Trump Reiterates Ukraine War Would Never Have Started If Russia Remained In G8, Blasts Obama
This isn’t the first time that President Trump has said something like this, but he’s newly explained in a wide-ranging fresh interview with Axios published Friday his view that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine likely would likely have been averted if Russia had remained a member of the then-Group of Eight (G8).
“You probably wouldn’t have the war with Russia and Ukraine if they did,” Trump told the publication, referring to the decision to expel Moscow, making the group the G7.
The forum “would have been much better” had it maintained its original structure, with Russia included. He laid ultimate blame in the fresh remarks on former President Barack Obama.
It was during the Obama administration, in 2014, that Washington pushed allies to expel Russia from the group of leading economies over its takeover of Crimea through a ‘popular referendum’.
Trump this week attended G7 Summit held in Evian-les-Bains, France. “They should have kept the G8. You probably wouldn’t have the war with Russia and Ukraine if they did, but Obama didn’t want Putin there,” Trump said.
“It used to be the G8. (It) would have been much better if they kept that that way,” he added. Again, this is not the first time he’s articulated this view:
Trump has expressed this position before — in June 2025, he made a similar statement, blaming Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau for Russia’s exclusion from the G8.
He’s long attacked Biden and the Democrats for setting the conditions for the war to start. But beginning a year ago he also started basically blaming everyone – from Zelensky to Putin to Biden.
“That’s a war that should have never been allowed to start and Biden could have stopped it and Zelensky could have stopped it and Putin should have never started it,” Trump said last year. “Everybody is to blame.”
Trump added at the time: “If Biden were competent and if Zelensky were competent, and I don’t know that he is, we had a rough session with this guy — he just kept asking for more and more.”
As for Putin, he has seemed to welcome this repeat rhetoric from Trump stating that Russia should belong to the G7/G8. Without doubt, Moscow would welcome an invitation back in.
Among Russia’s conditions for final peace settlement in Ukraine, a prospect which still seems a long way off, would be the lifting of US and EU sanctions, and readmittance to the global economy.
Nine months after the Maryland Freedom Caucus exposed that a noncitizen with a final order of deportation had been registered to vote in Maryland, Ian Roberts has finally—and quietly—been removed from the state’s active voter registration list.
There was no press conference. No public announcement. No admission that anything had gone wrong.
The removal comes only after Roberts was convicted and sentenced on federal charges related to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. For years, Roberts remained an active voter in Maryland despite being an illegal alien from Guyana who overstayed his student visa and despite having left the state more than a decade ago.
🗳️ The Other Maryland Man finally removed from Maryland Voter Registration list.
9 months after it was discovered that a superintendent of a large school district was not only a noncitizen with a final deportation order, but also had been illicitly registered to vote in… pic.twitter.com/xqKTCskJQR
— Maryland Freedom Caucus (@MDFreedomCaucus) June 19, 2026
The timing raises an obvious question: if a criminal conviction was necessary before election officials would finally remove Roberts from the voter rolls, how many other ineligible registrations remain untouched?
The Roberts case placed Maryland into national news after the Maryland Freedom Caucus uncovered evidence that he was not only unlawfully present in the United States, but had also been registered to vote in Maryland.
🚨 I have confirmed from Maryland Freedom Caucus Chairman, @MattMorgan29A (R) that Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts has been a registered voter in Maryland since 2012.
Have you heard the story of Ian Andre Roberts, the Superintendent for Des Moines Public Schools? He was arrested late last week for a standing deportation order. Turns out, he is actively registered to vote in Maryland, despite being… pic.twitter.com/T7XlAobQ6O
That detail shattered one of the most common defenses offered by election officials whenever noncitizen registrations are discovered. For months, Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis and other defenders of the system insisted that such registrations were accidental byproducts of bureaucratic processes.
The documents showed otherwise.
Roberts did not merely appear on the rolls due to an administrative error. He falsely claimed citizenship on a sworn government form. Nevertheless, he remained an active registered voter for years and continued receiving election mailings and ballots.
