6 mm (9.75 inches), making it the wettest day on record since observations began in 1987. Tauranga registered 274 mm (10.8 inches), its wettest day on record in data extending back to 1910 while Whakatāne recorded 114.2 mm (4.50 inches), the wettest January day since records began in 1974. Other locations also experienced exceptionally high 24-hour rainfall totals over the same period, including 309.4 mm (12.2 inches) in Whangamatā, 284.8 mm (11.2 inches) at Waihi Beach, and 190.2 mm (7.5 inches) at Hicks Bay. Peak rainfall rates show severe downpours were embedded within broader rain bands. The highest recorded intensity reached 39 mm/h (1.54 inches/h) at the Wētā weather station near Kaeo. Other peak rates included 33.4 mm/h (1.31 inches/h) at Whangamatā, 32.6 mm/h (1.28 inches/h) at Whitianga, 30.6 mm/h (1.20 inches/h) at Waihi Beach, 32.5 mm/h (1.28 inches/h) at Great Barrier Island, and 25.0 mm/h (0.98 inches/h) at Tauranga. Peak wind gusts reached 135 km/h (84 mph) at Matamata and 113 km/h (70 mph) at Paeroa. Authorities have confirmed at least two deaths linked to the storm after a landslide struck a house in the Welcome Bay area near Tauranga. Emergency services said the occupants were trapped during intense rainfall and were later found deceased. In addition, emergency agencies reported several people unaccounted for following separate incidents associated with flooding and landslides during the event. A landslide at a coastal campground near Mount Maunganui affected multiple cabins, with officials cautioning that the number of missing remained uncertain as some occupants may have left the area without formally registering their movements. YouTube video Searches were also conducted for a man reported missing after floodwaters swept a vehicle into a river north of Auckland, with conditions complicating recovery efforts. Officials said casualty figures and missing-person reports may change as search operations continue and as people are accounted for in affected communities. Although Red Warnings have been lifted, authorities said recovery efforts are expected to continue, particularly in regions that experienced severe flooding and landslides. Many of the hardest-hit areas are popular holiday destinations, and emergency officials advised travellers to remain mindful of ongoing cleanup and infrastructure disruption during the Auckland Anniversary Day long weekend. As of January 22, a Heavy Rain Watch remained in place for parts of Canterbury and Marlborough until early afternoon. An Orange Strong Wind Warning and a Heavy Rain Watch were also issued for the Chatham Islands as the low-pressure system continued eastward. National forecasters said the post-event pattern is expected to shift to cooler southwesterly flow, bringing showers, strong winds, and an elevated risk of thunderstorms and hail to parts of the country through the weekend.
Moscow sends heavy equipment to deal with historic snow emergency in Kamchatka - Moscow sent two military cargo planes to deliver heavy snow-clearing equipment to Kamchatka on January 22, 2026, after historic snowfall claimed two lives last week. More than 2 m (7 feet) of snow fell in the first half of January, followed by another 3.7 m (12.1 feet) in December, burying entire homes and paralyzing the region. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and surrounding settlements on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula have been experiencing historic snowfall through December 2025 and January 2026, paralyzing daily life and prompting emergency measures. Snow depths of over 2–2.5 m (6.6–8.2 feet) were recorded in several districts in January, on top of a total of 3.7 m (12.1 feet) in December, along with strong gusts. Entire neighborhoods were buried under the accumulating snow, with vehicles, streets, and public infrastructure heavily impacted. At least two deaths were reported in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky after snow falling from rooftops struck residents on January 15. The first fatality was of a man, who was killed by a snow collapse on Sovetskaya Street, while trying to dig his car out of the snow. The second fatality was reported in the private residential sector on Makarova Street, when a man in his 60s died while rescuers tried to dig him out of the snow. In a separate incident, fire trucks were unable to reach a burning building where three people were injured last week. “Firefighters had to drag the hose by hand to reach the source of the fire,” regional Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Lebedev said. Regional Governor Vladimir Solodov said Kamchatka lacked sufficient snow-removal equipment to address the situation, leaving roads impassable. Videos and photos shared online showed people climbing out of or even jumping from their apartment buildings through windows, as their building entrances were blocked by snow.
Chile declares emergency as wildfires kill at least 19 - Uncontrolled wildfires tore through communities in southern Chile, leaving charred ruins in their wake and at least 19 dead, authorities said, announcing the latest toll on Sunday. More than 50,000 people have been displaced by blazes burning for two days now in the Nuble and Biobio regions about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago, fanned by strong winds and hot weather. "At 2:30 in the morning, the fire was out of control. There was a whirlwind of fire that consumed the houses in the town below," Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student in Penco, told AFP. "We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death," he said. Video of the aftermath shows a bleak, empty cityscape of charred homes and burned-out pick-up trucks and cars. Most of the fatalities from the wildfires in the region have so far been in Penco, Mayor Rodrigo Vera said. A resident in front of charred ruins in Concepcion, one of the cities hit by wildfires in southern Chile.In neighboring Lirquen, a small port town of about 20,000, the scene was equally devastating, with residents describing how the fire advanced "in seconds." Many of the residents "were saved from the fire because they ran to the beach," Alejandro Arredondo, 57, told AFP. "Nothing was left standing." In the town of Lirquen, soldiers were patrolling the streets as night fell on Sunday. Despite a curfew, some residents armed with flashlights continued working to clear debris or put out fires. President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio as nearly 4,000 firefighters battled the wildfires—raging during the high temperatures of the southern hemisphere summer. The order allows for the deployment of the armed forces to assist. The president traveled to the badly impacted city of Concepcion to oversee the firefighting efforts. Boric announced a nighttime curfew in the most affected towns, warning, "conditions are very difficult."
Chile wildfires rage for third day, entire towns wiped out - Wildfires that have killed 19 people in southern Chile and wiped out entire towns, raged for a third day Monday, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds at the height of the southern hemisphere summer. The blazes started Saturday in the Nuble and Biobio regions—about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Chile's capital Santiago. Both were declared disaster areas to allow for the emergency deployment of soldiers and a nighttime curfew was imposed in the hardest-hit areas, whose residents reeled from the widespread devastation. "It was horrible. I tried to wet the house as much as possible, but I saw the flames coming toward my neighborhood. I grabbed my son (7), my brother got my dog out, and we fled," Yagora Vasquez, a resident of the small port town of Lirquen in Biobio told AFP. On Monday morning, the streets of the neighborhood where she has lived for 15 years were littered with charred cars. Soldiers patrolled the streets as residents returned to what remained of their homes, digging through the rubble and ash to salvage what they could. Scientists say climate change has made the occurence of extreme wildfires more likely.Vasquez told AFP she had chosen to live in Lirquen—on a hill far from the sea—after seeing the devastation wrought by the tsunami of 2010 that killed more than 500 people in the same region of Chile. This time the threat came from the forest. Mareli Torres similarly moved away from the coast after the tsunami, only for her home to be destroyed this weekend in "a wave of fire, not water." "This is much worse, much more devastating. In the earthquake the sea surged, there was destruction, but compared to this it's nothing," said Torres, 53. Of the two-story house she lived in with her family for nearly two decades, only blackened walls and a haze of smoke remained. More than 3,500 firefighters were battling 14 wildfires in Nuble and Biobio Monday as winds reached speeds of over 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour and temperatures were predicted to hit about 30C (86F). After a brief respite overnight, the director of the Senapred disaster response service said Monday that "the most significant fires are not under control." And President Gabriel Boric said on X, "the weather conditions during the day will not be good, so it is possible that hot spots may reactivate." Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years, especially in its warmest and driest months of January and February. In February 2024, several fires broke out simultaneously near the city of Vina del Mar, northwest of Santiago, resulting in 138 deaths, according to the public prosecutor's office. Unprecedentedly large areas of the country burned during the 2016/17 and 2022/23 fire seasons. Elsewhere in southern South America, wildfires have burned more than 15,000 hectares in recent days in Argentine Patagonia.
Winter weather causes 100-car pileup in Michigan - A winter snowstorm caused a pileup of roughly 100 cars in Zeeland Township, Mich., on Monday. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) posted on Facebook that the crash occurred on Interstate 196 near 64th Avenue. As a result, the highway is closed in both directions between Hudsonville and Zeeland. Ottawa County Emergency Management (OCEM) wrote on Facebook that the pileup began at roughly 10:19 a.m. EST. The OCSO and OCEM added that buses from Hudsonville Public Schools and public transit services from nearby Holland are transporting stranded individuals to Hudsonville High School, where they can receive assistance or arrange to be picked up from the cafeteria. “Motorists currently stranded on scene should remain inside their vehicles until they are able to board a bus for transportation to Hudsonville High School,” the two departments noted. - The Michigan State Police wrote on the social platform X that an estimated 30 to 40 semitrucks are part of the pileup, with roughly 100 vehicles involved overall. The OCEM said there are “numerous” injuries but no reported fatalities. “Sheriff’s Deputies are working with area ambulance and fire services to treat the wounded and transport them to area hospitals,” OCEM added. Photos and video shared by @ChicagoMWeather on X show dozens of cars and trucks spread out across the highway, with some stuck off the road. Video also shows rescue crews braving blizzard conditions to search for motorists. Ottawa County offices closed at 3 p.m. EST, according to the OCEM. The agency advised residents to avoid “unnecessary travel” and refrain from driving on I-196 between Zeeland and Hudsonville.
Major polar vortex disruption brings Arctic surges across North America and Europe through January and early February - A major polar vortex disruption has begun and is forecast to send Arctic air into much of North America and Europe through mid and late January 2026. The event will bring freezing temperatures and winter weather as the vortex weakens following a stratospheric warming episode. A second, stronger outbreak is forecast to occur during the last part of January as the core of the vortex splits into two halves, each driving cold Arctic air into Europe and North America in February. A major disruption of the polar vortex has begun, while a stronger Arctic outbreak is forecast across North America and Europe during the final week of January and into early February.Forecast models suggest that the vortex has become elongated and displaced from the pole following a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW).Extended forecasts from the ECMWF and GFS models show downward propagation of stratospheric anomalies that could favor high-latitude blocking and southward transport of Arctic air. This pattern supports an increased probability of below-normal temperatures across large parts of the Northern Hemisphere later in the month.The coldest air will first hit western and central Canada before spreading into the northern and central United States toward the end of January. Below-normal temperatures and a high probability of snow are forecast across the Great Lakes and northeastern regions as Arctic air interacts with Atlantic moisture, according to Severe Weather Europe.Much of the eastern U.S., including the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast, will experience an Arctic outbreak. The Climate Prediction Center’s extended-range temperature outlook shows a high probability of a prolonged cold phase lasting into early February if the upper-level blocking remains in place.“An Arctic cold front will bring below-average temperatures to the Plains beginning tonight. High temperatures in the teens and single digits over portions of the Northern/Central Plains and Upper Midwest will be 20-30 degrees below average on Saturday. This frigid air mass will spread eastward into the Midwest and East Coast Saturday night into Sunday,” said the National Weather Service (NWS) on Friday.New numerical forecast models suggest this current event will be followed by a split in the vortex’s core around January 25. The two halves of the core will drive an Arctic surge across Europe and North America through February.Meanwhile, a strong Greenland blocking ridge is forecast to drive Arctic air into Europe during this period. ECMWF forecasts show a high probability of below-average temperatures across northern and central Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and parts of Eastern Europe.Colder conditions are expected across the United Kingdom late in January and early in February, with an increasing chance of snow in some regions as northerly flow intensifies.
Long-duration X1.9 solar flare erupts from Region 4341, Earth-directed CME produced - YouTube video - A long-duration X1.9 solar flare erupted from Active Region 4341 at 18:09 UTC on January 18, 2026. The event began at 17:27 and ended at 18:51 UTC. Coronagraph imagery indicates that a full halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced during the eruption. Given the location of the source region on the solar disk, the CME is considered likely to be at least partially Earth-directed, pending further analysis of its speed and magnetic structure. A Type II Radio Emission with an estimated velocity of 693 km/s was associated with the event, suggesting a coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced. A Type IV Radio Emission was registered at 18:13 UTC, indicating a strong CME was produced. Additionally, a 10cm Radio Burst lasting 122 minutes and with a peak flux of 3200 sfu was registered from 17:39 to 19:44 UTC. A 10cm radio burst indicates that the electromagnetic burst associated with a solar flare at the 10cm wavelength was double or greater than the initial 10cm radio background. This can indicate significant radio noise associated with a solar flare. This noise is generally short-lived but can cause interference for sensitive receivers, including radar, GPS, and satellite communications. Radio frequencies were forecast to be most degraded over the Pacific Ocean and parts of the Americas. Region 4341 is in a location that favors Earth-directed CMEs. While a detailed analysis of this event is still in progress, it appears we have a strong CME on the way. Given the long duration of this event, the energy released might produce a strong geomagnetic storm around January 20/21. The region has a ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic configuration and is capable of producing more strong to major eruptions on the Sun, making Earth-directed solar flares a real possibility through the coming week.
Solar radiation storm in progress following long-duration X1.9 flare and Earth-directed CME - YouTube videos - Following an X1.9 flare and associated full halo coronal mass ejection (CME) late on January 18, 2026, the ≥10 MeV proton flux rose above 100 pfu early on January 19. The event reached S2 – Moderate solar radiation storm levels, prompting extended warnings for continued elevated radiation conditions through the rest of the day. A solar radiation storm is currently in progress after a long-duration X1.9 solar flare from Active Region 4341 (S11E24), which peaked at 18:09 UTC on January 18. The eruption produced Type II and Type IV radio emissions and a 3 200 sfu F10.7 radio burst with a Castelli-U signature. A full halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was first detected in GOES CCOR-1 imagery at approximately 18:30 UTC. The ≥10 MeV proton flux initially surpassed 10 pfu at 22:55 UTC on January 18 (S1 – Minor) and then exceeded 100 pfu at 04:40 UTC on January 19, reaching S2 – Moderate levels. At S2 – Moderate radiation storm intensity, radiation exposure for high-latitude and high-altitude flights may increase slightly, and satellite systems may experience occasional single-event upsets or surface charging. Minor high-frequency radio fades are possible at polar latitudes. The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) upgraded its warning for proton flux persistence through 23:59 UTC on January 19. Real-time GOES proton plots confirm a sustained rise in particle flux above the S1 threshold. YouTube video Moderate flare potential remains from Region 4341 through January 21, and the associated CME could intensify geomagnetic conditions on January 19–20, depending on its magnetic orientation. Geomagnetic activity is currently quiet to active under positive-polarity coronal-hole influence, but higher storm levels are possible once the CME reaches Earth. An additional high-electron-flux alert, active since January 12, indicates continued charging risk for satellites. Yesterday’s maximum ≥2 MeV electron flux reached 4 619 pfu under the same coronal-hole regime. star coronal hole and active region map january 18 2026 Coronal hole and active region map for January 18, 2026. Credit: NASA/SDO, Solen Updates 11:55 UTC, January 19 The solar radiation storm intensified further on January 19, reaching S3 – Strong levels after ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 1 000 pfu at 10:20 UTC. This marks a significant escalation from earlier S1–S2 conditions following the X1.9 flare on January 18. Solar radiation storms reaching S3 – Strong levels are relatively uncommon, typically occurring only a few times during an 11-year solar cycle. At this intensity, increased radiation exposure is possible for high-latitude, high-altitude flights, while satellites may experience single-event upsets, imaging noise, minor efficiency losses in solar panels, and degraded or episodically blacked-out polar HF radio propagation.
Rare S3 - Strong solar radiation storm in progress after X1.9 flare on January 18 - YouTube videos -A strong solar radiation storm (S3) is in progress after ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 1 000 pfu at 10:20 UTC on January 19, 2026. The event follows an X1.9 solar flare and full-halo coronal mass ejection that erupted on January 18. S3 – Strong solar radiation storms are relatively rare, occurring just a few times in one 11-year solar cycle. Solar radiation storm produced by a long-duration X1.9 solar flare from Active Region 4341 on January 18 reached S3 – Strong levels at 10:20 UTC on January 19 after the ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 1 000 pfu.Proton flux levels initially crossed the S1 – Minor threshold at 22:55 UTC on January 18, exceeded S2 – Moderate levels early on January 19, and continued rising steadily through the morning hours. At 10:20 UTC, ≥10 MeV protons surpassed 1 000 pfu, triggering an S3 alert issued at 10:29 UTC. GOES-18 proton data show sustained increases across multiple energy channels, indicating an ongoing and well-developed solar energetic particle event. Elevated ≥50 MeV proton flux has also been observed, confirming the high-energy nature of the storm. At S3 intensity, increased radiation exposure is possible for passengers and crew on high-latitude, high-altitude flights, while astronauts conducting extravehicular activities are exposed to significantly elevated radiation levels. Satellite systems may experience single-event upsets, noise in imaging sensors, and minor reductions in solar panel efficiency. Polar high-frequency radio propagation may become degraded or experience intermittent blackouts. Solar radiation storms of S3 – Strong intensity are relatively rare space weather events. Based on long-term NOAA statistics, only a limited number of such storms usually occur during a full 11-year solar cycle, as they require efficient particle acceleration by strong solar eruptions and CME-driven shocks. YouTube video The radiation storm continues as the CME propagates through interplanetary space. Additional impacts are possible if enhanced solar wind conditions and southward magnetic field components accompany the CME’s arrival at Earth later on January 19 or January 20. Further updates will follow as particle flux trends and CME-driven space weather conditions evolve. Updates 15:40 UTC, January 19 Forecasts indicate that the full-halo coronal mass ejection produced by the January 18 X1.9 flare is expected to arrive at Earth early on January 20, with geomagnetic conditions likely to intensify rapidly afterward. A G4 – Severe or greater geomagnetic storm is now predicted, with potential impacts including power grid disturbances at high latitudes, degraded or unavailable satellite navigation, spacecraft charging and increased drag, widespread HF radio disruptions, and auroral activity expanding well into mid-latitudes, potentially as far south as Alabama and northern California. 19:34 UTC, January 19 The solar radiation storm increased to the very rare S4 – Severe level at 18:10 UTC on January 19 after ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 10 000 pfu, significantly increasing radiation exposure risk for polar aviation, satellite systems, and causing widespread blackout of polar HF radio communications. An interplanetary shock associated with the CME was detected at the Sun–Earth L1 point at 19:03 UTC, marking the onset of geomagnetic response. G4 – Severe or greater geomagnetic storming is expected.
CME impact forecast early January 20 with G4 - Severe or higher storm risk and aurora as low as California -YouTube videos - A G4 – Severe or greater geomagnetic storm is forecast for early January 20, 2026, as a full-halo coronal mass ejection from the January 18 X1.9 solar flare approaches Earth. If G4 conditions materialize, auroral activity is expected to expand significantly equatorward, with visibility possible as far south as Alabama and northern California. Modeling and analysis indicate that the CME produced by the long-duration X1.9/3b flare from Active Region 4341 on January 18 is likely to reach Earth early on January 20. The eruption generated a full-halo CME observed in coronagraph imagery shortly after the flare peak, indicating an Earth-directed trajectory. Space weather forecasts now indicate a high likelihood of severe geomagnetic storming after CME arrival. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a geomagnetic storm watch predicting G4 – Severe conditions, superseding all prior watches. Weaker storming at G1 – Minor levels is expected to persist into January 21 as CME effects gradually wane and coronal-hole influences resume. At G4 intensity, geomagnetically induced currents may cause widespread voltage control problems in power transmission systems, with some protective systems potentially tripping out key assets. Satellite systems may experience surface charging, increased drag on low Earth orbit spacecraft, and tracking or orientation difficulties. Satellite navigation systems, including GPS, may be degraded or unavailable for several hours. High-frequency radio propagation is expected to become sporadic or completely blacked out at polar latitudes. Aviation operations on polar routes may be affected due to communication disruptions and increased radiation exposure linked to the ongoing S3 – Strong solar radiation storm. Auroral activity is expected to expand significantly equatorward during peak storming. If G4 conditions materialize, aurora may be visible well beyond typical high-latitude regions, potentially reaching as far south as Alabama and northern California under favorable viewing conditions. The geomagnetic response will depend strongly on the magnetic structure of the CME upon arrival, particularly the orientation and duration of southward interplanetary magnetic field components. Space weather conditions remain dynamic, and forecasts may be adjusted as upstream solar wind observations become available closer to impact. Update: The solar radiation storm increased to the very rare S4 – Severe level at 18:10 UTC on January 19 after ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 10 000 pfu, significantly increasing radiation exposure risk for polar aviation, satellite systems, and causing widespread blackout of polar HF radio communications. An interplanetary shock associated with the CME was detected at the Sun–Earth L1 point at 19:03 UTC, marking the onset of geomagnetic response. G4 – Severe or greater geomagnetic storming is expected.
