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As Taylor Tinsley prepares to pitch in her biggest games of the season for UCLA’s softball team, her parents have commenced their own routine.

There may be no such thing as easing back into big league action for the first time in nearly 19 months.

The Spanish-style Mediterranean residence, built in 1940, stands in Los Feliz and offers buyers a rare combination in the hills.

The home runs. The lockdown relief pitching. Look familiar?

Bauer has not pitched in a Major League Baseball game since 2021.

One idea gaining ground among AI optimists is to pay a direct dividend from profits generated by local data centers, either to individuals or to invest in city projects.

Xander Nicholl, 19, Angelin Clauvil, 21, Eric Barnett, 21, and Keyon Scott, 22, are facing charges relating to facilitating a riot and conspiracy in the second degree for organizing rowdy "takeover" events in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

The autopsy's candor is often striking, and totally at odds with party insiders' usual pap.

Hormuz Shock Raises Recession Risk As Retailers Sound Alarm On Consumer Stress

Oil market experts at Rapidan Energy Group warn that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger an oil shock severe enough to hit consumers hard and push the economy into a downturn on a scale approaching that of the 2008 Great Recession.

That warning was reinforced by a UBS analyst, who cautioned that sharper slowdowns for working-class households could emerge this summer as gasoline pump prices average north of $4.50 per gallon this week and collide with already stretched budgets.

Bloomberg cites a Rapidan note stating that its base case assumes Hormuz reopens in July, with Brent crude peaking near $130 a barrel and global oil demand falling by about 2.6 million barrels per day.

But if the Hormuz chokepoint remains heavily disrupted into late summer, between August and September, then the market would need demand destruction to offset the supply shock, potentially pushing global oil consumption into an annual decline in 2026, the analysts pointed out.

This would mean that if the average pump price of $4.50 per gallon for 87 octane is already high, then demand destruction, as we've outlined, would occur at or above $5, and the real consumer pain would only begin from there.

"The current macro setup is less extreme than the 1970s or 2007 to 08," Rapidan analysts said, citing economies that are less oil-intensive and more robust monetary policy frameworks.

They noted, "But that relatively stronger starting point doesn't neutralize the risk that continued oil price spikes would exacerbate financial and macroeconomic vulnerabilities."

A delayed opening of the Hormuz chokepoint would increase the third-quarter oil supply deficit to 6 million barrels per day as inventories fall toward dangerously low levels, the analysts warned.

Even an early-August restart would not bring immediate relief, as inventories would continue to slide into early fall while Gulf production and shipments normalize.

JPMorgan analysts recently warned that the world is spiraling toward a catastrophic cliff-edge shortage of crude oil if the maritime chokepoint is blocked through June.

In a separate note on Friday, UBS analyst Matthew Cowley warned, "The coming months could see persistent inflation risks expose the economy to sharper slowdowns in low- and middle-income household spending."

During earnings season this week, mega-retailer Walmart signaled that its customer base is already beginning to crack: "We see that in the most recent period, the number of gallons that customers fill up with when they come to our fuel stations fell below ten for the first time since 2022. That's an indication of stress."

Walmart's customer base is important to monitor because it functions as a real-time proxy for consumer sentiment, especially among low- and middle-income households.

Those comments from Walmart are particularly alarming when coupled with consumer concerns from Wayfair, Lowe's, and Home Depot this week:

• Wayfair CFO's Muted Home-Goods Demand Outlook Offers More Bad News For Realtors

• Lowe's CEO Warns Housing Market "Most Difficult" Since Financial Crisis As DIY Project Demand Crumbles

The early signs of stress are already emerging. Top retailers are flagging stress on low- and middle-income households, and the risk now is that a sustained fuel price shock could feed directly into demand destruction, persistent inflation, and broader growth weakness if the Hormuz chokepoint remains shuttered for the next couple of months.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/22/2026 - 07:45

It was a poetic turn in the aftermath of his ineffective play during the greatest postseason comeback in Knicks history in Game 1 two nights prior.

