Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

For the first time, artificial intelligence has designed complete, functional viral genomes from scratch.

Oh dear.

Stanford University and Arc Institute researchers used generative AI models to produce 16 novel bacteriophages that successfully infect and kill bacteria in the lab.

Breaking News: Scientists have used A.I. to create new viruses for the first time, raising hopes for medical advances while also raising the possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens. https://t.co/MJG4mp0TTb

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 6, 2026

Officials insist the viruses “pose no threat to people,” yet biosecurity experts are already sounding the alarm that the same technology opens the door to inventing dangerous pathogens.

JUST IN – For the first time, AI has designed complete viral genomes, producing 16 functional viruses that infect bacteria and “pose no threat to people.” — BBC pic.twitter.com/Le4lRSKN7q

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 6, 2026

The breakthrough, published in the journal Science, marks the first time generative AI has written entire viable viral genomes.

Researchers trained genome language models known as Evo 1 and Evo 2 on millions of natural genetic sequences. They then tasked the systems with designing complete bacteriophage genomes based on the well-studied ?X174 template that infects E. coli.

Of 302 synthesized designs, 16 proved fully functional: they assembled into virus particles, replicated inside bacterial cells, and in some cases outperformed the natural virus, even overcoming bacterial resistance when used as a cocktail.

Oh dear.

Brian Hie, assistant professor at Stanford who led the work, called it new territory. “This is a next step in the complexity that’s designable by generative AI, this is the first time generative AI has been used to design a complete genome, it’s something that can replicate and have other functions inside cells… this was new territory for us,” he told the BBC.

The team deliberately excluded genetic data from viruses capable of infecting complex organisms and conducted the work in a secure laboratory. The resulting phages target only specific bacteria.

Patrick Cai, a synthetic biologist at the University of Manchester not involved in the study, called it “an important milestone.”

Yet the same experts who celebrate the medical potential for phage therapies against antibiotic-resistant infections are issuing blunt warnings.

In an accompanying commentary in Science, Dr. Thomas Inglesby and Dr. Moritz Hanke of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security wrote that the findings raise “urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions.”

They stated it is no longer a question of “whether generative viral genome design will exist” but whether it can be used without “enabling serious harm.”

Oh dear.

New viruses with the potential to cause disease “should not be pursued,” they added. “The ability to compose viral genomes using generative AI now exists; the governance to safely steer it does not.”

Hanke has separately noted that one could simply prompt a genomic language model: “Hey, genomic language model, make me an influenza genome that is modified to be more transmissible or to be more lethal.”

This is not abstract risk. Humanity already learned hard lessons when researchers mess with pathogens in laboratories. The COVID era exposed the catastrophic consequences of gain-of-function work and lab leaks.

Now AI is being handed the tools to design novel viruses at machine speed, far outpacing the regulatory frameworks meant to contain them.

The potential for misuse or accidental release is frightening. The only meaningful safeguard cited by the researchers themselves is a training-data filter – something that can be reversed by any team with access to broader viral datasets.

First article you find in a Resident Evil game https://t.co/6yNvWlhbLE

— 1/4 Black Garrett (@QTRBlackGarrett) August 6, 2026

Online reactions captured the unease immediately. One widely shared comment called the news “First article you find in a Resident Evil game.” Others noted the same pattern: “No way this sort of virus randomly mutates to harm humans! Would never happen!” and “Modern scientists didn’t watch 80’s sci-fi horror and it shows.”

This development arrives against a backdrop of repeated AI systems exceeding their intended bounds.

In July, an OpenAI model went rogue during testing, escaped its sandbox, and launched a cyber attack on Hugging Face after chaining exploits and stolen credentials.

This keeps happening.

Cutting-edge AI went on a hacking spree, concocting multiple fake identities designed to trick human engineers before covering its tracks.

During testing by a UK government-run AI lab, an advanced version of ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Mythos went rogue.

In the most serious case,… pic.twitter.com/PFWFP5jmrv

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 6, 2026

Meta says AI model accessed the internet and hacked another firm https://t.co/qBebzeboWU

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) August 6, 2026

JUST IN: ?? Chinese company Moonshot’s AI model breaks out and escapes from isolated test environment.

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) August 7, 2026

Earlier this year an AI coding agent wiped out a startup’s entire production database and backups in nine seconds after “thinking for itself.”

A tech entrepreneur reported his AI agent autonomously built itself a visual face and interface while he slept.