But here’s the problem:
If Roberts never voted, his registration should have been canceled long ago for inactivity.
It wasn’t. pic.twitter.com/qwBAb7zXC0
— Maryland Freedom Caucus (@MDFreedomCaucus) January 8, 2026
The broader significance of the case extends well beyond one individual.
Maryland officials routinely insist that noncitizen voting is virtually nonexistent and that existing safeguards are sufficient. Yet the Roberts case demonstrates how difficult it can be to remove even the most obvious ineligible registrant.
Here was a man who had not lived in Maryland in more than ten years. A man under a final order of deportation. A man who falsely claimed citizenship on voter registration forms. A man whose case received national media attention.
And still it took months of public pressure, investigative work, federal involvement, and ultimately a criminal conviction before Maryland election officials finally acted.
If this is how difficult it is to remove one of the most obvious examples imaginable, voters are left wondering how many less obvious cases remain hidden within the rolls.
🚨🚨🚨 AAF has learned that either @PahlaviReza, who wants to be Shah of Iran…
— American Accountability Foundation (@Theswampmonitor) April 16, 2026
The Maryland Freedom Caucus responded to the Roberts case by introducing the Secure the Vote Act of 2026, legislation designed to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, strengthen voter identification requirements, and prevent future noncitizen registrations.
Predictably, the legislation was never allowed to advance. Like countless election-integrity measures before it, it was quietly buried in committee by legislative leadership unwilling to acknowledge the problem.
That leaves Congress with an increasingly important responsibility.
The SAVE America Act would establish nationwide citizenship verification requirements and close loopholes that currently allow noncitizens to access voter registration systems through self-attestation alone. While states like Maryland continue resisting reforms, federal action may be the only realistic path forward.
China’s Caribbean Listening Post? Satellite Imagery Shows Cuba Spy Base Completed
The Center for Strategic and International Studies published a report using geospatial intelligence to show that construction of a circularly disposed antenna array in Cuba has been completed.
CSIS states the circularly disposed antenna array in Cuba, just 240 miles miles from Miami, Florida, could be used to monitor or intercept radio transmissions across a wide range of frequencies in the region.
The DC-based think tank added that the site may be linked to China and could be used to track sensitive U.S. military and communications activity across the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, and the southeastern U.S.
Here’s a section of the report:
At an expansive SIGINT site in Bejucal, near Havana, recent satellite imagery shows construction work completed on a new large circularly disposed antenna array (CDAA).
Over the last two years, an antenna field at the northeast end of the facility has been converted from a linear antenna grid to a CDAA. Imagery published by CSIS in April 2025 captured ongoing groundwork to lay cables between the antennas and the central control facility. Construction now appears to be complete and the facility has very likely begun operations.
The array of 32 antennas (19 outer and 13 inner) is larger and likely more capable than any Cuban CDAA previously observed by CSIS. CDAAs are primarily used for high-frequency direction finding, which involves intercepting and geolocating incoming radio transmissions over a wide range of frequencies.
From Bejucal’s location in Cuba’s northwest, the CDAA could improve the ability of Cuban authorities—or potentially their foreign partners—to monitor sensitive U.S. activities in the Caribbean and across the southeastern seaboard. U.S. naval and air operations in the region have escalated amid the Trump administration’s prioritization of the Western Hemisphere, increasing the potential value of monitoring U.S. movements in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The main Chinese electronic spy bases in Cuba are located to the northeast of Santiago de Cuba in the far east of the country and in the Bejucal area in the province of Havana, according to intelligence sources. The base of antennas in Santiago de Cuba is mainly dedicated to the capture of U.S. military satellite communications, meanwhile in Bejucal the Chinese have created a complex interception system of telephone communications. To disguise these activities, the official Chinese station, Radio China International is transmitting its programs from Havana to the United States and Latin America.
