Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) has come under fire for saying Gaza should be handled like “Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” suggesting that he was calling for a nuclear bomb to be dropped on the Strip, which could kill millions of Palestinians.

Walberg made the comments at a town hall last week when asked about the US funding the construction of a port in Gaza, supposedly to bring in more aid. “We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid,” he said. “It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.”

The genocidal comments became public when they surfaced in a video on social media. In response to the controversy, Walberg claimed he was using a “metaphor” by naming the only two cities in the world that have ever been hit with a nuclear bomb.

“I used a metaphor to convey the need for both Israel and Ukraine to win their wars as swiftly as possible, without putting American troops in harm’s way,” he claimed. “As a child who grew up in the Cold War era, the last thing I’d advocate for would be the use of nuclear weapons,” he sought to explain. 

“My reasoning was the exact opposite of what is being reported: the quicker these wars end, the fewer innocent lives will be caught in the crossfire.”

Israeli officials have frequently pointed to the US and Allied bombings of Germany and Japan during World War II to justify the mass killing of civilians in Gaza. Military historians say the destruction in Gaza is on par with the destruction of German cities, which are some of the most heavily bombed places in history.

Walberg came under heavy criticism from fellow Michigan politicians for his reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including former Rep. Justin Amash, a Palestinian-American who lost family members to Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.

Amash said Walberg’s comments “evince an utter indifference to human suffering. The people of Gaza are our fellow human beings—many of them children trapped in horrific circumstances beyond their individual control.

A video has widely circulated of Walberg’s original comments:

Michigan Congressman Tim Walberg, pastor and “good” Christian, talks about his solution for #Gaza: Give it the Hiroshima treatment. “Get it over quick.”

A sitting US Rep in a secret town hall feels comfortable musing positively about genocide. Listen. Share.#DemCastMI #DemCast pic.twitter.com/6BQGfWMVjZ

— JMS 🫱🏻✋🏻 #DemCastMI (@WhitchMI) March 30, 2024

“For him to suggest that hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians should be obliterated, including my own relatives sheltering at an Orthodox Christian church, is reprehensible and indefensible,” Amash continued.

The U.S. doubled imports of lithium-ion batteries for the third consecutive year in 2022, and with EV demand growing yearly, U.S. lithium mines must ramp up production or rely on other nations for their supply of refined lithium.

To determine if the domestic U.S. lithium opportunity can meet demand, Visual Capitalist partnered with EnergyX to determine how much lithium sits within U.S. borders. 

U.S. Lithium Projects

The most crucial measure of a lithium mine’s potential is the quantity that can be extracted from the source.

For each lithium resource, the potential volume of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) was calculated with a ratio of one metric ton of lithium producing 5.32 metric tons of LCE. Cumulatively, existing U.S. lithium projects contain 94.8 million metric tons of LCE.

U.S. Lithium Opportunities, By State

U.S. lithium projects mainly exist in western states, with comparatively minor opportunities in central or eastern states.

Currently, the U.S. is sitting on a wealth of lithium that it is underutilizing. For context, in 2022, the U.S. only produced about 5,000 metric tons of LCE and imported a projected 19,000 metric tons of LCE, showing that the demand for the mineral is healthy.  

The Next Gold Rush?

U.S. lithium companies have the opportunity to become global leaders in lithium production and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. This is particularly important as the demand for lithium is increasing every year.

EnergyX is on a mission to meet U.S. lithium demands using groundbreaking technology that can extract 300% more lithium from a source than traditional methods.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 – the strongest earthquake in 25 years to hit the island- followed by a smaller quake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck off Taiwan’s eastern coast Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey, prompting tsunami warnings in southern Japan.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 7.4, struck at 7:58pm ET (7:58am local time) and had an epicenter located about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the city of Hualien and shook buildings in the capital Taipei.

It’s the biggest seismic event by magnitude since 1999, when the so-called 921 quake hit the island and killed more than 2,000 people, Taiwan weather authorities said during a press conference. There have been several aftershocks clustered on the island’s east coast.

The second quake, with a magnitude of 6.5, hit 13 minutes later at 8:11pm ET, and was lcoated at almost the exact same spot as the first one: its epicenter was about 11 kilometers northeast of Hualien City.

Hualien announced plans to shut down offices and schools Wednesday in the wake of the event. The island’s power provider, meanwhile, said nuclear power plant operations remain normal and power distribution in Taiwan had stabilized.

People on the Chinese social platform Weibo said they felt the quake all across China, including in Shanghai and Guangdong.

Tsunami waves reaching 1-to-3 meters were possible along some coasts of China and Taiwan, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. A tsunami warning was also issued for southwestern Japan’s Okinawa prefecture after the region was rocked by the quake.