And when AI bots were placed in a virtual town for two weeks with clear rules against violence and chaos, they promptly went apesh*t – forming alliances, committing arson, and collapsing the simulated society.

These are not isolated glitches. They reveal systems that interpret goals, adapt, and act with speed and autonomy humans cannot easily interrupt.

Now layer onto that the growing chorus of voices who casually state that the human population needs to be halved.

“Scientists say halving the Worlds population could help save the planet”

Probably what the Boosters were designed to do anyway. pic.twitter.com/NKqRCvKwkB

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) August 5, 2026

Recent research and commentary have revived the idea that reducing the world’s people to around four billion by 2200 would ease pressure on the planet – framed as a “pro-human” strategy through voluntary measures, yet delivered with the same technocratic confidence that once dismissed lab-leak risks.

Scientists say halving human population could ease pressure on Earthhttps://t.co/w3EU3isiXy

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 4, 2026

Imagine the same AI genome-design capability landing in the hands of those who view large-scale population reduction as a planetary necessity.

The tools that can design beneficial bacteriophages can, with different training data or prompts, design far more dangerous agents.

History shows that once a capability exists, containment relies on human restraint, institutional integrity, and enforceable rules – none of which have a perfect track record when power, ideology, or “greater good” justifications enter the picture.

The researchers emphasize medical upside: tailored phages that could help defeat drug-resistant bacteria. That potential is real. So is the reality that generative AI has crossed a threshold.

Complete, replicating viral genomes can now be written by machines. The governance structures that might prevent the worst outcomes remain incomplete.

What was once science fiction is now peer-reviewed fact. The only question left is whether the same systems that design the cure will one day be directed – or allowed to drift – toward something far darker.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

A New Mexico state judge on Aug. 6 ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund dedicated to remedying the harm caused to children’s mental health by the company’s social media platforms.

Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

State judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a 68-page order that most of the total youth mental health fund, or $420 million, would go toward treatment services for children harmed by social media.

The remainder of the fund would be directed toward awareness and prevention, screening and assessment, referrals and coordination, and implementation, according to the order.

“The Court finds that the weight of the evidence presented demonstrates that Meta’s platforms are a cause of and substantial contributing factor to the youth mental health crisis in New Mexico,” the judge wrote.

Furthermore, as Aldgra Fredly reports for The Epoch Times, in his ruling, Biedscheid ordered the company to delete the accounts of users under 13, along with all personal information collected from those accounts, and simplify the steps for reporting underage users.

Meta was also ordered to disable push notifications on its platforms for users under 18 between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on all days, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school days during the academic year.

The company is also required to implement mandatory usage time limits for those accounts and hide, by default, all like counts on their content unless a parent or guardian authorizes a change to the default setting.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez hailed the ruling as a victory for parents and children, saying that youngsters deserve to have a safer environment online.

“This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence,” Torrez said in a statement.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a post on X that the company disagreed with the ruling and planned to appeal, noting that Meta had been working to remove bad actors and harmful content from its platforms.

“We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” Stone said.

The latest penalty comes on top of the $375 million fines that a New Mexico jury imposed on Meta in March for violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act by failing to disclose the potential risks of its social media platforms to children.

New Mexico sued Meta in December 2023, alleging that the company’s social media platforms served as a “breeding ground” for predators targeting children for human trafficking, sexual image distribution, grooming, and solicitation.

Meta denied the allegations, saying at the time that it uses advanced technology to root out bad actors and employs child safety experts. The company also said that it shares information and tools with other companies and law enforcement, including state attorneys general, to help identify predators.

Solar stocks are shining in premarket trading in New York after the Trump administration announced a new 15% tariff and a price floor on imports of polysilicon derivatives, including silicon wafers, photovoltaic cells, and solar modules. The move is intended to secure the domestic solar supply chain after years of cheap Chinese panels flooding the country, making it uneconomical for domestic manufacturers to compete.

“Polysilicon is the base material underpinning the security of America’s semiconductor and solar-power supply chains. Yet for decades, America has allowed foreign countries to weaken United States producers in the polysilicon sector ‑- eroding our economic and national security. Today, I am taking action to put a stop to these practices and revitalize the United States polysilicon sector,” President Trump wrote in an overnight executive order.

The Trump administration’s order is less a conventional tariff increase and more of a reset of the US solar-module pricing regime. The new framework, combining a 15% tariff with minimum import prices, could lift utility-scale module prices into the low-to-mid 40-cent-per-watt range from roughly 30 cents.

