week ending Feb 14

Prices Are Still Front and Center for Fed Officials --The job market is showing signs of stability. Now, if the Federal Reserve can only get inflation under control. Employers added 130,000 jobs in January, surprising economists. But some Fed officials this week said their focus remains on elevated prices as the central bank looks at whether more interest rate cuts are needed for the economy. The comments come ahead of this Friday’s release of January inflation data, following the December report that showed annual price increases of 2.7% remained well above the Fed’s target. “We must remain focused on our headline inflation objective; otherwise, I believe there is a real risk that inflation will get stuck closer to 3% than 2% in the long run,” said Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid in a statement. But just because the job market is strong doesn’t mean that there isn’t more room to cut interest rates, Fed Governor Stephen Miran told Fox Business after Wednesday's jobs numbers were released.Miran has pushed for larger interest rate cuts since President Donald Trump appointed him to fill a vacancy at the Fed last year. He said on Wednesday that fewer regulatory burdens on the U.S. economy would help it produce more, which would lower prices and give the Fed the opportunity to further cut rates.If the Federal Reserve holds interest rates at their current levels, that will keep borrowing costs higher for longer. That has the potential to affect everything from mortgage and credit card rates to stock valuations, since the expectation of future rate cuts often drives market moves.“I view there being a variety of reasons to why I want to see lower interest rates,” Miran said. “While today’s job data made me feel really good about the economy, I think the truth is that pushing out the supply side of the economy still allows for monetary policy to accommodate that.” Schmid, along with other regional central bank presidents, said that the Federal Reserve should keep interest rates at their current levels while they watch for inflation to subside. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said that the federal funds rate is near its “neutral” point, where it neither constrains nor stimulates the economy.The central bank kept interest rates steady at its most recent meeting in January after cutting interest rates at the prior three meetings. Investors are pricing in a strong likelihood that the Fed will again hold rates steady when it issues its next decision on March 18, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.“Looking ahead, I anticipate we’ll see progress on inflation this year,” Logan said. “But I am not yet fully confident inflation is heading all the way back to 2%.”Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack also said the Fed should keep rates where they are, given that inflation remains high. She added that the tariff policies championed by Trump will still likely affect inflation. “One notable development over the last year has been the rise in goods inflation, especially for items that are more exposed to global trade,” Hammack said. “While some firms have already passed these costs along, others say that more price increases are coming.” But in separate remarks earlier this week, Miran argued the impacts of tariffs on the U.S. economy have been “quite muted,” according to a report from Reuters. In comments at the Boston University Questrom School of Business, Miran said that he disagreed with reports indicating that American consumers were largely bearing the brunt of Trump’s tariffs.

BankThink: Before shrinking the Fed's balance sheet, Warsh has other work to do --An immediate effort to unload some of the Federal Reserve's assets could do more harm than good. Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh should first turn his attention to problems affecting banks' liquidity, writes Jill Cetina. There is no dispute that the Federal Reserve's balance sheet has grown too large after the 2008 crisis. Years of quantitative easing, or QE, have contributed to income inequality, lack of budget discipline, and fanned concerns about dollar debasement, giving rise to bitcoin, gold trading andtether fancying itself a central bank. An immediate effort to unload some of the central bank's assets could do more harm than good. Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh should first turn his attention to problems affecting banks' liquidity.

CBO Director Warns US Fiscal Path Is 'Not Sustainable' ; Projects Additional $1.4T Deficit Swell Under Trump Agenda -- The Congressional Budget Office raised its 10-year deficit estimate by $1.4 trillion, citing Trump's 2025 reconciliation act, higher tariffs and lower immigration.

• Annual deficits are projected to remain historically large, totaling $23.1 trillion from 2026 to 2035 and reaching 6.7% of GDP by 2036.
• The 2025 tax law is the single largest driver, adding $4.7 trillion to deficits over the decade, partially offset by roughly $3 trillion in tariff revenue.
• Federal debt held by the public is projected to rise to 120% of GDP by 2036, surpassing the post-World War II record by 2030.
• Interest costs are expected to double over the next decade, climbing from $1 trillion in 2026 to $2.1 trillion in 2036 as debt and rates rise.
• Economic growth is projected to strengthen in 2026 but slow to 1.8% thereafter, falling short of the administration’s 3% growth target despite productivity gains from artificial intelligence.

The federal government is barreling toward a decade of historically large budget deficits, according to a new report from the (arguably partisan) Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which said on Wednesday in a new report that recent tax and immigration policies have sharply worsened the long-term outlook. The CBO increased its estimate of cumulative deficits for the 2026-35 period by $1.4 trillion, citing President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax law and the cost of stepped-up immigration enforcement. The agency now projects total deficits of $23.1 trillion over the decade, underscoring what it called an “unsustainable fiscal path.” At the center of the revision is last summer’s tax package, which extended the 2017 tax cuts and added new breaks. The CBO estimates the law will increase deficits by $4.7 trillion over 10 years. Immigration enforcement actions are expected to add another $500 billion. Those costs, the agency said, will more than offset revenue gains from higher tariffs, even as import duties rise to levels not seen since the mid-20th century. The CBO estimates tariff revenue will reduce deficits by about $3 trillion over the period. Since its last long-term outlook in January 2025, the agency said three developments have materially altered its baseline projections: enactment of the 2025 reconciliation act, a sharp rise in tariffs, and lower immigration. Together, those changes have pushed projected deficits for the coming decade $1.4 trillion higher, to a cumulative $23.1 trillion from 2026 through 2035. “The budget projections continue to indicate that the fiscal trajectory is not sustainable,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel said in prepared remarks accompanying the report. For fiscal 2026, the deficit is projected at $1.9 trillion, or 5.8% of gross domestic product, roughly unchanged as a share of the economy from 2025. By 2036, the annual deficit is expected to widen to $3.1 trillion, or 6.7% of GDP - levels the agency described as “historically unusual,” particularly with unemployment projected to remain below 5%.

Dreadful 10Y Auction Sees Biggest Tail Since 2024, Foreign Demand Slides -After yesterday's mediocre 3Y auction (which saw a drop in foreign demand offset by record direct bid), moments ago the Treasury concluded the sale of 10Y benchmark paper, and despite a cheerful preview by the Bloomberg MLIV team (which appears to be wrong every time it tries to handicap the outcome), today's auction was absolutely dreadful. Starting at the top, the high yield of 4.177% was almost unchanged from last month's 4.173% and the 4.175% the month before. More importantly, it tailed the When Issued 4.163% by 1.4bps, the biggest tail since August 2024.The bid to cover dropped to 2.388, the lowest since August 2025. It would have been even worse had the Fed's SOMA not tendered for $11.9BN of the issue (up from $11.35BN in January).The internals were also ugly, as Indirects slumped to just 64.5%, the lowest since August 2025 (and clearly well below the six month average of 70.2%). And with Directs also sliding to 22.1% from 24.5% in January (a far cray from yesterday's record Directs), Dealers were left holding 13.54%, the most since - you guessed it - August 2025.

Republicans Start Work To Get Trump His $1.5 Trillion Military Budget for 2027 - A few weeks after President Trump declared on Truth Social that he wants a $1.5 trillion military budget, Republican leaders in Congress are working on making his dream of increasing military spending by about 50% a reality.The 2026 military budget marked the first to exceed $1 trillion, which was achieved by Congress passing a 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) worth over $900 billion and combining it with $150 billion in supplemental military spending that was included in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, a reconciliation bill that became law last year.Now, the chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are eyeing another reconciliation bill to secure Trump’s $1.5 trillion budget. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chair of the House committee, said he and his Senate counterpart, Roger Wicker (R-MS), want to pass a reconciliation that will include $450 billion in military spending.“We’ve informed our leadership of that,” Rogers told Breaking Defense last week. “We’re not talking about something frivolous here. We’re talking about national defense.” He explained that he expects the White House to request about $1.03 trillion for the NDAA and that $20 billion from the reconciliation bill passed last year would be rolled into the 2027 budget, leaving a $450 billion to reach Trump’s goal of $1.5 trillion. Other Republican leaders oppose using reconciliation bills to pad the military budget, as they want the entire amount included in the NDAA, including Se. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, wants Trump’s massive request to be treated as the base budget.“Much of the Defense Subcommittee’s most arduous work in recent months has been helping the armed services address real, urgent operational shortfalls that were created when much of Washington decided to pretend that one-time infusions of cash could take the place of consistent annual appropriations,” McConnell said in a recent floor speech, according to Roll Call.Either way, Republicans in Congress seem eager to go along with a mammoth increase in military spending and are just currently at odds over how exactly they will come up with the money.

Pentagon holds off on naming and shaming defense contractors - The Pentagon held off on naming “underperforming” defense contractors for now as it continues to review their performance to ensure the businesses are prioritizing the supply of weapons systems to U.S. warfighters. The Defense Department (DOD) completed its initial review of defense contractors to determine whether companies were investing in their own production capacity or engaging in dividend payments and stock buybacks, Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill on Monday. Parnell said that defense contractors were notified that the Pentagon has now kicked off an “extended review period” in which the department will make “noncompliance determinations.” “We are engaged in detailed negotiations with many companies and going into great depth to analyze their performance. Many companies have taken steps to comply, and there will be a continuous evaluation of their activity,” Parnell said. “If progress doesn’t continue to be made, we will take enforcement actions. The Department of War will partner with those who perform – and hold accountable those who do not.” Last month, President Trump signed an executive order, “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting,” which called on the Pentagon to review within 30 days defense contractors that are behind schedule on deliveries, not investing their capital into production capacity, and engaging in stock buybacks. Since the Jan. 7 executive order, “many” defense contractors have approached the Pentagon to negotiate deals to speed up and expand production, according to Parnell. “This is just the beginning,” Parnell said. “The President seeks fundamental, rapid change in how defense industry does business with the military. We will deliver this essential transformation.” Those contractors who were identified by the Pentagon will have 15 days to send remediation plans, outlining how they would address production delays, according to the executive order.

Russia Will Stick To Nuclear Arms Limits If US Does The Same - One of the globe's biggest developing stories this month, but which has been largely underreported in mainstream TV networks and other press, is the collapse of New START - the last major nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow will in good faith stick to the nuclear limits outlined in the now-expired arms control treaty, provided Washington does the same. It expired earlier this month after Washington declined to respond to President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a one-year extension capping both sides' nuclear arsenals. The Trump admin has long wanted a more comprehensive agreement which brings China's arsenal into the scope; however, there's been no formal process on this front with Beijing or Moscow. Lavrov said Russia has no intention of rapidly expanding or deploying additional weapons, clarifying remarks from his ministry last week that suggested Moscow no longer considered itself bound by the treaty. "We proceed from the fact that this moratorium, which was announced by our president, remains in effect, but only while the United States does not exceed the outlined limits," Lavrov told Russia's parliament . Some key aspects to the treaty have gone unobserved for some time, especially the regimen of mutual nuclear site inspections. President Trump has in the recent past called New START "badly negotiated" and said it "is being grossly violated. He has in mind Russia having blocked inspections of its nuclear facilities under the treaty framework in 2023, as tensions with Washington escalated over the proxy war in Ukraine. Moscow has in turn complained that Washington is the chief violator, and that it now refuses to respond to Putin's overture to extend it by one year, while a more comprehensive and extended deal is negotiated.

Lavrov Says Russia Will Maintain New START Limits If US Does the Same - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia will maintain the limits on its nuclear arsenal imposed by the now-expired New START treaty if the US does the same.New START was the last nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia and limited the number of nuclear warheads each side can deploy at 1,550 and the number of deployed and non-deployed strategic launchers at 800.Before the treaty expired last week, Russia proposed a mutual agreement to extend the limits for another year while the two sides negotiated a replacement, but the Trump administration didn’t respond. Lavrov’s comments suggest that the offer or a tacit understanding is on the table, provided the US doesn’t increase nuclear deployments.“The initiative put forward by President Putin for the parties to the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms to continue voluntarily observing its central quantitative limits was left without an official response from the American side,” Lavrov told Russia’s State Duma, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.“We proceed from the understanding that the moratorium announced by President Putin remains in force on our side, but only as long as the United States does not exceed the above limits. We will act responsibly and in a balanced manner based on daily analysis of US military policy and the overall strategic environment,” he added. President Trump has said that he doesn’t want to extend New START but wants to negotiate a new treaty. His administration is pushing for China to be included in any future deal, but Beijing says it doesn’t want to be part of a trilateral arms control treaty with Moscow and Beijing, since its nuclear arsenal is much smaller.

Russia's Lavrov Says US No Longer Wants To Pursue Its Own Ukraine Peace Proposal - Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in an interview published on Mondaythat the US no longer wants to implement a Ukraine peace deal that it previously proposed, the latest sign that there’s little chance the grinding war will come to an end anytime soon.Lavrov claimed that the US and Russia came to an agreement on Ukraine during President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit in Anchorage, Alaska, back in August 2025. He didn’t elaborate on the details of the potential deal, but it’s believed to involve Ukraine ceding territory it still controls in the Donbas, a condition included in a 28-point peace plan that was later drafted by the Trump administration.“In other words, we were told that the Ukrainian issue must be resolved. In Anchorage, we accepted the United States’ proposal. To put it straightforwardly, they proposed, and we agreed – the problem should be solved,” Lavrov told TV BRICS. “The position of the United States was important for us. Having accepted their proposals, we essentially fulfilled the task of resolving the Ukrainian issue and moving toward comprehensive, broad, mutually beneficial cooperation.”The Russian diplomat said that despite the “positive” summit, the US began imposing sanctions on Russia a few weeks later and has continued the economic pressure. “New sanctions are imposed, attacks on tankers are staged in international waters in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and India and other partners are discouraged from purchasing affordable Russian energy, while Europe has long prohibited such purchases, forcing them to buy American liquefied natural gas at significantly higher prices,” he said. Lavrov added that he didn’t see a “promising future in economic terms” when it comes to US-Russia relations. “Thus, in the economic sphere, the United States has effectively declared a goal of economic domination,” he said.Elsewhere in the interview, which focused on Russia’s relationship with other BRICS nations, Lavrov said the Biden administration had turned the US dollar into a “weapon,” prompting Russia and other countries to reduce their reliance on the US currency.“Under the Biden administration, the United States has taken every step to weaponize the dollar against those it considers inconvenient,” he said, adding that the policies have continued under the Trump administration.

Vance's X Account Deletes Post About Armenian Genocide - Vice President JD Vance’s X account posted a tweet on Tuesday mentioning the Armenian genocide and quickly deleted it as the Trump administration has reversed the Biden administration’s policy of recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s systematic mass killing of Armenian Christians during World War I as genocide.The now-deleted post said that Vance attended a “wreath laying ceremony at the Armenian Genocide Memorial to honor the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide,” which he visited on his last day in Armenia, a trip that made him the first US president to visit the country. The Trump administration’s Rapid Response 47 account also deleted a similar post.While he was at the memorial, Vance was asked whether he was “recognizing” the genocide but avoided using the term, saying he was there to pay his “respects” at the invitation of his Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan. “They said this is a very important site for us, and obviously I’m the first (US) vice president to ever visit Armenia,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “They asked us to visit the site. Obviously, it’s a very terrible thing that happened a little over a hundred years ago, and something that’s very, very important to them culturally.” A Vance spokesperson speaking to CNN appeared to blame a staffer for the post. “This is an account managed by staff that primarily exists to share photos and videos of the Vice President’s activities. For the Vice President’s views on the substance of the question, I refer you to the comments he made earlier on the tarmac in response to the pool’s question,” the spokesperson said. President Biden became the first US president to recognize the Armenian genocide when, in 2021, he issued a statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, which is observed on April 24, using that language. “Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,” Biden said. “Beginning on April 24, 1915, with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople by Ottoman authorities, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign of extermination.”On April 24, 2025, President Trump issued a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day, and the term genocide was notably absent, seen as an effort to placate the Turkish government, which denies that the Ottomans committed genocide. “Today we commemorate the Meds Yeghern, and honor the memories of those wonderful souls who suffered in one of the worst disasters of the 20th Century,” he said.After Vance’s account deleted the tweet, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the administration’s policy regarding the Armenian genocide and referenced Trump’s previous statement while avoiding using the term.The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) strongly condemned the Trump administration’s refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide and also criticized Vance for not addressing Pashinyan’s crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church, not meeting with Armenians ethnically cleansed from Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, by Azerbaijan’s military offensive, and several other issues.“Vice-President JD Vance’s February 2026 visit to Armenia sent six dangerous signals to Armenian and allied American voters – all dramatically compounded by the scandal over his disgraceful decision to delete his own post about visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial,” the ANCA said.After visiting Armenia, Vance travelled to Azerbaijan, where he signed a deal with President Ilham Aliyev meant to advance a Trump-brokered deal between the two countries, under which the US will gain long-term economic control of the Zangezur corridor, a strip of land that will go through Armenia’s territory and connect Azerbaijan with its exclave, known as Nakhchivan. The ANCA has been critical of the deal since it doesn’t involve a right of return for the more than 100,000 Armenians cleansed from Artsakh.

Pete Hegseth skips NATO meeting; Pentagon No. 3 urges 'partnership rather than dependency' - Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby on Thursday called for NATO to be based on “partnership rather than dependency” ahead of talks with the military alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels. “Now it’s time to march out together, to be pragmatic,” he told reporters, calling for a “3.0 NATO” that’s “based on partnership rather than dependency, and really a return to what NATO is originally intended for.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was notably absent from the meeting at NATO headquarters, with Colby, the Pentagon’s No. 3 official, sent to represent the U.S. This marks only the second time in recent history that a Pentagon chief didn’t attend a NATO defense ministers’ meeting. In February 2024, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had to cancel his trip after being admitted to the hospital but took meetings virtually. Hegseth’s nonattendance also follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s absence at a December gathering of NATO’s foreign ministers. The lack of top Trump administration officials at the alliance’s past two meetings, coupled with tensions between President Trump and European leaders – most recently over Trump’s demands that the U.S. control Greenland – have sparked concerns over Washington’s commitment to NATO. The United States is the backbone of NATO’s military power and accounts for more than 60 percent of the alliance’s total $1.59 trillion defense spending. Trump since his first term has called on European countries to increase their military spending to reduce their reliance on Washington, and NATO leaders last year agreed to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense. NATO earlier this week announced that the U.S. will hand over control of major NATO command posts in Naples, Italy and Norfolk, Va., to European officers. “They have to take care of the whole world. This is the United States,” Rutte told reporters ahead of the meeting Thursday. “I totally accept it, agree with it.” Rutte also brushed aside concerns over Hegseth’s absence at the gathering. “We were very fortunate to have Bridge Colby,” he told reporters, praising the U.S. official as “a leading thinker on the role of the U.S. in NATO.”

Venezuela’s top prosecutor orders the arrest of opposition leader’s ally, hours after his release (AP) — Venezuela’s top prosecutor said on Monday that his office had requested the arrest of one of the closest allies of opposition leader María Corina Machado, less than 12 hours after his release from a detention facility as part of a government move to free those facing politically motivated accusations. The attorney general’s statement did not say whether Juan Pablo Guanipa was rearrested, or give indication of his whereabouts. The government had released him along with several other prominent opposition members on Sunday following lengthy politically motivated detentions. Attorney General Tarek William Saab’s office posted on social media that it had “requested the competent court to revoke the precautionary measure granted to Juan Pablo Guanipa, due to his non-compliance with the conditions imposed by the aforementioned court.” It did not elaborate on what conditions Guanipa, a former governor for the opposition, violated during the hours he was free, but said authorities were seeking house arrest. Guanipa’s son, Ramón, told reporters Monday that a group of men in three vehicles intercepted his father and others traveling around 11:45 p.m. Sunday in a neighborhood in the capital, Caracas. They were armed with long guns and wore civilian clothes and bulletproof vests. Ramón Guanipa said authorities have not yet notified him of his father’s whereabouts and their decision to place him on house arrest. He said his father did not violate the two conditions of his release — monthly check-ins with a court and no travel outside Venezuela — and showed reporters the court document listing them. The development marked the latest twist in the political turmoil in Venezuela in the wake of the U.S. military’s seizure on Jan. 3 of then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a military base compound in Caracas in a stunning operation that landed them in New York to face federal drug trafficking charges. The government of Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez began releasing prisoners days after she was sworn in and has faced mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political activities. The releases also followed a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Venezuelan-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people Sunday. Some of those freed Sunday joined families waiting outside detention facilities for their loved ones. They chanted “We are not afraid! We are not afraid!” and marched a short distance. “I am convinced that our country has completely changed,” Guanipa told reporters after his release. “I am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country.”

US military blows up alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing 2 and leaving 1 survivor -The U.S. military blew up an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Monday, killing two “narco-terrorists” and leaving one survivor. The vessel was operated by a designated terrorist organization, transiting along “known narco-trafficking routes” in the Pacific Ocean and was engaged in “narco-trafficking” operations, according to U.S. Southern Command (Southcom). It is unclear which terrorist group Southcom was referring to. After the attack, Southcom said it notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the search-and-rescue operation. The video of the operation, which is 11 seconds long, appears to show the U.S. military firing at least three strikes against the boat that was streaking through the water. The Monday attack marks the second alleged drug boat mission this month, with the U.S. military blowing up a purported drug-smuggling vessel last week in the eastern Pacific, killing two “narco-terrorists.” Since Sept. 2, the U.S. military has conducted a minimum of 38 strikes and has killed at least 130 “narco-terrorists” in both the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The Trump administration has argued that the attacks are being carried out to curb the flow of illegal drugs in the region and protect the U.S.

US Military Kills Two in Latest Boat Strike Targeting Vessel in Eastern Pacific Ocean - The US military announced on Monday that its forces blew up another boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, marking the third US strike this year against small vessels allegedly running drugs in the waters of Latin America.US Southern Command said the attack killed two “narco-terrorists,” a term the Trump administration uses to describe extra-judicial executions at sea for an alleged crime that doesn’t receive the death penalty in the US. The command also said that one person survived the attack and that it “immediately notified US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor.”Video of the strike released by SOUTHCOM.As usual, the command offered no evidence to back up its claim that the boat was carrying drugs, something the Trump administration has never done for any of the strikes.According to Antiwar.com’s count, the strike brings the total number of boats the US has destroyed in the bombing campaign that started in early September to 39, and the number of people executed to 121.Airwars, which takes into account people who survived the initial attack but are presumed to have died, has recorded a total of 130 deaths. All of the people killed are recorded as civilians since they are non-combatants and posed no threat to the US military at the time of the attacks.

US chases down oil tanker in Indo-Pacific -The U.S. military intercepted an oil tanker it said was operating in defiance of President Trump’s quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Indian Ocean overnight Monday. The Pentagon did not clarify if U.S. forces seized the ship, the Aquilla II, after it tracked the vessel from the Caribbean Sea. U.S. personnel have seized at least seven other tankers in the Caribbean that it says are linked to Venezuela. They described the most recent operation as a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction” that took place without an incident in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (IndoPaCom) area. “No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain. By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice,” the Pentagon said in a Monday post on social platform X. “You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us.” “The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies the ability to defy American power in the global maritime domain,” the Pentagon added. The Aquilla II was one of the tankers that left Venezuela after U.S. forces captured the country’s strongman leader Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, according to TankerTrackers.com. The ship was partially laden and her “zombie alias at the time was ‘CAPE BALDER’ as you can see in a photo we took from the shores of #Venezuela ahead of her departure,” the website said on Monday. U.S. personnel have seized at least seven oil tankers in the Caribbean as the Trump administration continues to enforce its quarantine of sanctioned vessels.

US military intercepts vessel 'hunted' from Caribbean to Indian Ocean -The U.S. military intercepted an oil tanker it said was operating in defiance of President Trump’s quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Indian Ocean overnight Monday after it tracked the vessel from the Caribbean. The Pentagon did not clarify if U.S. forces seized the ship, the Aquilla II, as U.S. personnel have done with at least seven other tankers in the Caribbean that were linked to Venezuela. They described the operation as a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction” that took place without an incident in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (IndoPaCom) area. “No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain. By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice,” the Pentagon said in a Monday post on the social platform X. “You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us.” “The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies the ability to defy American power in the global maritime domain,” the Pentagon added. The Aquilla II was one of the tankers that left Venezuela after U.S. forces captured the country’s strongman leader Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, according to TankerTrackers.com. The ship was partially laden and her “zombie alias at the time was ‘CAPE BALDER’ as you can see in a photo we took from the shores of #Venezuela ahead of her departure,” TankerTrackers.com said on Monday. U.S. personnel have seized at least seven oil tankers in the Caribbean as the Trump administration continues to enforce its quarantine of sanctioned vessels.

US Forces Board Oil Tanker in the Indian Ocean That Was Chased from the Caribbean - The US Department of War said on Monday that US forces boarded an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that the US military had tracked and followed for thousands of miles since it left the Caribbean.The tanker, the Aquila II, was one of 16 that left Venezuela last month after the US attacked the country and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to The Associated Press.The DoW said that the action against the tanker was part of the “quarantine” on sanctioned tankers in the Caribbean, which now involves controlling Venezuela’s oil trade and imposing an oil embargo on Cuba, causing fuel shortages in the Caribbean island nation and significantly exacerbating power outages and intensifying a humanitarian crisis. Video of US forces boarding the Aquila II released by the Pentagon. “When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it,” the DoW wrote on X. “Overnight, US military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.”The Pentagon added that the tanker “was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It ran, and we followed. The Department of War tracked and hunted this vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.”The post continued, “No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain. By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us.”The DoW did not state that the US seized the tanker. According to the AP, data transmitted from the ship indicate it’s not currently laden with oil, though other reports say it was carrying 700,000 barrels of oil when it left Venezuela. The Aquila II has been under US sanctions for allegedly transporting Russian oil.

Cuba warns of aviation fuel shortage after Trump tariff threat - Cuba warned of an aircraft fuel shortage amid tensions with the U.S., according to a new report. According to a Sunday report from Spanish news outlet EFE, two sources told the outlet that the Cuban government has advised international airlines flying to the Caribbean country that the island will be out of fuel on Monday due to an oil blockade by the United States.Tensions in the Caribbean have been heightened in the past few months due to factors including the U.S. military’s pressure on Venezuela and eventual capture of its leader and strikes on alleged drug boats.President Trump in late January warned of imposing tariffs on countries and groups doing business with and providing oil to Cuba. Trump also last month suggested that Cuba enter a deal with the U.S. following military action in Venezuela, with an American oil embargo on Venezuela having increased pressure on the island nation. “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform at the time. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

Cuba for the first time in ten years is completely without oil imports due to the US blockade | УНН - Cuba has been left without oil imports for the first time in a decade due to the cessation of supplies by Mexico and the tightening of the US blockade. This has caused a critical fuel shortage and a humanitarian crisis on the island. Cuba for the first time in ten years is completely without oil imports due to the US blockade Mexico's decision to halt energy supplies to Cuba has caused a critical fuel shortage on the island, which for the first time in decades has recorded zero oil imports. The country's economy is under enormous pressure due to Washington's threats to impose tariffs against supplier states and a naval blockade that has cut off routes for the "shadow fleet." This is reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN. Details Mexico, long a major fuel donor to Havana, has officially ceased shipments under threat of economic sanctions from the Donald Trump administration. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that supplies have been "suspended," despite her disagreement with such a move due to the humanitarian consequences for Cuban hospitals and schools. The situation worsened after the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, which effectively stopped the flow of oil from the island's most loyal ally. Cuba faces jet fuel shortage amid US pressure: airlines informed of inability to refuel. According to Bloomberg and Kpler Ltd, oil imports to Cuba reached zero in January 2026, the first such instance since 2015. Increased US control over "dark fleet" vessels, which previously transported sanctioned oil from Russia and Venezuela, has made resource delivery virtually impossible. A naval blockade and the seizure of key tankers, such as the Skipper vessel in December, deprived Havana of several months' worth of supplies. The lack of imports has triggered a large-scale infrastructure collapse: hours-long queues are forming at Havana's gas stations, and airlines have been warned about the impossibility of refueling on the island for a month. “This is wrong. They don't have fuel for hospitals or schools. People are suffering.” stated Claudia Sheinbaum, emphasizing the difficult situation of the civilian population. Due to the shortage of gasoline, large beach resorts have already begun to close, dealing a blow to the country's tourism industry. Currently, Cuba faces a shortage of cooking gas, drinking water, and stable electricity supply. The demand for gasoline, which is about 8,200 barrels per day, is only partially met, and the exact volumes of internal reserves are kept secret by the government.

Panama ports deal in jeopardy as U.S.-China proxy battle over strategic canal intensifies -- Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings has threatened legal action against Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk after Panamanian authorities tapped the group to temporarily take over operations of two strategic ports at either end of the Panama Canal.In a statement on Thursday, CK Hutchison warned A.P. Moller-Maersk that "any steps" the Danish group or its subsidiary takes to operate the ports without its agreement will likely "result in legal recourse." That's according to CNBC's translation of the Chinese statement.The simmering dispute has become a geopolitical flashpoint between Washington and Beijing, with Panama caught in the crossfires.After U.S. President Donald Trump alleged last year that China was "running the Panama Canal," CK Hutchison negotiated a $23 billion deal with a BlackRock-led consortium to sell its non-Chinese port subsidiaries. Beijing swiftly intervened, describing the sale as "kowtowing" to American pressure and stalling the transaction.Tensions intensified last month when Panama's Supreme Court ruled that the concession held by a CK Hutchison subsidiary to operate the two ports was"unconstitutional." The company pushed back, saying it "strongly disagreed" with the ruling and launched arbitration proceedings against Panama.CK Hutchison on Thursday also said it had notified Panama of the disputeunder an investment protection treaty, saying it would pursue "all available recourse including additional national and international legal proceedings."

Duffy: FAA And Military "Acted Swiftly" To Combat "Cartel Drone Incursion" On US Border -- The Federal Aviation Administration announced moments ago that the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) across the border town of El Paso and a large area of southern New Mexico west of Santa Teresa has been lifted. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed on X that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of War "acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion" at or near the border town of El Paso. "The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted, and normal flights are resuming," Duffy said. The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. Our assessment this year is that next-gen counter-drone security will be an emerging theme for guarding high-value assets such as stadiums, government buildings, data centers, and, increasingly, parts of the border (see the report).

US Military Used New Laser Weapon To Shoot Down a Party Balloon It Thought Was a Drone Near El Paso - The US military used a new high-energy laser weapon earlier this week to shoot down a party balloon that it initially thought was a foreign drone near El Paso, Texas, according to a US official speaking to Fox News. The official said the US military had been testing new anti-drone technology, including a laser, near the US Army base at Fort Bliss. After the laser weapon was used to shoot down what was initially assessed as a drone and later identified as a balloon, the airspace in the area was shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).Trump administration officials claimed that the FAA and the Pentagon responded to a “cartel drone incursion” despite the object being identified as a balloon. “The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government had no information about a drone incursion and that Mexican airspace hadn’t been closed. “We have no information indicating drone activity along the border,” she said. “If the FAA or any US government agency has relevant information, they can ask directly the Government of Mexico.”According to a report from CBS News, the FAA decided to close the airspace on Tuesday night over the US military’s testing of anti-drone technology near the El Paso International Airport. The decision was taken without notifying the Pentagon or the White House, and it was reversed on Wednesday after discussions at the White House.El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson was very critical of the FAA’s abrupt airspace shutdown, saying it was carried out without coordination with the local government. “This unnecessary decision has caused chaos and confusion in the El Paso community,” he said. “You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership. That failure to communicate is unacceptable.”

Witkoff and Kushner Visit US Aircraft Carrier in Arabian Sea After Iran Talks in Oman - US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, visited the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln as it was operating in the Arabian Sea on Saturday after meeting with Iranian officials in Oman the day before.Trump deployed the US aircraft carrier and its strike group to prepare for a potential attack on Iran, and Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to the US warship signals to Iran that the threat of a US bombing campaign is still very real despite the diplomatic engagement.Video released by US Central Command shows Witkoff and Kushner standing on the flight deck of the Lincoln next to Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM, as aircraft take off. An F-35 fighter jet from the Lincoln shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea on February 3.flight operations aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, February 7, 2026 (US Navy photo)While maintaining its threat to bomb Iran, the US has also ramped up the economic pressure by imposing new Iran-related sanctions, the same day Witkoff and Kushner met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The sanctions targeted ships and companies the US accused of transporting Iranian oil.

Netanyahu To Meet Trump on Wednesday as Israel Pushes for Iran War - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday as Israel is pushing for a new war with Iran following talks between US and Iranian officials in Oman on Friday.Axios reported that Netanyahu was initially set to visit the US on February 18, but Israel requested that the meeting be moved up following the Oman talks. The meeting will mark the sixth time Trump hosts Netanyahu in the US during this administration.In a statement on the upcoming meeting, Netanyahu’s office said that any negotiations with Iran “must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis.”The demand that Iran must place limits on its missiles, the country’s only deterrence and way to launch counter-attacks against the US and Israel, is designed to sabotage diplomacy and ensure that there is war. Iran has made clear that its missile program isn’t up for discussion, something it reiterated following the Oman talks.“Missiles are never negotiable because they are a defense issue,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Saturday. Araghchi led the talks for Iran in Oman and met with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, who holds no official position in the administration but has been deeply involved in Middle East policy.According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel has conveyed to the US that Iran’s missile program is a “red line” and that it’s willing to act alone, though the US would likely defend Israel from any Iranian counterattacks as it did during the 12-Day War back in June 2025. When Trump met Netanyahu back in December, he said that he was willing to back an Israeli attack on Iran if the Islamic Republic “continues” its missile program.Following the US-Iran negotiations in Iran, Trump said the talks were “very good” and claimed Tehran was willing to do more to reach a deal than it was last year, though Araghchi also said Iran would not agree to end its nuclear enrichment program. During negotiations last year, the US demanded zero enrichment, which Tehran rejected, but a potential agreement was on the table to establish a regional nuclear consortium involving Iran and Gulf Arab states. Under the proposed deal, uranium enrichment would occur at the joint nuclear site. The potential location of the site wasn’t clear, and negotiations were still underway when Israel launched the 12-Day War on June 13 with full US backing.

US Maritime Administration Tells US-Flagged Ships To Stay Away From Iran's Territorial Waters - The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) said in an advisory issued on Monday that US-flagged vessels should stay away from Iran’s territorial waters, a warning that comes as the US has built up forces in the region to prepare for a potential attack on the Islamic Republic.“It is recommended that US-flagged commercial vessels transiting these waters remain as far as possible from Iran’s territorial sea without compromising navigational safety,” MARAD said. “When transiting eastbound in the Strait of Hormuz, it is recommended that vessels transit close to Oman’s territorial sea.”The advisory came after the US military alleged that a US-flagged ship was approached by Iranian gunboats that threatened to board the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and that the US ship was then escorted by a US Navy guided-missile destroyer. That same day, a F-35 fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea.MARAD said that US-flagged commercial vessels navigating in the area should “coordinate voyage planning with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) and consider their recommendations and guidance whenever possible.”During the 12-day US-Israeli war against Iran in June 2025, the Iranian parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz as a retaliatory measure, which would have a huge impact on global oil shipping, but a ceasefire was reached a few days later. Restricting shipping in the Strait remains an option for Iran if it comes under another US or Israeli attack.

U.S. urges ships to stay 'as far as possible' from Iran's waters in Strait of Hormuz - U.S.-flagged ships have been advised to stay "as far as possible" from Iranian waters when navigating the Strait of Hormuz as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain elevated. In a notice issued Monday, the U.S. Maritime Administration said ship captains should decline permission for Iranian forces to board U.S. vessels. Boarding attempts, including moves to force commercial vessels into Iranian waters through small boats and helicopters, have occurred as recently as Feb. 3, the agency under the Department of Transportation said. Should Iranian forces board a U.S.-flagged commercial vessel, crews were advised not to "forcibly resist the boarding party," the notice said. It added that refraining from forcible resistance does not imply consent or agreement to that boarding. The advisory recommended that ships transiting eastbound in the Strait of Hormuz stay close to the Omani side of the waterway. The guidance followed a round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran held in Oman on Friday, centered on how to approach discussions over Tehran's nuclear program. The meeting marked the first talks between the two countries since U.S. bombers struck three Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war with Iran last June. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian described the talks as "a step forward,"while signaling they would be the opening stage of a longer diplomatic process rather than a path to a quick resolution. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also told state media that the talks were a "good start." President Donald Trump said the Oman talks were "very good" and that more sessions were planned, even as he warned Iran that failure to reach a deal would carry "very steep" consequences for Iran.

Trump Says He May Send Second Aircraft Carrier to Middle East To Prepare for Potential Attack on Iran - President Trump said on Tuesday that he may deploy a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East to prepare for a potential attack on Iran.“Either we will make a deal, or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid. “We have an armada that is heading there, and another one might be going.”While Trump claims he wants a deal, he also told Ravid that he thinks any agreement should include limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles, which is the Israeli position and is designed to sabotage diplomacy, as Tehran’s missiles are its only form of deterrence and way of launching counterattacks if bombed by the US or Israel. Trump said that he expects more talks with Iran next week. Iranian officials have been clear that the only issue on the table is its nuclear program, and, according to media reports, the US agreed to drop its demand that the talks cover missiles, but Trump’s comments suggest otherwise.So far, the US has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group to the region, along with additional air defenses. According to a report from Reuters, satellite images show that US forces at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar have placed Patriot missiles on mobile truck launchers, which allows them to be moved more quickly, suggesting they’re preparing for an attack.Iran targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during the 12-Day War back in June 2025 in retaliation for the US airstrikes that hit Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran gave the US notice of the attack, allowing time for the base to be evacuated and US forces to prepare to intercept the Iranian missiles.If the US bombs Iran again and leads to an attack, as opposed to the 12-Day War, which mainly involved Israeli airstrikes, it’s likely that Iran will not give the US any notice of its retaliation and will strike multiple US bases in the region.

Trump Holds Off On Option To Seize Iranian Tankers, Fearing Sharp Oil Rise - Another big piece of leverage that Washington is holding over Tehran is the potential seizure of Iranian oil tankers. The US intercepting and boarding tankers on the high seas has been a trend related to Venezuela of late, as well as Russia's so-called dark fleet, ratcheting tensions with Moscow. But President Trump is said to be holding off for now when it comes to the Iranians, as the process of indirect negotiations based in Oman plays out, also as Israel's Netanyahu is received at the White House on Wednesday. Fresh reporting in The Wall Street Journal indicates "Trump administration officials have discussed whether to seize additional tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil but have held off, concerned about Tehran’s near-certain retaliation and the impact on global oil markets, U.S. officials said." But there have been US naval interdictions involving Iranian energy related to the Venezuela blockade: "The U.S. has seized several ships that have carried Iranian oil as part of its two-month-old blockade of sanctioned tankers serving Venezuela," continues WSJ. "The tankers, which make up the so-called shadow fleet, help transport illicit oil from numerous sanctioned countries to China and other buyers." The report notes that "A move by the U.S. to block other sanctioned ships from loading oil in Iran would squeeze Tehran's main source of revenue, expanding the aggressive strategy the White House put in place in December in the Caribbean." So there remains this big card to play, but Trump is so far hesitant on concerns of rapidly driving up the price of oil.

Report: US Smuggled Thousands of Starlink Terminals Into Iran During Protests - The US smuggled thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran in January to support anti-government protesters inside the country, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The report said that the State Department purchased 7,000 Starlink terminals several months ago with the aim of providing them to anti-government elements inside Iran, and that about 6,000 were smuggled into the country in January after the Iranian government cut internet access as part of its crackdown against the protest.The report contradicts the Trump administration’s claim that it didn’t provide any material support to the protesters, though President Trump was publicly encouraging the protests. “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on January 13. “I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!” The unrest involved some armed clashes between Iranian security forces and Kurdish militants whoreportedly entered Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan, where the US has a military presence. Iranian authorities said at the end of January that they had seized a shipment of 51 Starlink terminals in Iran’s Kurdistan region, which borders Iraqi Kurdistan.US Treasury Scott Bessent has also boasted about how US sanctions collapsed Iran’s economy and sparked the protests. “At the Treasury, what we have done is created a dollar shortage in the country … It came to a swift and, I would say, grand culmination in December, when one of the largest banks in Iran went under. There was a run on the bank,” Bessent told a Senate committee last week.“The central bank had to print money, the Iranian currency went into free fall, inflation exploded, and hence we have seen the Iranian people out on the street,” he added.

Hours-Long Netanyahu Meeting Concludes Away From Cameras, Trump Committed To Iran Talks - President Trump met with Netanyahu for a reported 3-hours at the White on Wednesday, away from the cameras and with no press briefings either before or after. Trump later indicated that nothing definitive was reached on the Iran matter other than "I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue.""If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be," he stated in a Truth Social post. "Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them. Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible."It was expected that Netanyahu would seek a muscular US approach to Tehran, and Israel has essentially been against even holding negotiations, charging that Tehran is using the process to stall and development nuclear weapons, and to expand its missile arsenal. Israeli leadership has time and again complained it's a waste of time. But it seems Trump is ready to give the negotiations route a serious try. There are also indicators that the Commander-in-Chief is not ready to order another US aircraft carrier group to Middle East waters. All of this will come as good news to those wishing to see climb-down and de-escalation on threats of military strike. However, everything could change on a dime:The Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to the Middle East as the U.S. military readies for a potential attack on Iran, according to three U.S. officials. President Trump said Tuesday that he was weighing sending a second carrier to the Middle East to prepare for military action if negotiations with Iran failed. The order to deploy could be issued in a matter of hours, one of the officials said.The officials cautioned that Trump hadn’t yet given an official order to deploy the second carrier, and that plans could change. The carrier would join aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln that is already in the region.

Trump Says 'Nothing Definitive' Reached in 'Very Good' Meeting With Netanyahu - President Trump said on Wednesday that “nothing definitive” was reached during what he described as “very good” talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.“I have just finished meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, of Israel, and various of his Representatives,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting, which lasted three hours. “It was a very good meeting, the tremendous relationship between our two Countries continues.” The US president said that he “insisted” to Netanyahu that US talks with Iran would continue, but made clear that the threat of the US bombing the country was still real, and The Wall Street Journalreported that the Pentagon is preparing for the potential deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be,” Trump wrote.“Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them,” he added, though in June 2025, the US backed an Israeli attack on Iran while negotiations between Washington and Tehran were still underway.Before the start of the 12-Day War, Trump also put out statements claiming he wanted a deal with Iran, including one that was issued as Israeli jets were getting in the air to bomb Iran. Netanyahu has made clear that he opposes any deal with Iran and that he was in Washington to express the Israeli position.

Trump Says It Will Be 'Very Traumatic' for Iran if a Nuclear Deal Isn't Reached - President Trump said on Thursday that it would be “very traumatic” for Iran if Washington and Tehran don’t reach a nuclear deal, echoing threats he made last year in the lead-up to the 12-Day War.“We have to make a deal with Iran, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters a day after holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.“We had a very good meeting yesterday with Bibi Netanyahu, and he understands. But it’s ultimately up to me. If the deal isn’t a very fair deal and a very good deal with Iran, it’s going to be a very difficult time for them,” Trump added.The US president was asked if there was a timeline for a deal and said, “I guess over the next month … They should agree very quickly.”Netanyahu said as he was departing the US that Trump was creating “conditions” that could lead to a “good deal,” though from Israel’s perspective, a “good” agreement would require Iran to impose limits on its ballistic missiles, a demand that is a non-starter for Tehran and likely designed to collapse diplomacy.“The talks with Trump focused primarily on the negotiations with Iran,” Netanyahu said. “The president believes the Iranians now understand who they are dealing with. I think that under the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake the last time by not reaching a deal, conditions could emerge for achieving a good agreement.” The Israeli leader also said he was skeptical that an agreement would be reached and laid out Israel’s terms. “I won’t hide from you that I expressed general skepticism about the quality of any agreement with Iran,” he said. “If an agreement is reached, it must include the elements that are important to us, to the State of Israel, and in my view to the entire international community — not only the nuclear issue, but also ballistic missiles and Iran’s proxies in the region.”

Netanyahu Officially Joins 'Board of Peace' During US Visit as His Forces Continue Killing Palestinians in Gaza - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday officially joined President Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace,” which is meant to oversee a ceasefire deal in Gaza despite the IDF’s constant violations of the truce and daily killing of Palestinians in the Strip.Netanyahu signed a document to join the board during a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio before his talks with President Trump.“Ahead of my meeting at the White House with President Trump, I signed Israel’s accession as a member of ‘Board of Peace,'” Netanyahu wrote on X. “We will continue strengthening the unbreakable alliance between Israel and the United States.”Also on Wednesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinians over the previous 24-hour period, bringing the death toll since the ceasefire deal was signed in early October to 591. More Israeli attacks were reported in Gaza, including gunfire that wounded several Palestinians, including a child, in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.

US Says It Opposes Annexation as Israeli Moves Advance It on the Ground - The White House said President Donald Trump reiterated his opposition to Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, stressing that the administration’s objective remained pursuing peace in the region, Reuters news agency reported on Monday. “A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” Reuters quoted a White House official as saying. The statement came as tensions escalated following Israeli decisions widely seen as deepening de facto annexation, drawing growing international scrutiny. However, on the ground, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stormed the town of Ni’lin following Israel’s approval of measures expanding its authority across the occupied West Bank, Anadolu News Agency reported. Smotrich described the step as part of efforts to “restore control,” including enforcement actions inside Areas A and B — zones previously administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo framework. The Israeli cabinet repealed restrictions on land sales, opened ownership records, and transferred building permit authority in parts of Hebron (Al-Khalil) to Israel’s civil administration. The changes allow demolitions and property seizures even in areas formally under Palestinian civil administration and are expected to facilitate settlement expansion across the occupied territory. The measures are illegal under international law because the occupied West Bank remains territory under belligerent occupation, where the occupying power is prohibited from exercising sovereign authority. By extending administrative jurisdiction, altering land ownership mechanisms, and enabling confiscations, Israel is effectively replacing a temporary military occupation with a permanent civil governance structure. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power may not transfer parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies, nor may it confiscate private property except for imperative military necessity. The new policies instead facilitate settlement expansion, retroactive legalization of outposts, and permanent demographic changes — actions long considered grave breaches of the Convention. International legal bodies, including the International Court of Justice and numerous UN resolutions, have repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in the West Bank have no legal validity and constitute violations of international law. The latest steps, therefore, do not represent administrative reforms but a consolidation of annexation in practice, altering the legal status of the territory without formal declaration.

Report: US Forces Pull Out of Al-Tanf Base in Southern Syria - US forces have withdrawn from the Al-Tanf Garrison, a base in southern Syria near the borders of Iraq and Jordan, according to a report from AFP.A Syrian military source told the outlet that the “American forces withdrew entirely from Al-Tanf base today” and went to another base in Jordan. The source added that Syrian military personnel replaced the US forces. A second source said that the US would “continue to coordinate with the base in Al-Tanf from Jordan.”From Al-Tanf, the US helped its proxy militia, known as the Syrian Free Army (previously known as the Revolutionary Commando Army), join in on the offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024.The US still has some troops in northeast Syria, but it’s unclear how many. News of the withdrawal from Al-Tanf comes about two weeks after The Wall Street Journal reported that the US was considering a full pullout from Syria after the new Syrian government, which is led by HTS, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, took territory from the Kurdish-led SDF, which was the US’s main ally in Syria before the regime change.While publicly, President Trump and senior administration officials tout the new Syrian government as a great ally, US officials acknowledged to the Journal that its military is “riddled with jihadist sympathizers, including soldiers with ties to al-Qaeda and ISIS and others who have been involved in alleged war crimes against the Kurds and Druze.” The Trump administration appears to have changed its plans for Syria, as media reports from last year said that the US was planning to consolidate its bases in northeast Syria and move most of its forces to Al-Tanf to potentially establish a permanent presence in the country. Update on February 12 at 1:56 pm EST: US Central Command issued a statement on Thursday confirming the US withdrawal from Al-Tanf

Tom Barrack Says HTS-Led Syrian Government's Participation in Anti-ISIS Coalition Marks a 'New Chapter' - Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who also serves as an envoy to Syria, wrote on X on Tuesday that the participation of the new Syrian government — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of al-Qaeda — in a US-led anti-ISIS coalition meeting marks a “new chapter” in the region.“Regional solutions, shared responsibility,” Barrack wrote on X after a coalition meeting in Saudi Arabia that was attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al- Shibani, who, according to Arab media, was a founding member of the al-Nusra Front, Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate that became HTS. “Syria’s participation in the D-ISIS Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security.”The meeting in Riyadh came after clashes between the HTS-led government and the Kurdish-led SDF, which was previously the US’s main partner in Syria. But Barrack declared in a post on X on January 20 that the SDF’s role against ISIS has “largely expired” now that the US is allied with the Syrian government.“[T]he original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps,” Barrack said.While the US ambassador is framing the Syrian government as an effective ally against ISIS, just two days after Barrack’s post, US officials acknowledged to The Wall Street Journal that the new Syrian military is full of ISIS and al-Qaeda-aligned fighters. “The force is riddled with jihadist sympathizers, including soldiers with ties to al-Qaeda and ISIS and others who have been involved in alleged war crimes against the Kurds and Druze,” the Journal report said.

US Launches Another Airstrike in Somalia as Trump Continues Heavy Bombing Campaign - US Africa Command announced on Monday that its forces launched another airstrike in Somalia as the Trump administration continues bombing the country at a record pace.AFRICOM said in a press release that the strike occurred on February 3 and targeted the ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, about 25 miles to the southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bosaso. The command provided no other details about the attack.The US has been backing the local Puntland government in its fight against ISIS-Somalia in a remote mountainous region, a bombing campaign that’s involved heavy strikes on caves. AFRICOM has also been conducting airstrikes against al-Shabaab in southern Somalia in support of the US-backed Mogadishu-based Federal Government.The latest strike marks at least the second US bombing in Somalia this month and the 28th of the year, as AFRICOM conducted 26 in January, a monthly pace that, if kept up, would result in over 300 US airstrikes in the country in 2026, which would shatter the record 124 airstrikes the US launched in 2025. Senior Trump administration officials have not discussed the campaign in Somalia since it gets virtually no media attention and they’re never asked about it, but based on comments from AFRICOM leadership, all signs indicate the airstrikes will continue indefinitely.The US has been involved in the country for many decades and has been fighting against al-Shabaab since it first emerged following a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that ousted the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups that briefly held power in Mogadishu, and led to the creation of the current government.

US Launches Airstrike Targeting al-Shabaab, Marking 29th US Bombing in Somalia of the Year - US Africa Command on Tuesday announced that its forces launched an airstrike in Somalia a day earlier that targeted al-Shabaab about 30 miles to the northeast of Kismayo, a port city in the southern Lower Juba province.AFRICOM offered no other details of the bombing, which marks at least the 29th US airstrike in the country this year, as the Trump administration continues bombing the country at a record pace.The US-backed Somali Defense Ministry said that on Tuesday, the Danab, a special operations force armed and trained by the US, and local Jubaland forces conducted an operation against al-Shabaab near Jamame, the same area around where the US airstrike was launched.But al-Shabaab told a much different story about clashes on Tuesday, claiming in a statement published by its Shahada News Agency that its fighters ambushed a military convoy of US and Somali forces. The militant group claimed that its fighters killed 37 people without specifying whether any Americans were killed.Al-Shabaab is known for inflating casualty figures and has previously claimed to have killed Americans when AFRICOM said no US forces were harmed. Antiwar.com has asked AFRICOM about the al-Shabaab claim and has yet to receive a reply.Al-Shabaab claimed back in September 2025 that it killed Americans in an attack on an airport in Kismayo that houses US troops, but AFRICOM refuted the claim and said US forces came under an “indirect attack”without providing any other details.The US has been involved in Somalia for many decades and has been fighting against al-Shabaab since it first emerged following a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that ousted the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups that briefly held power in Mogadishu, and led to the creation of the current government.The US has also been launching heavy airstrikes in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region against an ISIS affiliate, which first emerged in 2015 as an offshoot of al-Shabaab.

Pentagon To Send 200 Troops to Nigeria - The Pentagon is sending 200 troops to Nigeria in the coming weeks to train the country’s military to fight Islamist militants, US officials told media outlets on Tuesday, as President Trump continues to deepen US involvement in the country. A US official told The New York Times that the 200 troops will augment a small US force that has been in the country for several weeks. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, the head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), recently confirmed that a “small team” of US troops had already deployed to Nigeria. Anderson visited Nigeria on Monday and spoke with senior Nigerian officials about deepening military cooperation. The deployment comes after the US launched missile strikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day that targeted ISIS-linked militants in the northwestern Sokoto State, though several missiles fell on two villages far from the intended target, causing damage in one village and injuries, though no deaths were reported. AFRICOM claimed that multiple militants were killed in the strikes, but there’s been no confirmation of the casualties. The US and Nigeria have been allies for many years, but back in November, President Trump threatened to go into the country “guns-a-blazing” without the consent of the government if it didn’t do more to protect Christians. Trump’s threat came in response to claims that a “Christian genocide” was occurring in Nigeria and that the government wasn’t doing enough to stop it.But the Nigerian government denies that a Christian genocide is taking place since much of the violence in the country affects Muslims. For example, about 200 people in a Muslim-majority town were massacred last week in the state of Kwara in western Nigeria.

US Bombs Somalia for 30th Time This Year - US Africa Command has announced in a press release that its forces launched an airstrike in Somalia on February 10, marking at least the 30th US airstrike in the country this year as the Trump administration continues bombing the country at a record pace. The command said the strike targeted al-Shabaab about 30 miles to the northeast of the port city of Kismayo in southern Somalia’s Lower Juba province. The US-backed Somali government and al-Shabaab both reported clashes in the same area that day and made vastly different claims. The US-backed Somali Defense Ministry said that the Danab, a special operations force armed and trained by the US, and local Jubaland forces conducted an operation against al-Shabaab and killed 14 militants. Al-Shabaab claimed that it carried out an ambush on a US-Somali military convoy and killed 32 people. Neither side’s claims have been verified, and AFRICOM hasn’t replied to a media query from Antiwar.com asking if any US forces came under attack. AFRICOM also announced an airstrike on February 9 against al-Shabaab in the same area.

Nuclear Weapons Test Monitor Finds No Evidence for US Claim of Chinese Test - An international nuclear weapons testing monitor said on Friday that there was no evidence China conducted a nuclear test on June 22, 2020, after a US official accused Beijing of secretly conducting a test that day. “China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons,” US Undersecretary of State Thomas DiNanno said in a post on X, a claim he also made at a UN disarmament conference in Geneva.“China has used decoupling – a method to decrease the effectiveness of seismic monitoring – to hide its activities from the world. China conducted one such yield-producing nuclear test on June 22, 2020,” he added.In response to the US claim, Robert Floyd, the executive director of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), issued a statement. “Regarding reports of possible nuclear tests with yields in the hundreds of tonnes, on 22 June 2020, the CTBTO’s [International Monitoring System] did not detect any event consistent with the characteristics of a nuclear weapon test explosion at that time. Subsequent, more detailed analyses have not altered that determination,” he said.Floyd explained that his organization’s International Monitoring System (IMS) is “capable of detecting nuclear test explosions with a yield equivalent to or greater than approximately 500 tonnes of TNT, including detecting all six tests conducted and declared by the DPRK.” He added that any test below the 500-ton level is “roughly 3% of the yield of the explosion that devastated Hiroshima.”Chinese Ambassador Shen Jian, Beijing’s representative in Geneva. also strongly denied the US claim. “China notes that the US continues in its statement to hype up the so-called China nuclear threat. China firmly opposes such false narratives,” he said. “It (the United States) is the culprit for the aggravation of the arms race.”

Member of Trump's 'Religious Liberty Commission' Removed After Questioning Claim That Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitic - A member of the Trump administration’s “Commission on Religious Liberty” has been removed after a hearing turned contentious over her objection to the idea that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Carrie Prejean Boller, a Catholic conservative activist and model, took issue with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has been embraced by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice and conflates criticism of the modern state of Israel with antisemitism. “Undoubtedly, anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University in New York, told Boller during one exchange. Boller then pointed to her Catholic faith, which does not affirm the idea that the Jewish people have a divine right to historic Palestine. “I’m a Catholic, and Catholics do not embrace Zionism, just so you know, so are all Catholics antisemites?” she said. During the hearing, Boller also read testimony from Rabbi Yakoov Shaprio, an anti-Zionist Jew, and asked if his statement was “antisemitic.” In a post on X, Boller said she recommended Shapiro and several other Jewish Americans for the panel, but they were denied. After facing backlash for her questioning, Boller vowed to continue speaking out. “I will never bend the knee to the state of Israel. Ever,” she said. “I am more determined than ever to speak plainly about political Zionism and the lies we’ve been sold to justify endless war, dead children, and blank checks.”

Speaker Mike Johnson says 6 Democrats should be indicted after grand jury rebuke - House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the six Democrats who participated in a video urging service members to disobey illegal orders last fall “should be indicted,” even as a grand jury on Tuesday refused to do so. “I think that anytime you’re obstructing law enforcement and getting in the way of these sensitive operations, it’s a very serious thing, and it probably is a crime. And, yeah, they probably should be indicted,” Johnson told reporters shortly after the grand jury news. Prosecutors launched a probe into six Democrats — Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) and Chris Deluzio (Pa.) — after they released a joint video statement in November calling on military service members and intelligence community personnel to defy “illegal orders.” All six have military or intelligence backgrounds. The video followed the Trump administration’s decision to carry out deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean. President Trump swiftly called for the six members to be “hanged” in response to their video, before eventually walking it back. The Justice Department’s legal effort against the six has been lambasted by Democrats and some Republicans who see the move as politically motivated, and on Tuesday a grand jury blocked the indictment. Prosecutors failed to meet a low bar of “probable cause” to convince a majority of the grand jury to secure an indictment. Separately, the Pentagon is looking to censure Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and lower his retirement rank, a move that could affect his military pension. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Kelly said Johnson should “go back to his office and seriously think about what he says publicly,” in response to the Speaker’s comments. “He’s the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He’s one of the most powerful people in this country. And if he’s going to side at every moment with this administration when they are clearly not on the side of the Constitution, I think he’s got to really evaluate why he is there and who he is really serving,” Kelly said. Slotkin, who spoke alongside Kelly, said Johnson “should take a beat and remember why he’s there and that our Founding Fathers designed this as a separate branch of government to provide checks and balances on the president, not salute like a good boy and do what he says every single time.” Kelly also warned that the Justice Department’s attempt to indict the six lawmakers represents a “master alarm flashing for our democracy.” He also called the failed federal indictment pursued by the office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro as one “straight from the authoritarian playbook.”

Thom Tillis applauds rejection of DOJ attempt to indict Democratic lawmakers - Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) on Wednesday applauded a grand jury’s rejection of an effort by federal prosecutors to indict six Democratic lawmakers who last year circulated a video urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders. The grand jury convened in the Federal District of Washington, D.C., refused to approve the criminal charges against Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.). Tillis accused U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro of “lawfare” and expressed relief over prosecutors’ failure to secure an indictment. “Political lawfare waged by either side undermines America’s criminal justice system, which is the gold standard of the world. Thankfully in this instance a jury saw the attempted indictments for what they really were,” Tillis wrote in a statement posted to social media. “Political lawfare is not normal, not acceptable, and needs to stop,” he warned.