Strongest solar radiation storm since 2003 hits Earth, bringing northern lights and possible tech issues – A solar radiation storm stronger than one we’ve seen in over two decades is in progress, the Space Weather Prediction Center announced Monday. The storm is classified as an “S4” – the second-highest possible level of a solar radiation storm. The last time we observed an S4 storm was in October 2003. “Storms of this strength are very rare,” said the Space Weather Prediction Center. Forecasters expect the storm to continue for days, cutting off high-frequency communications completely in the polar regions and posing some added health risk to passengers and crew in high-flying aircraft. The strong solar flare that triggered the radiation storm has also caused a severe geomagnetic storm, which strengthened to a G4 on Monday afternoon and “came with a punch” at around 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time, said Shawn Dahl, a service coordinator with the SWPC. “We reached nearly 20 times what’s normal background level for magnetic energy out in space with that arrival here at Earth,” said Dahl. If the geomagnetic storm continues into the evening, northern lights could be visible across much of the United States. As of the Monday afternoon forecast, the lights were expected to be visible in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, northern Utah, northern Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, northern Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, northern Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Alaska. If the G4 levels we saw earlier in the day are reached again in the evening, that could make the northern lights visible as far south as Alabama and California, the SWPC said. The Great Halloween Solar Storms of 2003 brought dazzling northern lights displays as far south as California, Texas, and Florida. The solar radiation storm and the geomagnetic storm hitting Earth both have potential impacts on our technology and communications infrastructure. At the strong G4 level, impacts on our infrastructure are possible. When the CMEs (which are basically explosions of plasma and magnetic material from the sun) reach Earth, they carry with them their own magnetic field, explained Robert Steenburgh, a space scientist at SWPC. “When you superimpose that over long conductors, things like pipelines, and railroad tracks and power lines, it can induce current — and that’s electrical current that’s not supposed to be there,” he said. The interference could cause issues with the power grid, radio communications and the accuracy of GPS. The solar radiation storm could also pose a risk to space launch and satellites. There shouldn’t be major issues with ATMs, cell phones or other technology people depend upon — unless power outages occur, which would obviously affect your ability to use plugged-in devices and home internet. The massive solar storms of October 2003 created some major technical issues. Half of the spacecraft orbiting Earth were impacted, causing disruptions to GPS, radio communication and satellite TV. A satellite was damaged beyond repair while astronauts aboard the International Space Station had to shield themselves from high radiation. On Earth, science groups in Antarctica lost communications for five days and GPS systems elsewhere were affected.Very rare S4 - Severe solar radiation storm in progress, G4 - Severe geomagnetic storm forecast - YouTube videos - A G4 – Severe solar radiation storm is in progress after ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 10 000 pfu at 18:10 UTC on January 19, 2026, following the X1.9 solar flare on January 18. As the associated full-halo coronal mass ejection approaches Earth, forecasters warn that a G4 – Severe geomagnetic storm is likely early on January 20. The solar radiation storm intensified rapidly through January 19, reaching S4 – Severe levels at 18:10 UTC as high-energy proton flux crossed the 10 000 pfu threshold. The event is associated with a long-duration X1.9/3b solar flare that peaked at 18:09 UTC on January 18. The eruption produced Type II and Type IV radio emissions, a 3 200 sfu F10.7 radio burst with a Castelli-U signature, and a full-halo coronal mass ejection observed shortly after the flare peak, indicating an Earth-directed event capable of sustained particle acceleration. Proton flux levels began rising late on January 18, initially reaching S1 – Minor storm levels before escalating through S2 – Moderate and S3 – Strong thresholds earlier on January 19. Continued particle injection and efficient shock acceleration drove the event into S4 territory by early evening, confirming a prolonged and energetic solar energetic particle event rather than a short-lived impulsive spike. Solar radiation storms reaching S4 – Severe intensity are very rare. Such events typically occur only a small number of times per 11-year solar cycle, while in weaker cycles they may be entirely absent. Most proton events peak at S1 or S2 levels, with only a limited subset progressing through S3 and into S4, generally in association with the most energetic solar eruptions and fast, Earth-directed CMEs. At S4 intensity, significant radiation exposure is possible for passengers and crew on high-latitude, high-altitude flights, and mitigation measures may be required on polar routes. Astronauts conducting extravehicular activities are exposed to unavoidable radiation hazards under these conditions, and EVA operations are typically restricted. Satellite systems face increased risk, including memory device upsets, increased noise in imaging systems, and disruptions to star trackers that can affect spacecraft orientation and control. Prolonged exposure to high-energy particles may also result in temporary degradation of solar panel efficiency. Widespread blackout of polar high-frequency radio communications is likely during peak radiation storm conditions. An interplanetary shock associated with the CME was detected by upstream solar wind monitors at the Sun–Earth L1 point at 19:03 UTC on January 19, prompting a geomagnetic sudden impulse warning valid from 19:20 to 20:00 UTC as Earth’s magnetosphere is expected to be compressed. This marks the initial impact phase of the CME, with forecasts indicating that the main body will arrive early on January 20, likely driving a rapid intensification of geomagnetic activity. A geomagnetic storm watch remains in effect, with G3–G4 storming considered likely and severe G4 conditions forecast depending on the magnetic structure of the CME upon arrival. At G4 intensity, geomagnetically induced currents may cause widespread voltage control problems in power transmission systems, particularly at high latitudes. Satellite navigation systems may become degraded or unavailable for hours, spacecraft may experience increased drag and orientation issues, and high-frequency radio communications could become sporadic or blacked out across polar regions.
Davos’ climate resignation - A few short years ago, Davos was bullish on beating climate change. This week, the focus has shifted to coping with the worst of it.Panels and fireside chats, once geared toward the business of stamping out fossil fuels and slowing the Earth’s dangerous overheating, are now focused on matters of resilience to droughts, fires, floods and sea-level rise. Across dozens of sessions this week at the World Economic Forum (WEF), climate mitigation will play a far smaller role than in previous years.It’s a shift that underscores the political sensitivities of climate change for the organizers. Anything that directly threatens to crimp fossil fuel use is a potential trigger for U.S. President Donald Trump.The change in emphasis was not lost on attendees.
Trump erased the Senate’s 1992 vote on a climate treaty. Can he do that? - A legal debate is swirling about President Donald Trump’s intention to withdraw the U.S. from the world’s oldest climate treaty.At its center are questions about whether it’s legal for a president to unilaterally leave a treaty approved by the Senate — and if a future president could reenter it without the Senate voting again.Whether a president can unilaterally leave a treaty under U.S. law is not addressed in the Constitution. The Supreme Court declined to answer the question in 1979, in Goldwater v. Carter, when President Jimmy Carter terminated a bilateral defense treaty with Taiwan, in order to establish formal relations with China. Congress opposed the move and Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) sued with other lawmakers. A four-justice plurality determined that while the Constitution outlines the Senate’s role in ratifying a treaty, it is silent on the chamber’s role in abandoning one.The mainstream legal view is that the president may quit a treaty if it’s permitted under international law and “neither the Senate’s resolution of advice and consent nor a congressional law has put limits on withdrawal,” former deputy climate envoy Sue Biniaz and law professor Jean Galbraith, argue in a recent piece in Just Security.Some legal scholars argue that just because presidents exercise the practice of quitting treaties, it doesn’t mean the law grants them the power to do it. There have been various attempts in recent years to codify whether the power of withdrawal is exclusive to the president, or if they need help from lawmakers.An opponent of Trump’s move could trigger a lawsuit at any time, but showing standing to sue — which legal scholars say is likely to prove challenging — would be harder if the withdrawal hasn’t been formally instituted.A White House official said the State Department was preparing the official notification that will be sent to the U.N. Once that occurs, the U.S. would withdraw from the treaty one year later. Lawmakers could argue that the president’s action seeks to nullify a legislative branch vote and legally challenge it using what’s known as congressional standing, said Koh.Or Congress could pass a bill saying congressional approval is needed before Trump can withdraw. The chances of that are extremely unlikely in a Republican-dominated Congress, where lawmakers have generally shrugged off Trump’s plan to quit the treaty. Even if both chambers passed such a bill, Trump could veto it. Overriding it would require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.It’s also possible that another party could sue Trump, such as an individual, a state or an environmental group. The case might be difficult to bring to court, because they would have to show standing — or that they were injured by the withdrawal, said Koh. “The standing problem with climate change, obviously, is that everybody is harmed by climate change,” he added. “So it’s hard for one individual to claim an unusual or extraordinary harm.” A state, such as California or Massachusetts, could argue that global warming leads to a greater chance that disasters, like floods, cause increasingly expensive damage to its infrastructure or economy. The challenge there is that the UNFCCC doesn’t contain specific obligations to reduce emissions, making it hard to show how a particular state could be harmed in a concrete way by the U.S. leaving the convention. “I think there are real and serious harms to U.S. withdrawal,” said Galbraith at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, who added that tying those damages to a geographic location, and showing how they could be redressed, would be difficult. “If there is a party who can sue, my guess is that the courts would either hold that the dispute presents a political question that cannot be resolved by the judiciary or they would side with President Trump on the merits,”
Davos: Top business leaders issue expletive-laden message on climate - Top business leaders this week delivered an expletive-laden plea in defense ofclimate action, describing the backlash to Europe's green transition as an "aberration."In an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,Allianz CEO Oliver Bäte said he disagreed with the suggestion that it may just be a matter of time before net zero is dismissed in Europe, saying short-term thinking on this issue is "bulls---."Asked about political leaders backtracking on their much-vaunted European Green New Deal and Norway's oil fund reportedly defending a push from companies to water down their climate goals, Bäte said anyone who has children "will have to worry" about the planet's future."It's an aberration that short-term people are saying that," Bäte told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday. "I think it's about doing it intelligently. And by the way, the role model here is China, they are going to be the leader both in terms of renewable and cost of energy."The CEO of Allianz, one of the world's biggest insurers, said it was integral for business and political leaders to stay the course on necessary energy transition targets."This is what we do in Allianz, we said 2050 is net zero. Let's not try to say, 'ah I need to do it already by 2035' — bulls---. Excuse my language on TV," Bäte said."We have, in our company, reduced energy consumption for us by more than 40%. It can be done, but let's not make it a religion. Make it a target and then keep focusing on it," he added.His comments come amid concerns that businesses are increasingly shying away from climate action, turning instead to issues such as competitiveness, while political support for net zero appears to be fading. Indeed, at Davos, the event itself has shifted focus, looking now at how to cope with the worst elements of the climate crisis rather than, as in previous years, focusing on how to rapidly reduce planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions.
Italy unveils Arctic strategy as polar race heats up - Italy’s right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday presented a new commercial strategy for the Arctic region.The document was officially presented in Rome by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and University and Research Minister Anna Maria Bernini and aims to strengthen security cooperation and open business opportunities in the region.The new strategy reflects the polar north’s growing geopolitical and economic importance, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand American influence by acquiring or seizing Greenland from Denmark. In a statement, Meloni said Italy was “perfectly aware of how much this region of the world represents a strategic quadrant in global balances” and pledged to continue working to preserve the Arctic as “an area of peace, cooperation and prosperity.”
West Virginia Senator Provides Update on Hydrogen Hub Project - (WTRF) -- Senator Shelley Moore – Capito provided an update on the long awaited ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub. She says the project, planned for the northern panhandle, is still in the works but the market is not well established yet. The ARCH2 Hub was one of seven announced in October of 2024 under the Biden Administration. It will use natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, with the carbon dioxide byproduct used elsewhere or stored underground. “The market for hydrogen has not developed as quickly as we would want. We can’t build a hub unless we have somebody to sell the hydrogen to. And so that’s the part I think, that really needs the big push.” -Sen. Shelley Moore – Capito (R, West Virginia) “As we move forward and our energy demands go up to even more than they already have, I expect that the development of our hydrogen hub will not just continue but will then branch out into the employment and opportunities that we know and the promise that we know a full operating hydrogen hub can offer.” Sen. Shelley Moore – Capito (R, West Virginia) Capito highlights extending funding for the project so tax advantages can be used. She says that as energy demands continue to rise, it is expected the demand for hydrogen will increase as well.
Northern Panhandle Hydrogen Hub Stalls Amid Lack of Market - — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says a hydrogen hub planned for the Northern Panhandle is still in the works, even though a market for hydrogen isn’t established yet. The Appalachian-based ARCH2 hub was among seven announced in October 2024 during the Biden Administration. The local project will use Marcellus/Utica shale natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, which is hydrogen made from natural gas where carbon dioxide from the process is captured and either used or stored underground. Capito, R-W.Va., was asked about progress toward achieving the hydrogen hub during a teleconference with West Virginia reporters on Thursday. “I’ve been working hard to see that this will come to full fruition,” she said. “Changing over the administration last year put a stall on some of the hydrogen hubs.” She noted getting funding for the project extended is important so tax advantages can be realized by investors. “I think the problem we are seeing is that the market for hydrogen has not developed as quickly as we would want,” Capito continued. “We can’t build a hub until we have someone to sell the hydrogen to, and that’s where we really need the big push before we can see some of the retooling of manufacturing sites and hydrogen-producing sites. “It’s already occurring, but it’s not occurring fast enough. As we move forward and our energy demands go up more than they already have, I expect the demand for our hydrogen hub will then branch out into the opportunities we know a full operating hydrogen hub can offer.”Trump is canceling $30B in Biden-era green loans - The Trump administration is canceling $30 billion in green loans and revising another $53 billion, it said Thursday night. The administration said the changes or eliminations from the $83 billion in total funding come after its review of $104 billion in loan obligations issued by the Biden administration. While some cancellations have been already announced — such as the nearly $5 billion loan that would have helped finance a power line that would have gotten more wind and solar on the grid — it’s not clear what exactly the rest of the cancellations or revisions are. The Energy Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for more information, though its website did state that it has eliminated $9.5 billion in wind and solar projects and replaced them with natural gas and nuclear energy where possible. The department also said it has the ability to offer up more than $289 billion in loans and that it plans to prioritize nuclear, coal, oil, gas, minerals, geothermal energy, electric grid upgrades, manufacturing and transportation. “Over the past year, the Energy Department individually reviewed our entire loan portfolio to ensure the responsible investment of taxpayer dollars,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a written statement. The administration has repeatedly clawed back funding for green projects under the Biden administration. Last year, the Energy Department announced that it had canceled some $8 billion in funding while the Environmental Protection Agency has also sought to revoke billions.
Michigan sues oil giants for alleged renewable energy collusion - The state of Michigan is suing major oil companies and an industry association, alleging that they colluded to hamper the adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs). In a lawsuit announced Friday, Michigan sued BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute. It alleged they acted as a “cartel” as part of an effort to reduce production and distribution of renewable energy and restrain electric vehicles. “To achieve this end, they have abandoned renewable energy projects, used patent litigation to hinder rivals, suppressed information concerning the hidden costs of fossil fuels and viability of alternatives, infiltrated and knowingly misdirected information-producing institutions, surveilled and intimidated watchdogs and public officials, and used trade associations to coordinate market-wide efforts to divert capital expenditures away from renewable energy — all to further one of the most successful antitrust conspiracies in United States history,” the suit said. While multiple states and cities have already sued fossil fuel companies, saying they have caused climate-related harms, the allegations of colluding against climate-friendly technologies appears to be a newer legal strategy. In a statement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel connected the alleged collusion to energy prices in the state. “Michigan is facing an energy affordability crisis as our home energy costs skyrocket and consumers are left without affordable options for transportation,” Nessel said. “These out-of-control costs are not the result of natural economic inflation, but due to the greed of these corporations who prioritized their own profit and marketplace dominance over competition and consumer savings.”Congress green-lighted billions for EV chargers. Four years later, only 2% is spent. - States have spent only 2 percent of the billions of dollars that the federal government set aside four years ago to build electric vehicle charging stations on U.S. highways. Congress made $4.4 billion available to states under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, per official estimates. But so far, states have asked Uncle Sam to reimburse them for only $94 million, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration, which oversees the NEVI program. Five states — Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada and Wyoming — have spent no money. The new data appeared in a legal filing last week in a lawsuit that Democratic states filed against the Trump administration for freezing their NEVI funds. It’s the latest sign that NEVI, an early part of the Biden administration’s push to accelerate EV adoption, is struggling to stand up charging stations on highways and build confidence in the EV future among road-trippers. “That’s unfortunately not a very positive story,” said Loren McDonald, an EV-charging analyst who has closely tracked NEVI’s spending. However, state officials and experts expressed confidence that NEVI’s roughest days are in the rear view mirror, and that the path seems clear for new charging plazas to steadily come online this year and into 2027 and 2028. The Trump administration ended its seven-month funding freeze in August, and states have plans in place to ramp up construction. First, the program has to dodge cuts from Congress as lawmakers write a new surface-transportation bill. A bipartisan package announced Tuesday would remove more than $500 million from NEVI funds meant for states and put it toward other purposes at FHWA — despite Democrats’ earlier insistence that EV chargers get more funding, not less. The Sierra Club said in a statement that the change “would sabotage states’ efforts to resume NEVI buildout.” The NEVI program has suffered the twin challenges of bureaucracy and political controversy. NEVI is a creature of the bipartisan infrastructure law that Congress approved in 2021. It routed EV charging funds through traditional highway spending channels — a move that caused state departments of transportation to move cautiously because they didn’t know how to build charging stations. Then President Donald Trump, who mocked NEVI’s slow rollout during the 2024 presidential campaign, paused the program last year, causing many station builders to slow down or back out. Meanwhile, a somewhat rosier picture of NEVI’s progress can be found in a different number. States have obligated $1.4 billion of funds. Money is considered obligated when the federal government believes a state has a clear enough plan that it approves the money to be spent. (States receive that obligated money only after they’ve paid their vendors and submitted their receipts to the federal government.) These increasingly certain plans are creating confidence that more NEVI-funded EV stations are coming soon. “Assuming no new political hurdles arise, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see the current open site count double by the end of the year,” wrote Steve Birkett, an independent EV-charging-station analyst, in a post on LinkedIn. Estimates vary on the number of NEVI stations that are now open to serve the public. One EV-data shop, Atlas Public Policy, counts 121 open NEVI locations. Birkett’s tally reaches 150. NEVI aims to build an EV station every 50 miles on highways. That would mean roughly 1,600 stations once the network is fully built. Ohio, which alongside Pennsylvania leads in NEVI station openings, said that both spending and new charging plazas are coming. The state currently has 19 stations open and 12 more slated to start construction this spring. Still, the state has spent only $8.3 million of the $140 million it has available.
Funding bill claws back some EV charging cash, seeks to shield FEMA from Trump - - A funding bill released this week would claw back hundreds of millions of dollars passed to fund electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure passed under the Biden administration. The bill in question, released Tuesday, would fund the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies. It seeks to claw back $879 million that passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 as part of an effort to fund a nationwide EV charging network. The law originally included billions in funding for the network. An emerging point of contention in the new legislation, meanwhile, is more about what’s not in the bill, as opposed to what is. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) are pushing for the inclusion of a provision that would include sales of high-ethanol gasoline year-round. A spokesperson for Bacon confirmed Punchbowl’s reporting that he brought up sales of high-ethanol gas at a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday morning but is not planning to vote down the bill over the issue. “I’ve heard from our NE farmers and this is their #1 priority,” Bacon wrote in a post on the social platform X. Bipartisan lawmakers from the Midwest have pushed for sales of E15 gas, named for its 15 percent ethanol content, year-round. This type of gasoline has historically been restricted in the summer because of concerns about smog — which can form more easily from evaporation in the heat. Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told The Hill in an email there is a “full-fledged push to get year-round E15 in the final package.” He said “several” Midwestern lawmakers are “drawing a line in the sand on this issue because it is vitally important to jobs and economic vitality in their districts and states.” He did not specify which lawmakers are doing so. “This should not be controversial — E15 is a more affordable, American-made, cleaner-burning fuel that boosts the farm economy,” Cooper said.