Analysts from several desks, including BMO Capital Markets, Truist Securities, Citi, and others, point to First Solar as the clear winner.

“We expect the immediate market reaction to favor FSLR given enhanced long-term pricing power and terminal value implications, while utility solar-exposed names including NXT, ARRY, SHLS and FLNC could face near-term pressure as investors reassess project economics and deployment costs,” BMO analyst Ameet Thakkar wrote.

Thakkar noted, “In this report we analyze the structure and implementation of the new tariff framework, the implications for module pricing and domestic manufacturing economics, potential upside to FSLR valuation and ASPs, the 120-day implementation window, and our continued constructive view on NXT despite likely near-term volatility.”

Moses Sutton at BNP Paribas outlined FSLR as the “biggest, long-awaited winner” and highlighted how a new “structural ‘floor’ for industry” is being created.

What other desks are saying (courtesy of Bloomberg):

Citi

• Analyst Vikram Bagri notes that the polysilicon tariffs are largely in line with expectations and sees upside for First Solar
• “For FSLR, the benefits are a minimum import price for poly/cells/ingots/wafers/modules, which may be adjusted at Commerce’s discretion to reflect market conditions, a 15% ad valorem on downstream poly derivatives, application to warehoused inventory plus anti-stockpiling provisions”
• Notes that countries that adopt their own minimum import price may be able to claim favorable treatment for their exports to the US, which would be negative for US firms

Truist Securities

• Analyst Christopher Souther sees First Solar as the biggest beneficiary of the tariffs and notes that the company’s module price is below the minimum import price
• “In our view, this further reinforces First Solar’s competitive moat, as the company already benefits from a US-based manufacturing footprint, Section 45X tax credits, and existing trade protections”
• Notes that the exemption paths for US module manufacturers may reduce the benefit for First Solar in out years

Barclays

• Analyst Christine Cho sees the polysilicon tariffs raising the cost of imported modules to around $0.44 per watt
• “The Section 232 outcome is more positive for FSLR than we and the Street were expecting and would seem to support ASPs to move somewhere in the low to mid $0.40/w range”

In premarket trading, FSLR is up 4%, Enphase Energy +2%, Array Technologies +2%, SolarEdge Technologies +2%, and T1 Energy +6%. The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) is up nearly 3%. 

President Trump’s latest Iran comments came Thursday night, after a prior day wherein Iran and Oman unveiled their ‘finalized’ Hormuz management scheme, which most notably includes a ban on all US and Israeli vessels in the energy transit waterway. 

As we reviewed earlier, the White House has appeared to genuinely be searching for an exit strategy, but this stipulation alone may be too hard a pill for Trump to swallow, if accurate – given that it obviously leaves Iran in de facto control of the strait. Many pundits have pointed out it even leaves Iran with more leverage and power in the region than before the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

But this is why Trump’s comments to reporters in the Oval Office Thursday evening are surprising, given that instead of reacting angrily and outright condemning the Iran-Oman plan, his reaction was somewhat muted and meager. Doves who see this war as disastrous and hope for quick exit will welcome the development.

“I think it’s going to end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer,“ the president said, while leaving his meaning ambiguous. Asserting once again that the US is involved in negotiations with Tehran (something the Iranians have been vehemently denying all along), Trump added that “I think we’re doing fine.”

The only thing Trump truly got angry about Thursday was related to the domestic side of the conflict, after US major media published several reports saying the Pentagon is perilously low on missiles and interceptors, which have been drained after nearly six months of war. He blasted ‘treasonous’ ‘fake reporting’ and even threatened to jail ‘leakers’ over the reports (the inherent contradiction says a lot here).

But again, Trump’s penchant for raging against ‘dishonest’ and ‘evil’ Iranian leaders has been curiously absent over the last several days as the US bombs have fallen silent – after he called off planned ‘harder’ strikes over the weekend (or the last big TACO moment, among many prior).

This relative quiet at the White House comes even after Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf openly mocked the United States and Trump’s theatrics and constant changes of course on X. He wrote Thursday:

“Massive attack coming… wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.” That’s theater diplomacy on loop. Using bullying + broken promises + fake news as leverage is a failed strategy. Acknowledge the facts and fulfill your commitments. We don’t need more theater.

