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Mon, 13 Jul 2026 08:15:00 +0000 Ukraine Prime Minister's Shock Resignation Marks Start Of Broader Zelensky Cabinet Reshuffle
Ukraine Prime Minister's Shock Resignation Marks Start Of Broader Zelensky Cabinet Reshuffle
Ukrainian President Zelensky is undertaking a dramatic cabinet reshuffle, at a moment Kiev sees itself as having military momentum against
Read more.....
Ukraine Prime Minister's Shock Resignation Marks Start Of Broader Zelensky Cabinet Reshuffle
Ukrainian President Zelensky is undertaking a dramatic cabinet reshuffle, at a moment Kiev sees itself as having military momentum against Russia with its non-stop drone assaults on Russian energy sites.
The country's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has confirmed Sunday her shock resignation , which has come as a major surprise to many lawmakers and unleashed speculation about what's behind it . She has held the office since July 2025, and helped spearhead major reconstruction funding deals with the United States and Europe.
US Treasury image
Svyrydenko announced on social media she was "proud to have had the honor of leading the government during one of the most difficult periods in Ukraine’s modern history."
She further described that she discussed "next steps" with Zelensky but without providing any details. "I remain ready to serve the Ukrainian state and carry out every task aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position, defending our national interests and bringing a just peace closer," she said.
According to a backgrounder on Svyrydenko :
Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s former economy minister, was named prime minister in July 2025 at the age of 39 after playing a lead role in securing a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the U.S., seen as an important way of tying U.S. interests to Ukraine’s security.
...He also said he had offered Svyrydenko the opportunity to lead “a new, important area” in Ukraine’s relations with a key international partner.
One unnamed Ukrainian lawmaker conceded to national media that "It's a strange situation" given that "Cabinet resignations are generally a last resort ."
The official continued, "They're usually something you would expect in the fall, when the political season begins, and people expect some political changes, since there are no elections."
"Maybe there are some extraordinary reasons for the reshuffle... It looks like a preemptive move ," the person added, while expressing that lawmakers sees no obvious reason behind the prime minister's removal.
Zelensky in a statement suggested a broader government overhaul is underway. "Ukraine is changing its political strategy."
"The Cabinet of Ministers needs to be renewed," Zelensky said. "Each priority area of foreign policy will be assigned to a specific person with substantial experience who is capable of implementing what we agree on at the leaders’ level and what the Ukrainian people expect," he described further of an impending reshuffle. Who is next on the chopping block?
Tyler Durden
Mon, 07/13/2026 - 04:15 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 07:30:00 +0000 The Big Lie: France Urged To Embrace Robotics Over Immigration
The Big Lie: France Urged To Embrace Robotics Over Immigration
The Big Lie: France Urged To Embrace Robotics Over Immigration
Via Remix News,
French political figure Éric Zemmour is arguing that robotics represents the true economic future of France, offering a technological solution to labor shortages in factories and farms rather than relying on mass immigration.
“Robotics is the economic future of France. Robots will provide our factories and our farmers with the arms they are missing. France can choose technology rather than migratory submersion through work. For an eternal, powerful, and sovereign France in modernity: more robots, fewer immigrants,” wrote Zemmour on X.
Zemmour’s post directly references an interview conducted by French outlet Le Journal du Dimanche with Éric Marchiol, Renault’s director of industrial metaverse and quality.
In the interview, Marchiol detailed Renault’s development of Calvin, a new humanoid robot created in partnership with French company Wandercraft. Designed for industrial environments, Calvin is compact, capable of handling heavy loads of up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds), and adaptable to real factory conditions — such as navigating uneven packaging or small steps on assembly lines.
Renault already operates around 11,000 traditional industrial robots and 8,000 autonomous guided vehicles. The Calvin robot represents the next generation: more flexible, intelligent, and space-efficient than older fixed-arm systems. The company is testing it for repetitive, physically demanding tasks like tire handling on fast-moving production lines.
Marchiol emphasized that robotization is essential for competitiveness: “Without automation and without robotization, there is no more competitive industry.” He noted France currently has about 190 robots per 10,000 workers — significantly behind China at 380 and Germany.
The goal, he said, is to deploy these humanoid robots widely across Renault and its suppliers within the next four to five years, targeting difficult-to-fill, physically strenuous jobs.
Robots over mass immigration
As Remix News has extensively reported over the last years , automation, robotics, and now artificial intelligence are increasingly seen as the primary solution to labor shortages, and mass immigration may even hinder the development of these technologies. Western employers, instead of developing this groundbreaking technology to work in factories and agriculture, are often still relying on human labor promised to them by Western liberal leaders. Often, this human labor comes with enormous welfare and cultural assimilation costs.
Zemmour, like many others, is pointing to this automation drive as the real solution to labor shortages. He wrote that Renault’s initiative as proof that France can solve its industrial labor gaps through innovation instead of large-scale immigration.
Remix News has run a series entitled “the big immigration lie ” detailing the shift in thinking on immigration, with the Asian countries serving as the main counter example to Europe’s present course of open borders. Instead of embracing cheap labor and millions of culturally alien immigrants, Asian countries like Japan, China, South Korea, and Taiwan have focused on their native populations and implementing harsh immigration restrictions.
These Asians countries now lead in many areas over Europe, including AI, robotics, renewable energies, electric cars, and automation technology in factories.
Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock and arguably one of the most powerful men on the planet, openly said last year that the countries with xenophobic immigration policies are going to have a higher standard of living, faster productivity growth, and will be better able to accommodate the social impact of artificial intelligence advances over the coming years.
“You know, we always used to think shrinking population is a cause for negative growth. But in my conversations with the leadership of these large developed countries that have xenophobic immigration policies, they don’t allow anybody to come in, shrinking unemployment, excuse me, shrinking demographics. These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology. And if the promise, I didn’t say it’s going to happen, but as a promise of all that transforms productivity, which most of us think it will, we’ll be able to elevate the standard of living of countries and the standard of living of individuals even with shrinking populations,” said Fink.