Democratic centrists stare down tough vote over DHS funding --Senate Democrats who voted to end the fall government shutdown are staring down a difficult decision over whether to back a stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) past the Friday deadline. Negotiators remain far apart on a long-term deal for funding DHS, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated plans to move forward on a second continuing resolution (CR) to fund the department. DHS is the only department that hasn’t received its full-year funding for fiscal 2026 after Democrats demanded it include reforms to immigration enforcement practices in the midst of a firestorm over the crackdown in Minneapolis. Whether Democrats agree to a CR remains a major question, with members saying they need to see major steps toward a long-term deal before greenlighting a short-term fix. “My first reaction is not only ‘no,’ but ‘hell no,’” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) about another funding patch before deciding to keep the door open. “But I’m going to leave open the possibility that there’s some real, honest negotiations going to take place. We’ll see.” Atop the list of senators Republican leaders are likely eyeing to potentially jump on board are the eight Senate Democrats — comprised largely of centrists, soon-to-be retirees and purple-state members — who broke with party leaders to strike a deal with Republican leaders and end the 43-day shutdown in November. Durbin is part of that group. When a handful of those members were pressed by reporters about potentially supporting a CR later in the week, only one member — Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) — signaled they are not open to doing so. They want to see how far negotiations get down the line this week, especially after the White House on Monday issued a counteroffer to the Democratic proposal. At present, they are keeping their powder dry. “We have to look at the counter-proposal to see how serious it is,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said. “The more serious it is, the more we’ll want to work to see if we can land something.” “If it’s serious and we can’t land something right away, then we ought to be open to talking more,” he said, adding that he expects more to be known after Democrats hold their weekly caucus meeting over lunch on Tuesday. Reprising that coalition will be a tall task. Democratic members are showing little appetite for doing any favors for immigration officials amid loud calls from progressive groups for them to block future funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

GOP Sen. Johnson slams Dems' 'obnoxious' judicial warrant demand as another shutdown looms - Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Tuesday slammed Democrats for conditioning Homeland Security Department funding on a requirement that federal immigration agents must obtain judicial warrants to carry out key enforcement activities. Johnson, in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," called that proposal "completely unworkable." But it's Democrats' top demand for funding DHS, which is set to lose funding by the week's end if Congress can't pass an appropriations bill. Johnson said he hopes Congress can pass another stopgap measure to buy time, but suggested Democrats have been unreasonable in negotiations so far. "They want to defund DHS just like they want to defund police," Johnson said of his political opponents. DHS includes the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, whose deportation efforts have grown especially controversial after an aggressive surge in Minnesota stirred national unrest. Democrats "want to make it almost impossible for ICE to do its job," Johnson, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. "Of the 10 demands, probably the most obnoxious is they want to require judicial warrants, which is completely unworkable," he said. "Our immigration laws have always been enforced by the executive branch, through administrative law judges. We have, again, literally millions of cases that need to be adjudicated. Our Article Three courts simply can't handle that, and Democrats know it," Johnson said. Democrats have rejected arguments that requiring judge-signed warrants to enter private property — as opposed to administrative warrants issued by federal agency officials — would overburden the system. The White House sent a counterproposal to Democrats' demands, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a statement late Monday called it "incomplete and insufficient."

Rep. Rosa DeLauro introduces bill to fund every agency under DHS except ICE, CBP - House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would fund every agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Office of the Secretary. The move comes as the stopgap measure to fund DHS at existing levels for two weeks expires in just two days. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have been demanding sweeping reforms to the White House’s immigration enforcement tactics after agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. But both sides have yet to strike a deal, as they continue to exchange counterproposals and engage in talks. DeLauro’s measure would provide full-year funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Coast Guard, among other agencies and programs, according to a press release. It would also not allow funds to be transferred to ICE or CBP. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot be abolished, but I will not provide a single dime of funding until we see radical changes in how it operates. If Republican leadership blocks this legislation from moving forward, they are responsible for any shuttered agencies, furloughed workers, missed paychecks, or reduced services,” DeLauro wrote in a statement. It’s unlikely Republicans would be open to the bill, however. “So, in other words, defund law enforcement,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said last week about the possibility. “That’s kind of a large portion of what DHS is. I don’t know how you do that.” Thune is pushing for another stopgap measure that would temporarily fund DHS as Democrats and the White House remain at an impasse on a deal. However, Schumer said Democrats would block a short-term funding resolution, arguing that Republicans “have not gotten serious about negotiating a solution that reins in ICE and stops the violence.”

White House makes last-minute bid to avoid DHS shutdown - The White House made a last-minute effort to avoid a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security ahead of Friday’s funding deadline to keep the agency fully operational. A White House official confirmed to The Hill that it sent legislative text of an offer to Democrats on Capitol Hill on Wednesday evening. However, Democrats are unlikely to accept the text, with leaders rejecting a proposal earlier this week from the White House as “incomplete and insufficient.” Senate Democrats said Wednesday that negotiations with the White House have not made enough progress for them to reach a deal on funding the department, arguing they will not vote for another stopgap unless Republicans agree to a 10-point plan to overhaul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) said Wednesday that the White House responded with a “one-pager” that lacked details after Democratic negotiators sent in detailed legislative text for reforming ICE last week. “That shows me that they’re not really serious about this,” she said before predicting Republicans will just keep offering short-term funding extensions to avoid having to agree to substantial immigration reforms. “It’s like a kid who says, ‘Mom, just one more story, just one more story,’ and pretty soon they’re up all night,” Rosen said.

DHS shutdown all but certain as Democrats and Trump White House can't cut deal -- The Department of Homeland Security is barreling toward a shutdown starting this weekend after Senate Democrats and the White House on Thursday failed to clinch a deal on immigration enforcement restrictions.A bill already approved by the House of Representatives, which would fund DHS through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, failed on Thursday to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate, meaning time will run out before a shutdown can be avoided.Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, shortly after that vote also objected to immediately considering what would have been the second two-week stopgap funding for DHS while negotiations continue.Congress went into a weeklong recess after Murphy's objection, making a shutdown set to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.The looming shutdown comes as Democratic senators continue to negotiate directly with the White House and President Donald Trump on a deal that could unlock DHS funding.Democrats want new restrictions on immigration officers, citing the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January by federal agents who were there to conduct immigration enforcement.

Trump-Appointed Judge Rules ICE Violated Constitutional Rights of Minnesota Detainees — Drops Hammer in Strict Order -- A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump issued a sharply-worded opinion Thursday ruling that the administration had violated the constitutional rights of detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Minnesota, and granted a temporary restraining order with strict new requirements for the ICE agents.The tactics used during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown (known as “Operation Metro Surge” in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota) have been loudly criticized and sparked nationwide protests and multiple court challenges, especially after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis: Renee Good on Jan. 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez. Recent polling shows public opinion souring on the immigration crackdown, even among Republicans.Thursday’s ruling, flagged by Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney, was written by Judge Nancy Brasel, who previously served as a federal prosecutor and Minnesota state judge. She has been on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota since Trump appointed her in 2018.In Brasel’s 41-page ruling, she blasts ICE for the “threadbare declarations…without examples or evidence” offered by the federal government’s attorneys claiming that noncitizens detained at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building were granted telephone access to their legal counsel.Brasel noted that the plaintiffs had provided ample and detailed evidence that the thousands of detainees at Whipple were systematically being denied access to their attorneys but “little submitted by Defendants,” the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and several other senior federal immigration officials.The judge found persuasive the plaintiff’s arguments that “Defendants’ policies and practices at Whipple all but extinguish a detainee’s access to counsel,” including the fact that immigration officers at Whipple were able to provide access to counsel before Operation Metro Surge, ICE’s common practice of transferring detainees “frequently, quickly, without notice, and often with no way for attorneys to know where or how long they will be at a given facility,” defendants’ repeated failures to “accurately or timely input information into the Online Detainee Locator System,” detainees only being allowed one phone call (“Many people do not know the name, much less the number, of their attorney—if they have one—so calls are usually to family”), and detainees not being allowed to send mail or email.The plaintiffs also submitted affidavits from attorneys who attempted to visit their clients at Whipple but were denied and “threatened with arrest by…heavily armed personnel,” said their clients were pressured by ICE agents “to sign voluntary removal forms (i.e., self-deportation) without being allowed to talk to counsel,” and that ICE agents had lied to their clients about the status of their habeas petitions and other legal rights.“All of these barriers make it difficult—if not impossible—for attorneys to effectively represent their clients,” wrote Brasel.In reaching her ruling, Brasel bluntly rejected the government’s arguments that providing access to counsel and the other requested accommodations was overly burdensome, a strain on resources, impossible because of overcrowding or security concerns, and so on, finding that the defendants could not decide to send “thousands of agents to Minnesota,” detain “thousands of people,” but then claim they “suddenly lack resources when it comes to protecting detainees’ constitutional rights”:Defendants may not properly choose a facility that is unfit for a particular purpose and then use the inadequacies of the facility as a justification to deprive detainees of meaningful, confidential access to legal counsel to the extent demanded by the Constitution…It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees. The government suggests—with minimal explanation and even less evidence—that doing so would result in “chaos.” The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.

IRS improperly disclosed immigrant tax data to DHS: Report -The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly disclosed confidential tax data of thousands of people to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of the Trump administration’s push to crack down on immigration enforcement measures across agencies. Last April, DHS signed a memorandum of understanding with the Treasury Department so that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials could request the names and addresses of individuals suspected to be living in the U.S. without legal status. Immigrants have for years paid taxes even if they are not in the U.S. legally, with the federal government assuring them that their data would be protected. A Wednesday declaration from IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer Dottie Romo said the tax agency has verified roughly 47,000 of the 1.28 million names DHS requested, according to the Associated Press. Less than 5 percent of individuals had additional personal information shared with immigration authorities, which potentially violates federal law protecting taxpayer data, per the newswire. The Washington Post first reported the erroneous disclosure, citing three people familiar with the situation. They told the newspaper that the error was only recently discovered and is working with other federal agencies on a response. The IRS and ICE did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the matter. A DHS spokesperson told The Hill that DHS is “finally doing what it should have all along” by sharing information across the federal government to “solve problems.” “Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, and identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense,” the spokesperson added. However, immigration advocates say the move is an affront to citizens and immigrants without legal status alike. Tom Bowman, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology said “the improper sharing of taxpayer data is unsafe, unlawful, and subject to serious criminal penalties.” “Once taxpayer data is opened to immigration enforcement, mistakes are inevitable and the consequences fall on innocent people,”

Banks effectively deputized in Trump's immigration fight -- Attorneys from Holland & Knight warn that Treasury is targeting financial services companies in Minneapolis and at the southern border in an AML crackdown. Scott Bessent, U.S. treasury secretary, said in January that the president "wants to scale the model we have established in Minnesota," requiring banks and money transmitters there to report outgoing foreign remittances of $3,000 or more, to "every corner of the country."

• Key insight: New Treasury protocols use high-performance data processing to review millions of past records for links to cartels and benefit fraud.
• What's at stake: Banks in targeted zones face a choice between paying for expensive enhanced due diligence or exiting these markets entirely to avoid liability.
• Supporting data: A Fincen order requires banks in the Twin Cities to report funds transfers of $3,000 or more if the beneficiary is outside the U.S.

Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Trump-Appointed Judge Rules ICE Violated Constitutional Rights of Minnesota Detainees — Drops Hammer in Strict Order -- A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump issued a sharply-worded opinion Thursday ruling that the administration had violated the constitutional rights of detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Minnesota, and granted a temporary restraining order with strict new requirements for the ICE agents.The tactics used during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown (known as “Operation Metro Surge” in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota) have been loudly criticized and sparked nationwide protests and multiple court challenges, especially after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis: Renee Good on Jan. 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez. Recent polling shows public opinion souring on the immigration crackdown, even among Republicans.Thursday’s ruling, flagged by Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney, was written by Judge Nancy Brasel, who previously served as a federal prosecutor and Minnesota state judge. She has been on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota since Trump appointed her in 2018.In Brasel’s 41-page ruling, she blasts ICE for the “threadbare declarations…without examples or evidence” offered by the federal government’s attorneys claiming that noncitizens detained at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building were granted telephone access to their legal counsel.Brasel noted that the plaintiffs had provided ample and detailed evidence that the thousands of detainees at Whipple were systematically being denied access to their attorneys but “little submitted by Defendants,” the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and several other senior federal immigration officials.The judge found persuasive the plaintiff’s arguments that “Defendants’ policies and practices at Whipple all but extinguish a detainee’s access to counsel,” including the fact that immigration officers at Whipple were able to provide access to counsel before Operation Metro Surge, ICE’s common practice of transferring detainees “frequently, quickly, without notice, and often with no way for attorneys to know where or how long they will be at a given facility,” defendants’ repeated failures to “accurately or timely input information into the Online Detainee Locator System,” detainees only being allowed one phone call (“Many people do not know the name, much less the number, of their attorney—if they have one—so calls are usually to family”), and detainees not being allowed to send mail or email.The plaintiffs also submitted affidavits from attorneys who attempted to visit their clients at Whipple but were denied and “threatened with arrest by…heavily armed personnel,” said their clients were pressured by ICE agents “to sign voluntary removal forms (i.e., self-deportation) without being allowed to talk to counsel,” and that ICE agents had lied to their clients about the status of their habeas petitions and other legal rights.“All of these barriers make it difficult—if not impossible—for attorneys to effectively represent their clients,” wrote Brasel.In reaching her ruling, Brasel bluntly rejected the government’s arguments that providing access to counsel and the other requested accommodations was overly burdensome, a strain on resources, impossible because of overcrowding or security concerns, and so on, finding that the defendants could not decide to send “thousands of agents to Minnesota,” detain “thousands of people,” but then claim they “suddenly lack resources when it comes to protecting detainees’ constitutional rights”:Defendants may not properly choose a facility that is unfit for a particular purpose and then use the inadequacies of the facility as a justification to deprive detainees of meaningful, confidential access to legal counsel to the extent demanded by the Constitution…It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees. The government suggests—with minimal explanation and even less evidence—that doing so would result in “chaos.” The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.

More than 50 advocacy groups call for Noem’s impeachment - Voto Latino and more than 50 other organizations are demanding the “immediate impeachment” of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Hill has learned exclusively. In a letter sent to congressional leaders Monday, the national Hispanic engagement organization and a coalition of other organizations, including the Service Employees International Union, Human Rights Campaign, and United Farm Workers, said they support a formal House resolution introduced by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) last month that called for Noem’s impeachment. The letter highlights a pattern of conduct including obstruction of congressional oversight, unlawful use of deadly force, targeting of minors — focusing on the recent detention of a 5-year-old — and unlawful raids on U.S. citizens. “Secretary Noem’s tenure has been defined by a dangerous violation of public trust, obstruction of Congress and oversight, a blatant disregard for constitutional protections, and state-sanctioned conduct that places U.S. citizens and lawful residents in immediate peril,” the letter says. “Secretary Noem has fundamentally failed to exercise the sound judgment and discretion required of her office,” the letter adds. Kelly introduced the resolution on the heels of the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer last month. Federal agents shot and killed a man, Alex Pretti, last month during another encounter in Minneapolis. The resolution currently has more than 187 co-sponsors. In addition to the letter, Voto Latino and other organizations will launch a national day of action where they will aim to unleash a wave of calls to lawmakers demanding Noem’s impeachment.

House Democrats to force vote on blocking Trump's Canada tariffs -House Democrats are planning to force a vote this week on a resolution blocking President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a House aide told The Hill. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the lead sponsor on a resolution that would terminate Trump’s use of a national emergency to impose punitive measures on Canada. A House aide said that the plan is to hold a vote on Wednesday but cautioned the timing might change. The vote has a good chance of succeeding. In the razor-thin Republican majority, Democrats need to flip only two GOP members, assuming all members are present and voting. Several Republicans have expressed frustration about the tariffs. If the measure passes the House and is taken up in the Senate, it is also likely to pass and head to Trump’s desk. While it’s presumed Trump will veto the measure, Democrats are likely to capitalize on the president having to confront major pushback on his strategy of using tariffs to impose American demands on other countries. In October, four Republicans joined all Democrats in a vote to terminate Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a measure led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Those GOP lawmakers were Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky), Rand Paul (Ky), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Meeks also has resolutions to terminate the national emergencies justifying Trump’s tariffs on other countries, such as on Mexico, and the broad “Liberation Day” tariffs across the globe. Democrats are able to force a vote on repealing the national emergencies that justify some of Trump’s tariffs after House Republican leaders last month declined to extend a prohibition on bypassing leadership to force those snap votes past the end of January. House GOP leaders declined to extend that prohibition because Republicans who oppose the tariffs — including Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.) and Kevin Kiley (Calif.) — were expected to block any attempt to extend it further. Those members and a few others previously rebelled on a procedural vote that would have extended the prohibition on calling the tariff-repeal votes until March. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), however, told The Hill in January that he was optimistic about keeping his party together on any tariff-repeal vote. “We’ll keep the Republicans together,” Johnson said. “I think everybody in our party is of the mind that we do not want to impede the president’s progress on the economy, so we need to allow him all the tools that he has available, and I don’t think we have an appetite to move in front of that.”

GOP leaders move to reinstate ban on snap tariff repeal votes and block Democrats - House GOP leaders are trying to reinstate a prohibition on members calling snap votes to repeal President Trump’s tariffs through the end of July, setting up what will be a tricky House vote on Tuesday. The move comes as House Democrats were preparing to force one such vote this week on repealing Trump’s tariffs on Canada. GOP leaders, facing pushback from tariff-skeptical members, had let a prohibition on such votes expire at the end of January.The House Rules Committee, which is essentially controlled by the Speaker, on Monday approved language to reinstate the prohibition as part of a procedural rule resolution teeing up unrelated legislation for the week. The full House will vote on that rule on Tuesday — and it will be a tricky one for GOP leadership. Such rule votes are almost always party-line votes that serve as tests of the GOP’s control of the chamber but have caused GOP leaders regular headaches in the razor-thin majority. In fact, GOP resistance to the tariff recall vote prohibition was at the heart of a mini-rebellion in the House in September — in which Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.) Jay Obernolte (Calif.), Kevin Kiley (Calif.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) Thomas Massie (Ky.), and Victoria Spartz (Ind.) joined with all Democrats in initially voting against a rule that would have extended that prohibition. Republicans thought they would not have the votes to extend it again, leading GOP leaders to let the prohibition expire at the end of January. Arcane procedural mechanisms are at the heart of the technicalities. Trump declared national emergencies as a basis for implementing his broad-based global tariffs, as well as specific tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. The National Emergencies Act dictates Congress can use joint resolutions to repeal a national emergency, and outlines procedures to expedite that action after a certain number of calendar days.Multiple times last year, GOP leaders inserted language into procedural rule legislation to not count a “calendar day” for the purposes of the National Emergencies Act until a specific date, blocking members from forcing action to repeal the tariffs. Monday’s rule reinstates that prohibition until July 31, 2026.By that time, the Supreme Court will have ruled on a pending case challenging the legality of Trump using the national emergency authority for his tariffs — an outside factor that GOP leaders will likely point to in order to woo holdouts.Before the Monday Rules Committee meeting, Democrats were preparing to force a vote as soon as Wednesday on a resolution from Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, that would terminate Trump’s use of a national emergency to impose punitive measures on Canada.

6 Republicans join Democrats to rebuke tariffs on Canada in blow to Trump -Six House Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday to pass a resolution to repeal President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a blow to both President Trump and House GOP leadership. The Wednesday 219-211 vote also followed an intraparty revolt against leadership over the administration’s handling of trade policy a day earlier. Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) joined almost all Democrats in supporting the resolution sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The resolution would terminate Trump’s use of a national emergency to impose punitive measures on Canada. Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) was the only Democrat to vote “no.” “We have a trade agreement, and I think they’ve been a good ally, and I think they’ve been unfairly attacked by the administration, and so I’m going to oppose it – I’m going to oppose the tariffs,” Bacon told The Hill before the vote. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has argued on X that “taxing authority is vested in the House of Representatives, not the Executive.” Bacon, Massie and Kiley all voted with Democrats to block a procedural rule on Tuesday evening, due to language in it that would have barred a member’s ability to call snap votes to repeal Trump’s tariffs. The failed rule vote on Tuesday paved the way for a slew of snap repeal votes to be called up — starting with Wednesday’s. Meeks’ resolution now heads to the Senate, where it appears likely to pass. In October, four Republicans joined all Democrats in a vote to terminate Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a measure led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Those GOP lawmakers were Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Rand Paul (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). While it’s presumed Trump will veto Meeks’ measure, Democrats are likely to capitalize on the president having to confront major pushback on his strategy of using tariffs to impose American demands on other countries.

Donald Trump threatens 'consequences' for Republicans who voted against tariffs on Canada - President Trump threatened “consequences come Election time” for Republican lawmakers who oppose his administration’s tariffs on U.S. trading partners. “Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” the president wrote in a Truth Social post Wednesday evening, shortly after six House Republicans voted to repeal the president’s tariffson Canada. Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) joined Democrats in supporting the resolution sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Rep. Jared Goldman (Maine) was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure. The president has made tariffs a central economic policy during his second term, hiking up import taxes on goods from some of the U.S.’s closest trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and China. These decisions have strained international relations with these countries and faced broad opposition from Democratic lawmakers. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimated that these tariffs resulted in an average tax increase of $1,000 per U.S. household last year — a cost that could increase by several hundred dollars this year if these policies stay intact, the group said. Trump doubled down on his use of tariffs to negotiate new deals with U.S. trading partners in his Wednesday post. “In addition, TARIFFS have given us Great National Security because the mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes,” he wrote. “TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.” Democratic Governors Association communications director Sam Newton called out several House Republican gubernatorial candidates who voted in favor of Trump’s tariffs in a Wednesday statement. “As Americans continue to bear the brunt of high costs on everything from housing to groceries, every congressional Republican running for governor voted to defend Trump’s deeply unpopular, cost-raising tariffs on Canada,” Newton wrote. “Republican candidates got blown out of the water in New Jersey and Virginia in 2025 because Americans are tired of their disastrous economic agenda. “Today’s vote only worsens the pain American families and businesses are already feeling and helps ensure the headwinds facing Republicans are going to be even worse in governors’ races across the country in 2026,” Newton continued.

Trump threatens to block opening of Ontario-Michigan bridge -President Trump threatened to block the opening of a bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada on Monday, demanding that Canada engage in trade talks with the U.S. “I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, referring to the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge, which was started in 2018, is slated to open this year. “We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical,” he said. The president cited Ontario’s removal of U.S. alcoholic products in response to U.S. tariffs, Canadian tariffs on U.S. dairy products, and Canada’s recent trade deal with China. Trump’s Truth Social post on the bridge is the latest development in the war of words between the U.S. and Canada over trade. Tensions erupted last year when Trump hit Canada with 35 percent tariffs last July, then bumped it up 10 percent in October after Trump was angered by an anti-tariff advertisement played during the World Series. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly apologized for the ad.. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, an outspoken Trump critic, produced and paid for the ad.

Canadian envoy to US says country stunned by Trump trade fights - It has been a roller coaster ride for outgoing Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, who is leaving Washington this month after six years as Ottawa’s top envoy to the U.S. Hillman, who assumed her post in 2020, recalled “hard” and “volatile” trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico during President Trump’s first term, but she said “we didn’t have any fundamental questioning of the fact that predictable and open trade among the three countries was good for America and with Canada and from Mexico.” All parties seemed to agree that North American trade, Hillman said, “made American businesses more competitive and more prosperous and communities stronger.” That sense of stability, however is “not the case today,” she said during an interview on Jan. 20 at the Canadian Embassy, from her office overlooking the Capitol. “I think Canadians took for granted that a strong, predictable, open relationship with Canada based on a sort of mutual benefit would always be something that Americans not only believed in, but would kind of fight for, and I think that that is no longer the case. And I think Canadians have had a range of reactions to that, from sort of disbelief to anger to sadness,” Hillman said. After returning to the White House last year, Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods, later raising them to 35 percent and then 45 percent in October. In March, shortly before his election, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the old economic relationship between the U.S. and Canada was “over.” After a friendly Oval Office visit in May that was all smiles and compliments, relations between Trump and Carney have quickly soured. The Canadian leader delivered a provocative speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month, calling on “middle powers” to unite against global hegemony, prompting Trump to lash out with tariff threats. Trump, in response, revoked Canada’s invitation to join his Board of Peace, potentially leaving it out of efforts to broker an end to fighting in Gaza and beyond. He also threatened to punish Canada for trade deals with China that he initially encouraged, and Monday, he threatened to block the opening of a major bridge between Ontario and Michigan unless Carney meets a litany of trade demands, including easing high tariffs on milk and lifting limits on U.S. alcohol sales. Despite Trump’s antagonism, Hillman said she remained optimistic the U.S. and Canada would eventually return to a stable economic relationship. “Probably not without a certain amount of volatility or, you know, commentary, but I think we’ll get there and that the reason we’ll get there is because it’s what’s best for Americans, American workers, American companies, American communities, American jobs,” she said.

Trump says he raised Swiss tariffs after leader’s call: ‘I didn’t really like the way she talked’ --President Trump said Tuesday he raised tariffs on Switzerland after a phone call with the country’s former president, saying he did not approve of “the way she talked.”Trump told Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow that he once had an “emergency call from, I believe, the prime minister of Switzerland, and she was very aggressive. Nice, but very aggressive.” He recalled that she repeatedly said, “we are a small country.”“Again and again and again. I couldn’t get her off the phone,” the president continued. “So [the tariffs were] at 30 percent, and I didn’t really like the way she talked to us, and so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39 percent, and then I got inundated by people from Switzerland and I figured, ‘Do you know what? We’ll do something that’s a little bit more palatable.'” Trump was likely referring to former Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who left office Dec. 31 and was succeeded by current President Guy Parmelin. The Hill reached out to the White House for clarification.He previously referred to the same phone call during a speech last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Trump gave a similar description of the conversation, adding that she “just rubbed me the wrong way, I’ll be honest with you.”Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Trump’s comments were an admission that his tariff policies “are not about national security,” a claim he has frequently made. “In the case of Switzerland, he increased tariffs because… *checks notes*… he did not like the way the Swiss leader ‘talked to us,'” the committee’s Democrats wrote in a statement shared on the social platform X. “Republicans must join Democrats to end this reckless behavior.”The U.S. and Switzerland reached a trade agreement in November to reduce tariffs on Swiss imports from 39 percent to 15 percent. Switzerland and Liechtenstein would also remove tariffs on nuts, certain fruits, fish and seafood, chemicals and spirits, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said at the time.

U.S., Taiwan finalize deal to cut tariffs, boost purchases of U.S. goods --Trump administration officials signed a final reciprocal trade agreement that confirmed a 15% U.S. tariff rate for imports from Taiwan, while committing Taiwan to a schedule for eliminating or lowering tariffs on nearly all U.S. goods. The document released by the U.S. Trade Representative's office on Thursday also commits Taiwan to significantly boost purchases of U.S. goods from 2025 through 2029, including $44.4 billion of liquefied natural gas and crude oil, $15.2 billion of civil aircraft and engines, $25.2 billion of power grid equipment and generators, marine and steelmaking equipment. The agreement adds technical language and specific details to a trade framework deal first reached in January that cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods, including from its powerhouse semiconductor industries, to 15% from the 20% initially imposed by Trump. That puts Taiwan on an equal footing with its closest Asian export competitors, South Korea and Japan. The January agreement included a pledge by Taiwan that its companies would invest $250 billion to boost production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the U.S., including $100 billion already committed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp 2330.TW. The Taiwan government would guarantee another $250 billion in U.S. investments, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. The final language did not provide further details on those investments, but said Taiwan's representative office in the U.S. would collaborate with U.S. authorities to facilitate additional new greenfield and brownfield investments "in strategic high-technology manufacturing sectors, including AI, semiconductors, and advanced electronics." The deal will immediately eliminate Taiwan's tariffs of up to 26% on many U.S. agricultural imports, including beef, dairy and corn. But some tariffs, including the current 40% tariff on pork belly and 32% on ham, will only fall to 10%, according to the tariff schedule. The U.S. said under the deal, Taiwan will remove non-tariff barriers on motor vehicles and accept U.S. auto safety standards as well as those on medical devices and pharmaceuticals. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the agreement will boost export opportunities for U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishermen, workers, and manufacturers. "This agreement also builds on our longstanding economic and trade relationship with Taiwan and will significantly enhance the resilience of our supply chains, particularly in high-technology sectors," Greer added. For the first 11 months of 2025, the U.S. trade deficit with Taiwan ballooned to $126.9 billion from $73.7 billion for all of 2024, largely due to the large increase in imports of high-end AI chips from Taiwan, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Democratic Governors Threaten Boycott Of White House Gathering -Democratic governors are threatening to boycott an anticipated meeting at the White House amid news that the administration was not inviting at least some of their party’s governors. In a Feb. 10 letter, a group of 18 Democratic governors said: “If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year.” “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states,” read the letter, obtained by the Associated Press. The governors were set to meet at the White House on Feb. 20 as part of an annual gathering, which coincided with the National Governor Association’s Winter Meeting this year. The letter followed a statement from Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who chairs the association, that the White House intended to limit invitations to only Republican governors. The association said on Feb. 6 that it would no longer endorse the meeting, citing concerns about limited invitations. It’s unclear exactly how many Democratic governors were uninvited by the White House. “These are White House events and the President reserves the right to invite whomever he wants,” a White House official said in an email to The Epoch Times. “Many Democrats were invited to dinner at the White House, and others were not.” When asked about the association’s decision, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Feb. 10 press briefing that the president “can invite whomever he wants to dinner and events here at the White House.” “He welcomes all those who received an invitation to come and if they don’t want to, that’s their loss,” Leavitt said.

Nikki Haley: Trump, Republicans must address affordability issues before midterms -- Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said “something needs to be done” on the issue of affordability in America or Republicans will be imperiled in the upcoming midterm elections. “Fiscal conservatism has not been talked about at all during this administration,” Haley told Fox News’s Bret Baier on Tuesday evening. “And I think now is the time to focus on the value of a dollar, which is weakening, on how we get more money in Americans’ pockets, how we increase jobs, which are flattening and start to make American people feel like they can’t have hope.” A new U.S. jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday morning revealed a spike in 130,000 new jobs in January, far surpassing economists’ predictions after a slump in employment growth in 2025. President Trump has made several controversial economic moves during his second term in the White House, including hiking up tariffs on imported goods from some of the U.S.’s closest trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and China. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimated that these tariffs resulted in an average tax increase of $1,000 per U.S. household last year. The group said this cost is expected to increase by an average of $300 this year if the economic policies stay intact. Haley, who ran in the GOP primary against Trump in 2024 after serving under him as U.N. ambassador during his first term, stressed the importance of Republicans addressing economic issues before the midterms later this year.“If Americans don’t feel like there is some hope with their wallets and some hope in raising their families, we will lose,” Haley said. In a Fox News survey conducted at the end of January, only 24 percent of respondents reported feeling like they were in a better financial position than they were a year ago. A vast majority of respondents said that their financial position was either unchanged or had worsened. “There has not been enough focus on the affordability issue for Americans,” Haley said. “You still have too many kids living at home, you still have people who can’t deal with rent, you see people, they have less money in their wallets and you can’t look at the stock market and say the economy is doing well.”

'You are fired': White House pushes to quickly remove new US attorney -The top federal prosecutor in upstate New York was fired by the White House just hours after federal judges appointed him to the post. It’s the latest tug-of-war between the Trump administration and the judiciary over President Trump’s efforts to install loyalist U.S. attorneys across the country, skirting approval from both the Senate and the courts. Veteran prosecutor Donald Kinsella was sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York in a private ceremony Wednesday, according to an announcement from the district court. Later that evening, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on the social platform X that Kinsella was removed from the role. “Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does,” Blanche wrote. “See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella.” Kinsella was appointed to replace John Sarcone III, whose tenure a judge determined “was and is unlawful” because the Justice Department maneuvered to keep him in the role after federal judges declined to extend his term, in violation of statutory procedure. He had no prosecutorial experience before Trump tapped him for U.S. attorney. Federal courts across the country have rejected Trump’s efforts to keep his preferred prosecutors atop U.S. attorneys’ offices. Alina Habba, the former U.S. attorney for New Jersey and a onetime personal lawyer to Trump, saw her temporary tenure end in July, and federal judges in the state declined to extend the clock. Instead, they invoked a seldom-used power to appoint her next-in-command to the position. To keep Habba in the role, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the judges’ selected successor and gave Habba the title of acting U.S. attorney, alongside the powers that come with it. Habba later resigned after a federal appeals court upheld her disqualification, but she said she would return if a higher court reversed that decision. The administration has made similar moves in Nevada, California and New Mexico, where the prosecutors were turned from interim to acting U.S. attorneys when judges did not green-light their continued leadership without Senate approval.

Trump administration seeks to block independent review when federal workers are laid off--The Trump administration on Monday proposed stripping the power of an independent board to review challenges from fired federal workers while barring employees from taking the matter to court. The new proposed rule would impact federal workers fired through a Reduction in Force (RIF), the process used at 22 different agencies last year as the Trump administration conducted widespread layoffs. If finalized, any federal worker fired in a future RIF would not be able to plead their case before the quasi-judicial Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which last year found that some agencies had “engaged in a prohibited personnel practice” in firing the workers. Instead, any challenges would be reviewed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which last year alongside the Office of Management and Budget instructed agencies to begin RIFs. “Eliminating independent review of federal RIF actions would not only make it harder for employees to challenge their proposed terminations, but would essentially give the administration free rein to terminate huge swaths of the federal workforce without meaningful independent oversight,” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal worker union, said in a statement. “This is all part of a deliberate attempt to dismantle the nonpartisan civil service. On their own, and taken together, these actions unlawfully concentrate removal authority in OPM and directly undermine the statutory framework Congress established to ensure an independent, professional, and nonpartisan civil service.” Under the proposed rule, federal workers would not be guaranteed a hearing unless ordered by OPM. And while federal workers may currently appeal MSPB decisions in federal court, the new rule would foreclose that possibility. “OPM believes that there is little added value from the review that an Article III court could provide relative to OPM’s adjudicatory venue,” the proposal states. OPM defended the rule as a way to streamline both layoffs and the resulting challenges. “Congress gave OPM the authority to set how reduction-in-force appeals are handled, and this rule puts that responsibility to work. It replaces a slow, costly process with a single, streamlined review led by OPM experts. That means agencies can restructure without years of litigation, and employees get faster, fairer resolution if mistakes occur,” an OPM spokesperson said in a statement.

FCC probe launched into ABC's 'The View' after James Talarico interview: Reports -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a probe into ABC’s “The View” after the program held an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, according to multiple outlets.Reuters reported Saturday that, per a source, the FCC began an investigation on whether “The View” broke rules for equal time when it comes to interviewing political candidates.Fox News, which was the first to report on the probe, reported that the investigation was prompted by Talarico’s “The View” appearance, according to an FCC source.In January, the agency shook up its rules, which exempted some late-night and daytime talk shows from having to give equal airtime to opposing political candidates.“Importantly, the FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” the FCC said in a public notice last month. “Moreover, a program that is motivated by partisan purposes, for example, would not be entitled to an exemption under longstanding FCC precedent.”

GOP voting bill clears House as conservatives clamor for Senate action - House Republicans clamoring for stricter voting rules cleared a hurdle with passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act on Wednesday — but that’s only ramping up debate among conservatives on how to pressure the Senate to take up the election legislation. The bill, which would require individuals to present proof of citizenship to register to vote and voters to present identification when casting a ballot, passed the House in a 218-213 vote on Wednesday. Now, conservatives are debating tactics for how to get it through the Senate — and overcome the chamber’s rules that typically require support from Democrats to move legislation past the 60-vote cloture threshold. Ideas include organizing an intense public pressure campaign; pushing the Senate Republicans to band together and revive the “talking filibuster” in hopes of wearing down Democratic opposition; or attaching the bill to a must-pass piece of legislation and daring them to reject it. Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) is hoping to see President Trump — who has the largest bully pulpit of all — ramp up calls for senators to act. “The president has to bring every possible weapon he has to this fight to get the Senate to move, because the Senate will not move without incredible, crushing pressure,” Self said. Conservative organizer Scott Presler on Wednesday spoke to the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, encouraging them to keep up the heat on Senate Republicans — and arguing that passing more conservative priorities is essential for keeping the House. “If the leadership is only going to run on milquetoast tax cuts, you are going to lose this November,” Presler told the members. “I’m not here to cause controversy, to cause any sort of drama. But let’s be clear: You guys have done your job. The Senate is not doing its job. And who has the most to lose from them not passing legislation? Y’all.” Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger (R-Texas) concurred. “The American people did not give Republicans a mandate to make excuses. They gave us one to deliver wins, and the SAVE America Act is exactly that,” he said. “The Senate must get this to President Trump’s desk without further delay. The American people are watching and they are done waiting.”

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks out out against Trump election bill - Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Tuesday became the first Republican senator to speak out against a House GOP-drafted bill to require people to show documented proof of citizenship before registering to vote and to show ID to cast a ballot, a top priority of the Trump administration. Murkowski, a prominent centrist Republican, said the Constitution empowers states to manage federal elections for Senate and the House seats, and warned that imposing sweeping federal requirements on local election officials a few months before Election Day would threaten the integrity of the midterm elections. “When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed. Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that,” Murkowski wrote in a statement posted to social media. “Once again, I do not support these efforts,” she announced. She said the Constitution “clearly” provides states with the authority to regulate the time, place and manner of holding federal elections. She argued that “one-size-fits-all” mandates from Washington seldom work in her home state. “Election Day is fast approaching. Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies likely without the necessary resources,” she said. “Ensuring public trust in our elections is at the core of our democracy, but federal overreach is not how we achieve this,” Murkowski added.

Trump says he will issue executive order to get voter-ID requirements before midterms - President Donald Trump on Friday said he will issue an executive order "shortly" laying out the "legal reasons" for national voter-identification requirements.Trump, in posts late Friday to Truth Social, said he wants voter-ID laws implemented for the 2026 midterm elections, even though legislation mandating them appears poised to stall in Congress. "The Democrats refuse to vote for Voter I.D., or Citizenship. The reason is very simple — They want to continue to cheat in Elections," Trump posted to Truth Social. “This was not what our Founders desired. I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future. There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!" he continued.In a second post, published minutes after the first, Trump said, "If we can't get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order." Under pressure from Trump, his allies in the House and Senate and conservative online influencers, the issue of voter ID has dominated social media and reverberated through the halls of Congress in recent days. Trump's comments have also raised fears among Democrats and voting-rights groups that the president could try to intervene in this year's pivotal midterm elections, as Republicans try to hold on to slim majorities in both chambers.

Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years -Gallup will no longer track presidential approval ratings after more than eight decades doing so, the public opinion polling agency confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday.The company said starting this year it would stop publishing approval and favorability ratings of individual political figures, saying in a statement it “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership.”“Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives,” a spokesperson for the agency said. “That work will continue through the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll, and our portfolio of U.S. and global research.”The news was first reported by The Washington Post. The Gallup Presidential Approval Rating has for decades been the among the top barometers cited by media outlets measuring public opinion of the president’s performance.President Trump has seen his rating by the agency slip in recent months, peaking at 47 percent last February and dipping to less than 37 percent in its last poll taken in December. “This change is part of a broader, ongoing effort to align all of Gallup’s public work with its mission,” a spokesperson for Gallup said. “We look forward to continuing to offer independent research that adheres to the highest standards of social science.”When asked by The Hill if Gallup had received any feedback from the White House or anyone in the current administration before making the decision, the spokesperson said, “this is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities.” Trump’s Gallup approval rating as of last December was among the lowest the organization had found since it began taking the poll in the 1930s. Former President Truman earned an average approval rating of 45 percent during his time in office from April 1945 to January 1953; former President Biden earned an average approval rating of 42 percent from January 2021 to January 2025. Former President Kennedy experienced some of the highest average ratings Gallup has ever recorded, 71 percent from January 1961 to November 1963, and former President Eisenhower topped out at an average of 61 percent from January 1953 to January 1961. Over the years, Gallup’s polling business has grown to include surveys outside of partisan politics, asking about subjects such as employee workplace engagement, public views on the spread of AI and other global indicators of public trust and happiness with major institutions.

Legal challenges hinder Trump’s education agenda -The courts have proven to be a big roadblock in the Trump administration’s education plans. President Trump’s efforts against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on school grounds, his push to remove “gender ideology” from education and his moves against Harvard University have all suffered losses in court, with the administration often decrying the rulings of what it calls “activist judges.” To be sure, Trump has also scored major legal victories on education, particularly regarding his desire to downsize and eventually eliminate the Education Department. But opponents of his agenda are getting results after lawyering up. “What we are seeing is, since the early days of this administration, more teachers, more students, more schools are standing up and saying, ‘That is not what the law says, and that is not how we have decided in our community to educate our students.’ And I think that the more people we see doing that, the courage, I think, is contagious. It is spreading,” said Maddy Gitomer, senior counsel at Democracy Forward who has successfully won education cases against the administration. “We are seeing more and more people getting involved in these legal fights, and we are seeing a lot of wins,” she added. Trump has not shied away from going after judges who have ruled against him in areas such as his tariffs or the deportation of Venezuelan migrants, even receiving rare pushback last year from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for his attacks on the bench.Trump’s policies on topics including immigration and transgender rights have overlapped frequently with education, with scores of active cases in the court system. “The Trump Department of Education is carrying out a clear mandate from parents: get politics and DEI out of classrooms, cut federal administrative bloat, and ensure education dollars are spent directly on student achievement,” said department press secretary Savannah Newhouse. “Challengers who are rushing to the courts claim to act in students’ interests, but their efforts would only lock students into a broken status quo that has already failed them.”Most recently, educators in Minnesota have challenged the administration’s decision to allow federal immigration officers around school property after agents arrested a teacher in Minneapolis on school grounds. But setbacks have not slowed the administration down. The Education Department has opened numerous investigations and threatened funding of schools over transgender athletes on women’s sports team, while the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of the issue. “What the Trump administration is doing is not actually complying with the law. They’re interpreting Title IX based on President Trump’s executive order. But the thing is, he can’t just change law by the stroke of a pen, and so, their whole interpretation and the way they’re going about pressuring schools or threatening schools by withholding funds that they don’t comply with this interpretation and create exclusive policies is just unlawful,” said Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice and Title IX expert at the National Women’s Law Center. Last year, Harvard successfully won the restoration of millions of dollars in funding in court after the administration pulled the research money to pressure the university to cough up a fine and make some policy changes.

Democrats call on McMahon to explain civil rights complaints backlog - Seventy House Democrats sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding answers on the department’s backlog in civil rights cases. The Democrats, led by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), expressed concern at the number of Office of Civil Rights (OCR) employees laid off under the Trump administration when the president’s term started with over 22,000 complaints filed in 2024. “Secretary McMahon fired hundreds of lawyers and staff at the Office for Civil Rights, and now the Department of Education is facing a major backlog of civil rights complaints. I led 70 of my House colleagues to demand answers,” Bonamici posted on the social platform X on Monday. “OCR exists for a reason — its attorneys enforce federal civil rights laws so all students can have equal access to education that is free from harassment and discrimination. Linda McMahon must do more to protect students,” she added. The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for comment. The letter points to reports that hundreds of OCR workers were fired, then rehired on a temporary basis to handle the reported 25,000 cases and 7,000 open investigations at the office. “The Department’s decision to fire almost half of OCR’s employees for several months is deeply concerning and has already proven harmful to students, parents, and educators across the country. One of OCR’s open cases that has reportedly been stalled is an investigation into allegations that Black students were subject to racial slurs, monkey sounds, and audio recordings of cracking whips at their Texas middle school,” the letter reads. The letter notes the department has not resolved a racial harassment or discrimination investigation since Trump took office. The Democrats are demanding answers on how many complaints are active and what type of complaints, what standards are applied for determining discrimination and how many employees the department has to handle the caseload.

Updated PASTEUR Act reintroduced in Congress to boost antibiotic development A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is taking another shot at legislation that advocates hope could boost antibiotic development efforts. The Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act, reintroduced last week by five members of the US House of Representatives, aims to revitalize the antibiotic and antifungal development pipeline by changing how the federal pays for novel antimicrobials. The bill was first introduced in Congress in 2020 and re-submitted in subsequent years but has never received a floor vote. The legislation would create a payment model under which the federal government would sign a subscription-style contract with pharmaceutical companies that develop critically needed new antibiotics and antifungals. The companies would receive fixed annual payments from the government, ranging from $75 million to $300 million per year, based on how innovative their product is, how much it contributes to patient care, and how beneficial it is for public health.The bill’s sponsors say it will help tackle the market challenges that have hindered antibiotic development and will strengthen public health preparedness against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). More than 2.8 million drug-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, causing an estimated 35,000 deaths. And those numbers are expected to rise as AMR spreads.“The United States leads the world in medical innovation, and we must ensure our policies reflect that,” lead sponsor Buddy Carter (R-GA) said in a press release. “As a pharmacist, I’ve seen nothing short of miracles due to drug development in my lifetime, but we must continue to evolve to combat antimicrobial resistance.”The bill’s other sponsors include Scott Peters (D-CA), Nick Langworthy (R-NY), Mike Levin (D-CA), and Mike Carey (R-OH). The idea behind the subscription-style model is to delink pharmaceutical companies’ profits from the volume of antibiotics sold. Current contracts between the government and drug makers base payment on volume. But unlike many other medications, antibiotics are used only for a limited time. And to prevent the development of resistance, new antibiotics are used sparingly and reserved mainly for infections that are resistant to older drugs. Antibiotic development advocates say the broken market, along with a challenging regulatory environment, have contributed to a thinning pipeline of new antibiotics at a time when AMR is reducing the effectiveness of current antibiotics. Many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned antibiotic and antifungal development because antibiotics simply don’t provide enough of a return on investment to justify the costs. At the same time, several of the smaller biotechnology companies that now dominate the space have had to declare bankruptcy, even after having new products approved by the Food and Drug Administration.The hope is that the predictable payments provided through this model, a version of which has already been launched in the United Kingdom through its National Health Service, will boost private investment and encourage companies to keep developing innovative antibiotics.

FDA reverses course, refuses to review Moderna’s application for new mRNA flu vaccine -The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA’s) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is refusing to review Moderna’s application for approval of a new flu vaccine. The decision comes after the FDA previously indicated support for the company’s phase 3 trial of its mRNA flu vaccine. Moderna’s study included more than 40,000 adults age 50 and up and was intended to help the company get approval to use the vaccine in that age-group. In a press release, Moderna said the FDA determined that the company’s study was not “adequate and well-controlled” because the comparable vaccine used in the trial did not represent the “best-available standard of care” in the United States at the time of the study. Neither federal rules for how drug studies must be designed, nor the FDA’s own guidance for flu vaccines, refer to the use of "best-available standard of care” in selecting comparator vaccines. Previous correspondence from the FDA to Moderna expressed a preference for the company to use a higher-dose vaccine for older adults as a comparator but stated, “We agree it would be acceptable to use a licensed standard dose influenza vaccine as the comparator in your Phase 3 study.”The study followed a well-established framework for flu vaccine trials, according to virologist Angela Rasmussen, PhD, of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. “The trial design they used is essentially the trial design that every single flu vaccine has used,” she tells CIDRAP news. In an interview with The New York Times, Moderna’s president Stephen Hoge, MD, expressed surprise and confusion about the decision, noting the FDA’s earlier support for the company’s study plan. The company’s mRNA vaccine has been accepted for review in the European Union, Canada, and Australia. Moderna has requested a meeting with the FDA to understand the basis for their refusal."This decision by CBER, which did not identify any safety or efficacy concerns with our product, does not further our shared goal of enhancing America's leadership in developing innovative medicines," Stephane Bancel, MBA, Moderna CEO, said in the release. "It should not be controversial to conduct a comprehensive review of a flu vaccine submission that uses an FDA-approved vaccine as a comparator in a study that was discussed and agreed on with CBER prior to starting.”Vaccine companies generally work with clear, well-established expectations of the kinds of studies considered acceptable by the FDA, Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine, tells CIDRAP News. “There was a commitment,” he said, adding that to “string Moderna along and all of a sudden say, nope, we’re not going to even review it” risks undermining confidence in FDA processes. The decision, Hotez warned, could “have an immediate chilling effect on the vaccine industry.” Vaccine makers may start to reassess whether to invest in US-based vaccine development if regulatory expectations shift late in the process. The refusal has broader implications, too, specifically when it comes to US biosecurity. Hotez says the federal government appears to be stepping back from biothreat preparedness across multiple domains, including future pandemics. The federal government has “no plan for what they're going to do to stockpile vaccines” for future flu, coronavirus, or other catastrophic respiratory infections, he says. Reporting today from STAT suggests that the decision to refuse Moderna’s application was not unanimous. Sources told STAT that Vinay Prasad, MD, director of CBER, overruled career scientists who had been preparing to move forward with a formal review.

FDA Refuses To Review Moderna's Application For Experimental Flu Shot - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is refusing to review Moderna’s experimental flu shot, the company announced Tuesday. Already submitted and accepted for review in the European Union, Canada, and Australia, the experimental shot’s application being denied by the FDA is another sign of President Donald Trump’s administration’s impact on U.S. pharmaceutical companies. FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Director Vinayak Prasad signed the refusal to review letter, objecting to Moderna’s study design and its lack of an “adequate and well-controlled” study. Moderna’s CEO refuted to Prasad’s assessment. “It should not be controversial to conduct a comprehensive review of a flu vaccine submission that uses an FDA-approved vaccine as a comparator in a study that was discussed and agreed on with CBER prior to starting,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the news release. According to the pharmaceutical company, the FDA did not identify any specific safety or efficacy concerns with the experimental flu shot, called mRNA-1010. Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced its plan in August 2025 to begin winding down mRNA vaccine development, including the cancellation and de-scoping of contracts and solicitations. The decision came after a review of mRNA-related investments started during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,” Kennedy said in the news release.

Amicus brief filed against RFK Jr attacks ‘shared clinical decision-making’ -A group of public health organizations, lawyers, and scholars, has filed an amicus brief in the US District Court of Massachusetts supporting plaintiffs American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and others against defendant Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and warning that recent federal actions weakening routine childhood vaccination recommendations pose an urgent threat both for children and the public’s health.The AAP alleges in a lawsuit filed last year that recent changes to the routine childhood vaccine recommendation schedule in the United States violates the Administrative Procedure Act.“Defendants made these disruptive changes without considering the overwhelming science or following ACIP’s longstanding procedural safeguards,” the brief states, referring to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. “Defendants’ actions will depress vaccination rates and cause increased vaccine-preventable outbreaks, preventable hospitalizations, and unnecessary deaths. Medically underserved communities and the safety-net providers who serve them will disproportionately suffer the consequences.” The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Thoracic Society, the Network for Public Health Law, and 119 deans and professors are among those listed in the brief. In the brief, the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccine are emphasized, while the “shared clinical-decision making” (SCDM) model touted by HHS is described as a way to further sow distrust in safe vaccines.“Placing a vaccine on the routine schedule does not create a mandate, but the routine schedule ensures that immunizations will be part of the preventive standard of practice for children and the default approach. SCDM has the opposite effect,” the brief states.

CIDRAP Op-Ed: The HPV vaccine prevents cancer. The new ACIP wants to re-examine that. | CIDRAP -The vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, has reduced cervical cancer by nearly 90% in women vaccinated as adolescents. It has been studied in more than 70 randomized controlled trials. Over 135 million doses have been administered in the United States. And last month, a newly formed working group under the reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which helps guide vaccine decisions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced plans to conduct a multi-year "comprehensive review" of the vaccine's efficacy, effectiveness, and safety.The working group's charter, finalized in December 2025, does not limit itself to the one genuinely open question in HPV vaccine science, whether a single dose provides adequate long-term protection. It calls for a sweeping reexamination that includes adjuvant toxicity, potential contaminants, possible HPV type replacement, and a full reassessment of safety data. It lists neurology and toxicology among the disciplines to be represented on the working group. And it operates under an ACIP that was reconstituted in June 2025 after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 prior members and replaced them with appointees who include paid expert witnesses against the product now under review.Periodic review of vaccine recommendations is normal and necessary. What this charter describes is something else entirely. It is the construction of uncertainty around a vaccine whose benefits have been demonstrated more conclusively than almost any medical intervention in modern history.The real-world impact of HPV vaccination on cancer is no longer theoretical. Population-based studies from countries with established vaccination programs and centralized cancer registries have documented what clinical trials predicted: This vaccine prevents cancer at a population level.In Sweden, a cohort study spanning 1.7 million women found that those vaccinated before age 17 had an 88% lower risk of developing invasive cervical cancer compared with unvaccinated women. In England, girls vaccinated at ages 12 to 13 experienced an 87% reduction in cervical cancer incidence and a 97% reduction in the highest-grade precancerous cervical lesions. Denmark reported an 86% reduction in cervical cancer among women vaccinated before 17. Australia, the first country to implement a national HPV vaccination program, is on trajectory to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem, with a 93% drop in genital warts among young women within five years of the program's launch and documented herd protection extending to unvaccinated males. A new modeling study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, published the same week the working group was announced, found that, in Norway, where HPV vaccination coverage exceeds 90%, women vaccinated between ages 12 and 24 may need cervical cancer screening only once every 15 to 25 years. The vaccine works so well that the question in high-coverage countries is not whether it prevents cancer but how much screening can safely be reduced.

Lawmakers want answers on CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Africa -US lawmakers have sent a letter to federal health officials demanding answers on how and why a controversial vaccine trial in West Africa received federal funding. The letter from Democratic members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O’Neill asks for all documentation regarding the decision to award a five-year, $1.6 million grant to a team of Danish researchers conducting the study, which aims to assess the overall health impact of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. Half of the estimated 14,000 newborns enrolled in the randomized controlled trial will not receive the birth dose of the vaccine.CIDRAP News first reported on the study in December, shortly after it was announced in the Federal Register. The trial has been widely criticized as unethical, given the known efficacy of a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine and the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection in Guinea-Bissau. “Without the vaccine, as many as nine in ten infants could develop chronic infection that can lead to liver failure and death,” ranking committee members Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Diane DeGette (D-CO), and Yvette Clark (D-NY), wrote to O’Neill. “In that context, deliberately withholding a proven vaccine that has saved millions of lives globally for the sole purpose of examining theoretical, non-specific side effects may constitute a major breach of scientific ethics. And using taxpayer dollars in such a study rather than using those dollars to provide proven, life-saving vaccinations to babies is abhorrent.”Critics have also questioned the trial’s protocol, the track record of the researchers conducting the study, and why the CDC awarded the grant without the usual competitive process. The questions raised about the trial led the government of Guinea-Bissau to temporarily suspend it pending further review, although US officials maintain it’s going forward as planned.The letter asks O’Neill to clarify the status of the trial, produce all versions of the study proposal and protocol, describe the CDC’s communications and coordination with Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Health, and provide any documentation regarding the decision to award the grant without a competitive process.

House panel issues subpoenas to eight health insurers: Axios - House Judiciary Committee Republicans have subpoenaed eight Affordable Care Act health insurers for documents as part of a widening investigation of potential fraud surrounding the use of premium subsidies, Axios reported on Tuesday. Subpoenas were issued to Elevance , CVS , Centene , GuideWell, Oscar Health , Kaiser Permanente, Health Care Service Corp. and Blue Shield of California by Republican House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, the report said. CVS told Reuters it had received the letter and was cooperating, while Centene said it was providing information to the House Judiciary Committee to fight fraud and increase access. The other companies did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. The committee could not be immediately reached. Health insurers have faced criticism as millions of Americans face dramatic increases in their Obamacare insurance costs following the expiration of special Covid-era tax credits. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan issued subpoenas on Monday to compel health insurers to send lawmakers more information on their subsidized ACA enrollees and to discuss subsidy-related fraud, the committee told Axios. The insurers must send the information to the House Judiciary Committee by Feb. 23, according to subpoenas viewed by Axios. Jordan had asked the companies for documents and information in December after federal auditors showed they had obtained subsidized coverage for almost two dozen individuals who did not exist and identified other fraud risks in the system, the report said. The subpoenas request documents showing the number of enrollees at each organization receiving ACA subsidies and the amount of subsidy funding it received between 2020 and 2025, according to documents viewed by Axios. The follow‑up letters sent to the insurers on Monday, along with the subpoenas, indicated that while each company replied to the December inquiry, none of the responses met Jordan's expectations, Axios reported.

Proposed $600 million federal cut to public health funds could disrupt HIV prevention efforts in 4 states - The Trump administration is moving to rescind $600 million in federal health funding in four Democrat-led states—California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota—with potentially far-reaching consequences for infectious-disease prevention, including HIV and other sexually transmitted disease (STD), according to media reports. “Reports that the Administration intends to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] funding, including programs supporting HIV and STD prevention and HIV surveillance, are deeply troubling,” Anna K. Person, MD, chair of the HIV Medicine Association said in a press release emailed to reporters. Person notes that many grants under scrutiny expand access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, “one of the most effective tools we have to prevent HIV and a strategy the Administration itself has identified as central to ending the HIV epidemic.” Some of the funds, which Congress had already appropriated for use by state and local public health departments, are earmarked for programs that support the needs of specific communities, such as HIV prevention among Black women and Latino and African American men men who have sex with men. Last fall, the CDC revised its stated priorities, including a shift away from diseases that affect specific populations.

CDC funding cuts to 4 states in limbo after judge’s ruling -An effort by the Trump administration to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal public health grants to four states is temporarily on hold.The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified Congress of its plan to terminate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant funding to California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota on February 9. But the funding termination was temporarily halted by a federal judge yesterday in response to a lawsuit filed by the four states.The four states could lose an estimated $600 million in CDC funding, which has already been allocated by Congress for state and local health departments. Illinois health officials said yesterday that local public health departments, HIV funding and monitoring programs, and chronic disease surveys in Illinois alone would lose more than $100 million in funding if the cuts go through.“These cuts target programs that benefit the health of all Illinois residents,” Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Sameer Vohra, MD, JD, said in a IDPH news release. “These actions will severely harm IDPH programs that provide critical support to local health departments, decrease HIV rates, and promote injury and violence prevention, among other efforts.”In Minnesota, state health officials said the CDC has terminated roughly $38 million in funding from the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), which was awarded to the state in 2022 and was set to expire in 2027. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) said the termination of the funding will “directly and immediately” impact the work of multiple programs within the department and will reduce its ability to strengthen the state’s public health workforce, modernize data systems, and support emergency planning and response work.“There is simply no need or valid justification for these targeted cuts that put Minnesotans at risk,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Brooke Cunningham, MD, PhD, said in an MDH press release. “These cuts by the federal government, and other cuts to public health funding over the past year, highlight a total disregard for promoting health and wellbeing. The ongoing cuts create an environment of chaos and confusion for communities.” MDH said that 107 health departments across the country have received PHIG funding, but only Minnesota and the three other states are having those funds cancelled.“This is not normal. Assaults like this hurt our state and make it harder for us to do our work to protect, maintain and improve the health of Minnesotans,” Cunningham said. An HHS spokesperson said in an email that the CDC grants are being terminated because “they do not reflect agency priorities.” But MDH noted that the cuts will affect its ability to modernize public health infrastructure, which is among the priorities listed in a document published by the agency in September 2025.The cuts, which would have gone into effect yesterday, are temporarily on hold after a federal judge in Illinois placed a restraining order in response to a motion filed by attorneys general from the four states against the Office of Management and Budget. US District Judge Manish Shah, JD, said in his order that the states “have shown that they would suffer irreparable harm from the agency action,” according to the Associated Press.Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, JD, called the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate CDC funding to the four states “callous, arbitrary, and politically based,” suggesting the states were targeted because they’ve opposed the administration’s immigration policies“The president may be playing politics with critical public health funding, including more than $100 million to Illinois, but our residents are the ones who pay the price,” Raoul said in a press release.The restraining order will last 14 days.

EPA stalls on ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has promised to make good on “Make America Healthy Again” priorities, but sources inside and outside the agency say he isn’t any closer to embracing the movement’s anti-corporate stances. EPA over the past year under the Trump administration has shown little movement in adopting views touted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the leader of the movement — on restricting certain pesticides, lowering the fluoride in drinking water, decoupling agency science from industry influence and so on. But Zeldin shifted his messaging in December, after a handful of MAHA influencers organized a petition to remove him as administrator. He has held meetings with advocates over the past few months to develop a MAHA agenda for the agency. The meetings are “to ensure the plan reflects grassroots priorities,” EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said, adding that the agency “is in the final stages of completing” the agenda and “expects to release it in the coming months.” “MAHA advocates have asked for stronger protections from pesticides, PFAS, plastics, air pollution and contaminated drinking water, and that is exactly where we’re focused,” Hirsch said. But a senior EPA official with knowledge of discussions said they “can’t get a straight answer on” what the agency’s MAHA agenda entails, let alone when it will be released. Sources were granted anonymity to speak freely. “I feel the MAHA people are being played,” the senior official said. “I don’t see any internal indication that there’s a serious reconsideration of the activities and the priorities.” Other employees who work on pesticide and chemical issues echoed the sentiment. “MAHA should never feel optimistic when it comes to EPA. That’s not a secret,” said one EPA staffer who was also granted anonymity. “I think the main MAHA influence is over how EPA does their press releases.”