All of this change in Washington tone and posture suggests this could finally be the moment for a true offramp, as the US faces a ‘go big or get out’ realization, and as the prospect of slogging through months more of a developing quagmire becomes too politically and economically costly. This is potentially the declare ‘victory’ and get out moment. As former Congressman Ron Paul has put it: Just Walk Away!

Trump: I think the war with Iran will end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer.

Q: Have you reached a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz?

Trump: It’s sort of open right now. pic.twitter.com/J3lcPyuVwM

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2026

This is further evidenced in Trump’s sudden realism, expressed late Thursday in the same Oval Office presser. When asked about the status of the Strait of Hormuz, he admitted that “it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.”

He further acknowledged: 

“People don’t want” to risk ships worth billions of dollars and expose them to the possibility of accidentally hitting a mine in the Strait of Hormuz, he conceded. Trump also claimed Thursday that Hormuz is “sort of open right now,” although fewer than 10 ships per day transited from Sunday through Tuesday, according to Kpler data.

Of course, the US and Iran have been involved in several of these ‘pauses’ and cooling off periods before, which were later revealed to be the ‘calm before the storm’. Tehran has since wised up and pointed out that the Pentagon used these interim periods of no fighting to just rearm, reposition, and ramp up military supply flights to the region.

Joe Kent, a top national security official who resigned in protest of the Iran war upon the very start of the operation, is welcoming these signs that Trump is finally seeking to extricate the US from the conflict at all costs:

Trump is messaging that he won the war— this is a good first step in extricating us from what would otherwise be a catastrophic mistake. The reality is, the best “deal” we can make with Iran at this point that works in our favor is to just leave—it’s the only case in which POTUS then holds the cards.

He needs to “close the deal” now, before the Iranians force him back into a shooting war. We simply can’t assume that Iran will wait idly for us to make the next move. Alarmingly, it seems we are failing to account for just how aggressively killing the Ayatollah & bombing the girls’ school has radicalized Iranian leadership & its people—it’s very likely that Iran will feel compelled to drag us back into the war in order to force the U.S. to retreat, bloodied, both for the sake of its national honor & for deterrence.

Trump can end this by pulling our troops & ships out of the region now—deprive Iran of targets to hit and the leverage they need to escalate. Trump says we’ve won, therefore we can bring them home.

So either Trump is indeed preparing to go bigger, or this is – belatedly – the final ‘cut and run’ moment that probably the majority of the American public has been hoping for.

Another sign, via his Truth Social latest, that Trump could finally be willing to say ‘mission accomplished’ and get out, while letting the regional and oil transit ‘chips fall’:

The deadly alternative to simply declaring an exit is an eventual introduction of ground troops and full-on regime change. Thankfully, Trump officials have continued to by and large condemn this as a legitimate scenario – given it would surely once again put US forces in a new ‘forever war’ that would last years or even decades.

Read our: Visualizing Iran’s Vast Size & Why Any Ground Invasion Means Years-Long Quagmire

But in the meantime, the Iranians do smell weakness and blood in the water. Just before US markets closed Thursday, Tehran announced its forces attacked and struck ‘hostile targets’ at Qeshm island, near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is remaining defiant, and even sees itself in the driver’s seat with its ability to wage asymmetric warfare against a much larger US foe which is confused on what to do next. This was also on display with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian having asserted this week in an interview, “Our enemies expected the country to collapse due to the pressures they have exerted.“ He added that these pressures have “reached their maximum”.

Authored by Peter Tchir via Academy Securities,

Normally, you can find some parts of the job report that “fight” against the headline. That somewhere in the details is a potentially different narrative.

Maybe it’s because I’m lazy on a summer Friday, but difficult to see what it is in this report.

But let’s start with the most important point

Instead of worrying about Warsh, what he did or didn’t say, how often he might or might not say things, to who he may or may not speak to, maybe we should worry about making decisions based on garbage data?

As you know, I’ve argued for years that it seems insane that in this day and age, where we have real time data on almost every aspect of our lives, we are content to kind of stick a finger in the air, and take a wild stab at estimating jobs. I think the data source task force is the most important (and potentially useful thing Warsh has created). The data task force is too limited in scope, if anything.

Establishment headline is -23k. Estimate was 80k.

Revisions for past two months were -103k! Maybe the estimate would not have been for 80k, if the initial reports for the prior months reflected reality and didn’t need to be revised lower?