“And so the paradigm of negative population growth is going to be changing. And the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations,” he said.
When Fink talks about xenophobic countries, he is talking about countries like South Korea, China, and Japan, where robotics and AI are being used to deal with the demographic situation instead of mass immigration.
Read more here...
Tyler Durden
Mon, 07/13/2026 - 03:30 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:45:00 +0000 How Global Population Growth Is Slowing
How Global Population Growth Is Slowing
How Global Population Growth Is Slowing
According to UN calculations , the world's population will cross the 10-billion mark in 2061 .
However, as Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports , by the end of the century, this number will have started to decline slightly, having reached a high around 10.3 billion in 2084. Leading up to this reversal, the growth of the global populace has actually been slowing down for decades, as seen in numbers by the UN Population Division. The organization celebrated World Population Day on Saturday.
You will find more infographics at Statista
While the above figures are according to the UN's medium scenario of moderate fertility, a case where global birth rates sink even more drastically would result in a reversal of population growth already around the early 2060s, at a high of just under 10 billion people on Earth.
This would result in a world population around 9 billion again by the end of the century.
Some academics believe that a global population decline at an even faster rate is possible. According to an widely cited article in medical journal The Lancet published in 2020, the world population is expected at 8.8 billion in 2100, comparable to the UN's low-fertility scenario . In case of rapid global development, the reseachers believe it could be as low as 6.3 billion by that time.
The number of people in the world exceeded 8 billion for the first time on November 15, 2022 , according to UN calculations.
This was more than three times as many as in 1950. The rapid growth of the past was due to the gradual increase in life expectancy as a result of improvements in healthcare, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It was also the result of high and consistent birth rates in some countries, for example China and India.
At present, the country adding most people to the world population is still India, while African countries like the Central African Republic, Chad and Somalia have the highest birth rates.
By contrast, the list of countries with the fastest population decline is dominated by eastern and southeastern European states, which have to contend with high emigration figures due to the wage and development gap with western Europe as well as falling birth rates.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 07/13/2026 - 02:45 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 NATO's Last Stand?
NATO's Last Stand?
NATO's Last Stand?
Authored by Matthew Andersson via AmericanThinker.com,
Critics may be misreading the recent NATO summit.
It looks to them as if the U.S. is unilaterally siding with Europe against Russia.
President Trump is smarter: he knows who has the winning hand, and his direct communications with his peers, Xi and Putin, are not always public.
President Trump's earliest critical instincts toward the EU and NATO still hold. While the U.S. is currently extending them some diplomatic courtesy and limited support, Europe is ultimately surrounded on all sides by powers that make it irrelevant in global influence terms. Europe has put itself into this predicament, due to its own domestic economic decline from bad policy choices. It is using war as a way to revive its fortunes. Its odds are long.
The EU is surrounded economically by the U.S. to the west; by Russia and China to the east, by a vast Arctic territory to the north that it cannot control, and by India and a rising Middle East power, Israel, to the south. Europe has no strategic maneuvering room. It has limited prospects to reemerge as a serious power, and NATO is long past relevancy, and solvency.
Since his first term, President Trump has been right about Russia , and NATO .
Being “right” means understanding Russia’s long-term economic and trade importance, and appreciating its military prowess. Along with China and the U.S., it makes up the superpower triad. Being right also means he understands that the days are numbered for the EU and NATO , and that the world has changed without them.
After the Anchorage meeting with President Trump, President Putin invited his counterpart to Moscow: Trump's guarded reply was a reminder that productive relations may be welcome by both leaders, but each is also operating in and surrounded by a complex defense and foreign affairs tradition that doesn’t trust the other side. Some have called this the “crucible of belief ,” and past experience is hard to overcome. Change will happen slowly.
Europe is part of that shared Eurasian landmass, and its security, but “Europe” is not a unified, single country. Even within its own limited Western sphere, it has been a region constantly engaged in rivalry and war. There was a period after Napoleon — roughly a hundred years — where relative peace was enjoyed. But the 20th century has been just the opposite: a nearly unbroken chain of war — regional, revolutionary, world, and cold — and now, a new 21st century war is increasingly seen as inevitable.
There are many political, social, and institutional explanations, but economic decline is at the heart of why the EU is determined to provoke Russia (and why it is pleading before the U.S.).
If Germany, France and the U.K. were strongly led, however, with robust domestic industrial growth, controlled borders via immigration, and with less external energy dependence, if not facing domestic energy bankruptcy, such a conflict would not be necessary, or given any serious consideration.
In recent history, one only has to review Angela Merkel’s disastrous “green energy” policy, deindustrialization, open borders, and the idling of German nuclear power, as a strong explanation. She fell completely for naive progressive ideology which asserts that oil no longer matters.
But for President Trump, the U.S. was going down the same path.
France and the U.K. are just as bad in their string of weak leaders, uncontrolled borders, domestic violence from cultures foreign to their own, and deindustrialization and outsourcing. It is little wonder that Europe’s “leaders” are now economically trapped, and are turning to war as a desperate form of economic recovery.
NATO’s putative head, Mark Rutte, was recently in the White House, pitching for war and U.S. financial backing, with slides and charts that looked more like a failed business recovery plan. The old saying “be careful what you ask for” may be relevant, as NATO is functioning as a proxy for Western Europe, and looking to the U.S. as its pre-bankruptcy sponsor. President Trump has seen this before.
There are obviously many other interests and players driving this strategy, but German-French-British decline may be the largest factor. Scandinavia is somewhat immune, especially Norway with its natural resources and capital, but it is susceptible to European political and policy contamination.
Economic historian Walt Rostow, a White House national security advisor to U.S. presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson, provided a powerful economic model that goes a long way to partly explain why Eurasia, and Europe, have always been unstable and in conflict. His “The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto,” maps how countries grow in relative stages of maturity.