EPA pokes Musk over using unpermitted turbines for AI - A provision tucked inside an EPA regulation finalized last week could complicate Elon Musk’s efforts to rapidly expand his artificial intelligence company.The tech billionaire’s company, xAI, has been under fire from environmental advocates since last year for relying on methane gas turbines to power its Memphis, Tennessee-area data centers. Until this spring, the company behind chatbot Grok had no Clean Air Act permits for dozens of turbines at its facility in South Memphis. Officials at xAI argued that they didn’t need the permits unless the generators were on site for more than a year. That argument was supported by local health officials tasked with air permitting decisions.Now, EPA has weighed in with a provision inside its final rule posted online last week regarding Clean Air Act rules for natural-gas-fired power plants. The regulation weakens restrictions on nitrogen oxides, harmful gases from burning fossil fuels that form smog and cause health problems like asthma. But the rule also seems to address xAI’s arguments by siding with environmental groups that have pushed for pollution controls at the Memphis facility. The rule specifically mentions arguments about “temporary” turbines not being subject to air pollution standards, and concludes, “Historically, however, the EPA has not regulated combustion turbines, even those that may be portable, as nonfood engines, but rather as stationary sources.”
EVs, data centers to drive 50% rise in California electricity demand, state predicts - -California’s peak electricity demand will rise by roughly half by 2045, driven by increases in electric vehicles, data centers and building electrification, regulators predicted Wednesday. The California Energy Commission predicted in its California Energy Demand Forecast from 2025 to 2045 that on the low end, peak energy demand in the California Independent System Operator system will rise from about 46,500 megawatts to 66,000 MW, a 42 percent jump. The midrange estimate is 53 percent, while the high end estimate predicts an increase of about 74,900 MW, a 61 percent spike. The forecast, which shows electricity use soaring after decades of relatively stable demand, underpins state regulators’ long-term energy planning. The CEC, California Public Utilities Commission and CAISO draw from its figures when determining how much energy generation to require utilities to purchase, where to upgrade power lines and how to prevent future blackouts. Despite the Trump administration’s elimination of electric vehicle incentives, California energy regulators still expect widespread EV adoption to be the top driver of peak energy demand growth.Despite opposition, Pennsylvania leaders are welcoming data centers - The Allegheny Front - Steve Hacker’s well ran dry in October 2024 for the first time since he moved to Chester County in 1983.The well ran dry due to a drought, Hacker said, but he’s worried that it’s a sign of things to come.Hacker’s township of East Vincent is considering plans to build a data center campus, which would house computer servers and equipment. These facilities require huge amounts of energy and millions of gallons of clean water annually to cool their servers.“They want to pull millions of gallons [of water] out — I don’t see how that can work,” Hacker told Spotlight PA. “Who is responsible if all the wells in my town dry out? Who’s going to compensate us?” Pennsylvania residents across the state, from Allegheny to Lackawanna counties, have expressed concerns about planned data centers and their impacts on energy prices, water usage, and pollution. In a recent poll, 42% of Pennsylvanians said they do not want one built in or near their community. Yet many state and local lawmakers — even skeptics — have accepted the proliferation of data centers in Pennsylvania as a fact of life.“I’ve had people tell me, ‘Well, just let’s bar them. We’ll prohibit them,’” state Sen. Gene Yaw (R., Lycoming) told Spotlight PA. “Then let’s go to the library and burn all the books too while we’re at it.” Companies such as Amazon Web Services and Blackstone have announced tens of billions of dollars in private investments to build data centers across the state. Legislative supporters say the projects will create thousands of temporary construction jobs and hundreds of permanent ones, attract more workers to the state, and enable the U.S. to compete with China in technological development. Even lawmakers who are concerned about the spread of data centers say that the number is likely to increase, and that the legislature should create regulatory bodies or economic incentives for developers to prioritize environmental safety. Hacker wants to see elected officials push back against data centers but fears that most, from township supervisors to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, are “gung-ho” on the prospect of private investment. “They want to go full speed ahead. But I want them to slow down,” Hacker said. “That’s the number one thing I want from the state government: I want to slow down. I would want a moratorium on building these things.” State lawmakers have offered a range of proposals regarding data centers, including making them easier to build and adding checks.Some legislation focuses on speeding up the permitting process, which often requires government permission to excavate and dig under land, manage stormwater drainage, mitigate air pollution, and begin construction. Two such bills, both from Republicans, would tie speedier permitting to a commitment “to improved environmental outcomes.”Other bills are aimed at ensuring that increased energy demand from data centers does not impact consumer energy costs and at creating a regulatory framework.A bill from state Rep. Rob Matzie (D., Beaver) would allow the Public Utility Commission to regulate data centers, including implementing fees for building out transmission lines and deposits to begin construction. Other proposals would amend an existing tax exemption to incentivize data centers to use clean energy when powering their campuses or mandate that developers request a meeting with local officials, including zoning and planning officials. “Right now, there’s a real lack of regulation,” State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D., Philadelphia) told Spotlight PA. “So if we’re able to get any of these bills through … that would make a real difference.”
PA Democrats’ Solution for Data Centers is to (Surprise!) Tax Them -- Marcellus Drilling News - There are two universal, unavoidable truths of life: (1) death, and (2) Democrats love to tax anything and everything. Pennsylvania Democrats are urging state lawmakers to tax data centers to shield residents from rising energy bills. During a hearing held by PA House Democrats on January 20, so-called experts argued that data centers must “pay their own way” for grid upgrades necessitated by their high demand, rather than passing those costs to households. With grid operator PJM Interconnection warning that surging demand could cause blackouts, Democrats proposed legislation to protect ratepayers from price spikes. Although some officials value the industry’s job creation, tax proponents insist that ordinary consumers should not subsidize the infrastructure needed to support the state’s expanding and energy-intensive digital industry.
PA Caught in Fight That Will Push Data Centers to Other States -- Marcellus Drilling News - There’s just no other way to say this: Pennsylvania is on the cusp of flushing $92 billion down the toilet because resistance is preventing new data centers from being built.We’ve been warning about this danger for months (see Louisiana vs. Pennsylvania – How and Why PA is Throwing Away $92B). However, there may be a way to avoid this unfolding disaster. Strong agreements (written in stone) between municipalities and data center builders can ensure both sides can live with these projects. That’s according to a physician and Pittsburgh resident who has been actively engaged in local conversations about AI development and its impact on working-class communities
Data center ‘extension cord’ draws landowners’ ire - — David Aversa didn’t much like the idea of a proposed $15 billion data center on 672 acres not far from Lake Michigan — one of the Stargate projects backed by technology giants OpenAI and Oracle. But the controversy was in the next town over, a 15-minute drive from his home nestled among hundreds of pines and spruce trees. That changed last summer when a neighbor delivered news: The “preferred” route for a $1.4 billion high-voltage transmission line needed to supply power to the data center would slice a 250-foot-wide path through his 70-acre property. Aversa is just one of a chorus of other landowners, dairy farms, conservationists and local governments challenging American Transmission Co.’s (ATC) application for approval of the line and more specifically the utility’s choice of routes through the countryside of southeastern Wisconsin. It’s a movement that’s recently grown to include the project’s lead developer, Vantage Data Centers, which publicly advocated for ATC to opt for an alternate route about 10 miles farther east.“We all want the same thing,” Aversa said as he walked among the trees on his property. “That is to push this onto existing corridors and don’t ruin our rural neighborhood.” So far, ATC hasn’t made any changes. In many ways, the controversy is not unlike hundreds of energy infrastructure battles across the country where landowners resist pipelines and power lines that will run above or beneath their farms, ranches and fields. For almost as long as there’s been eminent domain — the government “taking” of private property for public use — parties have disputed and litigated over if and under what circumstances it’s appropriate. The rapid scale-up of data centers for artificial intelligence and their city-sized appetites for electricity is re-upping debate, at least from the point of view of landowners in the path of new high-voltage power lines being proposed. While energy infrastructure is commonly granted use of eminent domain because it provides a public use, Aversa and others lining up against the Ozaukee County Distribution Interconnection Project argue that ATC shouldn’t be given permission to take land for a project being driven by the needs of a single user, especially multibillion-dollar companies.Alexandra Klass, a law professor at University of Michigan who worked at the Department of Energy during the Biden administration, said the development of transmission driven by large data centers could be a legal gray area. “Saying this is for a single, private customer is a little risky in terms of whether it’s a public use,” Klass said. On the other hand, utilities “have the duty to make sure that they have enough generation and transmission to meet all the needs of the public,” she said. Whether it’s a new subdivision, a manufacturer or a large data center, utilities have an obligation to provide service to customers. Data centers like the one in Port Washington can have electricity needs that pose a paradigm shift for utilities and regulators that have historically focused on gradually adding new infrastructure to serve slower, more gradual demand growth.The Lighthouse data center, a nod to the nautical history of Port Washington, a city of 13,000 that hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline, was publicly announced in October. Without naming the project, which would require 1.3 gigawatts of capacity, ATC noted that new power line was needed because without the upgrade the data center would “overwhelm the existing transmission facilities.”
Trump unveils cartoon mascot ‘Coalie’ while slashing staff, rules -
Coal communities accuse Congress of breaking promise to clean up abandoned mines - The Allegheny Front -- When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in 2021, authorizing more than $11 billion in new funding to reclaim lands and waterways damaged by abandoned coal mines, the people who lead this work on the ground were ecstatic. “We were to the moon,” said Amanda Pitzer, the executive director at Friends of the Cheat, a nonprofit organization in West Virginia that works to restore the Cheat River watershed. “Once that big influx of money was announced, with West Virginia on track to receive $2.1 billion over those 15 years, we thought, ‘Now’s the time. Now’s the time to invest in water treatment.’”But Congress wants to claw back some of that funding. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that would withdraw $500 million of the money allocated in 2021 for abandoned mine cleanup projects. The states that stand to lose the most are Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois and Kentucky, according to an analysis by Appalachian Voices, an environmental organization that works on conservation issues in central and southern Appalachia. The bill must still pass the Senate, which plans to take it up this week, and be signed by the president before it becomes law. “We’re horribly disappointed,” Pitzer said. “Less money means less reclamation, period.” Among the projects that Pitzer’s organization champions are the building and maintenance of treatment systems that clean up acid mine drainage, a type of pollution that harms aquatic wildlife.In West Virginia, she said, Abandoned Mine Land funding has also been used to help build public water lines in communities where pollution has affected drinking water supplies. Although significant progress has been made in cleaning up the Cheat River since the 1990s, much more work remains to be done, Pitzer said. The House bill proposes using the siphoned funding to pay for wildland fire management and U.S. Forest Service operations. “I think it’s highly inappropriate of Congress to rob Peter to pay Paul,” said Andy McAllister, the regional coordinator of the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation. McAllister was particularly upset about the “yes” votes from Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation in the House. All but one member voted for the bill. Pennsylvania has the most abandoned mines of any state, McAllister said. Decades of coal mining in Pennsylvania have created a range of environmental and public safety problems, from underground fires and subsidence to sinkholes and pollution affecting more than 5,500 miles of waterways.Last year, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection estimated it would need $5 billion to fully remediate abandoned mine lands and the waterways they contaminated. Forty-five of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are impacted. “The bottom line is, just like it always is, we got more problems than we got money,” McAllister said. Experts are worried that this “repurposing” of the fund could continue beyond this year, with Congress dipping into the money for other reasons. “The AML fund is not a slush fund,” Pitzer said. “It just feels very shortsighted.” Kevin Zedack, government affairs specialist at Appalachian Voices, said his group assumes that passing this bill will lead to an annual reduction in funding. Zedack and McAllister said they have not heard back from legislators they’ve reached out to with their concerns.
Nuclear-linked iodine-129 detected in the West Philippine Sea - Elevated concentrations of iodine-129 were detected in seawater samples collected recently from the West Philippine Sea during a nationwide marine radioisotope survey conducted by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute. The concentrations were higher than those measured in other Philippine marine areas, despite the Philippines having no active nuclear power plant or nuclear weapons program. Elevated concentrations of iodine-129 were identified in seawater samples collected from the West Philippine Sea during a nationwide marine radioisotope survey conducted by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute. The findings were published on November 5, 2025, following laboratory analysis of samples obtained from multiple marine regions across the Philippine archipelago. The study analyzed 119 seawater samples collected from the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Rise, the Sulu Sea, and other surrounding waters. Results showed that iodine-129 concentrations in the West Philippine Sea were approximately 1.5–1.7 times higher than levels measured at other sampling sites within Philippine waters. Iodine-129 is a long-lived radioactive isotope with a half-life of about 15.7 million years and is commonly used in environmental and oceanographic studies as a tracer of nuclear activity. It is primarily released into the environment through atmospheric nuclear weapons testing and nuclear fuel reprocessing. The Philippines does not operate nuclear power plants and does not have a nuclear weapons program, ruling out domestic sources. The research was conducted by scientists from the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, the Geological Oceanography Laboratory of UP MSI, and the University of Tokyo. Based on isotopic patterns and regional comparisons, the team identified the Yellow Sea as the most likely upstream source region of the iodine-129 detected in the West Philippine Sea. According to the researchers, the findings are consistent with recent studies from China that link iodine-129 in the Yellow Sea to historical atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and releases from nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities in Europe. These releases, which occurred decades ago, introduced iodine-129 into the environment, where it was transported through soils and river systems into marginal seas of northeastern Asia. The study suggests that iodine-129 reached Philippine waters via large-scale ocean circulation, particularly the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and the Chinese Coastal Current. These currents are known to transport water masses southward along the East Asian continental margin. However, the researchers noted that detailed oceanographic and numerical modeling is still required to confirm the exact transport pathways and residence times. Despite its radioactive nature, the measured concentrations of iodine-129 in the West Philippine Sea were assessed to be far below thresholds considered harmful to human health or marine ecosystems. The researchers stated that the detected levels do not pose an environmental or public health risk.
Ohio selects company to frack wildlife area, public voices opposition - The Allegheny Front -The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission last Monday approved an oil and gas lease under the state-owned Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County. The agreement with Texas-based Grenadier Energy Partners III, LLC will allow fracking under more than 170 acres, and is the second drilling lease at the Leesville site, which is in southeast Ohio.In exchange, the company will pay the state more than $1 million dollars, a royalty of 12.5-percent, and provide other incentives.The commission approved 16 other parcels to go out for bid for fracking leases under Egypt Valley and Jockey Hollow Wildlife areas, the Noble Correctional Institution in Noble County, and other state property.Starting in 2023, after a bill in the Ohio legislature required state agencies to expedite requests to drill under state-owned lands, the commission created a leasing process, which includes considering fracking proposals, and selecting bids at its quarterly meetings.The commission does not allow the public to comment at its meetings, but it was required to hold a separate public hearing on Monday focused on a rule change mandated by the Ohio legislature to increase lease terms from three to five years. “It is irresponsible to allow this to happen for three years; extending a lease to five years is unconscionable,” Linda New of the Northeast Ohio Sierra Club told the panel. She was one of more than twenty people who testified at the hearing against fracking in state-owned lands.“Our natural areas should be revered and protected by government agencies and officials, not put at risk or sacrificed to maximize profits for oil and gas corporations,” she said.The hearing was a technicality. The commission is required by law to adopt the extension, and did so last May. The state’s deal with Grendier at Leesville Wildlife Area will be the first with a five-year agreement.
Fracking is toxic. We can't lose more land to it - Randi Pokladnik, Special to the Canton Repository - In 2024, 62 acres of the Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County were opened up for fracking by Ohio’s Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC). The winning bid was placed by Encino Energy, a Texas-based company. Earlier this month, the OGLMC awarded another bid for more fracking on a second parcel of state land near the area. The Texas-based company Grenadier Energy III was approved to frack 170 acres of the Leesville Wildlife Area. Fracking well pads and infrastructure will require clearing areas that could range in size from 4 to 30 acres. Studies show gathering lines, the pipelines from well pads to main pipelines, are the largest contributor to forest fragmentation. Without a continuous forest canopy, migratory bird populations decline and plant populations are affected. In addition to gathering pipelines, transition pipelines and distribution pipelines, roads to well pads also cause disruption. Companies are exempt from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing, but a 2022 report from Physicians for Social Responsibility reported there were at least 1,606 chemicals used in fracking that could impact drinking water. Leaks, spills, and runoff from operations threaten groundwater and surface water quality, also impacting aquatic ecosystems. Our region experienced severe droughts in 2024 and 2025. Lake levels dropped and some water wells went dry during those summer droughts. Fracking requires 1.5-16 million gallons of water per well. Under section 1521.29 of the Ohio Revised Code, a facility is allowed to withdraw surface water in the amount of “up to two million gallons per day in any thirty-day period.” We have observed water being withdrawn from streams in our area via pumps and discharge lines crisscrossing the hillsides to supply fracking pads.Billions of gallons toxic and radioactive waste brine are generated by the industry, according to data reported to states. This brine is exempt from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Every day, “brine” tankers travel through fracked communities to deliver the toxic brew to Class II injection wells.Anyone who has read technical and science-based studies of the health and environmental effects of fracking, such as the 2023 "Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking and Associated Gas and Oil Infrastructure," would not want this toxic activity taking place anywhere, let alone in our communities and state lands. The members of the nonprofit group Save Ohio Parks have come to the realization that the OGLMC disregards science and rubber stamps the lease requests from the fossil fuel industries. Our family has been aware of the negative impacts of fracking since it first made an appearance in Harrison County around 2012. But last summer, we had front row seats to observe the process at a well pad less than a mile from our home. We could hear the construction noise every day, and once the actual fracking process was initiated, it sounded like we were living at an airport runway. The road adjacent to the pad was so heavily trafficked that we decided to find an alternative route into New Philadelphia.I wondered how the noise, lights and air emissions from the drilling, diesel trucks and compressors were affecting the wildlife and neighbors adjacent to the pad. Records show well pads often have accidents, reported spills or even fires and explosions.In 2023, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz proposed requiring most wells to be set back 1,000 feet from property lines rather than 150 feet. Regardless of setbacks, Ohio parks visitors will not be prevented from seeing, hearing, and smelling the externalities. Do we just cross our fingers and hope nothing happens to the well pads around our parks?Although an American flag sits at the top of every drilling rig, much of those hydrocarbons are not even used locally. The United States is a net exporter of natural gas and one of the top exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world.The oil and gas industries will make money, and the local people will be left to clean up the mess, just like we are cleaning up acid mine wastes and orphan wells. The Trump Administration has cut funding for both of these programs.The fracking pads next to our parks will never be returned to the original forested land, but will serve as a reminder of what was lost due to excessive greed in the Ohio legislature.