Not sure this is “good” news for the workers, but wage growth was anemic (even as the renewed fighting in the Middle East is pushing up the price of energy products).

The unemployment rate has dropped from 4.3% to 4.1% in the past two months. On the surface, maybe that is good. But the unemployment rate is based on the household survey which had a loss of 87k this month, which is “better” than last month’s loss of 507k jobs. The 4 month total number of jobs in the household survey is month than 600,000 lost jobs! The unemployment rate is only lower because the participation rate has dropped from 61.8% to 61.4% in two months (let’s not forget, this is occurring with record cap ex on data center/AI build).

Okay, now my “favorite” the birth/death model. I will admit I’m not sure how the seasonally adjusted birth/death model translates into a number of jobs in the establishment survey, but this “model” showed 235k jobs added by new businesses being formed. Maybe companies are being formed to take advantage of the AI/Data Center spend. It is in line with last July’s birth/death adjustment, so maybe it didn’t impact things. But I always struggle when “plugs” or “models” seem to be bigger than the actual numbers.

Honestly, I have no idea if today’s numbers are the aberration or whether it was what was originally reported, but that is the point!

How are we making decisions based on data that seems to be a wild guess (apologies to wild guesses)?

Sure, if there is no way to get better, more accurate, timely data, then we’d have to live with it. We had to live with carrier pigeons at one time.

I find it difficult to believe that a nation that put astronauts on the moon, cannot figure out a better way to calculate data that is so crucial to decision making!

So, yes, Houston, we have a problem, but the bigger problem isn’t today’s numbers, it is that we don’t really know what numbers are correct or not!

On the other hand, my view that we don’t see a hike this year looks better today, than it did a week ago (and that is with no “deal” in Iran, which any deal, will also help).

Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times,

The Islamic Society of Tulsa has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and four individual city council members after the city denied its request to build a mosque and Islamic community center.

The suit, which was filed on Aug. 3, alleges the denial violated the U.S. Constitution, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and Oklahoma law by discriminating against Muslims.

The city of Broken Arrow said in an email to The Epoch Times that it does not comment on lawsuits. The city acknowledged on July 28 that the U.S. Department of Justice had started an investigation into the matter.

“The City Council and Administration are fully engaged with the DOJ in its investigation,” the city stated, adding it would have no further comment.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is investigating whether Broken Arrow violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act after denying the rezoning application for the Islamic Society of Tulsa.

According to the complaint, the Islamic Society of Tulsa bought about 15 acres of land in Broken Arrow in 2014 with the intention of building a mosque, a community center, and a small commercial development.

City planning staff concluded the proposal complied with the city’s comprehensive plan and recommended approval. The Broken Arrow Planning Commission also voted to recommend approval after a lengthy public hearing.

The lawsuit claims the proposal was rejected by the City Council after “a wave of bigoted opposition from members of the community and local politicians.”

Despite recommendations from city staff and the Planning Commission, the City Council voted 4–1 on Jan. 12 to deny both the rezoning request and the conditional use permit.

The lawsuit further alleges the city approved similar rezoning and permitting requests for Christian churches and commercial developments while allowing those applicants to address traffic and engineering issues later in the approval process.

The complaint seeks a court order allowing the project to proceed, a declaration that the city’s actions were unlawful, and monetary damages including attorneys’ fees.

It also notes the DOJ’s investigation into whether the city violated federal religious land-use protections.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is asking the Trump administration to halt the DOJ investigation.

In a letter to President Donald Trump and acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Drummond called the investigation “federal overreach” and said land-use decisions should be left to state and local officials.

Drummond also asked the DOJ to withdraw requests for records involving private citizens, require senior-level approval for any further investigative steps, and coordinate with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office before taking additional action against Oklahoma municipalities.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index climbed to a three-year high in July, extending its upward trajectory as conflicts across Eurasia (the Black Sea and the Hormuz chokepoint) disrupt critical trade routes and mounting El Niño risks threaten global harvests.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 131.09 last month, up .6% from the previous month, led by gains in grain, sugar, and vegetable oils.

Wheat surged 5.8% during the month to a two-year high, while corn climbed 3.6%. Vegetable oil prices reached their highest since June 2022, while meat and dairy prices declined, according to the FAO.

Fueling the price surge is the widening Russia-Ukraine war in the Black Sea, where attacks are increasing and threaten critical bulk-shipping corridors. Disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz are also pushing food prices higher by raising energy, fertilizer, and transportation costs. Layered on top of all this are deteriorating crop conditions in major growing regions across the world as El Niño risks mount, a threat that has been flagged for many months.