Trump to repeal endangerment finding Thursday - The Trump administration plans to announce the repeal of the Obama-era endangerment finding for greenhouse gases Thursday, the White House announced. President Donald Trump will be joined by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin “to formalize the rescission of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday during a press briefing. The repeal of that 2009 finding, which set the stage for federal greenhouse gas regulations, has been a top priority for the Trump team this term. Critics of the administration have decried the move as a politically motivated attack on a scientific finding, and legal fights are sure to follow. “This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,” Leavitt said Tuesday. “This is just one more way this administration is working to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.” It’s part of a White House focus on “energy and deregulation,” Leavitt said. On Wednesday afternoon, Trump plans to hold an event in the White House East Room “to tout clean, beautiful coal as America’s most reliable and affordable energy source, especially during periods of peak demand,” she said. “The president will discuss how clean, beautiful coal is not only keeping the lights on in our country, but also driving down the cost of electricity across the country,” Leavitt said.

China's emissions policies are helping climate change but also creating a new problem -China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power plants have been fitted with scrubbers, heavy industry has been modernized and pollution standards tightened, leading to an over 50% reduction in atmospheric particulate matter. Sulfur dioxide (a gas that contributes to acid rain and dangerous smog) has fallen by two-thirds. But a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests this progress is also revealing a less obvious climate challenge. While research highlights that these environmental policies are working exactly as intended by reducing sulfur dioxide to improve air quality, this does not only affect human health. In the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide forms sulfate aerosols, tiny particles that reflect incoming solar radiation back into space, leading to a cooling influence on the planet. The combined aerosol radiative forcing is thought to have offset approximately one-third of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. However, as emissions fall, fewer sulfate aerosols form, meaning less sunlight is reflected and more solar radiation reaches Earth's surface, contributing to global warming. Atmospheric aerosols in both the troposphere (up to 12 km into the atmosphere) and stratosphere (12–50 km up) play a major role in Earth's radiation balance. Sulfate particles, which dominate the stratosphere, are formed from sulfur-containing gases released by both human activities (such as fossil fuel burning) and natural sources (including volcanic eruptions). Because aerosols strongly influence how much solar energy the planet absorbs, accurately representing them in climate models is essential for predicting future climate change. Modeling suggests that declining sulfur dioxide emissions from China alone may have contributed roughly 0.06–0.07°C of global warming between 2007 and 2025, accounting for approximately 12% of the warming observed during that period. This is significant in the context of global temperature rise, where even tenths of a degree matter for extreme weather, sea-level rise and ecosystems. This also highlights the interconnected nature of environmental policies. In China, measures designed to improve air quality have been linked to shifts in precipitation and atmospheric chemistry, demonstrating how air pollution, weather and climate are tightly linked systems. Using an Earth system model combined with recent chemical observations obtained by research aircraft from the Asian summer monsoon region, the researchers estimate that Chinese emissions reductions between 2010 and 2020 lowered sulfate aerosol concentrations by more than 20% over the North Pacific and by more than 7% near the tropics. These declines increased global net radiative forcing by around 0.10–0.15 watts per square meter, with regional impacts up to six times stronger.Although aerosol decreases are largest in the upper troposphere, the longer lifetime of particles in the stratosphere allows their climatic influence to spread over wider regions and longer timescales. The study finds that most of this radiative impact is driven by shortwave effects, including both direct reflection of sunlight and indirect influences through clouds (when solar radiation is scattered by enclosed water droplets, ice crystals and aerosols). The research also points to similar atmospheric connections across Asia, though not always in the same direction. While China's sulfur emissions have fallen sharply, emissions have increased in India over a similar period, meaning the regional aerosol balance is shifting in complex and sometimes offsetting ways. As both countries strongly influence the composition of the Asian upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, changes in one region can affect atmospheric chemistry, radiation and climate far beyond national borders.

Elon Musk offers to pay legal fees for any Epstein victim sued for speaking 'the truth' - Elon Musk on Sunday offered to pay the legal fees of any Epstein survivor sued for speaking the “truth” in regards to naming who was responsible for their abuse. “I will pay for the defense of anyone who speaks the truth about this and is sued for doing so,” Musk wrote in a post on the social platform X, which he owns. His statement followed a Super Bowl ad aired by Epstein survivors that alleged more than 3 million documents tied to the disgraced financier’s estate have not been released. The group of women behind the ad called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to make the additional files public for consumption and review. After the ad aired, conservative commentator Matt Walsh asked why the Epstein survivors didn’t openly name their abusers. “They profess to know the names of child rapists in the most powerful positions in society yet they won’t tell us. They’ll even take out a Super Bowl ad while claiming to be silenced, even though they’re the ones refusing to give us the information they say they have,” Walsh wrote in a post on X, questioning why the Epstein files became a major topic at the conclusion of the Biden administration. “For those claiming that they can’t name names because they’ll be sued: they could simply give the names to any of their many (and mostly very recent ) advocates in Congress, who could read the names out loud from the floor, insulating themselves and these women from any litigation. But they refuse to do that. Why?” he wrote in a follow up post. Musk responded to Walsh’s last post with the offer to cover legal fees. Department of Justice officials have said that they released all files tied to Epstein which totals more than 3 million documents. Musk’s name was mentioned in emails in which the tech giant appeared to be planning trips to Epstein’s island. However, Musk said he ultimately never partied with the disgraced financier. “I have never been to any Epstein parties ever and have many times call for the prosecution of those who have committed crimes with Epstein,” the SpaceX CEO wrote in a post on X last month. “The acid test for justice is not the release of the files, but rather the prosecution of those who committed heinous crimes with Epstein,” he added.

The Tech Elites in the Epstein Files -THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice has released what appears to be its last tranche of files related to convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. In all, the DOJ has released around 3.5 million pages in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act of November 19, 2025. The files paint a portrait of Epstein’s connections—including a number of familiar names in the Silicon Valley billionaire set.Some of the tech names in the files have long been associated with Epstein; Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has been the subject of Epstein rumors and reporting for years. Other Epstein correspondents, like Elon Musk, had less of an established connection before Friday’s release. To be clear, a name appearing in the Epstein files does not mean that person has committed any kind of crime; a reference often means only that Epstein or an associate was talking about that person rather than directly to them, or shared a news article or press release with their name in it. Some material also appears to be unvetted tips that members of the public provided to investigators. Even so, the files reveal just how intertwined Epstein’s network was with the tech industry—even years after his 2008 guilty plea for solicitation of prostitution and of procurement of minors to engage in prostitution. Below are the names in tech that show up most frequently in the Epstein files, listed by the number of files in which their full names appear. This doesn’t include every Big Tech name in release; former Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky appears in 1,427 files, and appears to have turned to Epstein for negotiating advice on his way out the door. Other prominent executives are also named in the files, but with far less frequency and seemingly no direct contact with Epstein himself. Note also that this doesn’t capture multiple mentions within a single file, the use of nicknames—Gates is seemingly often referred to as “bg” in Epstein texts and emails—or first- or last-name mentions only. The files also appear to contain several duplicates, meaning the number of discrete mentions is in many cases much smaller than the number listed. A final caveat is that the number of mentions is something of a moving target, as the DOJ appears to have pulled some files down after having released them.With that said, here are the biggest names in tech that appear in the highest number of Epstein files—and what those documents say about how interwoven those relationships were.

• Reid Hoffman (2,658 Files) Hoffman’s Epstein ties have been previously reported, particularly in connection to Hoffman’s fundraising efforts on behalf of the MIT Media Lab. While he has acknowledged that he did visit Epstein’s island—which the DOJ files appear to corroborate—Hoffman has maintained that it was strictly to support that philanthropic campaign.Hoffman expressed remorse for engaging with Epstein in a 2019 Axios post. “I helped to repair his reputation and perpetuate injustice. For this, I am deeply regretful,” Hoffman wrote. In an appearance on the Newcomer podcast on December 1 of last year, Hoffman said “I was there for a night,” of his island visit. “Note to self: Google before going.” The latest batch of references to Hoffman in the Epstein files appear to comprise primarily scheduling emails for meetings and calls, often including former MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito. Hoffman appears to have discussed plans to visit not just Epstein’s island but also his New Mexico ranch and New York City townhouse.On X, Hoffman shared a file that appears to be an intraoffice FBI email with the subject line “Names in JE file.” Gates, former president Bill Clinton, and economist Larry Summers are all listed under “positive case hits.” Donald Trump and Prince Andrew are among a set of highlighted names to indicate “salacious information” associated with the case. Hoffman appears on a much shorter list of names listed as “no hit.”
• Bill Gates (2,592 Files) The relationship between Gates and Epstein first came to light well before the release of the Epstein files. A 2019 New York Times story and a 2023 Wall Street Journal reportdetailed several meetings between the two, and previous releases have shed light on the relationship. (As WIRED has reported, a previous release shows Epstein was in close contact with a Gates adviser in 2017.) The new files released by the Justice Department appear to offer more detail, though; Epstein assistant Lesley Groff appears to have received a calendar alert from March 1, 2013 about a “1:00pm LUNCH w/Bill Gates and Woody Allen.” Epstein emailed Groff about a “12:30 Skype w/Bill Gates!” on January 28, 2014, and similar references to meetings and calls between the two show up throughout the release. Photos of Gates have also appeared in the archive of Epstein files. Gates has acknowledged and expressed remorse over his contact with Epstein previously. “I wish I hadn’t met with him,” Gates told Axios in 2019. “I shouldn’t have had dinners with him,” Gates said in a 2023 interview with Sarah Ferguson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s 7.30 news program. The most recent tranche of files released by the DOJ contains the most extreme allegations yet about Gates, although they come in the form of emails that Epstein either left as drafts or sent only to himself. In an email Epstein sent to himself July 18, 2013, he wrote that he had helped Gates “to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilictating [sic] his illicit trysts, with married women.” That same day, Epstein sent himself another email claiming that Gates had asked him to “provide [Gates] antibiotics that [he] can surreptitiously give to Melinda” related to an “std” that Gates had allegedly emailed Epstein about previously. It’s unclear whether Epstein ever sent these emails to Gates, and there’s no indication that any of the allegations are based in reality.“These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false,” a spokesperson for Gates said in an emailed statement to WIRED. “The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
• Peter Thiel (2,281 Files) The New York Times reported in 2023 that venture capitalist and Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel apparently met with Epstein several times, according to scheduling records they had viewed. Similar notices appear throughout the DOJ’s recently released files, with references to “LUNCH w/ Peter Thiel” on multiple dates between 2014 and 2017. In at least one direct correspondence between the two, Thiel appears to initiate the invitation. “What are you up to on Friday?” Thiel wrote to Epstein on April 5, 2016. “Should we try for lunch?” They subsequently agreed to meet at Thiel’s office at noon. The following month, shortly after the revelation that Thiel had secretly funded a lawsuit against Gawker, Epstein emailed Thiel, “I would have gladly share your expenses for the gawker suit.” The email exchanges go up to at least 2019, with Thiel asking Epstein where he’ll be in February.The relationship appeared to be a two-way street; in an August 2016 response to an email about Tom Barrack, an adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign at the time, Thiel asked Epstein: “Any thoughts on the race?” Epstein replied, “lots, and you should be closer . So that your advice is considered.” Thiel tells Epstein to give him a call; Epsteinresponds “signal app,” likely referring to the encrypted messaging platform.Thiel was one of the few vocal Trump supporters in Silicon Valley in 2016; he spoke in support of his campaign at that year’s Republican National Convention and donated to Trump’s campaign that October. Before JD Vance became vice president in Trump’s second term, he was a Thiel protégé in Silicon Valley, and his campaign received a $15 million donation from the venture capitalist during his 2022 Ohio senate run.The bulk of the Thiel and Epstein emails, though, appear to center around scheduling meetings, calls, and meals. In one email referencing a 9:30 am meeting between Thiel and Epstein on February 4, 2016, Thiel’s former chief of staff and senior executive assistant Alisa Bekins shared a list of dietary restrictions “in the event they eat breakfast.” An unredacted version lists dairy, fruit, gluten, and grains among the foods to avoid. Approved proteins include “kaki oysters,” catfish, sashimi, scallops, eggs, sea urchin, squid, and “sweet shrimp.” Thiel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED.
• Elon Musk (1,116 Files) Musk has long maintained that he never visited Epstein’s notorious island compound, and he once used the Epstein files as a cudgel against President Donald Trump during a brief falling out last summer. “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk wrote in a since-deleted post from June 5, 2025. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” (Trump’s name and image have appeared in the files DOJ released, though the most potentially incriminating claims mentioning him appear to be uncorroborated tips sent to investigators.)But Musk himself now shows up in the DOJ’s Epstein files well over 1,000 times, including direct correspondence between the two. In 2012 Epstein emailed Musk to ask, “Is there any one at Solar City that my guys can talk to about electriying the caribean island? or the new mexico ranch.” (SolarCity was a solar installation company founded by two of Musk’s cousins, with Musk as chairman and largest shareholder; Tesla acquired it in 2016.) Musk appeared willing to help, forwarding the email to his cousin Peter.And while the files don’t seem to confirm any trips to Epstein’s island, they do suggest that Musk was interested in going there. “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Musk wrote to Epstein on November 25, 2012. And then again on December 13, 2013, he emailed: “Will be in the BVI/St Bart's area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit?” There’s no indication that Musk actually made the trip, although the files do suggest that Musk and Epstein had spoken with each other as early as September 2012.“I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his ‘Lolita Express,’ but was well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name,” Musk said in a post on X on Saturday. “I don’t care about that, but what I do care about is that we at least attempt to prosecute those who committed serious crimes with Epstein, especially regarding heinous exploitation of underage girls.” Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED.
• Larry Page (314 Files), Sergey Brin (294 Files) The Google cofounders appear in the Epstein files roughly the same number of times, and both have been linked to Epstein previously. Page and Brin were both issued subpoenas in 2023 related to a civil lawsuit by the US Virgin Islands against JP Morgan Chase tied to Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes. In court documents related to Virginia Giuffre’s defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, which were unsealed in 2024, Epstein victim Sarah Ransome alleged that she had met Brin and his fiancée, Anne Wojcicki, prior to their 2007 wedding, “when they visited the island for the day.”The recently released DOJ files provide a much fuller picture of their relationships with Epstein, particularly for Brin. An email exchange in April 2003 with Ghislaine Maxwell suggests that Brin had dinner at Epstein’s New York townhouse that month. (“Dinners at Jeffrey’s are always happily casual and relaxed,” Maxwell wrote.) In it, Brin offered to invite “our CEO Eric,” referring to Google’s then CEO Eric Schmidt, though he says that Schmidt’s “schedule will probably be a bit more packed,” and there is no indication Schmidt attended. Page also appears to have dined with Epstein. “David Gergen is asking who was at the lunch or dinner years ago when he came=to your house and the Google guys were there (Larry Page and Sergey Brin),” Groff wrote to Epstein in 2015. There are references in the files, too, to purported business dealings between Page and Epstein. “Larry Page's chief pilot, Tony contacted Nicolas today and is interested ‘again’ using your Bell 407 for the St. Barts operation,” says an email to Epstein from a redacted address sent on December 23, 2010, followed by a breakdown of the potential associated fees. The Bell 407 is a type of helicopter; emails show that an entity called “Air Ghislaine Inc” purchased one on October 30, 2002. The “St. Barts operation” appears to be a visit; Epstein was notified in an email later that same day that “Larry Page has changed his mind and will use boat to st barts.” On another occasion, Epstein emailed a link to a news story about Google testing “internet-broadcasting drones” in New Mexico to a redacted address. “You can tell larry page that they can use my runway =s most of this land is my ranch,” he wrote. There’s no indication that this happened.
• Mark Zuckerberg (282 Files), Jeff Bezos (196 Files), Eric Schmidt (193 Files) While Epstein appeared to email primarily about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg rather than with him, the files do indicate at least one occasion when the two met. They were both on an invite list emailed by Reid Hoffman’s assistant for a dinner on August 2, 2015, with neuroscientist Ed Boyden. Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Joi Ito were among the other invitees. Hoffman followed up a few days later with an email to Zuckerberg and Epstein with the subject line “intros.” “Jeffrey, Zuck,” the message reads, “email connections from the Ed Boyden dinner -- so that convo can continue.”There’s no indication that Zuckerberg ever responded. And otherwise, Epstein appears to have spent far more time emailing about Zuckerberg—his marriage to Priscilla Chan, whether he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize—than with him.Amazon founder Jeff Bezos appears to fall under the same category. Epstein claims in anemail he was at an “after party for a film” at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in October 2009, and that Bezos and Clinton were also there. (Based on the timing and the director Epstein names, the film in question is likely Amelia, an Amelia Earhart biopic.) Epstein gives no indication that he interacted with Bezos, either there or in other files in which he’s mentioned.The files likewise don’t contain much if any direct interaction between Epstein and Eric Schmidt, who declined an invite to a dinner at Epstein’s house in 2013. That same year, Epstein wrote that he had not seen Schmidt for “quite a while.” Press contacts for Meta and Blue Origin did not immediately respond to a request from WIRED. A spokesperson for Eric Schmidt declined to comment.

‘Uncanny Valley’: Tech Elites in the Epstein Files, Musk’s Mega Merger, and a Crypto Scam Compound | WIRED -- (podcast and transcript) THIS WEEK,Uncanny Valley hosts Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger dive into the key tech industry figures who show up in the final batch of the Epstein files. Then, they discuss SpaceX and xAI’s blockbuster merger, and what it says about the future of Elon Musk’s companies. Plus, we share the story of how a whistleblower revealed—and fled—the inner operations of a crypto scam compound in Laos. Articles mentioned in this episode:

• The Tech Elites in the Epstein Files
• Elon Musk Is Rolling xAI Into SpaceX—Creating the World’s Most Valuable Private Company
• Inside the ICE Forum Where Agents Complain About Their Jobs
• He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive

Massie, Khanna spotted six individuals 'likely incriminated' in unredacted Epstein files Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said they spotted at least six names of individuals “likely incriminated” by their inclusion in the Epstein files after the two reviewed an unredacted tranche of the documents. Members of Congress were permitted for the first time Monday to review the unredacted versions of all Justice Department files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Massie and Khanna were the two lead sponsors of the bill that forced the public release of the files. “There are six men. We went in there for two hours. There’s millions of files, right? And in a couple of hours, we found six men whose names have been redacted, who are implicated in the way that the files are presented,” Massie told reporters outside the DOJ office where lawmakers can review the files. The two lawmakers did not name the men but said one is a high-ranking official in a foreign government while another is a prominent individual. “None of this is designed to be a witch hunt. Just because someone may be in the files doesn’t mean that they’re guilty. But there are very powerful people who raped these underage girls – it wasn’t just Epstein and [his close associated Ghisline] Maxwell – or showed up to the island or showed up to the ranch or showed up to the home knowing underage girls were being paraded around,” Khanna said. Massie said he would not be releasing the names himself. “I think we need to give the DOJ a chance to go back through and correct their mistakes,” he said. “They need to themselves check their own homework.” The law that mandated the release of the files allowed for narrow redactions, but lawmakers and victims of Epstein have raised questions about both the breadth of what was blacked out and that some names of victims were not. Massie described an FBI form that listed conspirators in which the Justice Department redacted the name and photo of one of the men who was listed. The lawmakers also shed light on one email in the latest tranche that garnered significant attention, in which one redacted individual thanked Epstein for a “fun night” and added that, “Your littlest girl was a little naughty.” Massie said that email was sent by a woman. “That was a woman that wrote that, and and so it may be proper to redact it. It may not be, I don’t know. It seems like part of their algorithm for redaction was just to redact every woman in there, pretty much,” he said. “We can’t parse if the person who sent that was a victim or not.” The duo also said in reading through the unredacted files they learned that some items came to DOJ completely redacted. While the Justice Department was given parameters about what content they could redact, the review team was supposed to have unfettered access to all files. “The documents produced to justice from the FBI, from the grand jury, was redacted when they got it…I don’t think that’s nefarious on the career attorneys that were reviewing it, but they obviously haven’t gotten the production because our law says that the FBI and the original grand jury [material] needs to be unredacted,” Khanna said.

Fiery exchanges dominate Pam Bondi appearance before House Judiciary Committee Attorney General Pam Bondi went toe-to-toe with lawmakers in a heated hearing on Wednesday as the country’s top lawyer appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time since taking office. Bondi fielded questions on issues ranging from pending investigations into adversaries of President Trump to immigration, but the most tense exchanges came amid questions about the Epstein files. The attorney general was seated with a large binder that she referenced repeatedly as she lobbed insults at lawmakers, citing specific crimes in their districts or boasting about the performance of the stock market. The repetition began to prompt groans from Democrats, and Bondi so frequently referenced the guide that at one point Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) quipped he would “like to see you flip to the Jared Moskowitz section of the binder. I’m interested to see what staff provided on the oppo on me.” Here are four takeaways from a combative hearing. Finger-pointing over the Epstein files takes center stageAt least 11 victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were in the audience for the hearing — wearing shirts taking aim at the extensive redactions in the publicly released files — and they were repeatedly referenced by lawmakers. At one point, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) asked the victims to raise their hands if they had not yet met with Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ). Each of them did. The moment stood in contrast to a pledge by Bondi earlier in the hearing to bring the full weight of the department behind any additional cases of abuse, telling the public, “The FBI is waiting to hear from you. I want you to know that any accusations of criminal wrongdoing will be taken seriously and investigated.” Numerous lawmakers posed questions about redactions in the files, as well as failures to conceal the names of victims. Jayapal showed one email exchange with Epstein where the DOJ concealed the identity of his associate juxtaposed with another file that publicly listed the names of the victims — a display lawmakers blurred for the hearing In another instance, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said the DOJ only unredacted an email of someone he’s described as “likely incriminated” in the files because “of me catching you red-handed.” Bondi said she would work to fix any improper redactions in the files. “If any man’s name was redacted that should not have been, we will, of course, unredact it. If a victim’s name was unredacted, please bring it to us, and we will redact it. We were given 30 days to review and redact and unredact millions of pages of documents. Our error rate is very low,” she said. Bondi repeatedly pushed back on lawmakers by asking why they didn’t demand answers about the Epstein investigation under prior administrations, invoking her predecessor Merrick Garland.“I’m glad you’re asking about Merrick Garland,” Massie said. “This is bigger than Watergate. This goes over four administrations. You don’t have to go back to Biden. Let’s go back to Obama. Let’s go back to George [W.] Bush. This cover-up spans decades, and you are responsible for this portion of it.” In one particularly notable exchange, Bondi rebuffed a request from Jayapal to turn around and address the 11 victims who said they had not met with the department and “apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through.”The request ignited a shouting match between the two women, as Bondi pushed back and replied that she wasn’t going “to get in the gutter with these theatrics” while Jayapal argued Bondi was ignoring victims.

Shouting match erupts after Pam Bondi asked to apologize to Epstein victims --Attorney General Pam Bondi rebuffed a request from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) to turn around and address victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who were in the audience of a House Judiciary Committee hearing, resulting in a shouting match during which the attorney general accused the lawmaker of “theatrics.”Jayapal used her questioning to criticize the Justice Department for shielding the identities of some Epstein associates while repeatedly releasing the names or other identifying information of victims who were required to be shielded under the law requiring the files’ release.Jayapal had asked the 11 victims of Epstein in the audience to stand if they wished and raise their hand if they had not yet been able to meet with the Trump Justice Department. All 11 did.But when Jayapal asked Bondi to “turn to them now and apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through,” the attorney general fired back.Bondi began to reference her predecessor, Merrick Garland, before being cut off by Jayapal.“This is not about anybody that came before you. It is about you taking responsibility for your Department of Justice and the harm that it has done to the survivors who are standing right behind you and are waiting for you to turn to them and apologize,” Jayapal said.Bondi then replied that she wasn’t going “to get in the gutter with these theatrics.”At the end of the exchange, Bondi muttered, “unprofessional.”The tension continued shortly after that exchange, when Bondi also had a shouting match with Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).“How many of Epstein’s co-conspirators have you indicted? How many perpetrators are you even investigating?” Nadler asked after noting a list of Trump foes the Justice Department has charged or is investigating.“I’m going to answer the question the way I want to answer the question. Chairman [Jim] Jordan, I’m not going to get in the gutter with these people,” Bondi said.

Massie: Bondi defense in hearing was ‘incompetence’ - Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday slammed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s defense of how the Department of Justice (DOJ) has handled the release of files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrery Epstein.“The recourse, and I keep reminding the folks at DOJ this, is that the next attorney general can bring charges against them for breaking the law,” Massie told reporters, after the attorney general’s combative testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee. “I think that’s what’s compelled them to produce 3 million documents. And now they’re claiming that it’s incompetence,” he added. “But [Bondi’s] defense today is incompetence for why they haven’t given us all the documents they should, why they have over-redacted in the case of co-conspirators and why they failed to redact the names of the victims.” During the hearing, Bondi got into shouting matches with multiple Democratic lawmakers, who criticized the DOJ’s slow release of the Epstein files, particularly the redactions of numerous individuals and failures to conceal the names of victims. At least 11 victims of Epstein were in the audience — with some wearing shirts referencing the redactions. When Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) asked the victims to raise their hands if they had not yet met with the DOJ, they each lifted a hand. Massie, a lead sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Trump late last year, criticized the DOJ for the redactions earlier this week. The department responded by unredacting some names from the documents.He brought that up during Wednesday’s hearing, saying the department only unredacted names from the files because “of me catching you red-handed.” Bondi went on to say the Kentucky Republican, who frequently voted in line with President Trump last year, has “Trump derangement syndrome” and is a “failed politician.” Later in their exchange, she asked Massie why lawmakers did not focus on the Epstein probe under her predecessor, former Attorney General Merrick Garland. “I’m glad you’re asking about Merrick Garland,” Massie replied. “Because this is bigger than Watergate.” “This goes over four administrations. You don’t have to go back to [former President] Biden. Let’s go back to [former President] Obama. Let’s go back to [former President] George [W.] Bush,” he continued. “This cover up spans decades, and you are responsible for this portion of it.”

Epstein files: DOJ says it logs Congress members' searches to 'protect' victim information --The Department of Justice said Thursday that it "logs all searches" by members of Congress on its data systems holding evidence about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to guard against the public release of information about his victims.The DOJ's statement came a day after a document contained in a binder used by Attorney General Pam Bondi at a House Judiciary Committee hearing indicated the DOJ had logged information about searches of the so-called Epstein files by Rep. Pramila Jayapal.Jayapal, D-Wash., called the monitoring of her searches in the Epstein files "totally inappropriate," and "outrageous."Several other members of Congress in recent days visited the DOJ to examine the Epstein files, including documents that were not among the more than 3 million files related to the predator that have been publicly released.

Epstein files: Trump bashed ex-pal, Maxwell to police - President Donald Trump, in a call two decades ago to a Florida police chief, bashed his former friend Jeffrey Epstein and called Epstein's procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, "evil," the now-retired cop recounted to FBI agents in 2019, according to a document released by the Department of Justice. Trump called the then-Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter "to tell him 'thank goodness you' [are] stopping [Epstein], everyone has known he's been doing this," Reiter told the FBI in October 2019, according to the FBI document, known as a 302. Reiter's name is redacted from the 302. But the document identifies the interview subject as the person who had been Palm Beach's police chief at the time of the department's investigation of Epstein, who was Reiter. Reiter told the Miami Herald, which first reported the document, that Trump called him in 2006, after the police department's probe of Epstein became publicly known. The document came to light hours after Maxwell's lawyer called on Trump to grant her executive clemency, so that she could speak "honestly" about what she knows. Maxwell, earlier Monday, refused to testify to a House committee. Trump told Reiter that he had thrown Epstein out of his club, Mar-a-Lago, which is located in Palm Beach, the summary said. "Trump told him [Reiter] people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting," according to the FBI's 302 summary of its interview with Reiter. "Trump said Maxwell was Epstein's operative, 'she is evil and to focus on her,' " the FBI said in the 302.

Why the Epstein furor could bring down Starmer's UK government - The release of further Epstein files last week triggered a series of events that left U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer fighting for his political life, despite the fact that he never knew the late financier and sex offender. Starmer is under pressure over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador, despite knowledge of Mandelson's connections to Epstein. The latest document release by the U.S. Department of Justice revealed more messages between Mandelson and Epstein, including after Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida to a state charge of felony solicitation of prostitution, a case that involved an underage girl. Starmer, who is facing calls to step down, has apologized to the victims of Epstein for believing Mandelson's "lies." Starmer's Cabinet ministers have sought to rally around him, who has faced growing anger from opposition parties and members of his own party over the decision to appoint Mandelson. Two resignations in quick succession had ratcheted up the pressure, with Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and communications director, Tim Allan, both stepping down. The furor led Anas Sarwar, who leads Starmer's Labour Party in Scotland, to call on Starmer to resign. "The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change," Sarwar said at a press conference on Monday. Starmer held a pivotal meeting with Labour members of parliament afterwards, in which he reportedly said he was "not prepared to walk away." Mandelson has been a key figure for the center-left Labour Party for decades, playing a pivotal role in the so-called "New Labour" movement that saw Tony Blair become prime minister after a landslide election victory in 1997. Known as a behind-the-scenes fixer and nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness," Mandelson was a Labour member of parliament from 1992 to 2004 and served in Blair's cabinet. He left parliament to become a European Commissioner before returning to Britain in 2008 to work with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, having been appointed to parliament's unelected House of Lords. After becoming prime minister in July 2024, Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador in Washington that December, a role he described at the time as "a great honor." The appointment was controversial as Mandelson had twice previously resigned — in 1998 and 2001 — over scandals: one about not declaring a loan and another about allegedly influencing a passport application. Starmer fired Mandelson from the ambassadorship in September, after Downing Street said new information had come to light about the extent of his association with Epstein. The subsequent release of millions of files from the U.S. Department of Justice last week showed further links between Mandelson and Epstein. They prompted accusations that Mandelson had sent market-sensitive government information to Epstein following the 2008 global financial crisis. One exchange appeared to show Mandelson giving Epstein advance notice of an impending 500 billion euro bailout for banks in 2010.

Trump Commerce Sec. Lutnick admits visiting Epstein island during family vacation - Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday admitted he and his family had lunch on the private island of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein years earlier. "I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation" in 2012, Lutnick said in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee. "My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies," he said. "I had another couple with — they were there as well, with their children." "And we had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour," he said. "And we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife, all together. We were on family vacation," he said. The secretary's admission came as he faces bipartisan calls to resign following the release of records showing that his business and personal relationship with Epstein was more extensive than previously known. Lutnick previously said that he cut off contact with Epstein after 2005 — years before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a state-level charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution, which required him to register as a sex offender. But analyses of the latest batch of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice show Lutnick and Epstein were in communication years later. In December 2012, Epstein invited Lutnick to lunch at his private island in the Caribbean for lunch, the documents showed. The two men also had business dealings as recently as 2014, CBS News reported. In his testimony Tuesday morning before the Appropriations panel's subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies, Lutnick insisted that he "barely had anything to do with that person." "I'm glad to be here to make it clear that I met Jeffrey Epstein when he moved, when I moved to a house next door to him in New York," the Cabinet secretary testified. "Over the next 14 years, I met him two other times that I can recall, two times," he said. "So six years later, I met him, and then a year and a half after that, I met him, and never again." "Probably the total — and you've seen all of these documents, of these millions and millions of documents — there may be 10 emails connecting me with him ... Over a 14 year period." "I did not have any relationship with him," Lutnick said. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the subcommittee's ranking member, replied, "There's not an indication that you yourself engaged in any wrongdoing with Jeffrey Epstein. It's the fact that you ... misled the country and the Congress based on your earlier statements suggesting that you cut off all contact, when, in fact, you had not."

Epstein files: Casey Wasserman puts his talent agency up for sale after Maxwell revelations, WSJ reports -The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chief, Casey Wasserman, is putting his talent and marketing agency up for sale, The ⁠Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, following criticism for flirtatious email exchanges with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago. Wasserman has been criticized and called on to resign as the LA28 chief after the release ⁠of ‌messages. His firm has lost pop star Chappell Roan as a client, with Roan saying earlier this week she was no longer represented by his company. Wasserman has denied having a personal or ‌business relationship with late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has previously apologized for his association​with Maxwell, saying their relationship came before her or Epstein's crimes were revealed. Wasserman's talent agency did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business ⁠hours. According to the Journal, Wasserman told his firm's staff in an internal ‌memo that he felt that he had "become ‌a distraction" to its work and had begun the process of selling the company. "I'm deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have ⁠caused you so much discomfort," Wasserman wrote in the memo, ⁠reported by the newspaper. "It's not fair to ⁠you, and it's not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so ​deeply about," he wrote. The ‌LA28 said earlier this week that Wasserman will remain chairman of the 2028 games after organizers conducted a review of his past interactions with Maxwell and Epstein, and found his relationship with them did not go beyond what ‌had already been publicly documented.

Epstein files: Goldman Sachs top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler to step down after email fallout -Top Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler said Thursday night that she will leave the investment bank at the end of June, a decision that came after a flurry of news articles highlighting documents detailing the former White House counsel's often chummy email conversations with the notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.Goldman, for months, has defended Ruemmler after Congress and then theDepartment of Justice released emails between her and Epstein, as well as other documents related to investigations of him.Ruemmler, who has been a key advisor to Goldman CEO David Solomon since joining the bank in 2020, told the Financial Times on Thursday, "I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction." The FT first reported the 54-year-old's decision to leave Goldman, where she has been general counsel and chief legal officer, at the beginning of the summer.Solomon, in an interview on Friday with CNBC's "Squawk Box," called Ruemmler "a tremendous human being.""She called me yesterday afternoon and told me that ... the press coverage of the work that she had done previously and of this whole situation had just gotten to a level of noise and distraction that she thought was distracting the firm," Solomon said. "It was putting her in a position where it was hard for her to execute on her job and her responsibilities, and she just thought it was time to step away."Ruemmler, in a statement Thursday night to CNBC, said, "Since I joined Goldman Sachs six years ago, it has been my privilege to help oversee the firm's legal, reputational, and regulatory matters; to enhance our strong risk management processes; and to ensure that we live by our core value of integrity in everything we do.""My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs' interests first," Ruemmler said."Earlier today, I regretfully informed David Solomon of my intention to step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026." Her announcement that she will leave Goldman comes nearly a week after The Wall Street Journal reported that Ruemmler was one of three people whom Epstein called on July 6, 2019, after being arrested by federal authorities on child sex trafficking charges at an airport in New Jersey.The Journal's report cites a handwritten set of notes by law enforcement about comments Epstein made inside an FBI vehicle after his arrest.Those notes are among documents released in late January by the Department of Justice, CNBC has confirmed. Other news articles detailed emails and documents showing how Epstein had made gifts to Ruemmler that included a Hermes bag, and other luxury items, such as a Fendi purse, spa visits, Bergdorf Goodman gift cards and flowers. On one occasion, she effusively thanked him, calling him "Uncle Jeffrey," one email showed.

No one wants to admit the real reason corporations are laying off thousands - Everyone’s wringing their hands about the latest rounds of corporate layoffs. But no one is talking about the real reason these people are being laid off. For example, between 2022 and 2023, Amazon laid off 27,000 employees. The company’s revenues increased the following year from approximately $574 million to $637 million, and its profits doubled. Disney laid off 7,000 people in 2023 and then saw both revenues and profits jump the following year. CVS laid off 5,000 corporate workers that same year, and its revenues rose from $357 million to $372 million. 3M laid off about 8,500 people in 2023, and the following year its revenues and profits rose. UBS Warburg announced layoffs of 35,000 people in 2023, then saw both revenues and profits skyrocket. I have more examples, but I think you get the point. The companies that had significant layoffs in 2023 went on to make a lot more money in 2024. Not only that, but they grew revenues. Which invites the question: What were these workers doing? Not much, apparently — or at least, not much of value. I work with a lot of big companies. And the employees I interact with are good people, smart people. But, as many small-business owners will agree, I’m always amazed at the number of humans involved in doing just about everything these larger businesses do. I have never had an online meeting with a corporate client that involved fewer than 10 people on their side. I get emails with a dozen names copied, most of whom I have never heard of. And these people aren’t exactly cheap — most white-collar employees working at corporations that are managers or above are pulling down hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in compensation and benefits. Corporate employees work hard, I’m sure. But they love their time off, too. Want to get something done with a large corporation? Forget about August, or most of the summer — or December, or most of the holiday season. And forget the first part of January, for that matter, or any holiday, be it in this country or the country where they reside. I get out-of-office replies from corporate clients for time off that can range anywhere from a few days to more than a month. Most of the replies basically tell the sender to forget about doing anything with them until they return. Is this the behavior of someone valuable to shareholders? Can workers just disappear for weeks on end and everything continues as is? If that describes you, it’s not a great sign. When I visit larger companies, I am frequently astonished by what I see. Vast amounts of space with empty cubicles once occupied by workers who are now working from home (especially on Mondays and Fridays, wink wink). I see software systems that date back decades, paper forms for sign-offs, and invoices keyed into accounting programs. I see employees added to payroll over the phone, benefits changes submitted by hand, reports generated weeks after the fact and circulated via email. I also see conference rooms filled with employees in meetings and meetings … and meetings. Business owners and key employees can never really be out of the office. I get annoyed when we have meetings with more than two people, because I know that means something isn’t getting done somewhere else. And like many other business owners, I am obsessed with any technology that can save my people time and earn me money. I am constantly looking to change things. Losing just one employee is extremely disruptive. My corporate counterparts seem to do that and blissfully carry on without notice. Everyone is blaming AI. But, as many reports will tell you, most companies are failing miserably at implementing AI. The real reason corporations have been laying off people comes down to one word: bloat. They are cutting the fat that has built up since the pandemic and restructuring themselves for the future. And there’s even worse news for corporate employees: The big-time layoffs are just getting started. It is inevitable that AI is going to replace many, many corporate employees. Anything done digitally will be replaced by a bot. Agents will soon be processing payroll, placing orders, paying suppliers, creating policies, sending out contracts, creating marketing materials, answering customer questions, analyzing profitability, filling out compliance forms, reconciling accounts and posting on social media. If you are a corporate employee whose job is reliant on a computer, there is a high probability that you will someday be replaced by AI.

ChatGPT gets Pentagon nod for AI platform tasks --OpenAI announced Monday it is bringing a custom version of ChatGPT to the Pentagon’s AI platform. It joins other major AI companies, including Google and Elon Musk’s xAI, on the Defense Department’s platform GenAI.mil. The custom ChatGPT will run on “authorized government cloud infrastructure with built-in safety controls and protections” and is approved for unclassified work, OpenAI said. “We believe the people responsible for defending the country should have access to the best tools available, and it is important for the United States and other democratic countries to understand how, with the proper safeguards, AI can help protect people, deter adversaries, and prevent future conflict,” the company said in a press release. OpenAI previously received a contract for up to $200 million with the Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office last July as the agency sought to boost its AI adoption. Anthropic, Google and xAI also scored similar contracts. Anthropic has reportedly clashed with the Pentagon in recent months over restrictions barring its AI model Claude from being used for domestic surveillance or autonomous lethal operations. OpenAI said in Monday’s announcement that its models “incorporate safeguards at the model and platform level” and support “all lawful uses.”

OpenAI Raises Alarm Over Alleged Chinese AI Model Copying Tactics --Major artificial intelligence companies are escalating concerns over what they describe as aggressive attempts by rival firms to replicate proprietary AI systems through indirect extraction methods. OpenAI has formally alerted U.S. lawmakers to what it characterizes as improper use of its models by Chinese artificial intelligence developers, specifically naming DeepSeek. In a memo circulated to policymakers, the company alleged that DeepSeek is leveraging advanced “distillation” strategies to replicate the functional strengths of OpenAI’s systems without direct authorization. According to the memo, OpenAI contends that DeepSeek is employing distillation techniques in ways that effectively allow it to “free-ride” on the technological investments made by U.S. frontier AI laboratories. Distillation, a widely used training method in artificial intelligence, involves transferring knowledge from a large, powerful model into a smaller, more efficient system. While the technique itself is not inherently improper, OpenAI argues that the context and execution matter. The company stated that certain Chinese large language model providers, along with affiliated university research institutions, are interacting with OpenAI systems in a manner that could significantly accelerate the development of competing models. By systematically querying OpenAI’s models and analyzing responses, OpenAI believes these actors are extracting insights that help them build comparable systems. OpenAI further claimed it has detected activity linked to accounts associated with DeepSeek personnel. These accounts allegedly used techniques designed to bypass access limitations and usage safeguards embedded within OpenAI’s infrastructure. OpenAI acknowledged that it has implemented technical barriers aimed at limiting the misuse of its outputs for model cloning. However, the company warned that the strategies employed by external actors are evolving. In its memo, OpenAI argued that as defensive mechanisms become more sophisticated, so too do the extraction tactics used by competitors. The firm described certain methods as “obfuscated,” suggesting deliberate attempts to conceal how its systems are being leveraged. Although distillation remains a standard and legitimate practice within the AI research community, OpenAI emphasized that the covert application of the technique to reconstruct frontier-level systems raises serious concerns. The company warned that models built through such processes may lack the critical guardrails and safety alignment mechanisms embedded in original systems. According to OpenAI, this gap could result in “dangerous outputs in high-risk domains,” particularly in sensitive areas such as cybersecurity, biosecurity, and misinformation. The company clarified that it supports responsible and transparent applications of distillation. “There are legitimate use cases for distillation,” OpenAI noted in its communication to lawmakers. “However, we do not permit our outputs to be used to construct imitation frontier AI models that replicate our core capabilities.” The concerns are not isolated to OpenAI. On the same day, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group released findings indicating a surge in what it described as commercially driven attempts to extract knowledge from its flagship AI model, Gemini. In its report, Google detailed a pattern of so-called “distillation attacks,” in which actors repeatedly prompt Gemini thousands of times. The objective, according to the company, is to analyze output patterns and internal logic in order to strengthen rival AI systems. While Google did not publicly identify specific organizations or countries involved, it stated that it had “observed and mitigated frequent model extraction attacks” originating from private sector entities worldwide. The company also referenced academic researchers who it claims have attempted to reverse engineer proprietary model behaviors. The developments come amid intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence, particularly between U.S. and Chinese firms racing to dominate generative AI infrastructure. As governments weigh regulatory frameworks and export controls, major AI developers are increasingly framing model extraction and distillation misuse as both an intellectual property and national security concern. Industry analysts note that the line between legitimate research and unauthorized model replication remains complex. Distillation has long been an accepted efficiency technique in machine learning workflows. However, when conducted at scale and without explicit authorization, companies argue it effectively undermines years of proprietary research and billions of dollars in capital investment. Both OpenAI and Google appear to be signaling that they expect stronger policy intervention and clearer enforcement mechanisms to deter unauthorized model cloning. As frontier AI capabilities expand, the stakes surrounding intellectual property protection, safety alignment, and international AI governance continue to rise.

Leading AI models struggle to solve original math problems -Mathematics, like many other scientific endeavors, is increasingly using artificial intelligence. Of course, math is the backbone of AI, but mathematicians are also turning to these tools for tasks like literature searches and checking manuscripts for errors. But how well can AI perform when it comes to solving genuine, high-level research problems? To date, there is still no widely accepted realistic methodology for assessing AI's capabilities to solve math at this level. So a group of mathematicians decided to put the machines to the test as they detail in a study available on the arXiv preprint server. Previous attempts at testing AI have used math contest problems and questions already found in textbooks. What makes this study different is that the questions the programs faced were drawn from mathematicians' own research. They had never been posted or published online, which means AI couldn't memorize answers from its training data. Each mathematician taking part in the study contributed a unique problem and solved it themselves first to prove that the questions weren't impossible. They also encrypted the answers so they would not appear in public sources that models could access. There were ten problems overall across diverse mathematical fields, including stochastic analysis, spectral graph theory, symplectic geometry, and algebraic topology. The researchers tested the questions on several leading systems, including GPT-5.1 Pro and Gemini 3 Pro, and the models were given only one attempt per question. There were no additional prompts or conversations, nor any hints that might help them reach a solution. The experiment, called First Proof, was designed to test a specific part of the mathematical process. As the researchers commented in their paper, "Our 'first proof' experiment is focused on the final and most well-specified stage of math research, in which the question and frameworks are already understood." The results can allay the fears of anyone concerned that AI is poised to replace mathematicians. While AI programs are excellent at summarizing existing knowledge or finding patterns in data, the models struggled to solve the problems in a single attempt. The researchers' overall conclusion is that, at the moment, AI is good at contest-like tasks but lacks the creative depth and intuition needed to navigate and solve the unknown.

FBI warns of scammers using AI, fake dating profiles as Valentine's Day nears -FBI field offices across the country are warning about the ongoing rise in romance scams as more people turn to online dating and social media to find love ahead of Valentine’s Day. Officials said scammers will often create fake profiles on dating sites or social media apps to lure people into connection and manipulate them into handing over money or sensitive personal information.“Fraudsters are lurking online claiming to be looking for love when they’re really just looking to loot your bank account,” said Ted E. Docks, the special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We’re urging everyone to take a beat. The best weapon against these scammers is a healthy dose of skepticism.”Officials also warned about the increased use of AI in these schemes, with scammers using AI tools to generate photos and correct language errors to make them more believable.In one specific type of relationship investment scheme, known as “pig butchering,” scammers begin by using fake profiles, images, videos and voices to target victims on social media, dating apps, or through text. After establishing frequent contact, they claim to have earned large profits through trading cryptocurrency, precious metals or foreign currency and offer to help the victim do the same, according to the FBI. Officials said victims are then directed to fraudulent trading platforms run by criminal organizations, where they can suffer substantial financial losses. This type of fraud is estimated to cost Americans roughly $10 billion each year, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Various field offices reported tens of millions of dollars in losses from romance scams last year, including $40 million in and around the San Francisco area.

Deepfake fraud taking place on an industrial scale, study finds -Deepfake fraud has gone “industrial”, an analysis published by AI experts has said. Tools to create tailored, even personalised, scams – leveraging, for example, deepfake videos of Swedish journalists or the president of Cyprus – are no longer niche, but inexpensive and easy to deploy at scale, said the analysis from the AI Incident Database.It catalogued more than a dozen recent examples of “impersonation for profit”, including a deepfake video of Western Australia’s premier, Robert Cook, hawking an investment scheme, and deepfake doctors promoting skin creams.These examples are part of a trend in which scammers are using widely available AI tools to perpetuate increasingly targeted heists. Last year, a finance officer at a Singaporean multinational paid out nearly $500,000 to scammers during what he believed was a video call with company leadership. UK consumers are estimated to have lost £9.4bn to fraud in the nine months to November 2025. “Capabilities have suddenly reached that level where fake content can be produced by pretty much anybody,” said Simon Mylius, an MIT researcher who works on a project linked to the AI Incident Database. He calculates that “frauds, scams and targeted manipulation” have made up the largest proportion of incidents reported to the database in 11 of the past 12 months. He said: “It’s become very accessible to a point where there is really effectively no barrier to entry.” “The scale is changing,” said Fred Heiding, a Harvard researcher studying AI-powered scams. “It’s becoming so cheap, almost anyone can use it now. The models are getting really good – they’re becoming much faster than most experts think.” In early January, Jason Rebholz, the chief executive of Evoke, an AI security company, posted a job offer on LinkedIn and was immediately contacted by a stranger in his network, who recommended a candidate. Within days, he was exchanging emails with someone who, on paper, appeared to be a talented engineer. “I looked at the resume and I was like, this is actually a really good resume. And so I thought, even though there were some red flags, let me just have a conversation.” Then things became strange. The candidate’s emails went directly to spam. His resume had quirks. But Rebholz had dealt with unusual candidates before and decided to go ahead with the interview. Then, when Rebholz took the call, the candidate’s video took nearly a minute to appear. “The background was extremely fake,” he said. “And then when I’m looking at his face, it’s just very soft around the edges.” Rebholz went through with the conversation, not wanting to face the awkwardness of asking the candidate directly if they were, in fact, an elaborate scam. Afterwards, he sent a recording of it to a contact at a deepfake detection firm, who told him that the video image of the candidate was AI-generated. He rejected the candidate. Rebholz still does not know what the scammer wanted – an engineering salary, or trade secrets. While there have been reports of North Korean hackers trying to get jobs at Amazon, Evoke is a startup, not a massive player. “It’s like, if we’re getting targeted with this, everyone’s getting targeted with it,” said Rebholz. Heiding said the worst was ahead. Currently deepfake voice cloning technology is excellent – making it easy for scammers to impersonate, for example, a grandchild in distress over the phone. Deepfake videos, on the other hand, still have room for improvement. This could have extreme consequences: for hiring, for elections, and for broader society. Heiding added: “That’ll be the big pain point here, the complete lack of trust in digital institutions, and institutions and material in general.”

Cargo crime goes digital as fraud and AI replace truck-stop theft - Freight crime is no longer dominated by smash-and-grab thefts or hijackings at truck stops. Instead, cargo crime is becoming increasingly digital, targeted and globally orchestrated – and many carriers should choose digital partners wisely. According to Joe Ohr, chief operating officer at the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), the LTL industry is seeing a sharp rise in what he describes as “digital-enabled cargo theft”. Mr Ohr told The Loadstar on the sidelines of Manifest in Las Vegas this week: “What we’re seeing now is not physical theft in the traditional sense. It’s fraud. It’s phishing. It’s AI. It’s criminals knowing exactly where the cargo is, what it is, and how to intercept it.” High-profile thefts reported in the media often obscure how the cargo is actually being stolen, he added. “These aren’t guys with guns anymore. It’s much more strategic. It’s pilfering specific data rather than smashand-grab.” NMFTA has identified a shift not only in tactics, but also in the type of freight being targeted. While electronics were once a primary focus, criminals are increasingly stealing easily resold goods, such as energy drinks, food products, nuts, and seafood. “They’re looking for things they can sell quickly,” said Mr Ohr. “They’re not glamorous, so they’re less likely to be prosecuted aggressively.” The threat is also increasingly international. While thefts are often executed locally, Mr Ohr said the intelligence and cyber-fraud elements were frequently orchestrated offshore. “We’re seeing this follow the same paths as cybercrime. The hacking may come from overseas, with local actors carrying it out.” “If something doesn’t seem right – a strange reroute, a sudden instruction – pick up the phone,” he said. “You need at least one human element. We’ve seen cases where companies were shipping laptops to people who weren’t even employees.”

AI fueled massive surge in fraud losses last year, study finds | CFO Dive -- Artificial intelligence-driven fraud skyrocketed last year, fraud detection company Pindrop found in a recent study, with overall attacks against its major U.S. customers rising 1,210% and combined losses reaching an estimated $1 billion. Generative AI and deepfake tools are enabling fraudsters to scale their attacks and carry them out more effectively, according to a report on the findings released this month. Pindrop analyzed internal fraud data pertaining to over 50 of its major U.S. customers, a spokesperson said. Last year “was the watershed moment when fraud stopped being manual and became an automated supply chain,” Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan said in an email response to questions. “AI scams are faster, cheaper, and harder to spot, and they’re hitting where decisions get made in real time: contact centers, urgent payment requests, and executive impersonation. Attackers can now run thousands of attempts across voice, video, chat, and email using synthetic identities that look and sound legitimate.” AI fraud has now outpaced traditional fraud, signaling a major shift in the threat landscape, according to Atlanta-based Pindrop, which provides tools for detecting when fraudsters use deepfake technology to pose as job candidates, among other scams.“AI-generated videos and voices impersonate job candidates to gain system access or high-level executives to execute social engineering scams,” the report said. “The tactics differ, but the foundation is the same: convincing, sophisticated AI-backed schemes.”The research comes on the heels of similar findings from Paris-headquartered Trustpair, a software vendor focused on payment fraud prevention.Nearly three-quarters (71%) of U.S. companies have experienced an increase in AI-powered fraud attempts in the past year, and roughly half of finance leaders (47%) say AI-generated fraud is now one of their biggest challenges in fraud prevention, the Trustpair study found. One in four companies surveyed by Trustpair reported six-figure losses due to fraud.“AI has raised the baseline of fraud,” Trustpair CEO Baptiste Collot said in a statement. “The risk keeps increasing, but internal processes haven’t moved fast enough. The retail sector was among industries that were hit the hardest by AI fraud last year, Pindrop said, adding that fraudsters are particularly focused on automating refund scams at scale. “Attackers deploy bots equipped with common scripts that initiate return requests on retail sites,” the firm said in its report. “The strategy is intentional: target low-dollar refunds that stay below a certain threshold to avoid suspicion.”

Pennsylvania men guilty in AI fraud scheme targeting Minnesota housing program -Two men from Pennsylvania admitted to repeatedly traveling from Philadelphia to Minneapolis in an effort to defraud Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program, prosecutors announced. The men allegedly defrauded approximately $3.5 million from the program and used artificial intelligence to create false records. The two men, identified as Anthony Waddell Jefferson, 37, and Lester Brown, 53, allegedly set up businesses in Minnesota and enrolled as HSS providers. The men were allegedly supposed to provide housing consulting, transitioning and sustaining services to qualifying individuals.The state's HSS program, which was officially launched in July 2020, aims to help people with disabilities, including seniors and those with mental illnesses or substance abuse issues, find and maintain housing. The Justice Department previously said the program "had low barriers to entry and minimal records requirements for reimbursement." Attorney General Pam Bondi reacted, "Criminal fraud not only robs taxpayers — it shatters trust in our institutions. Under President Trump’s leadership, today’s convictions are just the beginning. Our prosecutors will work tirelessly to unravel criminal fraud schemes and charge their perpetrators in Minnesota and across the country."

AI phone scam creates voice replicas of "kidnapped" loved ones to demand ransom - CBS San Francisco --The Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case and the demand for bitcoin ransom have highlighted the prevalence of cybercrimes. Globally cybercrimes costs are expected to exceed $10.5 trillion dollars every year. But the costs are more than financial. The scams are taking a far darker turn thanks to A.I. It happened to CBS News Bay Area anchor Juliette Goodrich, who wants viewers to take precautions. Goodrich was driving to work when she got a phone call. "I noticed my daughter was calling me," Goodrich said. "I saw her picture and her phone number up here and her nickname on our calling addresses, and I just pushed the phone, and I said, 'Hi honey!'" What happened next was terrifying. First, she heard her daughter's voice. "Then, it sounded like they grabbed her phone and they said, 'I have your daughter,' and went into this whole diatribe about how she won't get hurt, but he needs money - $2,500, and it sounded so believable," Goodrich said. Someone was using her daughter's phone number to trick Goodrich. Phone spoofing has been around for decades. But hearing her daughter's voice surprised and shocked her. Her daughter's voice was likely cloned with an AI tool that creates convincing voice replicas and easily masks identities. These AI scams are relatively new and becoming increasingly prevalent, experts say. "It's very common, and it's actually becoming more common, especially with the advances in AI and the things that they're doing with AI," said retired FBI agent Jeff Harp. "I've seen it a number of times." Harp says a crook doesn't have to be a cyber mastermind armed with expensive gear. The clear weapon of choice is any of the inexpensive apps that clone voices or mask identities. "It's certainly going to get more sophisticated, and it's as simple as, there's apps you can download on your phone," explained Harp. AI is a tool that is making it much easier for those with malicious intent to commit fraud and scams. And the public needs to be aware of the advances and take action, especially if your phone has been infiltrated.

AI scams appearing more genuine, Jersey security expert warns -Scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to appear more genuine, an online security expert has said. The Jersey Cyber Security Centre has warned people about a scam that has used AI to generate images of the chief minister and the Jersey Evening Post (JEP) to promote a fraudulent investment programme. The police estimated islanders lost a record £5m to scams in 2025 and warned investment fraud was on the rise. Security Centre director Matt Palmer said AI scams presented certain challenges and that he was "really worried" by increases in them. He said people should "look for plausibility". "You look for: 'Is this something that's reasonable? Would the chief minister really be offering me a return on investment? Is my family member actually stuck in some foreign country, or can I pick up the phone and talk to them? "If we exercise that degree of caution, then very often we can spot some of these. [But] It's going to only become harder, unfortunately." Palmer said he believed the number of people who did not report scams were far higher than those who did. He said people should report incidents as it would help his team's work - even if money was not retrieved. He said: "The numbers that are reported at the fraud forum through the police, we were talking about £5m or so of costs a year that people are incurring. "We need to understand that those are almost certainly underestimates because a lot of this information is not reported."

CNBC Exec Almost Lost His Crypto in Minutes -Nobody is too smart to get scammed. Just ask Jason Gewirtz, the vice president of news at CNBC. As he revealed in a column for CNBC, Gewirtz recently came close to handing access to his entire cryptocurrency portfolio over to someone posing as a Coinbase security representative (1). Business journalists are often trained to be skeptical and alert to financial fraud, yet this scam was so convincing that Gewirtz nearly fell for it. What saved him was having to suspend the call to attend a work meeting. With the convincing voice no longer pressuring him to act, Gewirtz was able to take a beat and recognize a few red flags from the call. He even used artificial intelligence, as well as a contact of his who used to work at Coinbase, to figure out what was going on. While Gewirtz was able to duck the scam, not every victim is so lucky. In fact, Gewirtz’s close call is a reminder that scams are becoming more sophisticated, and that if a veteran news executive at a major network nearly got tricked, just about anyone can. Like most people, Gewirtz doesn’t usually pick up the phone when it displays an unknown number. But since this particular call showed a San Francisco number, the location of Silicon Valley and one of CNBC’s key bureaus, Gewirtz decided to answer. The man on the phone, who introduced himself as Brian Miller from Coinbase’s security office, told Gewirtz that his account had been targeted by suspicious login attempts from Frankfurt, Germany. The man framed the call as a protective measure, saying the goal was to stop a scammer before any damage occurred. To make the story more convincing, the man leaned on key details in order to disarm Gewirtz’s skepticism. Spoofing the call with a 650 area code was the opening strategy; other techniques included referencing sensitive personal data and sending emails that appeared to come from official Coinbase addresses. Advertisement Playing psychological games was also key. The caller repeatedly emphasized urgency, warning that a scammer in Germany was actively trying to access Gewirtz’s account to make transfers. “He’s trying to make another transfer,” the man on the phone told Gewirtz, “but I have it on hold so he can’t.” The fear of losing access to his crypto kept Gewirtz on the line, even when some details — such as the mention of a photo in Gewirtz’s account that he was sure he never uploaded — didn’t add up. It wasn’t until he got off the phone and ran the addresses from the emails the caller had sent through Claude — an AI chatbot from Anthropic — that Gewirtz realized he could be getting scammed. When Claude flagged the email addresses as “almost certainly a PHISHING scam,” Gewirtz quickly realized he had just dodged a bullet. “I said to myself, ‘thanks, Claude,’ while also thinking, ‘that was close.’”

Mama's Boy? Sam Bankman-Fried, Represented By His Mother, Files For New Trial In FTX Implosion Case - Sam Bankman-Fried has renewed his effort to overturn his FTX fraud conviction, filing a request for a new trial in federal court through a motion submitted by his mother in New York, according to Coindesk and Yahoo News. The former crypto exchange chief, now serving a 25-year prison sentence, argues that recently uncovered evidence and missing testimony from earlier proceedings justify reopening his case. The filing points in part to the absence of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, who later faced his own criminal charges. Salame had previously said he believed his cooperation with prosecutors would protect his wife, Michelle Bond, who was later charged over alleged illegal campaign donations. The 35-page request was submitted as a “pro se” motion, meaning Bankman-Fried is currently acting as his own attorney. At the same time, he has launched a renewed public campaign on X, using posts to support his push for a retrial. In those messages, he portrays himself as a victim of politically driven “lawfare,” accusing prosecutors and judges of bias and retaliation against FTX executives. Independent reviews, however, have found that several of his claims conflict with court records. Among them, Bankman-Fried has suggested that both he and former President Donald Trump were placed under comparable gag orders. Court documents show the situations were different: Trump’s restrictions stemmed from separate cases, while Bankman-Fried’s order followed repeated violations of pretrial conditions. He has also revived his long-standing argument that FTX “was always solvent” and that customer funds were never stolen. That position was rejected at trial, where jurors concluded that client assets were misused and misrepresented. Federal courts have since ruled that later asset recoveries do not prove the company was solvent at the time of the misconduct.

