Zero Rss

YouTube Settles With Florida Teen Alleging Social Media Addiction Harms Ahead Of California Trial

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

Google's YouTube has settled a lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old Florida boy who says the platform's features played a role in his social media addiction and harmed his mental health.

A 12-year-old boy watches YouTube on his smartphone on March 27, 2026. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

The settlement was reached ahead of a second California state court trial set to start on July 27. That trial will review similar allegations against Meta Platforms' Instagram, Snap Inc.'s Snapchat, and ByteDance's TikTok.

California state court filings portray the plaintiff, identified only as R.K.C., as first using social media at about age 8. He says he became addicted, lost sleep, and developed depression and anxiety.

Terms of the agreement between YouTube and the teenager were not disclosed.

"YouTube's decision to resolve this case before having to face a jury speaks for itself," the plaintiff's attorneys, John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, said. "We will continue fighting on behalf of all those affected by social media addiction to bring these companies to justice and compel them to prioritize the safety of their young users over their bottom lines."

Meanwhile, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda noted the company's continuing work on safety tools.

"Our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise," he said in a statement.

The settlement follows a March verdict in a separate California case, in which a jury determined that Meta and Google were negligent after a young woman alleged that attention-grabbing design features on YouTube and Instagram played a role in her addiction.

Meta was instructed to pay $4.2 million in damages, and Google $1.8 million. A judge dismissed the companies' request to set aside the verdict earlier this month.

More than 3,300 lawsuits regarding addiction claims against social media companies are pending in California state court. Another 2,600 cases brought by individuals, school districts, municipalities, and states are pending in federal court in California.

States Pursue Claims

In May, a Kentucky school district settled with Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube before trial. The companies paid the district $27 million in total.

A jury in New Mexico ordered Meta in March to pay $375 million after finding that the company misrepresented the safety of its platforms for young users.

Nearly every state has filed lawsuits in local courts alleging that the companies misrepresented platform safety for young users and created services to addict children.

The July trial in California is the second in state court to test claims that social media platforms are intentionally engineered to be addictive and that this design has played a role in a youth mental health crisis.

Plaintiffs argue that attention-grabbing design features and other elements ensure that young users are engaged to an excessive degree, contributing to mental health problems.

Defense arguments in previous proceedings have pointed to other potential causes for the difficulties experienced by young people, including family circumstances and individual factors.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 20:05

China Eyes Iran's Postwar Reconstruction In Bid To Lock Up Future Oil Supplies

Beijing is positioning itself to lead the post-war reconstruction effort in Tehran - a move analysts suggest could secure China long-term access to critical Iranian oil reserves.

The diplomatic groundwork was laid during a recent meeting in New Delhi between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to Nikkei Asia. The talks underscore China's broader strategy to expand its economic and diplomatic footprint in the Middle East amid the vacuum left in the wake of one failed US regime change and occupation war after another.

According to the report, Wang signaled Beijing's long-term commitment to the Islamic Republic in the wake of prior weeks of heavy US-Israeli bombing, stating that: "China will continue to provide assistance to Iran while supporting reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts in the region."

via Reuters

To date, China's official involvement has largely centered on humanitarian logistics - at least according to its public-facing narrative.

This includes an upcoming deployment of emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, following recent Israeli military strikes in the country. However, observers note that the transition from humanitarian relief to large-scale infrastructure development is a key mechanism for Beijing to solidify energy security.

Nikkei Asia has issued the following commentary on China's long-term plans in the Middle East:

Some observers argue that the U.S.-Iran war has strengthened Beijing's presence in the Middle East. Rumi Aoyama, a professor at Japan's Waseda University specializing in Chinese diplomacy, called China a "central hub where information on the situation in the Middle East was concentrated."

China has dialogue channels with both Washington and Tehran, and it enjoys friendly ties with mediator Pakistan as an arms supplier. The Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers frequently visited China during negotiations on ending the war to report on the situation.

The Iran war may also have worked to Beijing's advantage in its dealings with Washington. With the U.S. prioritizing that conflict, it has been forced to ease up its pressure on China with regard to security and trade.

Yet Beijing has still welcomed the memorandum of understanding toward ending the war because stability in the Middle East is crucial for its energy security. Higher fuel and material prices caused by the war have dealt a blow to the Chinese economy.

Tehran, facing severe economic devastation and isolation from Western markets, has welcomed the Chinese overtures. High-level Iranian officials have made it clear they view Beijing not merely as an investor, but as a strategic anchor - akin to how defense ties with Russia have rapidly improved.

China has long been seen by outside observers as focusing on its soft power, such as through Xi's Belt and Road Initiative.

While Western policy has relied heavily on military intervention, Beijing is leveraging capital and reconstruction agreements to cement its influence over the Persian Gulf's energy infrastructure.

As we noted previously, China - the world’s largest oil importer - sharply reduced crude imports after the conflict erupted in late February as prices initially spiked, sending oil imports to a 9 year low, a key reason why oil prices did not spike even higher in the past few months.

Also as Bloomberg has noted, the nation’s sustained slowdown in flows has brought into focus a nationwide shift away from fossil fuels that’s been driven by greater electrification.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 19:40

Chicago Teachers Seek Billions In Special Session For "What We Are Owed"

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has long been one of the most radical labor organizations in the country from its insistence on teachers being subsidized in political protests to members praising the former Communist regime in Venezuela. Now, with the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the CTU is demanding yet another massive public infusion of money despite the dismal performance of its members in actually improving scores for Chicago children. They are calling for a special session and billions in more funding.

We have previously discussed how teacher unions have become virtual slush funds for Democratic Party operations, spending over a billion dollars on Democratic candidates and campaigns. In return, Democratic politicians have agreed to bloated pension and compensation packages that have driven cities and states into the red, particularly in Illinois.

It is a closed loop of influence and excess. The teacher unions funded Democratic campaigns and Democratic politicians then sign off on windfall union contracts without forcing any improvements for the actual students.

For these students, the system borders on the criminal. Rather than actually improve their educational results, the Chicago teachers (like unions and administrators in other cities) have lowered their proficiency standards. Even with that lowering, just 2 out of 5 children meet the lower proficiency standards. Forty percent of Chicago students are "chronically absent" from class.

According to the latest Illinois Report Card, 38% of the state's public school students demonstrated proficiency in math last year. 52% showed ELA proficiency.

Nevertheless, teachers demanded the right to join May Day protests during work hours to speak against immigration enforcement, billionaires, and oligarchs. They called on citizens to boycott stores to oppose the super-wealthy and billionaires.

They are now demanding a special session to fund what "we are owed."

Chicago Board of Education member Jitu Brown demanded "The $2 billion that we are owed just adequately funds, but when you are repairing harm you have to fund above and beyond." Brown called on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was previously a Chicago teacher and is generally viewed as owing his election to the unions, to repeat his December 2025 $1 billion tax-increment-financing push for the Chicago Public Schools.

As always, the CTU and IFT President Stacy Davis Gates framed the demand in class-warfare terms, calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to convene a special legislative session to raise revenue from the "ultra-wealthy."

Of course, Pritzker did not respond by raising concerns about the dismal educational record for students, but by promising more money. While he acknowledged that they have increased spending every year, with the budget hitting $3 billion, he said the unions are right that they need even more money.

Notably, both the IFT and CTU are demanding that Pritzker reject a federal tax credit scholarship program that would provide tax credits for donations to scholarship organizations that fund education-related expenses for students in public, private, and homeschool settings.

The unions oppose any voucher system that would give poor families a real choice in seeking better education for their children. Both AFT president Randi Weingarten and NEA president Rebecca S. Pringle opposed voucher options.

Some of us have changed our views of vouchers in light of the stranglehold these unions have on public education.

Decades ago, my parents helped create an organization to stem the exodus of families from public schools and to reinforce academic standards in the Chicago Public School system. They convinced more families to remain in the system because they believed (as I do) that public schools can play a critical role in shaping citizens through diverse, shared experiences.

I was long skeptical of voucher systems because of that commitment to public education. However, teacher unions and administrators are destroying public education in America. They are treating families as captive audiences while infusing education with social and political agendas. The only way to break this decades-long cycle of failure, in my opinion, is to give families alternatives by allowing them to send their children to schools with core educational priorities (as opposed to advocacy).

Of course, none of this matters when teachers' unions are funneling over a billion dollars into Democratic campaign coffers. This is all part of a pay-to-play operation. The unions fund Democratic campaigns and then Democratic politicians fund bloated union contracts. Teachers then cycle some of this money back into Democratic campaigns in a self-perpetuating machine. The only losers are the taxpayers and, more importantly, the children.

Time to cue Pringle on using their massive political campaign chests to "win all the things":

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 19:15

How Hakeem Jeffries Is In Big Trouble Politically After The Primaries

Tuesday night in New York City was no routine Democratic primary. Instead, it turned into a referendum on the Democratic Party itself, and the party lost.

Three socialist-backed candidates, backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won their races. The Democratic establishment got slaughtered, and the man left holding the wreckage is House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Every candidate Jeffries backed went down. That alone would be a bad night. What made it worse was the scene at the victory party for socialist-backed winner Claire Valdez, where the crowd erupted in boos when Jeffries's image appeared on screen, then broke into a chant: "You're next," a clear sign that his leadership position won't protect him from being a target of the Democratic Socialists of America Party.

The reaction from the crowd to @RepJeffries pic.twitter.com/hxqaFQCLdT

— katie honan (@katie_honan) June 24, 2026

The Republican National Congressional Committee read the room and sent Jeffries flowers and a condolence card. "Three losses in one night is tough," NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said. "We wanted so-called 'Leader' Jeffries to know our thoughts are with him, his candidates, and whatever remains of his influence in the Democrat Party." When the opposition party is sending you sympathy arrangements, you've had a historically bad evening.

NEW: The @NRCC has delivered flowers and a condolences card to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) DC office after the House candidates he endorsed lost to Mamdani-backed socialists in NY last night. NRCC statement to @FoxNews: "Three losses in one night is tough. We… pic.twitter.com/tBhVrRZYzH

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 24, 2026

The casualties weren't minor figures. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), a long-term incumbent who chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, lost his seat. So did Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who built his national profile as lead counsel for House Democrats during Donald Trump's first impeachment. Goldman is no moderate, and was arguably a hero of the left for years, yet voters in his own district just showed him the door because Mamdani wanted someone else.

What Tuesday revealed is something the Democratic establishment has been reluctant to admit: its own primary voters have turned against it. These aren't Republicans crossing over to cause chaos. These are Democrat voters who want to torch the house from the inside, and are using the Democratic Party infrastructure to do it.