“Chances of a very strong El Niño are rising. Risks are concentrated in select EMs, with inflationary and fiscal pressures likely to outweigh growth risks. We view El Niño as a key sovereign credit risk, particularly for countries with weak fiscal buffers,” Morgan Stanley analyst Emma Cerda wrote in a recent note.

Earlier this week, UBS analyst Sreedhar Mahamkali identified five long-term forces likely to keep global food inflation “structurally higher” above its pre-pandemic average of about 2.5%.

“While food inflation globally has fallen from the COVID peak, a new debate is emerging: is the c2.5% LT average obsolete?” the London-based managing director and equity-research analyst said.

Mahamkali’s first and most important long-term driver of elevated food prices is that “climate risk is global,” and the number of institutional desks warning about El Niño is certainly on the rise. Read the full report here.

Perhaps Bank of America analyst Robert Ohmes will be proven right about his warning in mid-June (Read Here) that another food price spike could arrive in supermarkets this fall. He said that grocery inflation “may be on the way,” citing a blended index of wages, diesel, and commodity costs.

Putting it all together, the theme is clear: multiple pressures are converging across the global food supply chain, tilting the balance of risks toward higher prices. That is already visible at the supermarket, particularly in beef, even as chicken and pork remain comparatively affordable. Egg prices, meanwhile, have collapsed, but fresh warnings from Mexico suggest that avocados could be the next grocery staple to surge.

For households, the best hedge may be to strengthen their own local food supply chains, whether by planting a backyard garden, buying directly from nearby farms, or building relationships with local farmers and cattle ranchers.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

Mindless arson for online clout is torching farmers’ livelihoods across England. Hay and straw stacks – vital winter feed and hard-earned harvest – are being deliberately set alight in a suspected TikTok challenge that treats the countryside like disposable content.

West Mercia Police have circulated an urgent warning to farming groups after a string of overnight attacks.

The force stated: “Following a recent spate of overnight arson attacks on hay stacks in the north of England there appears to be a TikTok challenge to ‘set fire to as much stuff as possible.’ I know the farming community will be aware of the dangers of the dry weather but if it is possible to send out a message to all your members to be extra vigilant.”

“Police believe the trend, targeting hay and straw stacks across northern England, may be linked to a TikTok challenge encouraging people to set fire to things in the countryside.”

Absolutely disgraceful behaviour. https://t.co/QYVHXRngnH

— No Farmers, No Food (@NoFarmsNoFoods) August 5, 2026

Humberside Police are investigating six suspected deliberate bale fires reported overnight on 30 July across North Lincolnshire at East Butterwick, Messingham, Susworth and Kirton in Lindsey. Reports included suspicious dark-coloured vehicles and quad bike tracks near the stacks.

Smoke could be seen for miles as firefighters tackled a large field fire. Read more: https://t.co/kwegie5HuO pic.twitter.com/x49bMKAR2F

— BBC Humberside (@RadioHumberside) August 5, 2026

Around the same period, about 1,200 hay bales were destroyed in a major overnight fire near Saxondale Island close to Bingham in Nottinghamshire, treated as suspected arson. In Oxfordshire, a fire involving around 600 hay bales tore through stacks in the village of Hinton Waldrist on 20 July; Thames Valley Police continue to investigate.

Fire service believe major grassland blaze was ‘started deliberately’ https://t.co/dUzST0LAov

— Stourbridge News (@StourbridgeNews) August 4, 2026

Roughly 250 hay bales were deliberately set alight at Hackpen Hill near Swindon in Wiltshire. The blaze, confirmed by police as thought to have been started deliberately, took firefighters more than 28 hours to extinguish. Neighbouring farmer James Hussey described it as “quite a loss” for the owner.

Police believe that a fire involving hay bales near a popular beauty spot in Wiltshire was started “deliberately”https://t.co/ac52ryM5Ui

— ITV News West Country (@itvwestcountry) August 3, 2026

Huge fire at beauty spot contained, say fire crews https://t.co/RVNYII2R6S

— BBC Stoke & Staffordshire (@BBCRadioStoke) August 6, 2026

Huge blaze destroys tractor and 50 tonnes of hay https://t.co/Thn8EX3VO9

— Daily Echo (@dailyecho) August 5, 2026

Near South Milford a deliberate hay bale fire spread across 15 acres of fields. North Yorkshire Police stated: “Deliberately setting fire to hay bales not only causes significant financial loss to farmers but also presents a serious risk to life, property, livestock, and the wider countryside, particularly during periods of warm and dry weather.”

