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These Are America’s Fastest-Aging States

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These Are America’s Fastest-Aging States

America’s population is getting older, but some states are aging much faster than others.

Using U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by USAFacts, this ranking, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows how much each state’s population aged 65 and older grew between 2014 and 2024.

Growth in 65-and-Older Populations (2014-2024)

The table below ranks every state by the percentage growth in its population aged 65 and older between 2014 and 2024.

State Change in 65+ Population (2014–2024) Total Growth
Alaska 56% 39,425
Idaho 51% 120,188
Delaware 48% 74,383
Utah 48% 140,632
Wyoming 46% 36,760
New Hampshire 45% 93,596
Colorado 44% 300,169
Nevada 44% 175,038
Montana 42% 71,509
South Carolina 42% 319,192
Georgia 41% 513,532
Texas 41% 1,265,419
Vermont 39% 41,969
Arizona 39% 420,852
Washington 38% 382,832
Maine 36% 87,850
Hawaii 36% 82,756
South Dakota 36% 46,219
North Carolina 36% 518,927
Minnesota 35% 275,897
Virginia 35% 401,357
New Mexico 35% 110,140
Florida 34% 1,294,733
Oregon 34% 214,979
Wisconsin 34% 295,892
North Dakota 34% 35,289
Maryland 33% 275,008
Rhode Island 32% 53,451
Massachusetts 31% 317,385
California 30% 1,519,339
Michigan 30% 461,738
New Jersey 30% 392,753
Louisiana 30% 187,508
New York 29% 854,478
Indiana 29% 275,051
Tennessee 29% 285,027
Connecticut 29% 159,449
Nebraska 28% 77,116
Alabama 28% 208,362
Kansas 28% 115,595
Illinois 27% 484,181
Kentucky 26% 172,658
Ohio 26% 474,302
Missouri 25% 235,408
Pennsylvania 25% 530,510
Iowa 25% 121,677
Mississippi 24% 103,194
Oklahoma 23% 129,764
District of Columbia 22% 16,219
Arkansas 21% 96,987
West Virginia 17% 57,493
🇺🇸 U.S. total 34% 14,964,188

Every state added residents aged 65 and older over the decade, but the increase ranged from 17% in West Virginia to 56% in Alaska. Nationwide, the senior population grew 34%.

Many of the fastest-growing senior populations were in the West and Sun Belt, including Idaho (+51%), Utah (+48%), and Texas (+41%). Several of these states began the period with relatively young populations and had experienced rapid population growth through domestic migration. As those residents aged, the number of people 65 and older rose quickly.

Why Alaska Leads

Alaska recorded the nation’s fastest-growing senior population despite not being a traditional retirement destination.

Much of the increase reflects longtime residents aging in place. Many people who moved to Alaska during the oil boom of the 1970s and 1980s are now entering retirement, helping drive the rapid increase in residents aged 65 and older.

Why Growth Was Slower Elsewhere

West Virginia, Arkansas, and the District of Columbia recorded the slowest growth in their senior populations.

A slower growth rate does not necessarily indicate a younger population. States such as West Virginia already had among the nation’s oldest populations in 2014, leaving less room for large percentage gains over the following decade.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the best countries to retire in.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 21:20

Mexico Bans Fracking In Key Shale Basin

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Mexico Bans Fracking In Key Shale Basin

By Julianne Geiger of OilPrice.com

Mexico has ruled out fracking in a key shale basin, drawing a line through a resource-rich area even as the country looks for ways to cut its dependence on U.S. natural gas.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said hydraulic fracturing will not be allowed in the Tampico-Misantla basin beneath Veracruz and Tamaulipas. The government cited the basin’s dense population, indigenous communities and freshwater reserves.

Sheinbaum ordered a panel to examine whether unconventional gas could help reduce imports from the United States. Mexico buys more than 6.5 billion cubic feet per day of pipeline gas from its northern neighbor, covering roughly 75% of domestic demand.