Market Intelligence What last week's crypto crash can teach us about stablecoins' value --Noelle Acheson notes that last week's crypto crash highlighted an overlooked aspect of stablecoins: They have both a stable value and a market-traded price, but the two don't always match. If you are among the fortunate few to have been away from screens last week, you missed some market fireworks. The prices of precious metals plunged and soared and plunged, and momentum stocks suffered their worst rout since the pandemic. But that drama and more was eclipsed by a spectacular crash in crypto assets. The crypto crash highlighted an overlooked aspect of stablecoins: They have both a stable value and a market-traded price, but the two don't always match. What does the risk of de-pegs mean for payments?

Coinbase's CEO projects confidence despite crypto crash After bitcoin's value dropped from about $125,000 in October to just about $60,000 earlier this month, Coinbase's shareholder letter included the following nugget.

• Key insights: Coinbase's earnings declined as the broader bitcoin market fell sharply in recent months.
• What's at stake: Investors are looking for signs that the cryptocurrency company can expand despite the market's volatility.
• Forward look: Coinbase is adding more products to its exchange and expanding its partnerships with traditional financial institutions.

After losing nearly $700 million in the fourth quarter as bitcoin's valuation tanked, Brian Armstrong stressed product diversification will help the company navigate the downturn.

Ethereum becomes rail of choice for crypto-curious bankers It's deja vu all over again. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, first described it in a November 2013 white paper.

• Key insight: Banks are revisiting Ethereum Layer-2s for decentralized applications, such as tokenized deposits and interbank payments.
• What's at stake: Stablecoin and market-standard legislation could redefine bank settlement and custody models.
• Forward Look: Expect accelerated Layer-2 adoption and clearer regulatory frameworks for bank-backed tokens.

JPMorganChase, Citi and Custodia are among the banks that have built digital asset projects on the Ethereum blockchain.

Citi: Banks face $3 trillion risk from quantum cyberattacks -- While "Q-Day" may be years away, experts warn hackers are already harvesting encrypted data to decrypt later, making the transition to new standards urgent.

• What's at stake: A quantum attack on a top bank's payment access could trigger a cascading failure costing the U.S. economy up to $3.3 trillion.
• Supporting data: Experts estimate a probability of up to 34% that a quantum computer capable of breaking current encryption will arrive by 2034.
• Forward look: Regulators and the G7 are urging financial entities to establish milestones for a post-quantum transition immediately.

Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review

BankThink: To monitor an AI-driven economy, the Fed is going to need new tools -In a future world where AI agents transacting in stablecoins are a major factor in the U.S. economy, the Fed's traditional metrics for identifying an economic downturn will leave policymakers dangerously behind the curve, writes Derek Horstmeyer. Investors, policymakers, and CEOs all understand that artificial intelligence will soon have profound impacts on production, labor, and the economy as a whole. Not only will it affect how work is being done, but it will also affect where changes in our production and levels of inflation are first occurring.In a future world where AI agents transacting in stablecoins are a major factor in the U.S. economy, the Fed's traditional metrics for identifying an economic downturn will leave policymakers dangerously behind the curve.

Fed's Waller: 'Everyone is yelling at me' on skinny accounts - Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said the Fed's efforts to create "skinny" master accounts have sparked sharp divisions within the financial industry. Waller said comments from banks and fintech firms reveal sharply different priorities in the creation of the central bank's proposed "skinny" master accounts.

• Key Insight: Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said fintechs want greater access to the Fed's payment rails, while banks stress strict oversight and safeguards for nonbank account holders.
• Expert Quote: "You're seeing one side pulling me this way and the other pulling me that way, so it's finding the right kind of middle lane that I'm trying to get to with this 'skinny' account." —Fed Gov. Christopher Waller
• What's at stake: Waller said that despite the opposing views on how the payment accounts should be structured, the Fed still aims to finalize them by the end of 2026.

Fed moves to drop some prior demands on banks to fix flaws (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve has signaled to lenders it plans to abandon some of the confidential warnings it previously sent them to improve operations as Vice Chair Michelle Bowman continues to relax the central bank's oversight of U.S. financial firms. An internal memo from the Federal Reserve's supervisory staff will begin reviewing outstanding "matters requiring attention" and "matters requiring immediate attention" to ensure that they meet the standards laid out in an October directive.

Credit unions blast new Washington state tax on bank deals -- Starting this year, Washington state is imposing a new tax on credit unions that acquire banks. But critics say the levy will only succeed at driving such mergers out of the state. To address a budget deficit, the state of Washington has begun taxing credit unions that buy banks. Critics say there's just one problem: The tax will deter any such acquisitions from happening.

BankThink: The SBA's new credit restrictions are a disaster for small businesses - The Small Business Administration's decision to cut off green-card holders from small-business loans is economically irrational and contrary to decades of federal policy, writes Eda Henries. The Small Business Administration's recent decision to bar noncitizen permanent residents of the U.S. from receiving federally backed small‑business loans is not just misguided policy. It is a self‑inflicted economic wound — one that will restrict credit, suppress job creation and undermine the very market stability the SBA is supposed to support. The Small Business Administration plans to bar green-card holders from receiving federal small-business loans. The result will be devastating for large swathes of the U.S. economy, costing jobs and cutting tax revenue.

COVID loan program leaves some borrowers in a bind - The Federal Reserve's Main Street Loan Program, a COVID-era relief effort that made loans to medium-size businesses, will soon be history.

• Key insight: Main Street Loan Program borrowers say an uncompromising approach to troubled loans threatens to push viable companies into bankruptcy.
• Why it matters: A program that was intended to offer businesses a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the demise of some of the companies it was meant to save.
• Supporting data: The program's net loan losses have spiked since 2022, reaching $1.97 billion at the end of last year.

Some distressed companies that tapped the Federal Reserve's Main Street Lending Program say they've been crushed by the agency's hard-line stance on modifications.

Experts weigh whether CFPB database tweaks help or hurt - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is facing a backlash over its recent overhaul of its consumer complaint portal, with experts warning that the agency is adding "friction" to the complaint process to deter legitimate complaints.

• What's at stake: Consumer advocates and some corporate debt collectors fear that possible changes to the consumer complaint portal — such as mandatory two-factor authentication and limiting complaints per IP address — are a concession to the industry rather than a streamlining effort.
• Key insight: The changes create new hurdles that some fear will disproportionately deter legitimate complaints from vulnerable populations such as seniors and low-income families.
• Supporting Data: Debt collection complaints have nearly doubled in a year, with nearly half of all complaints involving attempts to collect debt that consumers say they do not owe.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint portal has been flooded in recent years, but corporate debt collectors, industry attorneys and consumer advocates question whether the bureau's efforts to reduce the volume will help consumers as much as it helps the firms they're complaining about.

CFPB blocks GAO investigators in layoff report - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau refused to cooperate with the Government Accountability Office's efforts to review staff reductions by the Trump administration. On Monday, the GAO released a 31-page report requested last year by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and other Democratic lawmakers, who asked the GAO for oversight of the CFPB's staff cuts and stop-work orders. The GAO undertakes investigations into federal agencies on behalf of Congress.

• Key insight: The CFPB's leadership cited ongoing litigation as the reason for not cooperating with the Government Accountability Office.
• Supporting data: The GAO reiterated what was found in court documents, finding that the CFPB had planned to fire 88% of the staff.
• Forward look: A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments in late February on whether the CFPB can be dismantled by the agency's director through mass firings.

The Government Accountability Office was tasked with investigating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's stop-work order, but CFPB officials refused to meet with or provide information to Congress' investigative arm.

Community bank momentum continues in Congress with new bill — A group of Republican lawmakers are introducing a bill that would index the $10 billion-asset threshold that caps debit card fees in the Durbin Amendment to inflation.

• Key insight: Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., introduced a bill to index the Durbin Amendment's $10 billion asset threshold to inflation, preventing more community banks from being subject to debit card fee caps as they grow.
• What's at stake: The Republican-only bill highlights a divide in card fee politics — lawmakers support easing restrictions on community banks while navigating Trump's proposal for a 10% credit card interest rate cap that has alarmed the banking industry.
• Forward look: The legislation adds to recent Republican efforts to advance community bank relief, including provisions in a House housing bill that would ease brokered deposit rules and streamline bank examinations.

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., offered a new bill that would index the Durbin Amendment's debit fee threshold to inflation. The bill joins a number of community bank-centered bills offered or moving through Congress

FanDuel bans credit card-funded bets, following DraftKings - FanDuel will no longer accept credit card deposits to fund sports bets in the United States, the company announced, following a similar move from rival DraftKings last summer.The sports betting company said it would stop accepting credit card deposits for its sportsbook, casino and racing products in the U.S. Wagers placed using credit cards are typically more expensive than those made with other forms of payment.The New York-based company's ban on accepting credit cards, which will become effective March 2, comes days after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., lambasted the sports gambling industry over the cost of paying with a credit card.

• Key insight: The bulk of the online sports-betting market in the U.S. will no longer accept credit cards as a form of payment, following bans by FanDuel and DraftKings.
• Supporting data: FanDuel and DraftKings make up more than 70% of the online sports betting market, according to data from Casino Reports.
• Forward look: The FanDuel policy, which the company said will improve the deposit experience for its customers, takes effect on March 2.

FHFA, Ginnie pledge tighter nonbank oversight - The Government Accountability Office has issued new warnings about the public sector's exposure to nonbank mortgage risks and said the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Ginnie Mae have agreed to do more to manage them. The Federal Housing Finance Agency and Ginnie Mae agreed to look more closely at credit line use, according to the Government Accountability Office.

House overwhelmingly passes sweeping bipartisan housing package The House on Monday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan, comprehensive housing package aimed at ameliorating the affordability crisis in the U.S. and increasing homeownership. The legislation, dubbed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, passed the lower chamber by a vote of 390-9. It is sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and ranking member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and it passed the committee overwhelmingly in December. The bill includes more than 20 provisions that would direct the Government Accountability Office to study gaps in federal housing programs and modernize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, among other actions. “When there aren’t enough homes, prices go up. The Housing for the 21st Century Act includes real, bipartisan solutions to boost development by clearing out red tape and letting communities and local banks do their job. That’s how we expand supply, lower costs and give families more options,” Hill, along with Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), wrote in an op-ed for The Hill last week. The bill now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers will likely make changes to the legislation. Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) had sponsored their own bipartisan housing bill, dubbed the ROAD to Housing Act, last year. They had pushed for provisions of the bill to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act in December, but it was not included. Hill wrote in a statement at the time that he looked forward to working with the Senate “to send a bill to the president’s desk that reflects the views of both chambers.” More than 50 groups have endorsed Hill’s bill, including the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, American Hotel and Lodging Association, Americans for Prosperity and others, according to a press release.

Housing bill passes House with community bank riders — The House of Representatives passed a number of community bank-favored provisions as part of a larger housing package Monday night, but those riders are already imperiling the bill's chances of re-passing the Senate.

• Key insight: The House is poised to pass a housing affordability package with wide bipartisan margins.
• What's at stake: The House bill contains a number of community bank provisions that are absent from the Senate version of the bill.
• Forward look: Warren's opposition to those riders will make passage in the upper chamber more challenging, but there are still pathways for the bill to pass.

A housing bill that already passed the Senate cleared the House Monday evening, but included bipartisan community banking provisions that have already raised objections in the upper chamber.

Bank riders have murky future as housing bill heads to Senate - — A bill that includes a number of bank-favored provisions faces a more uncertain future in the Senate, even after it passed through the House yesterday with an overwhelmingly large bipartisan margin.

• Key insight: The House passed a bipartisan housing bill that bundles community banking provisions — including expanded limited-scope exam eligibility, new bank formation rules and changes to brokered deposit and least-cost resolution frameworks — with measures to boost housing supply.
• What's at stake: The Senate already passed its own housing package without those banking riders, with key Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., signaling opposition to add-ons, arguing the deregulatory riders shouldn't be tied to housing relief.
• Forward look: Reconciling the two versions will require negotiation, with some Senate Democrats expressing support for the underlying banking policies but reluctance to package them with housing legislation.

Bank-favored provisions that were included into the House's version of a bipartisan housing bill threaten to derail Senate passage, but Senate Banking Committee moderates seem skeptical of the combination.

US consumer prices increase marginally, but inflation pressures persist | Reuters(Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in January amid cheaper gasoline and a moderation in rental inflation, but households faced higher costs for services, suggesting little urgency for the Federal Reserve to resume cutting interest rates before summer. The Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department on Friday showed underlying inflation pressures warmed up last month, likely as businesses pushed through start-of-the-year price increases for goods and services, including personal care, recreation as well as airline fares and hospital services. Sign up here. The slowdown in overall inflation was cheered by the White House, with a spokesperson posting on social media that "America's economy is set to turbocharge even further through long-overdue interest rate cuts from the Fed." Americans anxious about the labor market and affordability have soured on President Donald Trump's handling of the economy. The report followed on the heels of news this week of an acceleration in job growth in January and a drop in the unemployment rate to 4.3% from 4.4% in December. "Overall, the data suggest that price pressures remain a little too hot for comfort for the time being, but the direction of travel for inflation continues to look to be lower, even if this has proved a bumpy and slow process," said James McCann, senior economist, investment strategy at Edward Jones. "For the Fed, this probably doesn't change much in the near term." The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in December, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI increasing 0.3%. With January's CPI report, the BLS published recalculated seasonal adjustment factors to reflect 2025 price movements. A column chart with the title 'Monthly change in US Consumer Price Index' The report was slightly delayed by last week's three-day shutdown of the federal government. Some economists attributed January's favorable headline reading to the volatility in the CPI data caused by last year's longer shutdown that prevented the collection of prices for October. The cost of shelter, which includes rents as well as motel and hotel rooms, increased 0.2% after surging 0.4% in December. Food prices rose 0.2% after accelerating 0.7% in the prior month. Grocery store prices climbed 0.2% as more expensive cereal and baked goods were partially offset by a 0.4% easing in the cost of beef and veal. Eggs and coffee were also relatively cheaper last month as were fresh fruits and vegetables. The Trump administration has rolled back and cut tariffs on some imported foods. Still, food prices increased 2.9% from a year ago. Consumers also got more relief at the pump, with gasoline prices dropping 3.2% in January from December. Though electricity prices dipped 0.1%, they surged 6.3% year-on-year, reflecting demand from data centers to power artificial intelligence. In the 12 months through January, the CPI increased 2.4%. The slowdown in the year-on-year inflation rate from 2.7% in December mostly reflected last year's higher readings dropping out of the calculation. The tamer inflation numbers were unlikely to resonate with consumers. A shopper walks past a partially empty dairy section at a grocery store ahead of an expected winter storm spreading across the United States, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 24, 2026.... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more "The primary explanation for the gap is that households focus on the price level while inflation measures the price change, but a secondary one is the behavior of household essentials," said Eric Winograd, chief economist at AllianceBernstein. "Food, medicine and rent prices are rising faster than the series as a whole, and those prices are more important to households than the overall basket." Financial markets raised the odds of a June rate cut. The Fed last month left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range. Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower amid a technology sector rout. The dollar gained versus a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury yields fell. A line chart with the title 'Annual change in US Consumer Price Index' Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI increased 0.3% after rising by an unrevised 0.2% in December. Part of the rise in the so-called core CPI likely reflected one-off turn-of-the-year price increases, which economists said were still not being fully accounted for by the seasonal adjustment factors, the model used by the BLS to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data. The cost of personal care jumped 1.2%, while recreation increased 0.5% and communication rose 0.5%. The pass-through from tariffs persisted, though it was mild. Apparel prices advanced 0.3%, while the cost of household furnishings and supplies increased 0.3%. Prescription medication prices were unchanged. A 1.8% plunge in the prices of used cars and trucks helped to keep core goods prices flat for a second straight month. Core goods prices excluding autos increased 0.4%, the most since February 2023. The cost of services excluding energy rose 0.4% after climbing 0.3% in December. Services were boosted by a 6.5% surge in airline fares. Healthcare costs increased 0.3%, with prices for hospital services shooting up 0.9% and physicians' services rising 0.3%. Owners' equivalent rent increased 0.2% after gaining 0.3% in December. There were also increases in the prices of recreation services, haircuts as well as education and communication services. But motor vehicle insurance prices fell. In the 12 months through January, the so-called core CPI increased 2.5%. That also reflected last year's higher readings dropping out of the calculation. The Fed tracks the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Indexes for its 2% inflation target. Both measures are running well above target. Based on the CPI data, economists' estimates for the January increase in core PCE inflation ranged from 0.2% to 0.5%. Year-on-year estimates for January core PCE inflation were between an increase of 2.9% and 3.2%. The government will publish December PCE inflation data next week. Economists expect inflation to pick up for a while this year, citing the pass-through from import duties as well as the dollar's depreciation last year against the currencies of the United States' main trade partners. The trade-weighted U.S. dollar fell about 7.4% last year.

US retail sales unexpectedly flat in December (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly unchanged in December, putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a slower growth path heading into the new year. The flat reading in retail sales last month followed an unrevised 0.6% increase in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, would rise by 0.4%. The Census Bureau is still catching up on data releases after delays caused by last year's government shutdown. Retail had been strong despite consumers being downbeat about the economy amid higher prices from tariffs and a softening labor market. That has come at the expense of saving, with the saving rate falling to a three-year low of 3.5% in November from 3.7% in October. It has dropped from a peak of 31.8% in April 2020. But household wealth has surged, driven by a strong stock market rally and still-high home prices. Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services fell 0.1% in December after a downwardly revised 0.2% gain in November. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. They were previously reported to have advanced 0.4% in November. December's drop and the downward revision to November's data could prompt economists to trim their fourth-quarter estimates for consumer spending and GDP. Consumer spending increased at a brisk pace in the third quarter, driving much of the economy's 4.4% annualized growth pace during that period. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting GDP increased at a 4.2% rate in the fourth quarter. The government will published its delayed advance estimate of fourth-quarter GDP next week.

Disappointing holiday season: December retail sales were flat, falling well short of estimate -- Consumer activity slowed sharply for the December holiday shopping season amid a spate of rough weather, tariff impact and persistently higher inflation, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales were flat on the month following a 0.6% increase in November, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales also were unchanged, against the estimate for a 0.3% increase. On an annual basis, sales rose 2.4%, a considerable step down from the 3.3% pace in November. Sales ex-autos were up 3.3% annually in December. The report puts a downbeat end to an otherwise solid year for shopping activity, with higher-end consumers spending briskly through much of 2025, though those on the lower end of the income spectrum were more cautious. The shopping pace failed to keep up with inflation, as the consumer price index for December posted a 2.7% increase. For December, multiple categories posted losses while only a few showed notable gains. Miscellaneous retailers and furniture stores posted declines of 0.9%, while clothing and accessories stores were off 0.7%, and electronics and appliances saw a drop of 0.4%. Online outlets sales rose just 0.1%, while building materials and garden centers saw the strongest gain, up 1.2%. "This is a K-shaped economy with strong spending from the top and much more cautious spending from middle- and lower-income consumers," said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. "Retail sales were flat in December, driven by soft spending on autos, home furnishings, appliances and clothing. These items were hard hit by tariffs in 2025 and consumers shifted their spending elsewhere." Fourth-quarter economic activity otherwise was strong, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve's data tracker pointing to a gross domestic product rising at a 4.2% annualized pace. However, that number could be lowered Tuesday following the retail number. Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of all economic activity in the U.S. The report comes a day ahead of the closely watched nonfarm payrolls count for January. Economists expect that to show an increase of just 55,000, following the 50,000 gain in December. However, several prominent Wall Street firms say they are looking for a lower number, with annual revisions due out that also are expected to shrink previous payroll growth. In other economic news Tuesday, the employment cost index posted a seasonally adjusted 0.7% increase for the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, below the 0.8% forecast. For the year, total compensation costs rose 3.4%, or a bit above the inflation rate. The quarterly rate was the slowest gain since Q3 of 2020. The BLS also reported that import prices rose 0.1% in December, against a forecast decrease of 0.1%, and were unchanged from a year ago. Export prices increased 0.3% and were up 3.1% annually.

US Unexpectedly Adds 130K Jobs In January, Most Since 2024, Amid Massive Negative Revisions --Ahead of today's jobs report, the Trump admin unleashed a full court press to warn markets about what was expected to be a very weak numbers, with Peter Navarro saying "we have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like" and Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday to "expect slightly smaller job numbers" and that "one shouldn't panic" if the labor data comes in weak. That's also why the whisper number ahead of today's jobs print was well below the consensus, at 35K vs 65K median consensus. And so with markets and traders fully expecting a ugly print - with Bloomberg's chief economist looking for a 0 January print - the BLS decided to shock everyone, and reported than in January the US added 130K jobs, double the 65K median estimate and up from a downward revised December print of 48K (vs 50K previously). This was also the highest monthly jobs increase since December 2024. While today's number was double the median consensus, here is some additional color: at 130K, the forecast was higher than 79 out of 80 forecasts, with just Citigroup's 135K forecast higher. That said, expect today's number to be revised sharply lower last month: that's because the November report was revised down by 15,000, from +56,000 to +41,000, and the change for December was revised down by 2,000, from +50,000 to +48,000. With these revisions, employment in November and December combined is 17,000 lower than previously reported. It gets worse though, with 25 of the past 26 jobs reports revised lower. There is another reason why today's report will be revised away: while the seasonally adjusted change was a stronger than expected 130K, the unadjusted was a negative 2.649 million. That means that the entire delta in today's "surprise beat" was due to seasonal adjustments. The positive surprise in the payrolls number also translated into improvement in the unemployment rate, which unexpectedly dropped to 4.3%, down from 4.4% in December where it was expected to stay. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers declined to 13.6 percent in January. The jobless rates for adult men (3.8 percent), adult women (4.0 percent), and people who are White (3.7 percent), Black (7.2 percent), Asian (4.1 percent), or Hispanic (4.7 percent) all posted modest improvements in recent months. Tied to this, the labor force participation rate rose to 62.5%, up from 62.4% and fractionally better than the expected unchanged print. There was more positive surprises: in January, hourly earnings rose 0.4% MoM, up from a downward revised (of course) 0.1% in January and above the 0.3% estimate. On a YoY basis, this translated to a 3.7% increase in average hourly earnings, in line with estimates and unchanged from the previous month. Some more details from the report:

• The number of people employed part time for economic reasons decreased by 453,000 to 4.9 million in January but is up by 410,000 over the year. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
• In January, the number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job decreased by 399,000 to 5.8 million. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
• Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.7 million in January. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, also changed little at 475,000 in January.

January jobs report: superb monthly gains, but the birds came home to roost for 2025 - This is the month the birds came home to roost, at least for the year 2025. While the month over month numbers were almost all positive, some strongly so (a repeat of what we saw last January as well, so beware unresolved seasonality), the benchmark revisions were brutal. Which is likely what the Administration was telegraphing in bright neon flashing lights the past few days. In particular, the *entire* gains for 2025 were reduced from 584,000 to 181,000 - an average of only 15,000 jobs gained per month. Also, the normal yearly revisions to the Household Survey, which gives us things like the unemployment rate, did not take place as usual this month, but have been delayed until next month. As per usual, I am going to report on the monthly changes below. But I anticipate there will be *much* more to say once I have digested the revisions for all of the important leading numbers. Below is my in depth synopsis.

• 130,000 jobs added. Private sector jobs increased 172,000. Government jobs declined -42,000. The three month average rose to +73,000.
• The pattern of downward revisions to previous months continued. November was revised downward by -15,000 to +41,000, and December was revised downward by -2,000 to 48,000, for a net decline of -17,000.
• The alternate, and more volatile measure in the household report, rose by 528,000 jobs. On a YoY basis, this series increased 689,000 jobs, or an average of 57,000 monthly.
• The U3 unemployment rate declined -0.1% to 4.3% compared to its recent high of 4.5%.
• The U6 underemployment rate declined -0.4% to 8.0%.
• Further out on the spectrum, those who are not in the labor force but want a job now declined by -399,000 to 5.809 million..
• The average manufacturing workweek, one of the 10 components of the Index of Leading Indicators, rose 0.3 hours to 41.4 hours, now down only -0.2 hours from its 2021 peak of 41.6 hours.
• Manufacturing jobs rose 5,000.
• Truck driving jobs declined -4,300.
• Construction jobs rose 33,000.
• Residential construction jobs, which are even more leading, rose 300.
• Goods producing jobs as a whole rose 36,000.
• Temporary jobs rose 9,100.
• The number of people unemployed for 5 weeks or fewer declined -134,000 to 2,155,000.
• Average Hourly Earnings for Production and Nonsupervisory Personnel increased $.12, or +0.4%, to $31.95, for a YoY gain of +3.8%, a rebound from its post-pandemic low of 3.6%. This continues to be significantly above the 2.7% YoY inflation rate as of the most recent report.
• The index of aggregate hours worked for non-managerial workers rose 0.4%.
• The index of aggregate payrolls for non-managerial workers rose 0.8%, and is up 5.1% YoY.
• Professional and business employment rose 34,000.
• The employment population was unchanged at 64.8%.
• The Labor Force Participation Rate increased +0.1% to 62.5%.

SUMMARY: On a monthly basis, this was a very good report. Almost everything moved in the positive direction. In fact, the only negatives were a decline in trucking jobs and the continuing drumbeat of downward revisions to previous months. Everything else — positive, coincident, and lagging indicators of the employment market — were positive. But before you break out the champagne, keep in mind that the revisions to the past 12 months were very bad. For all of 2025, less than 200,000 jobs were added. Even with this month’s good report, the 12 month increase was only 359,000 jobs, or an average of 30,000 per month. I’ll have more to say either later today or over the next few days once I break out the revisions for each significant statistic.

Major Medical Group Advises Against Gender Procedures On Children --The admonition to "first, do no harm" is an ancient cornerstone of medical ethics. With that in mind, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons broke ranks with other medical organizations on Tuesday, recommending that member physicians refrain from performing gender transition surgeries on anyone under age 19. The major milestone in Western society's nascent recovery from gender-transition madness follows a landmark courtroom victory for a young woman whose breasts were removed at age 16, and the AMA has already signaled it will follow the ASPS's lead. The ASPS's position statement uses pointed language that echoes the profound concerns that have long been raised by gender-transition skeptics: "When uncertainty concerns not just the magnitude of benefit but the existence of benefit in and of itself, and when potential harms are irreversible and identity-defining, the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence require a more precautionary approach." The group's adoption of a new philosophy followed a review of research about the long-term outcomes for transitioned youngsters. "There’s no data to suggest that you can predict who will benefit from surgery and who will have a negative outcome,” former ASPS president Scot Bradley Glasberg told the New York Times. “That requires taking the side of caution, which means deferring or postponing these surgeries until the age of 19.”The overwhelming majority of gender-altering surgeries performed on minors are mastectomies. Last week, a New York jury found a psychologist and a surgeon liable for malpractice after they convinced a 16-year-old girl to lop off her breasts. It was the first medical malpractice case involving a de-transitioner to reach a verdict. That 16-year-old is now 22 and identifies as a woman. She also now identifies as a millionaire, after being awarded $2 million in damages, comprising $1.6 million for past and future pain and suffering, and $400,000 for future medical expenses. During the proceedings, the victim, Fox Varian, said she had the sense she'd made a colossal error as soon as she saw the scars on her chest. "I immediately had a thought that this was wrong, and it couldn’t be true," she said, adding that the surgery left her with 'searing hot' nerve pain." There was also emotional damage. "Shame. I felt shame. It’s hard to face that you are disfigured for life."

As schools go remote in the face of ICE, pandemic-era concerns reemerge - A growing number of schools are offering remote learning in the face of attendance drops due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, bringing back pandemic-era problems — and some new ones as well. While schools around Minneapolis offered virtual learning to combat the substantial increase in student absences in the face of the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, the option comes at a cost,, with educators struggling to switch their lessons plans while still catering to those who are coming into class. Last year, schools in Southern California faced the same situation, and Springfield, Ohio, may be next, bringing back unhappy memories for educators of the learning loss and behavioral issues that followed COVID-era closures. David Law, superintendent for Minnetonka Public Schools in Minnesota, said his school already had an online program, so it was easier to allow students who felt unsafe going outside to switch. But others are having a tougher time. “For a district that didn’t have a preexisting online program, then you had to identify staff that wanted to teach in that platform and reassign and regroup, and that’s really hard. It’s hard for teachers. … It’s hard for kids because you haven’t been learning in that format. I know one of my neighboring districts took two days off to transition to an online platform,” Law said. School districts in Minnesota began transitions to online learning after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good on Jan. 7. Since then, the slaying of Alex Pretti and multiple recorded clashes with protesters have only raised tensions, and some schools are seeing attendance drops of more than half. “It’s still — it’s a lot of shock mixed in with some anger that the adults in our federal administration are choosing to impart this on teachers and, more importantly, our students, like, it’s a conscious decision that has been made by policymakers to make this happen,” said Tracy Byrd, an English teacher at Minneapolis Washburn High School, whose school district has extended remote learning options to April. “This is a singular person sending people into various cities to terrorize and create chaos,” he added. “And so, because of that, it’s putting stress on students, I mean, and their home life has been turned upside down, and then the teachers trying to juggle all of this and teach.” Byrd says his classroom has four students online and 28 in person, lamenting it feels like “two separate classes” and that it’s hard to determine if the online students are learning, especially when their cameras are off.

Detroit area student walkouts declare, “ICE are the criminals, not us” -Detroit area students are continuing to stage walkouts protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Meanwhile, federal agents are stepping up attacks on immigrants across the state, including the recent seizure of two Amazon Flex workers at a Hazel Park warehouse.The national student walkouts that took place on January 30 have continued into February, with many schools in Southeast Michigan participating. On February 4, over 1,000 students walked out in Plymouth-Canton. They were joined by hundreds of others in Ypsilanti and at Ann Arbor’s Community High Schools, including Pioneer, Skyline, and Huron. On February 9, more than 200 students protested at Dexter High School, along with 50 Royal Oak students. On Tuesday, hundreds of Cass Technical High School in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood students held their second major protest in two weeks. Marching in the cold, they chanted and carried handmade signs—“ICE are the criminals, not us,” “No one is illegal on stolen land,” “Stop saying your racism is patriotism.”The walkout occurred four days after 23-year-old Alcides Caceres, a Cass Tech graduate being held by ICE, was denied bond. Brought from Honduras to Detroit at the age of four, Caceres grew up in the city, graduated from Cass Tech, attended Wayne State University and runs a small business. Friends and family describe him as a law‑abiding young man whose entire life is in Detroit.Alcides was picked up by ICE on or around January 8, 2026, reportedly after being stopped during a traffic encounter in Michigan. His friends and supporters say ICE checked his record and found no criminal history, and that he has cooperated with immigration authorities, but he has remained in ICE custody for weeks in degrading conditions with the constant threat of being expelled to a country he does not remember. A federal court has already ruled that his detention is unlawful, but ICE simply ignores the ruling. On February 2, at an Amazon delivery facility in Hazel Park, ICE agents chased two Venezuelan Amazon Flex drivers—Edwin Vladimir Romero Gutierrez and Ángel Junior Rincón Pérez—into the warehouse and arrested them with the cooperation of Amazon security. Both men are asylum seekers with Temporary Protected Status, that is, they have been acknowledged by the government itself as fleeing dangerous conditions.These arrests are part of a nationwide escalation of immigration raids designed to divide the working class along national and racial lines and to create a climate of fear in which all democratic rights can be trampled. At Amazon, ICE’s operation had an additional purpose: to remind tens of thousands of warehouse and delivery workers that the state stands behind the company’s brutal regime of speed‑up and surveillance, and that any attempt to resist can be met with deportation.

Educators walk a difficult line as students bring ICE concerns into classrooms - Conversations about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pose a tricky line to walk for schoolteachers, who must balance compassion with avoiding the political land mine of immigration enforcement. Educators around the country are fielding questions, concerns and fears from students who are not immune to the political upheaval that has surrounded President Trump’s ICE policies, particularly the highly controversial deployment in Minnesota. Stacy B., a teacher in St. Paul who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said she has offered to bring groceries to families of her students who are afraid to go out after some saw relatives taken away by ICE, arguing the issue is no more political than her providing basic supplies in her classroom. “I’m just going to say publicly, ‘I’m here for you.’ And, to me, that’s not political, that’s my responsibility. That’s what I do is I support students. I understand and I support teachers who don’t want to say anything,” she explained. But “if someone calls me out on it, I’m going to, again, say I spend my own money on Kleenex boxes. There’s nothing political about Kleenex. I’m going to support my students, and I don’t care what the situation is.” Schools in the North Star State have seen massive attendance drops since Operation Metro Surge began, with many now offering remote learning for families afraid to leave their homes. Sean Padden, a health teacher at Roseville Area Middle School in Minnesota, said his students have been increasingly bringing up ICE and discussions around the current political climate. While he isn’t shying away from these conversations, he does warn them that such discussions end with “non-closure” much of the time. “So, the fact that we can encourage our students to have dialogue, to try to reach understanding and to try to come to terms with the fact that when that dialogue is had, expect non-closure. I tell my students that all the time — if you want to have this discussion, we can have it. If you want to go see some of our counselors that we have here on site and process, please do, but expect non-closure, and you have to be OK with that,” Padden said. Sentiments around ICE have grown increasingly hostile after two U.S. citizens were killed by immigration authorities in Minneapolis last month, though Minnesota is not the first state to deal with Trump’s immigration surge. Last year, schools in Los Angeles and Chicago were stunned when an increase in immigration enforcement hit their areas, also leading to drops in school attendance. Sonia Ruiz, a principal at Jane Addams Middle School in the suburbs of Chicago, said when ICE enforcement was high last October, she fielded many concerns from parents and students about how the school will protect their rights and keep their children safe. While Ruiz said social studies teachers were better suited to walk the political tightrope it takes to have discussions about ICE, most educators avoided getting into the politics of the issue.

Ohio Republicans introduce bill to ban NIL deals for high school and middle school athletes - Ohio Republicans want to ban high school and middle school athletes from making name, image, or likeness deals. State Reps. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, and Mike Odioso, R-Green Twp., recently introduced Ohio House Bill 661. “The purpose in Ohio high school sports should be about a learning experience that is an extension of the classroom,” Bird said at a press conference last week. “We don’t spend public taxpayer money on stadiums and on weight rooms and on gymnasiums in order for them to be able to earn employment and earn an income.” Ohio is one of 45 states that allows high school athletes to have NIL deals. “It is important to note that NIL at the high school level in Ohio is very different than what we see at the college level,” Tim Stried, Ohio High School Athletic Association spokesperson, said in an email. The association said they are aware of the legislation. Osioso, a former teacher and football coach for St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, said that things would eventually lead to an underground transfer portal. “We’re talking about seventh graders,” Odioso said. “We’re talking about eighth graders. We’re talking about freshmen. … They are emotionally and psychologically unprepared for this. They’re not going to be able to handle it.” Recruiting students to transfer schools is already happening in Ohio, Bird said during an Ohio House Education Committee meeting last week. “This NIL change will undoubtedly make it way worse,” he said. “Wealthy alumni will be the recruiting agent for their alma mater and will use the lure of NIL payments to direct students to transfer to a certain school. … This is about protecting our children from what I would believe are some predators out there that would like to take advantage of that child’s athletic ability.” A Franklin County judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Ohio High School Athletic Association from enforcing its ban against high school athletes benefiting from NIL in October. Jasmine Brown had filed the lawsuit on behalf of her son Jamier Brown, an Ohio State Buckeyes football commit from the Dayton area. He is a top-ranked wide receiver from Wayne High School in Huber Heights who is transferring to Big Walnut High School in Sunbury for his senior year. Brown, a member of the class of 2027, has missed out on more than $100,000 in potential deals, according to the lawsuit.

Leading AI models struggle to solve original math problems - Mathematics, like many other scientific endeavors, is increasingly using artificial intelligence. Of course, math is the backbone of AI, but mathematicians are also turning to these tools for tasks like literature searches and checking manuscripts for errors. But how well can AI perform when it comes to solving genuine, high-level research problems? To date, there is still no widely accepted realistic methodology for assessing AI's capabilities to solve math at this level. So a group of mathematicians decided to put the machines to the test as they detail in a study available on the arXiv preprint server. Previous attempts at testing AI have used math contest problems and questions already found in textbooks. What makes this study different is that the questions the programs faced were drawn from mathematicians' own research. They had never been posted or published online, which means AI couldn't memorize answers from its training data. Each mathematician taking part in the study contributed a unique problem and solved it themselves first to prove that the questions weren't impossible. They also encrypted the answers so they would not appear in public sources that models could access. There were ten problems overall across diverse mathematical fields, including stochastic analysis, spectral graph theory, symplectic geometry, and algebraic topology. The researchers tested the questions on several leading systems, including GPT-5.1 Pro and Gemini 3 Pro, and the models were given only one attempt per question. There were no additional prompts or conversations, nor any hints that might help them reach a solution. The experiment, called First Proof, was designed to test a specific part of the mathematical process. As the researchers commented in their paper, "Our 'first proof' experiment is focused on the final and most well-specified stage of math research, in which the question and frameworks are already understood." The results can allay the fears of anyone concerned that AI is poised to replace mathematicians. While AI programs are excellent at summarizing existing knowledge or finding patterns in data, the models struggled to solve the problems in a single attempt. The researchers' overall conclusion is that, at the moment, AI is good at contest-like tasks but lacks the creative depth and intuition needed to navigate and solve the unknown.

Legal challenges hinder Trump’s education agenda -The courts have proven to be a big roadblock in the Trump administration’s education plans. President Trump’s efforts against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on school grounds, his push to remove “gender ideology” from education and his moves against Harvard University have all suffered losses in court, with the administration often decrying the rulings of what it calls “activist judges.” To be sure, Trump has also scored major legal victories on education, particularly regarding his desire to downsize and eventually eliminate the Education Department. But opponents of his agenda are getting results after lawyering up. “What we are seeing is, since the early days of this administration, more teachers, more students, more schools are standing up and saying, ‘That is not what the law says, and that is not how we have decided in our community to educate our students.’ And I think that the more people we see doing that, the courage, I think, is contagious. It is spreading,” said Maddy Gitomer, senior counsel at Democracy Forward who has successfully won education cases against the administration. “We are seeing more and more people getting involved in these legal fights, and we are seeing a lot of wins,” she added. Trump has not shied away from going after judges who have ruled against him in areas such as his tariffs or the deportation of Venezuelan migrants, even receiving rare pushback last year from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for his attacks on the bench.Trump’s policies on topics including immigration and transgender rights have overlapped frequently with education, with scores of active cases in the court system. “The Trump Department of Education is carrying out a clear mandate from parents: get politics and DEI out of classrooms, cut federal administrative bloat, and ensure education dollars are spent directly on student achievement,” said department press secretary Savannah Newhouse. “Challengers who are rushing to the courts claim to act in students’ interests, but their efforts would only lock students into a broken status quo that has already failed them.”Most recently, educators in Minnesota have challenged the administration’s decision to allow federal immigration officers around school property after agents arrested a teacher in Minneapolis on school grounds. But setbacks have not slowed the administration down. The Education Department has opened numerous investigations and threatened funding of schools over transgender athletes on women’s sports team, while the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of the issue. “What the Trump administration is doing is not actually complying with the law. They’re interpreting Title IX based on President Trump’s executive order. But the thing is, he can’t just change law by the stroke of a pen, and so, their whole interpretation and the way they’re going about pressuring schools or threatening schools by withholding funds that they don’t comply with this interpretation and create exclusive policies is just unlawful,” said Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice and Title IX expert at the National Women’s Law Center. Last year, Harvard successfully won the restoration of millions of dollars in funding in court after the administration pulled the research money to pressure the university to cough up a fine and make some policy changes.

Democrats call on McMahon to explain civil rights complaints backlog - Seventy House Democrats sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding answers on the department’s backlog in civil rights cases. The Democrats, led by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), expressed concern at the number of Office of Civil Rights (OCR) employees laid off under the Trump administration when the president’s term started with over 22,000 complaints filed in 2024. “Secretary McMahon fired hundreds of lawyers and staff at the Office for Civil Rights, and now the Department of Education is facing a major backlog of civil rights complaints. I led 70 of my House colleagues to demand answers,” Bonamici posted on the social platform X on Monday. “OCR exists for a reason — its attorneys enforce federal civil rights laws so all students can have equal access to education that is free from harassment and discrimination. Linda McMahon must do more to protect students,” she added. The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for comment. The letter points to reports that hundreds of OCR workers were fired, then rehired on a temporary basis to handle the reported 25,000 cases and 7,000 open investigations at the office. “The Department’s decision to fire almost half of OCR’s employees for several months is deeply concerning and has already proven harmful to students, parents, and educators across the country. One of OCR’s open cases that has reportedly been stalled is an investigation into allegations that Black students were subject to racial slurs, monkey sounds, and audio recordings of cracking whips at their Texas middle school,” the letter reads. The letter notes the department has not resolved a racial harassment or discrimination investigation since Trump took office. The Democrats are demanding answers on how many complaints are active and what type of complaints, what standards are applied for determining discrimination and how many employees the department has to handle the caseload.

Columbia University anti-ICE protests lead to 12 arrests -- Twelve protesters were arrested Thursday after staging a demonstration against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside of Columbia University in New York that blocked roadways. A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said protesters were told to disperse multiple times and were impeding traffic before a dozen people were taken into custody and issued criminal court summons. The New York Times reported that all 12 individuals were either Columbia professors or students. The around 150 protesters at the event, partly organized by a campus group, were wearing “Sanctuary Campus Now” shirts, according to the Times. Columbia said in a statement it supports peaceful protests but that information given at the event was inaccurate. “As we made clear repeatedly, no member of Columbia’s leadership or the board of trustees has ever requested the presence of ICE agents on or near campus. This is a false assertion,” the university wrote, adding ICE is not allowed in nonpublic areas of the institution without a judicial warrant. Columbia University has been relatively quiet on the protest front after the institution struck a deal with the Trump administration last year, paying a large fine and agreeing to stricter disciplinary policies. But some activity has occurred in recent weeks with anti-ICE vigils, following protests earlier last year when Mahmoud Khalil, a former student and previous leader of the pro-Palestinian campus movement, was arrested by immigration officers and the administration attempted to deport him under the assertion he is a threat to the country’s foreign policy. The case is ongoing, but Khalil is no longer in ICE custody. Columbia was a top target of the Trump administration after students led pro-Palestinian protests in 2024 against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which inspired campuses across the country.

Trump administration sues Harvard, accuses it of defying admissions probe - The Trump administration sued Harvard University on Friday, accusing it of failing to comply with a federal investigation and seeking documents to determine whether the university had illegally considered race in its admissions process. The move comes less than two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration was seeking $1 billion from Harvard to settle probes into school policies, after a news report that said Trump had dropped his demand for a payment from the Ivy League school. Harvard representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump's administration has been threatening to withhold federal funds from Harvard and several other universities over issues including pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war in Gaza, campus diversity and transgender policies. The Justice Department said on Friday in a press release that Harvard had "repeatedly slow-walked the pace of production and refused to produce pertinent data and documents," including admissions policies and correspondence related to banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In the complaint filed in Boston federal court, Justice Department lawyers said the documents requested will help assess whether Harvard is complying with a 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which said that race-conscious college admissions programs are unconstitutional. The Justice Department said it brought the lawsuit "solely to compel Harvard to produce documents relating to any consideration of race in admission" and "does not accuse Harvard of any discriminatory conduct, nor does it seek monetary damages or the revocation of federal funding." The administration last year attempted to cancel hundreds of grants awarded to Harvard researchers on the grounds the school failed to do enough to address harassment of Jewish students on its campus, prompting Harvard to sue. Trump's attempts to freeze federal funds for Harvard have faced legal resistance and the two sides have failed to reach a deal thus far.

CIDRAP Op-Ed: The HPV vaccine prevents cancer. The new ACIP wants to re-examine that. | CIDRAP -The vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, has reduced cervical cancer by nearly 90% in women vaccinated as adolescents. It has been studied in more than 70 randomized controlled trials. Over 135 million doses have been administered in the United States. And last month, a newly formed working group under the reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which helps guide vaccine decisions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced plans to conduct a multi-year "comprehensive review" of the vaccine's efficacy, effectiveness, and safety.The working group's charter, finalized in December 2025, does not limit itself to the one genuinely open question in HPV vaccine science, whether a single dose provides adequate long-term protection. It calls for a sweeping reexamination that includes adjuvant toxicity, potential contaminants, possible HPV type replacement, and a full reassessment of safety data. It lists neurology and toxicology among the disciplines to be represented on the working group. And it operates under an ACIP that was reconstituted in June 2025 after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 prior members and replaced them with appointees who include paid expert witnesses against the product now under review.Periodic review of vaccine recommendations is normal and necessary. What this charter describes is something else entirely. It is the construction of uncertainty around a vaccine whose benefits have been demonstrated more conclusively than almost any medical intervention in modern history.The real-world impact of HPV vaccination on cancer is no longer theoretical. Population-based studies from countries with established vaccination programs and centralized cancer registries have documented what clinical trials predicted: This vaccine prevents cancer at a population level.In Sweden, a cohort study spanning 1.7 million women found that those vaccinated before age 17 had an 88% lower risk of developing invasive cervical cancer compared with unvaccinated women. In England, girls vaccinated at ages 12 to 13 experienced an 87% reduction in cervical cancer incidence and a 97% reduction in the highest-grade precancerous cervical lesions. Denmark reported an 86% reduction in cervical cancer among women vaccinated before 17. Australia, the first country to implement a national HPV vaccination program, is on trajectory to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem, with a 93% drop in genital warts among young women within five years of the program's launch and documented herd protection extending to unvaccinated males. A new modeling study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, published the same week the working group was announced, found that, in Norway, where HPV vaccination coverage exceeds 90%, women vaccinated between ages 12 and 24 may need cervical cancer screening only once every 15 to 25 years. The vaccine works so well that the question in high-coverage countries is not whether it prevents cancer but how much screening can safely be reduced.

Lawmakers want answers on CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Africa -US lawmakers have sent a letter to federal health officials demanding answers on how and why a controversial vaccine trial in West Africa received federal funding. The letter from Democratic members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O’Neill asks for all documentation regarding the decision to award a five-year, $1.6 million grant to a team of Danish researchers conducting the study, which aims to assess the overall health impact of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. Half of the estimated 14,000 newborns enrolled in the randomized controlled trial will not receive the birth dose of the vaccine.CIDRAP News first reported on the study in December, shortly after it was announced in the Federal Register. The trial has been widely criticized as unethical, given the known efficacy of a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine and the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection in Guinea-Bissau. “Without the vaccine, as many as nine in ten infants could develop chronic infection that can lead to liver failure and death,” ranking committee members Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Diane DeGette (D-CO), and Yvette Clark (D-NY), wrote to O’Neill. “In that context, deliberately withholding a proven vaccine that has saved millions of lives globally for the sole purpose of examining theoretical, non-specific side effects may constitute a major breach of scientific ethics. And using taxpayer dollars in such a study rather than using those dollars to provide proven, life-saving vaccinations to babies is abhorrent.”Critics have also questioned the trial’s protocol, the track record of the researchers conducting the study, and why the CDC awarded the grant without the usual competitive process. The questions raised about the trial led the government of Guinea-Bissau to temporarily suspend it pending further review, although US officials maintain it’s going forward as planned.The letter asks O’Neill to clarify the status of the trial, produce all versions of the study proposal and protocol, describe the CDC’s communications and coordination with Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Health, and provide any documentation regarding the decision to award the grant without a competitive process.

COVID infection may impair male fertility, but vaccination shows no effect, review suggests -COVID-19 infection may meaningfully affect male reproductive health, while having limited consequences for female fertility or assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes, according to a new umbrella reviewpublished this week in Vaccine. In contrast, COVID vaccination showed little impact on fertility in either men or women. The review, led by a team at the Department of Reproductive Medical Center at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, assessed the effects of COVID infection and COVID vaccination on fertility and ART outcomes by analyzing data from 14 studies with 40 different fertility and ART outcomes. Among men, the data suggests, COVID infection is associated with reductions in semen quality, including lower semen volume and concentration, and total sperm count, viability, and motility. COVID infection was also associated with elevated levels of the hormones estradiol and prolactin in men, though it did not appear to significantly affect testosterone levels. These negative fertility outcomes in men persisted after infection. “Notably, even after recovery (over 90 days), sperm concentration and motility remained lower compared to uninfected individuals,” they write. While the authors emphasize the need for more research because the quality of the evidence in the included studies is rated low, they note the biological plausibility of COVID infection on male fertility given the high distribution of viral-entry receptors such as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) in male reproductive organs. “Given the high expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the testes…the male reproductive system is theoretically prone to SARS-CoV-2 infection,” they write. “This infection, leading to orchitis [inflammation of the testicles] and disruption of spermatogenesis [the creation of mature sperm], might result in reduced sperm count, motility, and overall semen quality.” No link between COVID vaccination, fertility outcomes For women, COVID infection was not associated with negative fertility outcomes. “COVID-19 showed minimal impact on female ovarian reserve…or ART outcomes,” they write, despite ACE2 being present in ovarian tissues and the lining of the uterus, which suggests COVID infection could affect female reproductive organs and interfere with fertility. The analysis did not find evidence of reproductive harm from COVID vaccination for either men or women.

Researchers pinpoint cause of rare but life-threatening blood clots after adenovirus-based COVID vaccination -Scientists say they have identified a mutated autoantibody gene as the mechanism behind rare but serious abnormal blood clotting after adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccination, a discovery that they say will allow vaccine developers to avert the disorder by adjusting the adenovirus protein in the vaccines while still preserving their efficacy.For the study, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers in Australia, Canada, and Europe used mass spectroscopy and molecular analysis to delve into why, at the COVID-19 pandemic peak in 2021, a small number of people developed vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) after receiving adenovirus vector-based vaccines or experiencing an adenovirus infection. VITT occurred in roughly one of 200,000 people after receipt of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Europe and Australia or the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine in the United States. Adenoviruses are common viruses that cause mild or moderate diseases such as the common cold and bronchitis. These vaccines used an adenovirus to insert a gene for SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein into recipients’ cells. After VITT was linked to adenovirus-based vaccines, many European countries either limited the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine or dropped it completely, and the United States abandoned the J&J vaccine. mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines such as those from Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech were much more commonly used in the United States and under different brand names in many other countries.A new syndrome, VITT is characterized by thrombosis, or the formation of dangerous blood clots in the veins or arteries, often in the brain or abdomen. It is accompanied by immune thrombocytopenia, an autoimmune disorder that depletes platelets in the blood, leading to uncontrolled bleeding. Symptoms can include severe headache, changes in vision, abdominal and back pain, vomiting, shortness of breath, easy bruising or bleeding, and leg pain or swelling.The probe led to detection of a mutation in a person’s antibody-producing B cells that causes the immune system to mistake a normal adenovirus protein for human blood protein platelet factor 4 (PF4), prompting the production of an antibody that triggers blood clotting. The researchers say that VITT patients had likely previously been infected with an adenovirus, which primed their B cells to recognize the adenovirus protein.The finding can also improve the safety of adenovirus-based vaccines against other diseases such as Ebola. “By modifying or removing this specific adenovirus protein, future vaccines can avoid this extremely rare reaction while continuing to provide strong protection against disease,” lead author Jing Jing Wang, PhD, of Flinders University in Australia, said in a university news release.

Study finds no link between COVID-19 vaccines and autism - A study today finds no increase in autism rates in babies born to mothers who received COVID-19 vaccines just before or during pregnancy, compared with children of unvaccinated moms. The authors of the study, who presented their findings at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 2026 Pregnancy Meeting, told CIDRAP News they hope the research will help dispel myths about COVID-19 vaccines, which multiple studies have found to be safe and effective during pregnancy. Half of the 434 children in the study, conducted at 14 medical facilities from May 2024 to March 2025, were born to mothers who received at least one dose of an mRNA vaccine during or within 30 days before pregnancy. The other half of the children in the study were born to mothers who weren’t vaccinated before or during pregnancy. Researchers evaluated toddlers between the ages of 18 months and 30 months for signs of autism using four standard screenings: the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Version 3 (ASQ-3), the Child Behavior Checklist, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. None of these measures are used to make a definitive diagnosis of autism, but they can indicate a need for further testing. When the researchers compared the scores on all four screening assessments, they found no significant differences between the children born to vaccinated mothers and those born to unvaccinated mothers. “The fact that there were no differences on all four of these outcomes is evidence that COVID vaccination does not result in developmental concerns for most children,” said Alycia Halladay, PhD, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, who was not involved in the new study. “For people who are worried that taking the COVID vaccine during pregnancy may cause autism, the study is pretty clear, convincing evidence that it does not.”

Higher pre-COVID BMI tied to greater risk of post-infection heart, GI problems in youth - Children and young adults with obesity before acute COVID-19 infection face significantly higher risks of some post-infection cardiovascular and gastrointestinal conditions, according to a study published this week in the Journal of Infection. The retrospective cohort study, led by researchers from the Center for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence at the University of Pennsylvania, drew on data from the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER initiative and included 139,320 patients ages 5 to 20 years diagnosed as having COVID from March 2020 to September 2023. The researchers examined whether body mass index (BMI) measured in the 18 months before infection was associated with new cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, or neuropsychiatric diagnoses one to six months after infection. Obesity strongly associated with risk of cardiovascular disorders Among all participants, 53.3% were categorized as having a healthy weight, 13.4% as overweight, 16.0% as obese, and 17.3% as severely obese. Severe obesity was strongly associated with a greater risk of post-infection cardiovascular disorders. Compared with youth of a healthy weight, those with severe obesity had more than double the risk of any cardiovascular disorder (adjusted relative risk [RR], 2.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.93 to 3.41). Chest pain was the most common heart-related symptom after COVID infection, occurring in 1.7% of all participants, and it appeared at roughly the same rate regardless of weight—1.8% among those with healthy weight and 1.6% among those with severe obesity. High blood pressure became more common as body weight increased. Young people with severe obesity had the highest risk (aRR, 3.68; 95% CI, 2.65 to 5.11) compared with those at a healthy weight. Fainting (syncope) showed the opposite pattern, becoming less common as BMI increased. Looking at heart conditions overall, the risk rose steadily with higher BMI. Compared with healthy-weight participants, those with obesity had almost double the risk of developing any cardiovascular disorder (aRR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.44 to 2.24), and the risk for those with severe obesity was over 2.5 times higher (aRR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.93 to 3.41). “Our findings that higher BMI categories were associated with increased risks of hypertension and overall cardiovascular disorders are consistent with established evidence linking obesity with cardiovascular dysfunction,” write the authors. “Mechanistically, chronic low-grade inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, metabolic dysregulation, and pre-existing insulin and leptin resistance likely amplify SARS-CoV-2-induced cardiovascular stress.” In contrast, the link between COVID infection and post-infection neuropsychiatric outcomes was inconsistent and, in the case of anxiety and depression, inverse. Anxiety disorders were seen less frequently in people with higher BMI, as was major depression. More broadly, mental illness did not follow a single, clear pattern. Some conditions were less common at higher BMI levels, while others showed no consistent relationship with BMI. Mental illness did not follow a single, clear pattern. Some conditions were less common at higher BMI levels, while others showed no consistent relationship with BMI. “The inverse associations observed between higher BMI and certain neuropsychiatric outcomes, including anxiety and depression, is unexpected and should be interpreted with caution,” write the authors, who speculate that social- and health care–related factors may play a role in the link between COVID infection and neuropsychiatric outcomes.

CDC’s FluView shows 8 more pediatric deaths as flu activity drops - The most recent FluView report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows an additional eight pediatric deaths last week, raising the season’s total to 60 pediatric deaths from flu complications. Approximately 90% of the 60 children were not fully vaccinated against influenza.The CDC estimates there have been at least 22,000,000 illnesses, 280,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 deaths from flu so far this season. There was a downward trend in provider visits for influenza-like illness (ILI), to 4.4% above the national baseline. Overall, the positivity rate for influenza detections in clinical labs remained steady at 18.0%, and the cumulative hospitalization rate is 63.2 per 100,000 population. “Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationally. Most areas of the country are reporting stable or decreasing trends in activity; however, activity continues to increase in HHS Region 10 (Pacific Northwest),” the CDC said. As has been typical in other flu seasons, influenza A activity is decreasing while influenza B is increasing. For week 4 of 2026 surveillance data, influenza A was detected in 76.9% of samples, while influenza B was detected in 23.1% of samples. For the total 2025-26 flu season, 92% of flu specimens have been typed as influenza A. Among 822 influenza A(H3N2) viruses collected since September 28, 2025, that underwent additional genetic characterization at the CDC, 91.5% belonged to subclade K, a variant that has mutated to evade immunity from the current flu vaccine strain. (NB: viruses do not have agency)

TrumpRx, Super Bowl commercials, flu B is here, and more - Katelyn Jetelina, Your Local Epidemiologist - There are still plenty of sick people out there. After several weeks of decline, we’re seeing a modest uptick in people with coughs, sore throats, and fevers. This bump appears to be driven by late-winter suspects: the common cold, RSV, and flu B. Flu B often rises after flu A has already peaked, so a late-season increase like this is expected and not unusual. Number of positive flu tests in the United States. Graphics Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist

• How big will flu B get? It’s unclear. Some countries, like Japan, are experiencing a sizable second wave of flu, while others are not. Historically, flu B causes smaller waves than flu A, partly because of existing population immunity. We’ll be watching the data closely. So far, the much-hyped “super flu” hasn’t materialized at the national level. Overall severity, measured by cumulative hospitalizations, has been middle-of-the-road. That said, some states have had very tough seasons (as we covered at YLE New York), while others have fared better (as we covered at YLE California).
• Measles. There have now be en 803 confirmed cases nationally in 2026. In just five weeks, we’ve hit 35% of the total number of cases in 2025.South Carolina keeps on growing. It has now reached an astonishing 920 cases. It looks to be slowing, but time will tell how big this gets.

TrumpRx: Big branding, limited impact. Americans pay outrageously high prices for brand-name drugs, so I’m all for efforts that tackle the root causes. But despite the patriotic branding behind TrumpRx, it lacks real teeth, and most people are unlikely to see any meaningful relief from the new drug website.Here are the details:

1. TrumpRx only applies to people who pay cash for prescriptions. So, the vast majority of Americans with health insurance will not benefit.
2. If you do pay cash for drugs from the site, it will likely not count towards your deductible. However, this may be changing following a recent FTC settlement involving Cigna/Express Scripts. Also, eight states have passed laws requiring insurers to count certain cash prescription purchases toward deductibles and out-of-pocket limits.
3. Don’t forget generics. One of the more misleading aspects of TrumpRx is that it focuses on brand-name drugs without clearly telling consumers that much cheaper generic drugs already exist. In fact, 18 of 43 of the drugs on TrumpRx already have cheaper options. So, before you use the platform, double-check that there isn’t already a cheaper option here. For example:
   • Tikosyn (antiarrhythmic): TrumpRx $672 vs. generic version for $36
   • Pristiq (antidepressant): TrumpRx $200 vs. generic version for $20
   • Protonix (acid reflux): TrumpRx $361 vs. generic version on Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs platform is $6.
4. This isn’t a change in the law. TrumpRx is essentially an online drug marketplace; it doesn’t alter legal requirements or hold industry players more accountable. Real cost relief requires stronger levers. That’s what sets it apart from approaches like California’s, which uses legislation to change the system itself by holding middlemen accountable and reshaping incentives across insurers and pharmacies.
5. Sweeping changes are still needed. The most consequential shift we’ve seen so far came with the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which finally allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices, but it is narrow, and more reform is urgently needed.
   • Starting this year, 10 Medicare drugs are now, on average, 22% cheaper than before.
   • Just announced: in 2027, 15 more drugs will be added, with prices about 44% lower on average.

Super Bowl commercials are worth a closer look.

