Final demand wholesale inflation rose by 6% on an annual basis in April, marking the largest increase since 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. More than three-quarters of the 2% increase in final demand goods in April was attributed to a 7.8% increase in energy prices. Final demand services moved up 1.2%, pushed along largely by a 2.7% increase in trade services.
A proposed 1-gigawatt AI data center in Kenya is facing scrutiny after it became clear it would consume a third of the country's power. With the President warning that operating Microsoft's planned facility would require cutting power to as many as half of the country's citizens and businesses, the project's development has faltered as all parties discuss potentially scaling back its ambitious goals.
A survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse has told how the late sex offender sexually abused her while he was under house arrest for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Roza, who was recruited from Uzbekistan as a teenager by Epstein's associate and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, spoke publicly for the first time alongside a number of victims in a field hearing that was organised by House Democrats.
The Trump administration cannot detain long-term immigrant residents without a bond hearing, a federal appellate court panel ruled Monday. In a 2-1 ruling, a Sixth Circuit panel said the administration cannot treat immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years the same as it treats individuals who are picked up while attempting to enter the country.
Iran's chief negotiator said on Tuesday that Washington must accept Tehran's latest peace plan or risk the collapse of the Middle East truce, after President Donald Trump warned the ceasefire was near failure. The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran more than two months ago, has destabilised the region and rattled global markets.
At least 12 US, allied radar systems hit by Iran since start of war (March 2026)
www.aa.com.tr
... Iran has hit 12 US and allied radar and SATCOM terminals since the start of the war, according to data compiled by Anadolu.
Kuwait International Airport's newest radar system was among those targeted, as three "hostile drones" damaged it on Sunday, according to Kuwaiti authorities. The full extent of the damage remains unknown.
A day earlier, an Iranian drone struck a US Saab Giraffe 1X radar system at the US Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq. The radar provided Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) and Counter Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) in a 75-kilometer radius and is estimated to be worth $2 million.
While the extent of the damage is unclear, satellite imagery analyzed by multiple outlets confirms that four AN/TPY-2 radars have been hit in Al Sader and Al Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates, Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan, and Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia. AN/TPY-2 radar components belonging to THAAD missile defense systems are valued at an estimated $2 billion.
A US AN/FPS-132 early warning radar at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, valued at $1.1 billion, was struck by an Iranian missile when retaliatory attacks began on Feb. 28. Qatari authorities confirmed that the radar was damaged.
Iran also struck the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, destroying two satellite communications terminals and several large buildings.
Open-source intelligence reports have identified the targeted communication terminals as AN/GSC-52Bs, with an estimated cost of $20 million, factoring in deployment and installation.
In addition to the terminals lost in Bahrain, satellite imagery analyzed by The New York Times of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait showed three destroyed radomes, adding roughly $30 million in damage.
In total, 12 radar systems or SATCOM terminals, valued at an estimated $3.152 billion, have been hit by Iranian strikes. ...
Shriekback - This Big Hush (1985)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
https://genius.com/Shriekback-this-big-hush-lyrics
...
[Verse]
Is there a fire in the sky?
Is there a moon up there?
Is there anything alive now?
This darkness is what I hear
This is a breathless silence
A moment out of time
...
Related ...
FDA chief resigns after Trump admin forced approval of fruity e-cigs
arstechnica.com
... Marty Makary on Tuesday resigned from his role as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, days after news broke on Friday that the White House had signed off on plans to fire him.[emphasis mine]
Trump confirmed Makary's resignation on social media, posting an image that appears to show that Makary resigned from his role over a text message. The text message begins "Dr. President Trump[sic], Please accept my resignation, effective today."
Trump wrote in another social media post that Makary had "done a great job at the FDA," and that he was "a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine."
Trump ended by announcing that Kyle Diamantas, the top food regulator at the FDA, will serve as acting commissioner for now.
Trump's positive review of Makary stands in contrast to the news last week. As administration insiders were widely broadcasting plans for Makary's ouster on Friday, they offered a long list of issues and instances in which Makary was at odds with the White House. And, according to those close to Makary who spoke with The New York Times today, the now-former commissioner had his own reasons for departing.
Complaints
Makary's insiders said the former Johns Hopkins University cancer surgeon resigned after Trump forced his hand on authorizing fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.
Makary had reportedly been resisting the sign-offs out of concern that the kid-friendly flavors could again entice youth use and addiction -- something public health officials and experts have for years worked to combat.
But Makary's stance was in conflict with Trump's "save vaping" campaign promise -- and with the tobacco industry's interests. ...
@#35
Found this ...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump on discrimination in his business (2016)
apnews.com
... A claim from the presidential debate and how it stacks up with the facts:
TRUMP: Donald Trump said that a 1970s racial discrimination case against his real estate business was settled "without any admission of guilt" and that the case was brought against "many real estate firms."
THE FACTS: The first claim is technically correct; the second is flatly false.
Trump and his father fiercely fought a 1973 discrimination lawsuit brought by the Justice Department for their alleged refusal to rent apartments in predominantly white buildings to black tenants.
Testimony showed that the applications filed by black apartment seekers were marked with a "C'' for "colored."
A settlement that ended the lawsuit did not require the Trumps to explicitly acknowledge that discrimination had occurred -- but the government's description of the settlement said Trump and his father had "failed and neglected" to comply with the Fair Housing Act.
Trump is also wrong to say that the suit was brought against many real estate developers -- it was specific to buildings rented by him and his father. ...
@#27 ... you think black people deserve to cheat the system ...
U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter ID Law (2016)
www.npr.org
...The appeals court noted that the North Carolina Legislature "requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices" -- then, data in hand, "enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionately affected African Americans."[emphasis mine]
The changes to the voting process "target African Americans with almost surgical precision," the circuit court wrote, and "impose cures for problems that did not exist."
The appeals court suggested that the motivation was fundamentally political -- a Republican legislature attempting to secure its power by blocking votes from a population likely to vote for Democrats....
Related ...
Texas county pauses data center construction in rural areas for a year
www.texastribune.org
... A rural Texas county on Tuesday approved a one-year pause on the construction of new data centers in unincorporated areas, citing public safety and public health concerns.[emphasis mine]
The 3-2 vote by county commissioners in Hill County, roughly 55 miles south of Fort Worth, appears to be the first by a Texas county to issue a moratorium on the rapidly expanding industry.
Residents and local officials had aired concerns about how a proposed 300-acre development by the Dallas-based developer, Provident Data Centers in north Hillsboro could impact the quality of life in the rural county through noise pollution and consuming large amounts of water and electricity.
"The data center folks have found a sweet spot in the state that has limited regulations, limited enforcement, limited code, and they're coming faster than we can keep up with," said Hill County Commissioner Jim Holcomb. "I think it's imperative ... that we tap the brakes and we get our arms around what we're faced with and do the research, do the studies." ...
Just saw this ...
What is the Thucydides Trap'?
www.nbcnews.com