Report: Utica Investment Hits $114B – Youngstown Business Journal - Total investment by energy companies in eastern Ohio’s Utica/Point Pleasant oil and gas operations since 2011 has reached more than $114 billion, according to a report issued by Cleveland State University. The Shale Investment Dashboard Ohio, a semiannual analysis commissioned by JobsOhio through CSU’s Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, tracks investment in oil and gas drilling, leasehold purchases, royalty returns and pipeline construction within the Utica/Point Pleasant. Between 2011 and December 2024 – the most recent year with adequate comprehensive data – cumulative investment in the Utica/Point Pleasant reached an estimate of $114.6 billion, the study reported. Through the end of 2024, energy companies have spent $82.5 billion in upstream investments – that is, expenses related to drilling, leasing, road infrastructure improvements and royalty payouts to landowners. The study measures these investments beginning in 2011, when energy companies descended on eastern Ohio to explore oil and gas reserves trapped in the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formation. The Utica has also attracted another $22.5 billion in midstream infrastructure such as gathering lines and compression systems, while another $9.5 billion has been committed to downstream industries – projects such as liquefied natural gas, or LNG, operations, the report says. The latest report – compiled by CSU’s Andrew Thomas and Mark Henning – canvassed the period between July and December 2024. During the second half of 2024, companies invested approximately $3.5 billion into operations, bringing total investment for the year to approximately $6.4 billion The vast majority of investment was concentrated in upstream development. The analysis shows this investment amounted to $3.236 billion during the period. Energy companies during the six-month period spent more than $2.1 billion in new drilling programs and an additional $88.3 million in securing new leases or lease renewals. Furthermore, landowners reaped $767.2 million in royalties across the Utica/Point Pleasant during the second half of 2024. Estimated midstream investment stood at $280.1 million. Downstream spending amounted to $1.8 million during the second half of 2024. These investments could likely increase in the future, as demand for gas-fired electrical generation plants grows, along with mounting interest in data center development across the state, the report indicated. “Overall upstream investments were up about $615 million in the second half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2024, reflecting continued growth in drilling activity, especially for oil-producing wells,” the analysis noted. This investment is evident in new drilling operations in Columbiana County during the period, as EAP Ohio, a subsidiary of Encino Acquisition Partners, commissioned several productive oil wells in Knox Township. According to the report, 23 new wells were drilled in the county between July and December 2024. Moreover, these drilling programs commanded an investment of $262.2 million from energy companies and approximately another $3.6 million in road improvements. Between July and December 2024, a handful of Columbiana County wells yielded 678,882 barrels of oil. In all, 191 new wells were developed across the Utica/Point Pleasant during the study period. These wells produced more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 19.3 million barrels of oil. New wells placed into production during the second half of 2024, the report shows, accounted for 29% of the 19.3 million barrels of oil produced in Ohio through the period. This compared with 11% recorded during the first half of the year. Royalty payments increased 4.2% during the second half of 2024 compared with the first, indicating an increase in oil production and higher natural gas prices. Although the report tracked investment through the end of 2024, the analysis projected that oil-related development would be steady through the first part of 2025, despite lower commodity prices. “Despite softening oil prices, continued production efficiencies – driven in part by artificial intelligence and by the Utica’s structural cost advantages relative to other shale plays – are likely to sustain oil-related development,” the analysis noted. Henning, co-author of the study and a research supervisor at CSU, said oil continues to drive new investment in the Utica. “Oil development continues to play an expanding role in upstream investment,” he said in a statement. “Ohio’s regional costs structure and evolving regulatory framework position the state to navigate ongoing uncertainty in the energy sector.”. “Ohio’s rich shale resources continue to attract billions in investment, reflecting global confidence in our exceptional workforce, infrastructure and business climate,” he said. “Adding more than $3 billion in just six months demonstrates how abundant, low-cost natural gas is helping our economy and to strengthen our nation’s energy security.”
Utica Oil Boom Returns to the Valley; Youngstown’s Defense Innovation Hub Takes Shape - Business Journal Daily - -Youngstown Business Journal - Oil production and leasing activity are surging again in the Mahoning Valley’s northern Utica/Point Pleasant shale play, signaling a new era of exploration in areas once written off by the industry. At the same time, momentum is building for the Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense as leaders work toward breaking ground and attracting future tenants eager to move in.
Rebirth of Ohio's Northern Utica Shale - Leasing, Drilling Take Off - Marcellus Drilling News -The Mahoning Valley is entering a "Utica 2.0" era as advanced drilling technologies revitalize oil production in previously dismissed regions of Ohio. While energy companies once abandoned Mahoning and Trumbull counties, record-breaking yields from new wells in Columbiana and Mahoning counties have triggered a surge in leasing and permits. Improvements in horizontal drilling and fracking fluids now allow operators like EOG Resources and Hilcorp to extract significant oil from formations once considered unprofitable. This industrial renaissance, punctuated by EOG’s $5.6 billion acquisition of Encino Acquisition Partners, signals a transformative phase of exploration poised to expand further north in the Utica.
Roth Capital Highlights Strategic Expansion for Infinity Natural Resources (INR) Following Ohio Utica Acquisition - Roth Capital believes that the company’s recent Ohio Utica deal is a compelling expansion. By acquiring midstream operations and under-utilized drilling assets that sit adjacent to its existing acreage, the company effectively boosted its inventory and operational control in a single move. Infinity Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:INR) announced a transformational $1.2 billion acquisition of upstream and midstream assets in the Ohio Utica Shale from Antero Resources Corporation and Antero Midstream Corporation. To facilitate the deal, Northern Oil & Gas Inc. (NYSE:NOG) will acquire an undivided 49% interest for $588 million, leaving Infinity Natural Resources with a 51% interest for a net purchase price of $612 million. The acquired assets include ~71,000 net acres located in Ohio’s Guernsey, Belmont, and Harrison counties. As of Q3 2025, these assets produced approximately 133 MMcfe/d (81% gas and 19% liquids) from 255 producing laterals. The deal also adds significant inventory, including over 110 undeveloped laterals totaling 1.6 million lateral feet and 764 billion cubic feet of undeveloped reserves. Pro forma, Infinity Natural Resources will control ~102,000 net horizontal acres in Ohio with 1.4 Tcfe of undeveloped net reserves. Infinity Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:INR) acquires, explores, and develops properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs in the US.
OH Supremes Bounce Dominion “Unjust Enrichment” Case to PUCO -- Marcellus Drilling News - We recently became aware of an Ohio Supreme Court decision that affects producers (i.e., drillers) and, by extension, potentially affects royalties for landowners and rights owners. InE. Ohio Gas Co. v. Croce, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has exclusive jurisdiction over claims brought by natural gas producers against Dominion Energy. The producers alleged conversion and unjust enrichment, claiming Dominion sold their excess gas without compensation. The producers tried to litigate the matter in the courts. But the Supreme Court ruled that, in these types of cases, PUCO has primary jurisdiction—not the courts.
2026 Columbia Gas Construction Projects Begin -Columbia Gas is beginning the second year of major infrastructure upgrades in our community, and the projects slated for 2026 are in their beginning stages. These projects traverse several of the City’s busiest roadways, and impacts on traffic will be unavoidable. As a result, we will be sharing frequent updates, and we encourage all in the community to stay informed and to be prepared to adjust your travel routes through the affected areas. The surrounding neighborhoods can expect to see an increase in cut-through traffic when construction is in their immediate area. Upgrades include:
- The replacement of old high pressure gas lines with new, federally mandated 12-inch, 16-inch, and 20-inch diameter steel pipes with safety features. These pipes are designed to service a large geographic area that extends beyond Upper Arlington’s borders.
- Two above-ground utility stations, including replacement of an existing station on Brandon Road, and the construction of a new utility station on Ridgeview Road.
Construction is beginning for the following phases of the project: [… ] Columbia Gas has relayed to the City its commitment to proactively engage with residents in the affected areas, through mailed updates and regularly-scheduled information sessions, and frequent updates as each project progresses.
Gas leak closed road in Weathersfield Township - WFMJ.com - Salt Springs Road and Ohltown-McDonald Road reopened after the gas leak was resolved as of 5 p.m. Monday, January 19, 2026.Earlier Monday, A Trumbull County dispatcher told 21 News a gas leak was reported shortly before 1 p.m. at the intersection of Niles Carver Road and Salt Springs Road after a gas line was struck.The dispatcher says crews had been working to contain the leak, and there was no immediate danger to the public during the incident.Denver natural gas giant sets fundraising target for $3.9 billion deal - Denver Business Journal -When Antero announced the deal in December, CEO and President Michael Kennedy described the deal as opportunistic. It struck a deal in December to sell its Utica Shale geological deposit assets to West Virginia-based Infinity Natural Resources for $1.2 billion.
27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 12 – 18 -- Marcellus Drilling News -- A nice bump up in permit numbers last week, mainly due to Pennsylvania. The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 27 permits last week, Jan. 12 – 18. Pennsylvania issued 21 new permits, Ohio issued 5, and West Virginia issued just 1. Among the drillers receiving new permits last week: Antero Resources, Coterra Energy, EQT, Expand Energy, Gulfport Energy, and Seneca Resources. ANTERO RESOURCES | BELMONT COUNTY | COTERRA ENERGY (CABOT O&G) | EQT CORP | EXPAND ENERGY | FAYETTE COUNTY | GREENE COUNTY (PA) | GULFPORT ENERGY | SENECA RESOURCES | SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY | TIOGA COUNTY (PA) | WETZEL COUNTY
M-U Rig Count Stays @ 39 for 6th Week; Nat’l Count Drops 1 @ 543 -- Marcellus Drilling News - The Marcellus/Utica rig count gained 1 rig six weeks ago in the Ohio Utica, bringing the total to 39 rigs. For the past six reports in a row, the M-U has maintained that count—the most rigs it has operated in more than a year. Pennsylvania has held at 18 active rigs for nine consecutive weeks. Ohio has operated 14 rigs for six straight weeks (its highest in over a year). And West Virginia maintained 7 rigs, which it has operated since May 30, 2025. There were 24 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 15 targeting the Utica. The national count lost 1 rig last week, bringing the total down to 543 active rigs.
Infinity Natural Resources buys working interest for $36 million - Infinity Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: INR) acquired Chase Oil Corporation's working interest in the South Bend field in Pennsylvania through an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $36 million, the company announced. The transaction has an effective date of January 1, 2026, and represents Infinity's first use of stock currency since its initial public offering. The acquisition consolidates working interests across the company's dry gas development area in Armstrong and Indiana Counties, Pennsylvania. The acquired assets include 18 producing wells generating approximately 14 million cubic feet per day of net natural gas production for December 2025. Three additional wells currently in progress are expected to begin production in the first half of 2026. The transaction adds 1,613 net Marcellus acres and 1,613 net Utica acres to Infinity's portfolio. The company stated the acreage contains 40 additional gross Marcellus locations and 38 gross Utica locations for future development. "This strategic bolt-on acquisition allows us to use our equity currency for the first time to consolidate our core dry gas Pennsylvania position," said Zack Arnold, president and CEO of Infinity. The acquisition follows Infinity's pending $1.2 billion Antero Ohio transaction announced in December. Infinity focuses on hydrocarbon acquisition, development and production in the Appalachian Basin, with operations in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio and stacked dry gas assets in the Marcellus and Utica Shales in southwestern Pennsylvania.EQT Corp.: How America's Largest Natural Gas Producer Is Rebooting the Hydrocarbon Playbook - EQT Corp. is increasingly behaving like a product in its own right: a packaged, tech-enabled natural gas platform that sells something very specific to the world—abundant, low-cost, lower-carbon U.S. shale gas and related services, tuned for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export era. That might sound like semantics, but it is more than branding. Over the past few years, EQT Corp. has tried to transform itself from a conventional Appalachian driller into a scaled, data-driven natural gas engine built around three promises: reliable volume, structurally low costs, and measurable emissions performance. In a commodity industry where everyone is selling molecules, EQT Corp. is trying to sell a differentiated package of molecules plus technology, risk management, and climate optics. As Europe and Asia scramble for long-term gas security and global policy tilts toward lower-carbon fuels, EQT Corp. is surfing a rare alignment of geopolitics, infrastructure buildout, and digital oilfield technology. To understand what EQT Corp. really is today, you need to look at it less as a regional driller and more as an integrated product platform at the intersection of shale, software, and LNG markets. EQT Corp. describes itself as the largest producer of natural gas in the United States, with a dominant position in the Appalachian Basin—primarily the Marcellus and Utica shales. But the modern EQT Corp. “product” is not just acreage and wells; it is a vertically informed platform spanning subsurface science, drilling and completions, midstream partnerships, marketing, and increasingly, decarbonization. At the core is scale. EQT Corp. controls an enormous resource base with decades of inventory, and it uses that scale to drive costs down and operational learning up. The company has leaned into a manufacturing-style model of shale development: longer laterals, standardized designs, high-intensity completions, and repeatable pad development. In practical terms, EQT Corp. has turned natural gas production into a kind of industrial tech workflow—a continuous improvement factory for drilling and fracking. Digital technology is the quiet engine of that transformation. EQT Corp. emphasizes data analytics across its operations: real-time drilling data capture, machine learning tools for geosteering and completion design, and advanced production optimization. By feeding field data into iterative models, it’s been able to shave days off drilling times, increase EURs (estimated ultimate recoveries) per well, and compress non-productive time. The result shows up in one metric that matters in this business: unit costs that are among the lowest in North American gas. On the marketing side, EQT Corp. has built an increasingly sophisticated strategy to move its gas from Appalachian wellheads to premium markets. This involves transport agreements on major interstate pipelines, access to Gulf Coast hubs, and exposure—directly or indirectly—to the booming U.S. LNG export corridor. Then there is the climate layer. EQT Corp. has carved out a narrative as a lower-carbon, methane-conscious gas provider. It has pursued initiatives such as emissions measurement, methane leak detection, and certifications for “responsibly sourced gas.” In a world where utilities, industrial buyers, and LNG offtakers increasingly care about Scope 3 emissions and ESG screens, that turns EQT Corp.’s output into a quasi-premium product—natural gas with a cleaner, traceable footprint relative to many global competitors. Strategically, the company has also repositioned gas itself as a climate tool. EQT Corp.’s leadership has been vocal about U.S. shale gas displacing higher-carbon coal and dirtier international gas production, arguing that large-scale U.S. LNG backed by Appalachian gas is one of the fastest routes to global emissions reductions. Agree or not, that narrative effectively brands EQT Corp. as a climate-adjacent energy product, not just a commodity extractor. All of this matters right now because the macro backdrop is unusually supportive. U.S. LNG export capacity is expanding on the Gulf Coast; European buyers are locking in long-term contracts in response to Russian supply disruptions; and Asian demand for gas as a coal replacement is still growing. EQT Corp. sits on top of some of the lowest-cost gas rock on the planet, with infrastructure and know?how that make it a natural feedstock provider to this emerging global gas grid.
Propane Inventories Remain Elevated Despite Smaller-than-Expected Storage Draw | RBN Energy --The EIA reported a draw of 2.1 MMbbl in total U.S. propane/propylene inventories for the week ended January 16, which was smaller than industry expectations for a 2.5 MMbbl decline and below the five-year average draw of 3.8 MMbbl for the week. Despite the draw, total inventories remain elevated at 93.6 MMbbl, standing 19.5 MMbbl, or 26%, above the same week in 2025 and 18 MMbbl, or 24%, above the five-year maximum. Inventories are also 27.3 MMbbl, or 41%, above the five-year average, reinforcing the extent of the current inventory overhang. Weekly propane exports reported by the EIA averaged 1.8 MMb/d, down 276 Mb/d from the prior week and below both the 2025 average of 1.9 MMb/d and the four-week average of 1.86 MMb/d, though they remained above the 1.76 MMb/d reported in the year-ago week, suggesting some near-term softening in export momentum.
Pipeline construction reaches an 18-year high on natural gas demand
U.S. Natural Gas Pipeline Capacity Set for Biggest Buildout Since 2008 --The U.S. natural gas industry is poised to see up to 22 Bcf/d in new pipeline projects come online in 2026 as midstream companies race to accommodate surging Permian Basin supply and expanding LNG export demand amid a more supportive regulatory backdrop. NGI bar chart showing historic and projected U.S. natural gas pipeline capacity additions from 1996 through 2026, measured in Bcf/d. Annual capacity growth peaks above 30 Bcf/d in 2008, slows during the early 2010s, rebounds after 2017, and is projected to rise sharply again in 2026 to roughly 18 Bcf/d. At A Glance:
Pipeline buildout targets 18–22 Bcf/d
Permian congestion drives takeaway urgency
LNG demand anchors Gulf Coast flows
Kinder Morgan Greenlights $7B in Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Amid Regulatory Speedup --Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) is advancing three natural gas pipeline projects tied to growing LNG exports and Southeast power demand, with construction under way on one system and FERC scheduling orders in hand for two others. See Infographic titled “KMI’s $8.4B Natural Gas Project Backlog” showing major Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline projects, associated capital costs, capacities, in-service dates, and primary demand drivers. Projects include South System Expansion 4, Trident Phases I–II, Mississippi Crossing, and GCX Expansion, with drivers such as power generation, LNG exports, supply push, and NGL conversion. A U.S. map highlights project locations across Texas, the Gulf Coast, Midwest, Rockies, and Bakken regions. Source: Kinder Morgan Inc. At A Glance:
Trident pipeline construction begins in LNG corridor
MSX pipeline targeted for Q2 2028 service
Record 19.8 Bcf/d LNG demand seen in 2026
Venture Global Cleared in Repsol Case Amid Ongoing LNG Contract Battles --An international business tribunal has ruled Venture Global Inc. abided by its sales and purchase agreement with Repsol SA while Calcasieu Pass LNG commissioning was delayed, landing the export developer another arbitration win. At A Glance:
- Calcasieu Pass delay claims rejected
- Legal win eases investor overhang
- Fees awarded to Venture
VG Wins Arbitration Case re Repsol LNG – OK to Jilt Customers -- Marcellus Drilling News -Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see Calcasieu Pass LNG Loads Inaugural Cargo; Sabine Pass LNG Expands). Typically, a new LNG facility will load and ship several (maybe two or three) cargoes to “work out the kinks” and ensure everything is working as advertised. Venture Global, using loopholes in its signed contracts, maintained that it was working out the kinks long after it began shipping. After over 400 cargoes were shipped, CP’s customers were still not receiving their contracted (at lower prices) shipments. Shell, along with several other customers, sued (see Shell, Edison, BP File for Arbitration Against Venture Global LNG). One of the customers who sued (in arbitration) was Repsol.
Backwardation, Rising Tide of Supply Signal Another Reset Ahead for LNG Market - The recent rally in global natural gas prices could prove to be short-lived as the forward curve is backwardated and more supplies are poised to hit the market this year. Chart showing global natural gas futures settles through 2029, comparing Henry Hub, JPN/KOR (JKM) and TTF prices in $US/MMBtu, with forward curves and tables detailing 12-month strips and calendar-year 2027–2029 prices as of Jan. 21, 2026. At A Glance:
Global gas rally likely to fizzle
EU demand to support prices this year
LNG utilization rates poised to fall post-2026
Market Braces for Severe Freeze-Offs, Impacts Across Natural Gas Value Chain Amid Dangerous Cold --The brutal cold sweeping across the United States is expected to choke natural gas production, disrupt pipeline flows and upset operations at power plants and LNG export terminals as it spreads later this week. Map: NOAA Sunday Night Low Temperature Outlook: Below-normal lows are forecast across much of the central and eastern U.S., with pockets of milder conditions in the South and West. At A Glance:
70 Bcf-plus of freeze offs expected
Cold to impact LNG exports
Pipelines prepping for low temps
Natural Gas Jumps Most in 4 Years as Arctic Blast Descends on US -- US natural gas futures closed way up Tuesday as forecasts turned much colder over the long holiday weekend in the US, calling for a deep freeze to grip much of the country during the weeks ahead. While stockpiles of the fuel were slightly above normal earlier this month, the latest weather outlook signals sustained heating demand and possible production losses that would erase that surplus. Hedge funds raised their bearish positions on gas last week, leaving the market primed for a short-covering rally. “All signs point to major Arctic cold outbreaks over the eastern two-thirds of North America later this week and into much of next week,” forecasters with Atmospheric G2 wrote in a note to clients Monday. Earlier outlooks “clearly missed the intensity and the breadth of the cold,” the meteorologists said. Futures for February delivery settled up 25.9%, or 80.4 cents, to $3.907 per million British thermal units. The February contract rose by as much as 29% to $3.990 per mmBTU intraday, the highest single-day price increase in nearly four years. High gas prices represent a pain point for US consumers struggling with rising energy bills, which has become a political issue for US President Donald Trump. But they are beneficial to US gas producers, especially those that have not locked in prices for a large share of their planned production through financial hedges. Top US gas producers Expand Energy and EQT Corp. were higher Tuesday morning, surging as much as 7% and 5.7%, respectively. Average temperatures will be at least 8F (4C) below normal across much of the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and parts of southern New England through Saturday, according to Commodity Weather Group. An arctic blast will push into Texas over the weekend, dropping temperatures below freezing across much of the state, said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. “By Sunday it is pretty much all of Texas except down by Brownsville,” Oravec said. On top of the cold temperatures, large parts of north central Texas may also be hit with an ice storm, he said. Heavy snow will likely fall across Oklahoma. The band of freezing temperatures and ice will spread eastward across the South through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, Oravec added. Beyond increasing heating needs, extreme cold can also disrupt gas production due to freeze-offs, which happen when liquids at the wellhead freeze and halt output. The sudden drop in temperatures, combined with traders closing short positions and the potential for up to 10 billion cubic feet per day of freeze-offs in Appalachia later this week, are all fueling the price rally, according to Darrell Fletcher of Bannockburn Capital Markets. Energy Aspects has raised its estimate for gas supply lost to freeze-offs this winter to 80 billion cubic feet, with much of that loss expected in the next two weeks due to the winter storm, said senior gas analyst Josh Garcia. Market participants are also monitoring the risk of production slowdowns in the Permian Basin (West Texas and New Mexico) and the Haynesville shale (northwest Louisiana and East Texas), as both regions are forecast to see subfreezing temperatures this weekend. These areas are the second and third largest sources of US gas, following the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania. El Paso Natural Gas, a Kinder Morgan-owned pipeline operator, warned that “freezing temperatures are anticipated this Saturday and Sunday, raising the possibility of supply disruptions from freeze-offs.” Additionally, BloombergNEF reports that gas flows have been redirected from several US liquefied natural gas terminals to satisfy surging domestic heating demand, rather than being exported to higher-priced markets in Europe and Asia.
