Zero Rss

Western Woman Travels To India And Finds The Misery Of Cultural Enrichment

It's been a long time since the Beatles convinced an entire generation of western youth in 1968 that "enlightenment" and personal peace could be found in the third world backwaters of India's ashram retreats.  As it turned out, the world famous band and the yogi scammers of that era would end up creating a trend that would sucker gullible liberals for decades to come.  

The hippies were not smart, they were merely impressionable. 

Today, the streets of India are likely the same in most places as they were back in the 1960s - Filled with trash and feces and not very safe.  The country remains one of the most dangerous tourist markets on the planet for women - Around 90% of rapes go unreported due to law enforcement apathy and a culture of reprisal for women who come forward.  Any travel outside of tourist enclaves is considered high risk.

British content creator Amy On The Move discovered this on her first trip to India, but she says she was willing to give the country a second chance.  What she found was even more multicultural misery.

She had entered India on a longer-term (year-scale) visa intending a solo cycling trip from Kolkata toward Kerala and up the west coast. After roughly two weeks, including time in Bhadrak, Odisha, she posted videos documenting her experiences there. 

-White woman gets a year long visa in India

-Gets culturally enriched immediately and wants to leave after 2 weeks pic.twitter.com/vc8sgpRAJv

— Phoenix 🇺🇸 (@Phoenix2A_1980s) August 19, 2026

It's a common story which liberals tend to ignore in their search for anything better than the "evils" of the capitalist west.  They say the grass is greener elsewhere, but they can't seem to find any legitimate examples.  The "rape culture" and "patriarchy" of the west that the political left constantly complains about doesn't hold a candle to the unfiltered predatory nature of the third world.

Meanwhile, a few moments later: pic.twitter.com/lpoBVA5iMj

— Phoenix 🇺🇸 (@Phoenix2A_1980s) August 19, 2026

The UK vlogger complained that she was "getting scammed non-stop" as beggars and shopkeepers targeted her relentlessly.  She noted a common tourist scam in which beggars ask travelers to buy them food, then take them to a shop where the owner overcharges and pockets the extra cash. 

The average yearly salary on Indian citizens is around $4000 USD and the poverty rate is 28%.  To put this in perspective, one US dollar is equivalent to 2.5 hours of labor in India.  Ripping off western tourists is a lucrative industry. 

The country is world famous for it's garbage problem and municipal government mismanagement is usually blamed.  However, evidence suggests that this issue is a product of culture, not just of government.  Western tourists discover that throwing trash in the streets us "just what they do in India". 

Girl using an Airbnb in India and has to find a way to discard trash pic.twitter.com/945MEk4BZR

— From Area 51 (@From_Area_51) August 5, 2025

These kinds of examples underscore why it is important for western nations to carefully limit the kinds of people that are allowed within their borders.  It's not just a matter of environment, it's a matter of culture and culture does not change.  In other words, import the third world into the west and the west will become the third world.   

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 21:20

Coking Coal Prices Surge 25%, Squeezing India's Steelmakers

Submitted By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

Indian steelmakers are reeling from a jump in coking coal prices this year that is squeezing their margins and delaying capacity expansion in the steelmaking industry, analysts and industry executives tell Reuters.

India relies on imports for as much as 95% of its coking coal, or metallurgical coal, demand. Metallurgical coal is a grade of coal that is one of the essential raw materials in the steelmaking process. Also known as met coal, this type of coal contains more carbon, less ash and less moisture than thermal coal, which is used for electricity generation.

With India relying on coking coal imports for nearly all its demand, the supply disruptions this year and the surging prices have pressured Indian steel makers.

The price of premium coking coal freight on board (FOB) in Australia surged by 25% in the first seven months of this year compared to last year due to a series of supply disruptions, Banmeet Khurmi, metallurgical coal and coke market service lead at Sydney-based consultancy CRU told Reuters.

The price increase has been the result of slower ramp-up of new mines, higher prices due to the Iran war, supply disruptions at key producer Australia, and the deadly coal mine explosion in China’s Shanxi province that killed more than 80 people in the worst Chinese mining accident in years.

“Steelmaking coal prices strengthened from CY2025 levels as strong Indian import demand and supply disruptions tightened an otherwise balanced seaborne market,” mining giant BHP said in its Economic and commodity outlook this week.

India has expanded its steelmaking capacity to about 220 Mtpa in the financial year 2026, up 10% year-on-year, and is targeting 500 Mtpa by 2047, much of which will be blast furnace based, according to BHP.

Yet, analysts say that coking coal costs for Indian steelmakers are expected to remain elevated at least through the second half of the year amid supply losses from China and Australia. And the Indian industry will pay the higher costs of the key steel-making commodity without the ability to raise prices because of the Chinese competition, executives told Reuters.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 20:55

Poll Shows Voters Reject US-Israel Military Integration

Authored by Brett Wilkins via Common Dreams

A new poll of US voters published this week offers a warning for congressional lawmakers backing a plan to deepen military ties between the United States and Israel, finding that a clear majority of voters oppose the proposal—which some critics have called "treasonous."

The Data for Progress survey of 1,217 likely US voters—conducted August 3–7 for Demand Progress and the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project—revealed that 61% of respondents oppose legislation in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 that would integrate Israeli weapons companies into the Pentagon at a level exceeding that of any other country. That figure rose to 78% among Democrats and 73% among independents.

via AFP

“This poll is a flashing red warning sign for any member of Congress who supports the defense authorization bill,” Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said in a statement. “A clear majority of voters do not support further integrating the Israeli military and Israeli military companies into the Pentagon, which the NDAA is set to do.”

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted last month 216-212, mostly along party lines, in favor of a record $1.15 trillion NDAA. The military spending bill contains Section 219, a provision that would create a US–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, accelerating joint defense research, development, testing, and integration of technologies including artificial intelligence, missile defense, and counter-drone systems.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) submitted an amendment to strip Section 219 from the NDAA. The measure failed to pass.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who voted against the NDAA, described Section 219 as “an outrageous threat to our country’s security and autonomy.”

The Senate version of the military spending authorization bill has a related provision—Section 1217, the United States-Israel FUTURES Act—and the two chambers will need to reconcile their NDAA legislation before the final language is decided. Reconciliation is not expected to occur before November at the earliest.

“It’s time for Congress to listen to the American people for once, and not the same voices who always want to cut Israel a blank check,” Kharrazian said. That “blank check” has totaled more than $174 billion in non-inflation-adjusted aid since the modern state of Israel was founded in 1948.

The new poll found that 57% of respondents believe the Israeli military and Israeli weapons companies should not receive increased access to US military systems. Fifty-one percent said Israel benefits more from the US-Israel relationship, compared with just 12% who said the United States benefits more.

Although Republican voters support the Pentagon provision by a 16-point margin, when asked about it without additional context, they are considerably less enthusiastic about the idea of granting any foreign military special access, opposing it 62%-27%.

Forty percent of surveyed voters said they believe that the US-Israeli relationship is “too close,” compared with 42% who say it is “about right.” Among Democrats, 56% say relations are too close, versus just 23% who say about right. Twenty-two percent of Republicans and 43% of Independents said US-Israeli relations are too close.

Asked if they think President Donald Trump is too supportive of Israel’s right-wing government, 49% said yes, compared with only 33% who said the president is giving Israel the right amount of backing and just 8% who believe he’s not giving the key ally enough support.

Respondents’ views of Israel itself have deteriorated markedly, with 44% saying they now view the country less favorably than they did three years ago—compared with just 17% who say their views have improved amid the war of annihilation in Gaza that United Nations experts, human rights groups, and a South Africa-led case currently before the International Court of Justice call a genocide, as well as the wider Israeli occupation, colonization, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid in Palestine.

Looking only at the past six months, 41% of respondents said their view of Israel has become less favorable, versus 16% who say it has become more favorable. Among Democrats, the split is 56%-13%; among Independents it’s 42%-11%.

“Israel is a nation committing genocide that just dragged the American people into a disastrous war that is still hitting our pocketbooks,” IMEU Policy Project executive director Margaret DeReus said, referring to the Iran War. “Senators take an oath to do what is best for the American people above all; to uphold that oath, they must scrap this ridiculous proposal.”