Former DNC chairman Jaime Harrison saw it clearly enough to say something about it. "I say this with no ill will or animosity: if you hate the Democratic Party, then please don't run for our nomination," Harrison wrote on X Tuesday night. "Don't use our resources. Don't rely on our volunteers. Don't use our infrastructure. Don't ask Democrats to invest their time, money, and energy in your campaign. Focus on building the party you actually support. Political parties aren't perfect, but they're built by millions of people who knock doors, make calls, organize meetings, and fight for the values they believe in. If you don't believe in the party, then don't ask its members to carry you across the finish line."

I say this with no ill will or animosity: if you hate the Democratic Party, then please don't run for our nomination. Don't use our resources. Don't rely on our volunteers. Don't use our infrastructure. Don't ask Democrats to invest their time, money, and energy in your campaign. Focus on building the party you actually support. Political parties aren't perfect, but they're built by millions of people who knock doors, make calls, organize meetings, and fight for the values they believe in. If you don't believe in the party, then don't ask its members to carry you across the finish line.

— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) June 23, 2026

Harrison is right about what's happening, even if his party built the conditions that made it inevitable. The Democratic Socialists of America have figured out a remarkably efficient strategy of running as insurgent candidates in Democratic Party primaries. They're parasites running on a host they intend to replace. And right now, they've got Jeffries in their crosshairs.

Jeffries survived Tuesday's primaries because nobody ran against him. But the DSA has now demonstrated it can knock off a caucus chairman and a nationally known impeachment lawyer in a single night. An emboldened socialist movement likely won't let Jeffries coast through the next cycle without a primary challenge. The "You're next" chant wasn't an empty slogan, but a promise.

The broader implications extend well past New York. Socialist candidates winning primaries in deep blue districts may feel like a local story, but the pull it exerts on the national party is real. Every time the Democrats lurch further left to appease their activist base, they surrender more ground with the centrist voters they need to appeal to nationally to win elections. The American electorate outside deep blue cities like New York City is not particularly receptive to socialism, and Republicans will spend the next two years making sure voters in swing districts understand exactly what the Democratic Party now stands for.

Jeffries entered Tuesday as the leader of House Democrats and the presumptive future Speaker. He exited it as a man his own base wants to bury. That's a hard thing to recover from, and the people who want him gone are just getting started.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 18:50

Qualcomm To Design China-Specific Data Center Chip In Compliance With US Export Curbs

Qualcomm unveiled its data center chip lineup on Wednesday, becoming the latest chipmaker to enter the AI processor race in an attempt to challenge market leader Nvidia. CEO Cristiano Amon told Nikkei Asia the company is eyeing the China market for its data center products, including designing chips specifically for Chinese customers that are in compliance with U.S. export controls.

The mobile chip giant is revamping the design of data center processors, which is traditionally powered by graphic processing units (GPUs) and high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. 

Amon teased Dragonfly - a dedicated brand for AI data center solutions designed to break Nvidia's grip on AI infrastructure - at the Computex trade show in Taipei early this month. 

The company unveiled more details about Dragonfly at its investor day in New York on Wednesday. Dragonfly encompasses four product lines: AI accelerators, data center CPUs, custom silicons and connectivity chips. Amon said Qualcomm is working to bring all four data center product lines to China, including customized AI accelerators for the Chinese market that will comply with US export controls limiting advanced AI chips sales above certain threshold.

"We have a big business in China, and I think as we started to diversify the company, our partnership with China and our China customers also expanded," said Amon, adding the relationship with Chinese smartphone makers and auto companies is also going to be "a strength that we're going to bring on the data center side. " However, "there are very clear guidelines about how you can ship products to China, and we have versions of all of our products that comply with those guidelines, " he said. "We are engaged in conversations and are positively optimistic about the reaction we're getting."

Qualcomm's data center processor features a design that differs from AI racks deployed in data centers. Dubbed high bandwidth compute (HBC), Qualcomm said the near-memory compute design will make its data center chips deliver six times the bandwidth per watt versus HBM-based solutions.

The data center compute market is dominated by AI racks powered by Nvidia's GPUs and HBM chips that are produced by South Korean companies SK Hynix and Samsung. Both Samsung and SK Hynix are also working on near-memory and on-memory compute as memory capacity becomes the latest AI deployment bottleneck.

Amon said the HBC will be different from the processing-in-memory (PIM) architecture other memory chipmakers are developing.

"This is a very unique technology that allows you to develop 3D-stacking of the DRAM alongside logic that is built for the accelerator," he said, adding that HBC significantly increases available memory, reduces bandwidth bottleneck and improves compute efficiency.

As the global memory chip crunch continues, Amon said they have secured enough memory for its data center products in fiscal year 2027 and the new HBC technology will also help ease the memory chip shortage.

"This technology is starting to get interest, we now have memory vendors, small and large ones, now engaging with Qualcomm and want to partner with Qualcomm on HBC," the CEO said.

In addition to better compute performance, Qualcomm said the HBC architecture also uses less energy and costs less to own. In video messages, Microsoft and Meta CEOs said the two companies' data centers will be early adopters of Qualcomm's data center chips including HBC and CPUs.

Qualcomm said the first HBC chip will ship with its AI250 data center rack in fiscal year 2027. The company told investors Wednesday the new data center products are expected to bring in $300 million in revenue in the current fiscal year, and $5 billion in fiscal year 2027, which starts in October. Qualcomm estimates the total addressable market for data center chips will be more than $1 trillion by 2029 and the company will take a more-than-5% share of that market.

At the Wednesday keynote, Amon said it is "never too late" for Qualcomm to enter the data center chip business because "this is a market that moves very, very fast. So, if you have technology leadership, there's always room for you."

In addition to AI accelerators powered by the new HBC design, Qualcomm also unveiled a CPU designed for data centers and AI inference, announcing the company has won "two major hyperscaler deals" for custom-designed data center chips that will bring in "meaningful revenue" by the end of the year.

Amon also touted a close partnership with the contract chipmaking giant TSMC that will give it a leg up in the data center chip race.

"As soon as TSMC finishes the mask, we go to production, and we go to production at scale. That's the maturity of our manufacturing capabilities," said Amon. 

It is yet to be seen if Qualcomm can convince investors and customers alike to be a competitive alternative to Nvidia products.

"Current data center revenues remain de minimis and reliant on Qualcomm proving they are able to bring strong CPU [and] NPU performance from consumer devices to more complex data center workloads," Vivek Arya, analyst at Bank of America, said in a note Tuesday, adding that Qualcomm is entering a "fast-growing but hyper competitive AI market full of large incumbents."

NPU refers to neural processing units, hardware designed to perform AI computing tasks.

Ahead of an investor meeting Wednesday, Qualcomm announced the acquisition of chip software startup Modular Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $4 billion that will help Qualcomm compete with Nvidia's CUDA ecosystem.

In addition to its advanced AI processors, Nvidia's lead in the data center market is solidified by the CUDA computing platform that makes its AI chips more efficient and easier to program.

On Wednesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told the annual shareholders meeting that while his company's systems "may not be the cheapest to produce, to purchase, but Nvidia generates the lowest cost tokens, the highest token throughput and the most revenues. "

Bloomberg reported last month that Qualcomm had struck a deal with ByteDance to supply the Chinese tech giant with custom AI data center chips. The deal is structured to fall within existing U.S. export control thresholds, a design choice that signals Qualcomm's intent to capture Chinese AI demand without irritating the White House.

The U.S. chip giant will likely face similar regulatory scrutiny as Nvidia and others over China exports.

The Trump administration unveiled new guidelines for the export of powerful AI chips to Chinese entities outside of China in June. The U.S. Department of Commerce said it will implement license requirements for Chinese companies headquartered in China, even if they are physically located outside the country.

China accounted for 46% of Qualcomm's revenue in 2025, mostly from smartphone chips. Qualcomm's CEO was part of a high-profile business delegation that accompanied Trump when he visited President Xi Jinping in China this May. Amon said Wednesday the company's presence at the leaders summit is an example of what a "win-win" relationship between the two countries looks like.

Amon said the epicenter of AI agent development is in China, with new agentic use cases emerging across platforms from smartphones and glasses to cars.

"Actually, when I talk about China, I am in a situation right now that I don't know who the mobile customers are anymore, because there are OEMs, but every single AI foundational model company building agents also are customers," he said.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm announced a deal with Saudi Arabian AI company Humain, which has committed to deploying 200 megawatts of Qualcomm accelerator racks, beginning this year.

The world's leading mobile chip developer, Qualcomm, has long been a leader in premium chips for flagship smartphones such as Samsung Electronics and Xiaomi, and has gradually expanded into the PC market. It announced its first chip for budget PCs at Computex in Taipei earlier this month.

Qualcomm still generates most of its revenue from mobile chips. For the latest quarter, its handset chip business reported a 13% year-on-year revenue drop to $6 billion, which accounted for 57% of its revenue in the January to March quarter. Its Internet of Things business, which includes PC chips, recorded a 9% sales jump on the year to $1.7 billion. By fiscal year 2029, however, the company expects handsets to account for only a third of revenue with data center products on par with smartphone chips.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 18:00

Adani Targets 10 GW Nuclear Power Capacity In India By 2035

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

Adani Group, the conglomerate of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, could become India’s biggest private nuclear power capacity developer within a decade, targeting 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, as India opened its civil nuclear power sector to private investment. 

“Our entry into nuclear energy through Adani Atomic Energy is another confident step towards securing India's long-term energy future,” Gautam Adani said at the annual general meeting of Adani Group on Wednesday. 

“With land identified and a 10 GW targeted capacity by 2035, we are positioning ourselves early to serve the growing national demand for clean, round-the-clock power,” the billionaire said. 

A panel set up by India’s power ministry has said in a report that India’s goal to boost its installed nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047, up from just 8.8 GW now, would require as much as 19.28 trillion Indian rupees, or $204 billion at current exchange rates, of cumulative capital.   

The Indian government has said that its Nuclear Energy Mission targets 100 GW capacity by 2047 “through deployment of existing and emerging advanced nuclear technologies, both indigenous & with foreign cooperation.” 

Adani Group is reportedly in talks with the state government of India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state on a public-private partnership to build small modular reactors (SMRs) as India opens its nuclear energy sector to private investment.

Adani is in discussions with Uttar Pradesh officials to build eight SMRs with capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) each at yet-to-be-identified sites in the state, anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg at the end of 2025.  

If the group meets its target to have 10 GW in nuclear capacity by 2035, it would become India’s third-largest operator of nuclear power capacity behind state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and state coal giant NTPC Limited. NPCIL currently operates all of India’s 8 GW of nuclear power capacity. 

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries of another billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, is also considering investments in India’s nuclear power sector after the opening to private capital.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 17:40

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Mail-In Voting Restrictions, National Voter Database For Midterms

A federal judge in Boston has blocked key parts of President Donald Trump’s March executive order that sought to impose new limits on mail-in voting and create a nationwide list of eligible voters using federal citizenship data. The ruling, issued June 25 by Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, prevents the administration from enforcing the directives for the November midterms in the two dozen Democratic-led states and jurisdictions that challenged the order.