Natural gas prices surge ahead of winter storm -The price of natural gas jumped this week ahead of a significant winter storm slated to hit large swaths of the country this weekend.Spot prices for natural gas, which is used for home heating, were up about 21 percent on Wednesday morning, according to Business Insider’s tracker.The jump is still lower than a previous spike in early December, when the nation also faced cold temperatures.Year-over-year, the price of gas utilities were up 10.8 percent on average in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, significantly higher than overall inflation of 2.7 percent.According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the East Coast, South and Southern Rockies are expected to see heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain. The NWS warned of “dangerous ice,” “dangerous wind chills” and “hazardous travel conditions.” It also said that the Eastern two-thirds of the country are expected to see “frigid temperatures.”
U.S. natural gas prices surge 45% in two days due to Arctic cold -- U.S. natural gas futures jumped by more than 45% in just two days as Arctic cold is descending on the eastern United States with freezing temperatures and warnings of dangerous life-threatening wind chills. On Tuesday, the benchmark U.S. natural gas futures at Henry Hub soared by 23%amid the cold snap and short covering. Natural gas futures jumped by another 22% early on Wednesday, and were headed for their biggest weekly gain in 35 years. The benchmark gas prices surged from $3.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Monday to over $4.70 per MMBtu early on Wednesday, as U.S. weather forecasts for the coming week are for much lower temperatures, driving a surge in heating demand. Frosty air will advance across the Midwest and East the next few days with highs of 10s to 40s, lows of -0s to 30s for stronger national demand, according to NatGasWeather.com. A more impressive cold shot follows across the northern U.S. late this week into early next, week, including lows of 0s-30s into North Texas, the South, and Southeast. Expectations are for high demand in the week, and very high demand on the weekend. Texas is bracing for snowfall this weekend, and if weather conditions cause issues with some of the state's many gas-producing systems, supply could be temporarily disrupted, leading to more spikes in natural gas prices.Cold snaps are also gripping Asia and Europe, with gas demand there rising, too, and tightening the global LNG market. Weather remains the key driver of natural gas prices and speculative positioning across various regional benchmarks in the northern hemisphere. Winter weather has driven heatingdemand in China higher and with it, LNG prices. The cold spell, which is forecast to extend into February, has thus reversed a price slide that began towards the end of 2025, Bloomberg reports, citing LNG price data from the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange.
US Natgas Futures Soar 57% Over Two Days as Frigid Weather Boosts Heating Demand, Freezes Wells - (Reuters) – U.S. natural gas futures soared to a six-week high on Wednesday, marking a record 57% rise over the past two trading sessions, on expectations that extreme cold weather will boost heating demand to near-record levels while also cutting output by freezing oil and gas wells. After soaring about 26% on Tuesday, front-month gas futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) jumped 96.8 cents, or 24.8%, to settle at $4.875 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Wednesday, their highest close since December 8. “The February contract’s… gain in two days… highlights the extent of short covering as speculators rebalance from the largest short position in 14 months,” analysts at consultancy EBW Analytics Group said in a note. The price move also boosted historic or actual 30-day close-to-close futures volatility to 131.9%, the highest level since March 2022. Higher market volatility increases traders’ opportunities to profit in a shorter amount of time, but also carries greater risks. Historic daily volatility hit a record high of 177.7% in February 2022 and an all-time low of 7.3% in June 1991. Volatility has averaged 93.5% so far this year, up from averages of 68.7% in 2025 and 72.4% over the past five years (2021-2025). Share prices for the two biggest U.S. gas producers also soared, with Expand Energy jumping about 4% to a two-week high and EQT soaring about 6% to a five-week high. Looking forward, the premium of futures for February over March rose to a record $1.36 per mmBtu, boosting the premium of the front-month over the second-month to its highest level since hitting a record $1.21 in February 2014. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states has slid to 108.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in January, down from a monthly record high of 109.7 bcfd in December. On a daily basis, output was on track to drop to a three-month low of 106.2 bcfd on Wednesday due mostly to reductions in North Dakota and Arkansas, according to LSEG data, down from a recent high of 108.9 bcfd on January 16 and an all-time daily high of 111.2 bcfd on December 21. Analysts noted some of the output declines seen so far this week were due to freezing oil and gas wells, known in the energy industry as freeze-offs. Meteorologists projected weather across the country would remain mostly colder than normal through February 5, with the most frigid days expected around January 24-27. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 150.0 bcfd this week to 168.8 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG’s outlook on Tuesday. With temperatures forecast to average just 21.8 degrees Fahrenheit (-5.7 Celsius) across the country on January 24 and expected to continue averaging in the low 20s F through January 26, LSEG projected total demand, including exports, would reach 178.4 bcfd on January 26. That demand forecast was higher than LSEG’s outlook on Tuesday. But that figure would fall short of the Lower 48 daily demand record of 181.2 bcfd set on January 21, 2025, when temperatures across the country averaged just 19.4 F, according to LSEG data. Average gas flows to the eight large U.S. LNG export plants have held at 18.5 bcfd so far in January, matching the monthly record high set in December.
US natural gas prices surge to highest level since 2022 as mercury drops further - CNBC TV18 - As demand for the fuel used for heating and power generation surges, US natural gas futures surged to their highest level since 2022 due to worries that supply may be threatened by frigid temperatures. At 1:53 p.m. Singapore time on Thursday, front-month contracts increased by up to 13% to $5.502 per million British thermal units. After increasing more than 50% in the last two days, petrol is likewise on course to register the largest weekly rise since 1990. Just as demand is predicted to increase and deplete reserves, lower temperatures could potentially limit supply and interrupt gas production in the southern United States owing to a freeze-off, which occurs when water solidifies inside pipelines. Both Europe and Asia, which rely on the same US supply that is liquefied for export to foreign markets, would probably be impacted by any output disruptions. The demand for fuel may also rise in both areas during cold periods. Over the past few days, US weather projections have been much cooler, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting a strong likelihood of lower-than-normal.
Ridin’ The Storm Out – Will the Storm Set to Slam the South Lead to a Winter Storm Uri Reprise? --The natural gas market was roiled this week by the prospect of severe winter weather set to sweep across the country. The placid first half of January, with temperatures far above seasonal averages, now looks set to turn downright frigid from Friday through Sunday. The storm, now known as Winter Storm Fern, is forecast to leave a swath of snow and ice across the middle of the U.S. from New Mexico to Delaware. This has sent futures soaring this week and triggered market memories of another storm with an even shorter name, Uri, that wreaked havoc on the gas market five years ago. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the market’s jump in advance of Fern’s arrival and whether its effects might rival the tremendous dislocations caused by Uri. The natural gas futures market was still in the doldrums on Friday, January 16, when the front-month February contract settled at $3.103/MMBtu, 88 cents lower than where the contract was trading when it became the prompt month at the end of December. Bearishness was the norm in the first half of January due to the unseasonably warm weather. According to data from RBN’s U.S. NATGAS Billboard, the average national temperature was 47.2 degrees for the January 1-15 period, 4.3 degrees higher than the average for the prior 10 years. As we would expect, unseasonably high temperatures for a peak winter month led to lower-than-typical natural gas usage. Total U.S. demand for natural gas in the first half of January averaged a paltry 101.7 Bcf/d. (The same period in 2025 averaged 124.2 Bcf/d.) Only record-high LNG feedgas kept supply from exceeding demand during those weeks, signaling a very loose market for a period that normally sees high withdrawals from storage. As of January 16, the general view was that the second half of January would be colder than the first half. At RBN, we had anticipated that the average national temperature would be 2.9 degrees below normal for the back half of the month — cold, but not enough to significantly alter the gas balance — and our forecasts showed the gas surplus to the 5-year average declining by only 11 Bcf through February 6 (left side of Figure 1 below). The gas market entered the long Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend in a tranquil state but forecast changes over those three days sent futures into a frenzy when trading resumed. When the market returned from the holiday, the outlook for temperatures and storage was turned on its head. The temperature-based storage forecast in RBN’s U.S. NATGAS Billboard for the week ending January 30 went from a 214-Bcf withdrawal on Friday to a 326-Bcf withdrawal on Tuesday — a whopping 112-Bcf change from the prior trading day. And the shift was not confined to a single week, with the forecast for the storage week ending February 6 becoming 41 Bcf larger. Our new projection was that the storage surplus to the 5-year average would be wiped out by January 30 and move to a slight deficit on February 6. Market participants saw similar changes afoot, setting off a buying spree in early trading on Tuesday. By the end of the trading day, the February contract had gained 80.4 cents — a significant jump, but still below where it had traded when it took over as prompt. Wednesday morning brought even more bullish news. Weather forecasts for the last week of January and the first week of February were revised in an even-colder direction and RBN’s forecast for storage withdrawals during those weeks grew by 33 Bcf and 29 Bcf, respectively. This new storage forecast (right side of Figure 1 above) meant that storage would have a 32-Bcf deficit to the 5-year average by January 30, expanding to an 84-Bcf deficit by February 6. The market reacted even more strongly to the cold predictions in the second trading day of the week with the prompt contract rising by 96.8 cents to $4.875/MMBtu. Tuesday and Wednesday together saw the front month rise by 57%, the largest two-day increase (by percentage) in the history of NYMEX gas trading. Thursday brought more of the same, with the front-month breaching the $5/MMBtu mark as the forecast turned even more bullish. Winter Storm Fern’s effects are expected to be widespread across much of the South and Midwest, with freezing rain and snow likely in a belt across those regions. But as dangerous and inconvenient as precipitation will be, temperatures will have a major effect on the gas market. The National Weather Service’s latest forecast for Monday’s lows (see Figure 2 below) predicts temperatures well below freezing for much of the country. Notably, the forecast calls for freezing temperatures in all three of the largest gas producing regions: Appalachia, the Permian and the Haynesville. This could cause simultaneous freeze-offs in all the most important gas-producing regions at a time when demand is at its peak. As we wrote in Cold As Ice, the winterization of wellheads is much more common in colder climates. This means that freezing temperatures may have a significantly heavy impact in the Haynesville, where winters are much milder than in the Permian, Appalachia or the especially frigid Bakken. (Check out RBN’s brand new NATGAS Haynesville report for the latest on Haynesville production and how it reacts to the upcoming storm.). The forecast in Figure 2 has some eerie similarities to the weather during the depths of Winter Storm Uri. Figure 3 below, which covers the coldest period of that storm, shows freezing temperatures across much of Texas as well as the Plains and the Midwest. As we explained in East Is East, West Is West, cash prices west of the Mississippi River (prices just to the left of the dotted line) shot up tremendously on account of the cold for two primary reasons: 1) To draw in enough gas supply to meet demand, and when that was insufficient, and 2) To price out other competing demand. In the South and in Texas in particular, major freeze-offs in the Permian Basin led to shortages of gas and prices soared to the point that big industrial users curtailed usage. But a major factor as to why the market got so out of joint in 2021 was the tremendous decline in power production in Texas. As explained in RBN’s #1 blog of 2021, Terminal Frost, power outages on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid were a major factor in the production cratering. A power grid failure in a production basin has numerous repercussions that ultimately result in shut-in wells. Without a power source, all instrumentation and measurement equipment shuts down. Producers can’t measure or manage flows. And the gas produced during Winter Storm Uri faced further issues downstream. Most pipelines operate their valves via electricity and hydraulics. Frozen valves and a loss of power mean crews have to jump through hoops to make it all work — manually. Numerous Texas pipelines during Uri declared force majeure or had to institute operational flow orders (OFOs), which restrict the amount of fuel shippers can put on their systems. This created a deficit of gas to serve electric generators, sending the market into a vicious cycle where lower production begat lower production. However, there are strong reasons to think that history will not repeat itself five years later. For one thing, the expected area of extreme cold during Winter Storm Fern does not cut quite as far south across Texas as it did during Winter Storm Uri. In addition, Fern is expected to move eastward much more quickly than Uri did. Even in North Texas, Dallas is expected to endure freezing weather from Saturday through Monday, but highs are expected to reach above freezing on Tuesday. In contrast, from February 10-18, 2021, the temperature in Dallas/Fort Worth was consistently below freezing on every day except one. The sustained deep freeze that exhausted storage and led to equipment failures is likely to be much less severe this time around.Another reason why things are different this time is that changes have been made in Texas’s gas and power sectors (see Wind of Change). Since the 2021 disaster, the Texas Railroad Commission created a Critical Infrastructure Division to identify and inspect key elements of natural gas infrastructure and ensure that they are ready for winter storms. The division inspected 7,400 facilities last year to ensure compliance with weatherization protocols. These facilities are also designated as higher priorities to receive power, protecting them from potential blackouts. In addition, more power is feeding the Texas grid than in 2021, with notable increases in solar and battery power. The efficiency of solar panels actually improves in cold weather, although heavy snow on the panels can cause issues. Battery storage could make an enormous impact during a winter storm, providing immediately dispatchable power when other sources are not available. This resource was almost nonexistent in ERCOT during Winter Storm Uri.All these changes from the past five years make a repeat of Uri’s effects on the Texas power grid unlikely. ERCOT has repeatedly stated in recent days that it expects to have enough power online to handle whatever challenges Fern presents. With the Texas power grid fully supplied, OFOs and curtailments on gas pipelines are likely to be much smaller this time around, which means we have a lower risk of an extreme blowout in cash prices. However, Fern still represents an enormous demand event, and wellhead freeze-offs remain a concern. The storm is very likely to mark the end of the storage surplus to the 5-year average — a fact that traders have acknowledged in the futures market bullishness of the past week.
US spot gas prices soar near LNG terminals - Natural gas spot prices at key regional hubs near US LNG terminals soared today as a winter storm sweeps the country, topping fob LNG values and incentivizing some offtakers to reinject their supplies to domestic markets. Customers with LNG tolling arrangements have more flexibility than those with sales and purchase agreements because they control their gas supply and are not obligated to liquefy it. This can spur traders to redirect gas to much more profitable domestic markets in extreme weather rather than export the volumes. Texas' 17.3mn t/yr Freeport, Louisiana's 15mn t/yr Cameron, Georgia's 4mn t/yr Elba Island and Maryland's 5.75mn t/yr Cove Point primarily operate on tolling agreements. Weighted average day-ahead feedgas costs from hubs near those LNG terminals surged to between $20-52/mn Btu on 23 January, likely discouraging exports (see chart). Those prices are much higher than Argus' spot LNG price for January-loading LNG on the Gulf coast, which averaged $8.27/mn Btu in December. Prices for LNG delivered to northwest Europe in the second half of February also were below the US spot prices, settling on 23 January at $12.99/mn Btu, according to Argus data. Preliminary feedgas nominations as of 6pm ET for the gas day beginning at 10am ET on 24 January showed less volume going to Freeport, Elba Island and Cove Point than the day prior, with Elba Island set to reinject about 555mn ft³ into the grid. Nominations to Cove Point halved to about 160mn ft³, and flows to Freeport were set to drop by 41pc to 1.2bn ft³. Nominations to Cameron were marginally lower at 1.9bn ft³, which would be the lowest since 30 October if realized. The arctic blast cold also shut in capacity at other US LNG facilities due to operational issues, such as frozen equipment on pipelines and compressor stations.
Natural Gas Export Cutbacks Could Act as Safety Valve for Markets Amid Winter Storm Fern - Icy and subfreezing forecasts along the Gulf Coast LNG corridor have analysts watching whether Winter Storm Fern could force export facilities to curtail operations, a scenario that could free up natural gas supply for domestic markets even as freeze-offs threaten production.Chart comparing NGI’s Henry Hub spot price with U.S. LNG feed gas deliveries and pipeline natural gas exports to Mexico during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, showing a sharp Henry Hub price spike above $20/MMBtu as LNG feed gas and exports to Mexico plunged amid extreme cold and infrastructure outages. At A Glance:
- Cold threatens Gulf Coast LNG corridor
- Uri saw LNG feed gas flows drop 87%
- Mexico could face supply disruptions
Bearish Inventory Signals Emerge as Gasoline and Crude Stocks Build - According to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), for the week ended Friday, January 16, a drop in implied motor gasoline (mogas) demand contributed to a nearly 6 MMbbl build in total gasoline inventories, lifting total mogas stocks to 257 MMbbl (yellow dashed oval in chart below), the highest level seen since February 2021. The crude markets behaved similarly. Lower refinery throughput amid outages and maintenance, alongside flat net imports contributed to a 3.6 MMbbl build on commercial crude inventories, just above the 3 MMbbl build anticipated by the API survery. Additionally, inventories at Cushing soared 1.5 MMbbl, their largest build since August, and the SPR rose more than 800 Mbbl to the highest level since September 2022. As discussed in our Crude Billboard, it’s important to note that the SPR’s injection marks the early stages of delayed exchange repayments tied to the ‘Keystone Exchange’ – the DOE’s response to the December 2022 Keystone Pipeline shutdown.
U.S. Rig Count Reverses Last Week's Loss, Climbs To 544 - U.S. oil and gas rig count erased last week's decline, climbing by one rig back to 544 for the week ending January 23 according to Baker Hughes. The Niobrara (+3) was the only basin to add rigs, while the Gulf of Mexico (-1) and All Other (-1) both posted declines. Total rig count is down four in the last 90 days, and down 36 vs. this week a year ago. Oil-directed rigs increased to 411 (+1) this week, with gas-directed and miscellaneous rigs both unchanged at 122 and 11 respectively.
Alaska LNG Pipeline Moves Toward Build Phase as Glenfarne Lines up Contractors, Feed Gas --Glenfarne Group LLC, developer of the Alaska LNG export project, is transitioning from planning to building the first phase of a massive pipeline with a flurry of construction and supply deals, according to the company. At A Glance:
- Worley provisionally tapped for EPCM
- ConocoPhillips, Exxon, Hilcorp sign agreements
- First gas targeted for 2029
Eastern Canada LNG Back in Focus as Hanwha Enters Newfoundland Project -South Korea’s Hanwha Group is expanding its potential LNG portfolio in North America with a tentative partnership to advance a proposed export project in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Map of Canadian provinces and territories showing labeled regions across Canada, distinguishing provinces and territories by color, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic provinces, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. At A Glance:
Hanwha explores Fermeuse LNG partnership
Ottawa backs eastern LNG exports
Atlantic LNG supply optionality increases
LNG Canada On Track for Best Monthly Performance to Date - Intake of natural gas at the LNG Canada liquefaction site in Kitimat, BC is on track for its best monthly performance since beginning commercial operations in June 2025. Using data in RBN’s Canadian NatGas Billboard, we estimate gas intake in January 2026 will average 1,200 MMcf/d (red column in chart below) based on partial daily gas flow data and tanker loadings to date. This would be double December’s rate of 597 MMcf/d (green column), as the LNG plant was buffeted by technical issues with both of its liquefaction trains and an unplanned power outage on December 12, forcing a reset of equipment that is believed to have taken more than a week. Aside from one lengthy stay for a tanker spanning eight days at the LNG Canada docks in early January, other tankers appear to have settled into a rate of arrival and departure that has been running about two days for each visit. Extending this rate to the end of January would yield a total of 10 departures (after excluding a tanker that arrived on December 31). With each tanker holding approximately 3.6 Bcfe (LNG liquid volume converted to billion cubic feet equivalent), this would be a total of 36 Bcfe in the month for an average liquefaction rate of 1.1 Bcfe/d. After allowing for onsite fuel use, gas intake to the site would be 1.2 Bcf/d. Based on partial daily gas flow data and the rate of tanker loadings, total gas intake is estimated to be recently running at a record daily rate of approximately 1,500 MMcf/d (blue square in chart above) which would compute as a utilization rate of 71% based on estimated gas intake capacity of 2,100 MMcf/d. If the rate of arrivals/departures every two days can be maintained in February, this would place LNG Canada on track for average gas intake of 1.9 Bcf/d.
