The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Danish Blend coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads:

• Pay Attention: Essential advice for the class of 2026. It sounds simple. But paying attention is in fact one of the most challenging and meaningful things you can do. Because what you pay attention to shapes what you care about. And what you care about shapes who you become. Jonathan Haidt’s NYU commencement address, in essay form. Familiar themes, sharper delivery. (The Atlantic)

• Words That Mattered: Fed Chair Jay Powell.He was sworn in as Chair in February 2018, with an economy at 4% unemployment and inflation slightly below 2%; he leaves  with unemployment close to 4% and inflation above 3% and rising—a miss on the price stability mandate. The two endpoints do not do justice to the scale of the economic challenges—above all, the pandemic—that Powell navigated. (Stay-At-Home Macro)

• How Warren Buffett Did It By Seth A. Klarman: The Buffett story keeps getting more interesting under scrutiny. The most successful investor of all time retired. Here’s what made him an American role model. On the leverage hiding inside the ‘patient value investor’ brand.  (The Atlantic)

• The Long Revolution: Will capitalism last forever? If capital was viewed as a thing and capitalists as people, capitalism was something else. Blanc described it as an act, the taking of collective wealth and turning it into individual or private profit. Proudhon claimed it was a citadel, casting medieval and military shadows across the land. Despite his obvious interest and extensive writing on the subject, Marx steered clear of the term. Helpful frame for thinking about where the current consolidation cycle fits. (The Nation)

• The Founding Story Behind Japan’s Oldest Whisky Maker: The Suntory origin story — part craft history, part marketing — a satisfying read for whisky drinkers. The House of Suntory is often credited with putting Japanese whisky on the map. (Town & Country)

• I Work in Hollywood. Everyone Who Used to Make TV Is Now Secretly Training AI: For screenwriters like me—and job seekers all over—AI gig work is the new waiting tables. In eight months, The quiet new gig economy: laid-off writers, editors, and showrunners moonlighting as AI-training contractors. The talent doesn’t disappear, it just gets repurposed. I’ve done 20 of these soul-crushing contracts for five different platforms. It’s bad. (Wired)

• 5 Legendary Apple Stories That Reveal the Genius Behind Its Innovation. Apple’s greatest innovations came not just from technology, but from relentless creativity, unconventional thinking, and an obsessive drive to make products feel magical to ordinary people. Five vignettes from the Apple corpus. Hagiographic in tone, but each contains an actual decision worth studying. (Next Big Idea Club)

• The Stephen Colbert Exit Interview: “I Did Not Expect It to End This Way”: Colbert reflects on the abrupt cancellation of The Late Show and what it says about the slow death of network late-night. As ‘The Late Show’ nears its final bow, the host opens up about the cancellation that shocked the industry, the win of going out as a “martyr” and his next act in Middle-earth. (Hollywood Reporter)

• The Astounding Discovery That Could Link Eastern and Western Medicine:  The detection of another circulatory system in the human body could have enormous scientific implications.  (New York Times Magazine)

• Why Steve Kerr stayed with the Warriors.  Kerr loves the game and its history. He’s an obsessive sports fan and has been watching the last acts of sporting lives for the past 40 years. It’s often ugly. The final years of Lute Olson’s life were not the victory lap they should have been. Kerr doesn’t want the Warriors to end up like the New England Patriots, marred by grudges and grievances. He watched Michael Jordan retire, then unretire, then retire, then unretire. His friends used to grill him about MJ. Kerr on loyalty, succession, and the Curry era’s last laps. A nice contrast to most coaching-job pieces, which read like prospectuses. (ESPN)

Video of the day: Wanton Destruction Of CBS Property – Letterman & Colbert Toss Stuff Off The Roof Of The Ed Sullivan

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business this weekend with Sheila Bair, former Chairperson of FDIC from 2006-11. She helped steer the agency through worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Her new book is aimed at young adults and teenagers, titled “How Not to Lose a Million Dollars”

 

Despite peak Shiller CAPE, if you bought the Nasdaq 100 top in March 2000, you made ~8% per year since

Source: @cullenroche

 