But it also predicts how countries will turn to war when those stages are challenged, interrupted, or allowed through poor leadership, or state interference, to stagnate or backslide. Europe has slid backwards from an advanced industrial and colonial power, to an effective open border welfare state, led by a weak political class with no plans, ideas, commitment, or national loyalties.
Russia’s Kremlin has recently announced that its Special Military Operation in Ukraine has been converted to formal war. While predicting its development is problematic, Russia's power advantage is so overwhelming that NATO can only been seen as engaging in effective suicide. Given Europe’s cultural tendency to existentialist gloom, perhaps it is understandable.
When war finally stops, as it must, it usually results in new borders, relationships, alliances, and deals being formed. NATO and Europe seem to be counting on the chaos of war as a path out of their own weakness .
The U.S. may lend some technical military support to them as a simple matter of arms sales, but this may be their own self-inflicted, poisoned chalice.
And in the end, the U.S., Russia, and China will simply resume their global dominance and power alliance. The EU will likely collapse or shrink; NATO will finally be decommissioned, and the old Atlantic Alliance will bypass Europe and align economically with Eurasia’s east and south — because that is where the power is .
That is what the stages of growth predict.
The EU is also going to be further eclipsed commercially and militarily and by a rising Israel-dominated Middle East, because they know what they want, they have a plan, and they know how to fight. European bureaucrats like Rutte, Macron, Merz, and von der Leyen do not , and face an interesting fate when they finally realize that this battle is likely their last political stand.
The citizens of Europe may be relieved.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 07/13/2026 - 02:00 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 03:20:00 +0000 Muslims, Marxists, And Mayhem In Minnesota
Muslims, Marxists, And Mayhem In Minnesota
Muslims, Marxists, And Mayhem In Minnesota
Authored by Eric Utter via AmericanThinker.com,
Many have been asking lately if the onslaught of Islam or the rapid rise of Marxism is more likely to destroy the United States.
The correct answer is that they both have the capability to do so.
If unchecked, together they will undoubtedly see to our demise.
Which one would ultimately prevail has been the subject of a few articles of late and will be the subject of one of mine in the not-too-distant future.
This one, however, will focus on Muslims and Islam. I will attempt to address the advance of the Democratic Socialists of America/Marxism/communism in the coming days, as well.
First off, it should not need to be said (yet again) that Islam and Sharia law are utterly, irretrievably incompatible with a free democratic republic, let alone a country founded on Christian principles and the Judeo-Christian work ethic.
Islam demands the subjugation of all non-Muslims, or “infidels.” Virtually all the nations of the Middle East and part of Asia that are now Muslim were once Christian. There is a reason for that. And it is not peaceful, logical, rational persuasion. The simple, inarguable historical fact is that, whenever Muslim populations swell in a given country, that country is almost certainly fated to be ruled by the dictates of the Quran. This is a virtual certainty unless “good” Christians (and others) find it in themselves to fight back. (And, at some point, one has to ask how “good, decent and moral” is a person who lets his family, neighbors, and nation be usurped by those who are O.K. with child rape and who worship violence and death.)
And then there is the staggering fraud. It appears that much of the money local, state, and federal governments extract from hard-working taxpayers is subsequently stolen, much of it by Somali fraudsters.
This is over and above the mind-blowing amounts of free stuff bestowed on illegal aliens, many of whom are Muslim.
Contemptible asshats like Govs. Gavin “Slick” Newsom and “Tampon” Timmy Walz pretend to disapprove of this unprecedented and illegal transfer of wealth from citizens to “undocumented immigrants,” even as they foster and cover for it.
And they are both still in office. Sad and incredible.
So New York City Mayor Mamdani‘s wife flies off to an Islamic retreat on the island of Mallorca on July 3rd, the day before America’s 250th birthday celebration, and one of his top officials made plans to meet with Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations without informing anyone, a meeting called off after the State Department got wind of it.
The People’s Republic of Minnesota sports the highest Somali population in the nation, one buttressed by scams of almost unimaginable magnitude.
From the Feeding Our Future scam to countless childless daycares to sham trucking companies, autism centers, and home health care firms, this state sports more than one town nicknamed “Little Mogadishu.”
One of those cities, St. Cloud, hosted a Somalia Independence Day celebration on July 3rd, during which a U.S. flag was flown upside down on a city flagpole .
Event organizers outlandishly claimed that it was an accident, unintentional, a mistake. Sure. Not one of the event organizers, 500-plus attendees, local politicians, or members of organizations such as the AFL-CIO and the absurdly named Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), who had booths at the festive extravaganza, noticed the “error?” The folks who slowly ran Old Glory up the pole never noticed that it was inverted? Right. And Dr. Fauci was entirely unaware of the gain-of function research at the Wuhan Lab.
Speaking of New Somalia Minnesota, which has already changed its flag, apparently to honor its countless Somali Muslim “refugees,” an increasing number of kids in ever-growing Somali youth gangs are expressing their appreciation for all the state has done to welcome and care for them by shooting some of its residents.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said that there have been more than 100 Somali gang-related shootings in just the past two years. Predictably, this fact prompted far-left Democratic Minneapolis City Council vice president Jamal Osman to state: “Somali youth deserve investment, dignity, opportunity, and respect — not public officials using their platform to stereotype them.” Shockingly, Osman himself is a Somali immigrant. I mean, so they shot a few people. They’re just rambunctious kids. Cut them some slack! Right?
If the stupefying immigrant fraud and attendant violence isn’t reined in by “authorities,” fewer and fewer people will keep playing by the rules. Understandably. Societal collapse will shortly ensue.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 07/12/2026 - 23:20 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 02:45:00 +0000 Women Over 40 Are Now Having More Babies Than American Teenagers
Women Over 40 Are Now Having More Babies Than American Teenagers
Americans are increasingly reaching major life milestones later than previous generations, and parenthood is no exception.