• Hidden details in Hims & Hers. A telehealth company, Hims & Hers, promoted a blood-based multi-cancer screening test called Galleri, which looks for cancer-related DNA signals in the bloodstream. The challenge here isn’t whether the test can ever detect cancer (it can), but how often it misses cancers and how often it raises false alarms. So what does the data actually show? The company tested the blood of nearly 36,000 adults over 50 who were asymptomatic and followed them for a year. (This was not a randomized controlled trial). Results were:
  • Of everyone who had cancer, the test caught about 4 out of 10.
  • Among the cancers it did catch, more than half were early-stage, and about three-quarters were cancers that currently have no routine screening tests, such as pancreatic cancer.
  • Of everyone who tested positive, about 2 out of 3 truly had cancer, while a little more than 1 in 3 people experienced a false alarm.
  • Among those who had a negative test, 99% were confirmed to be negative.
• These are not strong numbers, and it remains unclear whether the test improves long-term survival. Screening always has tradeoffs, and consumers deserve to understand them, especially before paying around $900 for a test that is not FDA-approved, not covered by insurance, and can trigger significant anxiety if a result turns out to be a false alarm.
• Shame doesn’t work. The second ad featured Mike Tyson promoting realfood.gov, a government site where he describes how eating processed foods led him to self-hate. MAHA sponsored the commercial, and that’s what makes it so frustrating. With decades of behavioral science showing that shame backfires and agency-based messaging works better, this could have been a powerful, empowering moment. Instead, they missed an opportunity to make a far more impactful and effective case for healthier eating.Shame-based framing (“I ate this, so I’m bad”) largely doesn’t work because it shuts people down. Guilt-based framing paired with agency (“This choice wasn’t great and I can change it”) is more likely to make a difference. People rely on ultra-processed foods because of cost, time constraints, and limited access to healthy foods, not simply a lack of willpower. And some ultra-processed foods, like seasoned canned beans or whole wheat bread, can be part of a healthy diet. If the goal is healthier eating, the message should offer honesty, nuance, and realistic choices, rather than moral judgment.

7 states back in CDC’s worst tier for flu as influenza B spreads– As one variant of the flu virus starts to decline, another is rising to take its place. At the end of last year, when flu activity spiked amid the holidays, influenza A – specifically the subclade K variant of H3N2 – was dominant. It was making so many people sick, the variant was nicknamed “super flu.” Influenza A is still the most common type of flu circulating, but influenza B has risen for two weeks straight, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza B made up about 23% of cases tested in nationwide labs during the last week of January. The latest available data shows flu activity “remains elevated nationally,” but most regions are stable or getting better. One exception: the Pacific Northwest is still seeing things get worse, according to CDC tracking. CDC warns doctors to look for screwworm symptoms. What are they? Oregon has landed itself in the CDC’s worst tier for flu activity, as have six other states. Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee also have “very high” levels of flu. Twenty more states still have “high” flu activity, as seen in shades of red and orange on the map above. Eight more pediatric deaths associated with the flu were reported at the end of January, bringing the total to 60 pediatric deaths this season. Ninety percent of those deaths were in children who were not fully vaccinated against influenza, the CDC said. The agency now categorizes this flu season as “high severity” for children, but “moderate severity” for adults and those over 65. “Influenza (flu) vaccination has been shown to reduce the risk of flu and its potentially serious complications. There is still time to get vaccinated against flu this season,” the CDC said in its most recent update. The shift toward influenza B is expected around this time of year. Influenza A is more commonly seen earlier in flu season, in the winter months, while influenza B seems to crop up later, around early spring. There are also two other types of influenza – C and D – but we don’t worry about them as much. Influenza C typically causes mild illness and doesn’t cause widespread epidemics, while influenza D mostly affects cattle.

CDC reports 6 more child deaths from flu, as virus levels stay moderate to high -Six more US children died of influenza last week, for a total of 66 pediatric deaths this respiratory illness season, as flu rates remained moderate to very high in different regions of the country, per the weekly FluView update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of all pediatric deaths this season, 90% who were eligible for vaccination were unvaccinated. This age-group has been particularly vulnerable, with high-severity illness, while both adults and older adults are currently categorized as having moderate-severity illness. The 2024-25 influenza season saw 289 pediatric deaths—the most reported in a non-pandemic flu season since the CDC began tracking child flu deaths in 2004. Levels of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are also high and growing in many parts of the country, with elevated emergency department (ED) visits among children younger than one year and those aged one to four years. Hospital admissions are highest among infants younger than one year. COVID-19 rates are still elevated and are growing in some states, but ED visits for the virus are decreasing. Flu test positivity was slightly higher last week than the week before, at 18.6%, and outpatient visits for respiratory illness reached the 4.6% mark, up from 4.4% the previous week. The cumulative flu hospitalization rate per 100,000 people was 67.0, with 14,656 admitted last week. Eight regions reported moderate flu rates, while 24 rated them as high or very high. Case numbers are growing in nine states.Influenza A activity is declining, at 67.2%, while influenza B has been rising in most areas over the past three weeks (32.8%). Of 1,126 collected influenza A viruses that underwent additional genetic characterization since late September, 92% were the subclade K variant, which has mutations that allow it to skirt immunity conferred by the current flu vaccine formula. Community viral activity detected through wastewater sampling showed moderate levels of SARS-CoV-2 and RSV but low levels for influenza, per the CDC, but WastewaterSCAN data show high levels of SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV, and human metapneumovirus (HMPV).Cumulative flu season totals are at 23 million illnesses, 300,000 hospitalizations, and 19,000 deaths. “CDC continues to expect that the fall and winter respiratory disease season in the United States will likely have a similar number of combined peak hospitalizations due to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV compared to last season,” the agency said.

Measles spreads to New York, Vermont --- Vermont and New York health officials are reporting their first measles cases of the year.The new diagnoses bring the total number of measles cases in the United States this year to 910, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States reported 2,280 measles cases last year, the largest number in three decades.The New York measles case was diagnosed in an unvaccinated infant, according to The New York Times.The Vermont measles case occurred in an adult in Washington County who became sick after recent international travel, according to the Vermont Department of Health. Vermont health officials said the measles virus was detected in in wastewater in Washington County through the department’s wastewater monitoring program last week. Health officials said they “cannot definitively link” the measles case to the virus found in wastewater. In South Carolina, meanwhile, the state department of public health today reported 17 new measles cases since Tuesday, bringing the total number to 950. The outbreak, which began in the Upstate region in October 2025, is the nation’s largest. Canadian health officials have confirmed 135 measles cases this year, after reporting more than 5,400 cases in 2025. Canada lost its measles elimination status last year after reporting ongoing measles spread for 12 months.In the Canadian province of Manitoba, a rural doctor is warning that the region may not have enough hospital beds for measles patients, who must be assigned isolation rooms to prevent the airborne and highly contagious virus from spreading to other patients.Mexican health officials said Wednesday that 28 people have died of measles and 9,074 people have been infected in an ongoing outbreak that began last year.Data released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Health reports 46 confirmed measles cases in Collier County as of February 7.

Minnesota health officials warn of sexually transmitted fungal infection outbreak - Health officials in Minnesota say the state is seeing an outbreak of a new, sexually transmitted fungal skin infection. The infection is caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMVII), a fungus that causes ringworm—round, coin-like rashes that are red and irritated—on the arms, buttocks, trunk, genitals, and legs. TMVII spreads through skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. Spores from the fungus can also spread on surfaces. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says the first case in Minnesota was confirmed in July 2025 in a Twin Cities resident who sought treatment for a genital rash. Since then, the state has identified 13 confirmed cases and 27 suspected cases, all within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, according to a document shared with reporters. “The first cases of TMVII in Minnesota were identified by astute clinicians who proactively notified the health department and requested confirmatory testing,” MDH said. “In response to several individuals seeking care and providing information on other individuals that may also have been infected, MDH established an enhanced surveillance system to identify cases in Minnesota.” The first case of TMVII in the United States was reported in New York in 2024, in a man who reported multiple male sexual partners while traveling in Europe. Reports from Europe indicate the infection has been circulating locally among men who have sex with men (MSM). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases have been identified in multiple US cities since then. It’s unclear if the cluster of cases in Minnesota is the largest known outbreak in the country, since TMVII is a not a reportable infection and other US jurisdictions don’t have good surveillance data. TMVII can also be difficult to diagnose, since the rash can be mistaken for other skin infections. State health officials are advising people who see signs consistent with TMVII rashes to seek prompt treatment. Although the infection is treatable with oral antifungal medications, patients may require up to three months of treatment. Some patients may develop painful and persistent rashes that can lead to scarring and worsening infections without prompt treatment. People with new rashes consistent with TMVII are also being urged to inform their sexual partners, avoid skin-to-skin contact (including sexual contact), and avoid sharing personal items such clothing, towels, and bedding. Health care providers in the state are being advised to consider TMVII in patients who have ringworm that’s either associated with reported sexual contact, or appears in the arms, buttocks, trunk, genitals, and legs. MDH is also asking health care providers to report all suspected cases, and to send fungal isolates to the state’s public health laboratory for confirmatory testing. While the overall public health risk is low, state health officials say MSM, people who use anonymous apps, and people with a history of sexually transmitted infections may be at higher risk.

CDC study highlights substantial antifungal resistance in Candida auris -Analysis of Candida auris samples from infected US patients highlights the fungal pathogen’s persistence as a multidrug-resistant threat, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.The analysis of 8,033 C auris clinical isolates by the CDC’s Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Laboratory Network during 2022 and 2023 found that over 95% were resistant to fluconazole, a first-line antifungal treatment used for a variety of fungal infections, with percentages exceeding 90% in all US regions except the Midwest (83%). Fifteen percent of C aurisisolates were resistant to amphotericin B, 1% were resistant to echinocandins, and less than 1% were resistant to all three antifungal classes.“The frequency of echinocandin resistance (1%) and panresistance (<1%) among C. auris isolates remains low, including among blood isolates, supporting use of echinocandins as first-line therapy against C. auris infections,” the study authors wrote. “However, the number of resistant isolates has increased, and possible spread among patients has been documented.” Since it first appeared in the United States in 2016, the prevalence of the multidrug-resistant yeast has steadily risen, from 51 clinical cases in 2016 to 4,514 in 2023. The number of clinical isolates tested by the AR Laboratory Network, which works with labs across the country to identify and track antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, rose from 3,064 in 2022 to 4,969 in 2023. Invasive infections caused by C auris have been reported in 39 states.“Our findings highlight the persistence of C. auris as a multidrug-resistant threat requiring sustained investment in laboratory capacity for early detection and response,” the authors wrote.

Obesity confers 70% higher risk of infection-related severe outcomes, study suggests -More than one in 10 infection-related adult deaths worldwide may be attributed to obesity, a team led by University of Helsinki researchers in Finland write in The Lancet. The analysis of 67,766 adults in one of two cohort Finnish cohort studies, which was repeated with 479,498 adults from the UK Biobank, used national hospitalization and death registries in 2018, 2021, and 2023 to estimate that obesity confers a 70% higher risk of infection-related hospitalization or death. The average age in the Finnish cohorts was 42.1 years, and 73.1% were women, while the average age and proportion of women were 57 years and 54.4%, respectively, in the UK Biobank group. Obesity was characterized by body mass index (BMI) as class 1 (30.0 to to 34.9 kilograms per square meter [kg/m²]), class 2 (35.0 to 39.9 kg/m²), or class 3 (40.0 kg/m² or higher).“Adult obesity has been linked to specific infections, but evidence across the full spectrum of infectious diseases remains scarce,” the authors noted. “In this multicohort study with impact modelling, we examined the association between this preventable risk factor and the incidence, hospitalisations, and mortality of 925 bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal infectious diseases, and estimated their global and regional attributable impact.”During follow-up, 8,230 new-onset infections were documented in the Finnish cohorts and 81,945 in the UK Biobank. Compared with people of healthy weight, those with class 3 obesity were three times more likely to be hospitalized for infection (Finnish cohorts, 2.75 more likely; UK Biobank, 3.07), death (Finnish cohorts, 3.06; UK Biobank, 3.54), or either outcome (Finnish cohorts, 2.69; UK Biobank, 3.07). The corresponding pooled hazard ratio (HR) for either fatal or non-fatal severe infection in people with any class of obesity was 1.7. This link held across different indicators of obesity (BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio), demographic and clinical subgroups, and a broad range of infections (fatal and non-fatal, acute and long-term, bacterial and viral types and subtypes, and parasitic and fungal). Applying these risk estimates to data on the global burden of disease, the researchers estimated the population-attributable proportions of infection-related deaths due to obesity at 8.6% in 2018, 15.0% in 2021, and 10.8% in 2023.For most of the 925 diseases, including flu, COVID-19, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, urinary tract infection, and lower respiratory tract infections, obese people were more likely to be hospitalized or die than those with a healthy BMI. By specific infection and infection group, obesity was associated with an increased risk for almost all infection types, with HRs ranging from 1.6 for parasitic, fungal, and chronic infections to 2.0 for viral infections. For bacterial infections, HRs ranged from 1.7 for invasive infections to 2.1 for mycoplasma infections, with no links observed for mycobacterial or intracellular bacterial infections. HRs or viral infections ranged from 1.3 for herpesvirus infections to 2.3 for acute viral infections, while no association was seen for persistent viruses (except herpes). The researchers estimated that 9% to 11% of infection-related deaths worldwide could be prevented by eliminating obesity (rising to 15% during the COVID-19 pandemic).

Weight loss drugs linked to rise in scurvy cases — The popularity of GLP-1 weight loss drugs is bringing back a historic affliction once suffered by sailors on long journeys at sea.There are reports that those taking the drugs, which include medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, are being diagnosed with scurvy, an illness once common in the 17th and 18th centuries that is now considered rare in developed countries.Clare Collins, a professor of nutrition at the Newcastle School of Health Sciences, conducted research on the long-term effects of GLP-1 drugs and raised the alarm about potential malnutrition with the popular medications.Once the province of pirates, scurvy is caused by a deficiency in vitamin C. The condition once accounted for up to 50 percent of deaths of sailors at sea, until it was discovered that providing those on long voyages with citrus fruit would prevent them from becoming ill.It takes at least a month with little to no vitamin C for scurvy to develop. Symptoms can include irritability, fatigue, weakness and joint pain in the early stages. If scurvy progresses, it can cause anemia, bleeding of the gums, loss of teeth, bruising, bleeding under the skin, leg swelling, rough or scaly skin, wounds that don’t heal or reopen and dry, brittle hair. If left untreated, scurvy is fatal.Collins noted that there has been little research on the dietary habits of those taking GLP-1 medications and whether they are getting an adequate intake of key nutrients, like protein, and essential vitamins while eating a reduced amount of food.With the Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of GLP-1 pills, which would provide an alternative to the injectable drugs currently on the market, the use of weight loss drugs is expected to continue to rise.Collins said her research shows the importance of monitoring more than just weight and blood sugar in GLP-1 patients, to ensure they are getting the appropriate nutrients before problems can develop.

CDC warns travelers of Seychelles chikungunya outbreak – The Seychelles are the subject of a new travel advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amid an ongoing virus outbreak.The health organization issued a “Level 2” advisory for the archipelago, urging U.S. travelers to “practice enhanced precautions” when visiting the island republic.According to the CDC, the Seychelles, located in the western Indian Ocean, is experiencing an outbreak of chikungunya, a virus that is spread to humans through mosquito bites.Virus symptoms, starting three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, commonly include fever and joint pain, the Cleveland Clinic reported.Health officials said many patients experience crippling joint pain, but other symptoms could include headaches, muscle pain, swelling, rashes, fatigue and nausea.Most people fully recover after a week of symptoms, but in some cases suffer chronic joint pain due to the virus, according to the Cleveland Clinic.In its advisory, the CDC recommends that travelers heading to the Seychelles should first get the chikungunya vaccine. Pregnant mothers should also reconsider their travel plans, the CDC added.

PAHO warns chikungunya cases circulating among rising local transmission reports - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued an epidemiological alert on chikungunya cases after last year brought a sustained increase in cases in countries and territories in the Americas Region, as well as a resumption of autochthonous transmission in areas that had not reported circulation of the virus for several years.“Although the observed dynamics may correspond to expected epidemiological patterns in contexts where the vector is present, the reappearance of cases in certain territories reinforces the need for sensitive surveillance and a timely response,” PAHO said.Between January 1 and December 10, 2025, 18 countries and one territory in the Americas Region reported 313,132 chikungunya cases to PAHO, of which 113,926 were confirmed, including 170 deaths.Significant circulation was documented in the central-western and southeastern regions of Brazil, southern Bolivia, and the reappearance of cases in the Guiana Shield area, PAHO said. So far in January of 2026, Brazil has seen 4,544 probable cases, of which 1,535 cases have been confirmed and no deaths have been reported.Chikungunya is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, joint pain, and rash, with some joint pain becoming chronic after infection. In severe cases, patients can suffer neurological symptoms, and the virus can be fatal.

Mexico reports more human New World screwworm infections - Mexican health officials are reporting six new human cases of myiasis caused by New World screwworm (NWS) over the past week.In an epidemiologic surveillance report released earlier this week, Mexico's Ministry of Health said 141 cases have now been reported from eight Mexican states, up from 135 the previous week. Most of the cases (103) of the parasitic infection, which is carried by theCochliomyia hominivorax fly, have been in Chiapas. Mexico has also reported more than 600 cases in animals. The infection occurs when the flies deposit eggs into the open wounds and mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals; the eggs develop into larvae that burrow into the flesh, causing severe damage. Cases can be fatal if left untreated. While human cases are rare, US officials have been concerned about the northward spread of NWS from Central America and the potential threat to the US cattle industry. In May 2025, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspended livestock imports at the southern border because of an increase in cattle infections in Mexico. The following month, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the agency would launch a sterile fly dispersal facility in Edinburg, Texas, near the Mexican border. Releasing sterile male flies outside of affected areas ensure that female NWS flies, which only mate once, will encounter only sterile partners and not be able to reproduce. The USDA announced the completion of the facility earlier this week.

3 new human avian flu cases reported in China - Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP)yesterday reported two new H9N2 avian flu cases with symptom onsets in December and January, and an H10N3 patient whose illness began on December 29.The H9N2 cases include a 2-year-old boy from Hunan province who got sick on December 29, and a 73-year-old woman from Guangdong province whose symptoms began in January 17. The influenza A(H10N3) case occurred in a 34-year-old man also from Guangdong province. None of the case-patient died from their infection, but no details were given on where they contracted the virus, symptoms, or recovery timeline. CHP’s avian flu postings and reports have been inconsistent with updates from the World Health Organization (WHO), which reported three H9N2 cases from January 9 to 15, all of whom had symptom onset in November and December of last year. According to the WHO, the last known case of H10N3 was in April 2025, and the most recent case reported by the CHP would be the seventh ever reported. Per the CHP, there have been 20 H9N2 cases reported in China in the past 6 months. In 2025, there were 29 H9N2 cases reported from mainland China. In 2024, the country reported 11 total cases.

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, tracks more avian flu in commercial flocks -- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, reported more detections of avian flu in commercial flocks this week, affecting more than 160,000 birds, according to notifications from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). A commercial table egg-layer facility had the largest outbreak, with 104,800 birds sickened. There were also detections on a commercial turkey farm (36,000 birds) and poultry operation with 25,100 birds. The other major detection this week came from Sonoma County, California, where a commercial broiler production facility with 86,600 birds was hit with highly pathogenic bird flu. In the past 30 days, avian flu has been confirmed in 52 flocks, including 19 commercials flocks, and 33 backyard flocks, affecting a total of 4.78 million birds. In other bird flu news, two foxes, one in Los Angeles and the other in New Haven, Connecticut, were infected with bird flu, as was a domestic cat in Burlington, New Jersey. Finally, there were also more than 120 wild bird detections this week, including more than 10 mallards in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, and a bald eagle in Somerset County, New Jersey.

CWD digest: Gladwin County joins 17 other Michigan counties with infections in wild deer -For the first time, the detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been identified in a Gladwin County, Michigan, wild deer, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today. In the news release, officials said the infected deer was harvested by a hunter in Clement Township. Gladwin County is located in the northwest quadrant of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. It is the 18th county in the state to detect the fatal neurodegenerative disease. The other affected counties are Allegan, Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Ogemaw, and Washtenaw. Midland County is south of Gladwin, and Ogemaw County is north. “The detection of chronic wasting disease in Gladwin County is consistent with the slow, incremental spread we have observed across Michigan,” Brent Rudolph, PhD, DNR deer, elk and moose management specialist, said in the release. “New positive results can be alarming for nearby communities and frustrating as the total count continues to grow, but these detections are critical to our understanding of the scope of chronic wasting disease in our state,” he added. “We greatly appreciate hunters’ continued persistence in submitting samples for testing.” CWD affects cervids such as deer, elk, and moose. It is caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions, which spread from animal to animal and through environmental contamination. Common symptoms include weight loss, lethargy, disorientation, and loss of fear of people. Although no people are known to have been infected, health authorities recommend not eating sick or infected cervids and taking precautions such as wearing rubber gloves when field-dressing or processing their harvest. CWD was first found in Michigan in 2015. Since then, testing has identified 376 CWD-positive wild deer out of the roughly 148,800 tested, the DNR said.

The North American wild mountain sheep could face extinction unless habitat gets protection, say experts -The charismatic, robust, and impressive North American mountain sheep is losing its habitat to industrial mining, the changing climate, and human activity. And unless action is taken to protect this popular and inherently American species, it could face extinction. A new book called Mountain Sheep in North America, published this month, highlights the risks faced by this remarkable species. Speaking ahead of the book's publication, co-editor Paul R. Krausman said, "The mountain sheep is a 'wilderness species': untamable, sturdy, and free, surviving all weathers, it is perhaps a powerful emblem of what it means to be North American. But today, it faces grave risks." In previous decades, mountain sheep populations nearly collapsed, but sustained conservation efforts have allowed some species to rebuild their numbers. But that's all at risk now from disease, habitat loss through industrial and human activity, as well as from climate change. Mining for minerals significantly disrupts mountain sheep habitats and populations, say the authors of the new book. And yet, gathering evidence about the state of the landscape and ecology before industrial activity starts is often "out of scope" for mining companies; experts say this must change. Writing in the book, co-editor Bill Jex said, "The extraction of natural resources, such as minerals, oil and gas, and vegetation, poses a significant threat to mountain sheep habitats where the activity occurs without implementing active and adaptive mitigations." Explaining the problem, the authors say, "Mining activities often involve habitat alteration at very large geographic scales that may lead to destruction or loss, fragmentation of habitat connectivity and movement corridors, changes in plant community species assemblages, introduction of non-native species, changed geology affecting the nutritional qualities and trace minerals concentrations in available forage, and alteration, contamination, and poisoning of water sources."Infrastructure development associated with resource extraction, such as roads and pipelines, further fragments habitat and expands human disturbance by increasing the permeability of the landscape." And yet, mining companies are not legally required to fully consider how their activity disrupts mountain sheep.However, mining is not the only threat. Krausman points to habitat destruction caused by the creation of "golf courses, housing developments, airports and military bases."Experts also cite the disturbance caused to mountain sheep from "transmission powerlines, cell phone towers, mining ventures, two-track roads pioneered into previously inaccessible mountain ranges and alpine regions, jet boat and ARGOS high-powered vehicular access, increased fly-in and drop-camp traffic to backcountry lakes and river systems, heli-skiing, heli-hiking, heli-biking, heli-kayaking" as well as "changing climates and altered precipitation patterns, rain-on-snow events, repeated freeze-and-thaw cycles, an ascending brush line moving upslope a meter/ year, biotic and abiotic changes."The authors recommend action including public education campaigns and government restrictions on industrial activity, such as to protect areas where mountain sheep nurse their young.

Escape from Fukushima: Pig-boar hybrids reveal a genetic fast track in the wake of nuclear disaster A new genetic study examines an unusually large hybridization event that followed the Fukushima nuclear accident, when escaped domestic pigs bred with wild boar. The research shows that domestic pig maternal lineages sped up generational turnover, rapidly diluting pig genes. The findings reveal a mechanism likely operating wherever feral pigs and wild boar interbreed. Hybridization between domestic animals and wildlife is a growing concern worldwide, particularly as feral pigs and wild boar increasingly overlap. Such hybridization has often been linked to population growth and ecological damage, but the biological mechanisms behind these changes have remained poorly understood. An unusual opportunity to investigate this emerged after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Following the evacuation of people, domestic pigs escaped into abandoned farmland and forests, where they interbred with wild boar. With no repeated introductions and minimal human activity, the region became a rare natural experiment in hybridization. A new genetic study, published online in the Journal of Forest Research on January 22, 2026, examines this event and reaches an unexpected conclusion. Rather than prolonging the genetic influence of domestic pigs, maternal pig lineages actually accelerated genetic turnover in wild boar populations. "While it has been previously suggested that hybridization between rewilded swine and wild boars can contribute to population growth, this study demonstrates—through the analysis of a large-scale hybridization event following the Fukushima nuclear accident—that the rapid reproductive cycle of domestic swine is inherited through the maternal lineage," explained Prof. Kaneko. Domestic pigs are characterized by a rapid, year-round reproductive cycle, unlike wild boar, which typically reproduce once per year. The study shows that this trait persisted after escape and was passed down through maternal lineages, leading to faster generational turnover and the rapid dilution of pig nuclear genes through repeated backcrossing with wild boar. Importantly, the findings are not limited to Fukushima. "We wish to emphasize that this mechanism likely occurs in other regions worldwide where feral pigs and wild boars interbreed," notes Dr. Anderson.

Giant snails and tiny insects threaten the South's rice and crawfish farms - Josh Courville has harvested crawfish his whole life, but these days, he's finding a less welcome catch in some of the fields he manages in southern Louisiana. Snails. Big ones. For every crawfish Courville dumps out of a trap, three or four snails clang onto the boat's metal sorting table. About the size of a baseball when fully grown, apple snails stubbornly survive all kinds of weather in fields, pipes and drainage ditches and can lay thousands of bubblegum-colored eggs every month. "It's very disheartening," Courville said. "The most discouraging part, actually, is not having much control over it." Apple snails are just one example of how invasive species can quickly become a nightmare for farmers. In Louisiana, where rice and crawfish are often grown together in the same fields, there's now a second threat: tiny insects called delphacids that can deal catastrophic damage to rice plants. Much about these snails and insects is still a mystery, and researchers are trying to learn more about what's fueling their spread, from farming methods and pesticides to global shipping and extreme weather. Experts aren't sure what role climate change may play, but they say a warming world generally makes it easier for pests to spread to other parts of the country if they gain a foothold in the temperate South. "We are going to have more bugs that are happier to live here if it stays warmer here longer," It's an urgent problem because in a tough market for rice, farmers who rotate the rice and crawfish crops together need successful harvests of both to make ends meet. And losses to pests could mean higher rice prices for U.S. consumers, said Steve Linscombe, director of The Rice Foundation, which does research and education outreach for the U.S. rice industry. Both started noticing apple snails after a bad flood in 2016. Then the population ballooned. "It was like this science fiction movie," Richard said, describing how each snail made its own little whirlpool as it popped out of the wet ground. "They would start on those tender rice plants, and they destroyed a 100-acre field." Louisiana State University scientists estimate that about 78 square miles (202 square kilometers) in the state are now regularly seeing snails. To keep the rice from becoming a snail buffet, Richard's team and many other rice and crawfish farmers dealing with the pests start with a dry field to give the rice plants the chance to grow a few inches and get stronger, then flood the field after. It's a planting method they'd already used on some fields, even before the snails arrived. But now, with the snails, that's essentially their only option, and it's the most expensive one.They also can't get rid of the snails entirely. Many of the pesticides that might work on snails can also hurt crustaceans. People directly eat both rice and crawfish, unlike crops grown for animal feed, so there are fewer chemicals farmers can use on them. One option some farmers are testing, copper sulfate, can easily add thousands of dollars to an operation's costs, Courville said. It all means "lower production, decreased revenue from that, and increased cost with the extra labor,"

MAHA moms spurn reapproval of cancer-tied pesticide - “Make America Healthy Again” advocates are slamming EPA over its reapproval of a weedkiller deemed controversial due to its cancer risks and tendency to drift onto neighboring farms, killing crops. The agency announced Friday afternoon it would continue to allow farmers to use dicamba for another two years but under stricter conditions of use. To EPA, it’s a decision that “responds directly to the strong advocacy of America’s cotton and soybean farmers,” the agency said in a news release. To Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director of Moms Across America, it’s an example of “what happens when the EPA allows itself to be pressured by corporations and by business.” “Approving dicamba is not ‘Make America Healthy Again,'” Honeycutt said. Federal court judges tossed EPA’s previous two attempts to register dicamba for “over-the-top” use — as opposed to applying it before crops have emerged — siding with environmental health groups that sued over a lack of safety precautions. EPA in the news release recognized “the ecological risks associated with dicamba drift and volatility are real,” and “previous drift issues created legitimate concerns.” But it says these new label requirements — which include halving the annual dicamba amounts allowed and restricting the height at which it can be sprayed — are “the strongest protections in agency history.” “When applied according to the new label instructions, EPA’s analysis found no unreasonable risk to human health and the environment from OTT [over-the-top] dicamba use,” the agency said. Honeycutt acknowledged EPA put “a lot of restrictions on it” but said it still “shouldn’t be used at all.” Kelly Ryerson, a MAHA influencer who leads the nonprofit American Regeneration, also has doubts. “It really doesn’t make that much of a difference at all in terms of use,” Ryerson said. “It’s really a short-term Band-Aid to a problem that just is much larger than dicamba, or any of this.” ‘Captured by the chemical industry’?EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has pledged to work with Ryerson and other advocates behind Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health movement. MAHA’s anti-corporate supporters, however, have bristled at the agency’s pesticide-friendly rules and hiring decisions. Kyle Kunkler joined as deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s chemicals office last summer after five years as a lobbyist for the American Soybean Association, a strong dicamba defender. “It’s such an inherent conflict of interest,” Ryerson said, and “proof that the EPA continues to be captured by the chemical industry.” Dicamba manufacturer Bayer Crop Science announced the agency’s registration enables the company to launch Stryax, a restricted-use dicamba herbicide. EPA’s approval marks the latest chapter for a farm chemical that’s been in use since the late 1960s but became more divisive after 2016, when Monsanto introduced genetically engineered crops that could withstand it. Prior to that, farmers used dicamba mainly on weeds that sprouted before the main crop had emerged from the ground. With Monsanto’s newly engineered soybeans and cotton, over-the-top use on crops already growing became common, particularly for soybeans and cotton. Bayer later acquired Monsanto. Dicamba is known for its volatility, meaning it’s easily blown into neighboring fields or escapes targeted crops through runoff. During the next several years, reports of non-genetically engineered crops being damaged or killed by dicamba proliferated to the point where millions of acres of soybeans and cotton were lost.

Elevated lead levels could flow from some US drinking water kiosks - After high-profile water crises like the one in Flint, Michigan, some Americans distrust the safety of tap water, choosing to purchase drinking water from freestanding water vending machines or kiosks. Yet this more expensive water may contain different pollutants than local tap water, according to a study in Environmental Science & Technology. Researchers report that water sampled from 20 kiosks in six states sometimes contained lead at levels above public health recommendations. "Currently, water kiosks are not regulated the same as tap water; their water is not tested for lead or other metals," says Samantha Zuhlke, a corresponding author of this study. "Updating water kiosk regulations can improve their quality and help consumers make informed decisions about the water they are drinking." Water kiosks are privately owned vending machines that are often marketed as being safer than tap water, commanding prices of $0.25–$0.35 per gallon (compared to less than 2 cents per gallon for tap water in most U.S. cities). Kiosk operators generally treat local tap water with purification techniques such as filtration, ultraviolet light or reverse osmosis (RO) to remove potentially harmful contaminants such as lead, microbes, residual disinfectants, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). But water vending machines in the U.S. are poorly regulated. So, a team of researchers led by Zuhlke and David Cwiertny conducted a comprehensive comparison of the chemical and microbial characteristics of kiosk water and tap water from municipalities close to the monitored kiosks. The team collected water samples from 20 kiosks operated by four different manufacturers across Iowa and in the surrounding states of Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Most of the kiosks advertised treatment of their water by RO, a process that uses pressure to force water through a semipermeable membrane, purifying the water and leaving most contaminants caught behind the membrane. For comparison, the researchers collected tap water samples from community sources within a mile of each kiosk. They analyzed all samples and found no evidence of microbial contamination in any sample. They also found that RO treatment in kiosks effectively removed most PFAS from the sourced tap water. However, this benefit was offset by concerning levels of lead in some RO-purified kiosk water samples—nearly twice the concentration recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The researchers traced the lead to the corrosion of brass plumbing in the kiosks following RO treatment. Although the plumbing components are marketed as "lead-free," small amounts of the metal can leach under the low-pH and low-alkalinity conditions of RO-treated water, they say. Replacing the internal metal pieces with other materials could eliminate lead in dispensed water.

EPA to delay enforcement of life-saving air pollution rule - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin could delay enforcement of an air pollution standard projected to save thousands of lives while the agency awaits a pivotal court ruling, a spokesperson indicated Monday. Under the Clean Air Act, Zeldin can take another year to decide which parts of the country are flunking the stronger 2024 soot exposure standard if he decides that more information is needed, EPA Press Secretary Brigit Hirsch said in an email. The agency missed a statutory Saturday deadline for making those decisions. Apart from acknowledging receipt of a follow-up query, Hirsch did not immediately provide answers to additional questions seeking confirmation that Zeldin plans to invoke that waiver and, if so, on what grounds. She and other press aides had previously declined to comment on the agency’s options, citing the active litigation.

Almost half of the world's aquatic environments are severely contaminated by waste, research reveals --"Dirty" or "extremely dirty": these are the classifications of 46% of the world's aquatic environments. This conclusion comes from a study that compiled and systematized data from 6,049 records of waste contamination in aquatic environments on all continents over the last decade. The study, coordinated by researcher Ítalo Braga de Castro and led by doctoral student Victor Vasques Ribeiro from the Institute of Marine Science at the Federal University of São Paulo (IMar-UNIFESP) in Brazil, analyzed articles published between 2013 and 2023.The researchers calculated the cleanliness level of rivers, estuaries, beaches, and mangroves based on the Clean-Coast Index (CCI), an international metric that quantifies the density of solid waste in coastal environments. The results were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. The study revealed an uneven distribution of monitoring efforts. Here, Brazil stands out, leading the number of records in the period. "But that doesn't guarantee that the monitored environments are in good condition and clean. The results show that about 30% of Brazilian coastal environments were considered dirty or extremely dirty according to the CCI scale," Castro says.One of the most critical contamination cases is in the mangroves of Santos, Brazil, which are among the most contaminated spots on the planet.The team's global summary showed surprising homogeneity in waste composition, regardless of cultural, economic, or geographical differences. Plastics and cigarette butts account for nearly 80% of the waste found worldwide. "Places that are completely free of waste are extremely rare," the researcher comments.Plastics account for 68% of the recorded items. They dominate because they persist in the environment, fragment into micro- and nanoplastics, and are transported by ocean currents over long distances. Cigarette butts account for 11% of the waste and release more than 150 toxic substances that can harm aquatic organisms.

Trump opens massive Atlantic marine monument to commercial fishing - President Donald Trump revoked a ban Friday on commercial fishing inside a 3.1-million-acre marine national monument, opening up a previously protected swath of the Atlantic Ocean to industry. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument — the only one of five marine monuments located in the Atlantic Ocean — was created to conserve four underwater extinct volcanoes, called seamounts, and three canyons, some reaching depths of more than a mile. The monument located about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is also home to unique deep-sea corals, endangered whales and scores of other marine species.Since returning to office last year, Trump has pushed to open up marine monuments to commercial fishing, saying overregulation has disadvantaged the American fishing industry compared to foreign competitors. In April, Trump overturned a fishing ban in a sprawling Pacific Ocean monument, a move fought by environmentalists who have argued that increasing access to protected areas will harm fishing stocks. Administration officials have also expressed skepticism of the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allows presidents to protect both land and water through the creation of national monuments, but Trump did not alter the boundaries of the Atlantic monument established in 2016 by former President Barack Obama.In his proclamation, Trump wrote that other federal laws — specifically the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act — are sufficient to protect the marine and natural resources inside the monument, which is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA.“I find that appropriately managed commercial fishing would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that the monument protects at risk,” Trump wrote. The Atlantic monument has been politically charged ever since it was first created. Trump issued a similar order in 2020, at the end of his first term, which was subsequently overturned the following year by President Joe Biden.

130 km (80 miles) ice crack forms after 96% of Lake Erie freezes for first time since 1996 - 2 YouTube videos - Satellite images captured a massive ice crack of over 128 km (80 miles) in length forming over Lake Erie on February 8, 2026, after it nearly froze over for the first time in two decades. A nearly 130 km (80 miles) long crack appeared on Lake Erie on February 8 after sub-zero temperatures drove ice cover to 96%, the highest level since 1996. More than 96% of Lake Erie was frozen over by February 5. This was the highest ice cover for Lake Erie since 1996, when ice cover had reached nearly 100%, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL). Lake Huron was at 74.8%, while 52.7% of Lake Superior was covered with ice. Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario had a coverage of 36.5% and 19.7%, respectively. Satellite imagery acquired by NOAA/GOES-19 shows that the crack began to appear at approximately 15:00 UTC on February 8 and continued to increase in length throughout the day. The crack has created hazardous conditions for anyone on the ice. Local meteorologists warn of “911 cracks,” a term for large, unstable fractures that signal an emergency risk of the ice breaking apart completely and drifting on wind or currents. The threats are especially acute near the Lake Erie Islands and shorelines, where winds expected to increase on Tuesday, February 10, could further widen the gaps. Authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Weather Service, strongly advise against venturing onto the ice, despite the lake’s extensive ice cover. Ice fishing, ATV travel, and exploring popular shoreline features such as ice caves and ridges, some over 4.5 m (15 feet) high and featured in viral videos, pose the greatest risks. Such formations often overhang open water and can collapse suddenly, while falling through a crack into Lake Erie’s frigid depths (around 0–4°C or 32–39°F) leads to rapid hypothermia. Recent incidents involved vehicles breaking through similar ice, prompting repeated rescue warnings. On February 3, a four-wheeler broke through a crack near Port Clinton, plunging two ice fishermen into frigid waters; Ottawa County Sheriff’s deputies used a SHERP all-terrain vehicle to rescue them after they became hypothermic. Days earlier, another ATV smashed through 12–15 inches of ice about seven miles offshore, with the rider saving his companion before authorities extracted them using heavy equipment.​ The rapid freeze followed prolonged intrusions of Arctic air, associated with disruptions in the polar vortex, which contributed to widespread winter storms across the United States in January. More than 56% of the Great Lakes were frozen by February 5, a significant increase from the 15.5% coverage just three weeks earlier. Videos of the frozen lake’s shoreline and ice mountains exceeding 6 m (20 feet) have been circulating on social media.

New York City confirms 18 deaths during prolonged Arctic cold - YouTube videos - Eighteen cold-related deaths were confirmed in New York City as of February 11, 2026, following a prolonged stretch of Arctic air that gripped the city from mid-January through early February. The fatalities occurred during a 9-day period of subfreezing temperatures that ended February 2, with wind chills falling below −25°C (−13°F) on multiple mornings. Most of the victims were found outdoors, according to city officials. New York City officials confirmed 18 cold-related deaths following an extended Arctic outbreak that began in mid-January and produced sustained subfreezing temperatures across the metropolitan area. Earlier statements from Mayor Zohran Mamdani on February 2 cited 16 deaths, including 13 attributed to hypothermia and three involving overdoses. Subsequent updates raised the toll first to 17 and then to 18 as additional cases were investigated. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed eight deaths caused by hypothermia and reported seven additional cases in which cold exposure is considered a preliminary contributing factor. Final determinations remain pending in several cases. Most of the deaths occurred outdoors and primarily involved homeless individuals. City officials stated that exposure to prolonged subfreezing temperatures was the main factor in the majority of cases under review. Meteorological data show that New York City experienced nine consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures, a streak that ended February 2 and was last observed at similar duration in 2018. Overnight lows during the coldest period dropped to approximately −14°C (6°F) at John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to regional weather observations. Wind chill values during peak Arctic air intrusions fell below −25°C (−13°F) on multiple mornings, creating conditions capable of producing frostbite within minutes of exposure. Subzero wind chills were recorded across the city during the most intense phase of the outbreak. New York City activated a Code Blue alert on January 19 as wind chills dropped below emergency thresholds. The alert required shelters to remain open continuously and expanded outreach operations to unsheltered residents. According to city officials, more than 1 250 individuals were placed into shelters during the cold period, and 462 people used warming centers on the peak night of operations. The New York fatalities occurred during a broader winter weather pattern that affected large portions of the United States in January and early February 2026. National media tallies report at least 150 winter storm–related deaths nationwide during the period, including fatalities attributed to hypothermia, traffic collisions on icy roads, and carbon monoxide exposure.

Maryland reports at least 15 cold-related deaths after January 2026 snowstorm - 3 YouTube videos -At least 15 cold-related deaths were reported in Maryland in the two weeks after a historic winter storm affected the United States in late January 2026. At least 15 people died from cold-related reasons across Maryland in the first two weeks after the historic winter storm affected the state in late January 2026, according to state health data. At least four people died in Baltimore City, while 3 died in Baltimore County. Meanwhile, two people died in each of Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Washington Counties. One person died in Anne Arundel County and Charles County each. The tolls are based on a surveillance report issued by the Maryland Department of Health; however, official confirmation of the exact causes and their relation to the storm remains pending. Because the death counts are based on when the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner can conduct autopsies, the totals sometimes bleed into the following week’s report. But MDH spokesperson David McCallister confirmed that of the 46 cold-related deaths this season, 11 occurred between the January 24 snowstorm and February 7, according to the Baltimore Sun. State data show that during the 2025-26 cold season, 29 of the 46 people who died were seniors, and 31 were men. Of those who died, approximately 15% were presumed to be homeless. The historic storm claimed over 136 lives across the country, as of current reports, including deaths from indirect impacts in over 20 states. YouTube videoNew York City officials confirmed 18 cold-related deaths following the storm due to sustained subfreezing temperatures across the metropolitan area. The storm developed over the central United States on January 23 and moved eastward toward the Atlantic Coast by January 26, producing heavy snow, extensive ice accumulation, and widespread travel disruption. According to the Weather Prediction Center, the system’s coastal low reached a minimum central pressure of 996 hPa south of Cape Cod at 03:00 EST (08:00 UTC) on January 26 before moving offshore.

Torrential rain triggers deadly landslides and floods across Colombia, killing 13 - YouTube video - Torrential rains in early February 2026 triggered deadly floods and landslides across Colombia, killing at least 13 people, including seven buried by a mudslide in Nariño’s Mallama municipality. Torrential rainfall affected large parts of Colombia during the first week of February 2026, causing floods and landslides that left at least 13 people dead, according to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD). The country’s meteorological service, IDEAM, reported that January precipitation was 64% above the long-term average, leaving soils saturated before the arrival of the February cold front. This antecedent moisture significantly increased runoff and slope instability, making the new rainfall surge more likely to trigger destructive floods and landslides than under normal seasonal conditions. Seven of the fatalities occurred in the southwestern department of Nariño Department at 22:30 LT on February 7 when a rain-swollen stream overflowed near the municipality of Mallama, triggering a landslide that buried several houses. Local emergency crews, assisted by army personnel and sniffer-dog units, recovered the bodies as heavy equipment cleared thick mud and debris. Earlier in the week, UNGRD had confirmed six additional deaths linked to floods and slope failures in other departments, including Antioquia and Cauca. Ideam said the surge in rainfall was caused by a cold front moving southward from the northern Caribbean, forcing humid air to rise over the Andean slopes and producing continuous precipitation over several days. Such frontal systems rarely reach Colombian latitudes during February, making this event meteorologically unusual. UNGRD reported that search-and-rescue operations and debris removal are ongoing in affected zones. Authorities urged residents living on unstable slopes to relocate temporarily while risk assessments are conducted. In Nariño, several communities remain isolated after roads were blocked by landslides. Environmental specialists warned that deforestation and informal hillside construction continue to heighten vulnerability in mountainous regions, where the combination of steep terrain, saturated soils, and uncontrolled urban expansion has led to repeated landslide disasters during heavy rainfall episodes.

Floods leave 44 dead and 72 000 families affected across 16 departments, Colombia - YouTube videos - Severe flooding triggered by persistent heavy rainfall since January 26, 2026, has left 44 people dead across 16 departments in Colombia as of February 11. Authorities report 12 000 homes damaged, 4 000 destroyed, and approximately 72 000 families affected in 104 municipalities. Additional rainfall is forecast over the next 48 hours. Persistent heavy rainfall affecting Colombia since January 26, has resulted in widespread flooding and rain-induced mass movements across 16 departments. As of February 11, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) reports 44 fatalities, 12 000 homes damaged, 4 000 destroyed, and approximately 72 000 families affected in 104 municipalities. Earlier official balances released on February 8–9 reported 22 fatalities, nine injured, and three missing persons, with 69 000 families affected following 131 critical events. The subsequent increase in confirmed fatalities and affected households reflects continued rainfall and consolidation of field assessments. Córdoba department remains the epicenter of the emergency, with more than 50 000 families affected there. Flooding along the Sinú River has inundated residential areas, agricultural land, and transport corridors. The Urrá I reservoir has continued operating above its overflow level, maintaining pressure on downstream river stages. Although UNGRD specialists report a slight decrease in inflows in recent hours, river levels remain elevated. In Montería, the capital of Córdoba, river levels exceeded 5 m (16.4 feet), prompting Mayor Hugo Kerguelén to order the immediate preventive evacuation of 13 neighborhoods on the left bank of the Sinú River, including El Tambo, El Rosario, Alboraya, Campo Alegre, El Campano, Casita Nueva, Las Viñas, Villa Real, El Amparo, Puente No 2, Río de Janeiro, Rosario, and Magdalena. Emergency agencies are constructing temporary protection barriers while organizing relocations. Floodwaters are advancing downstream toward the Bajo Sinú subregion, affecting municipalities including Cereté, San Pelayo, Cotorra, Lorica, and San Bernardo del Viento before discharge into the Caribbean Sea. YouTube videoOutside the Caribbean region, the southwest has experienced fatal landslides. In Mallama municipality, Nariño department, a rain-triggered mass movement killed seven people. Nariño reports a total of 11 fatalities linked to the current rainfall episode. Valle del Cauca has confirmed four deaths due to sudden flooding, and Santander reports one fatality associated with a sudden rise of the Lebrija River that affected 60 families.

Tropical Storm Penha leaves 8 dead and 645 612 affected after crossing southern-central Philippines - Tropical Storm Penha crossed southern-central Philippines from February 5–7, 2026, leaving at least eight people dead and 645 612 affected across six regions, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of February 10. More than 86 000 people were displaced, including nearly 60 000 staying in 438 evacuation centres, while enhanced rainfall from a shear line continues to affect central and southern parts of the country. Satellite image of Tropical Storm Penha (Basayang) at 00:00 UTC on February 6, 2026. Credit: JMA/Himawari-9, Zoom Earth, The Watchers Tropical Storm Penha, locally named Basyang, entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on February 3 and made multiple landfalls across Mindanao and the Visayas between February 5 and 6 before weakening into a low-pressure area on February 7. Despite its weakening, the system’s broad circulation, combined with a shear line, prolonged moderate to heavy rainfall over southern and central Philippines. At least eight fatalities were reported in Northern Mindanao and Caraga, including four members of a family killed in a landslide in Cagayan de Oro City. Additional deaths were reported in Iligan City and Agusan del Norte. Casualties were primarily linked to rain-induced landslides and flooding. NDRRMC reported that 645 612 people across six regions were affected as of February 10. More than 86 000 individuals were displaced, with almost 60 000 accommodated in 438 evacuation centres. The remainder sought shelter with relatives or in alternative facilities.Earlier reports on February 7 indicated that 16 528 families had been moved to 480 evacuation centres in Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Central Visayas, and Caraga as flooding intensified following successive landfalls. Flooding and landslides were reported in parts of Northern Mindanao and the Visayas, inundating residential areas and damaging infrastructure. Several roads became impassable due to floodwaters and debris, complicating relief operations. Transport operations were disrupted as weather conditions deteriorated. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reported that 32 flights were cancelled beginning February 6, affecting 7 737 passengers. Maritime operations were also suspended in several ports due to rough seas.

At least 11 dead as avalanches strike multiple Alpine sites in Italy and France - YouTube video - Snow avalanches struck northern Italy and south-eastern France between February 7–8, 2026, killing at least 11 people across multiple Alpine locations. Italian authorities reported several fatalities in Trentino–Alto Adige and Lombardy, while French media confirmed deaths in the Hautes-Alpes. The incidents occurred during a period of elevated avalanche danger following recent snowfall and wind loading. Snow avalanches between February 7 and 8 across the Alpine regions of Italy and France resulted in at least 11 fatalities, according to the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). In Italy, multiple avalanche incidents were reported in Trentino–Alto Adige and Lombardy. Reuters confirmed that at least three off-piste skiers were killed on February 7 in separate avalanches in northern Italy. Italian Alpine rescue services conducted several emergency operations during the period and urged caution in backcountry terrain due to unstable snow conditions. Italian authorities attributed the incidents to fresh snowfall combined with wind redistribution, which created unstable slabs on steep slopes. Rescue officials warned that even small additional loads could trigger avalanches in affected sectors of the Italian Alps. In France, at least two fatalities were confirmed near Saint-Véran in the Hautes-Alpes department after a large avalanche struck high-elevation terrain. French mountain rescue teams responded to the incident during a period of heightened avalanche risk in several Alpine massifs. Media reports indicated that parts of the French Alps were under high to very high avalanche danger ratings at the time of the incidents. Some ski areas restricted access to exposed sectors as a precautionary measure. The avalanche cycle occurred during mid-winter conditions typical for early February in the Alps, when snowpack stratification and persistent weak layers can increase instability following new snowfall. February is historically among the months with frequent avalanche activity across the Alpine arc due to accumulated seasonal snow and recurrent winter storm systems.

Slow-moving landslide damages hundreds of homes in Padasari, Central Java, Indonesia - A slow-moving landslide has damaged hundreds of homes in Padasari village, Tegal, Central Java, Indonesia, forcing large-scale evacuations since early February 2026. Local reporting indicates that ground deformation remains active, preventing residents from returning to affected areas. A slow-moving landslide has affected Padasari village since early February 2026, causing widespread damage to residential buildings and public facilities. Media reports citing village authorities and regional disaster data describe continued soil instability across several neighborhoods, with structural conditions remaining unsafe for habitation. Ground movement was first observed around February 2, according to local reporting, and intensified over the following days. Between February 4 and February 6, soil deformation expanded to additional areas of the village, resulting in cracked and displaced road surfaces, tilted houses, and partial collapses linked to ongoing ground movement. As of early February 2026, more than 2 400 residents have evacuated from affected areas. At least 464 houses are reported damaged, including 205 classified as heavily damaged or unsafe to enter, 174 moderately damaged, and 85 lightly damaged, based on figures cited by village leadership and reported by national media. Local reporting indicates that more than 20 social, religious, and educational facilities have been affected. An Islamic boarding school identified in local media as Al-Adalah reportedly collapsed during the period of intensified ground movement, forcing the evacuation of its students. Several primary school buildings, including SDN Padasari 01, are reported to be unusable due to structural risk. Evacuees are currently dispersed across multiple temporary shelter locations, including community buildings, schools, and prayer facilities in and around the affected area. Local authorities and community groups continue to coordinate sheltering and basic assistance while monitoring ongoing ground conditions. Reports from residents and local observers indicate that ground movement continues at a slow but persistent rate, making it unsafe to re-enter damaged structures even where buildings remain partially standing. Access to the most affected zones remains limited due to the risk of further soil displacement.

Cyclone kills 20 in Madagascar as 2nd-largest city '75% destroyed' - A cyclone packing violent winds killed at least 20 people as it struck Madagascar, toppling houses and causing major flooding, the Indian Ocean island's disaster authority said Wednesday. Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, slamming into the country's second-largest city, Toamasina, with winds reaching 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour. The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNRGC) said it had recorded 20 deaths, many after houses had collapsed. Fifteen people were missing and at least 33 had been hurt, it said, updating earlier tolls. "What happened is a disaster: nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed," said the country's new leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who had traveled to Toamasina ahead of the cyclone's landfall to support residents. "The current situation exceeds Madagascar's capabilities alone," said Randrianirina, who seized power in October, calling on "international partners and donors" to support the impoverished island. Drone footage shared by the BNRGC on social media showed major flooding in the east coast city of 400,000 people, about 220 km northeast of the capital Antananarivo, with residents wading through water and roofs ripped off buildings. The city appeared battered, its streets littered with trees uprooted by the force of the cyclone. The storm had also caused carnage in the Atsinanana region surrounding the city, the authority said, adding that post-disaster assessments were still underway. "It's total chaos: 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part," said the head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger humanitarian group, Rija Randrianarisoa. "The roads are completely inaccessible because of trees on the ground, sheet metal," he told AFP. The CMRS cyclone forecaster on France's Reunion island confirmed Tuesday that Toamasina had been "directly hit by the most intense part" of the storm. The cyclone's landfall was likely one of the most intense recorded in the region during the satellite era, rivaling Geralda in February 1994, it said. That storm left at least 200 dead and affected half a million more. The cyclone lashed Madagascar with winds reaching 250 kilometres per hour.A Toamasina resident told AFP by telephone late Tuesday that the winds had collapsed solid walls. "It's monstrous," Commercial flights to Toamasina airport were suspended except for humanitarian and military flights, airport management told AFP. Fifteen members of the army's civil protection unit were dispatched to assist with rescue operations, authorities announced. The cyclone weakened after landfall but continued to sweep across the island, posing the risk of flooding despite being downgraded to a tropical storm. It is forecast to return to cyclone status as it reaches the Mozambique Channel, according to the CMRS, and could from Friday evening strike southern Mozambique, which has already faced devastating flooding since the beginning of the year.

At least 31 dead as Tropical Cyclone Gezani ravages 80% of Toamasina, Madagascar - The YouTube videos - Tropical Cyclone Gezani has killed at least 31 people since it made landfall near Toamasina, on the eastern coast of Madagascar, on February 10, 2026, damaging and destroying around 80% of the city. Around three dozen were injured, with multiple still missing as recovery operations continue across the island. At least 31 people have been reported dead since Tropical Cyclone Gezani made landfall over eastern Madagascar near Toamasina, a city with an estimated urban population of about 575 000, at around 19:00 local time (LT) on February 10. The cyclone’s landfall was likely one of the most intense recorded in the region during the satellite era, rivalling Cyclone Geralda in February 1994. That storm killed at least 200 people and affected half a million more. At the time of landfall, maximum 10-minute sustained winds were estimated at around 175 km/h (109 mph), with a minimum central pressure near 955 hPa. The destructive winds ripped through multiple homes and structures across Toamasina, leaving at least 29 dead in the city alone, while two others were reported dead in neighboring districts, reported the state disaster response agency (BNGRC). At least 36 others have been injured, while four remain missing as of February 11. Meanwhile, power has been out across the city since February 10. Residents in and around Toamasina described scenes of chaos as the cyclone made landfall. “I have never experienced winds this violent … The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken,” said resident Harimanga Ranaivo. “It’s monstrous. Everything is devastated; roofs have been blown off, floors are flooded, and the walls of solid houses have collapsed,” a resident of Toamasina told AFP by telephone when communications briefly returned. Colonel Michael Randrianirina, the President of the Refoundation of the Republic, accompanied by several government officials, visited Toamasina to see firsthand the extent of the damage caused by the disaster. The delegation included the Minister of the Interior and Decentralization, the Minister of Population and Solidarity, the Minister of Transport and Meteorology, the Deputy President of the National Assembly for the Toamasina region, the Director General of the BNGRC, and parliamentarians representing the city of Toamasina. According to BNGRC, around 80% of the city’s infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed. The cyclone’s aftermath displaced another 6 870 people, while a total of 250 406 were classified as disaster victims, the BNGRC said.

Six all-time cold records broken in one day as death toll from record snow climbs to 46, Japan - YouTube video - At least six locations in Japan recorded record-breaking cold on the morning of February 9, 2026, as temperatures fell below -3°C (26.6°F) for the first time since 1984. The death toll from the record-breaking snowfall since January 20 has climbed to 46 as of February 10. At least six all-time cold records were set on the morning of February 9, as temperatures in Tokyo fell below -3°C (26.6°F) in February for the first time in 42 years, reported Sayaka Mori, broadcast meteorologist at NHK. “Narita and Haneda Airports both logged their coldest mornings on record, with sub-zero temperatures covering over 90% of Japan,” Mori said. The temperature at Haneda Airport dropped to -3.8°C (25°F), while Narita Airport recorded -9.7°C (15°F) on the morning of February 9. Oume recorded the coldest February morning on record, with temperatures dropping to -10.3°C (13°F). Kanuma (-11.7°C/11°F), Nakasugawa (-10.7°C/13°F), and Yao (-4.8°C/23°F) all saw their coldest February morning on record on February 9. This comes as the death toll from the record-breaking snowfall rose to 46 and injured at least 558 people, of whom 193 suffered serious injuries, according to the Japanese fire and rescue department (FDMA). The snowfall has destroyed at least one building and partially destroyed two, while at least 58 buildings were damaged.watchers.news

Wind chills to −57°C (−70°F) as Extreme Cold and Blizzard Warnings continue across Alaska - Extreme Cold Warnings and Blizzard Warnings remain in effect across northern and western Alaska on February 11, 2026, with the National Weather Service forecasting wind chills as low as −57°C (−70°F) along the Arctic Coast and Brooks Range and wind gusts up to 105 km/h (65 mph) on St. Lawrence Island. Air temperatures near −46°C (−50°F) combined with increasing winds are expected to intensify frostbite risk across the North Slope, while snowfall of 7–15 cm (3–6 inches) and visibility reductions to 400 m (0.25 miles) or less are forecast in parts of western Alaska through early February 12. Extreme Cold Warnings remain in effect across the Arctic Coast, Arctic Plains, and the Brooks Range of northern Alaska, according to advisories issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) Fairbanks office. The warnings cover locations including Utqiagvik, Prudhoe Bay, Deadhorse, Point Hope, Anaktuvuk Pass, and sections of the Dalton Highway. Wind chills are forecast to reach as low as −57°C (−70°F), with ambient air temperatures near −46°C (−50°F). NWS Fairbanks states that exposed skin may develop frostbite in as little as five minutes under such extremely cold conditions. Increasing winds Tuesday into Wednesday are expected to intensify the wind chill threat before temperatures slowly moderate.Ad ends in 12 A separate Extreme Cold Warning remains in effect for Arctic Village until 06:00 AKST on February 11, where wind chills as low as −57°C (−70°F) are also forecast. Blizzard Warnings are active across western Alaska, including the Kuskokwim Delta Coast and Nunivak Island, where winds are forecast to gust up to 65 km/h (40 mph) with additional snowfall up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) through 03:00 AKST on February 11. Whiteout conditions are possible, and travel may be very difficult and potentially life-threatening in exposed areas. Across Eastern Norton Sound, the Yukon Delta Coast, the Lower Yukon River, and St. Lawrence Island, Blizzard Warnings remain in effect into early February 12. Snow accumulations of 7–15 cm (3–6 inches) are forecast for portions of Norton Sound and the Yukon Delta Coast, with wind gusts up to 90 km/h (55 mph) in some areas and up to 105 km/h (65 mph) on St. Lawrence Island. Visibility may be reduced to 400 m (0.25 miles) or less during periods of blowing and falling snow. A Blizzard Warning has also been issued for the Western Arctic Coast from 03:00 AKST on February 11 through 21:00 AKST on February 12, where gusts up to 80 km/h (50 mph) and snowfall up to 5 cm (2 inches) are forecast. Blowing snow is expected to significantly reduce visibility once snowfall develops. Steady snow continues across much of Southcentral Alaska as a vigorous upper-level shortwave lifted northward across the Kenai Peninsula and Cook Inlet. Anchorage recorded 7.9 cm (3.1 inches) of snowfall by 16:37 AKST on February 10 with light snow ongoing during the afternoon. Visibility remained below 1.6 km (1 mile) at times across the Western Kenai Peninsula, including Kenai Airport. Snowfall is forecast to intensify again during the evening hours, with an additional 3–10 cm (1–4 inches) across Anchorage and surrounding areas. Localized higher totals remain possible depending on band placement. Winter Weather Advisories remain in effect for the Susitna Valley, the Western Kenai Peninsula, Turnagain Pass, and the northern Copper River Basin, including Paxson and Thompson Pass. Snow is forecast to transition to a more showery regime on February 11 as colder air advects inland from the southwest. Snowband placement remains uncertain due to the potential development and track of a secondary low-pressure system. A track up Cook Inlet would favor additional accumulation for Anchorage and the Western Kenai Peninsula, while a more easterly track would shift heavier totals toward Turnagain Pass, Moose Pass, Portage, and Whittier.