Judge Indira Talwani

Talwani found that no federal law authorizes the government to build the type of voter database outlined in the order or to use the threat of criminal prosecution to pressure state and local election officials into using it. The March order directed the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to compile a national list of potentially eligible voters based on citizenship information and share it with states. It also called for new design standards for mail ballot envelopes and directed the U.S. Postal Service to create its own list of voters eligible to receive mail ballots.

The judge wrote that there was no US law that authorized the federal government to create the type of voter databases Trump had called for and to use the threat of criminal prosecution to “intimidate” state and local officials into using those lists. -Bloomberg

The decision - which came one day after Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers that the USPS will no longer deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to provide voter data - adds to the legal obstacles facing the administration’s election-related initiatives as officials race to implement changes before the midterms. Challengers argued the order represented an improper federal intrusion into state-run elections and risked disrupting preparations and disenfranchising eligible voters. The administration has maintained that the steps are needed to strengthen election integrity and address concerns about fraud.

The U.S. Postal Service has been developing a proposed rule, required under the same March executive order, that would condition delivery of mail ballots on states providing lists of eligible absentee voters to the federal government. Steiner described the measure as a way to ensure ballots reach only eligible voters. Democratic lawmakers criticized the proposal as an overreach into state election authority. The rule is undergoing public comment and faces its own legal challenges.

Trump, meanwhile, has also pushed Republican lawmakers to pass legislation containing proof-of-citizenship and other voting restrictions, including the SAVE Act. During a fiery June 24 meeting with Senate Republicans, he declined to sign a bipartisan housing bill until Congress advances the voting measures. The closed-door session highlighted tensions within the party, though Republican leaders emphasized the need for unity ahead of the midterms. Trump and his allies argue that stronger verification requirements are essential to maintain public confidence in elections.

The order comes one day after another Obama-appointed federal judge in Boston blocked key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order overhauling federal election procedures, ruling that the president exceeded his constitutional authority by attempting to impose new voting requirements without congressional approval.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper concluded that the Constitution gives primary authority over elections to the states and Congress, not the executive branch. The ruling makes permanent a preliminary injunction Casper issued last year in a lawsuit filed by Democratic attorneys general from 19 states.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 17:20

Hegseth Hails First Test Of America's 'Golden Dome' Missile Defense Shield

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

The Pentagon has carried out the first milestone test of the Golden Dome for America missile defense program, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on June 23 that an autonomous targeting system and directed-energy technology successfully intercepted a series of simulated incoming threats.

Declaring the test a “full mission success,” Hegseth said in a statement on social media that the system detected, tracked, targeted, and destroyed multiple drone and cruise missile threats, marking a watershed moment for President Donald Trump’s signature homeland missile defense shield.

“President Trump is making President [Ronald] Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) vision a reality,” Hegseth said. “With Golden Dome, the War Department will defend our homeland more powerfully than ever before. Golden Dome is real, powerful, and on track.”

Hegseth said the demonstration showcased next-generation military technologies and represented a major step toward building what the administration has described as a multilayered shield against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, and drones.

“Golden Dome is the decisive response to a new era of threats,” Gen. Mike Guetlein, director of the Golden Dome for America program, said in an April update on the system.

“We are moving with purpose and urgency to forge a shield that is layered, integrated, and automated.”

The test comes about a month after Trump announced that the Department of War had selected a final architecture for the Golden Dome.

“It should be fully operational before the end of my term,” Trump said on May 20 at the White House, describing the $175 billion program as a “state-of-the-art” system that includes space-based sensors and interceptors.

“Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they’re launched from space. And we will have the best system ever built.”

Speaking alongside Trump during the Oval Office announcement in May, Hegseth said that there were a number of parallels between the Golden Dome system and the Strategic Defense Initiative put forward by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, sometimes referred to as “Star Wars.”

“President Reagan, 40 years ago, cast the vision for it. The technology wasn’t there. Now it is, and you’re following through,” Hegseth told Trump.

During his first week back in office for a second term, Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to develop a comprehensive missile defense plan, initially under the moniker “Iron Dome for America.”

Trump’s order called for expanded use of space-based sensors and interceptors while also directing the Pentagon to develop and deploy nonkinetic technologies such as directed-energy systems, including lasers.

“The threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks, remains the most catastrophic threat facing the United States,” Trump wrote in the order, lauding the Reagan-era vision for a nationwide missile defense shield and the technological advances it brought about—while noting that Reagan’s program “was canceled before its goal could be realized.”

The June 23 test appeared to demonstrate some of the capabilities outlined in Trump’s order. Hegseth highlighted the use of directed-energy technology and an autonomous targeting system known as the dynamic defense autonomous defeat system to eliminate “a multitude of incoming threats.”

“This test was executed on schedule—and dynamically defeated every threat,” he said.

Trump has said Canada is interested in taking part in the Golden Dome initiative as part of broader efforts to bolster North American missile defenses.

“Canada wants to be a part of it,” Trump said during the May announcement. “We'll work with them on pricing.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 17:00

Mayor Blames "Slavery" As Chicago Wrestles With Deadly Crime Spree

The city of Chicago, long run by Democrats, has an infamous black crime problem.  Over the course of Father's Day weekend around 47 people were shot and 8 people killed, with a 105% increase in violent crime compared to 2025.  On "Juneteenth", a drive-by mass shooting in Princeton Park injured at least 12–14 people with over 100 shell casings recovered. 

The situation is so bad that many black commentators are starting to speak out, demanding to know why black Americans can't seem to stop killing each other.

Stephen A. Smith: "Every time we turn around, there's something going on in Chicago. And the vast majority of victims happen to be black. When we gon' speak about that? Same energy, y'all."pic.twitter.com/oeb0mKDLmN

Honestly I kinda like that common sense is making a comeback.…

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) June 24, 2026

All the evidence, all the data, suggests that Father's Day weekend violence in the black community is so egregious exactly because there are almost no fathers.  In Chicago, 80% of all black births are to single mothers and 72% of black children live in single parent households, compared to a national average of 25% across all ethnic groups.  Approximately 70% of all juveniles facing incarceration come from single parent households.  

Coupled with an overall culture that idolizes violence and lacks basic impulse control learned from proper parenting, the source of the problem is clear.  Democrats, however, have a different theory. 

In a press conference addressing Chicago's national embarrassment, Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson diverted the discussion into his own personal pet project on reparations.  He argues that the "history of slavery" in the US is the source of income inequality; insinuating that income inequality is the root cause of violent crime in the black community.  In other words, black-on-black crime is somehow all white people's fault.

40+ shot over the weekend in Chicago and Mayor Johnson is talking about … "slavery continuing to harm Chicago" pic.twitter.com/0qEQ2qyRGy

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 23, 2026

🚨 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is easily the dumbest mayor in America — and he still got elected by people even dumber than him.

Good grief. 🤦‍♀️

This clown isn’t even a basic history buff: praising Johnson while bashing Nixon?

Meanwhile, 40 shot and 8 killed in Chicago over… pic.twitter.com/xmPy2l3cro

— GRANDPA’s FREE ADVICE (@GOP_is_Gutless) June 23, 2026

The running theme among minority groups (and liberals in general) in the US is a complete lack of accountability for their own actions.  Because slavery or segregation existed in the past, people who have never experienced either of these things believe they have a scapegoat for all the problems within their culture.  It doesn't work that way.

The Chicago Mayor asserts that government handouts or reparations will solve the black crime issue, but the black community had much lower crime rates in the 1940s-1950s before welfare became ubiquitous and during segregation.  In the 1960s when segregation was ended and President Johnson introduced his "Great Society" programs, crime among blacks skyrocketed.  Clearly, something happened and it wasn't slavery or segregation. 

Mayor Johnson has refused to counter criminal activity, blocking motions to enforce curfews for minors who now engage in "teen takeovers" or flash mobs that hijack city streets and consistently end in looting, property damage and shootings.  City officials are asking the teens what they think should be done, and of course, they think less restrictions are the answer.

Chicago City Council just hosted "teens" for advice about "teen takeovers" and crime.

Their solution? Less restrictions. pic.twitter.com/o3zOUx7rC1

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 24, 2026

It is typical of progressive leaders and fatherless cultures to suggest more unfettered freedom is the magic salve to end crime among young people, when the opposite is what's called for.  Clearly black households in Chicago lack basic parenting restrictions that usually keep underdeveloped teen brains in check.  The only answer, then, is for the city to act as the parent, enforcing curfews and other measures until the deeper problem can be fixed.

🚨WHAT ON EARTH?!!!!

Hundreds of cars were vandalized in Chicago after police broke up a "teen takeover" and kids began fleeing by JUMPING ON CARS AND SMASHING WINDSHIELDS!!!

WHERE ARE THE PARENTS OF THESE KIDS???!!!!!!!

THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/n59199CtGL

— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) May 25, 2026

Instead, progressive officials turn to irrational teens for advice on what to do while blaming "white supremacy" as the culprit behind everything wrong in their lives.  There is no fixing Chicago - Not without a radical change in leadership and some tough love for black communities.   

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 16:40

Generational Crisis! Nearly A Third Of US Adults Under 35 Are Still Living With Their Parents

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Americans that are over the age of 55 control approximately 73 percent of all wealth in the United States.

Americans that are age 55 or younger control just 27 percent of all wealth in the United States.

Never before in history has there been a generational divide of this magnitude.

One of the reasons why there is such a generational divide is because housing has become so insanely unaffordable. If you purchased a home 20 or 30 years ago, it has appreciated in value a great deal and you are sitting pretty. But many young adults today look at current housing prices and wonder how they will ever be able to buy a home.

During the pandemic, we witnessed a surge of young adults moving back in with their parents.

But once the pandemic was over, things were supposed to go back to normal.

Unfortunately, that never happened.

In fact, the percentage of young adults that are living with their parents is now higher than it was at any point during the pandemic…

A record 25.2 million adults under 35 lived with their parents in 2025, according to new research from Realtor.com®. That’s nearly 1 in 3 young adults and higher than even the pandemic-era count—but the more surprising finding is just how many of them were working.

“Roughly 70% of 25- to 34-year-olds living with parents are employed,” says Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com and author of the report. “That share held steady even as the overall co-residence rate has climbed—meaning the growth is coming from working adults, not people waiting to find jobs.”

The finding challenges one of the most persistent narratives about adults living at home today: that they’re simply languishing in a tepid job market and failing to launch.

We have tens of millions of young adults that cannot form their own households.

That is a major national crisis.

