Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

A 19-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after throwing a Molotov cocktail at the Dickinson County Republican Committee headquarters in Iron Mountain, Michigan.

Zayn Edward Arcand, who allegedly identifies as “genderfluid,” appeared for his arraignment via Zoom Monday afternoon.

Arcand admitted to throwing the Molotov cocktail, which failed to ignite, at the Republican Party office “to send a message against the corruption.”

The suspect acted out of dissatisfaction with Trump administration policies, according to authorities.

Arcand was charged Monday in Dickinson County District Court with arson and manufacturing and possessing a Molotov cocktail.

A witness reported seeing the suspect in the area just before 4 p.m. Saturday attempting to light a rag sticking out of a bottle and throwing the bottle at the window of the GOP headquarters,  according to Jeff Solka, director of Iron Mountain Police and Fire Services.

Surveillance camera footage showed the bottle shattered on impact but did not catch fire.

A second broken glass bottle was found in the parking lot, also with an unknown liquid and rag sticking out of the top, according to the news release.

Officers were able to identify the suspect, who later admitted to assembling the bottle bombs in his driveway. He threw them at the GOP headquarters “to send a message against the corruption,” Solka stated in a news release, adding, “The suspect was hoping what he made was flammable and would ignite.”

Arcand was arrested later Saturday and booked into the Dickinson County Jail on a $15,000 bond.

The owners of the building said they were relieved the damage wasn’t worse, according  13 News.

“We were very concerned,” Ray Broullire told reporters. “Not to mention there’s people in this building. It was a Saturday, thank goodness. You know, that was a big plus. But yeah, when something like that happens, you just kind of expect the worst. We’re glad it worked out the way it did.”

Angela Hall, chair of the Dickinson County Republican Committee, said she was relieved that the fire-bombing attempt failed, but  called the incident “scary.”

“It was one of those moments of shock where you try to just digest it,” Hall said, adding, “Violence to try to sway anyone politically is not OK.”

Since President Trump returned to office, left-wing “protesters” have escalated their violent tactics against their political enemies while the corporate media has attempted to excuse or downplay the violence.

Early into Trump’s 2nd term, agitators targeted then-DOGE chief Elon Musk by vandalizing and firebombing Tesla dealerships and harassing Tesla owners.

In May, Elias Rodriguez, 30, opened fire on Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, at the Capital Jewish Museum, killing both.  He shouted “Free, free Palestine” as he was being arrested.

Last month another pro-Hamas  radical shouted “Free Palestine” as he threw Molotov cocktails at Jewish demonstrators in Boulder, wounding thirteen people, and killing one.
Also in June, downtown Los Angeles saw antifa-fueled anti-ICE riots where agitators assaulted immigration officers, slashed tires, torched vehicles and and defaced public buildings.  President Trump had to call in thousands of National Guard troops and 700 active-duty U.S. Marines to the city to quell the violence.

On the 4th of July, heavily armed antifa agitators from the Dallas-Fort Worth ambushed an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, setting off fireworks to lure police to the scene and shooting a responding officer in the neck.

Left-wing militants also clashed with federal officers at an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon on the 4th of July, with hundreds of agitators attempting to storm holding cells.

And last week, a gunman armed with tactical gear and a rifle  opened fire upon Border Patrol agents at the entrance of a Border Patrol annex facility in McAllen, Texas, injuring two police officers and a Border Patrol employee.

Mari Negro, chair of the Dickinson County Democratic Party, also condemned the Iron Mountain attack in a written statement Monday.

“The Dickinson County Democratic Party does not condone or support violence in any form,” Negro wrote. “We’re glad that property damage was kept to a minimum and no one was hurt, thanks to the immediate response of our local police.”

Hall added that she believes 95 percent of the community feels the same way, no matter what their political affiliation.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitman (D) and Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) have yet to comment on the attack.

After yesterday’s disappointment – and a meeting with President Trump – conservative Republicans flip-flopped and voted to push forward with landmark cryptocurrency legislation.

As The Block reports, The House voted 215 to 211 on Wednesday to move forward and later take a vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (also known as the GENIUS bill), which would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins and could be slated to head to President Donald Trump’s desk before the end of the week. 

Lawmakers also voted to proceed with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or Clarity for short, that takes a whole-of-crypto approach and would create a clear regulatory framework for crypto in part through designating how the SEC and CFTC will regulate.