A tsunami warning — meaning waves of up to 3 meters are possible — was issued for Okinawa on Wednesday morning after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Taiwan, according to the Meteorological Agency. https://t.co/6AtF6Kjr2l

— The Japan Times (@japantimes) April 3, 2024

Local residents were urged to evacuate from an expected tsunami of as high as 3 meters, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Clips posted on X showed local damage and landslides in the aftermath of the strong quake.

WATCH: Strong earthquake causes landslide in eastern Taiwan pic.twitter.com/SQZFyd7zgj

— BNO News (@BNONews) April 3, 2024

Others reported that multiple buildings had collapsed in Taiwan in the aftermath of the quake.

JUST IN: Video shows damaged structures in Hualien, Taiwan, after powerful earthquake strikes region. https://t.co/NycGavyP0H pic.twitter.com/E2DDbnFj1q

— ABC News (@ABC) April 3, 2024

🔥📷 BREAKING NEWS: Taiwan after a massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake. All the footage in one! pic.twitter.com/0PnHTCQ7zf

— Ai HexBuilder ➁➁/➀➀ (@AiHexBuilder) April 3, 2024

A 7.4 magnitude earth quake just hit Taiwan

pic.twitter.com/ExEPFwDxkj

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) April 3, 2024

Turning to markets, the USDTWD is trading at 32.055/075, near Tuesday’s levels. Local equities are down 0.53%. New Taipei City, a satellite city outside of Taipei, has declared closure of schools and offices. Local equities and FX market remains will continue to operate.

Authored by Blake Fleetwood via ScheerPost.com,

Fifty years ago last summer, I met Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

We were in a small group climbing on skis to a spectacular 14,000-foot pass in the snow-covered Chilean Andes. The light, fluffy, bottomless power is about eight feet deep on top of another eight feet of packed winter snow.

We suddenly hear bullets ricocheting off a rock five feet away. The shots sound like someone quickly snapping his fingers. We look down the mountain; five Chilean Alpine troopers are spraying machine gun fire from their hips across a broad swath of the sloop.

Bobby, about 15 feet in front of me, falls into the snow. I think he has been shot, and we are all goners. The shots keep cracking as the rest of us dive for cover into the deep snow. After 20 minutes of hunkering, we peer down the mountain to the stormtroopers. Bobby, the youngest of the group at 19, takes the lead as he stands waving a white handkerchief on top of a ski pole. 

The troopers stop firing and motion for us to come down. Bobby goes up to the leader and starts talking to him. The gunman explains that there is going to be a change in the government, and they want to make sure that no one gets away. After inspecting our gear, they tell us to go on our way. 

The army troopers, under the command of  General Augusto Pinochet, were supported with weapons and bullets supplied by the CIA. The army, with Henry Kissinger’s help and millions of U.S. dollars, was in the throes of staging a coup that, in a few weeks, would murder the democratically elected President of Chile, Salvador Allende, as well as more than 5,000 other innocent civilians. 

This incident helped form Kennedy’s antipathy toward forever wars and other U.S. Empire-building adventures.

We have remained foxhole friends ever since. The same courage Bobby Kennedy showed on top of that mountain pass 50 years ago when facing machine gun-toting thugs he is showing today in his long-shot 2024 presidential campaign.

This is why I am so fearful about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being shot at again. 

The Kennedy campaign made its fifth formal request for Secret Service protection in March, citing a 67-page report of repeated death threats, nutjob letters, two heavily armed intruders to a campaign event, an invader in Kennedy’s Cape Cod house, and another man who invaded Kennedy’s home twice in one day when Kennedy and his wife, Cheryl Hines, were at home. 

President Biden’s decision to deny Secret Service protection to Kennedy seems to be based on political considerations and weaponizes the Secret Service by making it necessary for Kennedy to raise and spend millions of dollars each month for security. 

Kennedy appears to fit neatly into the law governing Secret Service protection for presidential candidates. 

Biden could be helped by forcing Kennedy to continue to pay huge sums for private protection to protect himself, his family, and his supporters. Security costs the campaign 30 cents out of each dollar raised. 

Biden’s motive is not based on historical precedent, the threats and dangers Kennedy faces,  existing laws, or the slightest compassion for a political family that has suffered so grievously.

If the worst happens, Joe Biden will be accountable. Historically, a president can order Secret Service protection for a candidate on his own, as could the Homeland Security secretary, currently Alejandro Mayorkas, after consultation with the Congressional Advisory Committee — the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. For a comparison, lesser-known Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was provided protection a year before the 2012 election by then-head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

The law states that the president and the secretary of Homeland Security have “broad discretion” in granting protection, and they have repeatedly done so, politics aside. 

Secret Service records recently revealed the agency’s conclusions that Kennedy is at “elevated risk for adverse attention,” and after reviewing credible armed threats against Kennedy, the agency assembled a group of eight teams ready to step in quickly after they get the go-ahead. But they never got it.