“It is the height of absurdity,” DeReus added, “that Congress is even considering a proposal to become more entangled with the Israeli military and use our tax dollars to subsidize their weapons companies.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 20:05

Watch Darline Graham's Epic Debate Flub That Could Cost Her The SC Primary

In the worst response by a female South Carolinian to a foreign-policy question since the 2007 Teen USA beauty pageant, Lindsey Graham's sister on Tuesday night painfully displayed her utter inexperience in national politics, drawing a blank and bailing out of a basic question as she squared off against her run-off opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman.  

After Sen. Lindsey Graham's sudden July death, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister Darline to see out the remaining months of his term. It started as a sentimental gesture that would have her serve as a mere 6-month custodian while "real" candidates vied in a special primary to replace Lindsey Graham on the November ballot. However, it suddenly turned into the latest bewildering Trump endorsement, with the president pushing the utterly inexperienced woman to enter the primary and serve the full, six-year term that will start in January. Darline Graham has never held an elected office. Until this summer, she was commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, and earlier held a communications role in the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department. 

Sorry, appointing Darline Graham to simply finish Senator Graham's term was one thing, and not historically unprecedented, but having her run for the next term, with Trump's support, is crazy.

This is essentially the emotional equivalent of a DEI pick for Republicans.

She is… pic.twitter.com/8wWJXzqUI7

— Brad Polumbo (@brad_polumbo) August 19, 2026

Despite Trump's endorsement, Graham only managed to attract 33% of the vote in the special Aug 11 balloting, forcing her into an Aug 26 runoff against second-place finisher Norman, who earned 25% of the votes in a crowded field. Her lackluster showing reflected South Carolina Republicans' deep unease with Trump trying to turn one of their Senate seats into an inheritance for someone with a joke of a political resume. 

There was already a sense that at least some significant chunk of the non-Graham Aug 11 vote would gravitate to Norman in the runoff. That feeling accelerated during Tuesday night's debate, and particularly during a disastrous moment that fully exposed Graham as an absurd Trump endorsee. Graham was merely asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. 

Having clearly not done her homework, Graham first asked for the question to be repeated. With the second reading doing nothing to help Graham formulate even so much as a "yes" answer, she surrendered, saying, "I'm just going to be honest here -- I'm not, on national security, that -- I'm not that informed on national security. So..."

Q: Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the US?

Darline Graham: I'm not that informed on national security, so... National security is not my thing pic.twitter.com/R3aX7IoeGD

— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) August 19, 2026

After her voice trailed off for a moment amid audible murmuring from the debate audience, Graham made things worse by offering up a goofy non sequitur: "But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army."  

Her flameout still wasn't finished. Not realizing that silence would be best at this point, Graham opted to reiterate her profession of incompetency. "I'm not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing -- not my area of expertise -- but I do support the military." Keep in mind, Graham is already in the Senate on an interim basis. National security may not be her "thing," but it most certainly is a Senate "thing."  

Her failure drew apt comparisons to Miss South Carolina's legendary response to a question in the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant. Then-18-year-old Caite Upton took a question about American's poor grasp of world geography and turned it into .... well... whatever the hell this was:  

Having driven her campaign into a tree, Graham ventured to mount a crisis-response effort on Wednesday, facilitated by vacuous Trump lap dog Sean Hannity. It was on Hannity's Fox News show that Graham first announced her intention to pursue a full Senate term, with Hannity pretending to marvel at Graham's accomplishments at the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. Last night, Graham confessed to having "tripped up on one question." Ignoring the significance of her inability to answer the question, Graham told Hannity, "I'm not a politician, certainly not a career politician, I don't speak politician." 

Darline Graham: I tripped up on one question last night, regarding Taiwan. I don't speak politician. I was just honest. Of course, Taiwan is our friend. But I think people in South Carolina are more worried about boys in girls sports. pic.twitter.com/xKZNxkldrN

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 20, 2026

It's safe to say most South Carolina Republicans don't want Graham to speak politician. But it's reasonable to expect her to at least conjure a few boilerplate sentences about one of world's top potential hot spots, particularly at a time when the US military has exhausted an alarming proportion of its arsenal in a war of choice on Iran that has turned into a nearly six-month-long disaster, with no resolution in sight... a war that Trump plunged into after Darline's brother Lindsey collaborated with the Israeli prime minister to convince him it would be a quick and historic victory. 

On Tuesday we'll find out the extent to which South Carolina Republicans will ignore the evidence before them and mindlessly outsource their decision to Donald Trump. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 19:40

ADNOC Issues Ninth Spot Crude Tender Since June As UAE Boosts Oil Exports

Submitted by Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has just issued its ninth spot tender offering crude oil to buyers for October and November loadings, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to push its oil production and exports higher despite the Hormuz crisis.

The UAE’s national oil company is offering Upper Zakum, Umm Lulu, and Das crude grades pumped at fields inside the Persian Gulf in its ninth spot tender since June, sources in the trade industry told Reuters on Thursday.

In the previous eight spot tenders this summer, ADNOC is estimated to have sold more than 100 million barrels of crude to buyers.

As in the previous tenders, the ninth spot tender offers buyers the opportunity to buy cargoes on a free-on-board basis at UAE’s Fujairah Storage, Zirku, or Das Island, or arrange ship-to-ship (STS) transfers at the Fujairah-Sohar range outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters’ sources.

Since June, ADNOC has sold an estimated more than 100 million barrels in spot tenders, as the Gulf producer that has just left OPEC pushes to sell increased crude volumes to international markets.

The UAE has managed to boost its oil exports to pre-crisis levels as early as June, as it has kept pushing crude through the Strait of Hormuz and beyond.

The UAE is estimated to have produced 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in June, its highest output ever.

The UAE, which left OPEC on May 1, has found workarounds to the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz.

It has been shuttling crude through the chokepoint to load it on larger vessels outside the Strait, maximizing the use of its onshore pipeline to ship crude from the west to the east of the country, bypassing Hormuz, and shipping tankers through the Strait in dark mode.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 19:15

The Dem 'Big Tent Party' Is Doomed

Authored by Noel Williams via AmericanThinker.com,

Towards the end of every calendar year, various colleges publish lists of overused words and phrases. Though it is only August, here’s an obvious entrant for 2026: “big tent party.”

Invoking that tired phrase is part of the sophistry that “establishment” Dems contrive to outwit dumb fake-news hosts. It is an attempt to obfuscate concerns about the commie takeover of their party. Publicly and performatively, they pretend to welcome the commies because they are a “big tent party.”

Wrong! They are a “folding tent” party when it comes to their historical raison d'être; indeed, common-sense Republicans have co-opted much of their traditional ethnic and working-class base.

Even if their big tent bulges at the seams, what’s the point if the big top ring is swamped with commie clowns who turn it into a chaotic circus?

What’s the point of a party that lacks a clear mission or coherent principles?

The answer: to spite common-sense conservatives. To thwart Republicans for the sake of it. But what’s the point of that?

As the commie clowns usurp the circus ringmaster, they’re effectively chucking sticky pies into the faces of the supposedly establishment Dems. Even leftist Hakeem Obama-wannabee Jeffries has been splattered with sugary goop. He admits he’s against several of the commie demands; in fact, he doesn’t support the DSA platform at all.

Again, I ask: what’s the point in welcoming in commie clowns who run amok? I know TDS is debilitating, but do they really hate an America First President more than soul-destroying commies? They are anti-American, but are they also anti-human? Get some perspective, please.

When it comes to the more “moderate” Dems, perhaps the likes of Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and John Fetterman (D-PA), the policy gulf is even wider. If one considers the political spectrum, they may tilt somewhat closer to conservative than commie (admittedly, Fetterman votes Dem most of the time, but I can’t see much comity with the commies).

This is not to say that a big tent can’t remain steadfast. Ronald Reagan managed it, and President Trump expanded traditional Republican constituencies. The difference is they coalesce around all-American common-sense principles that have helped make us the most inventive and prosperous country ever. Genius combined with copious common sense made America great.