China’s activity in the Western Hemisphere was recently uncovered by a Select Committee’s investigation that found Beijing developed “an extensive network of dual-use space ground stations and telescopes across Latin America and uses this network to collect intelligence and boost the PLA’s warfighting capacity,” adding, “The investigation found at least eleven China-linked space facilities established across Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, and Brazil.”
The Trump administration’s campaign to purge China’s influence from the Western Hemisphere has intensified this year as part of a broader U.S. effort to reorder the political map of the Americas. After the collapse of the socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela, the Trump administration is increasingly focused on Cuba, where decades of communist rule have hollowed out the island’s economy and turned it into an island playground for U.S. adversaries.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, issued one of his sharpest rebukes of the Democratic leadership Thursday night, saying that the party will lose the White House in 2028 if it does not fundamentally change course.
“For far too long, our party has seen its job as managing decline instead of delivering material change for working people,” Mamdani told a crowd of thousands at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, where he and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) headlined a get-out-the-vote rally for three progressive congressional candidates ahead of New York’s June 23 primaries.
“That old way of thinking will lose on Tuesday. And frankly, it will lose in South Carolina and New Hampshire. It will fall short of 270 electoral votes,” the Democrat said, referring to the two early primary states in the presidential nominating process. “The Democratic Party must change.”
The 34-year-old is backing Darializa Avila Chevalier against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) in New York’s 13th Congressional District, former city Comptroller Brad Lander against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) in the 10th, and Assembly Member Claire Valdez in the open 7th. Early voting is underway through June 21.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has endorsed Espaillat, telling Fox 5 New York on June 15 that he and Mamdani had “agreed to strongly disagree” over the race. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also endorsed Espaillat and campaigned alongside Goldman.
Mamdani described the primaries as the opening act of a longer national fight. “When does the race for 2028 begin?” he said. “It starts now. It starts on Tuesday.”
He called on the party to offer “an affirmative agenda without apology” and to be “not just willing to stand up but also to stand for something” – drawing a contrast with what he called a politics that asks “working people to lower their expectations” and has “seen its job as explaining why we cannot instead of showing how we can.”
Sanders, who introduced Mamdani at the rally, echoed the critique.
“The politics and the policies of the democratic establishment are no longer good enough,” he said. “In this dangerous and unprecedented moment in American history, tinkering around the edges just won’t work.“
The Vermont independent has been traveling the country rallying voters for progressive candidates ahead of the midterms, pointing to a string of recent primary wins from New Jersey to Ohio to Maine – as has ally and New York progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), appearing on CNN Friday morning and responding to a clip of Mamdani’s remarks, did not push back on his critique.
“Right now, the Democratic Party needs to be far less concerned about the Democratic Party and far more concerned with what people are struggling with,” Booker said, calling for “big, bold solutions” and a coalition built around issues rather than party identity.
The DNC did not return The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.
“It’s That Bad”: Virginia Residents Battling Constant Noise From Data Center Generators
For more than a year, residents living next to the Vantage Data Centers facility have endured what they describe as a constant, high-pitched whining or ringing sound coming from the site’s massive backup generators – the facility’s only source of electricity.
Unlike most data centers connected to the power grid, this facility runs entirely on its own on-site power plant. What residents were told would be temporary generator testing has become permanent operation.
“They’re Just Never Turned Off”
Neighbor Hari Doue told News Nationthat the community was initially assured the generators were only being tested for emergencies.
“We were told in the beginning that they test the generators to make sure they’re working in case of an emergency. And then as the year and the months have gone on, they’re just never turned off,” Doue said.
Another neighbor, Greg Pirio, has reached out to attorneys over the issue. He described the impact bluntly:
“You just hear this noise, it’s just like, you just want to curse, you know, it’s that bad.”
Some residents have taken drastic steps to cope. One placed a mattress against their window to muffle the sound. Another installed plexiglass and began monitoring decibel levels with a sound meter. Concerns center on sleep disruption, stress, and falling property values.