Major stratospheric warming developing over the Arctic, ensemble data indicate a polar vortex split around February 15 - A strong stratospheric warming event is underway over the Arctic in early February 2026, rapidly weakening the Northern Hemisphere polar vortex. Forecasts indicate stratospheric westerly wind reversal and vortex split around mid-February, with cores separating further later. A strong sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event began developing in early February 2026, producing rapid temperature increases and decelerating the zonal-mean westerly winds in the mid-to-upper stratosphere. Temperature anomalies of around +40°C (+104°F) have been analyzed near 10 mb (≈ 30 km / 18.6 miles) altitude over several days, meeting the established criteria for a major warming event once full wind reversal is confirmed by monitoring agencies. Following this warming, the polar vortex has weakened substantially and become elongated and asymmetric, indicating strong wave–mean-flow interaction. Ensemble guidance shows the disrupted vortex evolving toward a split structure by mid-February. According to analysis by Andrej Flis of Severe Weather Europe, ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) indicate that the polar vortex will likely split into two lobes around mid-February 2026, with one displaced toward Eurasia and the other toward North America. Model forecasts valid around 00:00 UTC on February 15 show two distinct lobes: one displaced over northern Eurasia and the other extending toward northeastern Canada and Greenland. Large-scale circulation analyses show intense upward-propagating planetary waves entering the stratosphere during late January and early February. The strongest activity originated over the North Pacific and western North America, where persistent tropospheric ridging enhanced meridional flow and supported vertical wave propagation into the polar stratosphere. As the waves broke aloft, they decelerated and began reversing the polar night jet, producing rapid adiabatic warming through subsidence over the polar cap. Zonal-mean wind analyses near 60° N and 10 hPa show a transition from strong westerlies toward easterlies during the first week of February, consistent with the threshold for a major SSW as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC). Circulation anomalies are descending through the lower stratosphere, indicating active stratosphere–troposphere coupling. Height and wind anomalies are forecast to propagate downward over the next one to two weeks, increasing the likelihood that the current stratospheric disturbance will influence tropospheric circulation rather than remain confined to upper levels. In typical SSW scenarios, the weakened polar vortex allows cold polar air to extend southward as the stratospheric signal reaches the troposphere over several weeks. The process often coincides with a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO), which increases the probability of cold-air intrusions into the mid-latitudes. However, such outcomes remain statistical tendencies rather than guarantees. Forecast confidence for the February 2026 event is reduced by the presence of tropical-atmosphere interference, particularly from the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO). Current outlooks show an active MJO phase likely to modify planetary-wave patterns in the troposphere and temporarily limit vertical coupling between the stratosphere and surface. This interaction could delay or weaken the typical post-SSW cold response across North America and Europe until late February, when models suggest the coupling may re-establish.

2023–2024 El Niño triggered record-breaking sea level spike along African coastlines, study finds - Africa's coastlines are under growing threat as sea levels climb faster than ever, driven by decades of global warming caused by human activity, natural climate cycles, and warming ocean waters. Between 2009 and 2024, the continent experienced a 73% increase in sea-level rise, according to a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The rise stems primarily from a warming ocean that is slowly expanding and from glaciers on land that are melting into the sea—both clear consequences of human-induced climate change. One powerful episodic accelerator that interacts with the already warmed-up ocean is El Niño—an unusual warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that disrupts weather patterns worldwide. The 2023–2024 El Niño alone contributed 2.34 centimeters to global sea-level rise in just a single two-year period. This anomaly accounted for approximately 19% of the total increase observed over the 32-year satellite record since 1993. Africa has an extensive coastline stretching about 18,950 miles (30,500 km). The oceans surrounding the continent are warming and rising faster than the global average, placing more than 200 million coastal residents and critical infrastructure in cities such as Lagos and Dar es Salaam at risk. If we do not achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century, Africa is projected to exceed 2 °C of warming by 2100, further increasing these risks.

Satellite observations put stratospheric methane loss higher than models predicted - Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with strong heat-trapping capabilities. Although there is less methane in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, the foremost greenhouse gas, researchers attribute 30% of modern global warming to methane. Observations show that methane levels have increased over time, but the factors driving changes in the rate of accumulation remain unclear.Methane stays in the atmosphere for approximately 10 years before it is broken down or removed. Researchers need to know how much methane is removed to gauge what percentage of emissions are accumulating in the atmosphere, but the methane removal process is difficult to measure. Historically, researchers have relied on chemistry-climate simulations to predict methane removal, but the accuracy of this approach is debated.A new University of Washington study presents a value for methane removal in the stratosphere—the second layer of Earth's atmosphere—that is based on satellite data. This value, the first derived from observational methods, is higher than the earlier models indicated, suggesting that more methane is broken down in the stratosphere than previously thought."Total methane emissions and removal are large values. Their difference, or imbalance, is a small but critical value. It determines methane trends over time," said Qiang Fu, a UW professor of atmospheric and climate science who led the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Humans are the primary source of methane emissions on Earth. Agriculture, waste, and fossil fuels all release methane. Natural sources, such as wetlands, also contribute methane to the atmosphere. Methane "sinks," including soil and chemical reactions in the atmosphere, remove a large portion of the methane contributed by various sources. Methane removal takes place in both the troposphere, the closest layer to Earth, and the stratosphere above it. If sources and sinks were balanced, methane wouldn't accumulate in the atmosphere, but human contributions have tipped the scales toward sources. There are two ways to calculate methane accumulation in Earth's atmosphere: One way, a top-down approach, begins with observed methane levels in the atmosphere. The other, a bottom-up strategy, is based on individual sources and sinks on Earth. The trouble is, the two methods don't agree. Bottom-up calculations indicate that sources exceed sinks by far more than the top-down approach.In the study, Fu and Cong Dong, a UW graduate student in his lab, analyzed publicly available satellite data from 2007 to 2010 to produce a new value for methane removal in the stratosphere. Then, they recalculated the imbalance using this value instead of the model estimates, finding that the bottom-up and top-down results were close to identical. Methane reactions in the stratosphere create water vapor, another greenhouse gas, and impact ozone chemistry, impacting the protective ozone layer. These results will help researchers understand the significance of these related reactions.

Elon Musk Vows To Establish A Moon City Within 10 Years -Elon Musk and SpaceX are charting a bold new course for American space dominance, prioritizing a thriving city on the Moon to shield civilization from earthly perils like natural disasters or geopolitical chaos. With frequent launches and rapid iteration cycles, the Moon offers a practical launchpad for multi-planetary life, free from the constraints of overregulated space agencies that have stalled progress for decades. SpaceX’s announcement comes amid a renewed push for lunar exploration, where private enterprise is outpacing sluggish international efforts. SpaceX just officially shifted its #1 priority to building a self-growing city on the Moon. Not a base. Not an outpost. A city.

Lawmakers push Canada to adopt carbon removal goals - A parliamentary panel is calling on Canadian officials to establish national goals for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the end of the year — a move no other country has taken. The recommendation was included in a carbon removal report released last week by Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. The panel began working on the report in 2024 and spoke to dozens of scientists, industry representatives and Indigenous officials. “The value and need for CO2 removal targets in Canada’s climate strategy cannot be overstated,” said the report, which focused mainly on the potential of marine carbon removal technologies. The office of Prime Minister Mark Carney referred questions to a representative of the minister of the environment, climate change and nature, who didn’t immediately respond. Carney previously served as United Nations secretary-general’s special envoy on climate action and finance.

China's emissions policies are helping climate change but also creating a new problem -China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power plants have been fitted with scrubbers, heavy industry has been modernized and pollution standards tightened, leading to an over 50% reduction in atmospheric particulate matter. Sulfur dioxide (a gas that contributes to acid rain and dangerous smog) has fallen by two-thirds. But a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests this progress is also revealing a less obvious climate challenge. While research highlights that these environmental policies are working exactly as intended by reducing sulfur dioxide to improve air quality, this does not only affect human health. In the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide forms sulfate aerosols, tiny particles that reflect incoming solar radiation back into space, leading to a cooling influence on the planet. The combined aerosol radiative forcing is thought to have offset approximately one-third of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. However, as emissions fall, fewer sulfate aerosols form, meaning less sunlight is reflected and more solar radiation reaches Earth's surface, contributing to global warming. Atmospheric aerosols in both the troposphere (up to 12 km into the atmosphere) and stratosphere (12–50 km up) play a major role in Earth's radiation balance. Sulfate particles, which dominate the stratosphere, are formed from sulfur-containing gases released by both human activities (such as fossil fuel burning) and natural sources (including volcanic eruptions). Because aerosols strongly influence how much solar energy the planet absorbs, accurately representing them in climate models is essential for predicting future climate change. Modeling suggests that declining sulfur dioxide emissions from China alone may have contributed roughly 0.06–0.07°C of global warming between 2007 and 2025, accounting for approximately 12% of the warming observed during that period. This is significant in the context of global temperature rise, where even tenths of a degree matter for extreme weather, sea-level rise and ecosystems. This also highlights the interconnected nature of environmental policies. In China, measures designed to improve air quality have been linked to shifts in precipitation and atmospheric chemistry, demonstrating how air pollution, weather and climate are tightly linked systems. Using an Earth system model combined with recent chemical observations obtained by research aircraft from the Asian summer monsoon region, the researchers estimate that Chinese emissions reductions between 2010 and 2020 lowered sulfate aerosol concentrations by more than 20% over the North Pacific and by more than 7% near the tropics. These declines increased global net radiative forcing by around 0.10–0.15 watts per square meter, with regional impacts up to six times stronger.Although aerosol decreases are largest in the upper troposphere, the longer lifetime of particles in the stratosphere allows their climatic influence to spread over wider regions and longer timescales. The study finds that most of this radiative impact is driven by shortwave effects, including both direct reflection of sunlight and indirect influences through clouds (when solar radiation is scattered by enclosed water droplets, ice crystals and aerosols). The research also points to similar atmospheric connections across Asia, though not always in the same direction. While China's sulfur emissions have fallen sharply, emissions have increased in India over a similar period, meaning the regional aerosol balance is shifting in complex and sometimes offsetting ways. As both countries strongly influence the composition of the Asian upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, changes in one region can affect atmospheric chemistry, radiation and climate far beyond national borders.

States target oil giants’ wealth as climate damages rise - President Donald Trump and the oil industry have sought to smother state-level climate action. But a growing number of state lawmakers, mayors and attorneys general are embracing an aggressive gambit: Going after the fossil fuel industry itself. State and local governments are seeking to retroactively charge the biggest fossil fuel companies billions of dollars to account for climate-fueled damage to states, such as wildfires and floods. They’re pursuing two tracks: lawsuits modeled on tobacco litigation, and climate superfund legislation based on conventional pollution cleanup. Trump has specifically targeted those efforts, ordering the Justice Department to challenge them in court. The oil sector also has lobbied Congress to block such policies. And one Republican lawmaker vowed Wednesday to introduce legislation to block the efforts. Nevertheless, the idea is gaining traction in Democratic-governed states — especially as the Trump administration closes off other avenues of climate action, while also threatening the funding states had relied on to adapt to climate impacts. “With the federal government pulling back so much … we need to figure out how we’re going to pay for this,” said Democratic state Rep. Robyn Gabel, the Illinois House majority leader and sponsor of the state’s new climate superfund bill. “Illinois has a tendency not to be the first,” she said. “But now that we’re not the first, I’m hoping that we can learn from others.” Before Trump’s 2024 election, only a single state — Vermont — had passed a climate superfund law, as other left-leaning states focused on the Biden administration’s bid to deploy renewable energy at large scales. The Republican takeover of Washington changed that. New York passed its own climate superfund law in December 2024. And the following year, lawmakers in at least 10 other states proposed similar bills. This year, the policy is continuing to gain traction — even as legal challenges have mounted. “The people of Maine can’t foot these bills,” state Rep. Victoria Doudera, the top House Democrat on the state’s Joint Environment and Natural Resources Committee, said last month before that panel advanced a climate superfund bill for the first time. State and local policymakers are setting their sights on fossil fuel companies as the Trump administration looks to cut federal funding for rebuilding after disasters and preparing for future ones — especially those forecast to worsen due to climate change.Trump signed a sweeping executive order in April targeting states for their climate superfund laws and lawsuits against the oil industry, calling such state-level climate actions “irreconcilable with my Administration’s objective to unleash American energy.”But as the Trump administration axes climate funding and regulations — including an anticipated repeal of the endangerment finding, the bedrock of federal climate policy — Democrats say the pressure is only building for state and local policymakers to take matters into their own hands.“These are nonnegotiable expenses. When a bridge washes away … you can’t say, ‘No more bridge,’” said Justin Flagg, director of environmental policy for New York state Sen. Liz Krueger (D), who sponsored that state’s climate superfund law.

Trump to repeal endangerment finding Thursday - The Trump administration plans to announce the repeal of the Obama-era endangerment finding for greenhouse gases Thursday, the White House announced. President Donald Trump will be joined by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin “to formalize the rescission of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday during a press briefing. The repeal of that 2009 finding, which set the stage for federal greenhouse gas regulations, has been a top priority for the Trump team this term. Critics of the administration have decried the move as a politically motivated attack on a scientific finding, and legal fights are sure to follow. “This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,” Leavitt said Tuesday. “This is just one more way this administration is working to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.” It’s part of a White House focus on “energy and deregulation,” Leavitt said. On Wednesday afternoon, Trump plans to hold an event in the White House East Room “to tout clean, beautiful coal as America’s most reliable and affordable energy source, especially during periods of peak demand,” she said. “The president will discuss how clean, beautiful coal is not only keeping the lights on in our country, but also driving down the cost of electricity across the country,” Leavitt said.

Trump to undo legal basis for US climate rules - President Donald Trump is poised Thursday to revoke a landmark scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health by driving climate change—a determination that underpins US regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming pollution. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt billed it as a "largest deregulatory action in American history," with Trump to appear alongside Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin for the announcement. The 2009 "endangerment finding" was a determination under then-president Barack Obama that six greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare by fueling climate change. It came about as a result of prolonged legal battle ending in a 2007 Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, which ruled that greenhouse gases qualify as pollutants under the Clean Air Act and directed the EPA to determine whether they pose a danger to public health and welfare. While it initially applied only to vehicle emissions, it later became the legal foundation for a broader suite of climate regulations. Thursday's repeal will thus be accompanied by scrapping federal greenhouse gas standards for automobiles. But the consequences could ripple further, placing a host of climate rules in jeopardy—including limits on carbon dioxide from power plants and methane from oil and gas operations. The administration's draft proposal, which elicited more than half a million public comments, asserts that greenhouse gases should not be treated as pollutants in the traditional sense because their effects on human health are indirect and global rather than local. Regulating them within US borders, it contends, cannot meaningfully resolve a worldwide problem. The proposal also sought to downplay the scale and impacts of human-caused climate change, citing a study commissioned by an Energy Department working group comprised of skeptics to produce a report challenging the scientific consensus. The report was quickly panned by researchers, who said it was riddled with errors and, in some cases, misrepresented the very studies it cited. Environmental groups sued, alleging the panel was convened behind closed doors in violation of federal rules, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright later disbanded the group. The administration has claimed repealing the endangerment finding would generate more than $1 trillion in regulatory savings, without detailing how the figure was calculated. It has also said it would lower new car costs. Environmental advocates counter ignoring the other side of the ledger, including lives saved from reduced pollution and fuel savings from more efficient vehicles. They also warn the rollback would further skew the market toward more gas-guzzling cars, undermining the American auto industry's ability to compete in the global race toward electric vehicles. Critics are awaiting the final text but say they are confident it will not survive in court.

European chemical giants plot to weaken EU’s flagship climate policy - Europe’s huge chemicals sector is campaigning to weaken the European Union’s most important climate policy — and Brussels is listening. At a meeting in Antwerp on Wednesday, industry chiefs will attempt to persuade European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and national leaders to water down the Emissions Trading System (ETS), a cap-and-trade strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They come with a well-rehearsed pitch: Their sector, one of the biggest in Europe, is in crisis. Factories are being squeezed by a perfect storm of high energy prices, intense competition from China, weak demand from downstream industries — and the world’s most expensive carbon pricing scheme. Virtually no other jurisdiction in the world faces carbon costs as high as the EU, they argue: If current plans to strengthen the scheme go ahead, Europe’s chemicals industry could be dead within a decade. GET

Longtime Exxon lawyers retreat from oil company’s climate cases - The law firm that has helped Exxon Mobil notch significant victories in its battle against climate lawsuits from local governments has pulled out of at least four of the court fights.Exxon and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison attorneys this month notified courts in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine and Washington state that the firm would no longer represent the oil giant as it fights efforts by governments and individuals in those states to hold the oil and gas industry financially accountable for climate change.The filings did not elaborate on the reasons for the moves, but noted lawyers from other firms would remain as counsel. While rare, withdrawals from cases are not unheard of and can be made by either attorneys or clients for various reasons. Paul, Weiss attorneys continue to represent Exxon in a number of other climate cases, including a longstanding challenge from Massachusetts. The moves came at the same time as the chair of Paul, Weiss stepped down last week amid fallout over his email exchanges with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Brad Karp, who led Paul, Weiss for 18 years as it emerged as a major player in Exxon’s aggressive campaign to dismiss dozens of climate liability lawsuits across the country, will remain at the firm as a partner. Karp did not work on the climate lawsuits, and there was no indication that the firm’s withdrawals were related to his move. Exxon and Paul, Weiss declined to comment. He was replaced as Paul, Weiss chair by Scott Barshay and will continue to work with clients at the firm. Karp called the position the “honor of my professional life,” adding that “recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.”Karp became chair in 2008, and Paul, Weiss noted in a statement that over the duration of his tenure, the firm had “advised on some of the most consequential matters in the legal industry.”Under Karp’s leadership, Paul, Weiss became Exxon’s lead legal advocate in defending the oil giant against more than a dozen lawsuits launched by cities, counties and states seeking financial compensation for the costs of dealing with climate change.The legal challenges could ultimately cost Exxon, Chevron, BP and other companies hundreds of billions of dollars. The oil and gas industry — with the backing of the Trump administration — is presently urging the Supreme Court to provide companies relief from the legal onslaught. Republicans in Congress and state attorneys general offices have also launched efforts to invalidate the lawsuits, announcing investigations into a nonprofit that conducts judicial education on climate science and unsuccessfully petitioning the Supreme Court to block litigation in five Democratic-led states.Under Karp, Paul, Weiss scored a major victory for Exxon in 2019, when the company prevailed in a yearslong, $1.6 billion battle with the New York state attorney general’s office over whether Exxon committed securities fraud by downplaying the financial risks it faced from climate change. Paul, Weiss chalked up wins for Exxon last September, when a South Carolina state court sided with several oil producers, finding the city of Charleston did not have grounds to pursue legal damages from the companies under state tort law. Days earlier, a Puerto Rico federal court dismissed a class action lawsuit brought against the oil majors by several municipalities over the risk of climate change.

Panel OKs mineral, grazing and national park bills -The nation’s critical minerals would land on a new kind of list under legislation approved by the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.The committee approved by voice vote an amended version of H.R. 755, the “Critical Mineral Consistency Act,” from Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), designed to align the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of critical minerals with a separate list maintained by the Department of Energy.During the Biden administration, the USGS critical mineral list did not include copper, but DOE’s list did. Last November, the USGS added copper to its roster.A critical mineral designation by the USGS makes the industry eligible for benefits that include federal grants and streamlined permitting.

Burgum: Interior will fight its offshore wind court losses - The Interior Department plans to appeal a string of recent federal court rulings that halted President Donald Trump’s offshore wind blockade.Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Wednesday that the agency “absolutely” intends to challenge the decisions that overturned the administration’s stop-work orders for five projects along the Eastern Seaboard.“People are saying this is some ideological attack on offshore wind,” Burgum said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “No, this is like a real, genuine concern, and as Americans we should be concerned.” Federal district courts have repeatedly ruled this year that Interior failed to provide proper rationale for its December order to temporarily block construction of Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1.

More Republicans buck Trump on offshore wind - -A growing number of House Republicans are openly questioning the Trump administration’s assertion that offshore wind projects pose a risk to national security. Nine Republicans, led by House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino of New York, last month called on top Trump officials to brief lawmakers about their decision in December to halt construction of five nearly complete projects off the Atlantic coast. Judges have ruled against the administration’s pause in all five cases, but many lawmakers see the stop-work orders as part of a concerted and ongoing attack on offshore wind and other renewable energy ventures.“America’s energy policy should be grounded in facts, fiscal responsibility, and the national interest — not ideology or politics,” the Republicans wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.As of Wednesday, they had not heard back. Both the Interior and Defense departments declined to comment on congressional correspondence.Other signatories included Reps. Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler of New York, and Rob Wittman of Virginia and Jen Kiggans of Virginia. Kiggans — who has been relentlessly urging Trump officials not to block a massive offshore wind project off her Virginia Beach district — did get a classified briefing with Armed Services Committee members this week from Dale Marks, assistant secretary of Defense for energy, installations and environment.“Kiggans was grateful for the time but found the information repetitive and unhelpful and will be following up with the Navy for an additional briefing,” said an aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly.Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday defended the department’s recent actions in an interview with Bloomberg television. “People are saying this is some ideological attack on offshore wind,” Burgum said. “No, this is like a real, genuine concern, and as Americans we should be concerned.”

A new Ohio bill could be a de facto statewide ban on solar and wind - It’s not just federal headwinds that threaten to constrain renewable energy development. State and local restrictions on solar and wind are spreading across the United States, too.Few states highlight this fact as well as Ohio does. The Buckeye State makes solar and wind farms go through extra hurdles that don’t apply to fossil-fueled or nuclear power plants, including counties’ ability to ban projects. Its siting authorities have also deferred to local opposition for renewable energy while granting opponents little say over where petroleum drilling rigs and fracking waste can go.A bill now working its way through the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature threatens to raise even more barriers for wind power and solar farms. On Tuesday, the Ohio Senate’s Energy Committee held its third hearing on Senate Bill 294. It’s unclear whether the committee will hear additional testimony, so under state law the bill could pass out of committee as soon as its next meeting.The bill would declare it to be state policy ​“in all cases” for new electricity-generation facilities to ​“employ affordable, reliable, and clean energy sources.” But the bill’s definitions not only veer from common usage in ways that would exclude renewables but also threaten to block wind and solar development altogether.“If Senate Bill 294 were enacted, the Ohio Power Siting Board would be unable to support renewable energy projects under the bill’s restrictive definition. This would place Ohio at a disadvantage,” said Evangeline Hobbs, a deputy director at the American Clean Power Association, in joint testimony for that group and fellow industry organization MAREC Action. ​“At precisely the moment when Ohio needs every available energy source, this bill would tie the state’s hands.” Based on model legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, SB 294 is sponsored by Republicans George Lang of West Chester and Mark Romanchuk of Ontario. Louisiana passed a similar bill last year that prioritized natural gas. A pending bill in New Hampshire says that energy sources ​“shall” be reliable, meaning not subject to routine daily weather variations. Lang praised natural gas during his Oct. 28 proponent testimony, noting the bill is designed to take advantage of the fossil fuel. In contrast, he claimed renewable energy ​“doesn’t meet those qualifications of being cheap. It misses the reliability … And it doesn’t really meet clean yet.” During the Feb. 10 hearing, however, he claimed solar and wind were not really excluded and stressed that ​“there are definitions that have to be met.”Those definitions, however, uniformly ding renewables. SB 294’s definition of a reliable energy source would require it to be ​“readily available” with minimal interruptions during high-usage times and for it to have a 50% capacity factor. That’s the ratio of its actual power output to the potential maximum. This condition would exclude virtually all land-based wind and solar generation.A high capacity factor ​“does not mean that an energy source will be available during extreme weather, or even generally available at peak times,” said Michelle Solomon, manager of electricity for Energy Innovation, an energy and climate policy think tank. In practice, grid operators ​“consider how combinations of resources on the grid can work together to meet needs.”Instead of ensuring systemwide reliability, a single-minded focus on a high capacity factor will distort markets and raise costs for consumers, noted Brendan Pierpont, Energy Innovation’s director of electricity.In fact, a high penetration of renewables can reduce the intensity of blackouts and vulnerability to extreme weather, according to a 2024 peer-reviewed study in Nature Energy. And, in general, a portfolio of energy-generation resources is more reliable than dependence on only a few sources.

Nearly 75% of Planned On-Site Power at U.S. Data Centers is Natgas - Marcellus Drilling News - A Cleanview report reveals that nearly 75% of planned on-site power for U.S. data centers is natural gas-fired as operators bypass traditional grid connections. Driven by surging AI demands and grid delays of up to seven years, this trend involves 46 projects totaling 56 gigawatts. While developers publicly highlight renewables, immediate capacity remains dominated by gas due to its reliability. Development is concentrated in gas-rich regions like Texas and Pennsylvania. To overcome equipment shortages, some firms use creative solutions, such as repurposed jet engines. This shift underscores natural gas’s vital role in supporting the rapid expansion of American AI infrastructure.

Ohio Data Center Expansion Faces Opposition Over New 350 MW Gas Plant Approval – Large infrastructure projects can remain hidden from public view for years, and Ohio residents say the Meta hyperscale data center rising in Wood County is a prime example. Community members are only now learning that the facility—code-named “Accordion” and assembled through shell company Liames LLC—has been in the works for years, supported by farmland acquisitions and a 75% tax abatement for 15 years. Locals say they were given little opportunity to understand the implications of such a massive development. Concerns are mounting over water consumption, streamlined discharge permitting, energy demand, and potential impacts on agriculture and property values. Non-disclosure agreements surrounding the project have added to frustration and mistrust. Courtesy: Photo by Paul Hanaoka on UnsplashThose worries intensified this week when the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) approved construction of the Will-Power “Apollo” 350-MW gas-fired plant, designed to serve the Meta facility. The Title V-designated plant received final approval on February 3, 2027, following a rapid review process that critics say sidelined meaningful public input. Fast-Track Permitting Raises Transparency ConcernsThe Will-Power Letter of Notification dated November 5, 2025 initiated the expedited process. By January 27, 2026, OPSB recommended approval, paving the way for construction to begin as early as February 6—just three months later. Critics argue the timeline demonstrates how major polluting facilities can move forward with minimal community involvement. Two residences lie within 1,000 feet of the planned generating equipment, and Wood County already holds a “C” ozone rating from the American Lung Association, while neighboring Lucas County earned an “F.” Apollo could emit more than 2.4 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, adding to concerns about AI-driven energy demand. A recent Guardian report noted, "The gas projects in development in the US will, if all completed, cause 12.1bn tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions over their lifetimes, which is double the current annual emissions coming from all sources in the US." Tax incentives have drawn particular criticism. "The average cost of their megadeals is astronomical: $1.9 million per job," writes Kasia Tarczynska of Good Jobs First. "At that price, taxpayers will always lose." Local advocates echo that sentiment. "So now the data center industry is mounting a public relations campaign, spending millions to paint a rosy picture of the industry when that money could be much better spent to pay their fair share," said Lea Harper of FreshWater Accountability Project. "Where is the benefit to local residents and Ohio taxpayers and ratepayers when very few jobs will be given? I see no upside to these projects." Lawmakers recently granted tax breaks for behind-the-meter gas plants and proposed labeling natural gas as “clean energy,” a move critics say could open the door to even more subsidies. Although Apollo is designated as a behind-the-meter facility, observers believe it may eventually seek a grid connection to sell excess power—raising questions about whether incentives would be repaid. Further uncertainty surrounds infrastructure needs, including two 16-inch gas pipelines required to fuel the plant. Residents ask why pipeline permits are being handled separately and whether that approach avoids a full statement of community benefit. Application documents claim, "The proposed project will not meet the definition of a major stationary source," a statement many locals find hard to reconcile with projected emissions. With construction slated to begin next week, opponents question how contracts and equipment orders could proceed before all permits are finalized. They fear the approval process has become “just a matter of checking boxes.” Advocates say public engagement has been superficial. analysis. As Ohio races to accommodate the data-center boom, critics warn that the long-term bill—environmental, financial, and public health—may fall squarely on taxpayers and ratepayers.

Is Northeast Ohio ready for AI data centers? Sustainability's a factor - Ideastream Public Media - At the corner of East 40th Street and Chester Avenue in Cleveland sits a small, quiet brick building that blends in with many others Downtown. But, there's a data center in that building. This data center is not new, and it's not alone. There are nearly 40 data centers throughout Northeast Ohio, and more projects are potentially on the horizon. "We've had data centers generally for a very long time," said Jonathan Steirer, interim director of Case Western Reserve University’s Great Lakes Energy Institute. "Anything that's been digital, the internet, the files being moved to the cloud, that cloud requires data centers. So, it's not necessarily a new problem." What is new, Steirer said, is the challenge posed by AI data centers. Large AI data centers are called hyperscalers and can consume as much power as a small city. "Because of the limitations of our grid, that is not always a given," Steirer said. "So [data centers are] being located near gas lines, pipelines for easy access to natural gas to power on-site generation." Data center developers typically look for areas with reliable access to water and electric resources and plenty of land to build on. While urban areas may not always measure up, Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, an advocacy group for the industry, said parts of Ohio fit the bill. There are 194 data centers in Ohio and nearly 40 in Northeast Ohio. Additional data center projects are on the horizon in the region, spurring environmental concerns.Data Center Map "It offers key infrastructure, both on the energy side and the fiber side," he said, "as well as technology workforce, so that construction, building trade, skilled trade workforce that's able to build these facilities as well, as just increasing focus on becoming a technology hub of the Midwest." As the demand for data centers increases, energy consumption remains one of the biggest public concerns, Steirer said, especially when it comes to the capacity of the grid and increased power costs for ratepayers. "Beyond just generation and grid management and grid stability and the ability and capacity of our grid to accept these really demanding assets," Steirer said. " So some of that does relate to things like thermal properties of materials used in a data center — so more efficient cooling — which end sup being one of the biggest energy demands of a data center." Growth of the data center sector could stabilize energy rates down the line, Diorio said. "What we're actually seeing is that higher load-growth can actually help put downward pressure on rates," he said. "When you have larger users on the system, you're able to spread those fixed costs out over those larger users, and it helps put downward pressure on rates for all." Even so, concerns about the grid remain. This, paired with concerns about environmental impacts, is affecting development across the region. City officials in Norton rejected plans for a data center late last year after being unconvinced of what developers presented as a minimal effect on the community. A project proposing to build a data center on 100 acres of farm land in Perry Township in Stark County is on pause as developers work to meet outstanding conditions with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the regional chamber of commerce and local utilities. And in Lordstown, council members issued a six-month moratorium on a data center project to address a range of issues, including impact on the grid, noise pollution and water consumption.

One proposed data center could use 20 million gallons of water a year - The Allegheny Front -- The 1.2-gigawatt data center proposed for Delaware City in New Castle County would use a massive amount of water.Environmental regulators last week said the “Project Washington” data center proposed by Starwood Digital Ventures doesn’t meet Coastal Zone Act regulations. It proposes using 516 diesel-powered generators and a 5-acre tank farm that would store 2.5 million gallons of the fuel.The vast amount of water required to cool the proposed facility would be more than 9.9 million gallons per year — or up to almost 20 million gallons — according to an application for a Coastal Zone Act status decision filed with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.A company spokesperson told WHYY News that once completed the project will use about 12.7 million gallons of water annually. An additional one-time usage of 600,000 gallons will be used as part of a closed loop cooling system, according to the company.“Veolia has provided Water Capacity Certifications stating that there is adequate water capacity and existing infrastructure to serve the project,” Jim Lamb, a spokesperson for Starwood Digital Ventures’ Project Washington data center, said in an email.Dozens of similar large-scale data centers are being proposed across the region, and residents increasingly voice concerns about the impact on electricity bills and water usage, which in some areas of the country have threatened drinking water supplies. Opposition to data centers is growing in part because their heavy energy use has eaten away at supply and driven up the price of electricity. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, more than 50 new data centers are proposed, a majority of which are in Pennsylvania. Data centers also cause local environmental impacts like air pollution.In his budget address earlier this month, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the state is poised to be a leader in data center development but proposed a number of safeguards, including the need for the facilities to generate their own power and conserve water. “I know Pennsylvanians have real concerns about these data centers and the impact they could have on our communities, our utility bills and our environment,” Shapiro said Tuesday during his annual budget address in Harrisburg. “And so do I.”Data centers house the computer servers required to run internet services worldwide. While they have been around since the mid-20th century, the acceleration of power-hungry artificial intelligence has boosted demand for much larger sites that require more energy. President Donald Trump’s administration last year announced plans to accelerate artificial intelligence development with limited regulatory oversight.Artificial intelligence requires more power at a faster rate than typical internet activities, straining the power grid and leading to increased electricity costs for consumers.A 2024 Department of Energy report on U.S. data center energy use estimated that data center load growth tripled over the past decade, and would double or triple by 2028. PJM Interconnection, which manages the region’s electrical grid, has pointed to the increase in data centers as a reason for strains on the grid.The larger the data center, the more power is used — and the more power that’s used, the more water is needed to cool the facilities and their servers to prevent overheating.Hyperscale data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of drinking water per day, and in some areas they have drained resident’s well water supplies.

Antis Get Fired Up Over Potential Duke Gas Plant in Davidson, NC - Marcellus Drilling News - Anti-fossil fuelers are raising concerns (and stoking fear with county residents) about a potential Duke Energy natural gas power plant in Davidson County, NC, after the project appeared in the company’s long-range planning documents. We first told you about this project three weeks ago (see Duke Energy Considers 1,360-MW Gas Plant for Davidson County, NC). A transmission cluster study in Duke’s 2025 Carolinas Resource Plan has identified a proposed 1,394-megawatt natural gas facility in Davidson County. Time for antis to ask their foreign funders for money to support a campaign against this project.

Va.’s Democrat Legislature Wants to Raise Data Center Fees by 16% -- Marcellus Drilling News - Virginia Senate Bill 253, introduced by State Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), aims to shift energy infrastructure costs from residents to data centers, potentially saving households a whopping $65 annually. The legislation requires data centers—which account for 20% of Dominion Energy’s sales—to fund their own electrical substations and cover specific “capacity costs.” If the bill becomes law and the proposals in it receive approval from the State Corporation Commission (SCC), the typical monthly energy bill for data centers would rise by about 16%, while the typical bill for residential and other customers would decrease by 3% to 3.5%. Looks like Virginia, with more data centers than any other state in the union, is now closed for data center business. Too bad.

Missouri to Get Gas-Peaker Coupled with Battery Backup Fed by M-U- Marcellus Drilling News - State regulators have approved Ameren Missouri’s Big Hollow Energy Center, a dual-facility project featuring an 800-megawatt natural gas plant and a 400-megawatt battery storage system. Located at the former Rush Island coal site (Jefferson County, MO), the project leverages existing grid infrastructure to meet surging electricity demand driven by new data centers. While antis raise empty environmental concerns regarding methane emissions, Ameren emphasizes that the battery component supports carbon-free goals for major clients like Google. And yes, there is a direct connection to the Marcellus/Utica.

Happy Together – Natural Gas and Electric Power More Intertwined Than Ever; NPC Sounds the Alarm | RBN Energy -There’s more interest than ever in increasing coordination between the U.S. natural gas and electric power sectors. Each market now depends more heavily on the other than at any point in the past. Yet significant hurdles remain, many stemming from fragmented and distinct regulatory regimes; long-standing, fundamentally different physics and economic models; and deeply entrenched operating practices on both sides. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll continue our examination of gas-electric coordination by assessing the National Petroleum Council’s (NPC) recent recommendations and considering what could come next. In Part 1 of this series, we provided an overview of the NPC’s December report, Reliable Energy: Delivering on the Promise of Gas-Electric Coordination, which was prepared at the request of Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Among other things, the report highlighted the reliability- and resilience-related risks associated with the increasing interdependence of gas and electric markets amid surging electricity demand. It also discussed the misalignment of these markets and the need to facilitate the buildout of new gas and electric infrastructure. Finally, the NPC made a series of recommendations aimed at improving gas-electric coordination. Today, we will zero in on what we see as the primary issues/challenges — and look at how we think this all may play out. In Part 1, we discussed a few of the NPC’s specific recommendations. This time, we will be looking more deeply into the underlying issues that have complicated the relationship between the gas and electric sectors for the past few decades and made it difficult — but not always impossible — for the two sides to agree on operational and other changes that might enhance gas-electric coordination. The National Petroleum Council Report. The most important reality to acknowledge up front is that natural gas and electric power markets operate under different and distinct models. Electric utilities, including the distribution companies that sit between unregulated generators and end users, operate within a specified service territory and have an obligation to serve customers within it. In exchange for their commitment to provide this universal service, electric utilities are granted monopoly rights within their territory and are authorized by state regulators to recover prudently incurred costs and earn an approved rate of return on equity (ROE) on those investments. (This service-obligation model also applies to local gas distribution utilities.) Electric utilities’ obligation to serve doesn’t hinge on whether the utility owns generation. Even in regions with lots of competitive supply, the load-serving entity still has to make sure customers have electricity —either by self-supplying from utility generation, contracting with others, or buying from independent power producers (IPPs) through wholesale markets — because the duty to serve runs to the retail customer and the reliability of service. As a result of this overarching duty, investments made in transmission and distribution wires tend to be “socialized,” or spread over the entire customer base as they are made. Midstream companies that develop, own and run the interstate pipelines that transport vast volumes of gas to electric utilities, IPPs and gas distribution companies operate under an entirely different construct. Midstreamers are on-request service providers — their core role is to transport gas to their customers under individual contracts that are governed by tariffs (i.e., terms and rates) determined to be just and reasonable by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). (Note: Even discounted and negotiated rates are subject to FERC oversight.) Put another way, pipelines act simply as contract vendors to their customers, with their mix of capital facilities (pipelines and storage) and service offerings based on what their customers want, and are willing to pay for.That’s not to say gas pipelines don’t have public responsibilities. They are required to operate safely, to stick to rates acceptable to FERC, and (barring a force majeure event) to fulfill their contractual obligations to their customers. But it’s not their responsibility to make sure that everyone — whether it be a power generator or a homeowner with gas heat — gets as much gas as they may need on, say, a bitterly cold day in February. That’s the “misalignment” recognized at the heart of the NPC’s report, namely that power markets increasingly rely on gas-fired generation for reliability, but the commercial/regulatory frameworks for gas supply and transportation don’t always line up with the capacity, speed, volatility, and “must-serve” expectations that electricity providers have to contend with. This is especially true in pipeline-capacity-constrained parts of the U.S. during extreme weather, such as late January’s Winter Storm Fern and other extended polar vortex events when gas demand for space heating is maxing out and electric utilities are scrambling to find enough power to keep up with customers’ needs. At the same time, pipeline operators are dealing with shipper nominations, contract rights, and operational limits that represent a difficult balancing act across their customer populations, frequently involving consumers in multiple, very different regions of the nation. The need for stability and balance in operating the pipelines means they frequently collide with the substantial swings in power requirements as electric utilities follow their public service obligations to keep the lights on. A second key issue regarding gas-electric coordination is the incentives — or lack thereof — for some power generators to contract for firm transportation (FT) service for gas supply. This is where the “contract vendor” role of pipelines puts pressure on power generators and their market managers — regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) — to commit to the capacity they need to ensure reliability. Fundamentally, if there’s not enough pipeline capacity built and contractually committed to generators, rules that try to match power volatility without endangering gas-utilities’ heating customers are just carving up the last can of sardines in a lifeboat. Old-school, vertically integrated electric utilities are generally encouraged to sign FT deals to ensure they will have sufficient gas for the plants they would need to operate during periods of very high electricity demand. That makes sense, in that utilities have the obligation to serve we discussed above. However, in competitive generation markets, IPPs whose plants run only some of the time (depending on economic dispatch by an RTO or ISO) would understandably seek to minimize their fixed costs and be disinclined to pay the much higher and constant cost of super-dependable FT service. Instead, they sometimes rely on low-cost, interruptible transportation (IT) arrangements that provide them with the gas they need most of the time, but sometimes not when their power is needed most. (See Part 1 for much more on this.) IT is much less expensive than FT, primarily because you only pay if you use it, and don’t need to make a large fixed payment every month whether you need it or not. But it’s that monthly revenue from long-term, FT contracts that underpins the development of gas pipeline capacity. Sure, there are a few things pipelines and power generators can do to help mitigate gas-supply squeezes, such as preemptive line packing (pushing extra gas into pipelines in advance of anticipated high-demand periods) to help sustain deliveries. Also, many gas plants in regions susceptible to gas-supply challenges are dual-fuel facilities capable of switching to diesel (stored onsite); others produce and store LNG for backup use. However, for gas to fulfill its promise to support the current growth in power generation, more than that will be needed.

Trump flexes federal muscle to resuscitate ‘clean beautiful coal’ - -- President Donald Trump declared his love for “clean beautiful coal” Wednesday at a campaign-style event that marked a major setback for U.S. climate policy.The White House celebration kicked off Trump’s most aggressive bid yet to save coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels that drive climate change. The president has ordered the military to buy power from the nation’s struggling coal plants and doled out millions of dollars for facilities on the brink of closure. “I know you well,” Trump told coal miners donning hard hats at the White House. “I think I get about 97 percent of your vote.”Trump inked an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to procure power from coal plants through long-term power purchase agreements for military installations and other mission-critical facilities. He also announced the Energy Department’s approval of $175 million to upgrade coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky.“We’re going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now,” Trump said.Trump is aggressively moving to marshal federal law and funding to resuscitate an industry that’s been beset by closures and rising costs — while also rolling back critical climate protections and regulations, forcing retiring coal plants to continue operating, and opening up public lands to more leasing and mining. On Thursday, the administration is expected to roll back the endangerment finding for greenhouse gases, which serves as the scientific underpinning for most climate rules.Trump failed to revive the coal sector during his first stint in the White House, when he faced the mounting challenges of cheap gas, falling costs for renewables and weak demand. And while that trend has begun to shift, experts are still waiting for proof of a long-term comeback.But on Wednesday, Trump touted coal’s revival, surrounded by agency heads, fossil fuel executives and lawmakers from fossil-heavy states, including Republican Sens. John Barrasso from Wyoming and Jim Justice of West Virginia.The president boasted that his administration has clinched “historic” trade agreements with South Korea, Japan, India and other countries to boost U.S. coal exports dramatically.“We are now exporting coal to all over the world,” Trump said. He was then presented with a trophy from the Washington Coal Club in the shape of a miner, which Peabody CEO Jim Grech said was inscribed with the words “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal.”

Trump enlists military to rescue coal - Dozens of coal plants, including those slated for retirement, could supply the military under President Donald Trump’s latest plan to save the embattled coal industry.Trump will sign an executive order Wednesday directing the Department of Defense to enter into power contracts with coal plants, according to a White House official. It wasn’t exactly clear how the administration intends to achieve that goal, but an Energy Department official said DOE had identified more than three dozen coal plants that could supply electricity to military installations.The administration’s stated goal is to provide a reliable source of power to the military and support coal plants that would otherwise retire, said the DOE official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press.The move is a major escalation of Trump’s efforts to revive coal. The White House has prepped a broad suite of actions for Wednesday, including announcing millions of dollars to recommission and upgrade coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky, according to a White House official. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the outlines of the administration’s plans.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday during a press briefing that the president on Wednesday would “discuss how clean, beautiful coal is not only keeping the lights on in our country, but also driving down the cost of electricity across the country.” A White House official said Wednesday’s order — titled “Strengthening the United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet” — aims to ensure DOD “has reliable power and to strengthen the grid.”DOD referred a request for comment to DOE, which did not respond to inquiries about the administration’s plan.The DOE official provided further details. The administration’s hope is that military installations will enter into power purchase agreements with coal facilities. Those contracts will provide a stable source of revenue needed to keep the plants open and encourage private financing opportunities, the person said. “They are putting more action to their words,” said Tony Knutson, a coal analyst at Wood Mackenzie who cautioned that he had not seen the details of the plans. He noted that the U.S. coal fleet is aging and that the cost of maintaining coal facilities is often one of the primary reasons power companies chose to close them down.“If they can have the government pay for that, I can’t see why they wouldn’t keep them online longer,” he said.Coal boosters have also pushed the idea of leveraging the military to support the use of both metallurgical coal for steelmaking and thermal coal for power production. The government oversees hundreds of military installations across the U.S.

TVA board reverses coal shutdowns - The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors voted Wednesday to continue burning coal indefinitely at its Kingston and Cumberland fossil plants, reversing its previous plan to retire the units over the next two years.The board cited a growing demand for electricity and President Donald Trump’s declaration of an “energy emergency” in the decision that came hours before Trump signed an executive order in Washington directing the Pentagon to use coal.“[We] recommend continuing to operate over 3,000 megawatts of beautiful, clean coal that will directly support energy resilience, reliability, and low-cost power for the 10 million people we serve,” TVA Chief Financial Officer Tom Rice told the board ahead of its vote. “We plan to operate our coal units for as long as we possibly can.” As of last fall, the combined 3,800-MW coal capacity at the Cumberland and Kingston plants — enough to power 2.16 million homes — was going to be replaced with 3,000 MW of mostly natural gas generation through 2028. There was to be little to no gap between the coal units retiring and the gas units coming online.

The grid could make or break Trump’s coal rescue - President Donald Trump is poised to leverage the powers of the Pentagon to save the coal sector, but whether the effort is successful will hinge on some gnarly, grid-dy details. Trump, alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and a host of coal executives at the White House on Wednesday, is slated to tout coal as a “reliable and affordable energy source that keeps the lights on during times of peak demand, like it did during Winter Storm Fern,” according to a White House official. The president will also receive the Washington Coal Club’s first-ever “Undisputed Champion of Coal” award, the official said, who added that the president since returning to office has expanded coal mining and power production. The National Energy Dominance Council, the official added, is “working with a few companies to help build new coal generation units — which hasn’t happened since 2013.” One of the president’s biggest moves to bolster the coal sector — in addition to funding announcements — will be an executive order directing the Pentagon to sign power purchase agreements to fuel military installations with coal-fired generation. As it stands, the U.S. operates hundreds of military installations across the nation, which buy power from utility companies and grid operators. Trump’s move marks a sharp departure from President Joe Biden, who inked an executive order in 2021 to shift the federal government to carbon-free electricity. Trump rescinded that order upon taking office last year. Yet the exact mechanics — from detailed contracts to grid constraints — could determine whether the effort is a success. The Trump administration is already planning to use the military to bolster the nuclear power sector. In a May 2025 executive order, Trump directed the secretary of Defense to use nuclear energy at military installations, with an initial reactor coming online by 2028. The administration cited nuclear’s high reliability and low fuel use as ideal for remote bases, and it expects that making a customer out of the Pentagon will help provide the demand that startups need to make their on-paper reactors into realities. In the months since, the military has reached agreements with private microreactor developers Oklo — for which Energy Secretary Chris Wright previously sat on the board — for an Alaska Air Force base and Radiant Nuclear. In August it started the “Janus” program to formally implement the EO. Revving up aging coal-fired power plants for military use faces a separate set of complications for the administration. Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, noted that previous administrations have pursued power purchase agreements from the General Services Administration and Department of Defense, which are both very large electricity customers. While the government has the ability to do so to boost coal if there’s sufficient transmission capacity and generation, those agreements hinge on factors like location and price and available capacity. Transmission is yet another wild card, said Gramlich. “You do have to be able to deliver the power to the site,” he said. “They couldn’t say it’s powering a given site if it’s not deliverable to that site, and there are transmission constraints that affect coal plants just like other power sources. So that would be a challenge.”

Coal Flexes as Polar Blast Pushes Demand, Natural Gas Into ‘Price-Inelastic’ Territory --Natural gas ceded ground in the thermal generation stack during late January’s deep freeze as coal-fired output ramped sharply, even as overall generation surged. Chart comparing U.S. natural gas and coal power generation with natural gas share of the thermal stack, showing hourly generation trends in gigawatts and gas percentage from 2024 through early 2026." At A Glance:

• Coal generation surges 31% during Fern
• Natural gas still leads at 38% share
• PJM nears all-time winter peak loads

Seismic events in Southeast Ohio reach high in 2025 -  Earthquakes have increased over the past few years in the state of Ohio, according to entries from an Ohio Earthquake database. There were 213 earthquakes reported in Ohio in 2025 and 129 earthquakes reported in 2024. As of Feb. 9, there were nine so far for the new year. Earthquakes are caused by a sudden slip on a fault, in which the edges of tectonic plates get stuck due to the friction, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Michael Brudzinski, professor of geology and environmental earth science at Miami University, works with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to research the relationship between seismic activity in Ohio and the extraction of oil and gas from the subsurface. Brudzinski said the new technology to quickly extract oil and gas from older and less permeable rock is called hydraulic fracking. “The whole purpose of it is to drill down into those rocks and inject fluid that will crack open the rock, that's the fracturing part, and hydraulic just means we're pumping fluid to hydraulically open up cracks in the rock,” Brudzinski said. “Then, when you pull the water back out, it brings oil and gas with the water.”Through his research, Brudzinski found that due to fluid from hydraulic fracking unknowingly being pumped into fault zones, the technology creates a higher risk for earthquakes.The U.S. Geological Survey states tremors can be caused by human activity, including surface or underground mining, injection of fluids into underground formations, impoundment of reservoirs and withdrawal of fluids or gas from subsurface and waste water disposal in deep wells. “While most induced earthquakes are small and present little hazard, larger and potentially damaging manmade earthquakes have occurred in the past,” the U.S Geological Survey states.Ohio Department of Natural Resources Press Secretary Karina Cheung wrote in an email, the seismic activity in Southeast Ohio is induced. In contrast to natural tectonic events, induced activity stops after extraction activities end, rather than continuing aftershock.“Earthquakes cannot be predicted,“ Cheung wrote in an email. "The increase in detection of earthquakes, often at lower magnitudes, can be attributed to the expansion of seismic networks in Ohio over the past decade."Cheung concluded although seismic activity has increased, damage to the environment has and will continue to be minimal due to the shallow nature of the events.“Since 2011, the development of the Utica Shale in Southeast Ohio has resulted in induced seismicity; however, it is still rare, with magnitudes infrequently reaching felt levels,” ODNR said.The Utica Shale stretches under Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Quebec and other parts of eastern North America. Eastern Ohio drills into the Utica Shale for natural resources.The Utica Shale contains about 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, about 940 million barrels of oil and 208 million barrels of natural gas liquids.ODNR also attributes seismic activity in Ohio to the Appalachian Mountains and the terminus of the Grenville orogeny. The latter refers to an ancient mountain-building event, which created deep metamorphic rocks, now exposed in the Canadian shield and below the Appalachian mountains. Brudzinski highlights environments similar to Athens, low-lying areas close to mountains, which allow for easier drilling of oil and gas. Throughout the formation of the Utica Shale, it has gone under Grenville and other mountain formations that create dormant faults under Eastern Ohio.“The eastern half of the state is underlain by many faults, some of which (but not all) have been mapped. As earthquakes happen in areas with previously unmapped faults, we get more detailed insights into location, size and orientation of the faults,” Cheung wrote in an email.Two ODNR divisions are researching seismic activity in multiple ways. The Ohio Geological Survey relies on its operation of a 37-station seismic network that expands throughout the state, along with efforts from Miami University to conduct research regarding seismic activity.“The division also operates a highly sensitive seismic network that assists to develop understanding of seismic hazards in Ohio, regulates oil and gas operations and protects Ohioans,” Cheung wrote in an email.Brudzinski mentioned the many nuances regarding the regulation of oil and gas operations, including economic benefits, increased seismic activity and carbon dioxide impacts.“Overall, (seismic activity) is a fluctuating event,” Brudzinski said. “As activity fluctuates ... we try to best deduce what is the right strategy to keep it on the down low.”

What to know about reseeding right-of-ways - Across Ohio, landowners are receiving offers to lease their property for the development of oil and natural gas wells, pipelines or utility-scale solar projects. It is important to note that the land after this level of disturbance will require mitigation, potentially renovation, and this often happens at the most inopportune times. The bottleneck in the oil and gas industry has been and continues to be pipeline infrastructure. It really does not matter what side of the state you reside in, that pipeline easement/right-of-way can impact your farm any time of the year. It is important to realize that you and the pipeline company have different concerns when it comes to that easement. The pipeline company is worried about their timeline and erosion — as long as the ground is covered, they are covered! You, on the other hand, have a much more complex system. Of course, you care about the timeline and erosion, but you also care about your crops, weeds, compaction, soil health and the time of the season this happens. That pipeline company will likely seed only once; what happens later is on you. There are communication barriers that farmers need to be aware of. I have seen farmers state they desire cool-season forages, and that is what they got from the pipeline company, but it was seeded in July. Annual grass weeds came up, the foxtail prevented erosion and that was the end of that conversation. Using cover crops just to mitigate damages and hold the land over for an optimal seeding could be an option for the landowner. Sometimes, you get what you wish for. But seeding something that your livestock does not typically graze can have consequences. A ROW can easily be 100-feet-plus in width and stretch for miles. This can significantly impact pastures, and altering the species can have consequences for livestock diet and health. A lush growth of legumes coming out of a low-quality hay winter can cause livestock to bloat and cost you more than you anticipated.

Antis’ Ethics Complaint Against OH Senator “Crashed and Burned” –- Marcellus Drilling News - in January, a coalition of so-called environmental groups lodged an ethics complaint against Ohio Senator Brian Chavez, alleging that he failed to disclose ownership in five natural gas LLCs while leading the Senate Energy Committee (see Antis Attack Ohio State Senator with Ethics Complaint). As we reported, what’s really going on is a dirty fight by the enviro-left to try to stop a fifth injection well from operating near Marietta, OH. We’re happy to report that the antis’ ethics complaint has “crashed and burned.”

Antero Resources Plans Redemption Tied to Ohio Asset Sale - On February 9, 2026, Antero Resources Corporation issued a conditional notice to fully redeem its 7.625% senior notes due 2029, covering $365.4 million in outstanding principal, at 101.271% of par plus accrued interest, with a planned redemption date of February 24, 2026. The redemption is contingent on closing the divestiture of substantially all of Antero’s Ohio Utica Shale oil and gas assets and on the board’s continued support for the move, underscoring that the company’s planned balance sheet actions are closely tied to its asset sale strategy and subject to execution risk. Antero Resources Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on exploration and production, with significant shale assets including holdings in the Utica Shale in Ohio. The company finances its operations in part through senior notes and other debt instruments issued to capital markets investors.

24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 2 – 8 -- Marcellus Drilling News - The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 24 new drilling permits last week, Feb. 2 – 8, up 2 from the permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 10 new permits, Ohio issued 10, and West Virginia issued 4. The drillers receiving new permits last week included: Arsenal Resources, Ascent Resources, Blackhill Energy, EQT, Expand Energy, and Infinity Natural Resources. ARSENAL RESOURCES | ASCENT RESOURCES | BELMONT COUNTY | BLACKHILL ENERGY | BRADFORD COUNTY | EQT CORP | EXPAND ENERGY | GREENE COUNTY (PA) | GUERNSEY COUNTY | INFINITY NATURAL RESOURCES | MONROE COUNTY | TAYLOR COUNTY WETZEL COUNTY

Two Birds, One Stone – Efforts to Plug Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells Can Help Cut Methane Emissions Too | RBN Energy -The U.S. has been drilling for oil and natural gas for more than 160 years, and what to do with those wells once they are no longer productive has long been an issue, especially for those wells without a reliable party to manage their future re-use or plugging and abandonment. The issue has drawn additional attention in recent years because those “orphaned” wells can also be significant emitters of methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the number of orphaned oil and gas wells across the U.S., how they contribute to methane emissions, and discuss an approach that aims to address both issues simultaneously. There are nearly 120,000 documented orphaned and unplugged wells across 27 states, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). To be included in the USGS total, a well generally needs to have no production for an average of 12 months, although that varies by state. The states with the most orphaned wells (red states in Figure 1 below) are Ohio and Pennsylvania, with more than 16,000 each, followed by Oklahoma, Kentucky and Illinois (dark-orange states), with at least 8,000; with several other states (medium-orange states) close behind. (We should note that there are thought to be many more undocumented wells, with the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, or IOGCC, putting that number at anywhere from 310,000 to 800,000, a result of poor recordkeeping and insufficient policy and/or enforcement over several decades.) Since orphaned wells can have a number of financial and environmental consequences (more on those below), efforts have been made at the federal and state levels to address the issue. The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed into law in 2021, provided $4.7 billion for states, tribes and landowners to plug, remediate and reclaim orphaned oil and gas wells. The Department of the Interior’s online dashboard shows that more than 10,500 orphaned wells were plugged through the program, the vast majority of them oil and gas wells (8,771), with a much smaller number of injection wells and disposal wells also plugged. While that is not an insignificant reduction, it’s just a fraction of the overall total of orphaned wells. Most oil- and gas-producing states also have their own programs to plug orphaned wells; 26 states applied for funding under the IIJA’s well-plugging program. How does a well end up as an orphan? As noted above, recordkeeping about wells was often incomplete or inconsistent in past decades (particularly compared to today’s standards), making it easier for some operators, especially smaller ones, to walk away from a well once it was no longer profitable, even though there are state and federal rules in place designed to prevent that from happening. For example, most states require an operator to put up a bond intended to cover costs if that operator goes away. Depending on the state, that bond value may be insufficient to complete the plugging operations on that one well, often leaving states under-resourced. Orphaned wells can lead to a number of financial and environmental issues. On the economic side, they can be expensive to plug (often at the public’s expense), decrease land values (and productive acreage) and create significant long-term liabilities. On the environmental side, orphaned wells can leak methane and volatile organic compounds, contaminate groundwater and require extensive restoration efforts, with potential short- and long-term consequences. Efforts to reduce methane emissions have been a particular focus in recent years (see our Cover Me series). Carbon dioxide (CO2) has often been the primary focus of the emissions debate, but methane is a particularly powerful GHG, with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) that is 25-36 times that of CO2 when normalized to a 100-year timeline — and more than 80 times that of CO2 if normalized to a 20-year timeline (since it degrades more quickly than CO2 in the atmosphere) — making it an obvious target in efforts to reduce the impacts of GHG emissions, especially in the near-term. Those efforts have left producers looking for ways to mitigate methane emissions during gas production and transportation (see It Don’t Come Easy and Paradise), giving rise to the market for certified natural gas (see A Whole New World). But while most efforts to mitigate methane emissions have focused on producing wells, there’s a lot more that could be done, as companies like Rebellion Energy Solutions demonstrate, one of a handful that focus on orphaned wells. As noted above, there are nearly 120,000 documented orphaned wells in the U.S. Most of them do not leak methane, although they may in the future. While identifying and testing orphaned wells requires a lot of field work, the wells most likely to leak generally share some common denominators: A well that produced natural gas during its lifetime is more likely to leak methane. The deeper a well is, the more energy it is likely to have held behind surface equipment. (Deeper wells are also more expensive to maintain, which means they may be less likely to have received proper care and maintenance during their producing life.) The older a well is, the more apt it is to leak. (Some wells can produce at low levels for decades before they are abandoned, which means some were drilled and completed using older techniques and technology.) A well that had been operated by a smaller operator may be more likely to leak, as a well operated by a known entity is more likely to have been better maintained over its productive life. A well-plugging strategy starts with identifying and locating orphaned wells that would be good candidates for plugging. Sites are selected by targeting the highest‑emitting, highest‑risk orphaned wells where methane abatement would generate the most carbon credits (more on those below) while also considering landowner impacts and operational feasibility. Following that, a landowner and/or community is approached for permission to visit a well site to evaluate methane and other emissions, after which a comprehensive plugging-and-restoration plan may be initiated. Before a well is plugged, it must undergo a measurement process to quantify the amount of methane leaking into the atmosphere. Multiple tests lasting several hours are often necessary to get the proper data. Next up is plugging and restoration, but there are some key differences with the typical plugging process, where the rules can vary significantly from one state to another. For example, 24 state agencies have well-plugging rules that require cement to be placed above the producing zones (yellow bar in Figure 2 below) and 23 specify where plugs should be located (dark-red bar), while only eight specify how strong cement plugs should be (brown bar) and just five mandate that the wellbore must be essentially static after plugging (green bar). Once the plugging is done, the next step is verification. As noted above, an orphaned well’s methane emissions are extensively measured before any plugging work begins. (The goal is to determine how much methane would leak over a 20-year period. This step requires oil and gas expertise, this time on the reservoir engineering side.) Post-plugging measurements confirm that emissions have dropped to near zero, demonstrating that the future emissions that would have occurred have been effectively prevented. Once the emissions data is compiled and documented, a third-party validation and verification body performs a review to ensure it meets the ACR’s methodology requirements. (The ACR is a carbon crediting program that operates in the global compliance and voluntary carbon markets.) A completed project is only approved for carbon credit issuance after the review confirms that the abated emissions are real, measurable and permanent. After validation and verification, the ACR issues carbon credits that correspond to the verified reduction in methane emissions (in CO₂-equivalent terms). The ownership of these credits is due to an industry-specific land and legal program that ensures all rights, title and interest are addressed. The credits are then tradable or sellable in regulated or voluntary carbon markets.