Grab yourself some headphones that can deliver up to 5 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge for $88

Starmer Government Doubles Down On Anti-Free Speech Policies

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

When hundreds of thousands of Britons joined the recent Unite the Kingdom rally, the government of Keir Starmer wanted them to know that they were being watched for possible arrest. By deploying facial recognition systems and invoking the United Kingdom’s anti-free speech laws, Starmer’s government made it clear that it would not tolerate anything it considered hateful or xenophobic, on the heels of its losses to Reform UK in council elections.

Under its Online Safety Act, the government removed posts from social media platforms such as TikTok, including statements about Reform UK’s immigration policies.

Among those impacted was Reform UK’s shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf who reportedly had “two videos removed from TikTok—one for a user report under the UK’s Online Safety Act and another for hate speech.” They were later restored.

Starmer’s government also reportedly prevented speakers from the rally from entering the county, citing concerns they might “incite” the crowd.

The Times reported last year that the government was arresting 30 people a day for speech crimes.

In the last two decades, free speech protections in the U.K. have been eviscerated.

The criminalization of speech has expanded exponentially as individuals and groups call the police to silence those who criticize them or advocate opposing views.

Even silent prayer or “toxic ideologies” can lead to arrest. Expressing concerns over Western cultural values is now treated as an admission of “right-wing ideology,” warranting investigation. A few years ago, a neo-Nazi living with his mother was found to have a room filled with hateful symbols and material.

Judge Peter Lodder dismissed free speech concerns over the defendant’s possessions with a truly Orwellian flourish: “I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.” Calling the defendant “a right-wing extremist,” Mr. Lodder said the contents of his room were evidence of “enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology.”

One of the most notorious cases has been dropped with a belated apology.  Last year, I wrote about how Graham Linehan became the latest comedian to be arrested as part of the global crackdown on free speech.

The co-creator of the U.K. sitcom “Father Ted” was arrested at London Heathrow Airport, allegedly over several social media posts criticizing transgender activists. The posts were not jokes, but political commentary.

Now, the Metropolitan Police has issued an apology that he should not have been detained by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport in September 2025. It took five months, but the Met Police apologized for how his case was handled and vowed to learn from the experience.

Met Police Inspector Matt Hume declared, “I apologize to Mr. Linehan for the shortcomings in this investigation. The Met Police remains committed to lawful, proportionate policing and to learning from failings when they arise. I accept that the service provided was not acceptable and recognize the distress and impact this matter has caused Mr. Linehan.”

The problem is that it is not clear why they concluded that they made a mistake but the laws are so sweeping in their language that the police can act in the most arbitrary and ideological fashion.

There will be no discipline of those who ordered the arrest, or apparently, further explanation of why this case, as opposed to hundreds of others, was viewed as improper.

The most that Hume would offer is that, while insisting that the arrest was entirely lawful, it was “flawed” because officers focused on the transgender criticism “rather than the alleged incitement to violence,” according to The Telegraph.

Linehan correctly noted in a post to X that “This, from the ‘apology’ I received from the police, doesn’t sound like an apology.”

That is because it is not a real apology.

It is an effort to spin and discard a high-profile controversy while reaffirming the very policies and laws that allow for such abuses to occur in the United Kingdom.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/22/2026 - 07:20

The United States has sanctioned Tanzania's police chief and barred him from entering the US, citing alleged human rights violations committed by the police force.

Warsh’s predicament will be on full display on Friday at the White House, as Trump will be presiding over Warsh’s swearing in as chairman. 

ORLANDO — The NFL has a clear vision of what its ideal regular season looks like. And like a pound-and-ground offense that keeps churning downfield, one 5-yard run after another, the end zone is now within reach. The league’s nirvana is an 18-game regular season and one international game for each of its 32 franchises....

Cody Carroll was a healthy toddler when he started struggling with recurring ear infections and hearing loss at the age of two.

A Florida high school senior described as a “sweetheart” and a “friend to everyone” was killed in a car crash – hours before he was set to receive his diploma. Christopher Brooks, 18, was heading to his graduation practice at South Fork High in Stuart, Fla. on Thursday morning when he smashed straight into the...