They also agreed to later vote on a bill to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals, which was reportedly the most critical itemn for the conservative Republicans yesterday. 

No Democrats voted yes to move forward with the bills. 

The vote pushed Bitcoin higher (after yesterday’s disappointment)…

And sent Ethereum soaring even higher (notably outperforming its big brother this week)…

Is The ETH/BTC ratio set to retake Election levels and beyond?

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, posted on X during the vote that the caucus would be voting in favor and that they had agreed to meet later to add CBDC provisions into Clarity. 

“This is an important step to ensure Americans are protected from government overreach into their financial privacy,” Harris said. 

Punchbowl News reported that Rep. Greene originally voted no for moving forward with the bills, but later changed her vote to yes. 

Earlier in the day, Greene said she would not vote for it, again signalling concerns over CBDC bans. 

“The only way to guarantee a ban on a central bank digital currency is through law,” Greene posted on X ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

“The GENIUS Act does not ban CBDC or maintain people’s chain of custody.”

During a press conference earlier on Wednesday, House Democrats urged lawmakers to vote no on Clarity. Top Democrat of the House Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters called the Clarity and GENIUS “two of the most dangerous pieces of legislation.”

“Let’s be clear, these bills are a gift-wrapped invitation for Trump to continue his full-scale crypto con,” she said.

Next, lawmakers will take votes on the bills.

Both Clarity and the anti-CBDC bill would have to be passed by the Senate before becoming law. GENIUS has already been passed by the Senate, so it would go to Trump’s desk.

One of the world’s largest and most iconic electronic dance music festivals, Tomorrowland—set to begin in just days at De Schorre in Boom, Belgium—could face a significant delay after footage circulating on X shows its main stage completely engulfed in flames.

Tomorrowland’s website shows the EDM festival—featuring house, techno, trance, hardstyle, and more—is scheduled to begin its first weekend on Friday. The second weekend is set for July 25–27.

Hours ago, Tomorrowland’s X account posted the weekend lineup, including Axwell on Friday, Nicky Romero and Alan Walker on Saturday, and David Guetta on Sunday. 

Tune into the Tomorrowland Belgium 2025 Livestream and follow these wonderful performances on https://t.co/56O4G2BX8r and in the Tomorrowland App. Together with Coca Cola. pic.twitter.com/DADNQWnOmw

— Tomorrowland (@tomorrowland) July 16, 2025

Before…

After: Dramatic footage … there goes the weekend plans:

BREAKING: The main stage of Tomorrowland is on fire.

For those that don’t know Tomorrowland is a massive electronic music festival held in Belgium. Known for its massive stage designs and light shows the event brings in over 200,000 people every year. pic.twitter.com/Ffjv7l4N5B

— Robbie Harvey (@therobbieharvey) July 16, 2025

Test met vuurwerk gaat fout. Hele mainstage in brand. #tml2025 #tomorrowland pic.twitter.com/rborI7IFBr

— Koen Godderis (@koengodderis) July 16, 2025

🚨🇧🇪TOMORROWLAND MAIN STAGE GOES UP IN FLAMES

A massive fire has engulfed the main stage of the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium – just days before opening.

Firefighters are battling the blaze, with no festivalgoers on site yet, but around 1,000 staff were present.… pic.twitter.com/0YyEEQYOIo

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 16, 2025

*Developing… 

America’s largest power grid has issued another “Maximum Generation Alert” and “Load Management Alert” as temperatures soar across the eastern half of the U.S. This comes amid a national trend of retiring fossil fuel power plants and replacing them with unreliable ‘green’ energy sources—creating a severe mismatch between baseload capacity and rising demand, and raising the risk of rolling blackouts in some areas. 

PJM Interconnection, the operator of the largest U.S. power grid serving 65 million people across 13 states and D.C., issued a “Maximum Generation Alert and Load Management Alert” for Wednesday, ordering all available power generation to run at full capacity to ensure power demand is met during peak hours amid tightening conditions. 

PJM’s grid alerts are procedural and inform neighboring grids of potential export curtailments, advising transmission/generation owners to defer maintenance. Today’s peak demand forecast is around 145,000 MW across the service district.

The NOAA Climate Prediction Center’s latest 6–10 day temperature outlook map shows that much of PJM’s customers will experience temperatures well above average levels for this time of year. 