Sign up for our reads-only mailing list here.

~~~

To learn how these reads are assembled each day, please see this.

 

The post 10 Weekend Reads appeared first on The Big Picture.

Harvard Weighs Major Crackdown On "Grade Inflation"

Harvard faculty begin voting Tuesday on what may be the most aggressive effort in decades to curb grade inflation, a long-running issue that has also drawn attention from the White House as it pushes broader higher-ed reforms, according to Bloomberg.

The proposal would cap A grades in undergraduate classes at 20% of students, plus four additional students. The move comes after A grades surged at Harvard: about 60% of grades were A’s in the 2024–25 academic year, more than double the rate in 2006. After administrators pushed for stricter grading last fall, that number dropped to 53%. Faculty have one week to vote, with results expected May 20.

Supporters say grade inflation has made academic distinctions less meaningful. Last year, Harvard seniors needed a 3.989 GPA to earn summa cum laude, and an award traditionally given to one student ended in a 54-way tie. As professor Jason Furman said, “It’s fundamentally dishonest to give the best students in the class the same grade as someone in the bottom half.”

Bloomberg writes that students have strongly opposed the plan, arguing it would increase stress, discourage academic risk-taking, and push students toward easier courses. Nearly 85% of undergraduates surveyed by The Harvard Crimson opposed the proposal. Student leader Caleb Thompson said “people really are against this,” while senior Summer Tan said students are already seeking easier classes instead of more challenging ones.

Some faculty members agree. Scott Duke Kominers warned the policy could discourage ambitious students and make Harvard less attractive to top applicants.

Harvard’s decision could influence other elite schools. Yale recently considered an even stricter proposal for a campus-wide average GPA of 3.0. Earlier efforts at Princeton and Wellesley initially reduced top grades but were eventually reversed after student backlash.

Critics argue schools hesitate to grade more strictly because students could be disadvantaged if peer institutions do not follow. Still, supporters believe Harvard’s prestige could set off broader reform.

If approved, the policy would take effect in fall 2027. Faculty are also voting on allowing some courses to opt out through a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading system and on replacing GPA with percentile rank for academic honors.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 18:50

Closing Arguments In High-Stakes OpenAI Trial Focus On Reputation, Character

Authored by Beige Luciano-Adams via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

OAKLAND, Calif.—After nearly three weeks of presented evidence, an Oakland jury on May 14 heard final arguments in a high-stakes legal battle that could have profound impacts on the race for artificial intelligence.

In a courtroom sketch, Sam Altman listens as OpenAI President Greg Brockman testifies during Elon Musk's lawsuit trial over OpenAI's for-profit conversion, at a federal courthouse in Oakland, Calif., on May 4, 2026. Vicki Behringer/Reuters

Tech moguls Elon Musk and Sam Altman, once friends and partners in a fledgling AI startup with big dreams and a noble mission, are nearing the climax of a bitter feud over the future of an $852 billion company.

Despite a judicial ban on testimony related to AI-induced “extinction” scenarios, references to speculative risks still surfaced during the Oakland courtroom proceedings, appeared in discussions around “risk” and “safety.” Vague promises about the future benefits of an unrealized technology were also touched upon.

On the stand, Tesla CEO Musk told the court, “We don’t want to have a Terminator outcome,” suggesting humanity would be better off with a “Star Trek” future written by Gene Roddenberry, rather than something from the mind of James Cameron.

Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman, President Greg Brockman, and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. At the time, both Musk and Altman expressed grave concerns about the unregulated advancement of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—a hypothetical point at which the machines “outsmart” humans and operate autonomously.

Those concerns, Musk testified, were the express motivation for founding OpenAI: open-source to prevent consolidation of power, and philanthropic to offset the profit-driven AI race.

He sued Altman and Brockman in 2024, alleging they bilked him out of $38 million in donations, then restructured as a for-profit corporation by exclusively licensing their flagship product, ChatGPT, to Microsoft—and in doing so, betrayed their founding mission.

OpenAI and Microsoft deny the allegations, arguing Musk abandoned the company in 2018 to start his own for-profit competitor, xAI, when other founders rejected his bid to take full control of the operation.

Alongside the “preponderance” of evidence that both sides say supports their claims, the trial was just as focused on the two men’s reputations and characters.

“Sam Altman’s credibility is directly at issue in this case,” Steven Molo, an attorney for Musk, said in his closing statement. “The defendants absolutely need you to believe Sam Altman. If you cannot trust him ... they do not win.”

Molo questioned Altman earlier this week over a list of employees and colleagues who, both on and off the record, have characterized him as dishonest and opportunistic.

OpenAI attorneys dismissed the tactic as “character assassination.”

Sarah Eddy, an attorney for OpenAI, countered, “Mr. Molo says Sam Altman can’t be trusted, but Mr. Musk is the one whose testimony is contradicted by every other witness and all the documents.”

Altman, Brockman, and others cast Musk as a detached outsider who contributed little if any sweat equity, had fraught relationships with colleagues, and attempted to poach OpenAI’s employees for his other companies.

“The claim is that the Midas touch of Elon Musk made OpenAI what it is today,” William Savitt, an attorney for OpenAI, said in closing arguments.

“Elon, Elon, Elon. ‘It was all me.’ Mr. Musk wants all that credit, but he hasn’t earned [it].

“This requires a touch that he doesn’t have. This is not a bulldozer. ... To succeed in AI, as it turns out, all Mr. Musk can do is come to court.”

Savitt pointed out Musk wasn’t present for closing arguments, having jetted off to China earlier in the week with President Donald Trump.

Gesturing at Altman and Brockman, he said: “My clients are here because they care a lot about it. Mr. Musk came to this court for exactly one witness—Mr. Musk. Now he’s in parts unknown.”

Musk, according to the Forbes Billionaire Index, is the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of around $826 billion. Brockman received equity in the OpenAI corporation worth around $30 billion, and Altman’s net worth is around $3.5 billion.

When Brockman took the stand last week, Molo accused him of plotting to use OpenAI to become a billionaire.

“You had a fiduciary duty [to the nonprofit],” the attorney said. “You took the assets from the nonprofit, you moved them into the for-profit to create this money-making machine that resulted in you having $30 billion.”

Brockman said such was a “deep mischaracterization.” Personal diary entries from late 2017 in which he muses about profits, and about how it would be “morally bankrupt” to “steal the nonprofit” from Musk, he said, were expressions of frustration.

Jurors heard from a parade of Silicon Valley insiders, including all four founders, and from dueling experts on AI safety, nonprofits, business law, and forensic accounting. They watched lawyers pick through reams of internal documents, analyzing complex corporate and financial histories, while private diaries, email, and text threads offered insight on the parties’ underlying motivations and shifting alliances.

“Everyone here has rights, even really rich guys like Elon Musk,” Molo said. “His is a claim that comes from a very deep place inside him, from his passion for this issue.”

During his own testimony, Musk often told the court, “You can’t just steal a charity.”

When his time on the stand came, Altman clapped back, “No, you can’t steal it, but Mr. Musk did try to kill it.”

Altman said on Tuesday that Musk contributed only 28 percent of the nonprofit’s funding from 2015 to 2020, and failed to come through on a $1 billion pledge, leaving the startup with few options.

OpenAI argues its nonprofit foundation is now one of the “best-resourced” in the world, with an equity stake in the company’s for-profit corporation approaching $200 billion—a direct result of $13 billion worth of investments from Microsoft and a 2025 restructure sanctioned by California and Delaware attorneys general.

The details of OpenAI’s journey from a scrappy, underfunded nonprofit to one of the most powerful and valuable AI companies are highly contested. In addition to the power struggle with Musk in 2017 and 2018, it involves a messy 2023 governance shakeup in which Altman and Brockman were briefly ousted and Microsoft was deeply entangled.

By 2017, all parties had agreed they would need vastly more capital and computing power to compete with AI giants such as Google. Various ideas were floated, debated, and discarded—including rolling OpenAI into Tesla and even turning to cryptocurrency. Ultimately, under Altman’s leadership, the company created a for-profit subsidiary in 2018 and, in 2019, partnered with Microsoft. In 2025, OpenAI restructured as a public benefit corporation, which its leaders say remains under the control of the foundation and loyal to the original mission.

The foundation holds an approximately 27 percent equity stake in the corporation; Microsoft owns a 26 percent stake.

Molo argued on Thursday that Microsoft’s investment breached the charitable trust Musk created by enriching its investors and “insiders” at the expense of the nonprofit, and failing to open-source the technology, prioritize AI safety, or follow nonprofit custom and practice.

The $13 billion Microsoft has invested since 2019 dwarfed charitable contributions and weakened OpenAI in its negotiating position with Microsoft, Molo said, resulting in a company focused on commercializing AI, with a gutted charity that does little more than sanitize its reputation.

As for Microsoft, Molo said the company was aware of what OpenAI was doing “every step of the way, they helped them violate their nonprofit mission, that’s aiding and abetting pure and simple.”

OpenAI and Microsoft argued there was never any charitable trust to breach.

Eddy, the OpenAI attorney, argued there were never any strings attached to Musk’s donations to OpenAI, and that he failed to demonstrate that he “properly manifested a specific intent” to devote the trust to a specific purpose, his $38 million in donations going instead to generally further the mission of the nonprofit.

“The specific purposes cannot just be in his head,” Eddy said.

Absent evidence proving this intent and specificity, she said, the plaintiff had resorted to implication and inference.

“It’s all made up,” she said.

As Musk told it, OpenAI’s mission was clear.

“I specifically came up with the idea, the name, recruited key people, taught [them] everything I know, provided the original funding. ... It was specifically for a charity that did not benefit any individual person. I could’ve started it as a for-profit, and I chose not to,” Musk said.

He is asking that Altman and Brockman be removed from their leadership positions at OpenAI, and that more than $100 billion be returned to the nonprofit foundation.

In addition to Musk’s three claims—breach of charitable trust, restitution based on unjust enrichment, and, against Microsoft, aiding and abetting a breach of a charitable trust—jurors will decide whether those claims are barred by a statute of limitations.

The jury will begin deliberations on Monday at 8:30 am.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 18:25

Rep. Steve Cohen Drops Reelection Bid After Tennessee Redistricting

On Friday Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced he is ending his bid for reelection to Congress, capping a nearly 20-year career in the U.S. House. The decision comes days after the Republican-controlled Tennessee legislature approved a new congressional map that dramatically reshapes - and effectively dismantles - his longtime majority-Black 9th District in Memphis.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) speaks at a hearing on oversight of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington on July 13, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Cohen, 76, described the moment as "by far the most difficult" in his career as an elected official. He formally requested removal from the ballot for the August primary and stated he would retire from public life at the end of his current term. “The 9th District that they have under these new lines is nothing like the 9th District that I’ve represented,” he said, noting that the redrawn district no longer resembles the community he has served since 2007.

Background on the Redistricting

Tennessee Republicans pushed through the new U.S. House map during a special session in early May 2026, following a recent Supreme Court ruling. The changes split the Memphis-based 9th District - long a Democratic stronghold with a majority African American population - across multiple Republican-leaning districts. Critics, including Democrats and civil rights advocates, called it gerrymandering aimed at diluting Black voting power and eliminating the state’s only Democratic congressional seat ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Cohen and others have filed lawsuits challenging the maps. A judge recently denied a temporary restraining order to block them. Cohen has described the process as a “gangster move” influenced by national Republican strategy under President Donald Trump.