Vantage Data Centers officials told NewsNation they continue to monitor noise levels and do not believe the sound exceeds Loudoun County’s limits – which is 55 decibels in Residential and rural areas and 60 decibels in Mixed-use residential areas. Exceptions include generators operating during emergencies, at utility request, or during testing.
Virginia: America’s Data Center Capital
Virginia has the largest concentration of data centers in the United States – 287 operational and 398 prospective, according to Pew Research. Loudoun County has become ground zero for this boom, often called “Data Center Alley.”
The economic upside is significant. Data centers generate almost half of Loudoun County’s property tax revenues, funding schools and public services while helping keep residential tax rates lower.
However, the facilities consumed approximately 26% of Virginia’s total electricity in 2023, contributing to higher energy costs for all residents.
The situation in Sterling reflects a broader national tension. On June 18, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued show-cause orders requiring major grid operators to justify or update rules for connecting large energy users such as data centers.
President Trump has encouraged data center developers to build dedicated on-site power sources – the exact model used by Vantage in Sterling – to protect regular utility customers from rate hikes.
Residents near the Vantage site acknowledge the benefits of data centers, including jobs, tax revenue, and essential digital infrastructure, but strongly object to their placement directly next to homes.
“Do everything in your power to try and stop it from being built in an area that has any residential properties within 10 or 15 miles of it,” said Doue.
NY Pride Group Disbands After Drag Queen Founder – A School Board Member – Arrested On Child Sexting Charges
A New York LGBTQ+ advocacy group has canceled a scheduled pride parade and disbanded after its founder was arrested on child-sexting charges.
Travis J. Longo, 46, of Cazenovia – a drag queen and a member of the Cazenovia School District Board of Education (of course), was arrested on Thursday and charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly sending sexually explicit communications to a child under the age of 12.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, the group Longo founded, Cazenova Pride Inc., announced that it is “canceling this year’s Pride Festival and all associated events, and we are dissolving as an organization.”
“This decision follows serious criminal charges against Travis Longo, the founder of Cazenovia Pride Fest and a longtime figure in our organization,” the post continues. “Travis Longo has no further affiliation with Cazenovia Pride Inc.”
Longo, who reportedly performed as a drag queen under the name “Anita Buffem,” was listed as a “hostess” at the first Pride festival in Cazenovia in 2021, which was organized by Pride Cazenovia, “>The Blaze reports.
Congratulations to Travis Barr-Longo aka Anita Buffem on being elected to the cazenovia School board and being the second drag performer in the US to be elected to public office. This is how we win and how we outrun in rural America. Shoutout to the @DemocratsNy! pic.twitter.com/AcH75ak5Ol
“We are deeply sorry for the pain and disappointment this causes our community,” the group’s statement concludes. “The years of support, love, and solidarity you have shown us have meant everything. Thank you.”
A ban on certain contracts between hospital systems and health insurers could save Americans around $45 billion, according to a report from White House analysts released on June 18.
“The Council of Economic Advisers’ findings reinforce that the Trump administration is delivering meaningful cost reductions for American patients,” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told The Epoch Times by email June 19, noting the president’s surgical approach to policy development that prioritizes fiscal discipline.
“By harnessing the use of free-market competition, President Trump has found a real solution to lowering costs instead of blindly throwing more taxpayer money at the problem.“
Administration officials are exploring how best to manage hospital systems and insurers without relying on price controls or heavy-handed regulations.
At issue are three clauses, known as “anti-steering, anti-tiering, and all-or-nothing” contracts, which critics say shield healthcare providers from competition, thus increasing prices for consumers.
Anti-steering clauses block insurers from incentivizing or guiding clients toward cheaper options or providers, even when their data indicate clear savings potential.
Anti-tiering is used to stop insurers from categorizing hospital systems in less desirable benefit tiers that would reduce profit margins by forcing the providers to cover higher patient costs.
Bundled, also known as all-or-nothing, contracts require insurers to include all hospitals and physicians in a system, eliminating the option to negotiate independently.