None of this should come as a surprise to readers: we’ve extensively covered PJM’s repeated warnings, shared a Goldman Sachs note highlighting that the grid is “getting critically tight,” and urged those at risk to consider adding backup power generation at home.

Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on July 14 that it has awarded contracts to four U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) developers to address national security challenges.

Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI will each receive a contracting award with a ceiling of $200 million, according to a statement shared by the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office.

The office said these four companies would help “develop agentic AI workflows across a variety of mission areas.”

“Agentic AI” refers to systems designed to operate with minimal human input.

Formed in 2021, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office is responsible for speeding up the military’s adoption of AI systems.

OpenAI was the first of the four contract awardees to announce its contract with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office.

In June, the company unveiled “OpenAI for Government” and said its first partnership under the new initiative would help the Pentagon office identify and prototype new AI tools for administrative operations.

Anthropic has developed the Claude family of AI chatbots.

In June, Anthropic announced the development of custom “Claude Gov” models intended for national security clients.

The company said agencies operating at the highest level of the U.S. national security sector are already using these AI models.

Formed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2023, xAI serves as a parent to X Corp., which operates the social media platform X. Among its services, xAI has developed the Grok AI chatbot.

On July 14, xAI announced “Grok for Government” and confirmed that the service holds contracts with the Department of Defense and the U.S. General Services Administration.

Google Public Sector Vice President Jim Kelly said in a July 14 blog post that the new AI announcement with the Department of Defense would build on a long-standing partnership between Google and the U.S. military.

Kelly said his company would give the military access to its Cloud Tensor Processing Units, which power Google’s current AI applications.

“These advanced AI solutions will enable the DoD to effectively address defense challenges and scale the adoption of agentic AI across enterprise systems to drive innovation and efficiency with agile, proven technology,” Kelly wrote.

Only this week are further contents of a July 4 phone call between Presidents Trump and Zelensky being revealed, but it comes amid accusations of fake news and taking statements out of context.

“Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? … Can you hit St Petersburg too?” – that’s reportedly what Trump posed to the Ukrianian leader in their July 4th call, which came the day following the president had a disappointing call Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky responded: “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.” All of this is according to a report in Financial Times, which the White House is now pushing back against. The FT presented the exchange as indicative of a new US approach of quietly encouraging Ukraine’s military to strike Moscow and other targets deeper inside Russia.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said the FT’s framing of the call was misleading and without proper context. “The Financial Times is notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying,” she has stated.

Trump sought to clarify in remarks to reporters on Tuesday that Zelensky “shouldn’t target Moscow” and proclaimed in interesting and ironic remarks that he’s “on nobody’s side” – but that simply he wants the killing to stop.

The major announcement which had been planned for Monday did not include any new package of offensive long-range missiles (that the public knowns about at least).

“President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war,”  Leavitt has added.

All of this helped paint a picture of Trump doing a complete 180 on Ukraine policy. To some extent he has – given he has continued sending Kiev arms packages, albeit ‘defensive’ in nature, supposedly. More anti-air defenses have been approved, despite that America’s own stockpiles are being depleted.

But clearly the White House is somewhat feeling the sting of pushback and angry criticism from among the Right and Trump’s base.

Trump has blasted the below FT reporting as fake news…

Breaking: Donald Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons, according to people briefed on the discussions. https://t.co/Z7jB4GaDzM pic.twitter.com/kyeaZJi0jV

— Financial Times (@FT) July 15, 2025

Tucker Carlson has also been merciless in blasting Trump for keeping the proxy war going in Ukraine, due to US deep involvement. 

The reality is that Washington could force Zelensky to the negotiating table, and to finally make serious compromises – including territorial concessions – by merely stopping the arms and ammo flow altogether.

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) of engaging in a pattern of mortgage fraud, calling him a “scam artist” who “needs to be brought to justice.”

The president took to Truth Social Monday morning to share the conclusion of fraud allegedly reached by Fannie Mae’s financial crimes division.

“I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud,” Trump stated.

“Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA,” the president continued.

By listing his Maryland home as his primary residence, according to the accusation, Schiff may have been trying to take advantage of more favorable loan terms, such as lower interest rates.

“I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020.”

The president concluded: “Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice.”

Trump’s accusations follow a “bombshell ethics complaint” against Schiff detailed in a May 2025 USA Herald report.