While overall U.S. fertility rates h
Read more.....
Women Over 40 Are Now Having More Babies Than American Teenagers
Americans are increasingly reaching major life milestones later than previous generations, and parenthood is no exception.
While overall U.S. fertility rates have fallen for decades, births among women over 40 are moving in the opposite direction. Rising education levels, delayed marriage, and high housing costs have all contributed to a growing share of women waiting longer to have children.
Using newly published research based on National Vital Statistics System data, this map, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows where births among women ages 40–49 are most common across the country.
Births After 40 Are Growing Nationwide
For the first time, women over 40 are having more babies than teenagers. Since 1990, the share of U.S. births to women 40 and older has more than tripled, reaching 4.3% in 2025, while birth rates among women ages 40–49 rose 24% over the past decade.
The table below highlights where births among women ages 40–49 were most common in 2024. Washington, D.C., recorded the highest rate in the nation at 13.6 births per 1,000 women, followed by New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii.
State
Births per 1,000 Women
2015 (Ages 40-49)
Births per 1,000 Women
2024 (Ages 40-49)
% Change
District of Columbia
13.1
13.6
4%
New York
8.3
10.5
27%
New Jersey
7.4
9.8
32%
Hawaii
8.6
9.7
13%
California
8.4
9.6
14%
Maryland
7.0
9.2
31%
Massachusetts
6.9
9.0
30%
Connecticut
6.0
8.5
42%
Virginia
6.3
8.0
27%
Delaware
5.0
7.8
56%
Alaska
5.8
7.7
33%
Washington
6.4
7.6
19%
Florida
5.8
7.5
29%
Colorado
6.1
7.3
20%
Minnesota
5.5
7.3
33%
Rhode Island
5.2
7.2
38%
Illinois
6.0
6.9
15%
Texas
5.9
6.8
15%
Georgia
5.3
6.5
23%
Nebraska
5.5
6.5
18%
Nevada
6.0
6.5
8%
Utah
6.4
6.5
2%
Pennsylvania
4.7
6.4
36%
Oregon
5.8
6.3
9%
Vermont
3.7
6.3
70%
North Carolina
4.6
6.2
35%
Arizona
5.7
6.1
7%
Idaho
5.2
6.1
17%
New Hampshire
4.2
6.0
43%
South Dakota
4.8
5.8
21%
Maine
3.5
5.7
63%
North Dakota
4.5
5.7
27%
South Carolina
4.1
5.7
39%
Wisconsin
4.3
5.6
30%
Tennessee
3.8
5.5
45%
Indiana
4.0
5.4
35%
Kansas
4.6
5.4
17%
Iowa
4.0
5.3
33%
Michigan
4.2
5.3
26%
Montana
4.9
5.3
8%
Ohio
4.0
5.2
30%
New Mexico
4.3
5.1
19%
Louisiana
3.9
5.0
28%
Missouri
3.7
4.9
32%
Kentucky
3.4
4.6
35%
Alabama
3.1
4.5
45%
Oklahoma
4.0
4.5
13%
Wyoming
4.4
4.5
2%
Arkansas
3.3
4.3
30%
Mississippi
2.8
3.8
36%
West Virginia
2.9
3.3
14%
???? U.S. Average
5.8
7.2
24%
Many of the highest-ranking states are both highly educated and expensive, with steep housing costs increasingly delaying homeownership and parenthood.
By contrast, Southern states account for seven of the 10 lowest birth rates among women in their 40s, including West Virginia, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Still, most have seen double-digit growth since 2015, highlighting how later parenthood is rising even in lower-rate states.
How Education Is Reshaping America’s Birth Rates
The average age of first-time mothers reached a record 27.5 years in 2023, rising from 21 in 1972.
Compared with previous decades, Americans are also spending more years in higher education. With more time spent attaining degrees and advancing their careers, women are increasingly deferring childbirth into their 30s and 40s.
Researchers have also found that older parents often bring greater financial resources. Studies suggest that children of older mothers perform better on math and behavioral assessments, largely due to higher levels of parental education and income rather than age itself.
Later Parenthood Is Becoming More Visible
Births after 40 remain uncommon compared with women in their 20s or 30s. Yet their rapid growth highlights how much the timeline of adulthood has changed.
Previous generations often married, purchased homes, and started families in their 20s. Today, many Americans spend longer pursuing education, building careers, and saving for housing before reaching those milestones.
As those timelines shift, later parenthood is becoming a more visible part of the American family landscape.
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the cost of raising a child in every state.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 07/12/2026 - 22:45 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 02:10:00 +0000 US Unleashes More Attack Waves On Iran As Trump Boasts 'We Bombed The Hell Out Of Them'; 5th Fleet Navy HQ Reportedly Struck
US Unleashes More Attack Waves On Iran As Trump Boasts 'We Bombed The Hell Out Of Them'; 5th Fleet Navy HQ Reportedly Struck
update(2210ET): The Pentagon has confirmed late in the day Sunday that US forces
Read more.....
US Unleashes More Attack Waves On Iran As Trump Boasts 'We Bombed The Hell Out Of Them'; 5th Fleet Navy HQ Reportedly Struck
update(2210ET): The Pentagon has confirmed late in the day Sunday that US forces have continues launching more strikes on Iran throughout the day, describing that the latest wave of strikes are aimed to "degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners."
US Central Command has been providing more frequent updates throughout the day, as the conflict intensifies. "At 5 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching more strikes against Iran to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz," it stated. "The Commander in Chief has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable." According to some emerging targeting info :
Direct hits reported on US Navy's 5th Fleet HQ in Bahrain : WSN and Noor News
Explosion reported at US bases in Kuwait : Tasnim
Explosions have also been heard in Iran’s Qeshm Island as well as Jask, state TV is reporting.