A lot of those young adults would love to move out and live on their own, but home prices are simply way too high…

The report said that the median prices for new and existing homes are both over $400,000 and that existing home prices have risen 54% since 2020 and are about 5-times the median income – a level well above the ratio of 3-times that prevailed in the 1990s.

Mortgage rates are over 6%, which makes the payment on a median-priced home $3,100 in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from $1,700 in early 2020. That has pushed the income needed to afford that payment to more than $120,000 – a significant increase from $66,000 in 2020.

In 1975, the median home price in the United States was under $40,000.

But now it is over $400,000.

That is how much the purchasing power of our money has declined.

And we are being warned that housing affordability is “unlikely to return to more favorable levels of the past”…

The affordability of the U.S. housing market may not improve significantly over time for would-be homebuyers, with a new report suggesting that they shouldn’t wait in the hopes of affordability measures returning to their pre-2022 levels.

Sarah Wolfe, a senior economist and strategist at Morgan Stanley, said in a report that while housing affordability could improve modestly over time, it is “unlikely to return to more favorable levels of the past, as the market adjusts to a higher-cost, tighter-supply environment.”

That is quite sobering.

I guess our young adults are just out of luck.

At this stage, it is being projected that the median home price in this country will hit a million dollars by 2050…

According to new projections from National Association of Realtors (NAR) chief economist Lawrence Yun, the national median home price is on track to hit $1 million by 2050 — just as millennials reach the traditional retirement age.

“Essentially, in about 25 years the national median home price will be a million dollars,” Yun said at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. “It may be hard to envision that, but back in 1990, the national median price was $90,000.”

Many of those that are on the outside looking in may remain in that position permanently.

Meanwhile, the middle class continues to shrink as large employers eliminate good paying jobs all over the nation.

Today, we learned that U.S. factories are laying off workers at a frightening pace…

Job cuts at U.S. factories ran near their highest levels since the end of the global financial crisis in 2009 and the Covid-19 pandemic as worries grew over global demand and rising costs, S&P Global reported Tuesday.

Though the firm’s manufacturing index ran better than expected for June, it came largely from an inventory rebuild and despite sharp job cuts that were the most since 2009 — excluding the massive labor reductions at the onset of the Covid crisis in 2020.

And our most prominent tech companies continue to mercilessly slash payrolls.

For example, it is being reported that Oracle has given the axe to 21,000 highly paid workers over the past year…

Oracle shed 21,000 jobs, almost 13% of its workforce, in the past year, as tech giants carry out sweeping layoffs as a result of AI.

The company’s total workforce stands at 141,000 full-time employees as of May 2026, it said in its annual regulatory filing on Monday. That’s down from 162,000 employees at the same time the previous year. This represents an almost 13% cut in its total workforce.

Almost every big tech company that you can name has laid off workers within the past 12 months.

Once upon a time Electronic Arts was doing really well, but now they are conducting yet another round of job cuts…

Electronic Arts has undergone yet another round of layoffs, seemingly impacting its recruitment, customer support, trust and safety, and IT teams.

Kotaku has learned about these layoffs both from sources aware of the situation as well as 12 separate public postings from individuals impacted by the layoffs. The total number of impacted employees is unknown, but Kotaku has found online postings both from people formerly in several remote roles in the U.S. as well as a number of laid-off individuals from EA’s office in Hyderabad, India. Multiple individuals laid off from the Hyderabad office had been with the company for more than ten years.

We are witnessing a tsunami of tech layoffs that seems to have no end.

Those were supposed to be the “jobs of the future” for our young people.

But now many of our young people are being ruthlessly replaced by AI.

An entire generation of Americans is deeply struggling, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 16:20

Cargo Vessel Comes Under Apparent Iranian Attack Near Oman, Crude Jumps, After IRGC Warned It Controls Hormuz Strait Summary:

• Iran tightens control over Hormuz: The IRGC says ships must obtain authorization to transit the strait or face enforcement action.
• Shipping disruptions emerge after increased flows: A tanker near Oman was reportedly attacked, and several vessels turned back after Iranian warnings, sending oil prices higher.
• Tehran seeks billions in transit fees: Iran wants to impose Hormuz passage charges that it says could generate up to $40 billion annually.
• Rubio rejects the plan: The U.S. says Gulf states offer "zero support" for Iranian tolls and warns they would undermine freedom of navigation.

//--> //--> //--> Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by July 15?
Yes 39% · No 62%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Tanker Attacked Off Oman Amid US-Iran Divergence Over Terms of Hormuz Reopening, Crude Jumps

A tanker appears to have come under (likely) Iranian attack close to the coast of Oman on Thursday. It seems that Iran is seeking to impose control, and its red lines as its military issues the following message: "Coordination with the IRGC Navy for passage through the Strait of Hormuz via Channel 16 is mandatory, and violator vessels will be dealt with."

Below is the initial UKMTO alert:

UKMTO WARNING 074-26 - ATTACK

Click here to view the full warning.⤵️ https://t.co/0hDEAb7xO9#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/HlPzQDLBja

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) June 25, 2026

Crude jumps, also as Bloomberg reports that already "At least three ships, including two oil supertankers, appeared to turn around while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz using a route that hugs Oman’s coastline."

Bloomberg continues: "It wasn’t immediately clear why the vessels turned around, but two maritime intelligence companies published broadcasts that purported to be from the Iranian navy instructing ships not to cross. Not all ships have turned around and some continued along the Oman route, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg."

This comes after there's been some optimism this week after the signing of the US-Iran MoU, as tanker traffic has clearly picked up. However, Tehran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority has been insistent that transit can't happen without express permission, and as Tehran seems to impose steep tolls under its protocol.

*  *  *

Iran Seeking Beijing Approval for Toll Scheme

Despite Rubio's warning while meeting with GCC allies in Bahrain, Iran is planning to move forward on charging hefty fees for vessels wishing to transit the Strait of Hormuz under its protocol, which is to be enforced by the IRGC. What's more is that it's seeking Beijing's approval and help.

Iran’s chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, asserted during a prior visit to Oman this week: "Everyone needs to know that management of the strait will never return to the way it was before."

According to fresh reporting in The Wall Street Journal:

Iran is pushing to make billions of dollars from the Strait of Hormuz as the regime positions itself to manage the global oil artery it severed at the start of the war. 

The Islamic Republic estimates that charging for security, safety and environmental services in the strait would bring in $40 billion a year in revenue for states involved, according to officials familiar with the matter. The idea, if implemented, would bring Tehran cash flow and control that it didn’t command before the war. 

The regime is looking to models around the world, including the Dardanelles, the officials said, where Turkey charges ships a tax known as the gold franc for passage to and from the Aegean Sea through the international waterway.

Rubio has just complained that such a scheme would unleash "chaos" and would spread "like a contagion" to other global shipping chokepoints. He has asserted that Washington sees this as a red line and won't allow the precedent to be established.

On the China angle, crucially, "To get buy-in, Tehran is pitching the idea to the wider Middle East and as far afield as Beijing, according to Iranian officials. It wants its Persian Gulf neighbors to be part of the agreement and share the revenue," sources said.

Iran clearly feels itself in control of negotiations, and so is flexing its maximal demands, as it knows that Trump came to the table to avoid serious rupture in global oil as US strategic reserves have dwindled and Americans would revolve against his little "excursion" in Iran.

Tehran senses weakness? A softening in tone from the Trump administration: 

REPORTER: "You used to call them religious theocratic lunatics. Do you still believe that language applies to the leadership today?"

SEC. RUBIO: "Well, it's not that I believe it. It's the fact of the matter. I mean, the Iranian system is led by clerics, radical clerics. That's… pic.twitter.com/0FIGKdMlTq

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) June 25, 2026 Rubio from Bahrain: 'Zero' Gulf Support from Gulf States for Tolls, Fees

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made some fresh Thursday remarks in Manama, Bahrain after his meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers. "We had a very productive meeting," he acknowledged.

The US top diplomat emphasized that "zero support" from Gulf countries for tolls or fees on the Strait of Hormuz, in contradiction to Iran's official stance (and possibly in coordination with Oman, which has provoked US wrath).

Pool/file image

Oman has remained ambiguous on the issue in its latest statements, no doubt not wishing to not further inflame Washington sentiment against the longtime southern Arab Gulf ally.

Oman, via its state news agency, has reaffirmed that it is ready to help restore maritime security and that it backs the MoU signed between the US and Tehran, also in accord with decisions made at the high-level Vance meeting in Switzerland at the start of the week. Rubio's main argument seemed to be the very bad precedent that a toll system extracted by Iran (and the IRGC) would set, warning that Iranian tolls on ships through Hormuz would only spread to other waterways, risking "total chaos".

"International waterways do not belong to any nation state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos," he said at the GCC meeting. He added: 

"If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this will spread throughout the world like a contagion."

He stressed the the Trump administration is committed to a peace deal, but not "at any price". He explained: "While we want a deal, we don’t want a deal at any price. We want a deal that’s good, we want a deal that’s real, we want a deal that’s verifiable, and we want a deal that’s adhered to."

"We want to ensure... that there is no part of this deal that’s undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability, or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region," he said.

🇺🇸 — VID: Marco Rubio today in Bahrain on Iran:

“You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee, whatever you want to call it—it's a game of semantics.

The reality of it is that no country on earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways.

And that will… pic.twitter.com/k4xo4hY2TY

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) June 25, 2026

Rubio's Gulf tour has included the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, where he's given assurances that any broader US-Iran peace deal would not abandon Gulf allies' interests. Another notable statement from Rubio is his statement that a reconstruction fund for Iran was not discussed with Gulf countries. But this also remains high at the top of Tehran's wish list.

IRGC: Noncompliant Ships 'Will Be Dealt With'

As for the latest from Iran, the country's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned against any crossings of the Strait of Hormuz without authorization, threatening that ships not complying "will be dealt with" as it criticized a new route through the waterway established under the auspices of Gulf countries and with UN coordination.

Rubio calling Iranian leadership, ‘religious theocratic lunatic’ - while his boss is begging for a negotiated solution, these sorts of lunacy counterproductive. pic.twitter.com/8BVV2mjiVr

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) June 25, 2026

"The only authorized route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the IRGC said Thursday.

So clearly despite the MoU framework still holding and producing a temporary peace, which has even seen more ships flowing through the waterway, major contradictory issues remain.