The Dem big top tent is crumbling under the weight of the commie onslaught. The DSA-endorsed candidates may have a “D” by their name, but it should be “C.” After all, there was once a time when even Dems supported America; conversely, the commies they now invite in want to overthrow us. How do they belong on the same playing field, let alone in the same tent?

I’m an average, commonsense dude, but I’m telling the pretentious intellectuals and highfalutin linguists right now:  recommend ditching the phrase “big tent party.” It was useful for Reagan, and even Trump, who both ushered in a bright “Morning again in America,” but has become a ludicrous trope for the demented Dems. They are lacking a positive platform, so the Communist Manifesto will fill the vacuum.

One presumes the ultimate purpose in their big tent is simply to defeat Republicans. Be careful what you wish for -- the commies within will turn on you. They always do. As the old saying goes: “United we stand, divided we fall.” As with communism, the Dem big tent is doomed to fall. They’d be advised to break commie camp in a more orderly fashion.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 18:25

"Get Long And Buckle Up": Jeff Currie Says Commodity Bull Market Entering Next Leg

The breadth of the commodity advance is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Quantix Commodity Index

Diesel crack spreads have surged above $100, copper is trading above $14,000 a ton in London, gold and silver are accelerating amid US Treasury market intervention, and the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index is surging higher. At the same time, the dollar weakened sharply following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's intervention this week, providing an additional tailwind to the commodity complex.

According to veteran commodities strategist Jeff Currie, the convergence of tight physical markets, currency debasement, and policy intervention represents the hallmark of a structural commodity bull cycle.

Currie, the former Goldman Sachs commodities chief and now co-chair of Abaxx Markets, wrote in a ten-post thread on X that commodities are the clear winners as physical bottlenecks materialize around the world and Treasury market interventions add to those tailwinds.

Currie began the thread:

Wake up, folks. Commodities are telling you something, and yesterday the Treasury confirmed it.

Scarcity in the physical world. Repression in the financial one. Scarcity pushes prices up. Repression holds yields down. The gap between them is the debasement.

Commodities are the only asset class that wins on both sides. The structural case for commodities has been turbo charged.

Underinvestment, deglobalization and electrification all pushing markets like diesel cracks and copper to new highs.

Meanwhile the chokepoints are increasing, from Hormuz to the Red Sea, the Rhine, the Panama Canal, the Black Sea grain corridor and Russian refining capacity. It is becoming increasingly apparent that not a single one of those is reachable by anything in Washington’s toolkit whether it be caused by war or weather.

The illusion of abundance is likely behind us. I said as much on CNBC this Monday, and I got long gold, silver and agriculture last week.

Wake up, folks. Commodities are telling you something, and yesterday the Treasury confirmed it.

Scarcity in the physical world. Repression in the financial one.

Scarcity pushes prices up. Repression holds yields down. The gap between them is the debasement.

Commodities are the…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

Here's a summary of Currie's bull thesis for commodities:

1. Bond market intervention: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled long-bond buybacks one day after the 30-year yield hit 5.32%, its highest level since 2007, and only two weeks after the quarterly schedule was released. Currie says this is the last lever after a sequence of interventions: SPR draws that reduced inventories below 300 million barrels, dollar backstops for foreign holders in Japan and the Gulf, and FX intervention involving the euro and yen for the first time since 1998. The market reaction was immediate: Gold rose 4% to $4,510, silver gained 5%, and the Quantix Commodity Index reached an all-time high.

I don’t care what you want to call it. A sovereign that has to buy its own bonds to set the price has already conceded that the market won't.

Yesterday Scott Bessent doubled long-bond buybacks, two weeks after publishing the quarterly schedule and one day after the 30-year hit…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

2. Stop watching Brent and WTI: The economy runs on gasoline and diesel. That consumption-weighted basket is around $165 versus $85 WTI. Inflation breakevens and the bond market are reading the wrong screen. Watch the next three CPI prints.

Stop looking at crude. Nobody consumes it but refineries.

The economy runs on gasoline and diesel, and that consumption weighted basket costs $165 against $85 WTI.

Breakevens are being priced off the one barrel nobody consumes. The bond market is reading inflation off the wrong…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

Related:

• Jeff Currie: Forget $91 Brent, The Real Crisis Is $170 Diesel

3. It's all about the crack spread: Diesel cracks settled above $100 per barrel for the first time ever, reaching $102.20. That is four to six times the normal range, with records set in five of the last six sessions. The cause is a refining shortage, with global runs down around 5 million barrels per day because of Ukrainian strikes on Russian plants, Iranian attacks on Middle Eastern facilities, and chronic underinvestment. Crude can drift while refined products print records.

The diesel crack is the tell.

It settled above $100 a barrel this week for the first time in history, reaching $102.20. That is four to six times its normal range, with records hit in five of the last six sessions.

What lies behind it? A refining shortage. Global runs are down…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

4. Treasury supply problem: Foreign holdings fell in June, led by Japan, China, and the UK. The July deficit reached $432 billion, interest costs hit $1.1 trillion, and debt is approaching $40 trillion, while hyperscaler AI-capex issuance is competing for the same pool of savings. The marginal buyer is waiting for higher yields. Yesterday's buyback represents a managed, failing auction.

The Treasury market has a problem: it cannot comfortably clear its own supply. And scarcity only exacerbates the problem.

Foreign holdings fell in June, led by Japan, China and the UK. Against that, you can add a July deficit of $432 billion, interest costs that have surged to…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

5. Broken feedback loop: Normally, a commodity spike forces yields higher, followed by demand destruction and self-correction. Repression has cut the brake line. Scarcity feeds inflation, repression prevents the response, and the absence of a response amplifies the scarcity bid.

Repression cuts the brake line.

Normally when such a situation occurs, the bond market disciplines a commodity spike. We are familiar with the cycle: yields rise, demand slows, the spike self-corrects.

But not this time.

The cycle has broken down: scarcity feeds inflation,…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

6. Diesel underpins everything: "Every other commodity is dirt plus diesel." Containers, tractors, locomotives, mine trucks, and fertilizer all depend on diesel. The energy input sets the floor for metals, grains, and other commodities. This explains why the QCI can reach an all-time high while crude remains $30 below its peak. Corn is already up 10% on the week. Pass-through into trucking, food, and producer prices is just beginning.

Every other commodity is dirt plus diesel.

Diesel is the cost base of everything. Every container, every tractor, every locomotive, every
mine truck - you get the idea.

The energy input sets the price floor for metals, grains and fertiliser, which is how QCI prints an all-time…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

7. Refining problem: There are too many crude barrels and not enough refining capacity. The possible resolution paths include demand destruction through high product prices, crude rebalancing as the current glut remains partly MoU-related, or a recovery in refining activity. If runs recover and refiners bid for the missing 5 million barrels per day of feedstock, the shortage will migrate upstream, causing crude to rally as cracks compress. The net cost to consumers stays high either way. There is no SPR for diesel or gasoline. Bears have been promising supply for more than two years, while the petroleum total-return index has doubled and retail prices remain near all-time highs.

There is no clean bearish resolution.

The market is telling you there are too many barrels of crude and not enough refining capacity.

Either demand will be destroyed through higher product prices, or crude will rebalance (right now we are likely processing a momentary glut from…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

8/9. Widening chokepoints and El Niño: Hormuz has been constrained for six months, Russian refining remains under sustained Ukrainian attack, the Red Sea still requires a detour, the Rhine is at a record low amid heat waves, and the Panama Canal's allowable draft has fallen to 47.5 feet. In the Black Sea, all three Novorossiysk terminals are shut, leaving 97% of Azov-Black Sea export capacity offline during peak season. Simultaneously, the USDA cut its US corn-yield estimate to 180.7 bushels per acre and reduced ending stocks by 15%. Food has joined fuel. A record El Niño probability, including NOAA's 81% chance of a very strong event by year-end, adds further stress through drier conditions in Panama, weaker Asian monsoons, and pressure on Brazil's planting window. The system has no redundancy left.

Whether it is weather or war, the issues are widening and deepening. Hormuz has been constrained for six months and counting. Russian refining is regularly under fire from Ukrainian strikes and there’s no sign of that slowing down. The Red Sea is still a detour.