Before redistricting, Cohen faced a competitive Democratic primary challenge from progressive state Rep. Justin Pearson. Pearson has indicated he will continue his campaign in the redrawn 9th District. Cohen’s Memphis residence now falls into the 5th District (currently held by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles), which some see as more competitive. Cohen has endorsed Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, a Democrat running there.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 18:00

Ethanol: Not The Energy Transition We're Looking For

Authored by Ike Kiefer via RealClear Energy,

With current events stirring up global energy prices, corn ethanol is again being dressed up as if it is a domestic energy source and agent of energy security. The truth is that corn ethanol is an energy sump, and that it takes more fossil fuel energy to make a gallon of corn ethanol than a gallon of gasoline. It is time to face this unpleasant truth and the other perverse outcomes achieved by twenty years of misguided policy.

In 2005 and 2007, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Energy Independence and Security Acts that together created the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. RFS had three stated objectives: to improve U.S. energy security, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and to support rural economies and agricultural development. Instead, RFS has increased motor fuel prices, increased food prices, put millions of carbon-sequestering acres of land into intensive cultivation, increased GHG emissions and air pollution, and increased water consumption and pollution. As to energy security, the gallons of U.S. gasoline displaced by federal ethanol blending mandates are being exported to Mexico and other nations. The great success of RFS has been the hand of government transferring wealth from motorists to big ag corporations. It’s past time to stop the economic and chemical absurdity of forcing food to be fuel.

The government wanted biofuels bad, and it got them bad. Under Corn Belt lobbying pressure, Congress cynically waived the need for RFS to achieve actual GHG reductions for all existing corn ethanol biorefineries, plus all that could be built by the end of 2010. The bulk of the corn ethanol produced over the past 20 years and still today comes from these waivered plants. The EPA’s specious 2010 prediction that corn ethanol would achieve a 21% GHG reduction by 2022 was immediately challenged by the National Research Council for not properly counting land-use change and not realistically treating food competition and water use. This panel of experts from the National Academy of Sciences even questioned the viability of the entire concept of reducing GHG with biofuels. The most rigorous and honest estimate by a third party in testimony before Congress used the EPA’s own methodology to show that adding corn ethanol to gasoline has increased GHG emissions by 28% over the pure gasoline baseline with no trajectory to ever recover.

As to energy security, the goal was noble, but the method was irrational. Corn ethanol is critically dependent upon fossil fuels at every stage of production—tractor and truck fuel, fertilizer and pesticides, biorefinery energy and chemicals. Biofuels in general are just a way to put a green fig leaf on petroleum by inefficiently re-routing it through a farm field. While corn ethanol production has plateaued at 15-16 billion gallons for the past 10 years—not coincidentally matching the federal subsidy limit—domestic crude oil production has skyrocketed due to technological innovations that have opened up vast new geological formations to economic production. Despite a raft of federal policies and actions as negative for petroleum as they have been favorable for biofuels, the USA is once again energy self-sufficient and the world’s largest producer of crude oil and natural gas. In 2024, the USA exported 100 billion gallons of refined petroleum. Other countries are burning U.S. gasoline in their cars and producing the same CO2 emissions as if Americans were allowed to use it. The energy security objective for RFS is moot, and it was never achievable with fossil-fuel dependent corn ethanol.

On of the great ironies is that RFS was authorized under the Clean Air Act. The EPA’s own 2010 regulatory impact analysis showed it would increase net air pollution and cause up to 245 more U.S. deaths per year. The EPA also granted corn ethanol a perpetual vapor pressure waiver for smog-causing emissions that it has denied to petroleum. Perhaps worse, ethanol in gasoline enables the hydrocarbons to mix with water and thereby increase ground water and surface water contamination from fuel leaks to a far greater degree than the demonized MTBE it replaced as octane booster, yet EPA continues to ignore this risk completely.

A government program that has strayed so far from its objectives should be terminated. The federal agency in charge of protecting the nation’s environment should not be allowed to administer a program that increases air pollution and stresses on water, land, and climate. Fuel should be fuel and food should be food. Surely Congress can find a better way to genuinely promote U.S. energy security and boost rural economies without imposing the highly regressive tax of increased fuel prices, inflicting such harm to the nation’s air and water resources, and promoting global food insecurity.

Ike Kiefer is a Visiting Fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics and author of the study,Ethanol as Fuel: A Bridge to Nowhere. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 17:40

India's Trade Deficit Surges As Energy Import Prices Soar

India's trade deficit soared in April by more than analysts expected, as the surge in oil and gas prices hiked the Indian energy import bill.

The trade deficit jumped by $8bn from $20.6bn in March to $28.38bn last month, higher than the $26 billion estimate, on a broad-based increase in imports. At the same time, total exports grew by 13.8% in April from a year earlier to hit $43.56 billion.

Oil imports sequentially rose by around 60% MoM likely driven by higher volumes in April (vs. March lows) and higher oil prices.

The value of imports soared as international oil and gas prices jumped amid the Middle East conflict that forced India and every other major crude oil importer to source more expensive supply from producers not dependent on the Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed to most tanker traffic two and a half months after the Iran war began. Meanwhile, petroleum product exports rose by around 48% mom s.a. likely driven by higher exports to Singapore. Gold imports rose sequentially likely driven by higher volume imports of semi-processed gold for refining and higher prices. However, gold imports (in volume terms) may likely decline in May following the government's import duty hike to 15% from 6%.

Overall non-oil exports remained strong, led by stronger electronics exports. Exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE recovered in April from its March lows, but remained well below the last year's levels, while exports to the US increased both sequentially and in year-over-year (yoy) terms. Services trade surplus remained strong at around $21bn, supported by robust services exports.

The widening trade deficit and the soaring energy import bill are pressuring the government's current account and finances, as the oil supply crisis is already seeping through India's economy. In the past week, India imposed draconian tariffs on gold imports to defend the currency which has plunged to a record low against the dollar. 

Since the war began and cut off over 40% of India's crude oil flows, those that passed through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the highest-flying economies in Asia has seen its oil import bill soar, investors fleeing the capital market, and the local currency plunging to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar.

Analysts have started to raise inflation estimates and reduce forecasts of this year's economic growth in India, which is beginning to feel the oil supply shock well beyond the actual disruption of deliveries of oil, LNG, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the primary cooking fuel in the world's most populous country.

The oil shock that the war has created will weigh on India's economic growth in the current fiscal year to March 2027. BMI, part of Fitch, expects India's GDP growth to slow to 6.7% in the 2026/2027 fiscal year, down from 7.7% in 2025/2026, largely due to the oil price shock.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 17:20

Everyone In The Democratic Party Has Money - Except The Democratic Party

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

On April 30, Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race for a U.S. Senate seat.

In a statement about suspending her campaign, Mills was blunt:

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else—the fight—to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources.”

As Mills said, financial resources matter in today’s political environment as campaigns grow more expensive each cycle.

First-quarter financial reports filed in April with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show where some of that money is going—and where it is not.

Democratic candidates across the country are raising large sums of money. Democratic Senate candidates, including Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, are sitting on tens of millions of dollars with zero debt.

The party’s congressional campaign arms—the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)—which work to elect Democrats to each chamber of Congress, carry zero debt and have tens of millions in cash.

On the Republican side, every major committee has a strong cash position.

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is in debt.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks during a press conference in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 26, 2023. Mills recently dropped out of the U.S. Senate race, citing a lack of financial backing. Scott Eisen/Getty Images The Numbers

The federal filings lay out the numbers. The DNC reported $13.9 million in cash on hand at the end of March and $18.4 million in debt, putting the committee roughly $4.5 million underwater. It is the only national party committee on either side of the aisle carrying any debt at all.

The Republican National Committee, by contrast, holds $116.8 million in cash with zero debt. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has $43 million, and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has $78.2 million. Neither carries debt.

On the Democratic side, the DSCC holds $36.5 million with zero debt. The DCCC holds $69.9 million with zero debt. Both are competitive with or ahead of their Republican counterparts.

The gap widens further when individual candidates enter the picture. Six Democratic Senate candidates—Ossoff, Cooper, Brown, Texas state Rep. James Talarico, former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, and Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow—hold a combined roughly $86 million in cash on hand. Every one of them carries zero debt.

Ossoff alone has $31.7 million—more than double the DNC’s cash position and more than enough to cover the national committee’s entire debt.

‘A Severe Brand Problem’

Avis Jones-DeWeever, a political scientist and principal of progressive strategic communications firm Nouveaux Strategies, said the pattern points to something deeper than a typical post-election slump.

“The Democratic Party as a national entity has a severe brand problem,” Jones-DeWeever told The Epoch Times in an email. “Even in the midst of a historically unpopular president, they have managed to find a way to consistently garner lower favorability ratings than Donald Trump.

“There is still a sense that the Democratic Party writ large is not rising to this existential moment—that they continue to color within the lines of politics as normal, when we are far away from normal.”

The result, she said, is that donors are making a deliberate choice.

“Donors, it seems, have shifted their funds from supporting an institution they no longer trust to instead investing in individual candidates that have demonstrated strength in this moment,” Jones-DeWeever said.

“It’s not that Democratic donors are tired of giving. It’s just that they are being much more selective and targeted in their spend. They’re willing to fund a fight and are making investments in the specific fighters that they believe have the best chance at carrying them to victory in November.”

California Democratic gubernatorial candidates (L–R) Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan, and Antonio Villaraigosa participate in the CBS California Gubernatorial Debate at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., on April 28, 2026. California is holding its upcoming primary election on June 2. Mario Tama/Getty Images The DNC’s Position

DNC Chair Ken Martin has argued the committee’s financial position is the result of a deliberate strategy—not a crisis.

In an April 28 interview on Pod Save America—one of the most listened to Democratic podcasts on all platforms—Martin said the debt traces to a loan the committee took out in 2025 to invest early in organizing, voter registration, and state party infrastructure.

“We do have debt, Jon, and that’s because I took out a loan last year to make sure we can make deep investments,” Martin told host Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama and one of the most prominent modern voices in Democratic politics.

The DNC has pointed to those investments in its own public communications. In April 2025, the committee announced what it called the largest monthly investment into state parties in its history: a state partnership program splitting more than $1 million per month between Democratic state and territory parties.

Under the program, each state party receives a baseline of $17,500 per month, with parties in Republican-controlled states receiving an additional $5,000 per month through a “Red State Fund.”

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco on Feb. 21, 2026. Martin has argued the committee’s financial position is the result of a deliberate strategy—not a crisis. Jeff Chiu/AP Photo