According to new video of communications on Marine VHF channel 16 (the international hailing/calling channel for ships) from @_MartinKelly_, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Navy (IRGC-N), also known as the 'Sepah Navy' has announced:

"Transiting the Strait of Hormuz is… pic.twitter.com/anngHDTDeo

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 25, 2026 More Developments

Some more of the latest via Al Jazeera:

• The US will not accept that Hormuz belongs to any nation state, Rubio said while meeting with Bahraini leaders in Manama. He also said that the US wants a deal that doesn’t undermine security and prosperity for itself nor its allies.
• Bahrain’s ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al ⁠Zayani welcomed Oman’s announcement of a corridor for the ‌safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, as ⁠he chaired a GCC ⁠meeting during Rubio’s visit to the ‌country.
• A Lebanese military source told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces remain deployed in all the areas they recently occupied, making the statement after the Reuters news agency cited a US State Department official stating that Israel had withdrawn from parts of the area.
• There were reports of a drone strike in the front-line village of Kfar Tibnit on the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondents on the ground.
• Some ⁠57 ⁠ships carrying an estimated 1,100 seafarers have transited ⁠the Strait of Hormuz since June 23 ⁠under a UN evacuation plan launched this week, data from the ‌UN’s shipping agency showed.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:55

Venezuelan Quake Disaster: 45,000 People Reported Missing On Independent Monitoring Platform

Summary

• 45,000 Reported Missing On Independent Monitoring Platform
• US Phase One Of Humanitarian Response Begins
• Buildings collapsed in several districts of Caracas
• Venezuela declared a state of emergency after the earthquakes 
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio Deploys First Responders 
• Trump Says "U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help" 
• USGS Says Quakes May Prompt "International Response" 
• USGS Fears Death Toll Ranging Between 10k - 100k 

Spanish-language news outlet UHN Plus reports: 

Independent monitoring platforms and missing persons search pages unofficially estimate between 39,000 and 40,000 reports of people unaccounted for following the devastating earthquake in Venezuela.

🇻🇪‼️ | Plataformas independientes de monitoreo y páginas de búsqueda de desaparecidos estiman de manera extraoficial entre 39.000 y 40.000 reportes de personas sin localizar tras el devastador terremoto en Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/zpmdaREJXl

— UHN Plus (@UHN_Plus) June 25, 2026

Nearly 45,000 reported missing on a website called "Reconectemos a cada familia" ...

Some of the missing include:

Phase One Of Humanitarian Response Begins 

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio provided reporters with an update on America's efforts to help Venezuelans after two massive earthquakes rocked the Caracas metro area and likely left thousands dead.

"We're already deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. There will be some others we'll add. That's their most immediate need right now, is search and rescue efforts- they have much of collapsed buildings. And so they'll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that," Rubio said.

He added, "We've already stood up our disaster response teams at the Department of State and our humanitarian efforts. It's something we did very well in Jamaica, after that storm, and it's something we're really prepared to do now."

Any U.S. government-led humanitarian response would likely include naval medical support, potentially involving hospital ships such as the USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) and USNS Mercy (T-AH-19). However, there is no official update on whether either vessel is currently ready for rapid deployment.

According to USNI News, US Navy deployments in the Caribbean Sea include:

A single ship from the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group is operating in the Caribbean Sea after a 10-month deployment. USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) remains in the region after USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit returned in early June from deployment. The 24th MEU replaced the 22nd MEU as the "immediate crisis response force" and will be spread throughout the region instead of deploying with an Amphibious Ready Group, USNI News reported. Littoral Combat Ship USS Billings (LCS-15) is also operating in the Caribbean Sea. Billings is based at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.

Deployment Map:

Rubio's earlier statement that U.S. search-and-rescue teams are already deploying suggests the Trump administration is entering the first phase of a broader humanitarian mission.

Given the sheer scale of the disaster, larger U.S. assets - potentially including naval medical support, airlift capacity, and logistics units - may soon be headed to the Latin American country.

Stunning Aerial Footage Of Quake Damage 

WATCH: Aerial footage shows extensive damage across La Guaira, Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/I0OxESLs6C

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) June 25, 2026 Chevron Says Venezuelan Oil Operations Continue 

Chevron said its oil operations in Venezuela remain operational as of Thursday morning and all employees are accounted for after twin quakes overnight. 

"As a longtime employer and partner in Venezuela, we stand in solidarity with the country and its people during this difficult time," the oil/gas giant said in a statement Thursday, quoted by Bloomberg.

"We remain committed to supporting our employees and the communities surrounding our facilities and ensuring the continued safe operation of our assets."

The outlet noted:

Venezuela's key refining hub near the quake's epicenter in Paraguaná and the Jose export terminal in Anzoátegui are operating normally, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. There has been no impact on oil processing or loadings, the person said.

Trump Says US "Ready To Help"

The twin quakes that rocked the Caracas metro area overnight may result in a death toll ranging between 10,000 and 100,000, according to U.S. Geological Survey estimates.

USGS said, "Past red alerts have required a national or international response," adding, "Estimated economic losses are 2-20% of Venezuela's GDP."

Even before the quakes, Venezuela was already economically devastated under the socialist Maduro regime. The sheer magnitude of the disaster will likely prompt an international response led by Washington.

"The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly," President Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president added, "We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!!"

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, "America stands with the Venezuelan people during this difficult time, and at the direction of President Trump, the State Department is immediately deploying search-and-rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela."

The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes.

Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath.

America stands…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 25, 2026

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency shortly after the quakes. She said that Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas was closed on Thursday due to damage.

Rodriguez said the number of deaths so far totals 164 people and that around 1,000 people were injured.

Dramatic footage:

⚡️Venezuela: Before and After a devastating earthquake pic.twitter.com/B6NbtjwWqR

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 25, 2026

New footage shows devastation in La Guaira, Venezuela caused by powerful earthquakes. pic.twitter.com/9jr4B6n1RG

— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) June 25, 2026

Utter devastation seen across the Northern Venezuelan coastal city of La Guaira, following tonight’s pair of major earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude with an epicenter just to the west of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/BQv4YixUiB

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 25, 2026

The official death toll in Venezuela is 32. The US Geological Survey's own models estimate the real number will most likely reach the thousands, with a serious chance of passing 10,000 or maybe towards 100,000 as per some reports. The most important figure in this disaster is the…

— Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ (@shanaka86) June 25, 2026

Desplome de edificios en #Caracas #Venezuela con una intensidad de 7.5 pic.twitter.com/3rMmejf5My

— Neegann® (@NEEGANN) June 24, 2026

Latest headlines, courtesy of Bloomberg:

Devastating Earthquakes

• At least 164 people have died and 971 were injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, according to Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday 

• The earthquakes measured 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude and struck less than a minute apart on Wednesday evening, with the epicenter in Yaracuy state west of Caracas 

• Around 30 aftershocks have been recorded following the two strongest quakes, with 20 aftershocks recorded as of Wednesday evening 

• The earthquakes toppled buildings, knocked down power lines, and devastated Caracas's main airport

Emergency Response

• Venezuela declared a state of emergency after the earthquakes 

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela

• Acting President Delcy Rodríguez spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone after the earthquakes 

Debt Restructuring Plans

• Venezuela is set to reveal a $240 billion debt pile, much higher than previously estimated market figures of $150 billion to $200 billion, as the country embarks on the biggest sovereign restructuring in history, according to unidentified people familiar with the country's plans 

• The Rodríguez administration is seeking a restructuring agreement with creditors before the end of the year and has retained Centerview Partners bne 

Political Developments

• The Inter-American Development Bank recognized Venezuela's Economy Vice President Calixto Ortega Sanchez as the new governor representing the country to the bank on Wednesday Bloomberg First Word 6/24

• Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Venezuela was looking to strengthen cooperation with Colombia's incoming administration 

• Delcy Rodríguez has been crisscrossing Venezuela for months in what she describes as a pilgrimage, attempting to shed the baggage of a deeply unpopular government and position herself as its standard-bearer since Nicolás Maduro's ouster 

"Heavy Casualties" After Massive Twin Quakes Rock Venezuela, Topple Buildings; "International Response May Be Needed"

Twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela on Wednesday evening, collapsing entire apartment buildings across Caracas and leaving behind scenes of widespread devastation.

The USGS said the first quake registered a magnitude of 7.1, with an epicenter near Morón, about 104 miles west of Caracas, at a depth of 8 miles. One minute later, a similarly massive magnitude 7.5 quake struck nearby, roughly 10 miles southwest of Morón, at a depth of 6 miles. Remarkably, the dual quake was followed almost immediately across the world by a 6.9 magnitude temblor in northern Japan, which rattled buildings in Tokyo.

USGS issued a red-alert mass-casualty warning due to the combination of shallow depth, heavy population exposure, vulnerable buildings, and estimated losses large enough to require an international response.

"Red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread. Past red alerts have required a national or international response," USGS said, adding, "Estimated economic losses are 2-20% GDP of Venezuela."

In the Palos Grandes neighborhood in eastern Caracas, residents tried frantically to rescue people trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings, Bloomberg reports. Terrified families remained in the streets as the capital was hit by aftershocks. Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and elsewhere sought to reach relatives, but cellphone coverage was down in swathes of the country.

The early footage emerging from the devastation is dramatic:

Devastating scenes emerge from La Guaira, Venezuela, following a powerful earthquake that struck the region. pic.twitter.com/fBMIDWuabP

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 24, 2026

Fishermen in the sea off the coast of La Guaira record the moments after the earthquake with dust covering large parts of the coast as a result of building collapses#Venezuela pic.twitter.com/D8KNwLkLDf

— CNW (@ConflictsW) June 25, 2026

Local news showed significant damage to the capital's airport, with parts of the roof collapsing and throwing up thick clouds of gray dust. 

Passengers panic and run for cover at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela, as the terminal shakes and power flickers, resulting from a massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/uWN4ZqFjOZ

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 24, 2026

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in a national address that some houses and buildings have collapsed. He warned residents to stay outside due to the risk from aftershocks. Cabello said that states including Trujillo, Yaracuy, Carabobo, Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were also affected.

Immense damage seen to buildings across Venezuela’s capital of Caracas, following what now appears to have been a “double-event” 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquake back-to-back near the coast in Northern Venezuela, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). pic.twitter.com/XoG2jSJMf2

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 24, 2026

Authorities haven't yet published estimates of the number of dead or injured. There were no official reports of damage to the nation's oil infrastructure. Yet footage shows damage to one of Venezuela's key petrochemical plants. 

Así está la situación en Venezuela en la planta de Pequiven en Morón en el estado Carabobo luego del sismo pic.twitter.com/IFp1pGjQFm

— Jesús Medina Ezaine (@jesusmedinae) June 25, 2026

How rare were tonight's twin quakes? Well... 

Pretty rare earthquake activity tonight on Earth.

Both of these things happening within 2 hours of each other:

1 in 1,000 to 1,200 years

• A “doublet” earthquake in Venezuela (two quakes of similar magnitude in the exact same spot)
• A totally separate 6.9+ quake…

— Noah Bergren (@NbergWX) June 25, 2026

The closest historical comparison to the twin quakes this evening likely dates back to the March 26, 1812, Caracas earthquake sequence, which was described as twin destructive shocks within 30 minutes. That quake led to an estimated death toll of 15,000 to 20,000, while a USGS historical summary says it may have claimed about 30,000 lives.