Record European…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

10. Conclusion: Scarcity is repricing the numerator, while repression is debasing the denominator. Own what benefits from both: product markets, grains, and freight for the scarcity leg, and gold for the debasement leg. Gold is at $4,510 versus the earlier January high of $5,600 referenced above. The bond market will spend the next six months discovering what product markets already know. Expect more volatility and higher highs across more markets.

Scarcity is repricing the numerator; repression is debasing the denominator. Own what benefits from both.

The commodity complex carries the scarcity leg - products, grains, freight. Gold carries the debasement leg: $4,510 today against a January record of $5,600, and every…

— Jeffrey Currie 🆔++ (@CommodMkt) August 20, 2026

Currie concluded by saying, "Get long and buckle up: the next leg of the ride will see more vol with higher highs across more markets."

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 18:00

US Government Warns: Hackers Attacking Vulnerable Water Systems With AI Help

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

Several U.S. government agencies have said that cyber actors are attempting to hack into devices made by industrial systems company Siemens that are used to monitor water and other critical infrastructure systems.

In an advisory published on Wednesday, the FBI, National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and other U.S. agencies informed “owners and operators of industrial control systems” that there is an “active cyber threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs,” or programmable logic controllers—an industrial automation system.

Unnamed “threat actors are conducting reconnaissance and capability development against U.S.-based Siemens PLC installations using AI-generated exploitation scripts disguised as legitimate monitoring tools,” the advisory said.

It added that the hackers use services to find PLCs connected to the internet that run what the agencies said is “outdated software” or are “otherwise poorly protected.”

“The U.S. critical infrastructure sectors most targeted by this threat activity include Critical Manufacturing, Energy, Water and Wastewater, Chemical, Food and Agriculture, and Commercial Facilities,” the advisory reads.

“This is not a theoretical risk—it is an active threat.”

The agencies further warned that “exploitation of poorly protected PLCs could lead to disruption of critical industrial processes, safety incidents, downtime or equipment damage, compromise of sensitive data, compliance violations, and cascading impacts across interconnected systems.”

Organizations using Siemens systems are encouraged to apply relevant security updates, isolate devices and systems from the internet where possible, implement strong security protocols, and strengthen monitoring for potential malicious activity, according to the advisory.

“These mitigations are particularly important for owners and operators who work with third-party service providers or system integrators who may have remote access to PLCs, as the asset owners may not realize that their systems are exposed and at risk,” they added.

The advisory did not provide the name of a specific group, country, or actor that may be involved in attempting to hack the Siemens systems. Nor did it name companies that may have been targeted by the threat actors.

The warning ‌comes amid U.S. cyber incidents ⁠targeting local water systems in several states in recent weeks. The FBI said earlier this month that from July 27 to July 30, water and wastewater utility companies in seven states reported security-related incidents.

In July, CISA and other agencies said Iran-linked hackers have targeted PLCs made by Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and potentially others.

A cybersecurity risk organization, Encrygma, said on Wednesday that a group linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as the CyberAv3ngers, has attacked water systems in the United States and displayed political messaging. CISA linked the group to cyberattacks on PLCs in late 2024.

Since February, the United States and Iran have traded strikes as the Trump administration has demanded that Tehran give up its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway that allows for the transportation of significant amounts of the world’s traded oil.

Other agencies that were involved in the release of Wednesday’s advisory included the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The NSA, FBI, CISA, and other U.S. agencies have long said that the Chinese regime, Iran, North Korea, and Russia have engaged in malicious cyber activity against U.S. infrastructure networks, collecting intelligence and engaging in cyber espionage.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 17:40

NATO F-16s Blow Up Sea Drone That Threatened Romania's Largest Deep Gas Platform

A wild and highly dangerous intercept incident happened in the Black Sea on Thursday. A pair of Romanian F-16s were dispatched to track and intercept a sea drone in the vicinity the huge Neptun Deep gas platform.

The platform sits 80 miles east of the Romanian Black Sea city of Constanta and is the country's largest natural gas project and its first deep offshore project, with hundreds of people working at the site at any given time.

Omv Petrom

The Wall Street Journal reports that "Romania said it deployed two F-16 jet fighters to destroy a Russia-launched explosive marine drone that threatened hundreds of lives near one of its gas platforms."

Authorities said the sea drone was observed coming to within just a few hundred meters away from the platform, and thus the decision was made that it must be neutralized.

Citing Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta, WSJ writes further, "The decision was taken, in consultation with NATO, to destroy the drone in order to protect the lives of the several hundred people who were working on the platform and to secure the infrastructure, Miruta said in a Facebook post."

President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia, after Ukraine said the drone wasn't theirs, and formally accused Moscow of endangering "critical infrastructure" and people "working at the platform."

"I strongly condemn the intensification of these types of irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation. We remain vigilant alongside NATO allies to defend ourselves and repel such challenges," he wrote on X.

The Kremlin hasn't immediately responded, and is unlikely to own up to it. However, it has recently vowed to punish Ukraine and its Western backers for the ramped-up long-range drone campaign which has unleashed havoc on its own oil refining and energy infrastructure. Moscow says that Western allies have been helping Ukrainian forces with targeting intelligence.

A Romanian F-16 destroyed a naval drone inside Romania's Black Sea EEZ on Thursday as it approached the Neptun Alpha gas platform, 80 nautical miles east of Constanța. pic.twitter.com/W9f2NVaxGX

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 20, 2026

There have been widely reported petrol shortages across Russia of late, even impacting the capital and surrounding regions, due to the non-stop drone waves.

European Commission President Von der Leyen commented on the new Black Sea incident in support of Romania and NATO. "An escalating campaign of threats is underway, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union," she wrote on X.

"With the European Drone Defence Initiative and the Eastern Flank Watch, we are scaling up production in Europe ... So we can respond to emerging threats with speed, unity and resolve," she added.

Video: Defense Minister Radu Miruta... showing the moment that the unidentified sea drone was obliterated...

🚨 BREAKING: A Romanian F-16 fired on an explosive-laden Russian sea drone near the Neptun Deep gas field in the Black Sea.

Top officials called it part of a growing Russian threat against the site, set to make Romania the EU's top gas producer by 2027.

Video: Defense Minister… pic.twitter.com/WxzWU5vGv7

— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 20, 2026

Aerial incidents involving Russian projectiles along the EU and NATO's 'eastern flank' have become somewhat of a regular occurrence; however, the spectacle of a NATO member's jets being scrambled to track and blow up a sea drone off coastal waters is something new. It was perhaps a bright flashing 'warning' from Russian forces, showing that they can harm vital EU energy infrastructure in return if they want to.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 17:21

Hawaii Could Face Another Hurricane This Weekend

Authored by T.J.Muscaro via The Epoch Times,

Hawaii could face its second tropical storm or hurricane in a week as a low-pressure system was reported on Aug. 19 to be developing near the islands.

Another tropical storm is expected to develop in the Central Pacific as Hurricane Lala moves away from Hawaii on Aug. 19, 2026. National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center warned that the system was developing thunderstorms that had a 90 percent chance of organizing into a cyclone in the next 48 hours.

“Environmental conditions appear favorable for further development of this system, and a tropical depression is likely to form during the next day or so as the system moves westward to west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph and crosses into the Central Pacific,” the center advised.

“Interests in the Hawaiian Islands should closely monitor the progress of this system.”

As of 4:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 19, forecast models generally estimated the storm to remain offshore and pass well south of the archipelago, with the closest pass being on the southern point of the Big Island around Aug. 23.

Some models indicate that a pocket of high pressure will remain over the Big Island during this time.

If this storm develops into a tropical storm—that is, it organizes into a proper cyclone with sustained wind speeds of at least 39 mph—it will become Tropical Storm Moke.

Meanwhile, residents across multiple islands continue to reel from the close pass of Hurricane Lala just one week ago.

The Big Island was hit with more than three feet of rain in some places, triggering catastrophic flooding and landslides that rendered highways impassable and washed away entire homes, particularly in the communities of Naalehu and Waiohinu.