The complaint was filed by Christine Bish and Darren Ellis in October 2024, accusing him of a “pattern of mortgage fraud, voter fraud, and unlawful campaign filings stretching back over two decades.”

According to the complaint, “In 2009, Adam Schiff’s residence and voting registration was called to question in a House Ethics Committee hearing. Adam Schiff, despite claiming to live and represent the people in the state of California, filed and reaffirmed through refinancing documents, his primary residence at [—- —— —- ——-], Potomac Maryland, 28054.”

The complaint further alleges, “Adam Schiff is on the record having acknowledged the mortgage document filings [of Maryland as his primary residence] during a House Ethics hearing in 2009… He made the claim of ‘mistake,’ thereby acknowledging the appearance of possible mortgage fraud.”

The allegations against Schiff mirror those leveled against New York Attorney General Letitia James earlier this year  involving her properties in Norfolk, Virginia and Brooklyn, New York. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a formal criminal investigation into James in May which could potentially lead to charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements to financial institutions.

The junior senator from California, who earned the nickname “Shifty Schiff” as a member of the House of Representatives from January 2001 to December 2024, has been a major player in numerous political operations against President Trump, including the Russia hoax, the Ukraine hoax, and the “Hunter Biden’s laptop is Russian disinformation” hoax.

In 2019, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy signed a Republican resolution to censure then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff for fabricating the presidential phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that spurred the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

In January 2023, then the House Speaker,  McCarthy took the extraordinary step of kicking Schiff and fellow Russia-hoaxer Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) off the Intelligence Committee. In June of that same year, the House of Representatives censured Schiff “for misleading the American public and for conduct unbecoming of an elected Member of the House of Representatives.”

After Trump’s election in November, Schiff and many other Democrats repeatedly voiced concerns that Trump’s Department of Justice could potentially investigate Democrats in retaliation for their past weaponization of the Justice system to prosecute and harass their political enemies.

“Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason,” Schiff wrote on X in response to Trump’s post. “So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown.”

He added: “And this baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot.”

Via Vigilant Fox,

Joe Rogan just AMBUSHED Gavin Newsom with a single text that forced him to answer for California’s draconian COVID policies.

This conversation was a real test.

Newsom tried to recycle old COVID talking points.

But Shawn Ryan pushed back hard, telling Newsom to his face that he REGRETTED taking the vaccine.

Then Rogan’s question landed like a bomb: Who will be held accountable for mandating “unnecessary and ineffective” COVID vaccines for young children?

Watch Newsom squirm as he tries to defend lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and the damage those policies caused.

Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t get the friendly interview he might have expected when he joined The Shawn Ryan Show.

Instead, he found himself pressed on the very issues that have defined…and haunted…his political career.

Even before Covid came up, the conversation turned to one of the country’s most divisive topics: guns.

Ryan opened the exchange with a direct question:

“Do you think that everyday citizens carrying a gun reduces crime or increases crime?”

Newsom didn’t hesitate, delivering the argument he’s repeated for years.

“I think the evidence, the evidence suggests the opposite. It increases the likelihood of a gun death,” he said, insisting that states with stricter gun laws see fewer gun deaths.

“And you look at all the states with the most comprehensive gun safety reforms, they have lower gun death rates than states with weaker gun laws. And there’s a correlation there.”

“California is one of the lowest gun death rates in America. The highest murder rates in the county tend to be red states.”

Ryan wasn’t convinced. He brought up Chicago—a city with strict gun laws but among the nation’s leaders in shootings and homicides.

“Well, I thought Chicago was the number one?”

Newsom faltered.

“No…..well…..as cities you’ll have different experiences, but at state levels, gun safety from our perspective, saves lives,” he tried.

He insisted the data proved his point.

“We have the data to bear that out.”

But there’s a reason that argument often feels hollow.

California’s overall gun death rate might look better than the national average on paper, but its largest cities have become with violent crime rates that defy easy talking points.

For anyone paying attention to the crime waves in Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, it was hard not to see the disconnect.

Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t get the friendly interview he might have expected when he joined The Shawn Ryan Show.

Instead, he found himself pressed on the very issues that have defined…and haunted…his political career.

Even before Covid came up, the conversation turned to… pic.twitter.com/25tuLzhZtB

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 15, 2025

But things really unraveled when the topic turned to Covid.

Newsom fell back on the lines he’d used for years, praising the vaccine rollout and claiming it kept hospitals from being overrun.