Iran’s state TV is reporting explosions near Sirik and west of Bandar Abbas.
CNN: Within past hour, IRGC fired at commercial shipping
Trump was on NBC’s Meet the Press a few hours ago, and described Saturday’s US strikes on the Iranian military by saying, “We bombed the hell out of them.”
And more of the latest from Trump :
Also Sunday, President Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the strait was open to commercial traffic.
“It’s open. We bombed the hell out of them last night. They’re very, very evil and sick people,” Trump said. He said that the Iranians agreed to “a perfect deal for us” the day prior — “no nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing. They gave up everything.”
“And then after that, they left the room. And then within an hour, they launched a drone at a ship,” Trump said.
US Navy 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain reported struck by Iranian ballistic missiles this weekend:
In the meantime The Washington Post has on Sunday issued an investigative report from the opening days of the war. Washington Post on Sunday is reporting that six Americans were killed in an Iranian drone attack on Kuwait during the second day of sustained exchanges of fire , on March 1st . Military sources cited in WaPo allege this was after American military commanders failed to act on warnings that the targeted facility was vulnerable. The emerging details point toward a severe failure of operational oversight:
Update 1210ET.
The escalation cycle intensified overnight and into early Sunday as the US conducted its third round of strikes this week , while Iran enforced its declared closure of the Strait of Hormuz and launched retaliatory attacks across multiple Gulf states.
CENTCOM confirmed strikes began around 7:15 p.m. ET Saturday night, hitting approximately 140 Iranian military targets . These focused on degrading IRGC capabilities to threaten commercial shipping, including radars, missile/drone sites, launch systems, and coastal assets. Explosions were widely reported in southern and eastern Iran, with state media noting activity in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Qeshm, Bushehr, Asalouyeh, Jask (10+ blasts), Minab, and other areas. Some unconfirmed reports indicated strikes reached farther north toward Tehran, with Iranian air defenses active over the capital.
The immediate trigger was the IRGC attack on the Cyprus-flagged container ship M/V GFS Galaxy in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel suffered significant engine-room damage and fire; the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats, with one civilian crew member reported missing. Iran described it as a "warning shot" on an unauthorized route.
Iranian Response And Hormuz Closure
The IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz closed "until further notice" and until the end of "American interventions." Tehran framed its actions as defensive and retaliatory, launching ballistic missiles and drones at US-linked targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan (including Muwaffaq Salti Airbase), and Oman.
Reports noted multiple salvos, with some impacts claimed at Jordanian facilities housing US assets (e.g., potential F-35 hangars). Gulf states reported interceptions and minor damage in places.
Leadership And Diplomatic Context
President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized accountability, with statements underscoring that violations would carry costs. On the Iranian side, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reiterated calls for revenge, tying them to national sentiment following the funeral observances for his father. The June Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) appears effectively suspended, with both sides accusing the other of bad faith. Qatari-mediated contacts continue but show no breakthrough, as Iran insists the US must first fulfill commitments on Hormuz transit and oil exports.
This round represents the most significant breach of the fragile ceasefire to date, with risks to global energy flows heightened by the Hormuz closure. Oil prices remain volatile amid the uncertainty. Casualty figures from the latest strikes are still emerging (Iranian reports cite deaths and injuries), and the situation continues to evolve rapidly. Further monitoring of CENTCOM, IRGC statements, and regional air defense activity is critical, as both sides signal readiness for sustained pressure while leaving narrow diplomatic off-ramps.
* * *
Update 10:40pm ET.
Somewhat predictably, as has been the pattern of this war - Iran is in the very early morning hours (local) launching retaliatory strikes on Arab Gulf nations, or as the Iranians say against US assets and bases in the Gulf. Per state media:
IRAN LAUNCHES SERIES OF STRIKES AGAINST US TARGETS: PRESS TV
Last week Kuwait and Bahrain were favored targets, but there are signs that Iran - now with reports of Tehran having been hit tonight (CBS) - could begin widening its attacks to include the UAE, or even potentially the Saudis (though there have yet to be signs of this).
What's clear is that things are back to square one - with the MoU agreement clearly effectively dead, unless diplomacy gets into overdrive and both sides show some measure of restraint. But restraint is not evident currently, only a widening up the escalation ladder.
To recount from where we started Saturday morning, we wrote...
As for the big picture of where things stand, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape, who authors "The Escalation Trap ," has pointed out that that the millions of Iranians who took to the streets last week to attend the late Ayatollah's funeral demonstrate growing nationalist resolve. He explained that this only makes further escalation more likely later this summer, as public sentiment gets hardened against the US.
"The balance of military capabilities did not change over the weekend," Pape said . "The balance of political will shifted ."
Referencing the now unraveling ceasefire and negotiations process, Pape is predicting: "The pause appears to be another stage in the escalation process rather than the beginning of de-escalation ."
* * *
Update 8:40pm ET.
At 7:15pm ET, the US launched its third round of strikes on Iran this week after Tehran declared that it’s closing the Strait of Hormuz “until further notice", and Iranian forces attacked a Cyprus-flagged container ship, the M/V GFS Galaxy, transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said that President Donald Trump ordered the fresh strikes, which targeted Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels, after the latest Iranian attack on the Hormuz-crossing vessel. Central Command said a civilian crew member is missing and the ship was unable to continue its journey after suffering significant damage.
Shortly after the Iran’s state-run media reported explosions at multiple areas along the country’s southern coasts, including the energy and petrochemical hubs of Bushehr and Asalouyeh. Blasts were also reported at the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e Dayyer, as well as the Sirik area near the Strait of Hormuz.
According to unconfirmed reports, the US strikes on Iran have reached all the way north to the Capital of Iran, Tehran as the US goes "full scale from bases in Kuwait and Bahrain."