The commission recommended boosting conventional gas production first. Even with the proposed measures, Mexico’s reliance on U.S. supply would fall only to about 50%, according to Sheinbaum.

Mexico would need unconventional gas to push that figure lower. The panel said future fracking should be limited to basins containing salt water rather than freshwater, leaving northern shale formations in play.

Sheinbaum campaigned as a critic of fracking and its environmental costs. Energy math has since become less cooperative. Natural gas fuels much of Mexico’s power sector and industry, while domestic production has failed to keep pace.

Seven combined-cycle power plants are coming online, with five more planned, adding to the demand for gas. Pemex expects to lift domestic production to just over 4 billion cubic feet per day by 2030, still nowhere near enough to eliminate imports.

The state oil company is also under pressure to reverse falling output while carrying a mountain of debt. Mexico holds an estimated 141.5 trillion cubic feet of unconventional gas resources, mostly in northern basins.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 20:55

Investigators Unveil Charges Against Dismissed Ukrainian Ambassador To The US

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Investigators Unveil Charges Against Dismissed Ukrainian Ambassador To The US

Another top level Ukrainian official has been booted from office over significant corruption allegations, which comes at a moment of a broad shake-up of military and cabinet leadership initiated by President Zelensky.

Olha Stefanishyna was dismissed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States earlier this week, both local media as as Reuters have confirmed.

via Associated Press

Reuters writes that she is “suspected of illegal enrichment and failing to declare assets, authorities said on Thursday, the latest high-ranking official targeted in an anti-graft probe” – after she reportedly hid two apartments along with other assets worth about $310,000.

She had been a deputy prime minister prior to being appointed top diplomatic representative to Washington, and it’s believed that her concealed assets could not have been obtained with her official salary alone. She had also briefly served as Minister of Justice during the war with Russia.

Much of her additional properties and other assets were registered under the names of Stefanishyna’s friends and family members. Kyiv Post reports Thursday:

The High Anti-Corruption Court on Aug. 6 set Hr 6 million ($130,000) bail for Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s former ambassador to the U.S., in a corruption case.

She has been charged with illicit enrichment amounting to Hr 13.9 million ($310,000) and lying in her asset declarations. An anti-corruption prosecutor earlier proposed setting bail for Stefanishyna at Hr 13 million ($290,000).

Stefanishyna failed to declare two apartments, worth nearly Hr 11 million ($250,000), that were registered in the name of a friend, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

She has in the meantime taken to social media to declare there’s been no wrongdoing that she doesn’t have anything to hide. But she voluntarily submitted her resignation earlier this week, upon which Zelensky dismissed her.

According to a newly published list of the undeclared assets, she tried to ‘hide’ the following:

  • Two apartments in a residential complex in western Kiev, registered to a friend
  • A luxury apartment in central Kiev, registered to her mother
  • A parking space and several auxiliary premises at the same high-end property, registered to her father
  • A Mercedes-Benz GLC 220 d, registered to a subordinate

“Any procedural actions are part of the lawful work of the law enforcement system and do not amount to a finding of guilt,” she wrote on Facebook. “I take these developments calmly and without unnecessary emotion.”

Stefanishyna had served as ambassador to the US for the past year, going back to August of 2025. Local media says the alleged concealing of assets took place during that stint, and reports additionally say she was in the process of buying another property – an apartment valued at the equivalent of $550,000 – but backed out of the deal.

Broadly, the Ukrainian population has suffered immensely amid the conflict with Russia, with frequent blackouts and amid a battered wartime economy – and so ordinary citizens get increasingly frustrated and outraged when they see government officials living lavish lifestyles which include luxury cars and multiple homes and properties.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 18:00

US Immigration Agency Asks Public To Report Fraud, Anti-Government Activities

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US Immigration Agency Asks Public To Report Fraud, Anti-Government Activities

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

The federal agency that processes green cards, U.S. citizenship requests, and work permits this week called on people to report potential cases of immigration fraud through a newly created portal.