The committee has also launched voter registration programs, a national training initiative for campaign staff, and what it describes as year-round organizing in all 50 states—efforts Martin has summarized with the phrase “organize everywhere, win anywhere.”

Martin pointed to the committee’s track record, saying the DNC raised $105 million in 2025—a record for a first-year chair—with $85 million of that coming from grassroots donors at an average contribution of $51. He said the DNC raised $32 million in the first quarter of 2026 and has more cash on hand than one of his predecessors, former DNC Chair Tom Perez, had at the same point after the party’s 2016 presidential loss.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez speaks during the virtual Democratic National Convention at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee on Aug. 20, 2020. Tannen Maury-Pool/Getty Images

He described the committee’s debt as manageable and strategically useful, arguing it allowed the party to spend early rather than wait until the final months before an election.

“We can pay that debt off whenever the hell we want,” Martin said. “I could hold that debt until the end of the year. So the reality is, there’s nothing that’s holding me back in terms of the cash I have, the cash on hand I have to spend it on elections.”

Martin pointed out that the committee funds infrastructure that every Democratic campaign depends on, including a voter file that costs more than $10 million a year to maintain.

“Our voter file and our organizing tools and our data, every candidate, whether they’re running for school board or president, relies on that,” he said. “Without the DNC, they would have to do that on their own.”

The final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

He also confirmed the DNC purchased the Harris campaign’s fundraising list for $6.5 million after the 2024 election, calling it “a great investment” that has “already paid for itself.”

The DNC did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this report.

‘An Issue Unique to the DNC’

Favreau pressed Martin directly on the contrast between the party’s national committees.

“You’re spending more than you have,” Favreau said. “I know it’s a tough environment for the party out of power, but the DSCC and the DCCC and the Senate candidates have plenty of money. They’re all doing great. So it seems like this is an issue unique to the DNC.”

Favreau pointed to the unreleased 2024 post-election review as a factor in donor reluctance. The review is commonly referred to as the “autopsy” of Kamala Harris’s loss, which Martin said would be made public when he ran for chair but has since said he would not release to instead focus on future races.

Favreau added: “I know the grassroots fundraising has been great. I know that. I concede that for sure. ... I’ve talked to plenty of people about this, that a lot of the big donors still have not come off the sidelines, and part of the reason is that there’s a trust issue based partly on the autopsy.”

Martin disagreed. “I’m just not seeing that, Jon,” he said.

Campaign signs are seen in Oak Park, Ill., on March 17, 2026. Under current law, party committees may spend unlimited amounts independently, but coordinated spending with campaigns is subject to federal caps. Nathaniel Smith for The Epoch Times Why It Matters

For voters unfamiliar with the mechanics of campaign finance, the distinction between a national party committee and an individual campaign may not be obvious. But the two serve different functions.

National party committees serve a different function than campaigns, at least as the law allows for today. While a Senate candidate raises money to win a single race, as Martin said in the podcast interview, the DNC is responsible for infrastructure that connects all Democratic campaigns together—the voter file that every candidate “from school board to president” relies on, voter registration drives, state party support, legal challenges, and the national get-out-the-vote operation.

Parties are currently restricted to spending only a small fraction of funds in direct coordination with campaigns.

Boris Heersink, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University who has studied national party committees extensively, has argued in his research that these organizations create “national party brands” that are “fundamental to mobilizing voters in elections”—especially “when the party is in the national minority.”

Whether individual candidates can compensate—or even need to—for a national committee carrying more debt than cash is an open question heading into November.

City of Miami Mayoral candidate Eileen Higgins (2nd L) and former Chicago Mayor and Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (L) work an election headquarters phone bank trying to get voters out to the polls in Miami on Dec. 8, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A Pending Supreme Court Case

A pending Supreme Court ruling could change what national party committees are allowed to do with their money.

The court is expected to decide NRSC v. FEC by the end of June, and the case could strike down federal limits on how much national party committees can spend in direct coordination with their candidates.

Under current law, party committees can spend unlimited amounts independently—running ads and organizing without consulting the candidate. But the moment a committee wants to coordinate directly with a campaign—sharing strategy, co-creating ads, directing resources where the campaign wants them—federal law caps that spending.

For Senate races, those caps range from roughly $130,000 to $4 million depending on the state’s voting age population, according to the FEC’s latest coordinated party expenditure limits. For House races, the limits range from about $61,800 to $123,000. While it is a large sum of money, compared to the tens of millions it costs to run campaigns in 2026, it’s only a drop in the larger financial bucket.

The NRSC and NRCC—the Senate and House campaign arms of the Republican Party—are the plaintiffs in the case, arguing the limits violate the First Amendment. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has declined to defend the law, agreeing the limits should be struck down. The DNC, DSCC, and DCCC have all intervened in the case to defend the existing restrictions.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 17:00

"Send Us A Tip": U.S. Dangles $15 Million Reward For New Intel On Iran's Drone Network

There is little doubt that Iran's Shahed drone threat has become a major concern, menacing surrounding Gulf states, commercial tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. bases across the region. This backdrop helps explain why the State Department's Rewards for Justice program has now put up to $15 million for new information in connection with an already sanctioned Iranian drone-production network linked to the IRGC-Qods Force. 

Rewards for Justice has named Kimia Part Sivan Company (KIPAS), which the State Department says serves as the drone-production arm of the IRGC-Qods Force. KIPAS has tested drones, supported drone transfers to Iraq, and procured foreign-made components for Iran's drone program.

"The IRGC has financed numerous terrorist attacks and activities globally, including via its proxies outside Iran, such as Hamas, Hizballah, and Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq. The IRGC funds its international activities – in part – through sales of military equipment, including UAVs. Proceeds from Iran's sale of weapons and UAVs, including to buyers in Russia, also benefit the Iranian military, including the IRGC-QF," Rewards for Justice wrote on its website.

Help us put a dent in the IRGC’s revenue stream.

Send us a tip on these bad boys, who manage this drone manufacturer. pic.twitter.com/gwt0jyUqfx

— Rewards for Justice (@RFJ_USA) May 14, 2026

The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC already sanctions KIPAS and appears on the Specially Designated Nationals list. OFAC designated KIPAS on October 29, 2021, for materially assisting the IRGC with its drone program.

According to the State Department, six individuals are involved in the "testing, development, and supply of drones" linked to the IRGC.

Commercial risk-intelligence and investigations platform Sayari has identified all known managers and links associated with KIPAS:

Further refining:

Follow the money and supply chains, and it appears the State Department wants to disrupt Iran's drone industry.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 16:40

Re-Arranging The Global Game-Board 'Bigly'...

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Resource Scramble

“Trump has done so much damage to libtardery that the Democrats will need a decade of uninterrupted power to undo it, which they're not going to get.”

- Matt Forney on X

If you learned anything from this week’s extravaganza in Beijing, it is that Donald Trump is aggressively re-aligning world relations so that the USA does not end up one of the losers in the global resource scramble that lurks darkly behind all current events.

China does not intend to be an eventual loser, either, though it has lost a lot of traction lately.

The Eurolands are certainly the main losers, embracing loserdom as the old and sick long for death.

India and some of the BRICs countries, are looking a little loser-ish just now.

The primary resource all nations scramble for is oil. Without lavish supplies of oil, you can’t have an advanced techno-industrial economy and, as the feckless Eurolanders learned the hard way, there really isn’t an adequate substitute for oil. The flow of oil depends on economically producible reserves of oil country-by-country, but also on geographic advantage, as we are learning just now in the Hormuz crisis.

“Europe’s crude oil production started its permanent decline in 2001. Asia-Pacific’s production hit a maximum in 2010, and it has been declining since. Africa’s peak oil production took place in 2008, and it has been mostly declining since.”

- Gail Tverberg, OurFiniteWorld.com

Also, turns out, the peak oil story is still real, despite fifteen years of shale oil miracles.

The Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia are probably past peak. American shale oil is in the peaking zone, too — the Permian Basin in Texas is running short of sweet spots. The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (AMWR) is open for leasing, but it is expensive to drill and produce in the harsh arctic region and the US Geological Survey estimates recoverable reserves there between 7.7 – 10 billion barrels — America consumes roughly 7.5 billion barrels-a-year, so. . . .

There’s Canada, of course, and its tar sands, but the Great White North these days leans rather hostilely towards its neighbor to the south (us). Otherwise, North America is pretty fully explored oil-wise. There can’t be a whole lot of hidden, un-tapped “elephant” fields out there. On the plus side, America enjoys its geographic advantage, comfortably cushioned between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, far from the madding crowd of Eurasia.

We have lately trumpeted our supposed acquisition of Venezuela, but projected production of US companies there looking ahead several years would be under a million barrels-a-day while the US uses 20.5-million barrels a day. As for Venezuela’s jungle-bound oil sands, well, for now, fuggeddabowdit.

Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources puts its commercially recoverable oil resources (with current technology and prices) at around 80-billion barrels, which is a lot, and leaves Russia in a theoretically favorable place for the short term, anyway. China uses about 17-million barrels-a-day and imports about 70-percent of that. Its imports of Iranian oil are substantial but obscured in official statistics due to the evasion of US sanctions. The Hormuz blockade has put a hurt on China.

Here’s how the global resource scramble translates into geopolitical behavior: As has been evident for some time, US interests are increasingly alienated from Euroland’s interests, and better aligned with Russia’s interests. Europe is demonstrably insane these days, roiling with loose talk as it whirls around the drain. Russia, under V. Putin, looks more like the adult in the room. Even Russia’s military operation in Ukraine looks rational if you consider how the EU and the CIA started the damn thing in the first place circa 2014 for the very purpose of provoking Russia.

Mr. Trump has yearned to normalize relations with Russia since he stepped on-stage in 2016, to the great consternation of America’s neocons, CIA shadow-meisters, and the born-again communists running the Democratic Party (who seem to resent Russia ditching Marxism-Leninism thirty-five years ago). This week, the US and China have mutually proposed becoming “partners” rather than rivals on the world scene. We will surely remain mutually wary, but apparently things have changed.

Most urgently, China would like its oil imports from the Persian Gulf restored, and the obvious way to make that happen would be for them to lean on Iran to stop screwing around and come to terms with the US — give up the enriched uranium and stop laying jihad on everybody near and far. We’ll know soon enough if China will do that for us, and we have some goodies promised for them, Nvidia chips, soybeans, and more.

Mr. Trump is rearranging the global game-board bigly, and the net result will be the sorting-out of winners and losers.

Iran is the poster boy for that. It could go either way for them, soon, and rather sharply.

If Iran’s jihad-happy leaders just quit FAFOing, they have the chance to re-enter the global community as an advanced modern economy with a comfortable standard of living.

Or, the US could just blow up what’s left there.

China will probably deliver that message forcefully in the days ahead.

There remains, however, the dirty business of America’s domestic enemies, of whom we learn more and more each week.

This week, it was the testimony of “whistleblower” CIA agent James Erdman that the CIA worked sedulously to conceal the true origins of Covid-19. It looks pretty much like what half of America has suspected all along: that Covid was a trip laid on the nation by its own Deep State (mainly the CIA), in concert with the rogue Democratic Party, for the express purpose of queering the 2020 election.