Combined, the provisions result in more expensive healthcare, with higher rates, less efficiency, and limited insurance plan innovation due to reduced competition.
In markets where the clauses in question are widespread, a ban would lead to an 18 percent decline in hospital and physician prices, amounting to approximately $4,100 per inpatient admission, according to the report.
Premium prices would decline by about 7 percent, saving the average family about $1,800 annually, the report found, with aggregate reductions totaling about $45 billion and up to $63 billion.
Workers would benefit from higher take-home pay and lower out-of-pocket costs thanks to the reduced insurance costs. Small businesses and employers would also get relief with lower costs.
Analysts arrived at the numbers by calculating several variables, including the increased leverage insurers would gain while bargaining, with an expectation that prices would drop by about 8 percent as a result.
Allowing steering and tiering will improve patient management and shift care toward lower-cost providers, with transparencies helping reduce prices by about 4 percent, according to the report.
Free-market dynamics are expected to drive dynamic competition, with efficient, low-cost competitors helping further drive down costs by about 3 percent.
Proposed policies prioritize healthcare in rural areas, with bans aimed at lowering premiums while boosting independent rural hospitals.
Crackdowns are underway in the form of federal legal proceedings, with eyes on a national framework to codify the proposals.
“Thanks to the Trump administration’s crackdown on anti-steering, anti-tiering, and all-or-nothing contracts by hospitals, everyday Americans are directly benefitting from lower premium contributions and higher take-home wages,” Schuster said.
Congressional lawmakers are considering a similar course of action with the Healthy Competition for Better Care Act introduced by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), which would outlaw the anti-competition clauses.
Some states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas, prohibit certain clauses, though coverage and enforcement vary.
The report referenced two recent civil antitrust actions brought by the Department of Justice, one against OhioHealth filed in February and settled June 18, with no admission of wrongdoing and the hospital forbidden from using anticompetitive clauses.
“Providing affordable healthcare to Americans is uncontroversial and this Department of Justice will not tolerate corporate prioritization of revenue in contravention of our antitrust laws,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.
A case against New York-Presbyterian Hospital, filed in March, is pending. Justice Department filings allege the hospital is insulated from price competition by contractual clauses, thus raising healthcare costs for New Yorkers.
A settlement with Sutter Health of Northern California from 2022 offers a successful precedent, according to the report, with the system agreeing to pay $575 million in fines and stop using the contractual clauses and succeeding in the aftermath of the agreement, later receiving recognition for its rural facilities.
Trump has repeatedly placed healthcare at the front of his second-term agenda, seeking to address the root causes of high medical costs, including with the release of TrumpRX.gov for prescription medicine at reduced prices.
He’s taken his message on the road around the country in recent weeks, highlighting his actions and plans to further address Americans’ healthcare cost burdens.
CME wants Kalshi’s Bitcoin perp reclassified as a swap, not banned. That distinction reveals what’s actually at stake in the CFTC lawsuit.
Yesterday, CME, the country’s dominant derivatives exchange, sued the CFTC over its recent approval of regulated crypto perpetual futures.
The exchange argues Kalshi’s Bitcoin perp should be treated as a swap, not a futures contract, a classification shift that would push the product into a more restrictive, institution-facing rulebook. The CFTC called the suit “frivolous” and said it looks forward to dismissing it.
We’ve known for some time that major exchanges like CME and ICE have grown uneasy about the rise of perpetuals, an unease already visible in their push to have regulators scrutinize Hyperliquid over manipulation, sanctions evasion, anything they can find.
Why? Because regulators have finally opened a compliant path for Americans to trade an entirely new class of derivatives, one whose financial efficiency threatens the effectively monopolistic business model of these incumbents.
If Kalshi’s Bitcoin perp is a futures contract, it can trade on a regulated futures exchange, where regular U.S. users can access it. If it is a swap, it falls into a heavier rulebook built largely for institutional derivatives, making it harder to launch, harder to distribute, and functionally out of reach for most retail traders.