In an Aug. 4 post on X, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wrote that anyone who suspects “immigration fraud, criminal activity, or actions by aliens that threaten national security or public safety” can report it to the agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“Reports should involve aliens suspected of fraud, unlawful acts, threats, violence, terrorism-related activity, or other conduct connected to immigration,” the agency said.

On Wednesday, it called on anyone who notices or suspects non-U.S. citizens are “committing immigration fraud of any kind, making false claims of U.S. citizenship, or advocating violence or terrorism against America” to report tips.

It then directed the public to a website, titled “Protect America Together,” which allows the public to submit details of suspected fraudulent activity. That can include noncitizens using fake or altered documents, as well as identity, marriage, visa, employment, and asylum fraud.

Tipsters can also submit reports of suspected fraud and abuse within the H-1B visa program, which has been used by companies to employ Big Tech workers for decades, and within the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program.

“Falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, including registering or voting in a federal election” can also be reported using the website, it said.

Other activities that can be reported include noncitizens “supporting terrorist ideologies or providing material support to terrorist organization,” “advocating for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government,” “expressing hatred for American values,” working with groups or individuals who are seeking to disrupt public safety or national security, or “engaging in activities that violate the principles of the Constitution or show disloyalty to the United States.”

A spokesperson for DHS told The Epoch Times on Wednesday evening that the website is a new push from USCIS.

“A single tip can help protect the United States from immigration fraud that exploits the American people and undermines America’s legal immigration system,” the spokesperson said.

Immigrants await their turn for green card and citizenship interviews at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Queens office in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City on May 30, 2013. John Moore/Getty Images

When submitting details to the web portal, USCIS directs tipsters to include as many details as they can, including a name, date of birth, or address.

It also directs users to provide information about themselves, including their names, emails, and phone numbers. The reporting form allows for either businesses and companies or individuals to be reported.

According to the agency, users will soon be able to upload screenshots as they report tips to USCIS.

Since President Donald Trump took office last year, his administration has made mass deportations and enforcing laws against illegal immigration a priority. His administration has also moved to tighten legal immigration rules and suspend certain temporary deportation protection programs for certain countries.

The administration has also moved to denaturalize U.S. citizens such as those who were convicted of crimes including sexual abuse of a child, healthcare fraud, and immigration fraud, among other charges.

USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 17:40

DeepSeek Resumes $74BN Mega-Raise – Then Warns It’s Jacking-Up Prices

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DeepSeek Resumes $74BN Mega-Raise – Then Warns It’s Jacking-Up Prices

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is looking to raise roughly 50 billion yuan at a valuation of 500 billion yuan (US$74 billion) – while the company warned developers a day later that it’s raising prices. The resumed funding round, first reported by Chinese business outlet Caijing (via The Standard), is expected to be signed by the end of the month, with the process kept deliberately quiet; some participating institutions reportedly haven’t even been formally told the deal is back on. The pricing notice, posted Thursday to DeepSeek’s developer platform, warns that API rates will rise across the board and that the increase is expected to be “significant.”

Image:  Mojahid Mottakin – stock.adobe.com 

The round restarts barely two weeks after it was shelved, and roughly six weeks after DeepSeek’s first-ever external raise in June, which pulled in some $7.4 billion from Tencent, CATL, Beijing’s National AI Industry Investment Fund, NetEase, JD.com, Monolith Management and IDG Capital at a valuation north of $50 billion (corporate filings later implied a figure closer to $52 billion). The new target is a steep markup on a deal that closed weeks ago, and the prospective investor list reportedly blends returning backers with new money that couldn’t get into round one.

As we noted last month, the round stalled because a transcript of founder Liang Wenfeng’s May 20 closed-door meeting with investors leaked onto GitHub and went viral – a document in which Liang admitted China still trails the US in AI (a gap of compute and capital, not talent, per Liang), conceded DeepSeek remains heavily dependent on Nvidia hardware, described Huawei’s substitutes as falling well short, and acknowledged the company could get its hands on processors he called “noncompliant.” 