BREAKING: Multiple structures have reportedly collapsed in Caracas, Venezuela, following a powerful earthquake that struck the region. pic.twitter.com/9KSN4srhwB

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 24, 2026

Quake activity elsewhere...

That is not good. pic.twitter.com/3u8MsW2blB

— SpaceWeatherNews (@SunWeatherMan) June 24, 2026

And Japan. 

Second big quake today pic.twitter.com/wWKsq0Ioqx

— SpaceWeatherNews (@SunWeatherMan) June 24, 2026

There were no immediate reports of damage to Venezuela's oil facilities, according to people familiar with the situation. The country's refining hub in Paraguaná, 225 kilometers (140 miles) west of the epicenter, continued operations as usual. Work at the port of Jose complex and at the Puerto La Cruz refinery was unaffected.

The disaster will further strain the nation's crisis-hit economy. The country is reeling from one of the world's fastest inflation rates and rolling power outages. As such, the quake could open a window for President Trump to offer emergency aid and logistical support, potentially creating the first step toward a broader US-backed reconstruction effort in Venezuela.

*Developing...

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:31

How Wall Street Launders Dogsh*t Into Retirement Funds

Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance

One of the more embarrassing habits of modern finance is its insistence on pretending the stock market has some integrity left.

Capital, we used to think, flowed to the most productive businesses. Prices reflected fundamentals. Risk was priced. The market, in the long run, separated signal from noise and rewarded cash generation over fantasy. That is the civics-class version of markets, and at this point it bears no resemblance to the one we actually trade in.

The market’s core failure right now is not simply overvaluation. Markets have always produced overvalued stocks. The deeper problem is that speculative inflation can now be mechanically converted into benchmark legitimacy and then forcibly distributed to passive investors as “diversification.”

In other words, the modern market increasingly allows stocks to get bid up through narrative, call option activity and momentum, then ratifies those bloated valuations through index inclusion, and finally pipes them directly into the retirement system through ETFs, mutual funds and model portfolios.

This is why we see ridiculous things like companies with negative earnings outperforming companies with positive earnings. “Something is broken in price discovery…” wrote Apollo’s Chief Economist about this chart last week:

He’s right. It’s not price discovery. It is a structural conveyor belt for institutionalizing air pockets and gutting the once conservative retirement and pension accounts millions of Americans depend on to be there for them in due time.

I laid this out in detail using SpaceX as an example on a recent interview I did with Adam Taggart. I used SpaceX as an example not because it’s the first company to ever do this — hell, I saw it all the time with Chinese reverse takeover scams back in the day — but because it’s the most recent…and definitely the most egregious.

The same critique people are beginning to make about SpaceX valuation applies more broadly to the public market. Narrative and scarcity can overwhelm cash economics for a very long time, especially when investors are convinced they are looking at a once-in-a-generation story.

In private markets that can happen through funding rounds, manufactured scarcity and marks that drift upward because nobody has to test them in public every day. Until, as we’re seeing in private credit, people eventually discover the “price” they were quoted doesn’t reflect reality and they rush to get their money back.

In public markets, the mechanism is different but the result rhymes: options flows, benchmark inclusion and passive ownership can all work together to preserve valuations that have floated far above what the underlying cash economics would ordinarily justify. And the rush to the exits ends the same way: there isn’t enough room for everyone to get out, all at once.

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That is the part that should make people uncomfortable, because it means the market is no longer merely tolerating excess. It is operationalizing it. The sequence is now obvious enough that it should not require euphemism.

First comes the inflation phase. A company captures the market’s imagination with a story large enough to suspend ordinary valuation discipline. Maybe it is AI. Maybe it is autonomous driving. Maybe it is space. Maybe it is simply the promise of scale, disruption and a giant total addressable market that no one will ever bother discounting back to the present. Whatever the story is, the important point is that the story arrives first and the cash generation can show up later, if at all.

Second, the options market does what it now routinely does in modern finance: it takes a speculative move and turns it into a reflexive one. Call buying forces dealer hedging. Dealer hedging forces more buying. The stock rises because the stock is rising. Price momentum becomes its own justification. “The market” appears to be voting in favor of the company, when in reality part of the move may have nothing to do with a sober reassessment of long-term cash flows and everything to do with plumbing. That alone would be enough to cheapen the credibility of price discovery. But the real damage comes from what happens next.

For the better part of the last two decades, and especially in the post-crisis era, markets have also been conditioned by a policy regime that repeatedly suppressed the cost of risk, flooded the system with liquidity and trained investors to expect intervention when things broke. The lesson absorbed by an entire generation of speculators was not that risk had disappeared, but that it had become someone else’s problem. Drawdowns were increasingly treated as temporary policy events. Volatility was an inconvenience. Valuation discipline became optional. If enough liquidity can be sprayed into the system whenever it seizes up, the market stops functioning as a mechanism for pricing risk and starts functioning as a machine for routing around it.

So by the time a stock has been inflated by story, momentum and options reflexivity, it is already trading in an environment where skepticism has been structurally disadvantaged. Then comes the canonization phase.

Third, once the market cap is bloated enough, index inclusion becomes automatic. The stock enters the benchmark not because anyone sat down and decided it was sensibly valued, but because the rules say it is now too large to ignore. At that point the character of ownership changes. Passive funds buy it because they have to. Retirement accounts buy it because they have to. Target-date funds buy it because they have to. Model portfolios buy it because they have to. Financial advisors buy it because “the index” is sold as prudence itself. What began as a valuation inflated by narrative, liquidity and options mechanics is suddenly institutionalized by passive ownership.

This is where the market stops being a market and starts looking more like a laundering operation.

A bloated valuation gets transformed into benchmark legitimacy, and benchmark legitimacy gets transformed into compulsory ownership by people who are explicitly trying not to speculate. The retiree buying an S&P 500 ETF is not making an active judgment on the most inflated companies in the index. He is trying to avoid making active judgments altogether. That is the whole point. But the system has arranged things so that his caution becomes the exit liquidity for somebody else’s euphoria.

And then the distortion deepens further, because overvalued names do not merely sit inside the index. They become the index, as we discussed in my above interview.

This is the part the passive revolution would rather not talk about. The benchmark is supposed to be the antidote to individual-stock insanity. You may not know which company is overhyped, fraudulent, or structurally unsound, but the index protects you because you own everything. Diversification is the defense. Except diversification stops working the way people imagine it does when the same overvalued names swell large enough to dominate the benchmark itself. At that point the index is no longer neutralizing the bubble. It is warehousing it.

And because this process is mediated through “passive” products, it becomes almost invisible. There is no dramatic moment when someone rings a bell and announces that the benchmark now contains a giant blister of overvaluation at its center. No one says the quiet part out loud: that a stock whose valuation was inflated by options flows and euphoric liquidity is now being preserved by forced passive ownership, and that this is happening inside the very products sold to the public as the safest, most diversified entrance into markets. Instead, the distortion gets laundered into respectability. Once a company sits inside the index, skepticism begins to sound unserious. If it’s in everyone’s retirement account, how crazy can it be?

Quite crazy, actually. Because if options, liquidity and narrative can help create the inflation, and index inclusion can help preserve it, then the crash mechanism is not exactly difficult to imagine. Once the story breaks, or liquidity tightens, or the options reflex flips, the same structure that held the valuation aloft can produce an air pocket on the way down. Passive ownership does not eliminate volatility. It can concentrate it. A stock that has become a major index weight does not just fall as an individual company. It drags on the benchmark itself. The “safe” diversified vehicle becomes the transmission mechanism through which the excess is spread to everyone, which is why I argued days ago that SpaceX could become “systemic”.

Quick note: this is why I own equal weighted ETFs for the S&P and not market cap weighted ETFs. In RSP (instead of SPY), every company carries approximately the same weighting.

That single structural difference dramatically changes the risk profile. Technology falls to around 18.27% of the fund instead of nearly 36%. Industrials become a much larger piece at 14.69%, financial services rise to 14.41%, and healthcare accounts for roughly 10.91%.

Instead of being overwhelmingly dependent on AI enthusiasm and mega-cap growth, RSP spreads exposure across the broader American economy. When I decided to completely stop trading and turn my last portfolio over to advisors, I requested SPY be excluded in favor of RSP for future recurring buys, as I expect it will plunge less than SPY if the market starts to tank.

The incentive is obvious. If a company can get its valuation high enough, through narrative, momentum, options activity and a market environment conditioned to treat risk as a rounding error, it can cross into a different category of ownership altogether. If executive compensation is based on milestones tied to market cap, revenue and KPIs and not actual profitability, you can become a trillionaire on three companies that have cumulatively made barely $50 billion in profit.

It no longer needs every marginal buyer to make a fresh, disciplined case for the business. It gets absorbed into the benchmark. From there, a portion of demand becomes automatic. Valuation no longer has to be defended in the old-fashioned way, through cash flows, margins and capital discipline, because the market structure itself begins doing part of the work.

That is the scandal. Not that some stocks are expensive. Not that markets occasionally get excited. Not that manias happen. The scandal is that the architecture of the modern market increasingly allows valuations to be inflated by reflexive mechanics, ratified by index rules and then distributed into the retirement system under the label of prudence.

At some point, we should be able to ask whether this still deserves to be called a market in the traditional sense. Markets are supposed to allocate capital, price risk and reward productive enterprise over fantasy. But what do you call a system in which cash-losing companies can outrun cash-generating ones for years, where options flows can overwhelm fundamental analysis, where a long era of monetary excess has dulled the fear of downside to the point that risk itself starts to feel optional, and where the benchmark products sold as prudent long-term investing become the vessel through which concentrated valuation distortions are transmitted to the public?

You call it structurally broken. OK, or, at a minimum, you stop pretending not to notice, for f*ck’s sake.

Because the most absurd part of this entire arrangement is not the distortion itself. It is the refusal to ask serious questions about it. We are now far enough into this cycle of options-driven inflation, passive absorption and index concentration that the mechanism is visible in plain sight. It is not some fringe theory. It is a description of how modern market plumbing interacts with investor behavior, monetary excess and benchmark design.

So the real question is no longer whether the market can keep getting weirder. Of course it can. The real question is when we stop treating these distortions as amusing side effects and start treating them as evidence that the structure itself is rotten. When do we stop calling it diversification when the same overvalued names are swelling at the center of every index? When do we stop pretending that forced passive ownership is a neutral outcome rather than a way of institutionalizing euphoria? When do we stop nodding along as options-driven inflation gets converted into benchmark legitimacy and then into retirement-account exposure?

And when, exactly, do we admit that a market which can be gamed this way is not merely overheated, but fundamentally unserious? Sadly, I know the answer. After the wreckage and the crash, when it’s too late.