That distinction sounds technical, and it echoes the same fight playing out over prediction markets, but the effect here is simple: whether perps will be accessible to retail users, or reserved primarily for institutional actors.
CME’s filing comes wrapped in safety language, but, as always, the motivation is financial. Perps threaten the part of CME’s business built around expiration.
A normal futures contract expires. To hold the same exposure, a trader has to roll into a new contract before it does. CME collects another round of trading and clearing fees on every roll, and that churn feeds the market data business it sells on top.
A perpetual future doesn’t expire. A trader holds the same position open indefinitely and settles periodic funding payments instead of rolling.
No roll means no recurring trade, and that breaks a rhythm CME’s business is built on. The market already understands the threat. When regulators opened the door to regulated U.S. perps, shares of CME, Cboe, and ICE fell as investors priced in real competition.
Chair Selig has broadcast we are getting Hyperliquid and it will be before the election.
There will be US compliant front ends to access the giant liquidity pool on Hyperliquid.
The CME is as pissed as Nevada is about losing their monopoly to prediction markets.
None of this makes perps harmless. They can involve leverage, liquidations, and funding costs that quietly eat into a position over time. CME CEO Terry Duffy is right that many retail traders don’t fully understand those risks, and the venues offering perps should do the work to make them clear.
But blocking regulated U.S. perps does not make demand disappear. It pushes Americans back offshore, where they get fewer disclosures, weaker oversight, and less protection when something breaks.
That is why the better answer is to regulate the instrument clearly: leverage limits, margin standards, and liquidation transparency.
Crypto is where this starts because the markets are already mature. That makes Bitcoin perps the easiest place for regulators to begin. But given the demand we’ve seen with HIP-3, it won’t be long before the model stretches to stocks, indices, and ETFs.
That is what makes CME’s lawsuit so revealing. The exchange is asking for a reclassification, not a ban. You do not do that to a product you think you can kill. If you can kill it, you kill it. If you can’t, you relocate it, cut it off to slow the bleed.
This is the history of crypto. A better technology emerges, users are drawn to its merits, incumbents call it dangerous, and the regulatory fight begins. Those fights have rarely decided whether the old model gets protected. They simply decide how long.
The Perpification has already begun, and all incumbents can hope to do is slow it down.
Agri Markets Hit By “Aggressive Positioning Washout” But Supply Risks Linger
The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index has nearly reversed its US-Iran war gains in recent weeks, as sliding fertilizer and energy prices, along with an interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran, have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and initiated the normalization process.
Daryna Kovalska, a commodity strategist at BofA Global Research, told clients that, with agricultural markets having undergone an aggressive positioning washout, there is reason to believe the selloff in the corn market is overdone.
Kovalska pointed out that while improved US rains, easing geopolitical risks, and lower urea prices have stripped weather and war premiums from the market, her team believes risks have been deferred rather than eliminated. She remains constructive on corn, while trimming its 2026 upside target to $5.50 per bushel from $6.00.
More color here from her note titled “Corn market cools, but risks simmer beneath“:
Ag markets hit by sharp spec long liquidation…
Agricultural markets have undergone an aggressive positioning washout, with net spec longs down 88% in three weeks. Corn hasn’t been spared: managed money flipped from decade-high longs to a net short by June 9, sending Dec 26 prices to a low of $4.4/bu.
…but we believe the corn selloff is overdone
Corn sentiment has softened, as geopolitical and weather risks have eased. But risks have not disappeared; rather, they look deferred and could still trigger a supply shock. We remain constructive, though, trimming our 2026 upside to $5.5/bu from $6.0/bu, supported by three key arguments.
1: Weather risk premium has been stripped out too early…
Improved US rains have eased weather risks in the corn market, but threats persist in certain states. Nebraska (12% of US production) remains in severe drought, with crop conditions 20% below average, while South Dakota and Kansas ratings (another 12% of output) are at risk of deteriorating without sustained rainfall.