Liang – reportedly furious over the leak – simply froze the deal.

Meanwhile, questions about how DeepSeek is obtaining restricted silicon go back to the very beginning – with federal investigators probing whether Singapore-based third parties funneled blacklisted Nvidia chips to the lab as far back as early 2025, and by that April the House Select Committee on the CCP had formally concluded that DeepSeek’s model appeared to run on tens of thousands of export-restricted Nvidia chips, branding the company a tool for “subverting” US export controls. Congress alleged it and now the founder has all but confirmed it, on (leaked) record telling investors the workaround exists – even as the company lays groundwork for a Shanghai STAR Market IPO it reportedly hopes to file this year. Should be a fun prospectus to read. 

Liang was able to hit the pause button so easily because DeepSeek’s first round routed nearly every investor’s money into a limited partnership Liang personally controls, complete with a five-year lock-up and zero voting rights. The lone exception was the state AI fund, which bought direct equity and kept its vote. Liang holds roughly 84% of the company and near-total voting control – meaning Tencent and CATL wired in billions for the privilege of watching, while Beijing holds the only outside seat at the table.

In the leaked transcript, he told investors that GPUs are the single best use of the company’s capital, that he would happily convert the entire war chest into Nvidia hardware if supply allowed, and that spending 20 billion yuan a year on processors would count as a triumph for his purchasing team. He also told them the money doesn’t go as far as it looks: even 50 billion yuan, he said, wouldn’t train a model at the scale of the largest U.S. systems, which he estimated would take roughly 50,000 Nvidia GB300s or 200,000 Huawei Ascend 950s – before the experiments that precede any final training run. Beyond the hardware, the company plans to double headcount and push into data centers and AI agents, and Reuters reports it is quietly hiring chip designers to develop in-house inference silicon – an attempt to engineer its way out of the very dependence Liang lamented.

Price Hike

Which brings us to the other shoe – the company’s announcement that API rates will rise across the board in a “significant” way – the company’s second hike in under a month, following a “peak/off-peak” scheme TechNode reported in mid-July, which doubled rates during Chinese business hours.

No new rate card or effective date has been published – but this is the lab whose $0.14-per-million-token pricing dragged ByteDance, Tencent, and lately even the US majors into a price war. Demand has reportedly overwhelmed its infrastructure, and bargain-basement tokens are a hard pitch to pre-IPO investors. The catch: DeepSeek’s weights are open, so any datacenter on earth can serve the same models. If they raise prices too far, customers may balk.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 17:20

DoorDash Wins Federal Approval To Fly Its Own Delivery Drones

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DoorDash Wins Federal Approval To Fly Its Own Delivery Drones

Via American Greatness,

DoorDash has cleared a major federal hurdle in its push to put drones, not just drivers, in charge of getting dinner to your door.

The San Francisco-based delivery company announced July 29 that it received Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 air carrier certification, the same category of authorization commercial airlines must hold to legally transport other people’s property for pay. The certificate makes DoorDash the eighth drone operator to earn the designation and clears the way for its new in-house operation, DoorDash Air, to begin building a commercial drone delivery network in the United States.

The achievement did not come easily. Federal regulators put DoorDash through a five-phase review examining its aircraft, maintenance procedures and safety program before signing off. That kind of vetting is worth noting at a time when many Americans question whether Washington bureaucracies move too slowly to keep pace with private-sector innovation

DoorDash says the drone will be designed and built in the United States, with most of its components sourced domestically as well. Building the aircraft at home, rather than relying on foreign-made hardware, keeps DoorDash in step with a growing national push to reduce reliance on Chinese technology in critical infrastructure.

The company says the drones fix a real inefficiency. More than 20 percent of DoorDash orders in 2025 traveled between three and five miles, and those trips took nearly a quarter longer than shorter deliveries, largely because drivers prefer clusters of short trips near busy restaurants over a single long haul. DoorDash estimates its existing drone pilots completed deliveries in about 25 minutes on average and saw order volume climb roughly 30 percent in some locations. Those figures come from the company itself and have not been independently verified.