“I think it prevented the acuity of the symptoms and disease, and kept people out of the emergency rooms,” he said.

“And I think that’s universally accepted by 90% of objective, of….uh….experts.”

But Ryan wasn’t some media anchor nodding along. He fired back with his own experience—blunt and undeniable.

“Man, I don’t know—I wound up getting the vaccine. It’s one of the only f*cking things I regret,” he said.

“And then I got f*cking Covid like a couple weeks later.”

The exchange was devastating for Newsom.

He had no comeback, just the same stale claim that “experts agree.”

The governor looked and sounded exactly like the politician who forced mandates on millions while ignoring anyone who pushed back….even when their own experience told them the promises didn’t hold up.

It was the moment Newsom’s polished veneer cracked.

Watching him try to explain why people should trust the same messaging that had failed so many times was downright painful.

But things really unraveled when the topic turned to Covid.

Newsom fell back on the lines he’d used for years, praising the vaccine rollout and claiming it kept hospitals from being overrun.

“I think it prevented the acuity of the symptoms and disease, and kept people out of… pic.twitter.com/SnkMs0iWxQ

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 15, 2025

Then came the biggest blow of all…and it didn’t even come from Shawn Ryan.

Joe Rogan sent in a question by text, and Ryan read it out in full, leaving Newsom nowhere to run.

It was a reckoning for the Covid mafia and Newsom himself.

“Who will be held accountable for mandating COVID-19 vaccines for children, which were unnecessary and ineffective, and who will take responsibility for the unprecedented increases in myocarditis and cancer cases among them?”

Rogan added another direct shot:

“Second to that, do you feel any remorse for that draconian decision that was obviously heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical companies’ desire for maximum profit?”

Newsom visibly struggled.

He didn’t deny the mandates or defend the decision directly.

Instead, he started pointing fingers at Trump and Republican governors who also rolled out vaccines…without addressing his own responsibility at all.

It was humiliating.

For once, there was no crowd of supportive journalists to clean it up for him, no carefully crafted press release to smooth it over.

Just an unfiltered moment of accountability, and he had nothing to say other than trying to defend failed policies and Covid talking points.

Then came the biggest blow of all…and it didn’t even come from Shawn Ryan.

Joe Rogan sent in a question by text, and Ryan read it out in full, leaving Newsom nowhere to run.

It was a reckoning for the Covid mafia and Newsom himself.

“Who will be held accountable for… pic.twitter.com/6rGR3dYEdX

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 15, 2025

The embarrassment didn’t ease when the conversation switched to talking about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his vaccine stance during Covid.

Newsom tried to paint himself as the adult in the room.

“And so I respect Bobby, but he really turned on me early and he flat out lied about some things,” he said.

Ryan immediately pressed him: “What did he lie about?”

Newsom didn’t have a clean answer:

“He lied about…..said, oh because Newsom got some, I got sick for two or three days and he said because of a vaccine and then he lied about what I had….”

“He weaponized it. He misled.”

It sounded shaky, and Ryan let the awkwardness hang there.

He was stuttering and squirming slightly.

Then, almost unbelievably, Newsom tried to claim credit for RFK Jr.’s entire MAHA platform.

It was absurd.

“And I’m by the way, Make America Healthy, that’s California,” he said.

“I’ve been leading that cause for decades.”

“There’s no governor……again….I’m…forgive me….that movement started in California.”

“I did the Skittles ban a couple years ago.”

It was the kind of moment that would be funny if it weren’t so revealing…..a politician trying to claim a candy ban as proof he’d pioneered the entire idea of one of the greatest movements in political history.

The embarrassment didn’t ease when the conversation switched to talking about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his vaccine stance during Covid.

Newsom tried to paint himself as the adult in the room.

“And so I respect Bobby, but he really turned on me early and he flat out lied about… pic.twitter.com/MULtGlVkc9

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 15, 2025

Watch the full conversation below:

Shares of ASML Holding NV plunged in Europe on Wednesday after CEO Christophe Fouquet warned he could no longer guarantee the company’s 2026 sales forecast due to an increasingly complex macroeconomic backdrop.

What’s critical to understand is that ASML’s largest customers—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics—are widely seen as bellwethers for both the semiconductor sector and the broader global tech cycle. Signs of caution from ASML about next year may be an early warning light flashing for the AI-driven tech bubble…

“Looking at 2026, we see that our AI customers’ fundamentals remain strong. At the same time, we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical developments. Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage,” Fouquet stated in an earnings release. 