--

QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions.

As of May 20, 2026 I personally no longer actively trade (read my story here). My investing/saving is done by recurring contributions mostly to sector ETFs and a few select equities, trusted third parties who oversee my accounts, and advisors. Such advisors or funds, through individual equities, options, index funds, mutual funds, ETFs, or other securities, may have positions in, exposure to, or holdings of names mentioned herein that I know nothing about. Basically, via index funds, ETFs and individual equities it is possible I could own, have exposure to, or not own anything at any point. As of the same date, May 20, 2026, in an attempt to lead a healthier lifestyle, I’ve also excluded myself from fantasy sports, sports betting, online and in-person casinos and prediction markets.

And all positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. If you see numbers and calculations of any sort, assume they are wrong and double check them. I failed Algebra in 8th grade and topped off my high school math accolades by getting a D- in remedial Calculus my senior year, before becoming an English major in college so I could bullshit my way through things easier.

The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:25

China's YMTC Global NAND Market Share Surges To 13%, Now Tied With Sandisk

Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC), China's largest maker of NAND flash memory which is breathing down Sandisk's neck in global sales, and which is widely expected to IPO soon after China's DDR giant CXMT goes public in the coming weeks, has increased its global NAND flash memory market share from 8% in the same period in 2025 to 13%, Kuai Technology reported citing the latest Counterpoint research report.

According to Counterpoint, Samsung ranks first in the global NAND market with a 29% revenue share, followed by SK Hynix at 18%, while YMTC ranks fifth, tied with Sandisk, and is about to tie Japan's Kioxia for fourth position in global marketshare. YMTC increased its market share to 13% from 8% in Q1 2025, boosted by memory shortages and rising prices.

The Wuhan-based YMTC has recorded double-digit growth for three consecutive quarters, with revenue reaching $2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up nearly 445% year-on-year.

Major Korean players such as Samsung and SK Hynix said that the pace of Chinese memory chipmakers’ catch-up has exceeded expectations.

According to the latest report from market research firm Counterpoint Research, YMTC has become the fastest-growing company in the global NAND market. Korean industry insiders believe that its rapid expansion in both technology and production capacity is directly threatening the market positions of Samsung and SK Hynix.

Amid the global shortage for DDR and NAND ram, China is rapidly emerging as the biggest wildcard. With both CXMT and YMTC expected to go public shortly and raise billions in new capital, expect China to aggressively pursue market share in the only way that China knows how: by aggressively undercutting all its competitors on price. 

In April, DigiTimes reported that YMTC passed Apple’s verification test and will begin supplying storage chips for the company in May. YMTC would become the first Chinese company to supply Apple with NAND chips, and Apple’s third flash memory chip supplier after US-based Kioxia and Korea-based SK Hynix.

A report by Bloomberg said that Apple has been testing chips from Yangtze Memory for months, but the deal has yet to be confirmed, with Apple currently weighing different options. In light of the recent price increases by Apple, one can be absolutely certain that Apple will announce - in weeks if not days - a major commercial partnership with YMTC which will aggressively undercut all of its flash competitors on price as it sees to catch up to Korean giants Samsung and SK Hynix. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 15:00

Apple, Microsoft Tumble On Abrupt Price Hikes Amid Chip-Crunch Contagion; Wall Street Responds

Summary:

• Memory Chip Crunch Crisis May Unleash Flood Of Consumer Device Companies Hiking Prices 
• Microsoft Hikes Prices on Xbox 
• Apple Hikes Prices on Macs and iPads

Wall Street Responds To Apple Hikes 

Apple shares were down 5.5% in late-afternoon trading, on track for their largest intraday decline in 15 months, as the stock tumbled into correction territory. Shares are now down about 14% from their early June peak near $317.

Investors appear spooked by Apple's rare overnight price hike, which boosted Mac computers by 15% to 20% and iPad prices by 15% to 25%.

An Apple spokesperson said that "the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage" and that the company has "never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly."

JP Morgan equity research analyst Samik Chatterjee offered clients three takeaways from Apple's price hikes:

1. Higher-than-expected magnitude of price increases on announced SKUs could drive pressure on volume expectations for Macs and iPads, which have been able to deliver robust share gains recently with Apple delaying price increases relative to competition.

2. The magnitude of the price increases announced leads us to believe that our earlier expectations for a mid-single-digit increase in iPhone pricing in conjunction with an announced launch in September is likely to be too optimistic, although we still expect Apple to use additional levers to limit the magnitude of price increases on iPhones with greater volume and installed base implications relative to the price increase announced today

3. The company continues to balance market share, revenue growth, and profitability objectives, which should reassure investors around the resilience of earnings growth drivers.

Price Hikes:

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives noted, "While Apple is well known for using its huge memory and storage purchases as leverage to secure low prices, the current memory price increases have forced Apple's hand to raise prices, but we believe the company is in a strong position to increase prices without sacrificing hardware performance and risking increasing customer churn given the company's increasing focus on the higher-end consumer." 

UBS analyst David Vogt also responded to the price hikes, telling clients that while no new iPhone price adjustments were announced on Thursday, there is reason to believe that "iPhone price increases are likely in the fall."

Vogt explained:

We expect iPhone price increases in the fall but likely flows in FY27 ests In conjunction with the expected launch of new iPhones in the fall, we expect Apple to lift effective prices anywhere from $50 to $100 along with possibly changing specs to offset the share rise in DRAM and NAND. For a typical $1,000 iPhone, memory was around $50 to $60 or a mid-single digit % of the BOM before the sharp rise in memory prices. With normalized/blended iPhone gross margins in the low 40s% range prior to recent memory dynamics, memory related BOM depending on the nature of LTAs could now be ~20% implying a broad based price increase approaching $100 could be an offset, hence we forecast 'Product' gross margin stability in FY27 in the 37-38% range.

Beyond Apple's price hikes on Thursday, Microsoft also raised prices on Xbox consoles, suggesting the memory-chip squeeze can not be contained by big tech consumer device companies. MSFT shares were down around 2.4% in late afternoon trading. 

We expect more device makers heavily exposed to memory chip price volatility to adjust prices in the coming weeks and months, especially given the chip crunch will persist through year's end.

Apple Price Shock: Macs And iPads Jump $200 Or More As Memory Crisis Worsens

Readers were warned as early as late January to front-run the coming memory shortage by purchasing their favorite electronics, whether PCs, laptops, TVs, smartphones, or anything else dependent on high-end memory chips, as unprecedented data-center demand was already beginning to emerge.

Fast forward nearly five months, and just two weeks after Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that "price increases are unavoidable" for laptops and other devices, a Wall Street Journal report has confirmed that those hikes have now been passed along, potentially delivering sticker shock to customers.

Here's what happened earlier: The Apple Online Store briefly went down, and when it came back online, prices for Mac computers jumped 15% to 20%, while iPad prices increased 15% to 25%.

The company briefly took down its Apple Online Store early this morning as it typically does when announcing new products. When it came back online, the price tags for Mac computers rose roughly 15% to 20% and iPad prices rose 15% to 25%. Among the price increases, the base MacBook Air rose $200 to $1,299; the base MacBook Pro increased $300 to $1,999; the entry-level MacBook Neo increased $100 to $699. The iPad Air increased $150 to $749 and the iPad Pro increased $200 to $1,199. -WSJ

Vision Pro became even more unaffordable.

*APPLE RAISES VISION PRO HEADSET PRICE TO $3,699 FROM $3,499

*APPLE HOMEPOD NOW $349, HOMEPOD MINI IS $129, APPLE TV TO $199

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 25, 2026

However, iPhone prices remained unchanged, but the company told the outlet in a statement that additional price hikes could be on the way.

"We have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices," Apple said in the statement. "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly."

An Apple spokesperson placed the blame on the "rapid expansion of AI data centers, which has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," and this is why component prices surged.

Earlier this month, Cook told WSJ that price increases had become "unavoidable" because of higher component costs, adding, "There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices, and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases."

Apple has historically revealed price hikes with new launches of iPhones, iPads, and other devices, making this overnight price hike extraordinarily rare.  

The high-end chip market is dominated by US-based Micron and South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung, which have all seen massive demand for high-bandwidth memory from AI "hyperscalers" such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.

Apple's price hikes come hours after Micron delivered blowout quarterly earnings, touting gross profit margins that topped 80%. Shares soared nearly 18% in premarket trading.

Micron executives told investors that "tight conditions" will persist beyond 2027 and that only suggests further price hikes are coming not just for Apple but also for other major big tech firms that sell devices.

Micron Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana said in a WSJ interview last night that "a couple of the customers who were being very aggressive with pricing at that time were not constructive," without naming Apple...

Sadana noted, "A lot of the industry investments got shut down in 2023 because of really poor pricing and really poor margins."

A recent Morgan Stanley note found that memory prices have climbed sixfold over the past year, with new manufacturing capacity likely to take years to build and ramp up.

The iPhone price hike may be unavoidable: JPMorgan analysts estimate DRAM and NAND could jump from roughly 10% to 15% of an iPhone's total component cost today to more than 45% by 2027.

Memory price spikes are already showing up in the Producer Price Index for semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing.

At what point does Trump start raging at soaring memory prices

PPI Electronic Components is pulling entire core index higher pic.twitter.com/v9ufHmx0gG

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 11, 2026

... and at what point does President Trump start raging at memory prices, just as his administration has successfully sent oil prices crashing by entering a diplomatic phase with Tehran to secure a permanent peace deal?

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 14:50

Top JPMorgan DEI Executive Identified And Fired In NYC Trash Can Viral Video

Authored by Jonathan Turley via jonathanturley.org,

The viral video of a woman stealing a trash can and dumping its contents after the Knicks' victory has led to her termination. Angie Baez, 40, was the "Executive Director of Community and Industry Engagement for Card and Connected Commerce" for JPMorgan Chase.

She was shown in a video dumping trash on the ground to steal a Knicks-colored trash can after the NBA Finals. JPMorgan apparently concluded that this was neither the publicity nor the type of Community Engagement they are seeking.

The videotape of the incident shocked many by Baez's cavalier attitude, not just in stealing the trash can but in dumping out the garbage.

        View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by New York Post Sports (@nypostsports)

The New York Post later reported that the woman had been identified as Angie Baez. She previously served as "Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" at The Infatuation, a website that reviews restaurants and neighborhood activities.

Once she was identified, JPMorgan Chase issued a statement, "This employee is no longer with the company."

We have often discussed the difficult questions surrounding the termination of employees for speech in their private lives that is considered harmful to an employer. Whether it is conduct or speech, private companies often reserve the right to terminate any employee who brings negative attention to the company, even when they do not reference or display an association with the company. In today's web-savvy world, it does not take long for motivated individuals to learn the identity and associations of public figures.