Antis Convince Montour County to Reject Talen Data Center Rezoning - Marcellus Drilling News - Antis somehow got to the board of commissioners in Montour County, PA. Yesterday, the commissioners voted unanimously to reject Talen Energy’s request to rezone empty agricultural land near Talen’s Montour Power Plant (converted from coal to run on Marcellus gas in 2023) for a proposed data center. This decision followed community concerns stoked by lying groups like Food & Water Watch regarding “potential environmental impacts” on the nearby Montour Preserve.

Long-running Lawsuit Against XTO Energy Over Royalties in W. Pa.-- Marcellus Drilling News - We stumbled across a mention of a lawsuit (Kriley v. XTO Energy) that we previously were not aware of—a lawsuit that had its beginning back in 2019 and involves seven landowners in Butler County, PA. The landowners claim that XTO Energy (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil) systematically underpaid natural gas royalties. Over the past six years, the lawsuit has evolved and was certified as a class action in late 2025, meaning it has expanded from affecting seven landowners to potentially hundreds. XTO, in its latest court filing, is attempting to limit the class action.

Antis Flood PA DEP Hearing Against Drilling in Loyalsock Forest - Marcellus Drilling News - In December, MDN told you that three anti-shale drilling groups—the PA Council of Trout Unlimited, the Keystone Trails Association, and the Responsible Drilling Alliance—requested the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hold a hearing on the Chapter 105 permit requested for a 3.9-mile shale gas access road and staging area proposed by PA General Energy (PGE) in the Loyalsock State Forest (see PA Antis Want DEP Hearing on 3.9-Mile Rd to Shale Pad in Loyalsock). The antis kept up the pressure. The DEP held a virtual public hearing on February 3 regarding PGE’s proposal to construct the shale gas access road. The hearing centered on Chapter 105 water quality permits. The PGE plan includes drilling 90 new shale wells in Loyalsock State Forest (Lycoming County).

Natural Gas Production Issues Linger in Appalachia After 17 Consecutive Days of Subfreezing Temps Even as natural gas production has rebounded across much of the country since Winter Storm Fern late last month, nearly 2 Bcf/d of freeze-offs are lingering in the Appalachian Basin where subzero temperatures have persisted for over two weeks. Line chart showing NGI’s Appalachia regional average daily natural gas prices from February 2025 through early February 2026, with prices mostly between $2/MMBtu and $5/MMBtu before a sharp winter spike above $70/MMBtu in late January 2026, followed by a rapid decline. At A Glance:

• Freeze-offs still at 1.8 Bcf/d
• Region sees historic stretch of cold
• Warmer temperatures forecast

M-U Pipes Including TGP Continue to Experience Major Restrictions - Marcellus Drilling News - We’ve recently begun actively tracking flow restrictions on pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. Current pipeline flow data for February 2026 show that the Marcellus/Utica (M-U) region is experiencing significant, albeit weather-driven, volatility. While the basin remains a production powerhouse, a combination of recent Arctic weather and localized maintenance has triggered several flow restrictions, including a restriction along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline.

Nearly 75% of Planned On-Site Power at U.S. Data Centers is Natgas - Marcellus Drilling News - A Cleanview report reveals that nearly 75% of planned on-site power for U.S. data centers is natural gas-fired as operators bypass traditional grid connections. Driven by surging AI demands and grid delays of up to seven years, this trend involves 46 projects totaling 56 gigawatts. While developers publicly highlight renewables, immediate capacity remains dominated by gas due to its reliability. Development is concentrated in gas-rich regions like Texas and Pennsylvania. To overcome equipment shortages, some firms use creative solutions, such as repurposed jet engines. This shift underscores natural gas’s vital role in supporting the rapid expansion of American AI infrastructure.

New England Receives Another LNG Import Cargo as Winter Takes its Toll - The Excelerate Shenandoah delivered another full cargo this week from the Atlantic LNG terminal in Trinidad and Tobago to the Everett import facility in Boston Harbor as winter weather has stoked demand and kept prices elevated in the Northeast. Kpler vessel tracking shows Everett has received four cargoes this winter. It received another in September. The Shenandoah last unloaded a cargo at Everett Jan. 22. The terminal received six cargoes last winter.

Opposition to Iroquois Compressor in CT Includes Some Republicans - Marcellus Drilling News - - Residents in Brookfield, Connecticut, are leading a “bipartisan” campaign to block a $272 million expansion of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System, despite national efforts to boost fossil fuel infrastructure. The project would add two compressors to an existing station, primarily increasing gas flow to New York markets. Local officials and residents, including some Republicans, cite health and safety risks due to the facility’s proximity to homes and Whisconier Middle School. Although the project has tentative state support, opponents argue that environmental impacts and explosion risks outweigh regional energy benefits, particularly since Brookfield receives no direct supply increase from the expansion.

In Connecticut, opposition to Iroquois natural gas project crosses party lines - Expanding natural gas infrastructure is a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s agenda to lower energy costs and boost the fossil fuel industry. He has referred to Democrats opposed to such projects as “ anti-energy zealots.” But political support for gas pipelines has run into powerful local opposition in a relatively conservative community in Connecticut, where residents are leading a campaign to block a $272 million buildout of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System. The epicenter of the debate is Brookfield, on the far edge of suburban Fairfield County, where Iroquois’ owners are seeking approval to add two new compressors to an existing station in order to push an additional 125 million cubic feet of gas through the pipeline each day, without having to lay new pipes. The project has received tentative support from the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, and is awaiting final approval on air quality permits from the state. But beyond typical opposition from climate-focused organizations such as the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters, the Iroquois project has also faced pushback from a bipartisan group of local officials, including members of the town’s Board of Selectmen and the town’s all-Republican statehouse delegation. During a public meeting on the project — which company representatives attended — in January, state Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, who represents Brookfield, said he lives just a few miles away from the compressor station. Harding echoed the concerns of many of his constituents regarding the compressor station’s proximity to nearby homes and a middle school. “These are health risks for our kids, for our families, these are environmental risks for everyone in our community,” Harding said. “This is being put up literally yards away from a school, a middle school, which my children are going to be attending. This needs a full, transparent process where every single one of my constituents, every single one of my neighbors have an ability to object to this.” And Harding made his own position clear. “This should not be approved in any circumstance,” he said. Similar sentiments can be seen in signs protesting the expansion that dot lawns around Brookfield, a mixture of rural and suburban neighborhoods adjacent to Candlewood Lake. The town narrowly voted for Trump in 2024 and has backed the Republican candidate in four of the last five presidential elections. Now, the town’s opposition to Iroquois’ plans have put local Republicans at odds with a key part of the national party’s energy agenda.The latest backlash in Brookfield follows a similar pattern of strong local resistance to energy infrastructure upgrades throughout Connecticut. Community opposition has delayed, threatened or led to the cancellation of projects to build new transmission lines, solar arrays,windmills, and battery storage facilities. While political leaders on both sides of the aisle often tout the benefits of energy expansion, their support tends to fade when local considerations come into play.

U.S. Factories Can’t Get Enough Natgas Due to Lack of Pipelines - Marcellus Drilling News - Despite record-breaking domestic production, U.S. manufacturers increasingly face gas shortages and price spikes during extreme weather. While the shale boom promised cheap energy, insufficient pipeline infrastructure prioritizes residential heating, power plants, and long-term export contracts over industrial users. This disparity forced companies like Evonik and International Paper to halt production or pay exorbitant spot prices during recent winter storms. Consequently, manufacturing trade groups are urging federal regulators to reform pipeline contracting and prioritize domestic supply over exports.

US gas producer's CEO is out, headquarters heading to Houston - US natural gas producer Expand Energy's chief executive Nick Dell'Osso is leaving the company immediately, while its headquarters is moving to the Houston area from Oklahoma City, it revealed Monday.Dell’Osso also will leave his post as a board member and will serve as an external adviser “for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition”, Expand said, without saying why the chief executive is departing. He will be replaced on an interim basis by board chair Michael Wichterich.The leadership changes were effective immediately and the headquarters move will happen in mid-2026, according to Expand.The chief executive's sudden departure comes after Expand had revealed last August in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its chief financial officer, Mohit Singh, was departing “due to a termination without cause, effective August 13, 2025.” It designated Brittany Raiford, 39, as interim CFO, effective the same day. Raiford had been the company's vice president - treasurer since the merger, and had joined Southwestern in 2011. Expand operates primarily in the Haynesville, Marcellus and Utica shales. It produced about 7.33 billion cubic feet equivalent per day in the third quarter, about 92% of which was natural gas. Expand Energy formed in 2024, when Chesapeake Energy merged with Southwestern Energy for US$7.4 billion.

Williams weighs buying gas-producing assets to enhance AI energy supply to hyperscalers, sources say (Reuters) - Williams Companies is exploring buying natural gas production in the United States, a rare foray for an energy infrastructure operator, as it aims to secure natural gas supplies to support its one-stop-shop offering to hyperscalers and data center clients, three people familiar with the matter said.The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based firm has spent the last year positioning itself as a leader in providing energy to companies building out artificial intelligence infrastructure, supplementing its traditional pipeline business with new power generation capabilities. Williams is now searching for upstream assets that would allow it to pitch itself as a single energy partner to hyperscalers, the sources said, giving it a competitive advantage in courting digital infrastructure operators that would otherwise need to negotiate with multiple parties.The sources cautioned there was no guarantee that the company would move forward with the plan, and also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations.In a statement, Williams said it "continuously evaluates opportunities that align with and advance our natural gas-focused strategy", but declined to comment further. Securing the necessary power to support data centers has become one of the biggest challenges for hyperscalers and other developers of AI infrastructure.As well as needing huge amounts of consistent electricity, data centers are placing stress on a grid experiencing demand growth for the first time in two decades. Power providers are struggling to keep up, with existing generation affected by weather extremes and new projects stymied by local opposition and wait times for key power-plant components.Williams has put power generation at the heart of its strategic planning. Its $2 billion Socrates project in Ohio, due online in the second half of this year, has Meta Platforms buying the 440 megawatts of power it is due to generate. On October 1, Williams disclosed plans for two further power projects in Ohio, called Apollo and Aquila, backed by 10-year power purchase agreements with an unnamed party. Williams anticipates spending around $3.1 billion on these two projects, with both due online in the first half of 2027. Adding power projects to its existing infrastructure, which includes around 33,000 miles of pipelines carrying predominantly natural gas and associated storage assets, is expected to bolster its earnings in coming years.Williams' current target is to grow earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by between 5% and 7% annually. Analysts at UBS said in a February 4 note that they were watching to see whether Williams will increase this target to more than 7% compounded annual growth through 2030 at next week's analyst day. An integrated model, in which a U.S. oil and gas company would own a combination of production, storage, transportation and refining assets had been commonplace. However, the industry moved to favor specialization in the early part of the 21st century and most companies - outside of giants such as Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab - divested their non-preferred components. Williams spun off most of its upstream business into WPX Energy at the start of 2012. WPX remained independent until the beginning of 2021, when it completed a $12 billion merger with Devon Energy.

Global Buyers Seeking More U.S. Natural Gas Exposure Fueled 2025 M&A Activity -International buying in U.S. oil and gas upstream markets reached a seven-year high of $7.4 billion last year in a series of deals that helped drive mergers and acquisitions (M&A), according to Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR). Map Of Lower 48 Shale Plays Showing Major U.S. Basins Including Permian, Marcellus, Utica, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Niobrara, Anadarko, DJ Basin, Barnett, Appalachian Basin And Other Sedimentary Basins, Source Energy Information Administration (EIA). At A Glance:

• U.S. M&A hit $65B in 2025
• 4Q foreign investment reach $6B
• Canadian M&A strong too

Florida!!! – The Sunshine State Is a Heavyweight in Natural Gas Consumption | RBN Energy --Florida is the nation’s fourth-largest consumer of natural gas, but unlike the three states ahead of it — Texas, Louisiana and California — the Sunshine State produces virtually no gas of its own. And get this: Florida’s gas consumption has tripled over the past 25 years, mostly due to the development of nearly 30 gigawatts (GW) of new gas-fired power plants. That buildout spurred the expansion of existing gas pipelines and the construction of new ones. In today’s RBN blog, we examine Florida’s remarkable growth and whether additional pipeline capacity might be needed. This is an awesome time of year to go to Florida, so long as you’re OK with alligators, long lines at Walt Disney World and $38 hamburgers. Hurricane season is long past, the weather is balmy, and February is one of the driest months, so the odds are good that your round of golf or afternoon at the beach won’t be marred by a nasty thunderstorm. If you haven’t visited in a few years, you’ll be amazed at how crowded it is. The state is now home to more than 24 million (up from 16 million in 2000), and during the winter months “snowbirds” from up north swell the population by a million or so and shorter-term tourists add another half-a-mil, mostly in Orlando and along the coasts. All that growth — and the shift away from coal-fired generation to other sources — has helped to transform Florida’s energy profile, especially gas. Back in 2000, the state’s natural gas consumption averaged just under 1.5 Bcf/d; by 2024-25, usage had 3X’ed to more than 4.6 Bcf/d. Gas consumption there is heavily weighted toward power generation. As shown in Figure 1 below, an astonishing 87% (blue bar segments) is now used to fuel gas-fired combined-cycle and combustion-turbine units the state’s electric utilities have been building with abandon, mostly to keep pace with the double-headed monster of population growth and air-conditioning demand. The rest is split between industrial use (orange bar segments; 8%) and residential/commercial (res/comm; green bar segments; 5%). As we said in the introduction to today’s blog, Florida’s electric utilities, led by Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Duke Energy Florida, have been on a gas-plant construction binge for many years now, adding an average of more than 1 GW of new gas-fired capacity a year since the turn of the century. (Utilities also have been adding a lot of solar.) On an annual-average basis, the state’s gas generation fleet consumes about 4 Bcf/d, but (as you would expect) there is a strong seasonality to that use. During the summer months — especially July and August, when a potent combo of heat and humidity pushes many Floridians to the edge of sanity — power-plant gas use typically averages about 5 Bcf/d, or about 50% more than what’s consumed during the winter months, when AC demand is much less intense. The pipeline networks that transport gas to Florida from the Gulf Coast and, more recently, from Appalachia have been expanding in fits and starts since the turn of the century. Florida Gas Transmission (FGT; hot-pink line in Figure 2 below), co-owned by Kinder Morgan and Energy Transfer, is an interstate system whose initial run from Texas to Florida came online way back in 1959-60. FGT has been expanded several times over the intervening decades; it currently has more than 5,400 miles of pipe (including 3,000-plus miles within Florida) and a capacity of as much as 3.7 Bcf/d. The system’s most recent expansion was the East-West Project, which added 275 MMcf/d of bidirectional capacity — via looping, or construction of a parallel pipeline — in central Florida’s Osceola and Polk counties in 2019. FGT continues to supply about half of Florida’s gas needs. The state’s other two major long-haul delivery systems are the 1.3-Bcf/d Gulfstream Natural Gas System (Gulfstream; orange line) and the 1-Bcf/d Sabal Trail Pipeline (green line). Gulfstream, an undersea facility co-owned by Williams Cos. and Enbridge, was the first major interstate gas pipeline to Florida in more than 40 years when it started operation as a 1.1-Bcf/d conduit from Pascagoula, MS, to Port Manatee, FL, in 2002. Two extensions of the now-745-mile pipeline to Palm Beach County on Florida’s Atlantic Coast in 2005-08 coincided with a 200-MMcf/d expansion of Gulfstream’s capacity to its current 1.3 Bcf/d. With Florida’s demand for gas rising steadily through the 2010s — and with gas production in the Marcellus/Utica taking off — the trio of Enbridge (with a 50% stake), FPL (42.5%) and Duke Energy Florida (7.5%) developed the 515-mile Sabal Trail Pipeline, which runs from an interconnection with Williams’s Transcontinental Gas Pipeline (Transco; dark-blue line; see Don’t Stop Believin’) in west-central Alabama’s Tallapoosa County, AL, and flows to the Central Florida Hub in Osceola County, FL. The pipeline’s 830-MMcf/d Phase 1 began service in June 2017 and the 170-MMcf/d Phase 2, which expanded Sabal Trail’s capacity to 1 Bcf/d, started up in May 2020. (FPL and Duke are the anchor shippers.) The pipeline’s owners have been planning a 76-MMcf/d Phase 3 expansion of Sabal Trail for several years now, and finally expect to complete it in Q2 2027. The other major addition to Florida’s gas grid over the past several years is FPL’s Florida Southeast Connection (burgundy line), a 126-mile, 640-MMcf/d pipeline from the Central Florida Hub (the terminus of Sabal Trail mentioned just above) to FPL’s Martin County generating station, where the utility operates about 2,200 MW of gas-fired combined-cycle capacity. Like Sabal Trail, the Florida Southeast Connection came online in June 2017. Two years later, FPL added a 5-mile lateral (not shown) to its then-new Okeechobee station, which has 1,720 MW of combined-cycle capacity. (We should note here that most of Florida’s gas-fired plants were designed and built to run on other fuels — typically diesel — when gas is not available.) Figure 3 below shows gas flows into Florida on the three main pipelines into the state: FGT (left graph), Gulfstream (center graph), and Sabal Trail (right graph). Each of the three systems appears to have ample capacity during the shoulder and winter months but approach their capacity during the peak summer demand periods.

U.S. Propane Posts Strong Draw as Inventories Remain Elevated --U.S. propane/propylene inventories posted a 5.4 MMbbl draw for the week ended February 6 — outpacing industry expectations for a 4.2 MMbbl decline and topping the five-year average draw of 3.6 MMbbl by 1.8 MMbbl. Despite the stronger-than-normal pull, total stocks remain historically elevated at 77.3 MMbbl, standing 18.4 MMbbl (31%) above the same week last year, 10.9 MMbbl (17%) above the five-year maximum, and 22.2 MMbbl (40%) above the five-year average. The weekly draw trimmed inventories, though overall stock levels remain historically high. Total U.S. propane/propylene production rose by 334 Mb/d week over week to about 2.7 MMb/d, reflecting a rebound following winter storm disruptions. Meanwhile, weekly propane exports averaged 1.87 MMb/d, down 46 Mb/d from the prior week and falling below both the year-to-date average of 1.94 MMb/d and the four-week average of 1.92 MMb/d. Even so, export volumes remain well above the 1.66 MMb/d reported during the same week last year.

Small Town – Mom-and-Pop Shops Remain the Heart of the Retail Propane Industry | RBN Energy - The retail propane market delivers about 9 billion gallons to U.S. consumers each year, with its heart anchored in the “mom-and-pop” retailers serving rural and small-town communities. These small, owner-operated businesses — the backbone of the market — know their customers, regions and their challenges, which is a key reason the propane industry is thriving and has avoided the sweeping consolidation seen in so many other sectors of the small-business economy. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine why the small-business model has been so durable and effective in retail propane, and why the industry has seen relatively little large-scale consolidation.. Winter Storm Fern hit parts of the country with some of the toughest conditions in recent memory, as bitter cold drove high demand and snow and ice made transportation very difficult. Plus, there were freeze-offs and refinery issues cutting into supply. We can’t publish a propane blog so soon after the storm without acknowledging the industry’s strong performance under pressure. The industry deserves kudos for a job well done, but it’s not quite spring yet. There is still some winter left. We’ve written a lot about the propane industry and its structure in recent months. In Part 1 of our propane series, we outlined the journey of propane from wellhead to burner tip and discussed the various segments of the domestic market, including industrial, petrochemical, commercial, residential and agricultural demand. The wholesale-to-retail value chain starts at processing plants and refineries (left column of Figure 1 below), where propane is extracted and often placed into underground storage. In Part 2, we detailed the role of wholesalers (middle column), the companies that sell propane to retailers by aggregating supplies, operating logistics networks, trading physical volumes, and other supply functions. Wholesalers help move propane through pipelines and railcars to retailers (right column), which range in size from small, owner-run operations serving a local market to companies with fleets of railcars and dozens of supply points. In Part 3, we outlined retailers’ roles and functions in the market. Today, we take a deeper look at propane retailers and why even smaller and midsized operations have been able to thrive without the large-scale consolidation seen in many other markets. About 8.8 billion gallons of propane were sold in the U.S. in 2024. Last year, 2025, total sales will probably be closer to 9 billion gallons when the final numbers come in. (For those of you who think in barrels, that’s 587 Mb/d.) We carve up the retail market into the following three buckets: The top 11 retailers sold 3.2 billion gallons total, or about 290 million gallons each, accounting for 36% of the market. The next 64 retailers sold 1.1 billion gallons, or about 17 million gallons each, and accounted for 12% of the market. The remaining 3,880 retailers sold the final 4.7 billion gallons, or 1.2 million gallons each. So, more than 50% of the market is supplied by small retailers, which may look striking on paper, but it comes as no surprise to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the retail propane business. This is how the business has always worked — going back to when grandpa started a small retail propane operation decades ago. Let’s look at a graphic that brings the point home, using data from 2024. Figure 2 below illustrates the numbers more clearly and shows the relative size of the nearly 4,000 propane retailers by sales volume, comparing the top 75 retailers (colored boxes) with the remaining small-market players (gray boxes). The top two retailers (boxes 1-2) serve as much of the market as the next eight retailers (boxes 3-10), which serve as much of the market as the following 34 retailers (boxes 11-45) and so on. Looking at it this way paints a clear picture of the leadership position played by the small retail players. One advantage large propane retailers have is the ability to leverage economies of scale, allowing them to bulk-purchase propane while benefiting from centralized operations and lower per-unit costs, potentially enabling more competitive pricing. Large retailers also provide operational advantages — such as advanced logistics, automated routing and optimized delivery systems — which further increase efficiency and reduce costs. Larger retailers also tend to have a broader geographic reach and the ability to serve larger, more diverse markets, including commercial and industrial users as well as the typical residential customer, and also have greater access to capital, allowing investments in technology, infrastructure and acquisitions. Finally, a large retailer such as Suburban Propane or Ferrellgas has brand recognition that can build customer trust and attract larger accounts. Given all those advantages, why do so many smaller retailers not only survive but thrive? The propane industry supports nearly 3,900 of these small businesses, many of them family-run operations passed down through multiple generations. These companies have deep roots in their communities, long-standing customer relationships that often span decades, and a reputation for highly personal service. In rural and small-town markets — especially during outages, extreme weather, and emergencies — local knowledge, trust and responsiveness can be more valuable than scale. Further, much about the retail propane industry doesn’t lend itself to economic models that attract venture capital or aggressive merger-and-acquisition “roll up” strategies. This business is shaped by weather-driven demand, local relations and steady, disciplined margins that favor operators who know their customers personally. It’s a lot like the way families once knew their milk delivery driver. They knew when they’d arrive and where they left the bottles. In many communities, it’s the same way for propane. Customers don’t just recognize the propane truck; they might even know the driver. Most importantly, they always know someone will consistently show up, even when it’s bitterly cold outside.

U.S. Feedgas Demand Strengthens - U.S. LNG feedgas demand rebounded sharply last week as Gulf Coast terminals returned to peak winter operations following Winter Storm Fern. Feedgas demand was up more than 2 Bcf/d last week to average 18.7 Bcf/d (see blue dotted line in figure below). All the Gulf Coast terminals are back to pre-storm, peak winter levels. Feedgas intake at Sabine Pass is especially strong, mostly above 5 Bcf/d since January 30.Cove Point and Elba Island, the non-Gulf terminals, are both operating below full capacity. It remains very cold in the Northeast, and prices in the Northeast and Southeast are elevated and well above Henry Hub, incentivizing the sale of feedgas back into the domestic market. Temperatures are expected to climb in the two-week forecast, which should normalize prices and LNG feedgas intake. For more insights on the U.S. LNG industry, check out our LNG Voyager Weekly Report.

Pipeline Data Signals Sharp Rebound in LNG Feed Gas Demand* A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers.NGI North America LNG Export Flow Tracker shows U.S. LNG deliveries by terminal as of Feb 11, 2026, with daily export volumes in million Dth, facility utilization rates and map of export locations. Source: NGI, Wood Mackenzie data.

• 19.3 Bcf/d: Feed gas nominations to U.S. LNG terminals have reportedly swung back with a vengeance, according to pipeline data, indicating exporters could be looking to make up for lost time during the winter storm. Wood Mackenzie estimated nominations could reach 19.3 Bcf/d Wednesday and average 18.7 Bcf/d in the coming seven days. The firm noted the persistent rise over the past few days “has been driven by the largest feedgas nominations we have ever seen” at East Coast terminals, but cautioned that those numbers could be revised in a later cycle.
• 45%: LNG inventories at Cameron LNG are building to the highest point in more than seven months as feed gas nominations to the plant run near maximum capacity, according to pipeline and Kpler data. Inventories at the facility reached 45% of capacity this week, with 1,229 GWh — around 4 Bcf — in storage, according to Kpler. It could be the highest point reported since last June. The build comes as feed gas nominations to the Cameron LNG receipt point continue to hover at 99% of capacity for the 11th day in a row, according to Wood Mackenzie pipeline data.
• 6 Mt: Taiwan’s state-owned CPC Corp. plans to increase U.S. LNG imports as a part of a trade deal with the United States, according to Reuters and the Taipei Times. Taiwan plans to increase its intake of LNG from the United States to 6 million tons/year (Mt/y), boosted by volumes from the developing Alaska LNG project. Taiwanese imports of U.S. LNG reached an all-time high of 2.57 Mt last year, according to Kpler data. However, the country continues to get the majority of its supplies from Qatar and Australia, respectively.
• 6%/year: The International Energy Agency’s latest data drop for European Union (EU) electricity markets shows natural gas is still an important part of the grid, but the buildout of renewables is outpacing gas consumption. IEA estimated gas demand in the EU could decline 6%/year through 2030, despite a boom in LNG exports. Part of the decline is attributed to efficiency gains and economic impacts to the power market following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. EU electricity demand isn’t expected to surpass pre-2022 levels until 2028, according to IEA.

Survey Finds Big LNG Buyers Changing Strategy to Short-Term Deals - Marcellus Drilling News - McKinsey & Company’s 2025 LNG Buyers Survey (full copy below) reveals a strategic shift toward flexibility and risk mitigation as global markets stabilize with upcoming supply from North America and the Middle East. Faced with geopolitical uncertainty, buyers are prioritizing supply diversification and flexible contract terms, specifically regarding destination and volume. While demand is expected to rise in Asia due to price-sensitive coal-to-gas switching, European demand will likely decline as renewables expand. To manage volatility, 70% of buyers are pursuing a mix of short- and long-term contracts (instead of just long-term). Overall, the survey emphasizes that adaptive procurement strategies are essential for navigating today’s evolving energy landscape.

Aramco Signs 20-Year LNG Deal With Caturus, Advancing Commonwealth Toward FID -- Caturus Energy LLC has solidified a long-term LNG supply deal with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco), pushing its Louisiana export project closer to a final investment decision (FID) in the coming months, according to the company. At A Glance:

• Up to 1 Mt/y contracted
• Project now 84% subscribed
• Deal supports Aramco trading ambitions

Delfin LNG Potentially Facing Delays as Regulatory Hurdles Mount, Lawsuit Filed After Pipeline Failure -- Developers of the Delfin LNG export project in Louisiana will have to navigate additional regulatory scrutiny and possible delays as federal orders and lawsuits crop up following a pipeline explosion. Map of the Delfin LNG Project in the Gulf of Mexico showing offshore floating LNG vessels (FLNGs) connected by pipelines to Port Delfin Deepwater Port, UTOS pipeline route, WC 167 and WC 327 blocks, onshore facilities and compressor station along the Texas Gulf Coast near Louisiana.At A Glance:
Restart pressure capped at 20%
Hydrostatic test outcome critical for FID
Lawsuit adds legal risk exposure

Cheniere Locks in LNG Vessel Charters as U.S. Export Growth Tightens Shipping Capacity -Cheniere Energy Inc.’s marketing unit has clinched more shipping capacity for its expanding portfolio of Gulf Coast exports as the U.S. LNG boom ushers in a squeeze on carrier supply. At A Glance:

• Cheniere contracts align with capacity growth
• Carrier shortage pressures global gas traders
• LNG carrier build times drive urgency

LNG Buyers Seek Short-Term Deals, Caps on Volumes From Single Sellers in Push to Diversify Supplies --Global buyers plan to continue signing contracts for additional LNG volumes in the coming years, with more of them aiming for short-term deals as they work to diversify supplies and enhance flexibility after energy flows were upended by the war in Ukraine, according to McKinsey & Co. Stacked bar chart showing global LNG export terminal final investment decisions by country from 2014 through 2025, measured in Bcm/y, highlighting major contributions from the United States, Qatar, Russia, and other LNG-producing nations. At A Glance:
Prices expected to stabilize by 2030
Buyers value flexible purchase volumes
Asian buyers want more partnerships

US natural gas exporters brace for global glut - The liquefied natural gas export industry in the United States could be riding a wave of growth into choppy waters. A big LNG plant is about to open in Texas, another is set to start a new production line in the state and one of the largest export facilities in North America is set to deliver a full year of production outside New Orleans.On top of that, companies approved plans for a record-breaking six more LNG projects in 2025, indicating the growth isn’t slowing down anytime soon.The domestic surge — along with new facilities in other countries such as Canada and Qatar — is raising concerns of a global oversupply of natural gas that could drive down prices abroad and create financial headwinds for the U.S. LNG industry.And some analysts warn that LNG exports are driving up utility bills for U.S. households — an issue that could that become a political liability. Federal officials say LNG drove a sharp increase in the benchmark price of natural gas in 2025, but projections are that the price won’t surge again until after November’s midterm elections.The question for the industry is what happens to domestic prices as exports divert nearly one-fifth of U.S. gas production overseas and whether global demand can absorb all of that supply.“That’s where the rubber meets the road,” said Ira Joseph, an analyst who tracks gas and power markets at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “How is the market going to absorb such a large amount of LNG in such a short period of time?”The answer depends on a dizzying array of possibilities driven by how markets react to any oversupply, he said. Will U.S. gas producers cut back, or will low prices motivate more countries to use gas, driving up demand and prices. Both are likely, and the result will be determined by timing.“There’s this dance between supply and demand that happens over time,” said Dan Byers, vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute.While the expected glut will probably cause temporary turbulence for LNG exporters, Kenneth Medlock, an energy economist at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the industry will continue to grow in the long term.“In the industrial sector, the demand for natural gas is going to keep rising,” Medlock said. “A lot of those places where it’s rising are in developing economies where they don’t have a lot of gas resources, so they’re going to need LNG.”Medlock said the industry also hit a soft spot in 2017 and 2018, when customers were wary of signing long-term contracts. But the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and Europe’s shift away from Russian gas after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine drove a surge in demand and made LNG a significant part of the U.S. economy.Federal energy forecasters have been saying for some time that LNG exports are putting upward pressure on utility prices.But 2026 could be a lull, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that the average U.S. benchmark price of gas will stay steady or drop slightly this year. On Friday, U.S. gas futures were trading for about $3.50 per million British thermal units.Last year, LNG and weather drove a 50 percent rise in the average benchmark natural price, according to EIA, as political concerns about affordability and power prices also surged. Still, the 2025 average price, $3.52 per MM Btu, was still far below the average in 2022, $6.45 per MM Btu, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket.In 2027, EIA forecasts that LNG exports and data centers will again outpace production and push the average price of gas above $4.50 per MM Btu, an increase over 2025 of more than 30 percent.That would be another punch in the wallet for American ratepayers. According to the American Gas Association, the cost of natural gas made up about 41 percent of the average household gas bill as of 2024.

Aramco Signs 20-Year LNG Deal With Caturus, Advancing Commonwealth Toward FID -- Caturus Energy LLC has solidified a long-term LNG supply deal with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco), pushing its Louisiana export project closer to a final investment decision (FID) in the coming months, according to the company. At A Glance:

• Up to 1 Mt/y contracted
• Project now 84% subscribed
• Deal supports Aramco trading ambitions

Delfin LNG Potentially Facing Delays as Regulatory Hurdles Mount, Lawsuit Filed After Pipeline Failure -- Developers of the Delfin LNG export project in Louisiana will have to navigate additional regulatory scrutiny and possible delays as federal orders and lawsuits crop up following a pipeline explosion. Map of the Delfin LNG Project in the Gulf of Mexico showing offshore floating LNG vessels (FLNGs) connected by pipelines to Port Delfin Deepwater Port, UTOS pipeline route, WC 167 and WC 327 blocks, onshore facilities and compressor station along the Texas Gulf Coast near Louisiana.At A Glance:
Restart pressure capped at 20%
Hydrostatic test outcome critical for FID
Lawsuit adds legal risk exposure

US natural gas futures fall more than 8% on milder forecasts (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell by more than 8% on Monday on forecasts for milder weather than previously expected for the rest of the month, erasing the previous session's gains. Gas futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 28.4 cents, or 8.3%, to $3.138 per million British thermal units (mmBTU). On Friday, the contract hit a session high of $3.659 per mmBtu. "The strong gas price advance through most of last week was obviously reversed by continued above normal temperature forecasts that have been extended into the last week of this month," Meteorologists forecast warmer than normal temperatures nationwide through February 23, with Heating Degree Days falling from 374 on Friday to 358 on Monday. HDDs measure energy demand to heat buildings. Colder weather earlier in the winter in the U.S. drove heavy withdrawals from underground storage, but forecasts now point to easing demand. A Reuters poll shows U.S. utilities likely withdrew 249 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas in the week ended February 6. This compares to a record 360 bcf pulled out of storage during the week ended January 30 to meet surging heating demand during an Arctic blast, putting stockpiles on track to drop from around 5% above normal during the week ended January 23 to around 6% below normal during the week ended February 6. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states climbed to 106.99 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in February, up from 106.3 bcfd in January. That compares with a monthly record high of 109.7 bcfd in December. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 142.5 bcfd this week to 130 bcfd next week. Average gas flows to the eight large U.S. LNG export plants rose to 18.3 bcfd so far in February, up from 17.8 bcfd in January. That compares with a monthly record high of 18.5 bcfd in December. "While we continue to cite an expected upswing in export activity to a record pace in the coming weeks/months, recent patterns strongly suggest that this increase in demand could be countered by stronger production now that well freeze-offs are being largely taken off the table as winter begins to wind down," Ritterbusch added. Dutch and British wholesale gas prices also fell on Monday morning on forecasts for milder temperatures

Natural gas price slips again as warm U.S. forecasts linger - U.S. natural gas futures slipped again Tuesday morning, following up on losses from the previous session as warmer weather projections pressured prices. By 6:15 a.m. EST, the March contract had fallen 2.3 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.115 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). (Investing.com)The pullback is grabbing attention as traders scramble to factor in the remainder of winter. January’s swings set the stage—now, upcoming weather-model updates and storage numbers will drive the outlook for heating demand and the pace of inventory changes.March futures tumbled over 8% in early action Monday, giving up the previous session’s gains as forecasts turned milder for the rest of the month, Reuters reported. Meteorologists now expect above-normal temperatures across the U.S. through Feb. 23, driving heating degree days (HDDs) down from 374 to 358. LSEG kept Lower 48 natural gas output at 106.99 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in February, and sees total demand—including exports—shrinking from 142.5 bcfd this week to 130 bcfd next week. Feedgas flows to U.S. LNG export plants, meanwhile, edged up to 18.3 bcfd. (BOE Report)The storage overhang from the last major benchmark surprise hasn’t faded just yet. As of Jan. 30, working gas inventories in the Lower 48 clocked in at 2,463 billion cubic feet (bcf). Traders now look to the next official tally, due out Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern—as always, that’s a Thursday. (EIA)LNG links the global market back to U.S. gas flows. Chinese LNG imports should see a mild bump in 2026 as increased supply drags prices lower. Still, analysts warn that demand could remain tied to price, facing stiff competition from cheaper pipeline and domestic gas. That could limit any big gains for spot LNG—and U.S. exports along with it. “Even if prices fall in 2026, LNG still can’t compete with domestic or imported pipeline gas,” said Xiong Wei at Rystad. Yuanda Wang at ICIS echoed a note of caution, adding that “how much extra demand a lower price can stir remains debatable.” (Reuters)Cash prices can bolt when a cold snap rolls in, as the market knows all too well. Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan told Reuters the firm kept around 30% of its U.S. onshore gas linked to spot pricing during January’s chill, selling some flows into New York for “more than $100 per MMBtu.” Benchmark prices eventually eased off. (Reuters)Bulls face a clear risk here: should the warmer pattern persist, late-winter demand eases off, and production doesn’t budge, the market could end up drawing less from storage and pushing prices down. Add to that the possibility of LNG feedgas flows stumbling, or the shoulder season kicking in ahead of schedule, and downside pressure only builds.Weather risk is the wild card here. A burst of cold hitting key cities could quickly drive HDDs up. Freeze-offs remain a threat to production, which could squeeze supply right when export demand holds steady. Traders are glued to daily output projections and LNG feedgas numbers this week, but the date circled on calendars is Feb. 12 for the U.S. storage report, followed by another set of late-February forecast updates.

US natural gas futures edge up with LNG export surge (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures edged up on Wednesday on near-record flows to liquefied natural gas export plants. Gas futures for March delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 4.4 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $3.159 per million British thermal units (mmBTU). On Tuesday, the contract closed at its lowest since January 16 for a second day in a row. That small price increase came despite forecasts for warmer weather and lower demand next week than previously expected. In the cash market, meanwhile, average prices at the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin in West Texas remained in negative territory for a fifth day in a row and the 14th time this year, as pipeline constraints trapped gas in the nation's biggest oil-producing basin. Daily Waha prices first fell below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, a record 49 times in 2024, and 39 times in 2025. Waha prices have averaged $1.49 per mmBTU so far this year, compared with $1.15 in 2025 and a five-year average (2021-2025) of $2.88. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states has climbed to 107.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in February, up from 106.3 bcfd in January. That figure compares with a monthly record high of 109.7 bcfd in December. After extreme cold over the past couple of weeks, meteorologists projected weather across the country would remain mostly warmer than normal through February 26. Energy firms pulled a record 360 billion cubic feet of gas out of storage during the week ended January 30 to meet surging heating demand during an Arctic blast, cutting stockpiles to around 1% below normal levels for this time of year. Continued cold weather last week likely cut inventories further to around 6% below normal during the week ended February 6. Energy analysts, however, noted mild weather expected over the next few weeks could wipe out much of that storage deficit by early March. Energy firms stockpile gas during the summer (April-October) when demand is generally lower than daily output and pull that gas out of storage during the winter (November-March) when demand for heating is usually higher than daily output. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 141.2 bcfd this week to 124.6 bcfd next week. The forecast for next week was lower than LSEG's outlook on Tuesday. Average gas flows to the eight large U.S. LNG export plants have risen to 18.5 bcfd so far in February, up from 17.8 bcfd in January. That reading compares with a monthly record high of 18.5 bcfd in December.

US natgas futures rise 2% on near-record LNG export flows, big storage withdrawal (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed 2% on Thursday on near-record flows to liquefied natural gas export plants and a federal report showing energy firms pulled more gas than usual out of storage for a second week in a row to meet surging heating demand during a lingering Arctic freeze. Gas futures for March delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 5.8 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $3.217 per million British thermal units. After pulling a record 360 billion cubic feet of gas from storage during the week ended January 30, energy firms pulled 249 bcf from stockpiles during the week ended February 6, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. That was smaller than the 257-bcf withdrawal analysts forecast in a Reuters poll but much bigger than the decline of 111 bcf during the same week last year and a fiveyear (2021-2025) average withdrawal of 146 bcf for the week. In the cash market, average prices at the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin in West Texas remained in negative territory for a sixth day in a row and the 15th time this year, as pipeline constraints trapped gas in the nation's biggest oil-producing basin. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states climbed to 107.6 billion cubic feet per day so far in February, up from 106.3 bcfd in January. That figure compares with a monthly record high of 109.7 bcfd in December. After extreme cold over the past couple of weeks, meteorologists projected weather across much of the country would remain mostly warmer than normal through at least February 27. With last week's storage withdrawal, stockpiles fell from around 1% below normal levels for this time of year during the week ended January 30 to around 6% below normal during the week ended February 6. Energy analysts, however, noted mild weather expected over the next few weeks could wipe out much of that storage deficit by early March. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 141.3 bcfd this week to 124.0 bcfd next week. The forecast for next week was lower than LSEG's outlook on Wednesday. Average gas flows to the eight large U.S. LNG export plants have risen to 18.5 bcfd so far in February, up from 17.8 bcfd in January. That reading compares with a monthly record high of 18.5 bcfd in December.

Danaos sees need for up to 10 Alaska LNG carriers - Greek container vessel owner Danaos Shipping may need to order up to ten liquefied natural gas carriers to serve Glenfarne's Alaska LNG project, according to Danaos CEO John Coustas. The exact number of vessels to be employed will depend on how far exported natural gas volumes will be transported.

WTI Crude-to-Gas Ratio Rebounds in February - -The NYMEX crude-to-gas ratio for February 2026 to date — shown by the green bar in the chart below — has risen to 18.5, up from 15.6 in January. February crude is averaging $63.78/bbl, while Henry Hub gas is averaging $3.48/MMBtu. Despite the month-over-month increase, the ratio remains slightly below year-ago levels, compared with 19.5 in February 2025 — shown by the red bar — when crude averaged $71.18/bbl and gas $3.69/MMBtu. Overall, the ratio is up about 18% from January but still roughly 5% lower year-on-year.

Bearish Fundamentals Lift Crude Oil and Motor Gasoline Inventories - According to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) released this morning for the week ended February 6, crude balances tilted bearish as rebounding U.S. production, stronger imports, and softer exports combined with lower refinery runs to drive a sizeable commercial inventory build. As discussed in our Crude Billboard, U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by over 8.5 MMbbl to 429 MMbbl. Although this fell short of the 13.4 MMbbl build projected by the API survey results, it marks the largest weekly stock build since the same week in 2025. PADD 3 accounted for the bulk of the increase, with inventories rising by more than 5.8 MMbbl, reinforcing the view that Gulf Coast balances bore the brunt of the week’s bearish fundamentals. Smaller builds were observed across all other PADD regions. On the products side, gasoline inventories also moved higher, climbing to 259 MMbbl (far right of red line below), their highest level since May 2020, with builds seen in PADDs 1, 2, 4, and 5.

How Cold Weather Impacts Refinery Margins & Prices ---A wave of frigid Arctic air gripped much of the United States in late January and early February, shocking national energy markets. This cold snap demonstrated how interconnected the modern energy system is and how quickly market conditions can change. Here are four ways the extreme winter weather impacted diesel supply and pricing. As temperatures fell into single digits and even negative territory across the country, demand for heating fuels like natural gas, heating oil, and diesel fuel rose sharply. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the nation experienced a period of sustained cold, which created immediate stress across the energy market. This initial surge in consumption was the first domino to fall, creating higher demand and tightening supply across all heating fuels. One of the most significant consequences of the cold was the spike in natural gas demand for residential and commercial heating. This prioritization tightened supply for power generators just as overall electricity demand soared. When natural gas becomes expensive or constrained, utilities with dual-fuel capabilities often switch to diesel to maintain grid reliability. Approximately 13 percent of U.S. power generation capacity, about 138 gigawatts, can run on either natural gas or diesel. This fuel switching, especially common in the pipeline-constrained Northeast, placed additional pressure on already tight distillate markets and contributed to rising prices.. Winter storms forced refinery capacity being taken offline. Cold weather can cause significant disruptions for a refinery. Freezing temperatures can lead to mechanical failures, power interruptions, and equipment malfunctions. To prevent long-term damage, refineries, especially those in warmer climates like the Gulf Coast that are not winterized, are often forced to reduce production or shut down temporarily. While demand was rising, winter storms delivered heavy snow and freezing rain that disrupted production. These conditions are especially challenging for refinery operations, particularly in the Gulf Coast and Midwest. Refining facilities are not designed to operate in extreme cold. When equipment begins to ice over, production is often reduced or temporarily shut down. Freezing conditions caused mechanical failures, power interruptions, and precautionary shutdowns. Across the affected regions, the refineries impacted by these outages represent approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million barrels per day of refining capacity. This sudden reduction in operational capacity occurred at the exact moment demand was peaking. The combination of rising demand and falling supply made a quick appearance in refinery margins. This margin—the difference between the cost of crude oil and the commodity value of diesel—represents the cost of turning crude into a usable product and accounts for roughly 25 to 27 percent of the price of diesel. In January, refinery margins surged from around $30 per barrel to well over $48 per barrel, a level not seen since the previous November. This rapid increase pushed wholesale diesel prices back above $3 per gallon. Although temperatures have moderated and provided some short-term relief, the structural dynamics of the fuel market suggest continued volatility. The U.S. and Europe are experiencing a multi-year decline in refining capacity as facilities permanently close or convert to renewable production. Recent and upcoming closures, like those in California, are reducing the nation’s ability to meet distillate demand, especially during periods of disruption. The events of this winter serve as a clear reminder that in a more constrained refining environment, weather events like those we experienced in January can have an outsized impact on fuel markets. For shippers, staying informed on these trends is essential for navigating the complexities of fuel procurement and managing transportation spend.

Fuel – The Pipelines, Tankers and Trucks That Move Refined Products to the Lower Half of PADD 1 - There’s a staggeringly large disconnect between the vast volumes of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel consumed within the six states in EIA’s PADD 1C subregion — Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia — and the truly paltry amounts of transportation fuels produced there. That dichotomy spurred a multi-decade buildout of what are now highly efficient pipeline, marine and trucking networks that now deliver about 1.3 MMb/d of refined products to what EIA refers to as the “Lower Atlantic” states. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss these networks and explain how they keep the region running. The half-dozen states in PADD 1C have a combined population of more than 60 million and a GDP of more than $4 trillion. That puts the Lower Atlantic region on par with the U.K. or France or Italy — in other words, a real economic powerhouse. But PADD 1C has only one small refinery within its borders, a 23-Mb/d facility at the northern tip of West Virginia’s panhandle that focuses on lubricant production and markets virtually all of its modest gasoline and diesel output very locally. That’s a roundabout way of saying that the region needs to pipe, truck, tanker or barge in more than 99.9% of the gasoline and diesel it consumes, as well as literally every drop of jet fuel. (Ergon Refining’s Newell, WV, refinery doesn't typically make any “jet,” as the refined, kerosene-based fuel is commonly referred to.)As we said in the introduction, the volumes that need to be hauled in are significant. Florida is the #3 consumer of gasoline in the U.S., behind only California and Texas, and Georgia (#5), North Carolina (#6) and Virginia (#11) aren’t far behind. It’s a similar story for diesel, with Florida trailing only Texas and California (in that order), and as for jet fuel, Florida — a top tourist destination with a slew of busy airports — is #2, bested only by California. (Ironically, as you’ll see, Florida is the only state in PADD 1C that depends almost entirely on barged-in and trucked-in volumes of refined products — its portfolio of pipelines is very limited.) The vast majority of the refined products consumed in the Lower Atlantic states are produced at refineries in Texas and Louisiana and piped through the spine of PADD 1C through two pipeline systems: the Colonial Pipeline and the Products (SE) Pipeline, the latter of which used to be called the Plantation Pipeline. (Note: The latest edition of our Future of Fuels report, coming out in just a few days, provides a detailed forecast for how PADD-to-PADD movements are expected to change on an annualized basis out to 2050.) The 2.5-MMb/d Colonial Pipeline, which started operating in 1963, is a roughly 5,500-mile system whose main route (dark-blue line in Figure 1 below) runs from Houston to Linden, NJ, and has several spurs or laterals (light-blue lines) that pipe fuel to key consumption areas. The main route consists of four distinct pipeline sections: two pipes from Houston to Greensboro, NC, and two pipes from Greensboro north — one that runs to the Baltimore area and another that terminates in northern New Jersey. Since July 2025, Colonial has been owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, which paid previous co-owners KKR, Koch Industries, CDPQ (Quebec’s largest pension fund), Shell Midstream, and IFM Investors $9 billion for the massive asset.Colonial’s operators traditionally have dedicated one of the system’s two Houston-to-Greensboro pipelines to transporting gasoline and the other to moving middle distillates (diesel and jet fuel). At Greensboro, these products go into breakout tanks; from there they are sent in batches further through the system. (See Refined, Piped, Delivered, They’re Yours for an explanation of how batching works.) As we said, there are a few spurs off Colonial — north into Tennessee, south to central and southwestern Georgia, east in North Carolina to Raleigh/Durham, and east and west in Virginia to Richmond, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, and Roanoke. Along Colonial’s route there are more than 20 delivery points (orange triangles) as well as four major refined product terminals owned by the pipeline system (yellow tank icons).The Products (SE) Pipeline (purple line in main map in Figure 2 below) — the SE stands for Southeast — is smaller but still quite large, with about 3,100 miles of pipe and a capacity of 660 Mb/d. Jointly owned by Kinder Morgan (with a 51% stake) and ExxonMobil (49%), the pipeline formerly known as Plantation runs from near Baton Rouge, LA, to northern Virginia (close to Washington, DC). The pipeline’s history goes back to the start of World War II; the initial Louisiana-to-Greensboro, NC, section started operating in January 1942, moving 48 Mb/d for four customers. (As we said 10 years ago in Move It on Over, the new pipeline was seen as being a genius move: Japan had just attacked Pearl Harbor, German submarines were sinking tankers off the East Coast, and U.S. railroads — the other alternative for transporting gasoline, etc. — were operating flat-out to move freight and troops.)The pipeline’s capacity has been expanded repeatedly since WWII, and in 1964 it was extended to northern Virginia. Also, several spurs were built: to Birmingham and Montgomery (in Alabama); Columbus, Macon and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (in Georgia); Knoxville, TN; Charlotte Douglas Airport and the Colonial Pipeline at Greensboro (in North Carolina); and Dulles and Reagan National airports (in northern Virginia). Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel is batched through the pipeline to delivery terminals along its route (orange triangles).With the exception of several large airports that receive jet fuel directly by pipe, virtually all the refined products delivered to terminals along the Colonial and Products (SE) pipelines and their spurs are trucked to their other, off-system terminals or directly to service stations and other customers.

Feds issue final environmental review for Michigan oil tunnel - The Army Corps of Engineers has released a final environmental review for Enbridge’s proposed oil tunnel in Michigan, clearing the path for the agency to issue a permit as early as next month.The agency’s Detroit District, which issued the final environmental impact statement for the Line 5 tunnel project last week, said a 30-day waiting period is underway.The Army Corps said it will issue a record of decision on the proposal sometime after the waiting period ends March 9. Canada-based Enbridge, the developer of the Line 5 tunnel project, called Friday’s announcement a “true milestone” that reflects nearly six years of “rigorous review” by the Army Corps. If the agency does issue a permit for the project, it will be the last federal approval needed, according to Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy.

Hess Midstream Says Winter Impacting Operations But Still Expects to Match 2026 Volume Guidance --Severe winter weather in January and February has led to lower volumes across its system but Hess Midstream said it still expects to match its previous guidance for full-year 2026 (see chart below), which called for relatively flat volumes compared to 2025, executives said during the company’s quarterly earnings call February 2.Gas processing volumes averaged 444 MMcf/d in Q4 2025, with crude terminaling at 122 Mb/d and water gathering at 124 Mb/d, down from the previous quarter due to severe weather in December. For full-year 2025, gas processing averaged 445 MMcf/d, with crude terminaling at 129 Mb/d and water gathering at 131 Mb/d.The company said it grew its gas gathering and compression system in 2025 and completed its multi-year projects on time and on budget. With its system now substantially built, CEO Jonathan Stein said Hess expects about $150 million in capital spending in 2026, down 40% from 2025. Hess now has about 500 MMcf/d of gas processing capacity, 675 MMcf/d of gas gathering pipeline capacity, 505 Mb/d of crude oil terminaling capacity, 290 Mb/d of crude oil gathering capacity, and 330 miles of water gathering pipelines. Chevron has a 37.8% interest in Hess Midstream after its $60 billion acquisition of Hess, which closed in July 2025. About 90% of Hess Midstream's volumes are from Chevron production, with third parties making up the other 10%.

Alaska LNG Pipeline Developer Plans Early Construction By Mid-April - The developer of the 739-mile, 42-inch-diameter pipeline project to feed Alaska LNG is looking to start early construction work within the next two months, according to a federal regulatory filing. At A Glance:

• Full mobilization expected in June
• Mechanical installation targeted for November
• Pipeline completion planned for 2028

400 barrels of crude oil spilled near Arnegard (KXNET) — 400 barrels of crude oil were released this weekend in a spill about three miles northeast of Arnegard in McKenzie County. According to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, Devon Energy Williston LLC reported that the spill happened Saturday at the Sturgeon East Pad site. As of Monday, 320 of the 400 barrels have been recovered. A North Dakota Oil and Gas inspector has been to the location and will monitor any additional cleanup needed.

Over 1,000 gallons of fuel, oil recovered from fallen North Slope oil rig as deconstruction begins- Crews responding to the collapse of Doyon Drilling Rig 26 on the North Slope have moved into a new phase of cleanup and removal, recovering around 1,132 gallons of spilled oil and diesel and beginning to dismantle the structure, according to an update released Thursday. The Jan. 23 collapse of the rig known as “The Beast” occurred while crews attempted to move the rig along a gravel road near Nuiqsut. In the weeks since, response teams have focused on containment and site stabilization. On Feb. 12, Doyon Drilling Inc. said those efforts have progressed enough to allow the second phase of its three part response plan to begin. That phase includes further structural inspections, removal of any remaining fluids or debris and transporting the rig to another location. Spill response crews have flushed contaminated areas with water and recovered an estimated 1,132 gallons of spilled product for disposal, the company said. Ice road and pad construction have also advanced, allowing crews to begin removing the rig from the tundra, staring with deconstructing and removing the crown of the rig. ‘The Beast’ of the North Slope: Oil rig that toppled over described by someone who helped build it The dismantled structure will be cleaned and ultimately transported to a recycling facility, according to Doyon’s update. Doyon said it continues to lead response activities under a Unified Command structure and that crews are working through periods of unsafe weather conditions on the North Slope. Officials with Doyon said there remains no immediate risk to the community, infrastructure, air quality drinking water sources, waterways , traffic or wildlife. The full response is highlighted in three phases:

• “Containment, cleanup, and mitigation of the impacted area, as well as ongoing safety evaluations for working around the rig.”
• “Further inspection of the structure, removal of any remaining fluids or debris, and transportation of the rig to another location. (This phase is now underway.)”
• “Final cleanup, mitigation, and remediation of the entire affected area.”

Regulator shuts Wandoo oil field off WA after spill - Canadian firm Vermilion judged the chance of the December spill as "rare" - the same probability it claims for seven planned exploration wells that could affect anywhere along the Pilbara coast. Following a minor oil spill in December, the offshore environment regulator has shut down the Wandoo oil field, 80km off the Pilbara coast, until the Canadian owner, Vermillion, can demonstrate it is safe.Regulator NOPSEMA called out "systemic failures" in Vermilion's management of Wandoo, including inadequate inspection and maintenance, and repeated instances of not complying with Wandoo's approved environment plan.NOPSEMA's current assessment is that the hydrocarbon release was small with minimal environmenal impact, according to the regulator's spokesman. However, it is the fourth minor spill since 2021. The condemnation of the $2.5 billion company's ability to operate Wandoo safely comes as it is seeking environmental approval to drill up to seven exploration wells starting in 2026 or 2027, in the search for more oil.Vermilion claims in its environment plan for the drilling under assessment by NOPSEMA to be committed to meeting all regulatory requirements and to maintain a strong health, safety, and environmental risk management system.It has not met either of these benchmarks with its current management of Wandoo, according to NOPSEMA's direction.NOPSEMA identified problems with Vermilion's management of Wandoo during inspections in October 2025 and after the December 11, 2025, oil spill."These issues reflect recurring themes from earlier inspections and show that corrective actions and assurance processes have not fully addressed the underlying causes," the February 6 NOPSEMA direction published on Friday said.The NOPSEMA direction said the systemic weaknesses it identified may have contributed to the oil spill. Vermilion has operated the wholly owned Wandoo field since 2005. Wells reach out as far as three kilometres from two platforms: the unmanned Wandoo A and the crewed Wandoo B. NOPSEMA has ordered Vermilion not to export any oil from Wandoo until it can demonstrate that it has implemented measures to make the existing system safe.Vermilion then has to have a completely new export system from the pipeline end manifold (PLEM) to the floating export hose in place by December 2027.A NOPSEMA spokesman said its direction to stop oil exports will be in place until it is satisfied Vermilion has reduced the risk to the environment to as low as reasonably practicable."The General Direction also requires independent third-party reviews, corrective actions to strengthen environmental and integrity management systems, and a transition to a fully replaced oil export system by the end of 2027," he said."NOPSEMA will continue to closely monitor the titleholder’s compliance ... and will take further regulatory action if required."Vermilion had a NOPSEMA direction issued three years ago over concerns that its inadequate maintenance of pipework on the platforms could lead to oil or gas escaping, resulting in a fire or explosion.

Cedar LNG Advances as Exmar Signs Marine Services Deal -- Developers of the Cedar LNG export facility proposed for British Columbia (BC) have selected a marine speciality firm for its floating LNG (FLNG) vessel currently under construction.Map of Western Canada natural gas pipelines, LNG export facilities operating, under construction and proposed, highlighting Montney, Duvernay, Alliance Pipeline, NOVA/AECO hub and NGI price index locations. At A Glance:
megúgu FLNG vessel under construction
Project targets 2028 startup
Cedar LNG adds 3.8 Mt/y capacity

TC Energy Tops Q4 Profit Estimate on Strong U.S. Natural Gas Demand - TC Energy Corporation beat analyst estimates for fourth-quarter profits amid soaring demand for natural gas in the United States which boosted its pipeline flows to an all-time delivery record early this year. TC Energy on Friday reportedearnings per common share from continuing operations at US$0.72 (C$0.98), beating the average consensus estimate of US$0.68 (C$0.92). TC Energy’s deliveries on the Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines averaged 27.2 Bcf/d, up by 5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, and set a new all-time delivery record of 33.2 Bcf on January 22, 2026. U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines' daily average flows were 29.6 Bcf/d, a 9.5% jump compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Following the end of the reporting quarter, TC Energy’s U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines achieved an all-time delivery record of 39.9 Bcf on January 29, 2026, the company said. Deliveries to U.S. LNG facilities averaged 3.9 Bcf/d, up by 21% on the year, and set a new daily record of nearly 4.4 Bcf on December 4, 2025. In addition, TC Energy achieved all-time delivery records on the Columbia Gulf, GTN, and Gillis Access gas pipelines in December 2025. “Strong asset availability and reliability drove a 13 per cent year-over-year increase in fourth quarter comparable EBITDA and a 15 per cent increase in segmented earnings over the same period,” said François Poirier, TC Energy’s president and CEO. “In the fourth quarter 2025 and early 2026, record power demand from data centres, coal-to-gas conversions and LNG exports drove all-time delivery records across our U.S. and Canadian Natural Gas Pipeline Systems of 39.9 Bcf and 33.2 Bcf, respectively,” Poirier said. TC Energy also moved to expand critical infrastructure projects “to respond to rising power generation demand in the U.S. Midwest, strengthening system flexibility and reinforcing the long?term value of our storage portfolio,” the executive added.