Related seditious operations apparently continue to this very hour. Former CIA Director John Brennan told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace this week: “There’s still a legion of professionals in the law enforcement environment, the Department of Justice, as well as the CIA and other places — the ones who are refusing to follow politically motivated prosecutions, those who are refusing to support any type of political activities on the part of the Trump administration. . . .” Did he just admit that the conspiracy he kicked off in 2016 is still ongoing? And that he is an active party to it? I think so. Do you think Joe DiGenova noticed that down in the DOJ’s Southern District of Florida?

Just as astoundingly, this week former FBI Director James Comey told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that he “still speaks regularly” to current FBI employees. Say, what. . . ? He palavers with the very agency that is investigating him for serious felonies, such as threatening the life of the US president? Sounds a little out-of-order, ya think? Does he long to spend the rest of his life as captain of the ping-pong team at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 16:20

Deadlocked At Square Zero: Very First Line Of Iran's Latest Proposal 'Unacceptable,' Trump Says

Tehran and Washington are truly not just back to square one, but it's as if no rounds of dialogue - direct or indirect - have even taken place. It's more like being back at square zero - and the US President has just acknowledged it.

President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Friday while departing Beijing that even the very first first sentence of Iran's latest proposal was "unacceptable" and blamed the Iranians for backtracking on the nuclear issue.

The first sentence was an “unacceptable sentence, because they have fully agreed no nuclear, and if they have any nuclear of any form, I don’t read the rest,” he said, stressing that he remains unsatisfied with the "level of guarantee from them."

Trump's remarks center on his allegation that Iran agreed to give up its "nuclear dust" but then quickly “then they took it back" - but then stated his view that Tehran will eventually agree to it anyway.

"I looked at it, and I don't like the first sentence. I just throw it away," Trump said.

via Associated Press

He once again in the comments called for Iran to completely abandon any nuclear capability, insisting there can be "no nuclear of any form." He described: "You've got to get all the fuel out and no more production. You have to get everything."

Trump has said China's President Xi Jinping is in full agreement that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon:

According to Trump, Iranian representatives acknowledged only the United States and possibly China possess the specialized equipment necessary to remove radioactive debris from the damaged sites.

"They said the only one that can remove it is China or the U.S.," Trump said. "They said you were right. It is a complete obliteration."

The president has said the nuclear material is now "entombed" under ground after nuclear sites were "obliterated" - from bombing operations last June and this latest round of US-Israeli attacks in February through March and early April.

Also this week while in China Trump told Fox News in an interview that he did not underestimate the situation in Iran, despite the constantly shifting and expanding timeline and stated goals within the early weeks of Operation Epic Fury. 

TRUMP TO FOX: DIDN'T UNDERESTIMATE ANYTHING ON IRAN

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the topic of uranium enrichment "is currently not on the agenda of discussions or negotiations," but will be addressed in later stages, as cited in Tasnim.

On China and whether President Xi agreed to commit to pressuring the Iranians to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said Friday "we don’t need favors" but that "we may have to do a little cleanup work."

"We had a little month-long ceasefire, I guess you’d call it, but we have a blockade that’s so effective, that’s why we did the ceasefire," he said, after suggesting that the conflict with Iran could continue.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 16:15

DHS Pushes Forward With Large-Scale Warehouse Immigration Detention Hubs

Via American Greatness,

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is continuing efforts to transform warehouses into large-scale immigration detention centers despite a growing number of politically motivated lawsuits.

Officials with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently discussed plans to award contracts for construction and operations at warehouse sites in San Antonio and near El Paso, according to people briefed on the internal meetings. The administration is also examining how to continue work at a site near Hagerstown, Maryland, while complying with a court order limiting construction activity there.

The warehouse initiative has become a central part of the Trump administration’s broader deportation agenda, with officials arguing the facilities will allow ICE to process and detain illegal immigrants more efficiently through centralized hubs capable of housing large numbers of detainees.

Critics from both political parties have attacked the proposal, while several states have filed lawsuits claiming the administration failed to complete environmental reviews required under federal law.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin ordered a review of the estimated $38 billion project after taking office earlier this year. The plan was originally launched under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

The administration appears determined to move forward with the project despite the legal challenges. ICE is reportedly preparing environmental assessments for the two Texas sites, with the goal of having both facilities operational by early 2027.

A DHS spokesperson said the department is reviewing policies and proposals adopted before Mullin assumed leadership and intends to work with local communities, including some in areas that strongly supported President Donald Trump.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 15:55

SpaceX Reportedly Chooses Nasdaq And "SPCX" Ticker For Mega IPO

Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, has reportedly selected Nasdaq for its long-awaited IPO and is targeting a June 11 pricing, followed by a June 12 debut under the ticker "SPCX," according to a Reuters report released late in Friday's U.S. cash session.

Immediately after the report, odds for "SPCX" on the Polymarket bet, "What will SpaceX's public ticker be?" soared to nearly 100%.

//--> //--> Will SpaceX's public ticker be another ticker?
Yes 97% · No 3%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

In April, SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC and is planning to disclose its prospectus as soon as next week, according to CNBC.

SpaceX's IPO could raise upwards of $75 billion for the rocket company and dwarf Saudi Aramco's $29 billion debut in 2019. The money raised would be used to fund an "insane flight rate" for the Starship rocket and to push ahead with deploying orbital data centers in low Earth orbit. The company's valuation stands at around $1.75 trillion.

The timing comes amid a broader reopening of the IPO window for AI firms, with major chatbot startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic increasingly viewed as potential second-half candidates.

Goldman's Tony Pasquariello offered additional insight on the upcoming SpaceX IPO:

In most every single client meeting that I have, the question of how the tape will absorb a series of mega IPOs comes up.

While understanding that potentially adding trillions of dollars of market cap is worth discussion, as mentioned a few times recently, I'd argue there's good reason to be optimistic here (I'm a taker of opposing views).

I'll add a few points to the running conversation here:

i. to level set, at $77tr of market cap, the US equity asset class is immense (the next closest country is China at $12tr).

ii. in 1999, 380 IPOs rolled off the assembly line; for 2026, GIR currently expects 100.

iii. asset size is one consideration, yet asset quality is another -- I remember 1999, and let's just say comprehensive asset quality didn't stand the test of time.

Wall Street is certainly hungry for IPOs after a prolonged drought. This week, we saw AI chipmaker Cerebras surge nearly 70% in its debut.

SpaceX's IPO filing could come around the 12th test flight of the Starship rocket, expected as early as next Tuesday.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 15:40

Uranium Gap Worsens: Nuclear News Roundup

Goldman analyst Brian Lee reviews headlines across the nuclear industry for March (full note here).  

New reactor progress and announcements

North America

• 4/16/2026 – Canada: Bruce Power has signed an MoU with SaskPower to share its experience in large-scale nuclear reactors, including project development and long-term operations, as Saskatchewan evaluates large reactor technologies alongside its SMR program. The agreement formalizes information-sharing and aligns provincial and federal nuclear strategies.
• 4/24/2026 – United States: Duke Energy's Robinson nuclear power plant has been cleared for extended operation to 80 years, after the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed its fastest-ever subsequent license renewal review. The approval allows the 759 MW Robinson Unit 2 in South Carolina to operate until 2050, under new accelerated federal timelines.
• 4/29/2026 – United States: The US NRC has approved subsequent license renewals for St Lucie Units 1 and 2, clearing the Florida Power & Light plant to operate for up to 80 years, with Unit 1 licensed to 2056 and Unit 2 to 2063. The decision follows ageing-management reviews for the extended operating period and secures long-term operation of the two pressurized water reactors.
• 5/5/2026 – United States: Brookfield and The Nuclear Company have formed a JV to manage the potential completion of the two VC Summer AP1000 units in South Carolina, supporting due diligence and execution if the project proceeds, subject to approvals and a final investment decision.

Europe

• 4/10/2026 – Czechia: ČEZ is exploring extending the operating life of its four Dukovany reactors to up to 80 years, having launched a preparatory process for long-term operation beyond the current 60-year plan, while also assessing potential life extensions at Temelín, subject to ongoing safety and economic evaluations.
• 4/10/2026 – Lithuania: Lithuania has received regulatory approval to begin dismantling reactor channels at Ignalina Unit 2, after completing the same work at Unit 1, with dismantling and decontamination scheduled to start at end-2026 following preparatory activities by state-owned decommissioning company Altra.
• 4/16/2026 – Bulgaria: Bulgaria’s energy minister has said the new Kozloduy Units 7 and 8 should be built at fixed prices, citing past nuclear projects where cost overruns derailed delivery, as the government seeks tighter cost control while advancing plans for two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the site.
• 4/30/2026 – Belgium: Belgium is in talks with Engie to take over its full nuclear fleet, covering all seven reactors, with decommissioning work paused while negotiations continue. The move would allow the state to keep options open on life extensions and future nuclear capacity.

Asia and other

• 4/9/2026 – India: EDF and NTPC have signed a non-binding MoU to explore cooperation on new nuclear projects in India, including assessing EDF’s EPR technology, localisation opportunities, project economics, training, and potential sites, following approvals from Indian government ministries.
• 4/13/2026 – South Korea: Saeul Unit 3 has started up after achieving first criticality on 12 April, with KHNP confirming the APR-1400 reactor entered its initial start-up phase following completion of all required pre-operational inspections; output will be ramped up through testing ahead of commercial operation in the second half of 2026.
• 4/16/2026 – Japan: Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 has resumed commercial operation, becoming the first TEPCO-owned reactor to return to service since Fukushima, after Japan’s regulator completed final pre-operational inspections. The 1,356 MWe ABWR, offline since 2012, re-entered commercial operation on 16 April following resolution of technical issues encountered during restart testing.
• 4/20/2026 – Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan has adopted a nuclear strategy targeting at least three plants by 2050, with a fourth under consideration to meet rising power demand; the plan also includes assessing SMRs and replacing coal capacity with nuclear to bolster energy security and meet climate goals.
• 4/20/2026 – China: Taipingling Unit 1 has entered commercial operation, with CGN confirming the 1,116 MWe Hualong One (HPR1000) reactor began service on 19 April after completing commissioning tests. It is the first of six units planned at the Taipingling site in Guangdong province.
• 4/28/2026 – Bangladesh: Fuel loading has begun at Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant, with 163 fuel assemblies being loaded into Rooppur Unit 1, marking the start of the reactor’s start-up and commissioning phase following issuance of its operating licence earlier in April.
• 4/29/2026 – Russia: Russia’s nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has approved the readiness of Kursk II Unit 1, issuing a certificate of compliance that confirms the 1,250 MWe VVER-TOI reactor meets safety and design requirements and is fully ready for commissioning and market entry.
• 4/29/2026 – China: San’ao Unit 1 has entered commercial operation, with CGN confirming the 1,116 MWe Hualong One reactor completed commissioning on 29 April 2026. It is the first of six units planned at the Zhejiang site.