Human Dashers are not going anywhere. DoorDash says drivers will keep handling the overwhelming majority of deliveries, since a drone cannot climb an apartment stairwell or haul a large catering order. The company’s Autonomous Delivery Platform will instead assign each order to whichever method, a Dasher, a delivery robot or a drone, makes the most sense.

Federal certification does not mean drones will appear over American neighborhoods anytime soon. DoorDash still needs airspace authorization and likely additional waivers for flights beyond a pilot’s direct line of sight, and it has not announced its first markets or a launch date. Local zoning boards, noise concerns and community pushback could shape where the company is ultimately allowed to operate, regardless of what Washington has approved.

Still, DoorDash’s milestone reflects a private company willing to invest in American manufacturing and clear federal hurdles rather than wait for government to hand it a shortcut.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 17:00

Japan Marks Hiroshima Anniversary Without Naming US, While Shaming Russia

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Japan Marks Hiroshima Anniversary Without Naming US, While Shaming Russia

Russia is not happy with Japan’s statements regarding the anniversary of the US military’s dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of WWII. Thursday marks the 81st anniversary of the bombing which obliterated the densely-populated industrial city.

The Kremlin is accusing Japanese officials of intentionally dropping any mention of just who dropped the nuke which ultimately killed some 140,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians.

The city’s mayor Kazumi Matsui at a ceremony held at the center of where the blast happened issued strong condemnation of nuclear weapons generally, but failed to identify that it was the United States behind it.

Tokyo and Washington have in recent years deepened their security ties, with an eye on China, and so Japanese leaders have long sought to avoid offending their powerful patron and ally. 

Astoundingly, not only did Mayor Matsui fail to mention the US and the B-29 Superfortress ‘Enola Gay’ bomber that actually dropped the bomb, a simple historical reality, but he went out of his way to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine in his Thursday speech.

The speech focused on the “inhumanity of nuclear weapons” and how “use of force to pursue one’s own prosperity” must be condemned and abolished, but then he gratuitously invoked Russia while giving the stories of survivors who have since suffered debilitating illnesses:

Another woman, exposed to the bomb at age 3, suffered through the years from a series of illnesses, then leukemia at age 55. Having been diagnosed with A-bomb disease, she lived in constant fear. Where would it strike next?

A man who was 9, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of many civilians, begs us to overcome our internal conflicts and embrace each other’s perspectives to build a world without violent conflict. He urges our youth, in particular, to begin by thinking deeply about their daily lives.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was in attendance at the ceremony, a first since entering office, and she too failed to identify the US as the country which dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese people. She merely called for “realistic and practical” efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons. Top officials from dozens of countries were present, including from Russia, the US, and Iran.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quick to highlight the glaring omission in statements to the press later the same day.

“On the anniversary of the atomic bombing, Hiroshima’s mayor once again failed to mention the country responsible for the suffering of his city — the United States. Instead, he used the occasion to attack Russia over Ukraine,” Zakharova said.

“The crooked mirror of Western narratives distorts not only the reflection but also the consciousness of those who look into it,” she stressed.

She went to point out that the mayor “repeats this false mantra year after year, zombifying the Japanese with Russophobic incantations” – and noted that Russia has always remembered the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and appropriately presents the tragedy as an example of “unacceptable cruelty” by American forces. 

“Amid the suffering caused by Japanese aggression in the Far East, our people never forgot the victims of those two cities,” she concluded.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a memorial at the Peace Memorial Ceremony, via VCG

Russia’s TASS is busy highlighting the fact that the UN Chief, who addressed the ceremony too, also failed to so much as mention the United States:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once again did not mention that the United States was the country that carried out the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in his message marking its 81st anniversary.

UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu traditionally read out the message.