ASML shares in Amsterdam tumbled 8% to 649 euros on Wednesday— the largest daily decline since October 15, 2024.

The stock is down approximately 4% year-to-date, having failed to sustain a breakout above 700 euros. Shares remain well below the 1,000 euro peak reached in mid-2024.

ASML guided 3Q net sales between 7.4 billion euros and 7.9 billion euros—below the 8.2 billion euros consensus estimate tracked by Bloomberg. The company still expects full-year revenue to grow 15%. CFO Roger Dassen said customers of its ultraviolet lithography machines, which produce the advanced chips that power artificial intelligence data centers, smartphones, EVs, robots, and drones, are holding off on orders amid rising macroeconomic headwinds and export controls. 

The first take on ASML’s earnings and growth outlook comes from a team of Goldman analysts led by Alexander Duval:

ASML’s 2Q25 revenue was above Visible Alpha Consensus Data and EBIT of €2.7bn was 12% ahead of consensus, driven by higher gross margins which benefited from a higher share of upgrades as part of the IBM business, lower-than-expected tariff effect and some one-off cost benefits. The company’s bookings figure in 2Q was €5.5bn, (up qoq from a weak 1Q25 order intake of €3.9bn and above Visible Alpha Consensus Data of c.€4.4bn), including €2.3bn of EUV orders (above consensus estimate of €2.0bn). As such, we note that the 2Q25 order intake of €5.5bn is above the top-end of the order run-rate needed (c.€4-5bn) to hit the 2026 consensus estimate. Importantly, the company shipped its first 5200B High NA system this quarter which will be used for high volume manufacturing and could be taken positively by investors. The company highlighted that AI related demand will continue to be strong in 2026 and the company is still preparing for growth, but cannot confirm it at this stage as the uncertainty around macro has increased. The company introduced its 3Q25 net sales guidance of around €7.4-7.9bn and expects 3Q25 gross margins to be around 50-52% implying revenue/gross profit/EBIT that is 6%/7%/11% below consensus. Further, ASML stated that it expects 2025 sales to grow 15% yoy (vs €30-35bn prior), with gross margins of 52% (vs 51-53% prior). As such, we note that the new guide for FY25 implies revenue/gross profit/EBIT in line with Visble Alpha Consensus Data. Additionally, the company highlighted it expects 2H to be bigger than 1H and revenues in 2H will be more 4Q concentrated. Finally, we note that ASML sees its lower GMs in 2H driven by a decline in upgrade activity for the 3800E (a high-margin segment within the Installed Base business), some one-off cost effects and dilution from the ramp of High NA tools.

In terms of end market trends, ASML expects continued strength in advanced Logic, with customers adding capacity in most advanced nodes, strong Memory as customers invest in their latest HBM and DDR5 products, and Installed Base growth supported by an expanding fleet of EUV systems transitioning from warranty to full-service contracts. The company sees increased EUV adoption among DRAM customers, while across the broader customer base, total capacity expansion plans suggest around 30% additional capacity. Finally, the company reiterated its LT 2030 revenue and GM guidance and remains positive on the trajectory of Lithography intensity. More broadly, we expect investors to seek more colour on the tariffs related dynamics, latest expectations for order intake from Foundry/leading-edge customers in coming quarters, demand in the trailing-edge end markets. Reiterate Buy.

Analysis

We expect an initial positive reaction in the shares, in light of a beat on the current quarter KPIs versus consensus, quarterly order intake above consensus and the 5Y median and positive view on Litho intensity, partly offset by a below cons 3Q guide and slightly more cautious view on 2026 growth opportunities due to an uncertain macro. We note that ASML has performed in-line vs EU Tech in the last 3 months, and is up 4% abs YTD.

. . . 

Despite ASML’s downgraded outlook and growing macroeconomic uncertainty, SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both stated earlier, via a teleconference at SoftBank World, that there is no end in sight to AI demand and scaling. 

“As we drive the cost of AI down, more people want to use it,” Altman told Son after a question about diminishing returns from further scaling of data centers. “So if we make the cost of AI 10 times cheaper, people wanna use it 30 times as much or whatever. And the demand for intelligence in the world just seems to be huge.”