Enbridge Books Record-High Core Earnings for 2025 - Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge reported record-high core earnings for 2025 and consensus-beating earnings for the fourth quarter amid growing demand for oil and gas egress from production centers to consumption and export hubs. Enbridge on Friday reportedfull-year adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of US$14.7 billion (C$20.0 billion) for 2025, up by 7% from 2024. Full-year adjusted earnings also rose, by 9%, compared to 2024. For the fourth quarter, adjusted earnings per common share of US$0.65 (C$0.88), higher than the average analyst estimate ‌of US$0.56 (C$0.77). “Despite tariffs and geopolitical tension, 2025 showcased our low-risk commercial framework delivering predictable results amid macroeconomic uncertainty,” Enbridge’s president and CEO Greg Ebel said. “We’re proud to announce that Enbridge has once again achieved record EBITDA and DCF per share, marking the 20th consecutive year of achieving or exceeding financial guidance.” In recent months, Enbridge has advanced with enhancing pipeline takeaway capacity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), expand natural gas transmission capacity in the U.S. Northeast, boost natural gas storage businesses on the Gulf Coast and in British Columbia, and building on its partnership with Meta in the power space. This quarter, Enbridge sanctioned the Mainline Optimization Phase 1 project, which will add 150,000 barrels per day of additional WCSB takeaway capacity and is expected to enter service in 2027. The project includes a 100,000-bpd expansion of the Flanagan South Pipeline system, adding critical full-path service to the U.S. Gulf Coast, Ebel said. In the natural gas transmission business, the company upsized the Eiger Express Pipeline in November, driven by growing demand for Permian natural gas egress capacity. “We continue to advance over 50 data center opportunities across North America, requiring up to 10 Bcf/d of new takeaway capacity in close proximity to our existing Gas Transmission assets and expect to sanction additional projects supporting power generation and data centers in 2026 and the years ahead,” Ebel said.

Alberta Plans New Crude Oil Pipeline to Ship Energy Exports to Asia --After years of antagonism between the federal government and Alberta over additional outlets for crude, Canada and the oil-producing province are finally on the same page regarding Canadian,/ oil exports. It took a major geopolitical and trade shift from Canada’s long-term ally and top trade partner, the United States, to have the federal government of Canada support a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the Canadian West Coast. The pipeline is expected to boost Canadian oil exports to Asia, the world’s driver of global oil demand growth, by shipping about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Alberta to the West Coast. Canada seeks to diversify its trade and economic relations in the face of tariffs from the Trump Administration and continued threats of additional tariffs that have soured the relations between the two closest allies and trade partners in North America. The government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to make Canada an energy superpower. This includes moving more of Alberta’s crude out of the country on tankers to Asia. Increased seaborne shipments to the world’s most important oil-consuming region is also a way for Canada to diversify its oil export markets, dominated by the U.S. with over 95% of all Canadian oil exports.The expanded Trans Mountain route is currently the only pipeline shipping Alberta’s landlocked crude for exports on tankers from the West Coast. Alberta has long called for additional outlets to the British Columbia coast to monetize the growing crude supply in the province. The province’s oil production hit a new record-high in 2025, with average daily production up by 166,000 bpd, or 4.2%, compared to 2024. Alberta produced 4.1 million bpd last year, 84% of which was from the oil sands. TMX, whose nameplate capacity was tripled to 890,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd before the expansion, was the key driver of Alberta’s record oil production while enabling more oil exports from Alberta to Asia.The value of Alberta’s oil exports to Asia went from zero before the expanded pipeline began operations to over US$804 million, or C$1.1 billion, as of October 2025, according to data from ATB Economics. “At some point, though, without a new pipeline in place, a lack of pipeline capacity will once again act as a constraint on output growth, possibly as soon as 2028,” The strained U.S.-Canada relations have prompted Carney’s federal government to support a new oil pipeline west, while TMX looks to boost crude flows within its existing capacity. Trans Mountain Corporation this week moved to boostoil flows via the pipeline by 10%, seeking approval to use drag-reducing agents (DRA) to increase volumes. As early as July, Canada’s PM Carney said that a new oil pipeline to Canada’s Pacific coast is highly likely to make it to the federal government’s list of projects of national interest. Carney visited China last month and signed a strategic energy and trade cooperation agreement in a major policy shift that hailed “a new era” in bilateral relations. Even before that, the governments of Canada and Alberta in November signed an agreement to increase oil exports to Asian markets, address investment uncertainty holding back Alberta’s energy economy, and reduce emissions. This agreement lays out the path forward for an Indigenous co-owned pipeline to Asian markets, with both governments supporting its approval and construction. Provisionally named West Coast Oil Pipeline, the project is now in the stage in which a technical advisory group is doing preliminary assessment work on the potential routes. Alberta’s government expects to submit by July 2026 the project to Canada’s federal Major Projects Office for designation as a project of national interest.Currently, Alberta is considering five ports on the West Coast, Premier Smith told Bloomberg News in aninterview this week.So far it appears that northwest British Columbia, with the port of Prince Rupert, holds more advantages compared to other locations.At any rate, a new pipeline will have to eventually include potentially difficult negotiations with First Nations and the provincial government of British Columbia. However, this time around, both Alberta and the federal government are backing a new oil pipeline that would boost Canadian oil exports and make them less dependent on the U.S.

Over 120 scientists and academics say 'no' to Tantramar shale gas plant - We are over 120 scientists and academics from all four universities in New Brunswick (Université de Moncton, University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, Mount Allison University), from various disciplines, expressing our solidarity with the citizen movement in Tantramar and the surrounding communities. At a time when climate emergency demands a rapid transition to carbon-free energy sources, when proven and affordable solutions exist, and when the population can no longer afford another increase in the cost of living, this project appears scientifically, environmentally and economically nonsensical.

• 1. Choosing renewable energy: wind turbines, solar power and battery systems The global energy landscape has changed dramatically. According to the International Energy Agency, almost all new electricity generation projects worldwide in 2024 will be based on renewable energy. Building a shale gas power plant today contradicts the global energy shift and New Brunswick’s climate commitments.
• NB Power claims that this plant would be necessary to increase electricity generation capacity and ensure grid stability. However, cheaper solutions already exist. Battery storage can now meet peak demand at a much lower cost than thermal power plants. In addition, renewable energy projects come online much faster—between six and eighteen months for solar—and carry less risk of cost overruns. Today, renewable energy makes the most sense on purely economic term.
• 2. Choosing demand management strategies Reducing electricity consumption costs much less than increasing production. However, demand management programs remain underdeveloped in the province. Ambitious energy efficiency initiatives could reduce demand by up to 400 megawatts by 2030. In addition, active demand management strategies, such as time-of-use pricing and the use of smart thermostats, could reduce consumption peaks. These strategies are quick to implement, create local jobs and lower electricity bills for NB Power customers.
• 3. No to an American gas plant in New Brunswick PROENERGY the company promoting the project, is headquartered in Missouri, and the gas burned in the proposed plant will come from the Marcellus and Utica shales in the United States. Against a backdrop of financial uncertainty surrounding customs tariffs, the proposed power plant will be entirely dependent on the United States for its construction, for its fuel, and for its operation. Further, shale gas is a risky energy resource: several analysts anticipate a peak in North American production in the short term. Relying on this energy source exposes New Brunswick to future price fluctuations on global markets. In our view, energy security is better served by renewable resources produced locally, by and for New Brunswick communities.
• 5. No to pollution threatening human and animal health Burning gas produces various pollutants that increase the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders and premature mortality. These effects primarily affect children, seniors, pregnant women and those already living with health problems. Such pollution will put additional strain on our health system already under immense pressure. It will also affect the health of 165 species of rare or protected animals in the area.
• 6. Showing strong leadership in clean energy Investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and battery storage generate more local and sustainable jobs, particularly in rural areas, than large-scale centralized fossil fuel projects, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting public health. For all these reasons, we are calling for this shale gas power plant project to be suspended immediately and for investments to be redirected towards solutions for the future: renewable energy and energy efficiency. Signed by over 120 scientists and academics from all four universities in New Brunswick: Mount Allison University, Université de Moncton, University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University Complete letter to the Premier and complete list of signatories available here.

The Sad Story of Quebec: Huge Utica Deposits, Imports All NatGas - Marcellus Drilling News - - The Canadian province of Quebec has significant natural gas potential in the Utica and Lorraine shale formations and on the Gaspé Peninsula, yet these resources remain untapped due to politics. The left has hoodwinked residents into believing hydraulic fracturing is from Satan and that it will pollute groundwater and cause earthquakes. Quebec became the first jurisdiction to permanently ban oil and gas exploration in 2022, prioritizing climate mythology over energy development. Consequently, the province imports nearly all its supplies from Western Canada and the United States. The province’s future strategy focuses on transitioning to renewable natural gas (which emits as much CO2 when burned as shale gas) and hydrogen, while maintaining a strict moratorium on local extraction.

Shell Weighs Multibillion Dollar Venezuela Gas Investments - Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC the company is actively considering multibillion-dollar offshore natural gas investments in Venezuela that could start production in the next few years, pending regulatory approvals. The comments mark one of the clearest public signals yet that Shell is weighing a major push into Venezuelan energy assets after years of sanctions and uncertainty. The potential targets are offshore gas opportunities. Sawan said these projects could be activated within months, which is about as tight a timeline as Big Oil ever commits to publicly. The interest follows a broader industry trend of revisiting Venezuelan hydrocarbon development, including shared gas fields with Trinidad and Tobago that Shell and BP have sought U.S. licences for after sanctions eased.What’s not clear yet is the scale, structure or terms of any deal, and Shell’s comment doesn’t mean final investment decisions have been made. The CEO was explicit that approvals are still pending — in other words, this is a strategic consideration, not a signed contract.That context matters because Shell’s latest financialsout this week show the company is under pressure even as it keeps rewarding investors. Shell reported adjusted earnings of roughly $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from prior quarters, and missed some analyst expectations. The company boosted its dividend by about 4 percent and kept a $3.5 billion share buyback in place, but net debt climbed and earnings were the weakest in nearly five years as lower oil and gas prices and losses in its chemicals and products segment weighed on results.Shell is generating enough cash to keep shareholders happy. It’s not, however, making enough to make massive new bets without a clear path to approvals and returns. The Venezuela talk is real and potentially big if it leads to sanctioned operations, but it’s not a done deal.

USA Allows Oilfield Contractors to Go to Work in VEN Fields- Rigzone -The US government issued a general license to allow oilfield-service companies to work in Venezuela as the Trump administration eases sanctions and pushes to rebuild the nation’s crude infrastructure. The license issued by the Treasury Department allows US firms to explore, develop and produce oil and natural gas in Venezuela under certain limited conditions, according to a statement Tuesday. The move is the latest in a series of steps Washington has taken to entice US companies to revive output from Venezuela’s vast crude reserves after last month’s capture of strongman Nicolás Maduro. Carlos Bellorin, an executive vice president at Welligence Energy Analytics, said investors are interpreting the license “as a stepping stone, raising expectations that a broader license for operators could follow. In January, the US issued a general license that allowed for a wide range of crude operations, including exporting, transporting, refining and buying and selling crude. The general license announced Tuesday involves tasks such as geological mapping, reservoir analysis and related tasks that augment the commencement of oil production. However, the license does not allow new joint ventures in Venezuela. US people and firms will need to provide detailed plans to the State Department and Department of Energy for any work in the country, according to the statement.

'Fabricated': Venezuela Rejects Bloomberg Claim of Oil Shipment to Israel - Palestine Chronicle --Venezuelan authorities dismissed as false a report claiming Caracas exported crude oil to Israel, stating that no official evidence supports the allegation, TeleSur reported on Wednesday.Miguel Pérez Pirela, sectoral vice-president for Communication and Culture, published a screenshot of the article marked “FAKE” and accused the report of spreading disinformation intended to undermine the country’s sovereignty and stability. Officials stressed that the claim contradicts Venezuela’s political position and diplomatic record, noting that relations with Israel were severed in 2009 and that Caracas has consistently expressed support for Palestine in international forums.The rejection addressed both the alleged shipment and the broader political narrative contained in the report, which authorities described as factually incorrect.Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Venezuela was sending its first crude shipment to Israel in years, allegedly destined for the Bazan Group refinery, Israel’s largest oil processor.According to the agency, the information came from “people with knowledge of the deal” who requested anonymity because the matter was not public. The shipment would mark the first such cargo since 2020.The report also claimed that oil trade routes shifted after what it described as the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces and Washington’s takeover of Venezuelan oil sales, an assertion Venezuelan officials rejected outright.Bloomberg added that Israel does not disclose crude suppliers and that tankers sometimes disappear from digital tracking systems near its ports. Neither the Israeli energy ministry nor the refinery commented.

Equinor Divesting Full Onshore Position in Vaca Muerta Basin | Rigzone - Equinor announced, in a statement posted on its website recently, that it has signed an agreement with Vista Energy to divest its full onshore position in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta basin. The company said the transaction includes Equinor’s 30 percent non-operated interest in the Bandurria Sur asset and its 50 percent non-operated interest in the Bajo del Toro asset. Equinor noted that its Argentinian offshore acreage is not affected by the transaction. The total consideration is valued at around $1.1 billion, Equinor highlighted in the statement, adding that, at closing, the company will receive an upfront cash payment of $550 million as well as shares in Vista. The consideration also includes contingent payments linked to production and oil prices over a five-year period, according to the statement, which noted that the transaction has an effective date of July 1, 2025. “We are realizing value from two high-quality assets we have actively developed as we continue to high-grade our international portfolio,” Philippe Mathieu, executive vice president for Exploration & Production International at Equinor, said in the statement. “This transaction strengthens Equinor’s financial flexibility as we evaluate opportunities in our core international markets, where we see substantial growth towards 2030. At the same time, we retain optionality through our offshore positions in Argentina,” he added. Chris Golden, senior vice president for the U.S. and Argentina in Exploration & Production International, said in the statement, “this is a value-driven decision that enhances the resilience of our international portfolio and sharpens our focus in Argentina”.

European Natural Gas Prices Again Swing Lower as LNG Imports Near Record High - European natural gas prices are struggling to find footing after falling again Monday when forecasts shifted warmer and LNG imports were forecast to reach some of their highest levels in years. European Union natural gas storage dashboard shows inventories at 423.6 TWh, or 37.1% full, as of Feb. 7, 2026, well below last year and the five-year average, with charts tracking storage volumes, year/year deficits and seasonal trends.At A Glance:
European imports estimated at 3.96 Mt
LNG prices under pressure
Storage withdrawals accelerate

Global Gas Prices Ease as Europe Warms Briefly, Asian LNG Imports Slip --Global natural gas futures shifted to reset mode as European gas traders used a brief weather reprieve to weigh forecasts and Asian demand continued to ebb. Four-panel chart showing trailing 365-day mean temperatures versus normal for Northwest Europe, Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo, measured in °F, from February 2025 through February 2026. At A Glance:
Curve weakens across spring contracts
Cold threatens return of late-February demand
East Asia prices drift toward $10

The U.S. LNG Boom Is Lowering Europe’s Energy Costs and Raising America’s The United States has cemented its position as the world's leading exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) over the past couple of years, thanks to surging natural gas demand in Europe and Asia. U.S. LNG exports hit a record 111 million tons in 2025, surpassing 100 million metric tons for the first time, driven by high utilization and new capacity additions from projects like Plaquemines LNG. But this could be just the beginning of the U.S. LNG boom: the EIA has predicted that U.S. LNG export capacity will more than double by 2029, with an estimated 13.9 Bcf/d of new capacity added between 2025 and 2029 as projects like Plaquemines LNG Phase 1 and Corpus Christi Stage 3 reach full operations. Meanwhile, additional projects such as Delta LNG, CP2 LNG, and others are expected to further bolster capacity toward 2030. However, the energy experts are now warning that all this growth will come at cost, as does everything. According to Wood Mackenzie, European demand for industrial natural gas has declined by 21% since 2021 while industrial power demand has decreased by 4%, driven by soaring gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, WoodMac has projected that the ongoing massive wave of new global LNG supply, primarily from the U.S. and Qatar, is expected to nearly halve European traded gas prices by 2030 compared to 2025 levels, saving European industry roughly $46 billion annually by 2032. Conversely, surging LNG exports and soaring demand from AI data centers are projected to push domestic U.S. gas prices to an average of $4.90/MMBtu between 2030 and 2035, a nearly 50% increase from 2025 levels. This constitutes a narrowing competitive gap, with the large cost advantage that U.S. manufacturers have enjoyed for over a decade poised to shrink despite U.S. energy remaining cheaper than European energy in absolute terms. That doesn’t mean that European manufacturers will be complaining, though. The EU has become heavily reliant on the U.S., which supplied more than 57% of EU LNG imports by early 2026, up from 45% in 2024. Consequently, falling energy prices will benefit energy-intensive industries sectors such as petrochemicals, metals, and chemicals, which have been under severe cost pressure since the global energy crisis hit four years ago, with WoodMac reporting they are going through a "price reversal window" that will allow them to stabilize or recover. Lower European energy costs are expected to open up growth opportunities, with WoodMac predicting that the continent’s pharmaceuticals, food processing, and data center sectors are likely to capture a larger share of the international market. This could, however, prove to be a double-edged sword for the U.S. economy. Indeed, the U.S. LNG boom is poised to create a complex, often contradictory impacton the U.S. economy, acting as a major driver for GDP growth, job creation, and infrastructure investments while simultaneously raising domestic energy costs and complicating the energy transition. The LNG boom is expected to contribute up to $1.3 trillion to the U.S. GDP by 2040 and generate $166 billion in federal and state tax revenues, according to an S&P Global study. The industry is expected to create nearly 500,000 jobs, encompassing direct, indirect, and induced employment. Over $50 billion is projected to flow into new, massive infrastructure projects (e.g., Plaquemines, Golden Pass, Port Arthur). In contrast, experts warn that even relatively modest increases in gas and energy prices can lead to large increases in operating costs, potentially taking a toll on margins. An analysis by the Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) found that every $1 increase in the Henry Hub price costs U.S. consumers and manufacturers ~$54 billion annually in combined gas and electricity expenses, including $20 billion more in electricity expenses as well as $34 billion increase in direct natural gas costs for consumers and manufacturers. For manufacturers, who often cannot pass on energy costs as easily as regulated utilities, a $1 increase in the Henry Hub price poses a direct threat to competitive advantage. Industries that rely heavily on natural gas, such as manufacturing, chemicals, and fertilizers, face increased operational costs, with estimates of up to $125 billion in added costs by 2050. But it’s not just large industries that could suffer the negative consequences of the ongoing AI and LNG boom. Increased exports connect the U.S. domestic natural gas market to higher global prices, driving higher electricity and heating bills for U.S. households. Meanwhile, analysts have warned that the U.S. could face a domestic energy crunch that could trigger spikes in energy prices if natural gas production growth fails to meet export demand growth. This could negatively impact the clean energy transition, with higher natural gas prices making coal power more competitive in the domestic electricity market.

Left Says LNG will Raise Price in U.S. but Crash it Everywhere Else -- Marcellus Drilling News - According to an E&E News – Energywire article, U.S. natural gas exporters are bracing for a “global glut” in LNG. While the Trump administration champions LNG exports for “energy dominance,” lefty analysts warn that diverting one-fifth of domestic production abroad could inflate American utility bills (a long-disproven canard). These analysts expect a temporary price lull in 2026, followed by a significant spike in 2027. On the one hand, analysts say the U.S. will flood the global market with LNG, and the world won’t be able to “absorb” all of that energy, crashing prices. On the other hand, the same analysts say exporting “one-fifth” of our production will cause price spikes here at home. So, we’ll crash the price for everyone else, but cause a price increase here? You see the contradiction.

RWE Eyes Long-Term UAE LNG Deal as Europe Seeks to Curb Reliance on U.S. Gas --Germany’s largest power generator is working to secure more LNG from the United Arab Emirates as key European gas players look to trim reliance on U.S. supplies.At A Glance:

• Deal could add 12 cargoes annually
• Russian LNG phaseout boosts demand urgency
• RWE, Adnoc explore short-term LNG trading

Eni Eyes Bigger LNG Trading Role as Congo Phase 2 Exports Begin-- The first cargo has been shipped from the second phase of Congo LNG, marking the next step in Eni SpA’s plans to build a massive export portfolio backed by African natural gas reserves. At A Glance:

• Congo LNG capacity climbs toward 3 Mt/y
• DR Congo exports reach 0.55 Mt
• Eni builds toward 20 Mt/y LNG portfolio

Authorities race to contain oil spill after cargo ship sinks off Thailand -- Marine authorities are racing to contain an oil spill in the Andaman Sea after a Panama-flagged cargo ship sank off southern Phuket, Thailand, on its way from Malaysia to Bangladesh, Bangkok Post reported on Sunday. All 16 crew members of the SEALLOYD ARC were rescued and brought to safety after the vessel took on water and went down south of Phuket’s popular viewpoint on Saturday. The ship was carrying 297 containers, including 14 with hazardous materials, according to the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre. All containers sank with the 4,339-tonne vessel. An aerial survey later detected an oil slick stretching about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) westward and one mile wide. No oil has reached Phuket’s coastline so far, officials said. Authorities have classified the incident as large-scale, citing growing environmental risks and potential hazards to navigation.

Crude oil prices decline as US-Iran talks ease supply concerns - Crude oil futures traded lower on Monday morning as diplomatic talks between the US and Iran eased concerns over global supply disruptions.At 9.58 am on Monday, April Brent oil futures were at $67.36, down by 1.01 per cent, and March crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $62.93, down by 0.98 per cent. February crude oil futures were trading at ₹5712 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹5824, down by 1.92 per cent, and March futures were trading at ₹5714 against the previous close of ₹5829, down by 1.97 per cent.In their Commodities Feed for Monday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said oil prices came under renewed pressure in early Monday morning trading in Asia after nuclear talks between the US and Iran were seen as constructive. A further round of talks is being planned.Mentioning that there is still plenty of uncertainty over how things will evolve, they said this suggests the market will likely continue to price in a risk premium.Though the indirect talks were reportedly constructive, the US on Friday imposed additional sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports. US President Donald Trump also signed an executive order on the same day. It will allow tariffs on goods from countries that do business with Iran. He stopped short of applying the tariffs, they said. “We’re likely to get plenty of noise over the week concerning views on the oil market, with International Energy Week kicking off in London this week. In addition, the EIA will release its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday. This is followed by OPEC’s monthly oil market report on Wednesday, and the IEA’s monthly oil report on Thursday,” they said. February natural gas futures were trading at ₹291.80 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹320.20, down by 8.87 per cent.On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February castorseed contracts were trading at ₹6422 in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹6393, up by 0.45 per cent. April dhaniya futures were trading at ₹11026 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹11210, down by 1.64 per cent.

Oil Prices Slide As US–Iran Talks Ease Supply Concerns --Global oil prices edged lower on Monday as market sentiment shifted following signs of de-escalation in Middle East tensions, particularly after confirmation that diplomatic engagements between the United States and Iran would continue. Brent crude slipped to $67.09 per barrel, representing a 0.8% decline from the previous session’s close of $67.66. Similarly, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 0.8% to trade at $62.76 per barrel, down from $63.31. The pullback followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who described the indirect talks held between Washington and Tehran in Muscat, Oman, as constructive. According to Trump, Iran had shown a strong inclination toward reaching a fresh agreement over its nuclear programme. Speaking on the outcome of the discussions, Trump said the talks with Iran had progressed positively, adding that Tehran appeared eager to secure a deal. He also referenced ongoing diplomatic engagements involving Russia and Ukraine, portraying the broader geopolitical environment as showing signs of improvement. Despite the optimistic tone, Trump noted that a substantial US naval presence had been deployed to the region in response to Iran, stating that the force would arrive shortly as developments continued to unfold. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian separately acknowledged the talks, describing them as a meaningful step forward in diplomatic engagement between the two countries. These developments helped reduce market fears around potential supply disruptions involving Iran, one of the world’s major oil producers situated near the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global crude shipments. The easing of perceived geopolitical risk weighed on crude prices. However, Trump simultaneously signed an executive order authorising the United States to impose additional trade penalties on countries that maintain commercial ties with Iran. The order allows for an extra 25% tariff on imports from nations that directly or indirectly purchase goods or services from Tehran. In parallel developments, US monetary policy signals also influenced market dynamics. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said he remained cautiously optimistic about the US economic outlook, noting that productivity gains could assist in steering inflation back toward the central bank’s target. San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly echoed a dovish tone, suggesting that one or two further interest rate cuts might be necessary to support a softening labour market. Following these comments, yields on the US 10-year Treasury note climbed by two basis points to 4.23%, while the dollar index remained steady at 97.6. Expectations of continued monetary easing by the Federal Reserve helped cushion the downside in oil prices.

Geopolitical Tensions and Shifting Trade Flows Lift the Oil Market - The crude market ended the session higher as the market weighed the geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Iran and the news that India is stepping away from Russian crude purchases. The crude market posted a low of $62.62 in overnight trading as the market’s oil supply fear eased following the U.S. and Iran pledge to continue their talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, the market’s losses were limited by reports that India’s refiners are avoiding purchases for delivery in April as the country looks to sign a trade deal with the U.S. The market was later further supported and extended its gains to over $1.30 following the news that the U.S. recommended U.S.-flagged vessels to stay as far as possible from Iran while voyaging the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. The market posted a high of $64.88 by mid-day. The market later settled in a sideways trading range during the remainder of the session. The March WTI contract settled up 81 cents at $64.36 and the April Brent contract settled up 99 cents at $69.04. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 36 points at $2.4169 and the RB market settling up 3.23 cents at $1.9855. The United States issued new guidance on Monday to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration advised U.S.-flagged commercial vessels to stay as far from Iran’s territorial waters as possible and to verbally decline Iranian forces permission to board if asked. Platts reported that Indian refiners are avoiding Russian oil purchases for delivery in April and are expected to stay away from such trades for longer. A trader said Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Reliance Industries are not accepting offers from traders for Russian oil loading in March and April. However, refining sources said the refiners had already scheduled some deliveries of Russian oil in March. Russia-backed private refiner Nayara, which relies solely on Russian oil for its 400,000 bpd refinery, may be allowed to keep buying Russian oil because other crude sellers pulled back after the European Union sanctioned the refiner in July. Bloomberg reported that India’s imports of Russian oil are expected to fall by about half by April from an average of 1.2 million bpd in January. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Russian energy infrastructure is a legitimate target for Ukrainian strikes because the energy sector is a source of funds for the production of weapons. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 1.23 million bpd of capacity in the week ending February 13th, increasing available refining capacity by 81,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to fall to 1.09 million bpd in the week ending February 20th.

Crude oil futures trade lower after a rally as markets analyse US advisory to vessels - Crude oil futures traded lower on Tuesday morning after markets analysed the potential for supply disruptions following a US advisory to vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. Crude oil prices rose over 1 per cent on Monday following a US advisory to its vessels. At 10.04 am on Tuesday, April Brent oil futures were at $68.91, down by 0.19 per cent, and March crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $64.19, down by 0.26 per cent. February crude oil futures were trading at ₹5832 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹5870, down by 0.65 per cent, and March futures were trading at ₹5835 against the previous close of ₹5875, down by 0.68 per cent. An advisory issued by the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration on Monday warned that the US-flagged vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz could face illegal boarding, detention or seizure by Iranian authorities. The advisory said commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman have long been at risk of being hailed, queried, boarded, detained, or seized by Iranian forces. Iranian forces have historically utilized small boats and helicopters during boarding operations and have attempted to force commercial vessels into Iranian territorial waters, including as recently as February 3. The US government is continually assessing the maritime security situation in the region to identify and differentiate threats and safeguard freedom of navigation, ensure the free flow of commerce, and protect US vessels, personnel, and interests, it said. The advisory said: “It is recommended that US-flagged commercial vessels transiting these waters remain as far as possible from Iran’s territorial sea without compromising navigational safety. When transiting eastbound in the Strait of Hormuz, it is recommended that vessels transit close to Oman’s territorial sea.” Talks between the US and Iran, which were mediated by Oman, saw some progress on Friday. February natural gas futures were trading at ₹283.90 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹287.50, down by 1.25 per cent. On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February guargum contracts were trading at ₹10119 in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹10086, up by 0.33 per cent. April dhaniya futures were trading at ₹10984 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹11018, down by 0.31 per cent.

Strait of Hormuz Tensions Keep the Oil Market in a Tight Trading Range - The crude market posted an inside trading day as the market remained focused on the geopolitical tensions between U.S. and Iran after the U.S. issued its guidance for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The market traded sideways and posted a high of $64.71 by mid-morning before it erased its gains. The market sold off to a low of $63.65 ahead of the close, despite U.S. President Donald Trump once again threatening to do “something very tough” if a deal is not reached with Iran on its nuclear program. The March WTI contract settled down 40 cents at $63.96 and the April Brent contract settled down 24 cents at $68.80. The product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 1.81 cents at $2.3988 and the RB market settling down 2.63 cents at $1.9592. The EIA, in its Short Term Energy Outlook, forecast 2026 world oil demand at 104.8 million bpd, unchanged from a previous forecast and forecast demand will increase by 1.3 million barrels to 106.1 million bpd in 2027. U.S. oil demand is forecast at 20.6 million bpd in 2026, also unchanged from a previous forecast, and will increase by 100,000 bpd to 20.7 million bpd in 2027. World oil output in 2026 is expected to average 107.8 million bpd, up 100,000 bpd from a previous forecast and increase by 1 million bpd to 108.8 million bpd in 2027, up 600,000 bpd from a previous estimate. U.S. crude oil output in 2026 is estimated at 13.6 million bpd, up 10,000 bpd from a previous forecast, while output in 2027 is expected to fall to 13.32 million bpd, which was up 70,000 bpd from a previous forecast. The EIA sees the price of WTI crude averaging $53.42/barrel in 2026 and $49.34/barrel in 2027, while the price of Brent crude is seen averaging $57.69/barrel in 2026 and $53/barrel in 2027. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will have to do “something very tough” if a deal is not reached with Iran. Axios and Channel 12 reported that President Trump has said he is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, amid simmering tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program and over its recent crackdown on protesters. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said nuclear talks with the United States allowed Tehran to gauge Washington’s seriousness and showed enough consensus to continue on the diplomatic track. The Trump administration said a sale of oil and gas drilling rights in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve will take place on March 18th, nine days later than originally planned. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said the change stemmed from a regulation requiring the agency to provide public notice of the sale in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the sale. The EIA said expanded U.S. licenses for Venezuela-related deals are expected to restore the South American country’s oil production by mid-2026 to the level it was at prior to a U.S. naval blockade of the country in December.

Oil prices flat as markets await geopolitical and economic news -Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as the market waited for direction from news on diplomatic relations between the US and Iran, efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine and data on the US economy and US oil inventories. Brent futures fell 24 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to settle at $68.80 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 40 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to settle at $63.96. Traders are, "hesitant to press either direction until there is a clearer signal from diplomacy, the next inventory prints, or any confirmation that supply flows are being materially affected rather than merely threatened," Nuclear talks with the US allowed Tehran to gauge Washington's seriousness and showed enough consensus to continue on the diplomatic track, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. US and Iranian diplomats held talks through mediators in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after US President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of new military action. "The market is still focussed on the tensions between Iran and the US," "But unless there are concrete signs of supply disruptions, prices will likely start going lower." About one-fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, making any escalation in the area a major risk to global oil supplies. Iran and fellow Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia. Iran was the third-biggest crude producer in OPEC behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2025, according to US Energy Information Administration data. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she would propose a list of concessions that Europe should demand from Russia as part of a settlement to end the war in Ukraine. The move is part of efforts to squeeze Russian revenue. Russia was the world's third-biggest crude producer behind the US and Saudi Arabia in 2025, according to EIA data. Indian Oil Corporation bought six million barrels of crude from West Africa and the Middle East, traders said, as India steered clear of Russian oil in New Delhi's push for a trade deal with Washington. In Venezuela, expanded US licences are expected to restore the South American OPEC member's oil production by mid-2026 to levels seen before a US naval blockade in December, the EIA said on Tuesday. US retail sales were unexpectedly unchanged in December as households scaled back spending on motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, potentially setting consumer spending and the economy on a slower growth path heading into the new year. Analysts said investors will scrutinize US economic data releases scheduled for this week, including January's non-farm payrolls report on Wednesday and inflation data on Friday, for clues to the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. Central banks, like the Fed, raise and lower interest rates to keep inflation in check. US President Trump has pressured the Fed to lower interest rates, which is politically popular because it reduces consumers' costs and can boost economic growth and energy demand, but could also result in an unwanted rise in inflation. In the energy market, traders are waiting for weekly US oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute trade group on Tuesday and the EIA on Wednesday. Analysts forecast US crude stockpiles rose by 0.1 million barrels last week. That compares with an increase of 4.1 million barrels during the same week last year and an average increase of 1.4 million barrels over the past five years (2021-2025)

Oil Prices Rise as U.S.-Iran Tensions Simmer | OilPrice.com -

• Oil prices, with WTI Crude near $65 and Brent Crude near $70, rose by over 1% early Wednesday due to ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
• The oil market is closely watching U.S.-Iran negotiations and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with President Trump, where he is expected to ask for limits on Iranian uranium enrichment and support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
• The upward pressure on prices has persisted despite an estimated increase of 13.4 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories, with reports of the U.S. considering seizing sanctioned Iranian tankers also contributing to a larger risk premium.

Oil prices rose by 1% early on Wednesday as the U.S.-Iran tensions continue to rise and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. In morning trade in Europe on Wednesday, the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was up by 1.39% to $64.85 per barrel. The front-month futures traded at $64.85. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, traded very close to the $70 per barrel mark, as it was up 1.29% on the day to $69.69. This week, the U.S.-Iran tensions and negotiations have been in the spotlight, with the oil market assessing the chances of a deal.Israel’s Netanyahu said before departing for Washington, D.C., “I will present to the president our outlook regarding the principles of these negotiations.”Israel is expected to ask President Trump to seek a deal that would put an end to Iranian uranium enrichment, and limit its support for Hamas and Hezbollah. “The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said ahead of his trip to the U.S. President Trump has warned the U.S. could send a second aircraft carrier to the region if the talks fail. The ongoing tensions have supported oil prices this week, although they wobbled in Tuesday trade after the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States increased by a whopping 13.4 million barrels in the week ending February 6. The estimated increased more than offset the prior week’s draw of 11.1 million barrels. Reports that the U.S. was considering seizing sanctioned tankers carrying Iranian oil have also pushed prices higher. But such an action with Iran “would be escalatory and would likely see the market needing to price in an even larger risk premium than it already is, given the potential for Iranian retaliation,” ING's commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a Wednesday note.

WTI Slides On Biggest Crude Build In A Year, Production Rebound; But... (w/ Bloomberg graphics) Oil prices continued their recent rally this morning as traders hiked its risk premium as Israeli PM Netanyahu arrived in Washington to pressure President Trump to take a hard line in talks with Iran, even as the API report overnight showed a huge rise in US inventories last week. "Oil trades firmer, with Brent back above USD 69 as Middle East tensions sustain a modest risk premium. The US signaled it is considering seizing tankers carrying Iranian oil, while President Trump threatened to deploy another aircraft carrier should nuclear talks with Iran fail," Saxo Bank noted. The threats of violence in the Persian Gulf - a region that supplies about a fifth of the world's daily oil consumption - comes even as signs supply remains well ahead of demand. "While rhetoric remains belligerent at times, there are no signs, at least for now, of escalation, and the U.S. President believes that Iran will ultimately want to strike a deal on its nuclear missile programme," If API's huge build is confirmed by the official data, the battle between geopolitical risk premia and over-supply gets harder (but admittedly this is very much affected by the freezing storms). Expect another volatile week of EIA data with “significant winter freeze noise,” Macquarie energy strategist Walt Chancellor said referring to last month’s storm. API:

• Crude +13.4mm
• Cushing
• Gasoline +3.3mm
• Distillates -2.0mm

DOE

• Crude +8.53mm (-400k exp) - biggest build since Jan 2025
• Cushing +1.07mm
• Gasoline +1.16mm
• Distillates -2.70mm

The official data confirmed a large crude build (largest since Jan 2025), but smaller than feared from API. Gasoline stocks rose for the 13th straight week while Distillates saw stocks fall for the second week... This build pushed total crude stocks up to their highest since June... Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, rose to 25.1 million barrels, the highest level since April 2025. The weekly build is the largest in almost a month, and the first increase on inventories since the week ending Jan. 16. US Crude production rebounded as expected from its winter storm plunge... Crude prices started giving some back before the inventory data as stocks tumbled following the 'good' jobs news. However, WTI remains higher on the day (back near its highest since January)...

Middle East Tensions Support the Oil Market Despite Large Inventory Build --The crude oil market traded higher on Wednesday as the market weighed the continuing concerns over the possible escalation of tension between the U.S. and Iran against a large build in crude inventories that limited gains. The market, which posted a low of $64.15 in overnight trading, retraced some of its previous losses posted on Tuesday as it rallied to a high of $65.83 early in the session, ahead of the release of the EIA’s weekly petroleum stocks report. The oil market was buoyed by tension in the Middle East, with U.S. President Donald Trump stating that he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal is not reached with Iran, even as the two countries prepare for the next round of talks. However, the market’s gains were limited after the EIA reported a larger than expected build in crude stocks of 8.5 million barrels on the week. The crude market later erased most of its earlier gains during the remainder of the session. The March WTI contract ended the session up 67 cents at $64.63 and the April Brent contract settled up 60 cents at $69.40. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 4.16 cents at $2.4404 and the RB market settling up 1.97 cents at $1.9789. In its monthly report, OPEC forecast world oil demand for crude from the wider OPEC+ producer group will fall by 400,000 bpd in the second quarter from the first three months of this year. World demand for OPEC+ crude will average 42.20 million bpd in the second quarter, down from 42.60 million bpd in the first quarter. Both forecasts were unchanged from last month’s report. In the report, OPEC also left unchanged its forecasts that world oil demand will increase by 1.34 million bpd in 2027 and by 1.38 million bpd this year. OPEC also reported that OPEC+ produced 42.45 million bpd in January 2026, down 439,000 bpd from December 2025, driven by reductions in Kazakhstan, Russia, Venezuela and Iran.On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license to facilitate the exploration and production of oil and gas in Venezuela. The new general license authorizes the provision of U.S. goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela. The permit mandates that any contract for the authorized transactions to be signed with Venezuela’s government or state energy company PDVSA must follow U.S. laws, with disputes to be resolved in the United States. Payments to any sanctioned entity must be made into a U.S.-overseen fund.IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 1.4 million bpd of capacity in the week ending February 13th cutting available refining capacity by 54,000 bpd.IIR Energy said Marathon Petroleum shut its 255,000 bpd refinery in Catlettsburg, Kentucky due to power supply interruption yesterday evening.A hydrocracker at Chevron’s 285,000 bpd El Segundo refinery in southern California remains offline following a large fire, with repair efforts still underway. A large fire erupted in an isomax unit at the refinery in October. The Isomax unit remains down at El Segundo as repairs progress. Industry monitor IIR Energy expects the fire-damaged unit to be back online by the end of March.Valero Energy Corp reported maintenance activities at its 205,000 bpd Houston, Texas refinery.

U.S.-Iran Tensions Push Oil Prices Higher - Oil prices rose in Thursday trading amid investor concerns over escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and potential disruptions to crude supplies from the Gulf region. As of 09:15 Moscow time, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for March traded at $64.86 per barrel, up 0.36% from the previous settlement. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for April traded at $69.58 per barrel, an increase of 0.26% from the previous close. Both benchmarks rose in the previous session, with Brent up 0.87% and WTI up 1.05%, as investor fears over U.S.-Iran tensions outweighed the impact of rising U.S. crude inventories. U.S. President Donald Trump, following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, said no “specific” decision had been made regarding Iran, but emphasized that negotiations with Tehran would continue. The day before, Trump mentioned he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal with Iran is not reached, while Washington and Tehran prepare to resume talks. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held indirect discussions last week in Amman. The timing and location of the next round of talks have not yet been announced. Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, noted that further escalation in the Middle East would be needed for oil prices to exceed $65–66 per barrel, while a de-escalation would likely prompt profit-taking, keeping U.S. crude in the $60–61 range.

Oil Prices Slip As U.S. Inventory Surge, Weak China Data Weigh On Demand Outlook - Crude oil prices edged lower on Thursday as fresh concerns over weakening demand in the United States and China overshadowed geopolitical tensions tied to ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations. Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined 0.39 percent to settle at $69.11 per barrel, compared with $69.38 at the previous close. Meanwhile, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.37 percent to trade at $64.61 per barrel, down from $64.85 recorded in the prior session. The downward pressure followed the release of new inventory data from the United States, which indicated a sharp and unexpected rise in crude and gasoline stockpiles. The data intensified concerns that fuel consumption in the world’s largest oil-consuming nation may be slowing. Figures published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that commercial crude oil inventories increased by approximately 8.5 million barrels in the week ending February 6. The build significantly exceeded analysts’ projections of roughly 700,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories also climbed by about 1.2 million barrels during the same reporting period. Market analysts noted that such a substantial inventory build typically reflects either softer refinery demand or reduced end-user consumption, both of which signal cooling economic momentum. In addition to U.S. demand concerns, oil traders are closely monitoring economic indicators from China, the second-largest consumer of crude globally. Recent inflation data pointed to persistent weakness in domestic demand conditions. China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose just 0.2 percent year-on-year in January, undershooting market expectations. At the same time, the Producer Price Index (PPI) contracted by 1.4 percent, extending an ongoing deflationary trend in the manufacturing sector. The subdued inflation environment suggests restrained consumer spending and industrial activity, reinforcing expectations of softer fuel consumption growth in Asia’s largest economy. Analysts say the combination of weak CPI growth and persistent producer deflation continues to cloud the medium-term demand outlook for energy markets. However, some seasonal support may emerge from increased travel activity ahead of China’s Lunar New Year celebrations, traditionally a period of heightened transportation demand. Still, broader economic signals continue to point to sluggish recovery momentum. Geopolitical developments offered limited counterbalance to the demand-driven weakness. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that his recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not produce definitive outcomes but reiterated that diplomatic engagement with Iran remains ongoing. In comments to Axios earlier in the week, Trump indicated he was considering the deployment of a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, suggesting preparations for possible military escalation should negotiations with Tehran falter. U.S. and Iranian representatives met in Oman on February 6, describing the discussions as constructive. Nevertheless, lingering geopolitical tensions have maintained a modest risk premium in oil prices, preventing deeper losses. For now, traders appear to be prioritizing macroeconomic demand signals over geopolitical risk, leaving crude benchmarks vulnerable to further volatility as fresh economic data emerges from both Washington and Beijing.

Oil prices tumble more than $1 as IEA cuts demand forecast | Khaleej Times - Global oil demand will rise more slowly than previously expected this year, the IEA said on Thursday, while projecting a sizeable surplus despite outages that cut supply in January. Oil prices tumbled by more than $1 a barrel on Thursday as investors gave more weight to the International Energy Agency lowering its global oil demand forecast for 2026 against the receding risk of U.S. attacks on Iran. Brent crude oil futures were down $1.26, or 1.82%, at $68.14 a barrel by 1616 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.24, or 1.92%, to $63.39. Global oil demand will rise more slowly than previously expected this year, the IEA said on Thursday, while projecting a sizeable surplus despite outages that cut supply in January. The Brent and WTI benchmarks reversed gains to turn negative after the IEA's monthly report, having derived support earlier from concerns over the U.S.-Iran backdrop. "It just ran out of steam," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with the Price Futures Group. "The market's doubling down on the lowering demand forecast." On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they had yet to reach a definitive agreement on how to move forward with Iran but that negotiations with Tehran would continue. On Tuesday, Trump had said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal is not reached with Iran. The date and venue of the next round of talks have yet to be announced. A hefty build in US crude inventories had capped the early price gains. U.S. crude inventories rose by 8.5 million barrels to 428.8 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, far exceeding the 793,000 increase expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. US refinery utilisation rates dropped by 1.1 percentage points in the week to 89.4%, EIA data showed. On the supply side, Russia's seaborne oil products exports in January rose by 0.7% from December to 9.12 million metric tons on high fuel output and a seasonal drop in domestic demand, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed.

IEA Demand Downgrade Triggers Sharp Selloff in the Oil Market - The oil market tumbled more than $2 in light of the IEA lowering its global oil demand forecast for 2026. The IEA stated that global oil demand will increase more slowly than previously expected this year, while forecasting a sizeable surplus despite outages that cut supply in January. Also, geopolitical risk seemed to be easing as U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be framing a resolution to the tension with Iran over its nuclear program. The crude market traded sideways in overnight trading before it began to erase its previous gains and sold off sharply throughout the session, posting a low of $62.39 ahead of the close. The March WTI contract settled down $1.79 at $62.84 and the April Brent contract settled down $1.88 at $67.52. The product markets ended the session in negative territory, with the heating oil market settling down 4.77 cents at $2.3927 and the RB market settling down 6.3 cents at $1.9159. The International Energy Agency said world oil demand will increase more slowly than expected this year, while projecting that the global market continues to face a sizeable surplus despite outages that cut supply in January. The IEA, in its monthly oil report, projected global oil supply would exceed demand by 3.73 million bpd in 2026, similar to last month’s projection. A surplus of that size would be about 4% of world demand and is larger than other predictions. World oil demand will increase by 850,000 bpd this year, down 80,000 bpd from last month’s forecast. Referring to the lower demand growth forecast, the IEA said “economic uncertainties and higher oil prices” are weighing on consumption. The IEA trimmed its projection for the growth in world oil supply this year to 2.4 million bpd, from 2.5 million bpd last month, although this is much faster than the rate of demand growth. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States has to make a deal with Iran and thinks a deal could be struck over the next month. Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, told the Financial Times in an interview that the U.S. and Iran appeared ready to compromise to secure a nuclear deal, but broadening talks to cover Tehran’s ballistic missile program would risk “nothing but another war”. He said “It is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries.” On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the U.S. needed to put more pressure on Russia if it wanted the war to end by summer, adding it was unclear whether Moscow would attend U.S.-brokered peace talks next week. He said Ukraine was ready to attend the meeting, which follows two rounds of trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi over the past month that have failed to produce a breakthrough. The Kremlin said that it expected the next round of peace talks on Ukraine to happen soon and that there was already an understanding about their timing and location.

Oil prices slide as Iran risk eases - Crude oil prices edged lower on Friday and looked set for a second straight weekly decline as concerns about a possible US‑Iran conflict eased. The slide matters for global energy markets and traders who had priced geopolitical risk into crude prices. Brent and US benchmarks both reflected weakening risk premiums amid mixed supply and demand signals. Brent crude futures were down about 0.1 per cent near $67.4 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped roughly 0.2 per cent toward $62.7. Both benchmarks fell sharply in the prior session and are on track to register weekly losses of roughly 0.8 per cent for Brent and 1.1 per cent for WTI. Prices had climbed earlier this week on worries the United States might strike key Middle Eastern oil producer Iran over its nuclear programme, but comments from President Donald Trump about a potential deal within the next month helped reduce near‑term geopolitical risk premiums. Analysts said the market also faces oversupply pressures as global forecasts show supply outpacing demand this year. A build in US crude inventories and expectations that Venezuelan output could rise further have added to the bearish backdrop, tempering earlier gains. Traders will continue to monitor geopolitical developments and demand outlooks for additional direction. For now, the easing of conflict fears and hints of broader supply growth are keeping downward pressure on crude prices as markets adjust to evolving fundamentals.

Oil prices drop on report that OPEC+ is leaning towards output increases -Oil prices fell ‌on Friday after a Reuters report said that OPEC+ was leaning towards a resumption in oil production increases and a softening of investor ​concern over potential U.S.-Iran conflict that could affect supply. Brent crude futures lost 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.41 a barrel by 1306 ​GMT after ​falling 2.7% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $62.69 after a 2.8% decline the previous day. Both oil benchmarks were poised to register weekly declines, with ⁠Brent and WTI set to drop by 1% and 1.3% respectively. Prices had strengthened earlier in the week on concerns that the U.S. could attack Middle Eastern oil producer Iran over its nuclear programme. But comments on Thursday from U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. could make a deal with Iran over the next month drove ​down prices on ‌Thursday. U.S. media outlets ⁠reported late on Thursday, ⁠however, that the U.S. was sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East. Away from the Middle East, the Kremlin ​said on Friday that the next round of peace talks on Ukraine will take ‌place next week. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Moscow and Washington have ⁠been discussing bilateral trade and economic cooperation. He said Moscow hoped that dialogue would continue, but added that it was unlikely such discussions would move beyond talk before the conflict in Ukraine was settled. Price pressure has also come from the International Energy Agency's latest forecasts, saying in its monthly report that global oil demand growth this year will be weaker than previously expected, with overall supply set to exceed demand. Thursday's price falls were amplified by U.S. data showing a massive build in crude stockpiles and growing expectations that increased Venezuelan supply could soon hit the market, IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. "There is an expectation that Venezuelan ‌oil supply will return to pre-blockade levels in the months ahead," he ⁠said, adding that supply is expected to rise from 880,000 barrels per day ​to about 1.2 million bpd. The U.S. Treasury will issue more allowances easing sanctions on Venezuelan energy this week, a White House energy official said on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said on Thursday that U.S.-controlled oil sales from Venezuela ​have totalled more ‌than $1 billion since the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January and will ⁠bring in a further $5 billion in the ​next few months

Oil prices settle slightly higher as optimism around US inflation data outweighs OPEC supply concerns (Reuters) - Oil prices settled marginally higher on Friday after data showed an overall slowdown in U.S. inflation, helping offset supply concerns as OPEC+ is leaning towards a resumption in production increases. Brent crude futures closed 23 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $67.75 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 5 cents, or 0.08% higher at $62.89. Both benchmarks posted weekly declines after incurring near 3% losses on Thursday. Brent settled down about 0.5%, while WTI lost 1% in the week. U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in January amid cheaper gasoline prices and a moderation in rental inflation. "Looks like inflation is stabilizing. So, I think that's going to be a boon for interest rates to probably continue to move a little bit lower. And I think as rates start to move lower... that's a positive to the economy," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. "The negative is going to be that OPEC could possibly increase production a little further," he added. Prices fell earlier in the session as investors reacted to a Reuters report that OPEC is leaning towards a resumption in oil output increases from April, ahead of upcoming peak summer fuel demand, and amid firmer crude prices owing to tensions over U.S.-Iran relations. On the U.S. supply side, Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by three to 409 this week. Oil prices had strengthened earlier in the week on concerns that the U.S. could attack Middle Eastern oil producer Iran over its nuclear programme. But comments on Thursday from U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington could make a deal with Iran over the next month drove down prices on Thursday. The Pentagon, however, is sending an aircraft carrier from the Caribbean to the Middle East, U.S. officials said on Friday, a move that would put two carriers in the region as tensions soar between the United States and Iran. Russia, meanwhile, said on Friday that the next round of peace talks on Ukraine will take place next week. Negotiations with Iran and Russia will be the near-term market movers, Kissler said, adding that near-term global crude supplies remain ample and crude futures likely have a $5 to $7 per barrel geopolitical premium baked in. The U.S. also eased sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licenses that allow global energy companies to operate oil and gas projects in the OPEC member and for other companies to negotiate contracts to bring in fresh investments. Oil sales from Venezuela controlled by the U.S. have totalled over $1 billion so far and in the next few months will bring in another $5 billion, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told NBC News on Thursday. Money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to February 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday.

Ukrainian Strikes Take a Heavy Toll on Russia’s Oil Refineries - Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries cost Russia’s oil and gas sector as much as $12.9 billion (1 trillion Russian rubles) last year, according to a local insurance broker. Direct losses for the sector topped $1.3 billion (100 billion rubles) in 2025. If these are added to the indirect losses and missed sales and profits, the total losses for Russia’s oil and gas industry amounted to $13 billion, Yevgeny Borovikov, deputy CEO at insurance broker Mains, told Russian daily Kommersant. Last year, Russian insurers booked losses as insurance claims for sabotage and terrorism skyrocketed amid intensified Ukrainian attacks on key infrastructure, including energy infrastructure and refineries, market participants told Kommersant. Crude oil deliveries to Russia’s refineries slumped in 2025 to the lowest level in at least 15 years, mostly due to unplanned outages in the second half of the year following intensified Ukrainian drone strikes on key Russian energy infrastructure.Last year, crude supply to Russian refineries slumped to 228.34 million tons. The decline in deliveries also led to lower crude processing rates, which dropped by 1.7% in 2025 from a year earlier, according to data cited Kommersant last month.Analysts attributed the drop in supplies to unscheduled maintenance at refineries following “a series of external factors” in the second half of 2025, while the Russian Energy Ministry has not commented on the matter.Russia has not publicly commented on or shared details of any refinery shutdowns or unplanned outages. In the second half of 2025, Ukraine intensified attacks on Russia’s oil refineries, depots, and export terminals in an escalation of the war on energy infrastructure, which has also seen Russia targeting Ukraine’s gas producing facilities and gas and power distribution networks as temperatures dropped. At one point in September, nearly 15% of Russia’s crude processing capacity was offline and in need of repairs following drone hits.

India Moves Against the Shadow Fleet With First-Ever Tanker Seizures - India has seized three oil tankers involved in oil smuggling in what is believed to be the country’s first move against the growing shadow fleet of tankers. The Indian Coast Guard has said that it busted on February 6 “an international oil-smuggling racket” in a land and sea operation. “The syndicate exploited mid-sea transfers in international waters to move cheap oil from conflict-ridden regions to motor tankers, evading duties owed to coastal states,” the Coast Guard added. The authorities intercepted three suspect vessels west of Mumbai.“The vessels known to frequently change identity are being escorted to Mumbai for further legal action, reinforcing India’s role as a net provider of maritime security and guardian of the rules-based international order,” the Coast Guard said. This is the first time India has moved to take action against shadow fleet tankers, sources with knowledge of India’s shipping industry told Bloomberg on Tuesday.India’s move to seize vessels of the dark fleet follows intensified efforts from Western countries, most of all the U.S. and EU, to act more decisively against shadow vessels making illicit trips to deliver sanctioned oil.The move also comes as the United States is pressuring India to halt imports of Russian crude oil as part of the U.S.-India trade deal. Indian refiners are still avoiding Russian oil as deals for delivery in April begin to be made. India’s largest state-owned refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has boosted purchases of crude oil from West Africa and the Middle East, as New Delhi steers clear of Russian crude in the wake of the trade deal with the United States. Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), as well as the top private refiner Reliance Industries, have not made any fresh spot orders for Russian crude in the past week, sources with direct knowledge of the oil procurement deals told Bloombergon Monday.

Ceasefire Deal in Place, But Siege Continues for Syrian Kurds in Kobane - A deal between the Syrian government and the Kurdish SDF remains more or less in place in the Hasakeh Governorate, with the central government putting more and more of the former Kurdish-held territory under direct control.But the latest ceasefire not immediately collapsing like all the others doesn’t mean the situation is really resolved, as the major Kurdish city of Kobane remains under a state of effective siege, with massive displacement and reports of looting of Kurdish villages in the area.The humanitarian situation is increasingly worsening, according to the UN, even though they also noted a significant decline in the fighting. As recently as Sunday, the Kobane government noted that the Aleppo Governorate’s promises to withdraw troops and lift the siege hadn’t amounted to much of anything, beyond governorate-level officials seeking to formally rename the city to its Arabic name, Ayn al-Arab. Across the rest of what was formally Rojava, the autonomous Syrian Kurdistan region, major demonstrations were reported in the big cities, centering on calls for the Syrian constitution to formally recognize the rights of the Kurdish population and of women. Rallies against the siege of Rojava were also held by the Kurdish diaspora in Europe.Seeking to codify Kurdish rights in the constitution is a big issue for the minority. President Ahmed al-Sharaa last month issued a decree promising to respect their rights in an attempt to tamp down unrest.The Kurds, however, noted that former President Assad issued similar decrees promising concessions to the Kurds, and that government officials largely ignored things like the decree promise to grant citizenship to stateless Kurds in Hasakeh Governorate. They instead want an actual constitutional codification of those rights, to preclude it being a temporary promise by a single ruler.

Six Killed, Scores Wounded as Saudi-backed Forces Shoot Separatist Protesters in South Yemen - Rallies in favor of the separatist STC group in South Yemen continue to grow, and while the largest have been in the city of Aden, substantial protests are being reported elsewhere, including the Shabwa Governorate capital of Ataq.The rally in Ataq turned ugly today, however, when demonstrators were reported to have attempted to enter a building to remove the Yemeni flag from it, and pro-Saudi forces aligned with the self-proclaimed “government” opened fire on them, killing at least six. Scores of protesters were also reportedly wounded in the incident, and the reported toll continues to rise, as the “government” attempts to revise the narrative away from silencing dissent and “dispersing” protesters to claims that the protesters were “heavily armed” and actually started the fighting. There’s no evidence of the protesters in Ataq being armed at all, and local activists insisted the protests were entirely peaceful, with a focus on slogans calling for the withdrawal of Saudi military assets from the country.“Government” officials also claimed the protesters were affiliated with the STC, which is a curious claim because they also insist that the STC doesn’t even exist anymore since the Saudis kidnapped their negotiating team last month and announced that they agreed to disband.

Eight Muslim Countries Strongly Condemn Israel's Steps To Tighten Grip on Occupied West Bank - A group of eight Muslim countries issued a statement on Monday strongly condemning a raft of measures approved by the Israeli cabinet on Sunday to tighten Israel’s grip on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which are explicitly designed to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.According to a statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, Indonesia, and Pakistan “condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people.” The ministers also “expressed their absolute rejection of these illegal actions, which constitute a blatant violation of international law, undermine the two-state solution, and represent an assault on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to realize their independent and sovereign state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.”Each country that signed the statement is a member of President Trump’s new “Board of Peace,” formed to oversee the White House’s Gaza ceasefire plan, which does nothing to address the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the dramatic increase in settlement expansion and settler violence against Palestinians. The new measures approved by the Israeli cabinet include changes to land registry laws to speed up the expansion of ilegal Jewish settlements, giving Israel more control of religious sites, and increasing Israeli enforcement in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The PA has also strongly condemned the changes, calling them “de facto annexation” and urging the US to prevent the further displacement of Palestinians.Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a position in the Defense Ministry that puts him in charge of expanding settlements, vowed in a statement on the changes to Israel’s West Bank occupation that he will “continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,” language he frequently uses when announcing new settlement projects.

Israeli Court Denies Life-Saving Cancer Treatment to 5-Year-Old Registered in Gaza - Palestine Chronicle - An Israeli court has rejected a request to allow a five-year-old Palestinian boy suffering from aggressive cancer to receive life-saving treatment, ruling that his registration as a resident of the Gaza Strip bars him from entering Israel even though he has lived in the occupied West Bank for years. The Jerusalem District Court dismissed a petition seeking permission to transfer the child from Ramallah to Tel HaShomer Hospital near Tel Aviv for a bone marrow transplant and antibody immunotherapy — procedures unavailable in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, doctors treating the boy determined that the treatment was urgently required. Despite the child being in the occupied West Bank since 2022 for medical care, Israeli authorities classified him as a Gaza resident according to population registry records, placing him under Israel’s post-October 7 restrictions on Gaza entry. Judge Ram Winograd ruled on Sunday that granting an exception would undermine the broader policy preventing Gaza residents from entering Israel, writing that the petitioners failed to demonstrate a meaningful distinction between the child and other patients barred under the restrictions. The boy’s mother described the ruling as a “death sentence” for her son, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, adding that the boy’s father died of cancer three years earlier. Before October 2023, Palestinian patients from Gaza could apply for permits to reach specialized hospitals in East Jerusalem and Israel, but access was never guaranteed. Medical organizations and academic studies documented that roughly one-third of patient permit applications were delayed or denied in recent years, including many cancer cases, significantly increasing mortality risks for critically ill patients. Patients are forced to seek treatment outside Gaza because advanced oncology services do not exist in the territory. Gaza lacks radiotherapy facilities and comprehensive cancer centers, while the Israeli blockade restricts the entry of medical equipment, medications and specialist training, leaving hospitals unable to provide many life-saving treatments locally. Following the start of the genocidal war on October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation authorities largely halted medical exit permits for Gaza residents, including patients who had already begun treatment programs. The Guardian reported that Israeli human rights organization Gisha, which pursued the case in court, said the ruling effectively prioritizes registry classification over medical urgency even in the absence of any security allegations against the patient or family.