Woodfibre LNG Update Highlights Growing Pull on Western Canadian Gas Supply -- Construction of the Woodfibre LNG export project in British Columbia (BC) has reached a new milestone, according to project partners, setting the stage for more tightening of North American natural gas markets next year. At A Glance:
- Construction nears 60%
- Startup targeted for 2027
- LNG growth reshapes regional markets
Shell, Mitsubishi Said Exploring LNG Canada Sale as Companies Reshuffle Portfolios -- Shell plc and Mitsubishi Corp. are reportedly gauging the market’s appetite for buying an interest in their stakes in the LNG export terminal. Citing anonymous sources, Reuters reported that Shell could sell up to three-quarters of its 40% stake in the facility. How much Mitsubishi is willing to sell of its 15% stake in the terminal is unclear, according to the report. Shell has the largest stake in the facility and operates it.
As Trump Targets Greenland, EU’s Dependence on U.S. LNG Comes Under Scrutiny - As Europe weighs its approach to President Trump’s demand to buy Greenland, U.S. LNG imports are for now unlikely to be involved in any further trade tensions as the continent has become heavily reliant on the volumes to meet its energy needs. See: Graph of Europe’s LNG Imports by Country of Origin. At A Glance:
Trade tensions mount over Greenland
Reliance on U.S. LNG under microscope
EU LNG import tariffs off table
Central Europe Cold Boosts Natural Gas Demand, Sustains Call on U.S. LNG --The deepening cold over Central Europe has sparked speculative natural gas trading across the curve, pushing up global benchmarks and sustaining the pull of U.S. LNG across the Atlantic.Four-panel chart showing trailing 365-day mean temperatures versus normal for Northwest Europe, Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo, highlighting daily average temperature trends in degrees Fahrenheit through mid-January 2026. At A Glance:
Cold fuels TTF rally
EU storage falls near 50%
Asian LNG demand remains muted
Global LNG Set to Expand Another 10% in 2026 Thx to U.S. & Qatar - Global LNG markets are entering a transitional phase in 2026, characterized by a projected 10% supply surge as major U.S. and Qatari projects come online. This influx ends post-Ukraine war tightness of supply in the LNG market and will likely depress global prices to under $10 per mmBtu. Lower prices are expected to stimulate demand recovery in price-sensitive markets like China and India, while Europe increases imports to phase out Russian gas and replenish inventories. Although supply abundance benefits consumers, narrowing price spreads will likely squeeze U.S. export margins. Consequently, the industry is shifting toward ample availability and reshuffled trade flows through 2029.
Coral North FLNG Advances as Mozambique Eyes 7 Mt/y in Exports by 2028 -The Coral North Floating LNG (FLNG) vessel has successfully completed a hull launch, according to project partners, placing the project in line to double LNG exports from Mozambique in 2028. At A Glance:
- Eni expands East Africa LNG footprint
- FLNG growth reinforces Asia supply flows
- Area 4 volumes support long-term exports
What happens to the oil tankers the US keeps seizing? - — For more than a month, the Motor Tanker Skipper has bobbed about 50 miles off the coast of Galveston.It was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard on Dec. 10 off the coast of Venezuela, accused by the United States of being part of an oil shipping network that supported groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.The Skipper is now at least the seventh oil tanker seized for violatinga partialU.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan oil exports and being part of a so-called shadow fleet of vessels that work to transport sanctioned oil. On Wednesday, the Coast Guard seized the Motor Vessel Sagitta — a vessel that was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022, according to the Associated Press. But as the number of U.S.-seized oil tankers grows, legal questions are also mounting about the fate of the ships and their oil.“The legal position in relation to many aspects of this is very far from clear, both in terms of national law, which will be relevant now that the ships and the oil are in U.S. territorial waters, but also international law in relation to the original seizure of the vessels,” said Martin Davies, director of the Maritime Law Center at the Tulane University Law School. “All of it is very murky, as I must say are the administration’s plans.” The seized tankers are spread out, with at least the Skipper floating in waters off Texas, another tanker off the coast of Scotland and a third off the coast of Puerto Rico, according to social media updates from TankerTrackers.com, which tracks the movements of oil tankers.The White House did not respond to questions about whether the Trump administration believes the U.S. now owns or controls the seized tankers or their oil, or whether it is offloading any of the crude to U.S. storage facilities or refineries.The Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security referred POLITICO’s E&E News to the White House, which declined to comment on the tankers. The Treasury Department also declined to comment.The quarantine is focused on sanctioned shadow vessels transporting sanctioned oil associated with Venezuela’s state-run oil company, according to a U.S. official granted anonymity to discuss government plans.President Donald Trump’s push to capture sanctioned and shadow fleet vessels near Venezuela reflects the administration’s ongoing efforts to control Venezuela’s massive oil reserves and increase leverage over that country’s government. A U.S. military raid on Jan. 3 led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was sent to the U.S. and held on drug and weapons charges. Trump earlier this month called for oil companies to invest at least $100 billion as part of plan to rebuild and produce more oil from Venezuela’s crumbling infrastructure. But oil executives have been hesitant to commit, citing the country’s political instability and potential legal issues down the road. Specific details about how U.S. oil companies would work with Venezuela’s government — which is led by Delcy Rodríguez as the country’s interim president — and how the U.S. may split oil revenues with Venezuela have yet to be announced. There are numerous questions about how the United States may use proceeds from Venezuelan oil.But Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the oil tanker seizures are part of a continuing “maximum pressure” campaign to influence the Venezuelan government.“Washington is completely determining whether and how much oil Venezuela can export, and to whom,” Seigle said. The Trump administration has used several legal justifications for the seizures, but with one unifying allegation: The ships violated the U.S. quarantine of Venezuelan oil. Last Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security seized the Motor Tanker Veronica and said it was operating in defiance of Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”The Veronica has been renamed several times, according to its registration data with the International Maritime Organization.A tanker with its registration number was sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2022. More recently it was listed as being registered in Russia and named the Gallileo before being named the Veronica and sailing under the flag of Guyana, according to the International Maritime Organization’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System.The country of Guyana has said the vessel faked its registration in Guyana and is flying under a false flag. If the vessel is faking its registration and not from the country it purports to represent, Davies said it is then considered stateless, and United Nations law dictates authorities from any country can board it, even if it’s not in their territorial waters.It’s more complicated if a vessel is not considered stateless, Davies said.A U.S. district magistrate judge in November signed a seizure warrant for the Motor Tanker Skipper under a statute that allows the seizure of all assets “foreign or domestic … of any individual, entity or organization engaged in planning or perpetrating any Federal crime of terrorism” against the United States.Seizing a boat in that way is called interdiction, Davies said. Countries have used interdiction to seize vessels like those carrying migrants from Africa to Europe, or smuggling drugs from the Caribbean into the United States, he said.Countries that intercept a boat in international waters under interdiction need to show that it’s a direct threat to the country, according to Davies.“But whether that then authorizes the United States to seize the vessel on the high seas is when you sort of lose touch with international law,” Davies said. “Then, as a matter of international law, the only justification for interdiction of a foreign flag vessel on international waters is if it poses a direct threat to U.S. interests.”The fact that several of these tankers may not have been headed for the United States raises questions about whether that argument would stand up to international scrutiny, although Davies said the Trump administration may argue that trading Venezuelan crude itself threatens the well-being of the United States.But Kenneth Engerrand, a shareholder at the Brown Sims law firm and an adjunct professor of admiralty law at the University of Houston Law Center, said the U.S. played by the rule book in seizing the Skipper by court order.“If the United States has a legitimate interest in that, even though I’m on the high seas, because it’s violating U.S. law, then the government has the right to get a warrant of arrest for forfeiture because it’s violating our law,” Engerrand said.Determining what happens with the vessels and their oil now that they’ve been taken could take years to parse out, however.
Oil Prices Flat as Iran Supply Risk Fades -Oil prices fell early on Monday as concerns about a potential disruption to Iran’s oil supply in case of U.S. strikes subsided, while traders began to assess the next geopolitical flashpoint U.S. President Donald Trump has created—Greenland. As of 9:53 a.m. ET on Monday, the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, had returned to below $60 per barrel, trading at $59.16, down by 0.27% on the day. The price of the U.S. oil has stayed for months very close to the breakeven prices for profitably drilling a new well at many U.S. independent shale producers. Even oil tycoon and wildcatter Harold Hamm has said he would halt drilling operations in North Dakota for the first time in decades, due to the low oil prices that erase profit margins. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, fell below the $64 per barrel handle early on Monday, trading down by 0.39% at $63.88 as of 9:53 a.m. ET. Trade could be thinner in the U.S. on Monday on the federal holiday Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Oil prices eased from last week’s highs of over $66 per barrel Brent and nearly $62 per barrel WTI, aftertensions over Iran and its handling of the protests started to ease and U.S. President Donald Trumpappeared to back off from a strike on Iran, for now. But President Trump stirred a commotion in another part of the world after saying the U.S. would slap tariffson its European and NATO allies Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland, for supporting Greenland’s status as an autonomous Danish territory. The return of the U.S.-EU tariff row, now over Trump’s obsession to take over Greenland, threatens to return the cross-Atlantic trade row as European leaders have suggested the EU could pull out of the trade deal with the United States. Following renewed threats from the U.S. against Greenland, gold and silver prices jumped on Monday, while European equities fell. “The re-emergence of tariff friction is likely to weigh on risk assets today,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a Monday note. “Despite the pressure on flat price, the prompt ICE Brent timespread remains firm, suggesting some tightness in the spot physical market,” they added.
Brent and WTI Climb as Tariff Threats and Kazakh Disruptions Rattle Markets --Oil prices crept higher on Tuesday, with Brent and WTI both climbing as traders weighed a messy mix of geopolitics, supply disruptions, and macro tailwinds that all pointed in the same direction: higher risk, higher prices. Brent crude rose about 1.5% to just under $65 a barrel, while WTI pushed past $60, up roughly 1.7% on the day. Crude has been struggling to build momentum for a while, and this move suggests the market is starting to price in a bit more discomfort. One catalyst was Kazakhstan, where Tengizchevroil temporarily halted production at the massive Tengiz and Korolev fields after power distribution issues. Tengiz is one of the world’s largest oil fields, and even a short outage tightens near-term supply through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Geopolitics added to the price hike. President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats against several European countries over Greenland have injected fresh uncertainty into global trade. While tariffs themselves do not immediately change oil balances, they raise the risk premium. That unease showed up in crude prices even as analysts downplayed any direct impact on physical supply. Macro factors helped too. China reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter GDP growth, offering reassurance that demand from the world’s top oil importer is not rolling over. At the same time, the U.S. dollar slid again, making crude cheaper for non-U.S. buyers and giving commodities broadly a lift. Still, U.S. production remains strong, OPEC+ spare capacity still exists, and inventories are not flashing red. But taken together, outages, geopolitics, firmer economic data, and a weaker dollar were enough to push Brent and WTI higher and keep them there.
Oil Market Rebounds After Overnight Selloff as Economic Outlook Improves - -The oil market posted an outside trading day on Tuesday as the February WTI contract expired at the close. The market, which traded mostly sideways during Monday’s shortened trading session due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, sold off to a low of $58.70 in overnight trading following the sharp losses in the equities market on Monday as fears of a renewed trade war escalated over the weekend. President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional 10% levies starting February 1st on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain for opposing his push to acquire Greenland. However, the market quickly bounced off its low and retraced its losses as an upward revision of this year’s global economic growth estimate by the International Monetary Fund lent some support. The market was also supported by a weak dollar and better than expected fourth quarter Chinese GDP data. The crude market retraced more than 50% of its move from a high of $62.36 to a low of $58.70 as it rallied to a high of $60.68 ahead of the February contract’s expiration. The February WTI contract went off the board up 90 cents at $60.34 and the March contract settled up $1.02 at $60.36. The March Brent contract settled up 98 cents at $64.92. Meanwhile, the product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 10.09 cents at $2.3385 and the RB market settling up 3.86 cents at $1.8238. Bloomberg reported that the last tankers carrying sanctioned Venezuelan crude to Asia are set to arrive in the coming day, effectively drawing to a close China’s easy access to a source of cheap oil that has helped sustain its refining sector. The ships, which loaded and set said before a U.S. blockade on Venezuela began last month, will likely join a fleet already idling in waters off Malaysia and China. On Tuesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she would not abandon Greenland and as President Trump has not ruled out use of the military, she would not rule it out either. Following a meeting with the Danish Defense Minister and the Greenlandic Foreign Affairs Minister, NATO’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte said NATO will keep working with Denmark and Greenland on security of the Arctic area. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” telephone call with NATO’s Secretary General concerning Greenland. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said that talks with U.S. envoys was constructive and that more and more people now understand the Russian position on Ukraine peace. Operations at four Libyan oil terminals halted on Monday due to bad weather. Engineers said the stoppages at the Ras Lanuf, Zueitina, Brega and Es Sider terminals will also continue on Tuesday. Industry sources said oil production at Kazakhstan’s vast Tengiz oil field could be halted for another 7-10 days after shutting down on Sunday, cutting crude exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. On Monday, Kazakh oil producer Tengizchevroil, led by Chevron, said that it had temporarily halted production at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields after an issue affected power distribution systems.
WTI at $60 as Dollar Slides, Oil Risks Rise on Greenland -- Crude futures settled up Tuesday, Jan. 20, extending the rally of the past four weeks, as the dollar tumbled over President Donald Trump's decision to tariff European allies opposed to his plans to acquire Greenland. Adding to the market's fervor was news that China's economy expanded by 5% last year amid a boom in refinery throughput in the world's largest oil importer. Crude futures settled up on Friday, Jan. 23, for a fifth consecutive week on renewed concerns of a potential U.S. strike on Iran and a weekend ice storm... The U.S. Dollar Index was down almost 1% to a two-week low of 98.025 against a basket of foreign currencies, boosting prices of commodities priced in the greenback, including crude. The yield on the U.S. 10-year bond hit a five-month high of 4.315, threatening to dramatically increase borrowing costs for businesses. While that should have driven crude prices lower, as it did in the stock market, oil was boosted instead by geopolitical risks tied to Trump's acquisition plan for Greenland. The president threatened at the weekend a 10% tariff on eight European allies, warning it would grow to 25% unless they agreed to his plan. Trump has framed the acquisition of the Arctic island and semi-autonomous Danish territory as a non-negotiable requirement for U.S. security as he starts his second year in office. Trump was expected to press on the agenda for Ukraine at this week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, setting up potential rows with opposing European allies who have warned that the future of their decades-old NATO alliance was at risk. "Trump has reignited a maximalist tariff crusade: new levies on eight NATO allies," Phil Davis, founder at PSW Investments, wrote, explaining the surge in geopolitical risks driving crude prices up this week after last week's turmoil in Iran, OPEC's fourth-largest exporter. In China, data showed refinery throughput for oil climbed by 4.1% in 2025, while domestic crude production rose by 1.5% to reach historical peaks. NYMEX WTI crude for February delivery settled up by $0.90, or 1.5%, at $60.34 bbl. The ICE Brent crude contract for March finished up by $0.98, or 1.5%, at $64.92 bbl. The two crude benchmarks have risen by about 5% since the week ended Dec. 12. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for February delivery climbed by $0.0956 to $2.3332 gallon, while front-month RBOB moved up by $0.0331 to $1.8183 gallon.
Oil rises on Kazakh supply disruptions, upbeat economic data; Greenland in focus (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday on the temporary suspension of output at Kazakhstan's oil fields and expectations of firmer global economic growth that could drive fuel demand. Investors continued to monitor U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats against European states that oppose his push to acquire Greenland.. Brent futures settled 98 cents, or 1.53%, higher at $64.92 a barrel. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for February , which expires on Tuesday, gained 90 cents, or 1.51%, at $60.34. The more actively traded WTI March contract rose $1.02, or 1.72%, to $60.36. Kazakh oil producer Tengizchevroil, led by Chevron, said on Monday it had temporarily halted production at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields after an issue affected power distribution systems. Tengiz could be halted for another seven to 10 days, cutting crude exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. "Tengiz is amongst the largest fields in the world and so the outage is certainly disruptive for crude flows," said Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS. "But this disruption does look to be temporary, and so if the tariffs rhetoric continues, we expect prices to fall back," he said. The oil market also drew support from better-than-expected fourth-quarter Chinese gross domestic product data released on Monday, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. "This resilience in the world's top oil importer provided a lift to demand sentiment," he said. China's economy grew by 5% last year and the country's refinery throughput in 2025 climbed 4.1% on a year-over-year basis, data showed on Monday. China's crude oil output also grew 1.5%. Prices also gained on an upward revision of this year's global economic growth estimate by the International Monetary Fund as well as stronger diesel prices. A sliding dollar has also supported prices, as a weaker U.S. currency could boost oil demand by making dollar-denominated purchases cheaper. Fears of a renewed trade war escalated over the weekend after Trump said he would impose additional 10% levies from February 1 on goods imported from EU members Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as Britain and Norway, rising to 25% on June 1 if no deal on Greenland was reached. Trump's tariff threats have a negative bearing on crude prices as the levies could lead to lower global economic growth and therefore reduce oil demand growth, said Parmar of ICIS. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the bloc's executive arm is working on a package to support Arctic security and that the tariffs are a mistake.
Oil Prices Slip as Traders Look Past Kazakhstan Disruption -Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Wednesday, with traders shifting focus away from what will likely be a short-lived supply disruption in Kazakhstan and back toward the prospect of rising U.S. inventories and renewed macro uncertainty tied to trade threats.At the time of writing, Brent was down $0.79 or 1.22% at $64.13 per barrel, while WTI had fallen $0.64 or -1.06% to $59.72.The decline comes a day after crude posted strong gains, buoyed by news that OPEC+ producer Kazakhstanhalted output at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields due to power distribution issues and after strong Chinese economic data boosted demand expectations.The market initially treated the Kazakhstan outage as a bullish catalyst, as Tengiz is one of the world’s largest oil fields, but it soon became clear that the interruption would be temporary, limiting its ability to underpin prices for long.Reuters reported that output at the two fields could remain shut for another seven to 10 days, according to industry sources. The shutdown follows fires that damaged power infrastructure serving the Chevron-operated Tengiz site and the adjacent Korolev field. The more immediate bearish driver in Wednesday’s trade is the expectation of a build in U.S. crude stockpiles, a familiar price headwind when demand signals are not strong enough to absorb additional barrels. API data is due out later on Wednesday, and the EIA report follows on Thursday.While a combination of geopolitical risk and supply outages has provided temporary support to prices in recent weeks, it's hard to see past the fundamentals of a market that is set to be oversupplied in 2026. The continuation of tariff threats from Trump only adds to the economic uncertainty going forward, with any additional trade friction likely to lead to weaker demand growth globally.
Oil Prices Advance As Trump’s Trade Threats And Global Tensions Fuel Market Anxiety - Global oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as escalating geopolitical tensions and renewed trade hostilities from US President Donald Trump unsettled financial markets, prompting investors to reassess risk exposure and energy supply stability. Brent crude futures rose modestly to $63.65 per barrel, gaining about 0.2% from the previous session’s close of $63.50. Meanwhile, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed roughly 0.4% to $59.69 per barrel, up from $59.43 in the prior trading session. Market participants pointed to a combination of geopolitical flashpoints and aggressive tariff rhetoric as key drivers behind the price movement. Fresh threats from the White House layered additional uncertainty onto already fragile global relations, reinforcing concerns over potential disruptions to energy flows and trade-linked demand. Investor sentiment was particularly rattled after Trump signalled a hardline response to European opposition over US ambitions concerning Greenland. Over the weekend, the US president announced plans to impose tariffs on eight European nations that he accused of undermining what he described as US-led peace initiatives. According to Trump, imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would face a 10% tariff beginning February 1. The proposed duties would rise sharply to 25% by June 1 should diplomatic negotiations fail to produce an agreement. Trade tensions escalated further following reports that French President Emmanuel Macron was unwilling to participate in Trump’s newly proposed “Board of Peace for Gaza.” In response, Trump threatened punitive tariffs of up to 200% on French wine and champagne, a move that sent fresh shockwaves through European markets. Analysts say the growing convergence of geopolitical disputes and trade conflicts has heightened risk perceptions globally, encouraging increased buying in oil markets as investors hedge against potential supply shocks. Attention has also turned to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump is expected to deliver remarks that could shape near-term market expectations, particularly regarding US trade policy and the administration’s stance on Greenland. Some investors are hopeful that discussions at the forum could open a pathway toward easing tensions with European partners. Beyond oil, the broader financial landscape reflected rising risk aversion. Gold prices surged to record highs as investors sought safety, while US Treasury bonds came under pressure and the US dollar continued to weaken. The softer dollar provided additional support for crude prices, as commodities priced in dollars become more attractive to buyers using other currencies. Markets were also closely watching developments surrounding the US Federal Reserve. At Davos, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump could announce his preferred successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell as early as next week. Expectations that US monetary policy will remain accommodative, alongside projections of steady economic growth and resilient oil demand, have continued to underpin crude prices. However, analysts caution that a Fed chair perceived as closely aligned with Trump’s low-interest-rate preferences could raise longer-term concerns over the central bank’s independence, even if markets respond positively in the short term.