Power outages, downed trees, rock slides, and severe winds also impacted the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai over the previous weekend.

Major airports on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island remained accessible and operational at some capacity on Aug. 16.

The governor closed all state and county offices as well as all schools and judiciary offices on Aug. 17 due to the damage the hurricane left behind.

Hawaiian Electric estimated that some customers in the southeast end of the Big Island could be without power through Labor Day weekend, with 95 percent expected to have power restored by Sept. 8, if the new storm development does not disrupt their work.

“We understand that it is frustrating and challenging to be without power,” the company said on X.

“Due to significant storm damage, customers in certain remote or severely damaged areas should prepare to be without power for much longer periods of time.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 17:00

"No Thanks!" Has A Price: Trump Guts Korea War Games, Courts Kim As The Seoul Alliance Buckles

Hours before 18,000 South Korean troops were due to kick off this year's Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise alongside their American counterparts, President Trump pulled the rug - instructing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises" with Seoul. By Wednesday the allies confirmed the annual drills - the backbone of combined readiness against the North - had been chopped nearly in half, from 11 days to five, with live field-training events canceled or downgraded to computer simulations.

Lee Jae Myung with Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office in August last year. Lee has long wanted to dial down military posturing. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

According to Trump, the drills are costly (with Washington footing most of the bill); the exercises send a 'hostile and inappropriate' signal toward a North Korea that has been "unthreatening and respectful" on his watch; and - revenge... Seoul refused to help with the war on Iran. Trump recounted asking President Lee Jae-myung whether South Korea would care to join the denuclearization of the Islamic Republic, and characterized Seoul's answer as a breezy "No thanks!"

This sent Seoul scrambling, as  Lee spent Tuesday's cabinet meeting insisting the US alliance remains the bedrock of South Korean security, while his military worked out how to salvage an exercise that was already underway. Meanwhile, Pyongyang spent last week denouncing the drills as "a rehearsal for an aggressive war" - lobbing two ballistic missiles in the space of six days earlier this month. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Seoul mid-week for security talks, presumably trying to keep a straight face.

The Drawdown That Dare Not Speak Its Name

With US-SK relations having souring over the past couple of years over the punishment of US tech giants with arbitrary fines (extortion, basically), Trump's decision follows long-telegraphed push to shrink US Forces Korea itself. The Wall Street Journal reported back in May 2025 that the Pentagon had drafted options to pull roughly 4,500 of the 28,500 US troops off the peninsula and reposition them in Guam and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific. While the Pentagon denied it, lawmakers freaked out and wrote a 28,500-troop floor directly into the FY2026 NDAA.

This means that the Trump administration has had to get creative: the exercises are halved under the guise of "strategic flexibility," while the admin is repurposing USFK (United States Forces Korea) for a China-Taiwan contingency rather than a purely North Korean one, and Seoul is now under pressure to pay quite a bit more for the privilege of hosting a force whose mission increasingly isn't about Korea at all. Lee himself has conceded that Washington's demand for flexibility is apparently one Seoul cannot easily accept.

This Didn't Come Out Of Nowhere

Longtime readers know the US-SK alliance has been deteriorating for well over a year. As we detailed last October, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has spent a decade functioning less like an antitrust regulator and more like a toll booth for American tech: an $854 million hit on Qualcomm in 2016, $177 million on Google in 2021 over Android, serial actions against Apple's App Store - all while domestic firms Naver and Kakao have been allowed to skate despite similar actions. One study put the combined ten-year economic damage of Seoul's tech crackdown at roughly $1 trillion, including $525 billion to the US economy.

Washington noticed. In December, as we reported, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) abruptly scrapped a scheduled KORUS Joint Committee meeting - the main forum for managing the free-trade relationship - after Seoul kept pushing digital regulations the administration considers discriminatory, despite having signed a framework weeks earlier promising not to. And in February, the House Judiciary Committee opened a formal investigation and subpoenaed Coupang - the NYSE-listed, American-owned "Amazon of Korea" - for documents on its treatment at the hands of Korean regulators.

Then Seoul stepped on the rake again after a former Coupang employee improperly accessed phonebook-grade customer data - names and addresses - with roughly 3,000 records actually downloaded, later recovered, never sold or misused, and with no documented consumer harm. Taiwan, whose customers were swept up in the same incident, handled it the way regulators normally do: a review, a compliance plan, move on.

Seoul decided to bust Coupang's balls. Police raided the company repeatedly; a dozen agencies launched investigations and enforcement actions, most of them having nothing to do with data security; politicians publicly vilified Coupang's American founder; and the firm's acting CEO - a US citizen - was dragged through days of kangaroo court hearings in which, per the committee's account, he was denied American counsel, accused of perjury over truthful testimony, and threatened with travel bans, criminal charges, and jail. 

In June, Korea's privacy regulator hit Coupang with a $409 million fine - the largest privacy penalty in the country's history, and more than four times the next-biggest, which had been levied on a Korean firm that exposed far more sensitive data. On July 1 - the same month Seoul lit its landmarks red, white, and blue for America's 250th birthday - House Judiciary published its report, "Closed for Competition," documenting officials pressuring the national pension fund to dump Coupang stock, lawmakers threatening to drive the company out of the country, and the prime minister urging regulators to pursue it "with the same determination used to wipe out mafias."

Deport The Regulators?

Which brings us to Capitol Hill's latest innovation. In late July, Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) - who in April led 54 House colleagues in a letter demanding Seoul stand down - introduced the No Racketeers on Our Shores Act, which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny US entry to, or deport, foreign officials "who weaponize the government to discriminate against American companies." The bill's fact sheet cites the Coupang case by name. In short: keep shaking down American firms, and your regulators can enjoy the view from outside the United States.

Two weeks ago, Judiciary Republicans fired off yet another letter, this time over Seoul's new "fake news" amendment - a KMCC-enforced regime that can fine publishers with over 100,000 subscribers, and large platforms, for spreading disfavored information. The platforms that clear those thresholds - Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube - are, conveniently, almost all American.

Trump-Kim Bromance 2.0?

Amid the chill with South Korea, the WSJ reported Tuesday that Trump is pushing aides to arrange a meeting with Kim Jong Un as soon as this fall - potentially around the November APEC summit in Shenzhen. On Wednesday Trump confirmed it himself, telling reporters he'll meet Kim this year, describing the N. Korean leader as "well behaved," and casually confirming Pyongyang's arsenal at 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons. Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong claims to be unaware of any recent correspondence, and no date has been set. 

No half-measures...

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 16:40

Fake News 'Journalists' Love The Deep State

Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker,

The Fourth Estate is constitutionally illiterate...

On Sunday morning’s Meet the Press, NBC News hack Kristen Welker pressed newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche to “pledge that the Justice Department will always act independently of the White House.”  The fake “journalist” performed this bit of moralizing theater with her “very serious” face, as if to suggest that the nation’s survival depended upon Blanche’s answer.  Blanche calmly swatted Welker’s solicitation away, while pointing out that no competent, law-abiding attorney general should ever make such an absurd pledge.

It was another ridiculous moment in “journalism” and reminded viewers that the biggest names in corporate news are stupid, partisan, and duplicitous.  Why would Welker believe that she is entitled to demand some kind of public oath from the attorney general?  Why does she think the United States should have an “independent” Department of Justice?  Does she not understand that the DOJ is part of the Executive Branch?  Is she not aware that AG Blanche serves in President Trump’s cabinet?  Does she not realize that Trump is his boss?  Does she not grasp that AG Blanche is now seventh in the presidential line of succession?

Many idiot “reporters” ran to social media so that they could be seen collapsing on their digital fainting couches.  “Pretty amazing confession here by the AG,” moron Chuck Todd whimpered before further whining, “Still can’t believe he was confirmed.  I guess he gets points for being honest?”  Yes, Chuck, it is stunning that the attorney general recognizes his constitutional obligation to serve the president of the United States.  AG Blanche has “confessed” that he is not a rogue dictator empowered to run the Department of Justice by kingly prerogative.  (Be careful kids: Mixing too much Kristen Welker and Chuck Todd in the same Kool-Aid punch bowl will kill millions of brain cells.)