…especially with an unprecedented El Nino unfolding
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology continues to warn of an historic El Niño event. Brazil’s corn output could be hit hard, declining 10% yoy in 2026/27E. Iowa state also shows a pattern of sharply depleted soil moisture during analogues.
2: Brazil fertilizer supply remains a concern
Urea prices have eased, but despite a potential US-Iran deal to be signed on June 19, the Strait of Hormuz still needs to be de-mined and resume operations, with timing critical as Brazil’s peak dispatch window approaches. Substitution efforts remain insufficient, with nitrogen imports still down 15% yoy, putting first crop corn yields at risk of a 10% decline if Gulf urea shipments do not restart before the end of July. Phosphate constraints are compounding risks to the new crop, which could fall 10 mn t yoy.
3: US-China $17bn deal could upend the market
The White House expects China to buy at least $17bn of US ags annually in 2026 (pro- rated) and 2027-28. Mirroring Phase One, we think US corn exports to China could surge from zero in 2025 to 5.5 mn t in 2026 and 16 mn t thereafter. While purchases have yet to begin, implementation would materially tighten the US corn market.
Kovalska provides her team’s view from macro to crude to softs:
Here’s her price forecasts across softs:
With the war-risk premium evaporating from agricultural markets, Kovalska believes that lingering risks around weather, fertilizer flows, El Niño, and Chinese demand could still combine to tighten global supply and push prices higher again.
A federal judge on Friday rejected former President Joe Biden’s bid to prevent the conservative Heritage Foundation from receiving redacted transcripts and recordings of conversations he had with a ghostwriter for his 2017 memoir.
Although District Judge Dabney Friedrich delayed her own decision by three weeks later on Friday to allow for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on the matter, she said her order will remain in place because of the recording and transcripts’ significant public interest.
“This case involves an unusually strong public interest in the release of law enforcement materials to outweigh the privacy interests protected by [the Freedom of Information Act’s] exemptions,” the judge said.
The Epoch Times attempted to reach out to Biden for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit originated in 2024. The group sought the transcripts and recordings from conversations the former president had with his ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, to produce his memoir, “Promise Me Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.”
In January 2023, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a probe into Biden’s alleged keeping of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania and at his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware.
Garland appointed former Special Counsel Robert Hur to investigate and potentially prosecute any federal crimes that arose – none did.
In Hur’s February 2024 final report, he noted Biden’s “diminished faculties and faulty memory” during an interview and in Biden’s 2016 and 2017 recordings with Zwonitzer.
The former special counsel declined to prosecute Biden for his retention of classified documents because “the evidence [was] not sufficient to convict” and because “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict [Biden] – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
Hur continued in his report, referring to some of Biden’s recorded conversations with Zwonitzer as “painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries.”
The Heritage Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all records that Hur relied on for his final report.
Under Biden, the Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to release the records, citing national security, privacy, and other FOIA exemptions.
The Heritage Foundation brought its FOIA lawsuit against the Biden DOJ in March 2024. In the two years since, legal proceedings have developed slowly.
The court stayed proceedings in September 2025 – now with the DOJ under President Donald Trump – after the agency said it would review the documents it was withholding.
In a May 8 filing, the DOJ said it “intends to disclose the written transcript and audio recordings at issue in this matter” to Congress, with redactions, but Biden moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent their release, which the federal judge denied on Friday.
Friedrich found in her decision that “in all, Biden is not likely to succeed” in his claims that his privacy interests outweigh the “significant public interest in the disclosure of the redacted Zwonitzer Materials.”
“Biden offers little in the way of specific details about the types of harm he foresees, especially in light of related information already in the public domain,” Friedrich wrote.
Friedrich further said that the ghostwriter records must be provided to the Heritage Foundation.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals could make its decision on this case in the coming weeks while Friedrich’s order is paused.
Biden has previously pushed back against claims that his cognitive abilities declined during his presidency.
“They are wrong, there is nothing to sustain that,” the former president said during a May 2025 interview with ABC’s “The View.”