• 5/6/2026 – China: Fuel loading has been completed at two new Chinese reactors, with 177 fuel assemblies inserted at Taipingling Unit 2 and Changjiang Unit 3, both Hualong One units, marking their transition into the nuclear commissioning phase ahead of start-up.
• 5/7/2026 – Turkey: Turkey’s nuclear regulator has approved commissioning work at Akkuyu Unit 2, allowing pre-fuel-loading tests to begin at the second VVER-1200 unit of the Akkuyu plant.

SMR announcement tracker

• 4/8/2026 – Sweden: GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and AFRY have agreed a non-exclusive collaboration to support deployment of the BWRX-300 SMR, with AFRY providing engineering, advisory and licensing support to enable scalable SMR projects across Europe, including support for licensing in Sweden.
• 4/13/2026 – UK: The UK has signed a contract to deliver its first SMRs, with Great British Energy – Nuclear and Rolls-Royce SMR agreeing to begin work on three units at Wylfa (Anglesey), enabling site design and early procurement ahead of a final investment decision.
• 4/14/2026 – Netherlands: A Dutch nuclear new-build partnership has been announced, with Mammoet and ULC-Energy signing a cooperation agreement to streamline construction of new nuclear facilities in the Netherlands. The collaboration focuses on modular construction and heavy-lifting expertise, and is aligned with government plans for new large reactors and future SMR deployment.
• 4/14/2026 – United States: The US Air Force has named Buckley (Colorado) and Malmstrom (Montana) as potential microreactor sites, with deployment under the ANPI programme targeted for 2030 or earlier.
• 4/16/2026 – United States: The NRC has received an application to build a KRONOS microreactor at the University of Illinois, with the construction permit application filed on 31 March in partnership with NANO Nuclear Energy.
• 4/17/2026 – Netherlands: A Dutch consortium has signed an MoU to advance construction of Europe’s first commercial molten salt reactor, covering a non-nuclear test facility and pilot programme, a nuclear demonstrator at Petten, and a 100 MWe commercial MSR in Zeeland, targeted for operation by 2034.
• 4/20/2026 – Poland: OSGE has signed a letter of intent with Poland’s Industrial Development Agency to prepare a BWRX-300 SMR project at Stalowa Wola, setting the framework for a future investment agreement.
• 4/20/2026 – United States: Kairos Power has broken ground on the Hermes 2 demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the company’s first commercial-scale and power-producing Generation IV reactor. The project will supply up to 50 MW to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid under Kairos’s agreement with Google, and builds on lessons from the non-power Hermes 1 reactor now under construction.
• 4/24/2026 – United States: The US Air Force has selected Radiant, Westinghouse Government Services, and Antares as microreactor developers under the ANPI programme, pairing them with Buckley (Colorado), Malmstrom (Montana), and Joint Base San Antonio (Texas), respectively, with a goal of deploying at least one reactor by 2030 or earlier.
• 4/27/2026 – Czechia: ČEZ has signed an early-works contract with Rolls-Royce SMR for a proposed SMR at the Temelín nuclear site, enabling site-specific design, licensing and permitting preparation. The agreement covers early engineering only and is not a final investment decision or start of construction.
• 4/27/2026 – France: Stellaria and France’s CEA have signed a letter of intent to study building an experimental molten salt reactor at Cadarache, covering the 100 kW Alvin experimental MSR and a future 10 MWe prototype (MegAlvin) as part of a feasibility study for an Alpha basic nuclear installation at the site.
• 4/30/2026 – Canada: Canada plans to release a new Nuclear Energy Strategy by end-2026, alongside funding to assess Canadian-controlled microreactors for remote and northern defence sites, with the strategy focused on new builds, exports, fuel supply, and nuclear innovation.
• 5/1/2026 – Canada: OPG has installed the basemat foundation module at the Darlington SMR site, marking a key construction milestone for the G7’s first SMR. The 953-tonne modular basemat was placed 35 metres below ground, advancing construction of the first BWRX-300 unit.
• 5/5/2026 – Sweden: Blykalla and ABB have signed a Joint Development Agreement to deepen cooperation on lead-cooled SMRs, covering joint development of SEALER reactor elements with ABB as a key partner for automation and control systems.
• 5/7/2026 – United States: US pilot SMR licensing has advanced on two fronts, with the DOE approving the Documented Safety Analysis for Aalo Atomics’ Aalo-X experimental reactor, and the NRC approving the Principal Design Criteria topical report for Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse, marking key regulatory milestones for both projects.

Global reactor critical updates

In the month of April, there have been few changes to new reactor construction starts, grid connections, shutdowns, or restarts.

Global reactor construction tracker

Fuel announcements

• 4/8/2026 – Russia: Testing of innovative VVER fuel has begun at Russia’s Balakovo 1, where three pilot fuel assemblies with chromium-coated cladding and MOX fuel rods were loaded into a VVER-1000 reactor.
• 4/9/2026 – France: Framatome has signed an agreement with four EU utilities (ČEZ, Fortum, MVM Paks NPP, and Slovenské elektrárne) to develop a fully European VVER-440 fuel design, supporting fuel-supply diversification and reduced reliance on Russian fuel. First deliveries targeted for the early 2030s.
• 4/14/2026 – Poland: Poland’s SGE has signed cooperation agreements with Spain’s Enusa and GNF Enusa to strengthen nuclear fuel strategy, procurement, and supply-chain development in support of BWRX-300 SMR deployment across Europe.
• 4/17/2026 – United States: ConverDyn is studying a second US uranium conversion plant (“Metropolis 2.0”), alongside an expansion of its existing Metropolis Works facility, with feasibility work under way.
• 4/28/2026 – United States: Ur-Energy has begun ISR uranium mining at its Shirley Basin project in Wyoming, with production under way at Mine Unit 1.
• 5/1/2026 – India: India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has granted an operating licence to the NFC-Kota fuel plant in Rajasthan, enabling production of ~500 tpa of natural UO₂ fuel to support indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs.
• 5/6/2026 – UK: Urenco has completed its first LEU+ trial run at the Capenhurst site, producing uranium enriched to ~7% U-235, confirming capability to supply LEU+ (5–10%) with commercial availability planned soon.
• 5/8/2026 – Japan: Japan shipped ~1.7 tonnes of HALEU to the United States, marking the largest international uranium transfer handled by the NNSA, to support the US HALEU Availability Program and advanced reactor fuel supply.

Uranium pricing and volume trackers

Spot pricing steadies, supported by Sprott activity. Spot U₃O₈ prices rebounded through mid April following late March softness, rising from the low $80s to the mid and high $80s, briefly touching ~$87/lb around WNFC Monaco. Momentum faded toward late April and early May, with prices drifting modestly lower into the mid $80s.

Term pricing stable. Term uranium pricing remained firm through April and into early May, holding around ~$90/lb. Market engagement stayed active, supported by ongoing utility discussions around mid and long term coverage. Floors largely holding in the mid $70s and ceilings extending into the low $130s for long dated deliveries.

Key supply/demand and pricing charts

Updating supply-demand model: We update our uranium supply/demand model to include updated forecasts for SMR deployments. We are conservatively anticipating SMR deployments reach nearly 2GW in 2030, and grow at 2GW-3GW per year through 2045, representing cumulative deployments of ~46GW in 2045. This represents a 6% uplift to our 2045 nuclear power generation forecast. Based on our fuel burn assumptions, we estimate these deployments will create a uranium demand need of ~62mn lbs in 2045, or 17% upside to our 2045 forecast.

Revisions to power generation forecast. We have maintained our large reactor forecast, but now include estimates for global SMR deployments between 2026-2045. We believe these estimates are relatively conservative. As a result of our changes, we see an expanding deficit over the medium-term. Our forecast does not include nuclear uprates to existing facilities, which provides further upside.

More in the full note available to pro subs.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 15:25

UCLA Medical School Accused Of Racial Discrimination In Defiance Of Supreme Court

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

We previously discussed a disturbing account of how medical students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were subjected to a bizarre class where one of the university’s “activists-in-residence” showered them with anti-Semitic postings and racist rhetoric. Now, the Justice Department has found that the university engaged in systemic racial discrimination in the admission of medical students. Given the university’s history, it is hardly surprising, but it remains unclear how the university will respond to the findings.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced that the medical school violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by giving preferential treatment to black and Hispanic applicants.

The investigation followed the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which barred race-based admissions.

In the DOJ’s “Findings” letter, black and Hispanic admits in some years averaged MCAT scores in the 66th to 72nd percentile, while Asian and white students averaged scores in the mid-to-high 80th percentiles.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon indicated that the Justice Department found that UCLA medical school leadership discussed how to achieve “diversity goals” and other strategies after the Supreme Court ruling.

After the historic ruling in the Harvard and North Carolina cases barring the use of racial criteria in admissions, administrators and academics admitted what they had long denied: that race was having a major role in admissions.

In anticipation of the rulings, many schools, including the California system, eliminated standardized testing. Without objective scores, there is less ability to identify the use of non-scholastic criteria for admissions. By eliminating or devaluing standardized testing, admissions offices can use the more subjective essays to achieve the same race-based results.

I wrote about how administrators were already preparing to use essays as an indirect way to achieve the same identifications and preferences in admissions.

The essay “prompts” encourage students to effectively self-identify by discussing incidents where they faced discrimination.

The shift to the essays would allow the removal of high-scoring students while elevating those with lower scores. That prediction was quickly confirmed, as top candidates were rejected based on their essays, while schools used essays to flag their backgrounds.

Faculty and administrators at UCLA and other schools remain adamant in using race-based admissions. They simply justify discrimination as equity and diversity. 

This is the same school that required medical students to sit through a raving lecture from “a formerly unhoused and incarcerated poverty scholar who prefers to keep their face covered in public.”

In her two-hour lecture, Gray-Garcia dismissed modern medicine as “white science” and told the medical students to engage in a prayer to “mama Earth.” Students were expected to pray and affirm that “Mama Earth was never meant to be bought, sold, pimped or played.”

The scene captured the erosion of academic integrity at schools like UCLA as woke agendas overwhelm the curriculum. After yielding to that agenda for years and allegedly struggling to evade the Supreme Court decision, UCLA remains a hardened silo of woke priorities and policies. It will take the threat of the most serious consequences to dislodge this academic administration. In the end, they may yield or draw out the conflict in the hope that a new Democratic administration will allow them to return to racially discriminatory admissions.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 15:10

 

 

The SEC has proposed moving to semiannual earnings reporting.

On Monday, we discussed why eliminating quarterly earnings as a basic premise was a bad idea: it reduces transparency, increases volatility, and is likely to create a surge in insider trading, all while accomplishing little to move us away from the short-termism surrounding quarterly earnings today.

Before we do that, let’s consider the best practices of some of the largest and/or smartest companies in America. They have considered this issue on their own, taken a variety of approaches regarding earnings, and have been applauded by their shareholders for how they conduct their business.

Let’s consider some best practices – even without being required to do so by the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway: does not do a quarterly call at all. The Q1 results historically came out alongside an 8-K and a quick slide at the meeting. Buffett has used the annual meeting Q&A to add whatever color he wanted to the numbers. Greg Abel’s first quarter (Q1 2026) still produced a Saturday earnings release with no accompanying call, just the report. Given that he was selected by Buffett, it is hard to imagine that changing.

Costco: historically refused to provide forward guidance, and the call is famously short and unadorned. To keep their investors informed, the CFO does monthly comp sales updates. This has made COST’s quarterly calls uneventful.

Tootsie Roll: Admittedly, BRK & COST are giant companies with unusually loyal shareholders. Let’s consider a smaller player: Tootsie Roll. Their Q1 2026 release was issued on April 22, 2026. The entire document is a one-page press release. It is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to an 8-K.