What is it with these people?  

They scream constantly about America’s descent into dictatorship, and then they demand that administrative department heads rule the country with complete disregard for the constitutional authority of the elected president.  Welker and Todd’s insistence that the AG behave as a monarch beholden to no-one reeks of the same foul odor that the corporate news media produced on an industrial scale during COVID.

When the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, was telling the world, “I represent science,” and, “Now is the time to do what you are told,” fake “journalists” clapped like seals.  Fauci and his fellow institutional health frauds ordered people to wear useless masks, stay indoors, and inject their bodies with experimental mRNA serums, and the so-called Fourth Estate — the self-adulating phonies who claim to speak truth to power — told anyone with a functioning brain to stop questioning the omniscient Dr. Fauci and obey the mass murderer’s (hey, anyone who helped fund the creation of COVID in a Wuhan bioweapons laboratory before conspiring with the pharmaceutical industry to pump poison into every human being surely must be guilty of crimes against humanity) every command.

Now that the COVID Era has been exposed as a wretched period in which pseudoscience and fake “expertise” were weaponized to justify the rapid onslaught of government totalitarianism and the obliteration of the Bill of Rights, any journalist worthy of the job title should be more wary than ever of administrative state megalomaniacs wielding unconstrained power.  Instead, the Welkers and Todds of journalism’s inbred propaganda class beg for new Deep State authority figures to act unilaterally.  Corporate news talking heads call President Trump an “authoritarian” while expressing shock when unelected bureaucrats refrain from mimicking fraud Fauci’s cult leader demeanor.

This is who they are.  

Corporate “journalists” despise the Constitution.  They sneer at Americans who speak of their God-given rights.  They worship so-called “experts.” 

 They pray at the altar of the permanent government bureaucracy.  

They probably all have tattoos expressing deep love for the Deep State.  

When the “right” candidate wins an election - such as King Barack Hussein Obama II - the Welkers and Todds of “journalism’s” obsequious priestly caste demand that the American people treat the Fourth Estate-approved president as part demigod, part adoptive father.

When the “wrong” candidates win elections, the Welkers and Todds are the first to question the results.  They will spend years defending the Russia Collusion Hoax, even though Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign paid for those lies, while Barack Obama, John Brennan, James Clapper, Jim Comey, Susan Rice, and so many other Deep Staters used the machinery of the CIA, NSA, and FBI to perpetrate a mass disinformation campaign against the American people.  They will cover up Hunter Biden’s incriminating laptop linking the Biden family to quid-pro-quo corruption in Ukraine, while working with the Intelligence Community, Mitt Romney, and other immoral and unethical frauds to turn a damning Biden scandal into a Trump impeachment.  They will stay completely silent as Democrat lawfare specialists use COVID to upend the 2020 presidential election with mail-in-ballot fraud, social media manipulation, Facebook election-rigging, and total disregard for statutory election law.  Then they will lose their ever-loving minds when Trump voters question the likelihood that perennially unpopular politician Joe Biden somehow eclipsed the vote totals of both President Obama and President Trump to become the “most popularly elected president” in American history.

The Kristen Welkers and Chuck Todds of “journalism’s” pathetically myopic clique of Democrat Party bootlickers never protested when corrupt Attorney General Eric Holder (who turned the USA PATRIOT Act into a weapon for spying on political enemies) referred to himself as Obama’s “wingman.”  They said nothing when Attorney General Merrick Garland and Democrat prosecutors Jack Smith, Matthew Colangelo, Alvin Bragg, and Fani Willis worked with Joe Biden’s White House to imprison President Trump for the rest of his natural life.  They said nothing when the Biden White House conspired with Democrat prosecutors and judges to impose “gag orders” on President Trump while he was campaigning for re-election.  They said nothing when the Biden White House dedicated significant FBI and DOJ resources to hunting down J6 protesters and inexcusably defaming them as “traitors,” “seditionists,” and “domestic terrorists.”  They said nothing when the Biden White House investigated, threatened, and prosecuted Trump’s attorneys, employees, and associates.  They said nothing when Biden’s DOJ harassed and intimidated hundreds of MAGA-aligned organizations, donors, and influencers.  They said nothing when Biden’s DOJ spied on Republican members of Congress while pursuing “seditious conspiracy” charges against Trump.  They said nothing when members of the Biden White House used an autopen to pardon hundreds of violent criminals.  While Obama and Biden used the DOJ to ruin the lives of ordinary Americans for the “crime” of having “incorrect” political beliefs, the Welkers and Todds of “journalism’s” toxic junkyard ignored the pungent stink of White House corruption.

From the point of view of corporate news propagandists, a Democrat-controlled White House is permitted to use the FBI and DOJ to target political enemies.  When a Republican sits in the Oval Office, the White House’s authority over the DOJ must be severed and the attorney general must be made to swear a loyalty oath to the permanent bureaucracy.  According to our dumb and ideologically partisan corporate “journalists,” there is a special Fourth Branch of government entitled to ignore the Constitution and the president’s inherent Executive authority while protecting the Deep State and the Democrat Party’s interests.

What’s particularly galling about Welker and Todd’s constitutional illiteracy is each buffoon’s insistence that independent bureaucrats somehow safeguard “democracy.”  Unelected government employees do not represent the American people.  To accord them more power than elected officials is to weaken the public’s control over their own government.  

Treating the Faucis, Holders, Garlands, Brennans, and Comeys as if they possess distinct Executive power derived separately from that of the president’s is not conducive to a constitutional republic.  It is the gateway drug to future dictatorship.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 16:20

'Hot Mess': Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Jalapeños Spreads To More States

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The salmonella outbreak connected to jalapeño peppers from Mexico has spread to additional states, U.S. authorities said on Aug. 19.

Thirty-two states have now reported cases in the outbreak, up from 27 states earlier in the month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an update.

The states are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Colorado and Minnesota have each recorded more than 100 cases, while more than two dozen have been logged in Georgia and Illinois. The other states have reported one to 14 cases.

The outbreak has reached 431 cases, with 86 of those new cases and 57 hospitalizations. No deaths have been reported.

The outbreak has been linked to jalapeños from a farm in Sinaloa and distributed to the United States earlier in the year. Stores that sold the peppers and products containing them include Kroger, Target, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods Market.

Taylor Fresh Foods, Whole Foods, NatureBest, and Hardie’s Fresh Foods have recalled both the peppers and products containing them.

The products include Spicy Jarlsberg Dip, sold at Kroger, and Taco Dip, sold at Target. The full list of products can be found on the Food and Drug Administration website.

The public is advised not to consume the recalled products. They can either be thrown out or returned to the place of purchase for a refund. Restaurants and other companies should not sell or serve the peppers, authorities said.

Salmonella, caused by consuming contaminated food, typically causes symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after consuming the food. If a person experiences symptoms such as a fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit combined with diarrhea, they should call their health care provider, according to the CDC.

A digitally colorized scanning electron microscopic image of a grouping of Gram-negative bacilli, or rod-shaped, Salmonella sp. bacteria. Janice Haney Carr/CDC

Illnesses in the outbreak started as early as June 19 and as late as Aug. 2.

Of the 224 patients interviewed by investigators, 91 percent reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant before getting sick, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA.

Amid the outbreak and a spike in cases of cyclosporiasis, a disease caused by food contaminated with feces, the acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner said recently that people should have confidence in the country’s food supply.

“We have the safest food supply in the world,” Kyle Diamantas said.

“FDA investigates dozens of foodborne illness outbreaks each year,” he added later. “There is definitely a heightened narrative right now. People are more aware.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 15:40

Food Supply Alert: Ukraine Grain Exports Collapse As Black Sea Attacks Choke Global Shipments

Upward momentum in agricultural prices, as tracked by the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, should be ringing inflationary alarm bells. The breakout comes just one week after JPMorgan analyst Nora Szentivanyi warned that the next global food crisis could materialize as early as next year.

Multiple shocks are converging all at once across the global food complex, including continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, rising El Niño risks, and adverse weather across the US agricultural belt.