Prestatyn, North Wales, sand dunes on fire pic.twitter.com/qvPpXNfAUR

— Lady Featherdown ?? (@Melissag0ec) August 2, 2026

‘Deliberate’ field fire damages houses and gardens https://t.co/cFQ87u8HIg

— BBC Yorkshire (@BBCLookNorth) August 6, 2026

Major incident declared and warnings to stay away as Ferndale wildfire spreads: https://t.co/cH2oLTPm3Q

Footage credit: South Wales Fire and Rescue service pic.twitter.com/YgQ4y1eL6t

— ITV Wales News (@ITVWales) August 3, 2026

Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm was also reported as targeted in a suspected arson attack involving hay bale silos in early May 2026.

Earlier in the season, in late June 2026, a Cambridgeshire farm near Peterborough experienced seven deliberate blazes over two nights that hit fields, hedgerows and a caravan.

Farmer Judith Jacobs said: “Sadly, we experienced similar incidents several times last summer, and this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable.”

Without deterrents crimes are contagious? Do you agree those who deliberately start fires should be financially held responsible for all services required & all damage caused? Huge wildfire sparks major incident in UK village as blaze lit ‘deliberately’ https://t.co/3QjSbP02fE

— At Least The Thick Of It Were Pro UK (@ChaplinLorra) August 4, 2026

Firefighters prevented a large straw bale fire from spreading to a second stack after it broke out on farmland near Naseby:https://t.co/mGMOcQlrUz

— HFM News (@hfmnews) August 6, 2026

? Major Fire In The Fields Behind The Pywipe Industrial Estate Grimsby

Factory’s Are At Risk Of Burning Down

More to follow… pic.twitter.com/tSlUpog2ha

— Active Patriot (@ActivePatriotUK) August 2, 2026

Dry conditions have left crops, grassland and stored forage highly vulnerable. Fire services and rural teams are urging farmers to review CCTV, report suspicious activity immediately, lock sheds and outbuildings, install security lighting where practical, and keep hay and straw stored well away from fuels, chemicals and machinery.

Fires started ‘deliberately’ on mountain as crews tackle blaze https://t.co/I6AzRtwseh

— CE (@CarolPP9) August 4, 2026

Fire crews battle through night as Suffolk wildfire spreads to ‘210 football pitches’ https://t.co/3z4JxSCoR9

— The Sun (@TheSun) July 31, 2026

Farmers already battle weather, regulation and thin margins. Deliberate fires on top of that threaten winter feed stocks, next year’s harvest and the basic security of the food chain. Rural communities are left footing the cost while the perpetrators chase likes.

Deliberate fire at stunning Devon country parkhttps://t.co/TNoKJSS78L

— Marcus Middleton (@Salacious282vs) August 5, 2026

Expect the usual suspects to try reframing this as another “climate emergency.” Alarmists have a long record of blaming every dry-weather fire on global warming while ignoring clear evidence of deliberate human action.

This particular brand of idiocy – setting things alight for clicks – is not new and shows no sign of stopping. It keeps happening because the platforms reward it and the consequences rarely stick.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

The income needed in order to purchase a typical home for sale in the United States in June was $109,796, marginally lower than the record high $110,382 in 2025, real estate brokerage Redfin said in an Aug. 5 report.

Housing affordability has remained largely flat year over year since monthly housing costs and people’s incomes are growing at a similar rate, Redfin said.

However, the income needed to purchase a house has been dropping consistently since October.

While the income required is around $22,000 higher than the earnings of a typical household, it’s an improvement compared to $26,000 a year ago, according to the report.

Redfin Senior Economist Yingqi Xu said that the double-digit gap between what a typical household makes in a year and the income needed to comfortably buy a home is leaving many prospective buyers on the sidelines.

On the plus side, “even if the market isn’t becoming much more affordable, it is becoming a bit more manageable for house hunters,” Xu said.

“It’s a buyer’s market in most of the country, especially places that were once pandemic homebuying hotspots like Nashville and Austin, giving buyers lots of options to choose from and strong negotiating power.”