That’s it! No conference call, no webcast, no slide deck, no management discussion, no analysis – just the naked release itself. It does not include a balance sheet, a cash flow statement, or a segment breakdown. Chairman Ellen Gordon includes a brief narrative and a four-line summary table. Oh, and precisely zero forward guidance.

Other companies split the difference with pre-recorded calls. The Tisch family runs the Loews Corporation, and instead of a live call, they file a written set of “Earnings Remarks” as an exhibit to the 8-K in PDF form; again, they eschew the live Q&A format and provide no forward guidance. Google similarly pre-records the management remarks via a script recorded up to 48 hours ahead of time. Mark Leonard of Constellation Software is openly disdainful of what he calls “IR theater.” The reclusive billionaire shares few speculative opinions beyond his shareholder letters. (He famously asked the board to reduce his salary to zero.)

Then there is Robinhood, which has reinvented what an earnings call looks like. CEO Vlad Tenev has said he is trying to “improve the branding of being a public company,” which is very on-brand for a brokerage app in an era when fewer and fewer companies are going public. (See, e.g., Q2 2025 Earnings Call, July 30, 2025)

They livestream the video on multiple platforms, including Tenev’s X account, in front of an in-person audience physically at a venue. The Q1 2026 call (April 28) was held outdoors at their Menlo Park HQ – it could be the first-ever outdoor earnings call in history.

Stock ownership is the entry ticket for asking a question – it is a mix of retail shareholders, “finance content creators, analysts, and institutional shareholders. Robinhood begins with the Q&A, via Say Technologies – Shareholders’ questions are submitted in advance and “upvoted” during the week leading to the call.

There are plenty of others: Tesla, Amazon, Opendoor, Netflix, Spotify and Palantir all come to mind.

The bottom line is that the SEC should encourage more information sharing, greater transparency, and more frequent earnings reporting — not less.

Allowing less information, rather than mandating more, is a step in the wrong direction.

 

 

Previously:
Artificial Intelligence and Quarterly Earnings Reports (May 11, 2026)

Report Earnings Daily (Bloomberg, August 20, 2018)

 

 

 

The post Good Quarterly Earnings Behavior appeared first on The Big Picture.

BWXT Holds A Realistic Path To Expanding Nuclear Capacity

Ananym Capital is urging BWXT to commercialize its reactor production capabilities. The investor is looking for BWXT to bring back one of their old small modular reactor (SMR) design, mPower, that was abandoned in 2017. 

BWXT already produces one to three reactors each year for U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines. That steady cadence gives it unmatched experience turning complex nuclear hardware into delivered hardware on a predictable basis. 

With only a handful of AP1000 units built worldwide, no other American players can claim comparable low technology risk when it comes to actual reactor production. 

This stands in contrast to the wave of microreactor developers pitching novel concepts. Many remain years from full-scale deployment, still navigating licensing for core designs and advanced materials with minimum operating history. 

BWXT does not need to invent a new reactor architecture to matter. It can adapt existing pressurized water technology it has built and serviced for decades, then apply it where demand is clearest: data centers and industrial users seeking reliable, always-on power.

Ananym is pushing the revival of an old SMR design BWXT was working on with Bechtel in the early 2000s. The project was closed down after the program struggled to bring off-takers on board. 

While the idea makes sense with BWXT being one of the more experienced reactor developers in the world, it would be a far less complicated effort to simply do more of what they're already good at. 

Instead of having to design a new reactor that has not seen operations yet, the company could instead increase the production rate of their naval reactor line for use in other government applications or in the commercial industry. 

The concept is not without its headaches, as we discussed previously with a similar idea from HGP Intelligent Energy. The reactors will likely require some amount of redesign to work at lower uranium enrichment levels. 

Whether BWXT decides to revive the shelved SMR project or simply do more of what they already are good at, the general idea just makes too much sense: stop trying to reinvent the [nuclear] wheel.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 14:25

Home Prices Register Biggest Annual Increase In More Than A Year: Report

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The median home sales price in the United States jumped 2.4 percent in April from a year ago, the largest increase since March 2025, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a May 12 statement.

A home for sale in Austin, Texas, on April 24, 2025. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The company attributed the price increase to more buyers entering the housing market amid a stabilizing job market. In April, the United States added 115,000 jobs, well above the expected 62,000.

“The April jobs report showed stronger-than-expected hiring, reducing recession risk. This likely helped fuel a pop in housing demand. Pending home sales hit the highest level since February 2023 last month, rising 2 percent from the month before—the largest increase since March 2025,” Redfin said.

In addition to buyers coming off the sidelines, sellers are also doing the same, with active listings of homes for sale in April hitting the highest level since March 2020.

Lower mortgage rates are incentivizing prospective buyers to consider purchases. Last year, the weekly average rate of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had hit an annual peak of 7.04 percent in mid-January, according to data from Freddie Mac.

The rate has come down to 6.37 percent for the week ending May 6. It had declined below the 6 percent level in February, the first time this has happened since September 2022.

Amid the jump in home sale prices in April, discounts offered on home purchases are tapering, Redfin said.

Last month, the share of homes sold for less than their original listed price was 60.5 percent—the sixth straight month of decline. According to the brokerage, securing discounts is getting harder as demand grows and sellers price homes more competitively.

“Homebuyer demand increased significantly at the end of March following a relatively quiet period in January and February. This is the first time post-pandemic I’ve felt the frenzy and comeback of a true spring market,” said Dawn Kane, a Redfin Premier real estate agent.

“Still, sellers must maintain realistic pricing strategies. Market data and buyer activity indicate that overpriced homes remain on the market longer, while competitively priced properties sell more quickly and efficiently, often receiving multiple offers.”

In a May 6 post, real estate marketplace Zillow suggested that if mortgage rates were to fall back to the 6 percent range seen earlier this year, home sales figures could improve.

Prospective buyers who saw through last year’s markets now have more options and improved affordability while choosing their homes. Last month, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home declined 3.4 percent year over year to $1,829, Zillow said.

Housing Construction, Improving Affordability

On the construction side, housing construction “bounced back” in March, with builders ramping up production, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in an April 29 statement.

NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said that the rebound suggests builders are responding to regional improvements in housing demand despite affordability challenges.

Privately owned housing construction starts had risen by 10.8 percent in March from a year back, according to April 29 data from the Census Bureau. This uptick in housing starts could be a positive signal that the sector may be stabilizing, Owens said.

“Single-family starts drove much of the monthly increase, indicating that builders are cautiously ramping up production to meet persistent inventory shortages in the resale market,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis.

“While this is an encouraging sign, the pace of construction is likely to remain measured as builders continue to navigate elevated financing costs and labor availability.”

The Trump administration has taken various measures to improve housing affordability.

In late April, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture revoked a policy on energy standards for newly built single-family and multifamily homes.

If the standards were enforced, home construction costs would have risen by $20,000 to $31,000, HUD said. This could have pushed many first-time buyers out of the housing market.

Last month, HUD announced that the Federal Housing Administration has joined with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement new mortgage credit score models that seek to make home buying more affordable.

“This historic move is intended to lower costs for the American people after years of rising prices under the status quo credit score system,” the department said.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 13:45

Collum: Was Fed Chair Warsh Chosen For A Controlled Demolition?

Supposed monetary hawk Kevin Warsh, who was officially sworn in as the 17th Fed Chair earlier this week, will now face the dilemma of staying true to his hawkish roots or caving to his unabashed high-rate hating President. That is, of course, unless there’s a deeper plan at play…

Last night, Cornell professor Dave Collum hosted Michael Lebowitz and Stephanie Pomboy for a deep dived into ‘How F***ed Markets Are’ where Dave posited the theory that Warsh man be a demolition man for a managed crash.

Collum and co. also talked about the insane disconnect between the economy and financial markets… and why Pomboy has increasingly abandoned financial assets altogether in favor of gold and hard assets.

Dave’s Fed truther theory and other highlights from last night below:

Retail Retards

Collum warned that modern markets have become completely detached from traditional valuation discipline… but that reality will eventually set in.

“It’s my assertion that probably greater than 50% of the investors in the world don’t understand what valuation means… Everything’s a Bitcoin price now.”

Standard valuation metrics have compounded roughly 4% annually for 45 years and are now firmly in “the nosebleed section,” yet “nobody cares,” per Collum.

Classic warning indicators are now near historic extremes. Lebowitz noted that “CAPE is near its all-time high. It’s above the 1929 level and just short of the dot-com level.” He argued the bigger danger may actually be hiding in supposedly “safe” stocks like Walmart and Costco.

Pomboy has opted out of the mania altogether. How? Real assets.

“Markets can go on longer than you can remain solvent betting against it…. I finally just sort of resigned myself to buying gold… At the end of the day I have been outperforming those markets by only gold.”

pic.twitter.com/BZb2DCgWxn

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) May 15, 2026

Why Warsh?

Collum posed the question of Kevin Warsh as Trump’s Fed Chair pick. Trump regularly announces that interest rates are too high and yet picks the ostensible hawk of the bunch to lead the Fed? But that may be a facade, according to Lebowitz:

“I think Kevin Warsh and Jerome Powell are the same guy.” 

Lebowitz argued that the market may be projecting qualities onto Warsh that simply are not real. He acknowledged that Warsh currently sounds tougher, but there’s no way he’s gonna cut rates. “I thought he may come in and try to do 25 just to appease the president. There’s no way he could do that after the CPI and PPI data we had this week.”

Every Fed chair talks tough before markets crack (Greenspan was an Austrian/Ayn Rand-adjacent philosopher prior to his reign of easy money).

“Warsh was there in 2008, ’09 when they were introducing QE,” Lebowitz added. “Powell came off as very austere until the COVID hit the fan.”

Collum floated the darker theory that Warsh may have been chosen precisely because he is viewed as credible enough to oversee a painful reckoning. “What if Warsh’s assignment is ‘we need someone with the guts to usher this sucker down?’”

pic.twitter.com/EPHK6jCTEL

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) May 15, 2026

Check out the full debate for their deep dive into the ticking timebomb that are private credit markets and more. Also available on YouTube and Spotify.

https://t.co/VzsW6va0Px

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 14, 2026

 

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 13:05

With 4,900 AI Data Centers, There's Likely One Coming To Your Neighborhood

Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

As artificial intelligence continues to permeate everyday life, the data centers needed to support the burgeoning technology are popping up across America - many close to residential areas. More than one-third of Americans now live within a few miles of at least one data center.

That proximity means many development projects are not going smoothly, as residents raise questions about the unknown effects on their resources. Both residents and developers who spoke to The Epoch Times pointed to transparency as a key issue.

The developers also said they are working to address residents’ concerns at the planning stage, adding safeguards to reduce water and energy requirements.

Meanwhile, grassroots opposition to data centers is gaining momentum going into the 2026 elections.

Built in Clusters

The United States currently has more than 3,100 data centers in operation and more than 1,800 in various stages of development, according to data provided by infrastructure intelligence and mapping platform Data Center Map.

Virginia, Texas, and California lead the nation in the number of data centers, according to the data. Virginia alone has a combined total of 711 currently operational, under-construction, and planned centers. Texas has a combined total of 544, and California, 333.