This note focuses on another emerging chokepoint: Europe's breadbasket, where intensifying attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war have shuttered critical Black Sea grain export terminals.

Reuters reports that global wheat importers are preparing for tighter supplies and higher prices as tit-for-tat attacks on Black Sea ports and bulk carriers continue to disrupt shipments during the region's peak export season.

Those attacks have shuttered grain terminals and forced shippers to delay or cancel dozens of cargoes. Ukraine reported 35 attacks on vessels in port, 22 at sea, and 67 against port facilities in July, compared with just 14 such incidents during all of 2025.

Ukraine has damaged Russia’s grain export terminals in an attack on the Novorossiysk port, while Russia has struck grain infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region. Tit-for-tat attacks between the world’s major grain exporters threatens food security in import-dependent countries. pic.twitter.com/YxwIQApNYI

— Shogri (@shogri786) August 14, 2026

Asian processors booked between 2 million and 2.5 million tons of Black Sea wheat for delivery from July through September, representing about 30% to 50% of regional import demand, according to Singapore-based traders. Traders are fretting over some grain shipments won't arrive in time because of the widespread disruptions. 

At the importer level, Egypt and Indonesia are among some of the top countries exposed to Black Sea shipments. Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, sourced more than 82% of its first-half imports from Russia and Ukraine. Indonesia contracted for roughly 600,000 tons from suppliers in the region for delivery in July to September.

One Singapore-based trader who sells Black Sea wheat to millers in Asia told the outlet, "The cargoes were due to start arriving from mid-August, but many ships could not go in to load. Buyers are thinking about replacing some of these cargoes with other origins, such as Australia, North America and Argentina."

Maxence Devillers, a grain analyst at Argus Media, said buyers facing delayed or entirely canceled shipments from the region "will have to find other solutions by the end of the month."

🌾 #Ukraine and #Russia dropping out of the market could trigger a new global #grain #crisis

Further escalation of attacks on Ukraine’s and Russia’s port and grain logistics could sharply reduce Black Sea supplies.

Read more 👉https://t.co/g4GuYe7TZA pic.twitter.com/yHgfFSnk0G

— UkrAgroConsult (@UkrAgroConsult) August 20, 2026

Separately, Bloomberg pointed out that Russian attacks on Odesa have nearly halted Ukraine's grain exports this peak harvest season. Total grain shipments from Ukraine have amounted to about 500,000 tons since the start of August, equivalent to roughly 20% of the country's potential exports. The Greater Odesa ports normally handle about 90% of Ukraine's grain shipments. 

The escalating Black Sea attacks across Europe's breadbasket have pushed Chicago wheat futures to a two-year high.

A broader gauge of agricultural commodities, the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, is also breaking out, signaling real-time inflationary pressure building at the raw-material level of the food system.

A must-read: "Won't Be Short-Lived": JPMorgan Warns Next Global Food Crisis Could Erupt Next Year

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 15:20

The Harp Defense: Jennings Jockeys For SPOX After Leavitt Leaves

CNN political contributor and nationally syndicated radio host Scott Jennings just dropped a full-throated defense of Natalie Harp after reports surfaced that the conservative commentator is angling to replace outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, according to Politico's Playbook.

"I just don't think that's what you sign up for when you're someone like Natalie Harp, who never put her name on a ballot. She's not the White House press secretary. She's not a household name, and I just find it to be appalling," Jennings told Playbook. "Somebody needs to defend her honor."

Harp, the 35-year-old special assistant to President Donald Trump, has spent years flying under the radar as one of the president's most constant aides. Insiders call her the "human printer" because she packs a portable printer everywhere, churning out hard copies of news articles, social-media posts and anything else Trump wants to see on paper, according to the anti-Trump publication The Bulwark.

That low profile shattered this week when Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) name-dropped her at a Georgia campaign rally, accusing the Trump of preferring to "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar" rather than fully attend to his official duties.

Harp first caught Trump's eye in 2019 when she publicly credited his Right to Try legislation with opening the door to experimental treatment for bone cancer, the New York Times reports.

Meanwhile, no decision was made and no offer extended an offer to Jennings to take the podium. A report from NOTUS on Wednesday paraphrased Trump as saying he is "not quite sold" on Jennings for the role. The report did note, though, that the president would prefer a man to succeed the outgoing Leavitt.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 15:00

Tonight: Trump To Appear On Turncoat Michael Cohen's Radio Show

Michael Cohen - Donald Trump's former 'fixer' who once vowed to take a bullet for him, only to flip after he was raided by the FBI in 2018 in the Stormy Daniels hush-money probe - says that Trump has agreed to appear on his New York City-area radio show this week.

Cohen wrote on X on Wednesday to confirm that Trump would appear on “the radio show I’m hosting tomorrow night at 6pm and the rest on my Sunday” show on 770 WABC Radio.

It’s not for the podcast…it’s the radio show I’m hosting tomorrow night at 6pm and the rest on my Sunday 5pm est radio show on 77WABC radio called “When You Know…You Know”. https://t.co/ap68IAlrcJ

— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) August 19, 2026

Cohen told CBS that this will be "the first public conversation between the president and myself in eight years," adding "You know, there have been private conversations that have, of course, been reported. But this is the first public conversation."

As the Epoch Times notes further, Cohen also linked to a Substack article that served as a recollection of the public feud the two had, which included Cohen testifying against Trump in his New York City criminal trial in 2024. Cohen served as one of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s star witnesses, alleging the president was intensely involved in a plan to pay off a former adult film actress during his 2016 campaign.

“Eight years of silence. Hundreds of thousands of headlines. Fifteen years of history fractured in an instant, and somehow, against almost every expectation, here we are. Since yesterday’s announcement broke, my inbox has once again become a digital battlefield. It has been flooded with hatred, anger, disbelief, and some of the most spectacularly vicious things imaginable,” Cohen wrote.

He later wrote that “apparently, quite a few are ready to personally escort me to the gates of hell for daring to share a microphone with Donald Trump again.”

Speaking to Politico on Wednesday, Cohen answered a question about whether he would seek a presidential pardon.

Cohen in 2018 was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion, bank fraud, and lying to Congress. He completed his sentence and supervision requirements in November 2021.

“We’ll see,” he said in response. “Will I make that request down the road? I don’t know. Maybe maybe not.”

Referring to the upcoming interview, Cohen told the outlet that listeners will be “interested to hear two individuals that were friends for a decade and a half who have not publicly spoken in eight years” talk about their past.

Trump, who was convicted in a jury trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records, denied the charges against him and pleaded not guilty. He has long said that the Manhattan district attorney’s case and cases that were brought against him in Georgia, Washington, and Florida were a “political witch hunt.”

The judge who oversaw the case, Juan Merchan, sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge in January 2025, coming about two months after Trump won reelection.

In his first term, Trump often criticized Cohen in response to claims his former lawyer made about him, writing on X in 2018: “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” Cohen would often appear on then-MSNBC and CNN to criticize the first Trump term.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 14:40

Has Iranian Crude Become Irrelevant To Global Oil Supply?

Submitted by Tsvetana Paraskova Of OilPrice.com

The reinstated U.S. blockade on Iranian oil exports is effectively preventing Tehran from exporting oil, making Iran’s oil volumes irrelevant for global oil market balances, Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, told CNBC on Thursday.

The U.S. brought back the blockade in the Gulf of Oman aimed at preventing Iran from exporting its oil after the ‘deal to make a deal’ collapsed in July and hostilities in the Middle East returned.

The blockade, which the U.S. had lifted for about three weeks while negotiations were being held in June and early July, is now back and effectively blockading Iran’s oil exports.

“Kharg Island is not exporting anymore,” McNally told CNBC, referring to Iran’s key oil export terminal that handles more than 90% of all shipments.

“Iran has stopped being a factor for the oil market in terms of its exports because of the blockade,” McNally said.

Iran may have been removed from the real barrels count, but the crude oil futures market is underpricing geopolitical risk, the energy expert told CNBC.

“The refined products are telling the story” of how crude futures may be underpricing the tightness in the global oil market, according to McNally.

In addition, “the market has become a little less optimistic about near-term and sustainable reopening of Hormuz,” he said, adding that the longer the disruption goes on, “the risk is that crude will follow products higher.”