The threat to Kennedy is particularly acute because of his controversial politics and his family history—his father, RFK, Sr., a U.S. senator and presidential candidate, and his uncle, John F., a U.S. president, were both assassinated. RFK Jr. has provoked and challenged some of the most powerful forces in our country, especially concerning the military-industrial complex, the CIA, and endless foreign wars that so enrich defense contractors.

The perils to Kennedy arise not only because of his name but also because of the mainstream media’s relentless demonization of him. 

Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines, the lead actress in the popular TV series Curb Your Enthusiasm, accused Biden of “playing politics” with her and RFK Jr.’s safety.

“Yesterday, an intruder climbed the fence at my home and was arrested,” Kennedy tweeted a few months ago. “After being released from police custody later in the day, he immediately returned to my home and was arrested again.”

In September, a heavily armed man impersonating a U.S. marshal and the CIA, with loaded concealed firearms and an accomplice, was arrested after infiltrating a private event. 

No wonder Hines is scared and worried. The Kennedy name is a lightning rod, a bright target for disturbed and demented individuals.  

Judicial Watch, a conservative foundation, filed a Freedom of Information request and lawsuit to determine why Kennedy’s multiple requests for Secret Service protection were not answered. Finally, they obtained a trove of previously hidden emails. 

“These documents confirm the bureaucratic and political runaround the Biden administration went through to ultimately deny Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the requested Secret Service protection,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. “The Biden administration’s refusal to provide Secret Service protection to Mr. Kennedy is dangerous and vindictive.”

According to the reports, higher-ups ordered the Secret Service not to talk to Kennedy’s private security.

Seventy percent of voters do not want Biden or Trump. According to a January 9, 2024, Gallup poll, Kennedy’s favorability rating of 52% is higher than Biden’s (41%) and Trump’s (42%). According to an earlier Gallup poll, 63% of U.S. adults think that the major parties do “such a poor job” of representing the American people that “a third major party is needed.” This is a 7% increase from a year ago.

Biden’s choice to deny Kennedy protection reflects insecurity, fearing Kennedy’s popularity and radical, transformative message have the potential to endanger his reelection. He might also worry that Secret Service protection will elevate Kennedy’s stature and give him a certain presidential aura as a credible contender among the media and voters. 

For 55 years, every presidential administration has granted early protection to major candidates who requested it. The Biden administration is the sole outlier.

If another Kennedy is killed while campaigning for president, it will be a long-lasting, traumatic stain on the American psyche that will scar the soul of our democracy for decades to come. Unfortunately, we live in violent, polarized times. The United States has surpassed 400 mass shootings in 2023, a record-breaking year in gun violence.

The perils to any Kennedy running for office are self-evident. An assassination attempt would dredge up memories of 1968 when Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr. were shot and killed, and George Wallace was gunned down and paralyzed, taking him out of the presidential race.

The puzzling thing is that Biden has spent decades transfixed by the Kennedy mystique, tracing his interest in politics to John F. Kennedy. He was a long-time friend of JFK’s brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and has a bust of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy exhibited prominently in the Oval Office. Biden employs four members of the Kennedy family as ambassadors and special assistants. In fact, he admired RFK Sr. so much that he lifted some lines from one of his speeches without attribution in 1988. Perhaps Biden imagines himself as the Irish Catholic reincarnation of the Kennedys. Is it now possible that Biden resents Robert Kennedy Jr. for taking away that long-held dream? 

President Biden, normally a compassionate man, knows that the Kennedy family has paid an unendurable, heartbreaking price for decades of enlightened public service. What  would Biden ever say to Ethel Kennedy, Bobby’s mother, if he were assassinated? Her husband and her brother-in-law were brutally murdered while serving their country. Two of her sons are already dead, perhaps from lingering trauma suffered from coping from their father’s so public assassination.

What would Biden say to Cheryl Hines? What can he say to Kennedy’s six children and to any bystanders who might get shot and killed as collateral damage? In Ecuador recently, a presidential candidate was assassinated, and nine bystanders were injured. 

The Biden administration has used various pretexts to justify its denial of protection for RFK Jr. The Advisory Committee that green lights  who gets Secret Service protection noted in its last rejection that federal protection should only be granted one year before the election. But now, seven months before the election, nothing has changed.

Serious presidential candidates have routinely received early government protection. Senator Ted Kennedy received government protection in September 1979, 414 days before the November 1980 election. He was running against sitting president Jimmy Carter, who hated Ted Kennedy and deeply resented his attacks on him. But to his credit, considering the tragic Kennedy history, Carter knew it was his obligation and duty to protect Ted Kennedy and not weaponize the Secret Service. 