“Iran made a poor choice,” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on social media. “Now they pay.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the Hormuz closure, saying it won’t allow any vessels to pass through until foreign interference ends, according to state-run IRIB News. The IRGC said it halted a cargo ship after firing a warning shot because it tried to transit the strait on Saturday despite being told not to, the outlet added.
The developments cast significant doubts over the potential for talks aimed at trying to reach a more lasting peace deal. The rhetoric had been getting more heated on both sides in recent days even as the two parties had suggested there was still room for conversations.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Oman on Saturday for talks on the future of Hormuz, but there was no sign of involvement by senior US envoys. Also Earlier, Iran demanded that the US implement key commitments under a recent deal before more talks take place, rejecting Trump’s contention that negotiations could continue without a ceasefire. Tehran said Washington must meet Iran’s conditions for resolving transit issues through the Strait of Hormuz and normalizing its oil exports .
On Friday Trump threatened to shower Iran with “1000 Missiles” if it acted on a threat to kill the US leader, “in this case, ME!”
The US had also demanded that Iran publicly declare all channels of the Hormuz open to shipping and pledge not to attack civilian vessels transiting the waterway. Tehran would face consequences if it fails to deliver the public assurance, senior Trump administration officials told reporters. Those demands followed several days of US airstrikes and Iranian retaliation that sent oil prices higher this week.
The Islamic Republic is holding a three-day memorial ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following a days-long funeral that drew large crowds to cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq. Khamenei was killed in an attack as the US and Israel began their war on Iran at the end of February.
His son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Saturday called for revenge for the killing of his father.
“It is our certain and undeniable duty that this revenge be carried out,” he said in a post on X.
Earlier
Iran has thrown Trump's ultimatum and Saturday deadline right back at Washington, saying that instead it is the United States that must first meet the agreed-upon conditions in order to normalize shipping and energy transit in the Strait of Hormuz.
Fars news agency reports Saturday that Iranian leadership is demanding that the US implement "agreed-upon understandings" before any talks take place . While the White House has declared the ceasefire to be 'over' - it has also indicated ongoing contacts and talks with Iran via mediators. But this appears to have been reduced to simple ultimatums being shuttled between capitals by Qatari mediators. There are no actual sit-down talks on the horizon after two rounds of fresh tit-for-tat attacks broke out this past week.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) itself is barely alive at this point, also with Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, separately announcing that Tehran could stop honoring the MoU if US attacks continue .
"Should the United States continue to violate its obligations under the MoU, Iran will no longer be bound to fulfil its obligations under the MoU ," Iravani told reporters at UN headquarters.
But he did make clear that Iran is still committed to the agreement "provided that the United States fully and faithfully complies with its own obligations."
President Trump has meanwhile continued to issue his own warnings and threats. He said Friday that the US military would "completely decimate" Iran if its leaders attempted or carried out his assassination. He took it a step further in an overnight Truth Social Post, saying he has 1,000 missiles "locked and loaded" - aimed at Iran - should he be targeted by Tehran's agents .
Strangely, the US President signed off with his puzzling "praise be to Allah!" reference - perhaps mockingly or sarcastically.
Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei still hasn't been seen in public after the Feb.28 US-Israeli airstrikes took out his father, killed members of his family, and reportedly badly wounded him. Mojtaba is said to be observing a private memorial for his slain father, and made no known appearance at the week-long funeral processions and burial.
But on Saturday he did call for revenge in a rare public message. "It is our certain and undeniable duty that this revenge be carried out," he said.
"We pledge to avenge your pure blood and the blood of all the martyrs of these two [recent] wars by taking revenge against the criminal, disgraceful murderers," the Ayatollah also stated. "This vengeance is what our nation is demanding , and this must definitely be done."
He issued a series of statements tinged with Shia Islamic references. His words contain repeat vows to enacting vengeance, including this not so veiled threat to kill Iran's enemies :
As for the big picture of where things stand, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape, who authors "The Escalation Trap ," has pointed out that that the millions of Iranians who took to the streets last week to attend the late Ayatollah's funeral demonstrate growing nationalist resolve. He explained that this only makes further escalation more likely later this summer, as public sentiment gets hardened against the US.
"The balance of military capabilities did not change over the weekend," Pape said . "The balance of political will shifted ."
Referencing the now unraveling ceasefire and negotiations process, Pape is predicting: "The pause appears to be another stage in the escalation process rather than the beginning of de-escalation ."
Tyler Durden
Sun, 07/12/2026 - 22:10 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 02:10:00 +0000 Obamacare Premiums Likely To Rise In 2027, Analysts Say
Obamacare Premiums Likely To Rise In 2027, Analysts Say
Obamacare Premiums Likely To Rise In 2027, Analysts Say
Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times ,
Affordable Care Act premiums rose sharply in 2026 and are likely to continue to do so in 2027, based on early rate change filings by some insurers.
A pedestrian walks past an insurance agency that offers Affordable Care Act plans, in Miami on Jan. 28, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Of the 77 insurers whose proposed rates are now publicly available, the median proposed premium increase is 14 percent, according to a July 8 report by health information group Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
The primary reason given for the proposed rate hikes is that the insured population under the Affordable Care Act - former President Barack Obama's health care law, known as Obamacare - is likely to be smaller and sicker than this year's.
Enrollment in the program dropped by about 3 million this year, and the report estimates that healthier people were more likely to withdraw from the program.
Some experts say that the fall-off in participation was driven by the fall-off of fraudulent enrollments or of participants who had been enrolled unknowingly.
This would be the fifth consecutive year of premium increases in the program . Last year's median proposed change was 18 percent. The final median change was 20 percent, according to the report.
The benchmark silver premium, which is used to set subsidy rates, increased by about 25 percent in 2026, according to KFF.
Initial premium rates for 2027 were filed in mid-June and will be finalized by Aug. 12, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Peterson-KFF analysis was based on 77 plans across 17 jurisdictions.
Those were Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. However, only partial data were available for Hawaii, Illinois, and Texas.