The report went on: “In previous years, Guterres also never directly named the United States as the country that carried out the atomic bombings in similar messages commemorating the anniversaries of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 16:40

Bus-Bomb Plot By Marxist ‘Mad Max’ Foiled Ahead Of Trump-Backed Colombian President’s Inauguration

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Bus-Bomb Plot By Marxist ‘Mad Max’ Foiled Ahead Of Trump-Backed Colombian President’s Inauguration

Less than a week after Colombian authorities blamed a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group for detonating a truck bomb outside police headquarters in the border city of Cúcuta, injuring 11 officers, security forces intercepted a bus carrying a massive bomb.

The local outlet Blu Radio reported that an intelligence operation by the National Police thwarted a “terrorist attack” when authorities intercepted a bus carrying 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate in Santander de Quilichao, about 30 miles from Cali.

President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, a Trump-backed conservative who has pledged to restore law and order and wage war against far-left terror groups, will be sworn in before foreign leaders and senior U.S. officials on Friday.

The report noted that the bus bomb was orchestrated by the far-left, Marxist-Leninist guerrilla organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to “attack” the military during inauguration celebrations.

The major Colombian news outlet continued:

According to preliminary information, the vehicle had been modified to be used as a bus bomb and, according to the investigation, its objective was to attack military and police installations in Cali during the events related to the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo De La Espriella.

Authorities attribute the planning of the attack to the ‘Jaime Martínez’ Front, a structure of the Central General Staff of the FARC dissidents under the command of alias ‘Iván Mordisco’ and point to alias ‘Max Max’, identified as the main explosives expert of that organization, as responsible for preparing the vehicle.

Military intelligence also maintains that the action was ordered by alias ‘Iván Mordisco’ himself, with the purpose of generating a high-impact event during the inauguration day.

The vehicle was detonated by authorities. 

El Tigre’s rise to power comes amid a once-in-a-generation political shift from left-wing regimes controlling the Americas to a majority of right-wing governments closely aligned with the Trump administration. The State Department has pursued this strategy to secure the West, ensure countries align with the U.S. rather than China or Russia, and promote open and free markets over failed socialist ones.

Americas Political Map: Presidential Shift From Left To Right

Country-by-country presidential shift tracker

“For the first time in 15–20 years, the overwhelming majority of the countries in the Western Hemisphere are now led by pro-American leaders and governments since @POTUS was elected president,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated last week with President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

It is important to note that the Trump administration has declared war on far-left groups throughout the Western Hemisphere – even those that run amok on U.S. soil.

Read:

Colombia’s far left, using violence to project power, should serve as a wake-up call to Americans that the far left in the U.S., including the DSA and Antifa, share one stated goal:

Achieving this will not be “mostly peaceful.” With riots, intimidation, and attempted political assassinations already part of the threat landscape, the big question is how much far-left political violence Americans will tolerate before demanding a more forceful government response to combat revolutionary Marxist movements intent on destabilizing the nation from within.

Related:

These Marxist movements are one and the same worldwide; united in solidarity, they aim to destroy America and capitalism.

White House finally gets it. 

Should’ve been a stated goal day one of the second term. 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 15:05

Global Diesel Crunch Deepens As Record US Distillate Exports Race To Supply-Starved Europe

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Global Diesel Crunch Deepens As Record US Distillate Exports Race To Supply-Starved Europe

US distillate exports surged to a record last week as global supplies tightened. Disruptions across the Gulf area and various surrounding maritime chokepoints, as well as Ukrainian one-way attack drone strikes that have paralyzed portions of Russia’s energy infrastructure, have been a major boon for US refiners and export terminals along the Gulf of America.

To begin the week, Samantha Dart, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, told Bloomberg TV, “The situation in Russia is really one thing that worries us a lot.”

Dart warned, “I’d say on the oil side, as I mentioned before, diesel, I think is the oil product that is most vulnerable right now, not just because you have your seasonal demand strength ahead just in the winter, but on the supply side. And to your point in the beginning, it’s not just that you run war, it’s what’s happening to the Russian refineries as well. And Russia is usually a pretty big exporter of diesel. And now they have restricted it.”