Oil Market Rises on Kazakhstan Supply Disruptions Despite Geopolitical Headwinds - The crude market on Wednesday continued to trade higher on the temporary shutdown at two large fields in Kazakhstan and the low volume of Venezuelan oil exports highlighting the slow progress in reversing the country’s output cuts. In overnight trading, the market continued to erase some of Tuesday’s early gains as it posted a low of $59.22. The market remained under pressure as increased geopolitical tensions and threat of increased tariffs on the United States’ European allies could slow economic growth. However, the market bounced off its low and rallied higher in light of expectations that Kazakhstan will halt output at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields for another seven to 10 days after the fields were shut in on Sunday due to power distribution issues. TCO, the operator of the Tengiz oilfield, declared force majeure on crude oil deliveries into the CPC pipeline system. In its first session as the spot contract, the March WTI contract rallied to high of $60.89 early in the session. The market, which retraced more than 62% of its move from a high of $62.20 to a low of $58.53, later erased some of its gains and settled in a sideways trading range. The March WTI contract ended the session up 28 cents at $60.62 and the March Brent contract settled up 32 cents at $65.24. The heating oil market settled sharply higher, up 9.2 cents at $2.4305 amid the frigid weather forecasts, while the RB market settled up 3.36 cents at $1.8574. The International Energy Agency revised its 2026 global oil demand growth forecasts higher in its latest monthly oil market report, suggesting a slightly narrower surplus for the market this year. The IEA raised its 2026 average oil demand growth forecast to 930,000 bpd from a previous forecast of 860,000 bpd. It said high balances provide some comfort amid increasing geopolitical tensions. It sees world oil supply 3.69 million bpd higher than demand in 2026, up from a previous estimate of 3.84 million bpd. The IEA said it’s too early to assess the longer term impact of the recent developments on supply in Venezuela and Iran and left its forecast largely unchanged. It said world oil supply will increase by 2.5 million bpd in 2026, slightly higher from a previous estimate of 2.4 million bpd. It said a significant surplus may emerge in the first quarter barring a major supply disruption as refiners enter their maintenance period.U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, adding that he believed both the Ukrainian leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin were now at a point where they could reach a deal to end the war.U.S. President Donald Trump said it should be known within three weeks whether Hamas will agree to give up its weapons, and threatened action if the group does not. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told oil company executives, in a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, that Venezuela’s output can increase 30% from its current level of 900,000 bpd in the short- to medium-term. U.S. President Donald Trump wants U.S. oil executives to invest $100 billion to fix Venezuela’s oil industry and increase its output. One executive at the meeting noted an increase of 300,000 bpd would have little impact on the global market.
Oil prices slip lower on U.S. crude build up -- Oil prices retreated Thursday, with investors turning their attention to a build in U.S. crude inventories as tensions surrounding the ownership of Greenland eased. At 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in March fell 1.2% to $64.46 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 1.2% to $59.88 per barrel. Both contracts had risen modestly in the last two sessions, supported by supply concerns after OPEC+ producer Kazakhstan halted output at its Tengiz and Korolev oilfields on Sunday. Market sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly softened his stance on Wednesday over Greenland, backing away from threats to impose tariffs on European nations as leverage to annex the Danish territory. Trump ruled out the use of force and said a deal framework was in sight, easing fears of a sharp escalation in U.S.–EU tensions that could have weighed on global growth and energy demand. The de-escalation helped stabilise broader risk sentiment, though oil markets remained cautious amid mixed supply and demand signals. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.04 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 16, after jumping over 5 million barrels in the week before. Gasoline stocks climbed by 6.21 million barrels, pointing to softer demand in the world’s largest energy market, while distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 33,000 barrels. On the demand side, oil prices found some support after the International Energy Agency revised higher its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 on Wednesday. "The agency revised its oil demand growth estimates for 2026 from 860k b/d to 930k b/d, reflecting more normalised economic conditions and lower oil prices." said analysts at ING, in a note. "However, the IEA still expects the market to remain in large surplus through 2026."
Oil Prices Drop As Geopolitical Risk Eases, Gasoline Stocks At Highest Since 2020 - Oil prices are lower this morning after Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said that the US, Russia and Ukraine will meet in coming days for trilateral team meetings. WTI dropped below $60 as Zelenskiy urged Russia to be “ready for compromises.” Any breakthrough to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine could iron out supply disruptions and end sanctions on Russian crude in an already oversupplied global market, sapping a longstanding geopolitical risk premium. Adding to pressure on prices, Kazakhstan is getting closer to ending a weeks-long export constraint as repairs at a key Black Sea oil-loading facility near completion. A backlog of cargoes at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal is easing. And supplies are also returning to the global market from Venezuela. Easing tensions returned the focus to market fundamentals, as traders look to rising global inventories as supply runs well ahead of demand (seemingly confirmed by a large build in crude and product stocks reported overnight by API).
- Crude +3.04mm
- Cushing +1.2mm
- Gasoline +6.2mm
- Distillates -33k
DOE
- Crude +3.6mm
- Cushing +1.478mm - biggest build since Aug 2025
- Gasoline +5.977mm
- Distillates +3.348mm
The official data showed inventory builds across the board with Cushing stocks jumping by the most since August and gasoline inventories up for the 10th week in a row. Gasoline inventories are now at the highest level since 2021 and the highest seasonal level since 2020. This comes as demand plummeted to the lowest weekly level since January 2023. East Coast gasoline stocks posted their largest weekly move since the end of 2021. Graphics Source: Bloomberg. US Crude production dipped a little from record highs as rig counts continue to trend lower... WTI extended losses after the across the board builds... “The geopolitical temperature has eased a few degrees,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, a strategist at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen. But with a range of supply threats unresolved, and colder weather set to bolster US demand, prices will likely “hold firm.”
Oil slides 2% as Trump tones down threats toward Greenland and Iran - Oil prices slid about 2% to a one-week low on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump softened threats toward Greenland and Iran, and on some positive movement that could lead to a solution to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Brent futures fell $1.18, or 1.81%, to close at $64.06 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.26, or 2.08%, to settle at $59.36 a barrel. Trump said he has secured total and permanent U.S. access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China. European Union leaders, meanwhile, will rethink ties with the U.S. at an emergency summit on Thursday after Trump's threat of tariffs and even military action badly shook confidence in the transatlantic relationship, diplomats said. "There is a deflation of risk premium related to the Greenland debacle and Iran supply risk has also been reduced," said Ole Hansen, chief commodity analyst at Saxo Bank. Trump also said he hoped there would be no further U.S. military action in Iran, but added the U.S. would act if Iran resumes its nuclear program. Iran, operating under sanctions, is the third-biggest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. With less tension around Greenland and Iran, oil prices should hold at around $60 a barrel, according to Tony Sycamore, an analyst with online broker IG. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine said on Thursday after talks with Trump in Davos that the terms of security guarantees for Ukraine had been finalized, but that the vital issue of territory in its war with Russia remains unsolved. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have spent weeks in shuttle diplomacy. Trump has pressured Ukraine to secure peace after nearly four years of war, despite few signs Russia wants to stop fighting. A deal to bring peace to Ukraine and lift sanctions on Russia, the world's third-biggest crude producer, could reduce oil prices by making more fuel available on global markets. The French navy intercepted a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of a shadow fleet that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions. Russian oil output fell 0.8% to 10.28 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, around a tenth of global production, according to data published on Thursday. In Venezuela, another sanctioned member of OPEC, trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were in the process of exporting fuel oil under a U.S.-backed deal following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A sweeping proposed reform of Venezuela's hydrocarbons law would allow foreign and local companies to operate oilfields on their own through a new contract model, commercialize output and receive sale proceeds even if acting as minority partners of state company PDVSA, drafts seen by Reuters on Thursday showed. Boosting oil flows from Venezuela could reduce oil prices. Another factor weighing on oil prices was a slight worsening in forecasts for European corporate health. European firms are expected to report a 4.2% drop in 2025 fourth-quarter earnings, on average, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data, slightly worse than the 4.1% decrease analysts expected a week ago. Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Arabia's Aramco the world's biggest oil producer, said global oil glut predictions are seriously exaggerated as demand growth remains strong and global oil stocks are depleted. Oil futures extended losses on a bigger-than-expected crude storage build. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy firms added 3.6 million barrels of crude to storage during the week ended January 16. That was bigger than the 1.1-million-barrel increase analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and also topped the 3.0-million-barrel build that market sources said the American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group reported on Wednesday. EIA and API released their storage reports a day later than usual due to the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday..
Macron: French Forces Have Boarded a Russian Oil Tanker in the Mediterranean - President Emmanuel Macron announced that French forces boarded an oil tanker carrying Russian oil.“This morning, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker coming from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag,” the French leader wrote on X Thursday. “The operation was conducted on the high seas in the Mediterranean, with the support of several of our allies.”Macron said that the vessel, “Grinch,” was part of the Russian “shadow fleet” of oil tankers. The French leader claimed that the seizure occurred in accordance with “the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”However, the Security Council has not adopted sanctions on Russian oil, and the UN opposes unilateral cohesive economic measures.In an article for Responsible Statecraft earlier this month, Anatol Lieven, Director of the Eurasia Program, warned that seizing Russian ships on the high seas could be viewed as an “act of war.” He explained that Moscow could retaliate by seizing European cargo ships.Ukrainian President Zelensky praised Macron for seizing the Grinch. “Thank you, France! Thank you, Marcon!” he wrote on X. “This is exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia’s war. Russian tankers operating near European shores must be stopped.”
French Navy Intercepts Russia-Linked Oil Tanker In Mediterranean: 'We'll Let Nothing Pass' - Thursday saw another Russia-linked tanker, part of the so-called shadow fleet of sanctions evading vessels, boarded by a European country's navy. Such incidents are ramping up, and likely Moscow is also increasing its security deployments related to protecting the vessels. Just as Ukrainian President Zelensky was on stage at the Davos WEF summit where he decried European 'inaction' - news hit global headlines that the French navy boarded an oil tanker from Russia. "This morning, the French Navy boarded and searched an oil tanker from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag," French President Emmanuel Macron said on X. "The operation was carried out on the high seas in the Mediterranean, with the support of several of our allies," he added, noting that the vessel had been "diverted". "We will let nothing pass," Macron then stated, seeking to appear 'tough' at a moment much of European leadership is focused on the Greenland crisis. "The activities of the shadow fleet help finance the war of aggression against Ukraine," he added. The detail about it happening in the Mediterranean is interesting, and more rare, given that until now such intercepts typically take place in northern European waters. But this apparently underscores European resolve to go after these vessels anywhere on the globe. International news sources have identified the seized vessel, currently under escort, as the "Grinch" and it happened in the narrow body of water between Spain and Morocco. Per the emerging details, the operation was carried out by France in coordination with the UK, which provided vital intelligence to make the intercept possible. The vessel was sailing under a false Comoros flag, despite having an Indian crew, with the vessel encountering French authorities near southern Spanish port city of Almería.
International Oil Prices Rebound After France Captures Russian Oil Ship -- Oil prices climbed on Friday after France captured a Russian tanker carrying oil across the Mediterranean Sea. Besides, the drop was fueled by renewed warnings by US President Donald Trump against Iran if it disrupted global crude supplies. Supply concerns were further amplified by production outages in Kazakhstan. Brent crude futures for March delivery rose $1.68, or 2.6 percent, to $65.74 per barrel by 1910 PKT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.63, or 2.8%, to trade at $60.99 per barrel. Both oil benchmarks were on track to post weekly gains of above 2 percent. At the time of press, Brent was up 2.54 percent or $1.63 at $65.69 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up by 2.56 percent or $1.52 at $60.88 per barrel PKT.
Oil prices rise on Trump’s Iran ‘armada’ comments and Kazakh outage - Oil prices rebounded on Friday after US President Donald Trump renewed threats against Iran, raising concerns of military action that could disrupt crude supplies while there are outages in Kazakhstan. Brent crude futures for March rose $1.68, or 2.6%, to $65.74 a barrel by 1408 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.63, or 2.8%, at $60.99. Both benchmarks were set for weekly gains of about 2.5%. Prices had also climbed earlier in the week on US President Donald Trump’s moves on Greenland but dropped by about 2% on Thursday as he backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out military action. Trump said on Thursday that Denmark, NATO and the US had reached a deal that would allow “total access” to Greenland. But on Thursday he said that the US has an “armada” heading towards Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme. Warships including an aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, a US official said. The United States conducted strikes on Iran last June. At about 3.2 million barrels per day according to OPEC figures, Iran is OPEC’s fourth-biggest crude oil producer behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. It is also a major exporter to China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Meanwhile, Chevron said that oil output at Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oilfield, one of the world’s largest, has yet to resume after Chevron-led operator Tengiz chevr oil announced a shutdown on Monday following a fire. The incident exacerbated problems for Kazakhstan’s oil industry, already challenged by bottlenecks at its main exporting gateway on the Black Sea, which has been damaged by Ukrainian drones. JP Morgan said on Friday that Tengiz, which accounts for nearly half of Kazakhstan’s production, could remain offline for the rest of the month and that Kazakhstan’s crude output is likely to average only 1 million to 1.1 million barrels per day in January, compared with a usual level around 1.8 million bpd.
WTI Up 5th Straight Week on Iran, US Storm Concerns -- Crude futures settled up on Friday, Jan. 23, for a fifth consecutive week on renewed concerns of a potential U.S. strike on Iran and a weekend ice storm that could knock out power grids while boosting heating demand in the U.S. Southern Plains to Northeast. After a 2% drop Thursday, Jan. 22, on reduced geopolitical tensions and U.S. oil inventory builds, crude prices jumped about 3% in the latest session as President Donald Trump warned that U.S. warships were headed for Iran, reigniting supply concerns in the event of a conflict in the world's largest oil producing region. Crude futures jumped 2% Friday, Jan. 23, recouping most of the previous session's loss, after President Donald Trump warned that U.S. warships were headed... "We have a massive fleet heading in that direction," the Associated Press quoted Trump as telling reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he pledged to use diplomacy instead of force to boost the U.S. presence in Greenland. An outbreak of war in Iran could severely impact oil supplies from OPEC's fourth-largest oil producer with a steady output of approximately 3.2 million bpd. The Strait of Hormuz straddling Iran provides passage to roughly 20 million bpd of crude oil and petroleum products transit equivalent to 20% of the world's total liquid fuel consumption and about of two-thirds of Middle East production led by Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says. On the weather front, concerns over U.S. heating demand and prices could become more pronounced with this weekend's Storm Fern, which has already driven spot natural gas to a one-year high of above $8 MMBtu, the Energy Information Administration cautioned. The front month natural gas futures contract on NYMEX settled at $5.275 MMBtu on Friday, up 5% on the day and 43% on the year. The NYMEX WTI crude futures contract for March delivery settled up $1.71, or 2.9%, at 61.07 bbl. The ICE Brent crude contract for March finished up $1.82, or 2.8%, at $65.88 bbl. Both WTI and Brent have gained about 8% each or more over the past five weeks on geopolitical tensions and near-term supply risks. This is despite the Paris-based International Energy Agency maintaining an oversupply prediction of 3.7 million bpd for 2026 and the EIA reporting across-the-board increases in U.S. oil inventories last week, led by a 3.6 million bbl crude build. Downstream on Friday, NYMEX ULSD futures for February delivery rose by $0.0680 to $2.4348 gallon, while front-month RBOB climbed by $0.0334 to 0.0195 to $1.8721 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index declined by 0.686 points to 97.51 against a basket of currencies.
Rights group: Iran protests death toll exceeds 4,000 -- The number of deaths during widespread protests in Iran now exceeds 4,000, according to a human rights group tracking the toll. The Human Rights Group Activist News Agency announced Monday that confirmed fatalities have reached 4,029, with more than 9,000 deaths under review. The number represents a surge of hundreds since Saturday, when the fatalities figure crossed the 3,000 mark. More than 5,800 people have sustained “severe injuries” during the protests, and arrests exceed 26,000. Iranian officials have not offered their own death toll, though Tehran said Saturday that “several thousand” were dead.The protests were sparked by the nation’s failing economy, and the government has responded with an aggressive crackdown, cutting the country off from the internet. As the death toll climbed, hackers on Monday disrupted Iranian state television, the Associated Press reported, to support exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who has called for protests. One of the graphics included a message to army forces: “Don’t point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran.” Trump said over the weekend that it’s “time to look for new leadership” in Iran, after Tehran’s leader put blame on the U.S. for the regime’s crackdown. “In order to keep the country functioning, even though that function is a very low level, the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control,” Trump told Politico in an interview shared Saturday.
Trump Asks For ‘Decisive’ Military Operations for Iran - The White House is developing military options for President Donald Trump to attack Iran. According to sources speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Trump is pressing top American officials to develop plans for attacking Iran that would be “decisive.” The options under development range from striking Iranian military facilities or attempting to overthrow the government with a bombing campaign. US military personnel in the Middle East and the Iranian government believed Trump was going to order strikes on Iran last week. However, after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he declined to give the order. An official said that Netanyahu told Trump that Israel was unprepared for an Iranian counterattack. Trump’s advisors also could not give an assurance to the President that the planned attack would cause the Iranian government to fall. US officials were additionally concerned that the Department of War lacked the necessary military equipment in the Middle East to defend American soldiers from Iranian retaliatory attacks. Trump will have more options for a larger attack on Iran in the coming weeks as the US is moving military assets to the Middle East. The President has ordered an aircraft carrier strike group, air defense systems, and additional fighter jets to the Middle East.
Saudis Keen To Oust UAE From Position of Regional Influence - The fighting in South Yemen in early January reflected a big rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While the two nations jointly invaded Yemen a decade and a half ago, they’ve both aligned with different factions, and those factions have been at odds for years.The UAE-backed separatists and the Saudi-backed self-proclaimed government fought, the Saudiskidnapped a separatist negotiating team, and their leader fled to the UAE. While the Saudis are trying to be upbeat about their “victory” here, they are also reportedly mad at the UAE once again, and keen to remove them entirely from the regional power structure.The UAE has spent years developing its position in the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. According to a Washington Post report, the Saudis are increasingly vocal about seeing the UAE as an opponent, warning they won’t hesitate to take steps against anyone they view as threatening Saudi national security. The South Yemen situation remains unresolved, and the Saudis are trying to brand the UAE as having run secret torture prisons there, an allegation that the UAE has denied. This difference of views is a lot bigger than South Yemen though, and involves distinct priorities which from east to west, often put the two on different sides in conflicts.Saudi Arabia’s priority has been stable nation-states in the region, and has generally tried to support unstable governments to try to shore them up, whether it is the would-be government in Yemen or the ever-struggling government in Somalia. The UAE, by contrast, seems eager to establish a position of power within different areas whether or not it’s with a state actor. This has included fostering ties with Gen. Khalifa Hafter in Libya and theRSF paramilitary in Sudan, and also the breakaway region of Somaliland, even at the expense of ties with the Somali government. Perhaps the biggest split though has been farther east, where Saudi Arabia is fostering a major defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan, being presented as a Muslim NATO. The UAE has been cut out of that plan, it seems, so instead they’ve been courting increased ties with India, something which will doubtless anger Pakistan.