For 2026, 183 health plan issuers are participating in Obamacare, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Despite the expiration of the enhanced subsidies, the vast majority (87 percent) of 2026 Obamacare enrollees receive an advance premium tax credit, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
The average enrollee who gets a federal subsidy receives a $650 credit, leaving a $96 monthly premium, according to data provided by KFF.
Subsidies are available to Americans with a household income of between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. That equates to about $15,600 to $62,600 for an individual or about $32,200 to $128,600 for a family of four.
Current Obamacare enrollment is about 19.2 million - the highest for any year except 2025.
Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms published a similar preliminary analysis of 2027 rates on June 18. That report forecasted an enrollment decline of 17 percent to 26 percent in the individual market.
The Georgetown report estimates rate hikes ranging from about 7 percent in Vermont to about 22 percent in Washington.
Final rates for Obamacare plans will be posted in October. Open enrollment begins on Nov. 1.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 07/12/2026 - 22:10 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 01:41:03 +0000 Hedge Fund CIO: "We Haven't Yet Diffused AI Across The Economy To The Degree That It Can Be Useful"
Hedge Fund CIO: "We Haven't Yet Diffused AI Across The Economy To The Degree That It Can Be Useful"
By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management
“President Putin said, ‘I would love to meet Zelensky in Moscow.’
Read more.....
Hedge Fund CIO: "We Haven't Yet Diffused AI Across The Economy To The Degree That It Can Be Useful"
By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management
“President Putin said, ‘I would love to meet Zelensky in Moscow.’ And I said, ‘I don't think...you know, I have to put myself in his position. I don’t know that he’d go to Moscow,” said Trump, seated next to Zelensky in the Oval Office, the two of them discussing Russia’s war on Ukraine. “Maybe he would. Would you go to Moscow?” Trump asked Zelensky, putting him on the spot, cameras snapping away. “It’s difficult. There are a lot of Ukrainian drones there,” answered Zelensky, unable to suppress a smile. “That’s right,” said Trump. “It’s dangerous,” laughed Zelensky.
Human beings really are the best. We can adapt to the sickest crap. And if we really can’t stop ourselves from killing one another, may as well start joking about it. Iran’s Larijani joked that the IRGC could take Trump out with a micro-drone while sunbathing at Mar-a-Lago . Trump told Fox News that it’s been a long time since he’s been sunbathing, “Maybe I was around 7 or so. I’m not too big into it.”
It wasn’t long ago that the Iran war seemed like a big deal. It used to be that killing heads of state was taboo. And I can remember when people thought closing Hormuz would spark a global depression. Russia’s biggest industrialist, Andrey Melnichenko, warned of the potential for a horrifying outcome if Russia continues down its self-destructive path. I’m pretty sure he was hinting that Putin might use a tactical nuclear weapon if backed into a corner.
I first saw a philosophical justification for a preemptive tactical nuke strike 2mths ago [here ]. Apparently, now that humans have adapted to the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, our thermonuclear nukes have become a bit of a joke, because no one would dare ever use one. The VIX index naturally declined to 15. Which mechanically forces volatility-controlled investment strategies to take more risk. Lifting equity prices. Lowering volatility. Inviting volatility sellers. Just like every other late market cycle. After a while it honestly gets kind of funny.
Artificial Intelligence+
To break dependence on Western technology and drive a new era of growth, in 2024 Beijing explicitly categorized its industrial focus into:
Six Future Industries (long-term, frontier technologies) and
Six Emerging Pillar Industries (near-term economic drivers).
Then in Aug 2025, Beijing formalized an “Artificial Intelligence+” initiative, which treats AI as foundational, cross-cutting tech - like electricity or infrastructure - rather than a standalone sector. The initiative emphasizes deep AI integration across The Sixes.
The Six Future Industries are frontier technologies that Beijing seeks to establish first-mover advantage and dictate global standards over 10yrs. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology established six broad overarching categories (Future Manufacturing, Information, Materials, Energy, Space, Health). These translate into six specific priorities: Embodied Artificial Intelligence, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Quantum Technology, Hydrogen & Nuclear Fusion Energy, Biomanufacturing, and 6G Mobile Communications.
The Six Emerging Pillar Industries are to drive immediate, massive economic output.
Integrated Circuits : domestic semiconductor manufacturing to bypass US export controls.
Low-Altitude Economy: drones, flying cars, and infrastructure to manage low-altitude airspace.
Intelligent Robots: automation hardware for factories/logistics.
Aviation and Aerospace: commercial spaceflight, satellite networks, domestic commercial aircraft.
Energy Storage: advanced battery tech to support the grid.
Biomedicine: advanced pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
Ten Basis Points:
“It’s going to be China or the US,” said the CIO, an American who built his firm in Asia, investing in equities, tech names, macro themes. “A European sovereign AI is a pipe dream – they think Mistral will be their LLM and they’ll build data centers? Really? How exactly?” he asked. “They need Nvidia. They need a tech stack that has emerged from American and Asian IP that combines to form these magical machines that you throw a model into.” To create intelligence. “And what happens to these nations that can’t afford tokens in the next few years? How do India and Brazil and all these second-tier companies even compete?”
“We’ve entered an era where the biggest of the big - Google, Microsoft, SpaceX, Tesla, even JP Morgan - will be accessing tokens in ways that is going to catapult their businesses ahead of everybody else,” continued the CIO. “This sort of faux debate over cheap open-source AI versus expensive Anthropic is nonsense. There’s a shortage of intelligence - pure and simple – we’re below ten basis points of market penetration in this stuff across the global economy, why are people even having a debate over this?”
“Given all the component shortages and constraints, and the anti-AI populist backlash, we could see a horrific market crash along the way, but we haven’t yet diffused this technology across the economy to the degree that it can be useful,” he continued. My Tesla drives me everywhere. I’m a super user, virtually alone. But in 10 years, no one will drive. “We have zero AI in regulated processes within banks, healthcare companies and insurance companies because the errors and hallucination are being ironed out.” But they will be. “This could be the last great bull market in technology. What could eclipse superintelligence?”