Last month, Goldman analyst Daan Struyven warned that “Diesel is at the epicenter of the supply squeeze.” 

As global supplies dwindle, US energy exporters on the Gulf of America emerged as the winners, shipping a record 1.9 million barrels to overseas customers last week.

Shipments have exceeded 1.5 million barrels a day for five consecutive weeks, with recent cargoes heading to northwestern European ports – the epicenter of a global diesel shortage caused by Gulf area refinery disruptions through Hormuz and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refining capacity.

The trade-off from surging diesel exports is that US distillate stockpiles have fallen to their lowest seasonal level since 1996, raising the risk of a tighter domestic market heading into the fall demand surge.

Must Read:

Let’s not forget that Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser warned that even if the Strait of Hormuz were reopened today, it could take up to 18 months to replenish global inventories.

All told, America is once again rescuing Europe from a deepening energy crunch – first LNG – this time diesel. You’re welcome.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 14:05

New Mexico Sues DOJ For Unredacted Epstein Files

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New Mexico Sues DOJ For Unredacted Epstein Files

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

New Mexico is suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) over unredacted Epstein files, accusing the federal agency of stonewalling the state’s own investigation into alleged crimes at deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch.

The legal action, filed Aug. 5, intensifies a politically charged fight over the DOJ’s Epstein files, which have been accumulating since investigations into Epstein began in the mid-2000s.

New Mexico reopened its investigation in February and is seeking access to files relating to who worked at and visited Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, and may have participated in or witnessed crimes.

The DOJ said it has handed over some of the files but is prevented by law from releasing others due to privacy protections.

“The Epstein Files Transparency Act does not require, and the protective orders in place in the Southern District of New York do not permit, disclosure of victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures,” a DOJ spokesperson told The Epoch Times of its reasons for opposing the lawsuit.

The 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act required the DOJ to release all unclassified records and investigative materials related to Epstein and his alleged sex trafficking network. The department was allowed to make redactions to safeguard the privacy of alleged victims or to shield ongoing investigations.

“Protecting victim privacy remains a top priority for the Department, and neither Touhy requests nor a desire to cooperate outweighs that privacy,“ the spokesperson said. ”DOJ remains available to assist New Mexico’s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders.”

According to the complaint, the federal government has acknowledged that “Epstein and his criminal network subjected over 1,000 survivors to egregious and predatory conduct, including vulnerable young girls in New Mexico.”

New Mexico initially made informal requests to the DOJ for unredacted files. The federal agency had promised cooperation, including information sharing on alleged survivors ​and crimes, and told the state to formally file Touhy requests, used for accessing official information, testimony, or documents from a federal entity for use in a legal proceeding in which the U.S. government is not a party.

The complaint said the DOJ rejected the Touhy requests earlier this year. By failing to cooperate, DOJ officials are harming “victims and [undermining] the public interest” by holding up the state’s investigation of the conduct of Epstein and his co-conspirators at Zorro Ranch, it argued.

In 1993, Epstein bought Zorro Ranch and visited the state many times before he died in 2019.

According to state prosecutors, the Epstein files contain more than 13,000 references to the ranch, along with 5,000 references to locations in the state where victims were allegedly trafficked, assaulted, and groomed.

New Mexico alleges the DOJ has failed to properly handle its Touhy requests and violated the Administrative Procedure Act governing administrative law procedures, citing the agency’s refusal to honor its 2019 agreement in which federal prosecutors promised to cooperate with the state after it put its Epstein probe on hold.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has “marched through every bureaucratic hoop USDOJ has demanded, only to have years of promised federal cooperation turned into bureaucratic defiance,” the complaint said.

In a call with reporters, Torrez said of the state’s investigation, “We haven’t charged someone because we need to see those files before ‌we charge ⁠someone.” He said the probe faces considerable obstacles, noting the decades since Epstein’s alleged crimes, the change of ownership of the ranch in ​2023, and jurisdictional issues.

New Mexico’s lawsuit was filed in federal district court in the nation’s capital.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/06/2026 – 13:25

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