These data facilities are typically massive buildings housing information technology infrastructure, data-storage systems, and networking and processing equipment. They also require power subsystems, backup generators, and HVAC and cooling systems to prevent hardware from overheating.

According to a recent Pew Research Center analysis, 87 percent of existing data centers are located in urban regions, while 67 percent of planned data centers are targeted for construction in rural areas.

The analysis also reveals that 38 percent of Americans currently live within five miles of at least one operating data center.

“These structures tend to be built in clusters: Nine in 10 data centers are within five miles of another one,” the report notes. “As a result, a majority of Americans who live near one data center also live near at least one more.”

‘Wait a Minute’

According to Data Center Watch, community opposition to data centers is surging nationwide, shifting from individual zoning disputes into a national political force.

An estimated $152 billion in potential investment was blocked or delayed in 2025, including $98 billion in the second quarter alone—more than all disruptions combined since 2023 and affecting 20 projects, the research organization’s data show.

The activity accelerated sharply in the third and fourth quarters, with hundreds of activist groups across 42 states organizing to block the construction or expansion of data centers toward the end of the year.

“We came together and said no, and I’m very proud of the outcry of average citizens to say ‘wait a minute’ before going ahead with this,” Danei Edelen, who heads up the grassroots group Southern Ohio Responsible Development (SORD), located in Brown County, told The Epoch Times. Her hometown of Mount Orab, about 40 miles east of Cincinnati, is the latest target for a hyperscale data center.

Members of Southern Ohio Responsible Development pose with a sign opposing a planned data center in Mount Orab, Ohio, in March 2026. Mount Orab, about 40 miles east of Cincinnati, is the latest target for a hyperscale data center. Courtesy of Danei Edelen/Southern Ohio Responsible Development

“Some of these centers can use up to 5 million gallons of water, which is equivalent to a small town,” Edelen said. “As for the noise, it can be like having a motorcycle running 24/7.”

The group also has concerns about health hazards that could result from possible air pollution, water contamination, or exposure to high-voltage electricity.

With influence from SORD and other Brown County residents, the local government recently issued a six-month moratorium on the project, which could potentially encompass nearly 1,200 acres.

In an aerial view, the Elemental Critical Data Center facility is seen in Austin, Texas, on April 8, 2026. Virginia, Texas, and California lead the nation in the number of data centers, according to data provided by infrastructure intelligence and mapping platform Data Center Map. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Clayton Tucker, secretary of the Texas Farmers Union and Democratic candidate for Texas agriculture minister, said he’s concerned about insufficient water for irrigation.

“It can cost up to $40,000 to drill for a new well, and some of these centers are water hogs, using incredible amounts of water here in the Dust Bowl,” he told The Epoch Times.

He said water levels in some wells in the state have already dropped by 25 feet.

Tucker also worries about the escalation of utility bills.

“Some of these centers are like building an entire new city, and power usage is expected to triple or quadruple by 2032,” he said.

Tucker has spoken with farmers in other states who have seen a recent influx of data centers.

He noted that although state and federal governments have had little involvement, local governments have been sensitive to their concerns. Action by several bipartisan city councils has managed to pause plans for data centers in Athens and San Marcos, Texas.

“Our main goal is to delay these projects and wait for better technology,” Tucker said. “Having centers that use no water and computer chips that use a fraction of the power with little or no noise would resolve a lot of resource issues.”

SORD is ready to go one step further by proposing a state constitutional amendment that would ban hyperscale data centers. The group is working to gather 413,000 valid signatures to qualify for a ballot measure in the next election.

The Biggest Problem

Jennifer Dunphy, public health consultant and author of “The Toxin Handbook,” told The Epoch Times that plans are already on the books for a new large data center within five miles of her home in Orange County, California. Her concern is more about what these centers could transform into for the future.

“The big question is about where these centers are headed,” she said. “As they need more and more power and resources, they’ll grow and become more complex, possibly adding health effects in the future.”

Currently, she noted, there’s no evidence directly linking data centers to any specific health effect, but there are concerns about electromagnetic fields and air pollution affecting people with co-morbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and certain heart conditions, or the elderly.

Dunphy also believes the likelihood of water contamination from data centers is slim.

“I would be more worried about petrochemical or manufacturing centers producing chemical runoffs,” she said. “Then it becomes more of a concern.”

The biggest problem, she noted, is that there have been no large-scale studies about data centers and their impacts on local communities.

“We don’t know enough about these to have them in our backyard,” she said. “And no, I am not in favor of a data center near my home.”

Edelen said her group is not against responsible development.

“We just want more time to study the impact this may have on the community,” she said.

Emma Cox is the chief commercial officer for ClimeCo, a Houston-based global environmental advisory and decarbonization firm helping builders develop more responsibly by reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.

“Data centers are going up incredibly quickly, and my caution is that some developers are not considering responsible growth,” she told The Epoch Times. “As a result, I believe both the environment and human health could suffer.”

The Texas Farmers Union seeks more openness and honesty when data centers are proposed.

“A lot of times, developers don’t tell you the whole truth,” Tucker said.

A local resident holds a sign during a public meeting in Canaan Valley, W. Va., on June 30, 2025. Data centers’ large power consumption and water use remain top concerns for residents when new projects are considered. Ulysse Bellier/AFP via Getty Images

A Redfin-commissioned, Ipsos-conducted survey found that 47 percent of residents object to the construction of AI data centers in their neighborhoods, while 38 percent support the projects.

The survey also showed that younger Americans are more likely to support building data centers in their “backyard.” Politically, 49 percent of Republicans and 36 percent of Democrats support the construction of data centers.

‘A Convenient Scapegoat’

Daren Shumate, CEO of Shumate Engineering in Tysons, Virginia, has been involved in data center construction since 1998.

“From a developer’s viewpoint, there are two major requirements for site selection of data centers: ample power availability and the local jurisdiction that will allow you to build,” he told The Epoch Times.

While he acknowledged that these mega centers are water- and energy-intensive, he said safeguards are being built into plans for new facilities.

“Data centers are a convenient scapegoat when it comes to issues concerning water and power,” he said. “Many of the newer centers are now relying on air-cooled chillers or refrigeration as opposed to evaporative water systems and cooling towers. Those designs call for very low water usage.”

Substations and transformers are seen at a Digital Realty data center in Ashburn, Va., on Nov. 12, 2025. Daren Shumate, whose company has worked in data center construction for decades, said new facilities are being built with water-saving designs and energy safeguards. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

As a result, he said, a data center should have little effect on a community’s water supply or water rates.

Regarding power supply, Shumate said electricity usage varies depending on the size of the data center. It can range from 10 megawatts for smaller facilities to 200 megawatts for hyperscale centers, typically operated by Big Tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Oracle.

In some cases, these centers require additional buildings for cooling and other operations, often requiring another 100 megawatts per building, Shumate said.

“Unlike a regular office building that usually runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., a data center operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. You turn it on and never turn it off,” he said.

While acknowledging concerns about power grid failures, Shumate said developers are taking steps to mitigate them.

“Most large data centers are now required to have back-up battery systems that will provide an uninterrupted power supply, and these batteries are constantly charging,” he said. “That means the centers won’t be putting any extra strain on the power companies when an outage occurs.”

Shumate also believes the expansion of data centers will have minimal effect on utility rates for local consumers.

“Local utility firms will be earning a huge amount of money from these centers, which they can use to improve their infrastructure without adding to consumer bills,” he said. “Better design techniques using LED lighting, insulation, windows, and other materials are designed to stabilize data center electricity usage.”

He also noted that many developers are establishing building criteria to ensure data centers are not located adjacent to schools or residential properties.

“While mechanical units can produce noise, developers can design systems to mitigate the data center noise,” he said.

Harry Sudock, chief business officer of CleanSpark, a Las Vegas-based data-center developer, has handled land acquisition and data center construction for nearly 40 years.

“Power availability and speed to delivery are actually more important than land prices when choosing a location,” he told The Epoch Times. “We also look for areas where there’s already a significant amount of electrical infrastructure in place, including former manufacturing hubs.”

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 12:45

US Gasoline Inventories Plunging On Surging Exports, Resilient Demand

Prompt Brent/WTI crude nearby futures increased by 5/7% week-over-week to $105/101 as flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained very low and on limited signs of progress on a US-Iran deal.

Meanwhile, as global oil inventories collapse at a record pace yet sliding Chinese demand and strategic releases from Beijing keep crude prices relatively stable, Goldman writes that the US gasoline market has become very tight, with inventories drawing at a rapid average pace of 0.7mb/d since April 1st to 5% below their historical seasonal median this week.

This has been driven by a combination of:

• Surging net exports demand. US gasoline net exports are up 0.34mb/d year-over-year (4-week average) 

• Resilient domestic demand. Gasoline demand is resilient at just 0.2mb/d below its year-ago level (no demand destruction yet) and we are now entering the summer driving season.

• Price incentives to shift production to distillates. Strong jet fuel and diesel margins are incentivizing refineries to increase yields of those products. 

On the pricing side, wholesale gasoline prices in the US are approximately 15% ($21/bbl) higher than in Asia and Europe (Exhibit 1 above), and US retail prices are just $0.5/gal below their all-time high.

Goldman says that while it's not the bank's base case, the probability of US oil export restrictions likely rises with US retail gasoline prices. 

Turning to oil, the IEA estimates in its latest Oil Market Report (OMR) an April deficit of 5.3mb/d, suggesting that the deficit may be less large than most had estimated last month, driven by:

Slightly lower IEA demand. Since the beginning of the crisis, the IEA has cumulatively (May - Feb OMR) downgraded its estimate of April demand by 3.1mb/d to 100.4mb/d (vs. a slightly smaller downgrade of 2.9mb/d in Goldman's balance).

• By product: Net cumulative downgrades by the IEA were largest (in mb/d terms) for LPG and ethane (11%), naphtha (13%), and jet and kerosene (7%) for which Goldman has also been seeing the highest risks of scarcity of supply. 
• By region: Net cumulative downgrades were largest for the Middle East (11%), China (5%), EM Asia ex China ex India (5%), and OECD Asia Oceania (7%). Notably, the IEA upgraded US demand from last month’s OMR by 0.5mb/d on resilient diesel and gasoline demand.

• Less large IEA drop in Middle East Supply. The IEA estimates Gulf (defined as Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) crude supply in April at 15.0mb/d, which is 4.0mb/d higher than the previous Goldman balance estimate (11.0mb/d) and 1.2mb/d higher than OPEC secondary sources (13.8mb/d).
  • The IEA supply beat was driven primarily by Iran and the UAE, likely reflecting less binding storage constraints than expected due to untrackable storage capacity.

The IEA reports that SPR releases from IEA countries averaged 2.1mb/d in April (but picked up significantly in the second half of the month). This has been a significantly larger offset for crude than for refined products — of the 90mb of total government inventories released since March 11th, 82mb are crude oil, while only 8mb are refined products.

US production in 2026 Q1 also surprised to the upside, with the modest beats concentrated in oil production by E&Ps (+2.1%) and liquids production by majors (+1.3%).

More in the full Goldman oil tracker note available to pro subs.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 12:25