Anecdote:
“As we know the two principal players and their mentor, I take their words and actions as a serious roadmap,” said the CIO. We were discussing Bessent’s speech at the Economic Club of New York [here ] and Warsh’s press conference following his first FOMC meeting [here ]. “Much like the Chinese Communist Party 5-year plans, we’re glimpsing the future for American economic policy. Having watched the Chinese game the global trading system to the point that it broke leads me to believe it should be reassembled in Scott’s vision for something more equitable,” continued the CIO, an American who built his firm in Asia, investing in equities, tech, macro themes.
“AI competition with China is also central to this strategy. It’s possible that like Reagan spending Gorbachev into the ground, we could cause the Chinese system to hit the wall .” Interesting.
“Beijing’s national data center strategy is to build massive scale in token factories.” CXMT is their national DRAM champion and is about to IPO. Its disclosures reveal deep inefficiencies. Beijing will inevitably subsidize its losses. “Chinese open-source models are all the rage on Twitter. They’re not as good for complex thinking but very good at specific tasks and sub agent work. Therefore, as these models sit on US tech stacks, no Chinese innovator is making money - AWS makes the money for producing the token ,” he said.
“Having already sunk massive amounts into EV, Solar, and other areas, one day the Chinese may well hit a wall, especially given they have yet to tackle their property sector.” The chronic decline in Chinese property prices has caused a depression in domestic consumption.
“If Scott’s strategy works and allied nations realize it’s better to play along then not, the Chinese export markets could become smaller precisely when they need them most. At the same time Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, and Hong Kong do stuff we need so we could work more diplomatically with them as they are no longer the Asian Tigers of our youth,” he said.
“Let’s see how it plays out but it’s fascinating and why guys like us stay in the game.”
Tyler Durden
Sun, 07/12/2026 - 21:41 Close
Mon, 13 Jul 2026 01:00:00 +0000 United States Retains Spot As World's Top Oil Producer
United States Retains Spot As World's Top Oil Producer
United States Retains Spot As World's Top Oil Producer
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
The United States was the largest crude oil producer in the world in 2025, outputting a “record-high” 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd), according to a July 9 statement from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
America’s output was far ahead of second-placed Russia, which produced 9.9 million bpd. Saudi Arabia came in third with 9.6 million bpd, with Canada in the fourth spot at 5 million bpd. The difference in oil output between the United States and other top producers widened last year, with Russian supplies mostly remaining unchanged year-over-year while Saudi Arabia saw a modest increase.
The 13.6 million bpd output breaks the previous U.S. and global production record of 13.2 million bpd set in 2024. The United States first overtook Russia as the top global oil producer in 2018 and has since retained the number one spot.
EIA attributed the consistently high oil production in the United States to “continued gains in drilling productivity and operational efficiency across key shale basins, which allow operators to extract more oil per well.”
Powered by shale development, the United States has become not only the top crude oil producer “but the largest producer of crude oil ever,” the agency said.
In addition to record-high production last year, exports have been climbing. In April, U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products hit a record, with crude oil exports averaging 5.6 million bpd, 21 percent higher than the previous record from December 2023, the EIA said in a July 8 statement.
The exports of finished petroleum products, including jet fuel and motor gasoline, hit the highest level since December 2024.
The record-high exports in April 2026 came amid disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz due to the U.S.–Iran war, a development that ended up boosting global demand for American energy. Brent crude oil futures had hit a peak of over $126 per barrel in April. Prices have since come down and ended Friday at around $76.
In its latest statement, EIA said the jump in oil production last year happened despite oil prices being lower, with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price dropping from an average of $77 per barrel in 2024 to $65 per barrel in 2025. WTI is a benchmark for crude oil produced in the United States.
Moreover, EIA predicts America’s crude oil production to be close to 13.7 million bpd this year and to rise to 14.2 million bpd in 2027.
Boosting Oil Production
The higher oil output follows multiple actions taken by the Trump administration aimed at boosting production.
In November 2025, the administration announced the approval of new oil drilling leases off the coasts of Alaska, Florida, and California.
In January this year, the administration initiated the first step to offering oil and gas drilling leases in California, with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management seeking information on potential lease areas to auction as early as next year.
In March, the Department of the Interior conducted an oil lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, the first since 2019.
This action came under criticism from the environmental group Sierra Club. Mike Scott, Sierra Club’s oil and gas campaign manager, in a March 18 statement, accused President Donald Trump of making oil corporation CEOs richer at the cost of the environment.
“The Western Arctic is not just any landscape—it’s one of the last true wild places in the country, home to rare and threatened wildlife and cultures that have subsisted on the land for thousands of years,” Scott said.
“Drilling in the Arctic won’t solve our energy crisis, but it will cause irreversible damage to these pristine landscapes. Big Oil has been champing at the bit to get its hands on these lands, and Trump is making their wishes come true.”
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum had said, post the lease sale in Alaska, that the sale underscored the reserve’s vital role in strengthening America’s energy security.
The reserve “was created to support our nation’s energy needs, and this successful sale demonstrates what’s possible when we align responsible development with that original purpose,” Burgum said. “Revenues from these leases will help bolster local communities, create good-paying jobs, and ensure that Alaska continues to be a cornerstone of America’s domestic energy production.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has decided to ditch the oil and gas leasing restrictions imposed by the prior administration in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska and its industrial development and export authority had filed lawsuits challenging the restrictions.
On July 7, the department said that these restrictions violated federal law and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuits.
U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the prior administration’s actions “improperly limited” Alaska’s energy potential through “unreasonable” regulations. “This settlement supports the Trump administration’s commitment to secure American energy independence and our national security for generations to come.”
Tyler Durden
Sun, 07/12/2026 - 21:00 Close