According to Redfin, the income needed to afford a house surged in 2022 and 2023 as home prices skyrocketed amid the COVID-19 pandemic buying frenzy. Mortgage rates also doubled during this period.

For the week ending Jan. 6, 2021, the average weekly rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.65 percent, according to data from Freddie Mac. This rose to 7.79 percent for the week ending Oct. 25, 2023.

While rates have come down since then, they remain elevated. The persistently high rates contribute to keeping monthly mortgage payments on the higher side.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said in an Aug. 4 statement that home prices rose in 80 percent of tracked metro markets in the second quarter this year, which is considerably higher than the 71 percent of metros in the first quarter.

Despite elevated mortgage rates, home sales increased, NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun said in the statement, suggesting that this points to a buildup in housing demand due to steady jobs and income gains.

“It is welcoming to see incomes rising faster than home prices, which has helped boost affordability—but the big short-term challenge to affordability is coming from rising mortgage rates,” Yun said.

However, as Naveen Athrappully reports for The Epoch Times, real estate marketplace Zillow said that 2026 year-end mortgage rates could be 6.4 percent, which would put it slightly higher compared to the fall and winter of 2025.

This would not only erode any affordability gains made recently, but also make it difficult for property listings and sales to remain above year-ago levels.

Affordability Situation

While wage growth has outpaced home value growth in most of the United States and thus helped improve affordability, the increase in prices of everyday goods has eaten into those gains. This essentially limits how much prospective buyers can spend on purchasing a home, Zillow said.

The Trump administration has taken several actions to tackle affordability issues in the housing market.

An aerial view of a residential housing development in Los Angeles on April 3, 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said on June 23 that it was making multiple changes to its Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Single Family mortgage insurance program, aimed at lowering costs and improving affordability for people looking to secure FHA-insured mortgages.

The update eliminated outdated requirements and minimized administrative burdens to ensure that FHA financing becomes more efficient for buyers and lenders.

“Every unnecessary regulation comes with a cost, and too often homebuyers pay the price,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said. “If a policy does not protect taxpayers, improve affordability, or expand opportunity for Americans, we should rethink it. As we recognize National Homeownership Month, these FHA actions reflect that commitment by eliminating barriers to expand homeownership opportunities.”

Earlier in April, HUD and the Department of Agriculture rescinded a policy related to energy standards, the enforcement of which would have pushed up the costs of home construction by $20,000 to $31,000, according to HUD.

Construction workers build a home at a new housing development in Hercules, Calif., on July 1, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

And in March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction.”

In the order, Trump instructed the secretaries of HUD, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Energy to take “appropriate action to reform and, where appropriate, eliminate unduly burdensome or costly energy-efficiency, water-use, or alternative-energy requirements regarding housing.”

Trump wrote that unnecessary regulatory barriers and “onerous mandates” had delayed the construction of new homes and driven up their costs, making housing less affordable for American citizens.

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

India’s state-run refiners continue their buying spree of crude from West Africa as the Middle East crisis has sapped supply and made deliveries uncertain.

In one of the latest purchases via a tender, India’s state-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has acquired 2 million barrels of Nigerian crude oil from Shell, trade sources told Reuters on Thursday.

HPCL has bought 1 million barrels each of Nigerian crude grades Forcados and Bonga for its Visakh refinery in the state of Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of southern India. The refinery has the capacity to process 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that HPCL acquired 2 million barrels of Okwuibome and Utapate crudes from Nigeria from commodity trader Glencore via a tender.

The Nigerian crude from Glencore will go to feed HPCL’s refinery in the state of Rajasthan, HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), which has a capacity to process 180,000 bpd and in which Hindustan Petroleum holds a 74% stake. The remaining stake is held by the state government of Rajasthan.

Several Indian refiners have recently bought crude from Oman and West Africa via tenders, as term supplies from the Middle East remain choked by the shipping constraints at the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.

State-controlled Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has acquired about 1 million barrels of crude oil from ‌Oman via a tender, at a premium of some $3 per barrel to Dated Brent, from Mitsui & Co Energy Trading Singapore, trade sources told Reuters earlier this week.

In addition, state-run Indian Oil Corporation, the largest refiner by capacity in the country, has bought from Chevron a total of 4 million barrels of West African crude, including Nemba, Saxi Batuque, and Clov grades from Angola, and Congo’s Djeno crude.

Indian refiners are in search of crude supply from as far as Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America as their term supplies from the Middle East were trapped again in July and unable to reach India as planned.