Brent Crude prices topped $91 per barrel this week amid heightened security concerns for shipping in the Middle East and fading hopes that the U.S. and Iran could return to negotiations.

The refined product market, however, is already flashing severe tightness, with the diesel crack spread hitting record highs in both the United States and Europe this week.

The diesel crack spread in the United States hit triple digits this week, for the first time ever. The premium over crude prices jumped to as high as $102 per barrel on Monday, before easing slightly to about $100 a barrel on Tuesday.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 14:00

"Significant" Tornado Threat Incoming For DC To Baltimore To Philadelphia

Senior meteorologist Matthew Cappucci of private weather forecaster MyRadarWX is monitoring the potential for isolated tornadoes along the Interstate 95 corridor, from areas north of Washington, D.C., through Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware, and into the Philadelphia metro area.

Tornadoes are not unheard of in the Mid-Atlantic, but a potential setup later this afternoon capable of producing multiple tornadoes across a large swath of Maryland, Delaware, and southeastern Pennsylvania would be unusual.

"Mid-Atlantic gang – can't rule out an isolated tornado this afternoon embedded within/ahead of a developing squall line. There's just enough low-level easterly winds to bolster spin. Brief tornado possible IF southward-sagging front doesn't undercut storms too quickly," Cappucci wrote on X earlier this morning. 

Mid-Atlantic gang – can't rule out an isolated tornado this afternoon embedded within/ahead of a developing squall line.

There's just enough low-level easterly winds to bolster spin. Brief tornado possible IF southward-sagging front doesn't undercut storms too quickly. pic.twitter.com/9grxM09gXd

— Matthew Cappucci (@MatthewCappucci) August 20, 2026

MyRadarWX posted for the Mid-Atlantic region: 

We're closely monitoring the risk of an isolated tornado or two in the Mid-Atlantic, including along/east of I-95. While a squall line is likely to form, concern is growing that a couple supercell structure may evolve ahead of the line and produce a tornado or two. Subtle influences, like the bay breeze, may provide an additional source of low-level spin. The main wildcard is how quickly a southward-advancing cold front moves. Too quick, and it could undercut storms/sweep them into a non-tornadic line. A bit slower, however, and easterly surface winds ahead of it could bolster low-level spin, increasing tornado risk.

We're closely monitoring the risk of an isolated tornado or two in the Mid-Atlantic, including along/east of I-95.

While a squall line is likely to form, concern is growing that a couple supercell structure may evolve ahead of the line and produce a tornado or two.

Subtle… pic.twitter.com/lQPRr2pQxt

— MyRadar Weather (@MyRadarWX) August 20, 2026

MyRadarWX's timing of the incoming storm for the region, with a possible "isolated EF2+ 'significant' tornado," is for Thursday afternoon. 

D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and Dover – the Storm Prediction Center has upgraded our tornado risk today, Thursday afternoon, August 20. While only a couple tornadoes are possible, the atmosphere could support an isolated EF2+ "significant" tornado. That would be predicated on the formation of a supercell or two (rotating thunderstorms) ahead of an eventual squall line. The greatest chance is in northeastern Maryland, southeast Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey or the northern Delmarva. Low probability, but high impact if it happens.

D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and Dover – the Storm Prediction Center has upgraded our tornado risk today, Thursday afternoon, August 20. While only a couple tornadoes are possible, the atmosphere could support an isolated EF2+ "significant" tornado.

That would be predicated on… pic.twitter.com/Cm591DsvDu

— MyRadar Weather (@MyRadarWX) August 20, 2026

The National Weather Service tornado scale states that an EF2 tornado can tear roofs off homes, destroy mobile homes, snap large trees, and turn debris into dangerous projectiles. MyRadarWX's risk forecast is not an official warning from the National Weather Service.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 13:40

Board Won't Add Trump's Name To Kennedy Center Before Sept. 8, Filing Says

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

The Kennedy Center’s board told federal court that it will not try to put President Donald Trump’s name back on the building’s facade before at least Sept. 8, giving both sides time to discuss a new resolution opponents say flouts a prior court order.

In a joint status report filed late on Aug. 18, attorneys for the center and the U.S. Department of Justice said the board would delay enforcing the so-called recognition resolution the board approved on Aug. 13.

The measure stated that the board would add an inscription reading, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” and rename the plaza in front of the building after the president.

Another resolution approved the same day provided that the center be closed for two years for renovations.

This means that some of the institution’s high-profile programming, such as the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, would have to be presented off-site.

The National Symphony Orchestra said days ago that it would divide its upcoming season among six venues in and around the nation’s capital.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio member of the center’s board of trustees, filed the lawsuit challenging the center’s first renaming—as “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts”—in December 2025.

Attorneys for Beatty said in the new filing that the latest name change resolution was a “breathtaking act of defiance.”

The statute that created the center “provides no lawful basis” to ignore the federal district court’s prior ruling and “impose Donald Trump’s name on a memorial dedicated by the Congress exclusively to a different President,” they said.

“Defendants are, once again, trying to memorialize Donald Trump—something the statute expressly prohibits,” her lawyers added.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Trump’s name taken off the center’s marble facade on May 29, setting a removal deadline of June 12. Construction crews used scaffolding to begin physically prying the words “Donald Trump” off the facade in the early morning hours of June 13.

In the status report, the center said the scaffolding and a protective cover known as a tarp are needed for water testing and structural repairs to the roof overhang and its underside, and that the scaffolding was also used to remove the president’s name.

Beatty’s attorneys disputed that explanation, arguing the structure is in place to keep the Kennedy name obscured and prevent a return to the pre-litigation status quo.

They asked Cooper to rule before Sept. 8 on the lawfulness of the recognition resolution, arguing that the board seemed ready to act as soon as the center’s voluntary pause of free public tours ended.

The lawmaker’s attorneys also asked the court to direct the center to show cause why the covering should not be removed within 30 days, and to order the parties to begin discovery, an evidence-gathering process, into the shutdown decision.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 13:00

The Great Reversal: Decades-Long Bond Bull Lacy Hunt On His Bearish Pivot, Tonight

LIVE NOW:

https://t.co/Vg3ZRZ4A9F

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 20, 2026

***********************

For nearly four decades, Dr. Lacy Hunt has been one of Wall Street's most steadfast bond bulls.

As chief economist of Hoisington Investment Management, Hunt built his reputation around a simple but powerful thesis: globalization, excessive debt and slowing growth would keep inflation and interest rates suppressed. He maintained that view through the aftermath of the financial crisis, a decade of ultra-easy monetary policy, and even the COVID explosion in money supply and inflation.

Now, the bond legend is making a major pivot.

Hoisington has slashed the duration of its bond portfolio and moved the proceeds into short-dated Treasury bills. With that, the wealth management firm also declared: the disinflationary regime that dominated the global economy from roughly 1990 through 2020 may be coming to an end.

Tonight at 7PM ET, Hunt will join ZeroHedge to explain why.

Hunt’s pivot preceded yesterday’s bond market scare followed by the Bessent Buyback we covered yesterday… evidently the bull turned bearish just in time.

At the heart of Hunt's new thesis are three structural changes: globalization is reversing (tariffs, onshoring), the global labor glut is disappearing (birthrate, aging boomers), and capital is becoming scarce (government deficits).  

Indeed it is https://t.co/b12Aqslmd5

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 19, 2026

On the other hand, long-term inflation expectations remain relatively subdued. Foreign capital continues flowing into Treasuries. Global trade recently hit record levels relative to world GDP. And Hunt's thesis gives relatively little weight to the possibility that AI eventually produces a productivity boom powerful enough to become a major disinflationary force.

That is where tonight's discussion begins.

Hunt will be joined by Adam Taggart of Thoughtful Money and Brent Johnson, who popularized the "Dollar Milkshake Theory."

Taggart and Johnson will probe Hunt's new framework and pressure-test the assumptions behind one of the most consequential macro pivots in recent memory.

We'll ask the man himself. Watch tonight at 7PM ET here on the ZeroHedge homepage, X feed, and YouTube channel.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 12:40