Is BRICS Gearing Up To Protect Global Maritime Trade Against All Enemies? - The inaugural BRICS joint naval exercise, “Will for Peace 2026”, that unfolded off the coast of South Africa from January 9 to the 16 marked a significant and symbolic evolution for the bloc but not without its hurdles. With the participation of naval forces from China, South Africa, Russia and Iran in the first multilateral military exercise under the BRICS, its location near the strategic chokepoint of Simon’s Town, SA – a crucial nexus between the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans – is a deliberate projection of presence into vital global trade arteries. Previously, these nations have engaged in bilateral and trilateral exercises. However, “Will for Peace 2026” is distinctly different. Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe said it is a milestone as the first formal exercise within the BRICS framework itself. The exercise stated objectives of deepening military exchanges, improving collective response capabilities to maritime threats, and safeguarding the security of trade routes and sea lanes. With an exercise curriculum, featuring anti-terrorism drills, hostage rescue, ship recovery and maritime assault maneuvers, covers a wide spectrum of potential disruptions. For BRICS nations, the ability to conduct complex joint operations enhances their strategic autonomy, ensuring that vital sea lanes are not solely under the protection or potential control of traditional Western powers. In this way it is a move to “de-risk” their maritime security from the foreign policy whims of others. Thus, it would seem the nascent institutionalization of defense cooperation moves BRICS beyond an economic dialogue forum into the realm of tangible security coordination. The BRICS maritime exercises occur against a backdrop of escalating and evolving US piracy threats that increasingly blur the lines between criminal acts and geopolitical coercion. Recent years have seen sophisticated hijackings and attacks targeting vessels from states the US has sanctioned like Iran, Russia, and Venezuela — some of them being China bound — all BRICS/BRICS+ partners. This is a concerning trend of vessel seizures that target nations already under intense Western sanctions. The theft of tankers linked to Iran, Russia, and Venezuela points to a dangerous new paradigm where maritime crime becomes a tool for applying indirect pressure or for profiteering from geopolitical isolation. “Peace Will 2026” then signals an intent to develop a bloc-specific capacity to secure member states’ sovereign assets, ensuring they are not solely reliant on Western-led coalitions whose political priorities may conflict with their own. These nations, all key partners within the expanded BRICS/BRICS+ framework, find their critical energy exports uniquely vulnerable on the high seas. Hence the possible wish to develop an independent capacity to deter, intervene in, and resolve such incidents, ensuring that the bloc’s members’ assets are not sitting ducks against western pressure. Although, this naval initiative is not necessarily an explicit declaration of hostility toward the United States, but rather a manifestation of a multipolar world in action. In a world where U.S. sanctions, unilateral actions, or naval posturing can disrupt economic lifelines, having a parallel cooperative security mechanism provides a counterweight capable of responding to threats that these nations themselves define, whether they be piracy, terrorism, or the coercive use of naval power by any state.
Fresh Fighting Between Syria and Kurdish SDF After Ceasefire Deal - Sunday’s ceasefire between the Syrian military and the Kurdish SDF lasted less than 24 hours, following a lot of their recent ceasefires in giving way to immediate new rounds of fighting in the Raqqa Governorate, this time centering on the al-Aqtan Prison.The al-Aqtan Prison, in Kurdish territory, is one of several prisons at which ISIS detainees have been held since the civil war. Though there had been talk of relocating the prisoners someplace more secure as part of the integration deal between the Kurdish regional government and the Syrian central government, the Syrian military advanced quickly on the prison and aimed to seize control of it.Fighting has been reported for hours, with the SDF reporting 9 of their forces killed and 20 wounded. The Syrian military reported three soldiers were slain as well, though their statement did not make it clear if they were specifically killed in the prison fight, or in some of the other assorted battles that have started around the area.One of the SDF’s other ISIS prisons, in Hasakeh Governorate, also reportedly came under attack by unspecified armed groups. The Syrian military denied involvement, and accused the SDF of secretly releasing some of the ISIS fighters at that prison for some reason. They vowed a military operation would recover any missing ISIS detainees, and put them under the control of the Interior Ministry.The accusation of the SDF releasing ISIS prisoners seems to be a pretext to attack the other prisons, and seems to be escalating the violence against SDF-held locations across the country, In Hasakeh Governorate, a Red Crescent location was looted and burned by armed tribal fighters reportedly aligned with the government.Fighting was also reported in the area of the city of Ayn Issa, in northern Raqqa Governorate, and the nearby village of Abu Srah. The reports are that SDF forces in that area came under fire from factions aligned with the central government as well.The territory changing hands in Syria as a result of the last two weeks of fighting is having spillover consequences as well. Shell Oil has reportedly requested a deal that would see them withdraw from operations at Syria’s al-Omar Oil Field, which was under Kurdish control but seized by the central government in the ceasefire deal.
Full SDF Mobilization as Ceasefire Between Syria, Kurds in Tatters -The ceasefire between the Kurdish SDF and the Syrian military seems to be completely in tatters Tuesday, as the SDF General Command called for a full mobilization of their forces amid ongoing attacks by the military on their territory in northeast Syria.Sunday’s ceasefire was meant to end several weeks of heavy fighting in Aleppo, but seemed to befaltering in less than 24 hours, with the army and their allies attacking Kurdish territory in several sites, notably trying to seize SDF-held prisons full of ISIS detainees.The Syrian government’s go-to solution for this is to announce yet another ceasefire, though in this case the ceasefire looks more like an ultimatum, with President Ahmed Sharaa giving the SDF four days to agree to the integration of the Hasakeh Governorate under his control. The SDF, by contrast, seems to be readying forces for the inevitable collapse of yet another ceasefire that’s being wildly feted by the international community, with the current fighting centering on the area around the city of Kobani. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi says that the group will be falling back to Kurdish-majority areas of the country, which includes the area around Kobani as well as the northeast, and will defend them as a “red line” and resist attacks on those areas. Syrian officials are trying to portray the Kurds as uniquely intransigent about the diplomacy surrounding integration talks, which are both an attempt to shift the blame for the fighting entirely onto the SDF and a justification for the four day “ceasefire” and its inevitable collapse. US Envoy Tom Barrack is loudly on board with forcibly integrating the Kurds into Syria, repeatedly declaring that federalism “doesn’t work.” Today, he doubled down on that position, declaring that the SDF’s mission is over and they must integrate.Given the amount of violence against other minorities in Syria, and the repeated attacks on the Kurds themselves within Syria, many aren’t hopeful that integration will be peaceful. That fear extends internationally, with Iraqi Kurds in particular rising up to protest against the attacks on their Syrian brethren.
Thousands of ISIS Freed as Syrian Forces Seize Prison Camp - The Syrian military’s takeover of the al-Hawl prison camp, which housed tens of thousands of ISIS detainees and their families in eastern Hasakeh Governorate, seems to be going just as badly as many feared, with reports that the Islamist central government’s forces have released thousands of the detainees.Details on what is happening at the site are scant, because the military just took it over from the Kurdish SDF on Tuesday, and immediately accused the SDF of secretly releasing around 100 inmates for no apparently reason. The SDF had been holding the enormous number of ISIS detainees for years, urging the international community to repatriate the detainees to their countries to origin.This largely hasn’t happened, as the prisons have just remained dumping grounds for the international community, and the SDF was expected to handle them right up to the point that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the other Islamist faction in Syria, decided they were taking over the matter.The HTS and ISIS have been violently at odds for years over which of them was the authentic al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group, the HTS has ultimately ended up in control of Syria, and has loaded the Syrian security forces with jihadist allies of a similar ideological bent.The SDF estimated by Tuesday evening that at least 1,500 inmates, including a lot of ISIS members, have escaped from Shaddadi, and Kurdish officials released videos on social media showing what they said were HTS forces releasing those inmates. Even more were being freed at al-Hawl, a much bigger site that holds by various accounts 25,000 to 40,000 inmates.The government, by contrast, sought to downplay the number of escapees at no more than 120, all released Monday by the Kurds for some inscrutable reason, and claimed to have recaptured most of them already.The US presented the ISIS detainees as under control, and suggested thatthey are going to be transferred into neighboring Iraq to be held there instead. CENTCOM suggested 150 had already been moved. The SDF and the HTS telling completely different stories while being at one anothers’ throats is pretty ordinary, as the two sides have been fighting off and on since the HTS seized power and each side almost always claims the other started it. In this case, there was fighting outside the prison as HTS-aligned forces advanced, the SDF reported they contacted the US for aid that never came, and ultimately had to cede control to the HTS. The US has not commented on the matter.The HTS, on the other hand, claimed no fighting ever took place, and that they were securing the outskirts of the prison despite the SDF still operating inside at the time. They also claimed they had offered aid to the SDF forces.
Iraq Opening New Prisons as US Plans to Send Thousands of 'ISIS-linked' Detainees There - Fighting between the Kurdish SDF and the Syrian military just became Iraq’s problem in a big way, with the announcement that the US intends to send some 7,000 ISIS detainees that the Kurds had previously been holding to Iraq.With massive battles over the control of northeast Syria in the period between 2015 and 2019, the SDF claimed vast amounts of territory that had previously been part of the “ISIS caliphate” and captured enormous numbers of ISIS fighters and their families. Efforts to get the international community to repatriate people died out pretty quickly, and the Kurds were effectively stuck holding all of them, including a large number of women and children who got swept up in the process as ISIS sympathizers.The camps have been an enormous challenge for the Kurds, which were keeping an entire populace more or less contained within forever. Children have been born in the camps since the fall of the caliphate, and there has never been an exit strategy for what happens to anyone being held there. Now that the Syrian central government is taking over Kurdish-territory, they’re also seizing the prisons therein, and the US has decided to relocate many of the detainees into Iraq. This has led Iraq to announce three new prisons will be opened. What happens from there remains to be seen. It’s not clear from CENTCOM’s statement if the US will be sending mostly men from the SDF prisons or if the transfers will include substantial numbers of the civilian detainees who got classified as terrorists for going to the caliphate during the war, effectively transplanting the camps from Syrian Kurdistan into Iraq. The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council says that their intention is to prosecutethe ISIS detainees once they are transferred to their custody. Those prosecutions have always been a challenge, and how much legal review those detainees have ever seen in their years in prison varies wildly. Iraq isalso urging Europe to agree to repatriate their citizens who ran off to join ISIS and are still being held in those prisons, which does suggest that non-violent civilian detainees may be among those Iraq is expecting.The Kurds were long trying to get Europe to take the detainees back, but the complexity involved in prosecutions for many of them meant many nations just as soon left them stashed abroad to avoid having to deal with it at all. Now that years have passed, the prosecutions are likely to be even harder, Iraq may struggle to convince the nations to actually the take back their citizenry.Being saddled with thousands of ISIS detainees not only raises challengesfor Iraq’s legal system, it raises substantial concerns about Iraq’s security situation, as those prisons will be new targets for attack by ISIS remnants looking to break their allies out. This is more than just opening three new prisons, it’s building security infrastructure to defend those high-value targets. Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called on the government to substantially increase their security presence along the Syrian border over fear of an ISIS resurgence. While ISIS had been relatively quiet within Iraq in recent years, their remnant forces are believed to be clustered in Syria, and that porous border region would make it rather easy for ISIS to relocate its presence into western Iraq, which it once controlled.
Ben Gvir Celebrates as Israel Destroys Aid Agency Headquarters - National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led Israeli forces as they demolished the headquarters of UNRWA (the UN aid agency for Palestinians) in East Jerusalem.“[This is] a historic day for sovereignty in Jerusalem,” Ben Gvir said. “Today, these terror supporters are being kicked out along with everything they built. This is what will be done to every terror supporter.”Aryeh King, the mayor of Jerusalem, made an even more aggressive statement. “God willing, we will expel, kill, eliminate and destroy all UNRWA personnel,” he said.Tel Aviv has been attempting to end UNRWA operations in Israel and the occupied territories, an effort that has intensified since the October 7 Hamas attack. UNRWA provides key services to Palestinians, including food, education, and medical care.UNRWA chief, Philippe Lazzarini, slammed the destruction of his agency’s headquarters in a post on X. Early this morning, Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA Headquarters, a United Nations site, in East Jerusalem,” he wrote.“Bulldozers entered the compound & began demolishing buildings inside it under the watch of lawmakers & a member of the government.” The post continues. “This constitutes an unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency & its premises.” Earlier this year, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation barring water and electricity companies from providing power and sewer services to the UNRWA building.
Sudan’s war robs 8 million children of 500 days’ education | Arab News - Almost three years of war in Sudan have left more than 8 million children out of education for nearly 500 days, the NGO Save the Children said on Thursday, highlighting one of the world’s longest school closures. “More than 8 million children — nearly half of the 17 million of school age — have gone approximately 484 days without setting foot in a classroom,” the children’s rights organization said in a statement. Sudan has been ravaged by a power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. This is “one of the longest school closures in the world,” the British NGO said.“Many schools are closed, others have been damaged by the conflict, or are being used as shelters” for the more than 7 million displaced people across the country, it added. North Darfur in western Sudan is the country’s hardest-hit state: Only 3 percent of its more than 1,100 schools are still functioning. In October, the RSF seized the city of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and the last of Darfur’s five capitals to remain outside their control. West Darfur, West Kordofan, and South Darfur follow with 27 percent, 15 percent, and 13 percent of their schools operating, respectively, according to the statement. The NGO added that many teachers in Sudanese schools were leaving their jobs due to unpaid salaries. “We risk condemning an entire generation to a future defined by conflict,” without urgent investment, said the NGO’s chief executive, Inger Ashing. The conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, has triggered the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” according to the UN. On Sunday, UN Human Rights commissioner Volker Turk condemned the increasing number of attacks against “essential civilian infrastructure” in Sudan, including hospitals, markets, and schools. He also expressed alarm at “the arming of civilians and the recruitment of children.” The UN has repeatedly expressed concern about the “lost generation” in Sudan. Even as war rages in the southern Kordofan region, Prime Minister Kamil Idris has announced that the government will return to Khartoum after operating from the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, some 700 km away, for nearly three years. Main roads have been cleared, and cranes now punctuate the skyline of a capital scarred by the war. Since then, officials have toured reconstruction sites daily, promising a swift return to normal life. Government headquarters, including the general secretariat and Cabinet offices, have been refurbished. But many ministries remain abandoned, their walls pockmarked by bullets. More than a third of Khartoum’s 9 million residents fled when the RSF seized the city in 2023. Over a million have returned since the army retook the city. A jungle of weeds fills the courtyard of the Finance Ministry in central Khartoum, where the government says it plans a gradual return after nearly three years of war. Abandoned cars, shattered glass, and broken furniture lie beneath vines climbing the red-brick facades, built in the British colonial style that shaped the city’s early 20th-century layout. “The grounds haven’t been cleared of mines,” a guard warns at the ruined complex, located in an area still classified as “red” or highly dangerous by the UN Mine Action Service, or UNMAS. The central bank is a blackened shell, its windows blown out. Its management announced this week that operations in Khartoum State would resume, according to the official news agency SUNA. At a ruined crossroads nearby, a tea seller has reclaimed her usual spot beneath a large tree. Halima Ishaq, 52, fled south when the fighting began in April 2023 and came back just two weeks ago. “Business is not good. The neighborhood is still empty,” the mother of five said, Near the city’s ministries, workers clear debris from a gutted bank. “Everything must be finished in four months,” said the site manager.
Large Russian Drone, Missile Attack Causes Power Outages in Kiev - Ukrainian President Zelensky said Monday night’s attack involved over 300 drones and missiles. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack left 5,600 apartments without heat.The Russian Defense Ministry said it delivered a massive strike against Ukrainian military and energy targets. “The Russian Armed Forces delivered a massive overnight strike, ground-based and airborne long-range precision weapons and attack UVAs on enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial sector, energy and transport infrastructure facilities used to support the Ukrainian army’s operations, ammunition depots and workshops for the production of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles,” the Defense Ministry statement explained. The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General, Rafael Grossi, said the strikes also caused the Chernobyl power plant to lose its external power supply.Moscow said the strikes were a “response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian facilities on Russian territory.”Ukraine and Russia have exchanged long-range strikes targeting energy infrastructure. Additionally, Kiev attacked one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences. In a statement on Monday, Zelensky said that Ukraine was reorganizing its air defenses. The Ukrainian leader explained that Kiev is preparing for more large-scale Russian attacks. He also described the situation on the frontlines as “extremely difficult.”While the war has continued to escalate, President Donald Trump has failed to make significant progress in reaching a deal to end the conflict. A Ukrainian delegation is expected to arrive in the US later this week and will argue that Russian attacks are preventing diplomacy from developing. Additionally, Kiev is pushing Washington to sign on to a peace proposal that has been negotiated over the past two months. However, that proposal includes many points that Moscow will reject. The deal includes security guarantees from Western countries to Kiev. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “Proposals for a settlement that are based on the task of preserving the Nazi regime in that part of Ukraine that will be so-called are, of course, absolutely unacceptable.”
Schools closed across Ukraine as power outages worsen extreme cold outbreak in Kyiv - YouTube videos An intense Arctic cold wave gripped Kyiv, Ukraine, in mid-January 2026, driving temperatures to -20°C (-4°F) amid an ongoing energy crisis. Large sections of the capital were left without heating or electricity after continued Russian strikes on the power grid, prompting some residents to temporarily leave unheated apartments and seek shelter in emergency warming centers. Schools across the country have been shut until February 1, due to the extreme conditions. Temperatures across Kyiv and much of northern Ukraine plunged below -17°C (1.4°F) in mid-January 2026, with nighttime lows reaching -20°C (-4°F), with persistent Arctic air inflow from the northeast. The event is part of a broader Eurasian cold anomaly extending from central Russia into the Black Sea region. The impacts of extreme cold were worsened by the energy crisis due to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.Ad ends in 9 The national power operator Ukrenergo confirmed that generation capacity was critically reduced following repeated strikes on thermal and hydroelectric plants. According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the capital received only about half of its normal electricity supply on January 16. Centralized district heating systems in Kyiv depend on electric pumping stations and stable power delivery. When electricity failed across multiple districts, heating lines depressurized, and some were temporarily drained to prevent bursting. Indoor temperatures in buildings dropped sharply, with some residents reporting below-freezing conditions inside their apartments without power. Schools across the country have been shut until February 1, due to the extreme cold and lack of power. Municipal emergency services deployed mobile heating tents and reopened public shelters. Authorities advised residents with relatives outside the city to temporarily relocate until grid stability improves. Local media reported widespread pipe ruptures and water supply interruptions as underground utilities froze in several neighborhoods. People on social media reported sections of residential plumbing and sewage systems frozen solid. In one newly built complex, the sewage lift station reportedly failed after prolonged power outages, leaving residents without sanitation. YouTube video Combined water, heating, and electrical breakdowns have created complex repair priorities for municipal crews working under difficult conditions across the capital. Hundreds of warming centers remain operational across the region. Mobile heating trains positioned at major railway stations provide continuous heat and electricity to civilians. Temperatures across the region are forecast to remain below –10°C (14°F) through the third week of January, with gradual moderation afterward. Energy authorities warn, however, that any renewed large-scale attacks could again disrupt power and heating distribution before repairs are completed.
Zelensky Declares Permanent State Of Emergency For Energy Sector -Already Ukraine's power grid has long suffered, with rolling blackouts having been in effect across parts of the country for much of the past year, but this week things have gotten worse amid a harsh freeze. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that the government is declaring a state of emergency in the energy sector after repeated Russian strikes damaged heating and power facilities during freezing winter conditions. "A permanent coordination headquarters will be established to address the situation in the city of Kyiv. Overall, a state of emergency will be declared for Ukraine’s energy sector," Zelensky confirmed after coming out of a crisis meeting. He added that efforts were underway "to significantly increase the volume of electricity imports into Ukraine." But no matter how fast repair teams work, or alternative imports enter, the energy grid is being degraded faster than parts can be found or replaced. Emergency repair teams are working nonstop to restore power across the capital region. For example, in Boryspil - a town of roughly 60,000 residents southeast of Kiev - engineers have been dismantling and reconstructing damaged electrical systems after strikes destroyed critical components. Local energy officials say crews are operating in subzero conditions, even down to minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), from early morning until late at night. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has described the situation the most severe and prolonged power outage since Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, noting that some neighborhoods have been without electricity for several days in a row. The European Union and NATO have been scrambling to come up with ways to both keep the lights on in Ukraine and defend its cities and vital infrastructure from being devastated by Russia. All of this is part of Moscow's attrition strategy, knowing it can outlast, out-gun, and out-manpower Ukraine. This is also about inflicting broader pain and suffering among the population, in hopes of destabilizing the Zelensky government enough to replace him.
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