We have seen companies fire employees for drunken displays and abusing others in viral videotapes. There is little recourse in such cases, particularly for at-will employees.

In the case of Baez, she falls into the same category as Adam Smith (not the economist), who made a fool out of himself at a Chick-fil-A.

Ultimately, Baez was not even allowed to keep the trash can. She was also given a $75 fine for littering and a $100 fine for impeding Department of Sanitation operations. That proved to be an expensive memento for the Knicks victory.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 14:40

Trump Cuts Off NATO's Mark Rutte In Oval Office After Sitting Out Iran War

As expected, President Trump took the opportunity to chastise NATO for its lack of participation in the Iran war while hosting the alliance's Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

"We didn’t need help on this at all. We demolished them in literally the first week," Trump said of Iran before reporters, while seated across from Rutte. That's when the president said, "But it would have been nice if they would have said, ‘We’d like to help.’ We didn’t even need it, but it would have been nice if they said that."

via Associated Press

Throughout the conflict Trump has openly mused about pulling the United States out of the military alliance - or also at least withholding significant defense funding, and suggested in the Wednesday meeting that he'd be discussing the issue with Rutte behind closed doors.

"We’re going to be discussing what took place, and we’ll see what happens," he said.

Despite general negativity heaped on NATO's lax response to the Hormuz crisis and Iran campaign, Trump still offered a little praise of Rutte - who has long been generally supportive of the Trump White House.

Rutte in turn hailed Trump as "the leader of the free world" and stressed "I really want to make clear how important it is what you are doing on Iran."

"This is, first of all, about the nuclear capability Iran was basically getting its hands on - and it would have been a threat to the region. It would’ve been a threat to the whole world. This is a country that is exporting chaos, is exporting terrorism," Rutte described, without providing evidence of these series of claims.

Rutte tried a bit of flattery, which didn't exactly calm Trump's verbal attacks on NATO:

"I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking your European allies have been there," Rutte said.

Trump appeared unconvinced, at times interrupting Rutte ​to disagree with him, though he praised his leadership.

"You really have done a good job, and I think if anybody else were in that position, we wouldn't even be meeting today, to be honest with you, because we were let down," Trump said.

Trump looks like he's barely able to stay awake while Rutte tries to butter him up pic.twitter.com/pjEOjBgvWr

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 24, 2026

Trump wasn't willing to let Rutte dodge:

“I know there have been debates about whether your allies in Europe were with you enough. I just want to say one thing,” Rutte said.

“They weren’t,” Trump interjected with a two-word comeback.

“Let me say one thing,” Rutte pleaded. “I know you think that [and] your irritation about that, but when you look at the numbers, 4,000- 5,000 US planes [took] off from bases in Europe in the six weeks this war took place.”

With props in hand, Rutte unveiled what he's calling the "Trump trillion"...

WATCH: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte unveils what he calls the "Trump trillion" as he credits President Trump with helping push European allies to boost defense spending.

Rutte said Europe and Canada have added roughly $1.2 trillion in defense spending since Trump first… pic.twitter.com/IpS5RhNgEs

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 24, 2026

In a couple weeks, July 7, is when the big annual NATO summit is slated to begin in Ankara, Turkey. The timing of Turkey hosting the gathering is interesting, given the country has been opposed to the US attacks on Iran, and has become a top regional enemy of Israel, with the two sides having issued heated and threated rhetoric for months.

Turkey is another US ally which is not going to lift a finger to assist the US in the Gulf area, but in terms of the pending peace deal with Tehran, and the prior signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), there is broad support.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 14:20

US Sees Record Q1 2026 Energy Storage Installations

By Brian Martucci of UtilityDive

The United States added 3.3 GW/8.4 GWh of energy storage in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest figures from Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association. All three segments — utility-scale, residential and commercial/community/industrial — notched records for the seasonally slow first quarter.

The London-based energy consultancy and U.S. clean energy trade association see cumulative installed U.S. energy storage capacity reaching 200 GW/655 GWh by 2031, a four-fold increase from today. The forecast is consistent with a separate outlook from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that sees U.S. energy storage capacity doubling by the end of 2027.

The quarterly update to Wood Mackenzie/ACP’s U.S. Energy Storage Monitor expects favorable tax policy and large-load demand for colocated and behind-the-meter storage to lift installation volumes over the next several years, as U.S. battery manufacturing capacity grows.

Both Wood Mackenzie/ACP’s Q1 2026 U.S. Energy Storage Monitor and the EIA’s June 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook hint at strong near- and medium-term fundamentals for the U.S. battery energy storage industry.

The EIA expects U.S. electricity consumption to rise by 76 billion kWh in 2026 and 126 billion kWh in 2027, driven largely by increased sales to commercial, industrial and transportation users. 

A battery energy storage facility. The United States added 3.3 GW/8.4 GWh of energy storage in the first quarter of 2026, according to a June report from Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association

In 2026, above-average summer temperatures across much of the U.S. will boost electricity demand to the benefit of renewables, which the EIA expects to “almost entirely” meet the increase in demand. Solar generation could rise 19% and wind generation 10% this year, the EIA said.

Solar and battery deployments, often paired at the same site, continue to dominate new generation deployments in the U.S. Solar and storage accounted for 91% of nameplate generating capacity added in the first quarter of 2026, and nearly 50% of new residential solar systems were paired with batteries during the same period, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association.

One key factor behind the U.S. battery boom is the preservation of the federal investment tax credit for qualifying energy storage systems, Wood Mackenzie and ACP said. The Inflation Reduction Act first authorized those credits, which can offset 30% or more of deployment costs, in 2022. Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved the energy storage ITC even as it accelerated the expiration of corresponding investment and production tax credits for wind and solar systems.

WoodMac/ACP expect utility-scale storage to claim 85% of capacity additions through 2031 as large-load customers ink colocation and capacity contracts with energy storage providers. 

The commercial/community/industrial segment will grow 26% through 2031 amid strong behind-the-meter demand in California and at least 215 MW of community-scale storage projects in the works nationally, WoodMac and ACP said. And after a shallow contraction in 2026 following a rush of installations ahead of the expiration of the Section 25D tax credit at the end of last year, the residential storage segment will expand at a 12% average annual pace over the next four years, the organizations said.

Spurred by tax-code changes that benefit energy storage systems with more U.S.-sourced content, domestic battery manufacturing is ramping up to meet expected demand. 

The Energy Storage Coalition, an industry group, said in March that U.S. factories now have enough capacity to supply 100% of domestic demand. Some of that capacity is coming from manufacturers that previously planned to make electric vehicle batteries in the United States. Ford and General Motors, for example, both announced significant energy storage investments this year.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 14:00

Xbox Hits Gamers With Price-Hike As Major Retailer Warns Console Shortage Looms Ahead Of GTA VI Launch

Two reports hit on Thursday that could upset gamers ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. 

First, a major retailer warned that console shortages could emerge as demand for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S hardware collides with a memory chip shortage. Then The Verge reported that Xbox consoles are set for another price hike, adding another pain point for gamers months before one of the most anticipated video game releases in over a decade. 

Video game industry publication The Game Business reported Thursday that the ongoing hardware component shortage, better known as the chip shortage, could spark a supply crunch for popular gaming consoles at major retailers in the coming months.

Here's what the outlet reported:

But a senior games buyer, speaking without the permission of his employer, told us: "We've been informed that because of the on-going issues around hardware component availability, we won't be getting the units we want ahead of GTA."

He added: "Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year end period."

The outlet continued:

We've contacted PlayStation and Xbox about the claim. Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki told investors in May that "for calendar year 2026, the necessary volume has been secured"

However, Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball told The Game Business earlier in the month that there are already supply issues.

"I can tell you definitively demand for our console exceeds the supply," he told us. "We are putting them in as many stores as possible. We are producing them as quickly as possible. There is a severe limitation to how quickly we can do that, but it's not a question of appetite. We need to do more, but there are constraints here. And so there are, unfortunately, a number of different markets in which we do not have supply. There are other markets in which we have inadequate supply. That is a privilege as a company it is a challenge for us to figure out."

When we asked about the potential impact of Grand Theft Auto 6, he said: "It's going to invigorate a lot of players. It's going to move some additional devices."

Separately, The Verge reports that Microsoft is hiking Xbox console prices again, startingAugust 11, with 512GB models increasing by $100 and 1TB models rising by $150. The price hike now means the Xbox Series S starts at around $499.99, while the disc-less Xbox Series X starts at $749.99 and the disc-drive version at $799.99. 

"Last October, we increased XBOX console price by $20-$70 in the U.S.," Microsoft wrote in a blog post.

The post continued, “We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make."

Earlier today, Take-Two Interactive's Rockstar Games studio officially launched the long-awaited pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI. The action-packed game is priced at $79.99 and is scheNovember 19unch on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The last major GTA release was GTA V,September 17hed on September 17, 2013. Gamers have been waiting 13 years for a major GTA installment, which only suggests massive demand for the game, and will likely coincide with demand for gaming consoles at the worst possible time - a memory chip shortage.

Google search trends for "pre-order Grand Theft Auto" are at their highest level since the GTA V release in 2013.

We provided readers with Wall Street commentary - from Raymond James to BTIG to Goldman analysts - discussing what their desks think of TTWO ahead of the fall release. Read the note here.

New development:

• Apple Price Shock: Macs And iPads Jump $200 Or More As Memory Crisis Worsens

It probably makes sense for gamers to front-run potential supply issues that could materialize later this year, especially given that the memory-chip shortage is not expected to ease anytime soon.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 13:40

Average 7Y Auction Stops On The Screws As Foreign Demand Slides

After a solid 2Y auction and a subpar 5Y auction earlier this week, moments ago we got the week's final Treasury issuance when the US auctioned off $44BN in 7Y paper in a perfectly average sale.

Starting at the top, the bond priced at a high yield  of 4.260%, down modestly from 4.290% last month and in the middle of a range established in late-2023 after which the 7Y has traded between 3.50% and 5%. The auction also priced on the screws with the When Issued which was also at 4.260. 

The bid to cover was 2.498, just under last month's 2.516 and on top of the 6-auction average of 2.488%.

The internals were a bit weaker: after Indirect bidders took down a record 78.4% in May, today their demand crashed to earth and foreign buyers ended up taking down just 57.55%, the lowest since Sept 26. And with Directs taking down 29.7%, a big jump from 11.2% in May but in line with the recent average, Dealers were left holding 12.75%, up from 10.42% a month ago and the highest since November.

Overall, this was a average-to-weak auction, with sufficiently good metrics even if the internals were a bit on the weak side. Not that the market cared (about this, or anything else); with 10Y yields extending their drop all day today, the meh auction barely registered. 

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 13:24