As we noted on X earlier… 

ASML crashes 9% after lowering Q3 revenue and margin outlook, does not confirm 2026 growth target.
But… but… but… AI AI AI

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 16, 2025

But… but… but… AI AI AI.

And Capex!

ASML, TSMC, and Samsung are considered bellwethers for the semiconductor industry and broader global tech trends. 

Authored by Stephen Katte via CoinTelegraph.com,

US President Donald Trump says he has convinced most of the Republican lawmakers who pulled support from three crypto bills to vote in favor of them when the House meets again on Wednesday.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday that he met with 11 of the 12 representatives in the Oval Office and convinced them to vote in favor of the legislation.

“I am in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 Congressmen/women necessary to pass the GENIUS Act and, after a short discussion, they have all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule,” Trump said.

A re-vote on the three crypto bills was canned on Tuesday, as 13 Republican lawmakers pulled support, wanting to add a ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Some Republicans wanted the stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act amended or bundled in with two other crypto bills up for a vote this week — the CBDC-banning Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act and a sweeping crypto market structure bill dubbed the CLARITY Act.

The move to pass the bills is the Republican-led effort dubbed “Crypto Week” to have crypto laws in action before Congress goes on a month-long break in August. Democrats have meanwhile declared an “anti-crypto corruption week” to oppose the bills.

“I’m thankful for President Trump getting involved tonight to ensure that we can pass the GENIUS Act tomorrow, and agreeing again to help us advance additional crypto legislation in the coming days,” House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X.

CBDC concerns stall legislation

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise joined 12 other Republican lawmakers in voting no on considering the bills on Tuesday. The other dissenters were Andrew Clyde, Tim Burchett, Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Michael Cloud, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andy Harris, Anna Paulina Luna, Scott Perry, Victoria Spartz, Chip Roy and Keith Self.

Another vote to move the bills forward was expected, but the House adjourned before any further action was taken.

Representatives Biggs, Burchett, Green, Luna and Spartz took to X after the vote and said they were not against the crypto bills but didn’t want to pass the GENIUS Act unless it had a specific ban on a CBDC.

“I just voted NO on the Rule for the GENIUS Act because it does not include a ban on central bank digital currency and because Speaker Johnson did not allow us to submit amendments to the GENIUS Act,” Green said.

I just voted NO on the Rule for the GENIUS Act because it does not include a ban on Central Bank Digital Currency and because Speaker Johnson did not allow us to submit amendments to the GENIUS Act.

Americans do not want a government-controlled Central Bank Digital Currency.… pic.twitter.com/NnkeIOH0dE

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 15, 2025

Biggs said he was concerned the GENIUS Act had a framework for a layered CBDC and doesn’t guarantee self-custody. He is calling for amendments. 

“House Leadership must allow an open amendment process so Members can freely debate and improve the bill,” Biggs added. 

Trump included a ban on the Federal Reserve creating a CBDC in a January executive order.

Number of bills was also a sticking point

Politico reported that Johnson had earlier said he hopes to try to pass a procedural vote for the bills on Wednesday, adding it’s “a priority of the White House, the Senate and the House to do all of these crypto bills.”

However, he added that “we have to do them in succession,” suggesting that the Senate wouldn’t pass the bills if they were all tied together.

Johnson was also talking to the Republican holdouts to advance the legislation, which was complicated by the Republican “no” voters demanding that the three crypto bills be combined into one.

“I think everybody is insistent that we’re going to do all three, but some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.”

House meets again Wednesday

The House is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday for a morning hour debate and other “legislative business.”

Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, said in an X post on Tuesday that the legislation failing to pass on the first go is nothing to be concerned about because the GENIUS Act failed to pass the Senate initially as well. 

“BEFORE Y’ALL FREAK OUT, don’t forget that the first procedural vote in the Senate on the GENIUS Act failed as well…the second one passed 11 days later,” she said.

The GENIUS Act passed through the Senate in June with bipartisan support, but it initially failed a cloture vote in the Senate in May because of Democratic opposition to Trump’s growing connections to the crypto industry. 

Meanwhile, Eleanor Terrett, the host of the Crypto in America podcast, said the GENIUS Act already prohibits the Fed from creating a retail CBDC.

Source: Eleanor Terrett

“The section below says the bill shall not be construed as expanding the Fed’s authority to offer services directly to the public — meaning it cannot authorize things like digital wallets, personal accounts, or anything that veers into CBDC territory,” she said.