Mortgage Rates Hit 9-Month High, Freezing Out Homebuyers In Peak Season

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to its highest level since August, threatening to derail the spring selling season as higher Treasury yields and renewed inflation pressure push loan costs higher and freeze more prospective buyers out of the market.

Freddie Mac data released Thursday show the 30-year fixed mortgage rate for the week ending May 21 jumped to 6.51% from 6.36%, the highest rate since Aug. 28, 2025.

Soaring mortgage rates stem from turmoil in the Gulf region, with the U.S.-Iran war driving up oil prices, inflation, and bond yields over the last three months. Rates on 10-year Treasuries hit their highest level in one year, while 30-year yields neared 2007 highs. 

Mortgage rates fell to around 6% in early February, lifting hopes for a housing market rebound after three consecutive years of depressed activity. Yet hopes for a robust selling season were dashed because the conflict in the Middle East began in late February, and once the Hormuz chokepoint closed, energy prices surged, followed by rates.

"Each uptick in rates narrows the pool of buyers who can make the numbers work," Realtor.com analyst Anthony Smith told News Corp.

The impact of higher rates is significant for buyers: Before the conflict, a buyer with a $2,500 monthly budget and 20% down could afford about a $400,000 home at a 6% mortgage rate, but only about $384,000 at a 6.5% rate.

Realtor.com analyst Jake Krimmel told Bloomberg, "We've been surprised so far that we haven't seen deterioration like we did this time last year." 

"May is where the rubber will meet the road because that's when things tend to really start picking up," Krimmel said. 

The end result of surging rates over the last few months was flat existing-home sales in April, well below Bloomberg Consensus expectations.

The continued housing market slowdown, which feels like an eternity for those in the industry, has pressured businesses tied to housing, such as furniture manufacturers, home builders, mortgage lenders, and real estate brokerages.

Home improvement retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's warned this week that consumers remain reluctant to splurge on big-ticket home improvement items, as elevated mortgage rates, high home prices, energy inflation, weakening sentiment, and broader macroeconomic uncertainty weigh on demand.

Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison warned analysts earlier this week that the housing market is the "most difficult" since the financial crisis. 

He continued:

I think overall this has been the most difficult housing market that I've faced in this business since the financial crisis. And as Brandon mentioned, it's almost exclusively or disproportionately on the DIY customer.

That's the majority of where our revenue comes from. And so I look at it from this perspective, you know, we've delivered four quarters of positive comps in an environment where the DIY has faced more economic pressure than I've ever seen before.

Housing affordability for first-time homebuyers remains at a four-decade low.

"Decisions made during the period of ultra-low interest rates coming out of the pandemic are still shaping behavior," said Torsten Slok, the chief economist at Apollo Global Management, citing the unwillingness of homebuyers with sub-4% rates to move. "The shift to higher rates has fundamentally changed the economics."

"If you're looking for relief on 30-year conventional mortgage rates, you're not going to get it anytime soon," said Kevin Flanagan, head of investment strategy at WisdomTree.

Nick Barta, a regional manager at Security First Financial, a Colorado-based mortgage company, told Bloomberg that the surge in rates because of the US-Iran war has had a chilling effect on the industry so far. 

"All you hear about is gas prices and higher interest rates," said Barta, who has worked in the mortgage industry for nearly four decades. "It freaks people out."

President Trump has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin buying $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to pressure mortgage rates lower.

"FHFA and the administration are actively evaluating a range of tools and policy options to improve affordability and expand access to homeownership for American families," Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte said.

Sarah Wolfe, a senior economist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, warned that higher mortgage rates continue to leave an entire generation of homebuyers stuck in rentals.

"They want the same things as the generation before them," Wolfe said, "and the bar to entry is getting higher and higher."

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/22/2026 - 06:55

US Attorney Andrew Boutros announced his office was dropping the charges with prejudice after a closed-door hearing before US District Judge April Perry, during which the Joe Biden-appointed jurist said she was "incredibly shocked" by the government's actions.

Bo Bichette had an old friend looking for him last week as the Mets prepared for the Subway Series. J.D. Martinez, hired last month by the Mets as a special assistant, found Bichette in the home clubhouse at Citi Field before a game and shared a few thoughts with Bichette on the slumping infielder’s plate...