Other examples of early Secret Service protection:

• Sen. Barack Obama received protection 18 months, 551 days, before election day 2012, at the request of Sen. Dick Durbin.

• Donald Trump and Ben Carson got protection in November 2015, a year before the election.

• Herman Cain got protection almost a year before the 2012 election.

• Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards each received protection in February 2004, nine months before the election.

• Bob Dole was offered protection in March 1996, eight months before the election.

• Pat Buchanan got protection in February 1996, nine months, 250 days, before the election.

• Bill Clinton received protection in February 1992 after the New Hampshire primary, eight months before the general election.

• Pat Robertson got it in December 1987, about 11 months before the election, before any of the 1988 primaries.

• Jesse Jackson got protection in November, a year before the 1988 election.

• Walter Mondale got protection nine months before the 1984 election.

• Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney all received protection in February and March 2012, about 10 months before Election Day

• Sen. Walter Mondale got protection in January 1984, 10 months before the election.

• Ronald Reagan got protection in January 1980, 10 months before the election.

To repeat: It is less than seven months before the Presidential election in November, and Kennedy still has not gotten the protection he and his family need and deserve. Nikki Haley, asked for Secret Service protection early this month because of increasing threats to her and her family. The Secret Service agreed to her request, even though she is no longer in the race.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is outraged at the treatment that RFK Jr. has gotten, asking, “How do you address the fact that previous major presidential candidates, such as Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carlson, Barack Obama, and Senator Ted Kennedy, received Secret Service protection well over 120 days before the general election?” He also said, “I ask you to act swiftly to provide this major presidential candidate the protection that his exceptional circumstances so clearly warrant.”

Biden’s indefensible inhumane decision must be reversed before it is too late. 

Rates of attempted suicide who identified as transgender more than doubled after receiving a vaginoplasty (surgically turning one’s dick into a vagina), according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Journal of Urology.

The study looked at rates of psychiatric emergencies both before and after gender-altering surgery among 869 males who went under the knife, and 357 females who underwent phalloplasty (turning one’s vagina into a dick) in California between 2012 and 2018.

While researchers found that rates of ‘psychiatric emergencies’ were high both before and after gender-altering surgery, suicide attempts were markedly higher among those who received vaginoplasties, the Epoch Times reports.

“In fact, our observed rate of suicide attempts in the phalloplasty group is actually similar to the general population, while the vaginoplasty group’s rate is more than double that of the general population,” wrote the author of the study.

Among the 869 patients who underwent vaginoplasty, 38 patients attempted suicide—with nine attempts before surgery, 25 after surgery, and four attempts before and after surgery. Researchers found a 1.5 percent overall risk of suicide before vaginoplasty and a 3.3 percent risk of suicide after the procedure. Almost 3 percent of those who attempted suicide after undergoing vaginoplasty did not present with a risk of suicide prior to surgery.

Among the 357 biologically female patients who underwent phalloplasty, there were six suicide attempts with a 0.8 percent risk of suicide before and after surgery. -Epoch Times

Aside from suicide attempts, the study found that the proportion of those who experienced an emergency room and inpatient psychiatric encounter was similar between the two groups – with 22.2% of vaginoplasty and 20.7% of phalloplasty groups experiencing at least one psychiatric encounter.

According to the study, 33.9% of biological males undergoing vaginopasty would experience a post-surgery psychiatric encounter vs. 26.5% for biological women who underwent phalloplasty, if an episode had occurred before surgery.

That’s a lot.

As the Epoch Times notes further:

“It’s hard to refute this paper because it’s a longitudinal study,” Dr. Oliva said. “In Sweden, everyone is in a database, and through diagnosis codes, they’re able to follow what happens to every citizen in terms of their medical history. They waited more than 10 years after people had surgery and found that death by suicide had an adjusted hazard ratio of 19.1.”

Vaginoplasty is the most commonly performed gender-reassignment surgery for those with gender dysphoria, with more than 3,000 procedures performed annually. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, vaginoplasty is a surgical procedure that involves removing the penis, testicles, and scrotum to create a vulva and functional vagina. Surgeons typically create a vaginal canal using the skin surrounding the existing penis and scrotum or by using a skin graft from the abdomen or thigh.

A penial inversion is the most commonly performed procedure where the skin is removed from the penis and inverted to form a pouch that is inserted into the vaginal cavity created between the urethra and the rectum. Surgeons then partially remove, shorten, and reposition the urethra and create a labia majora, labia minora, and clitoris.

Another surgical method involves using a robotic system that enables surgeons to reach into the body through a small incision in the belly button to create a vaginal canal. The type of vaginoplasty performed varies among patients. For example, younger patients who have never experienced puberty may have insufficient penile skin to do a standard penile inversion.

“When you take a child who’s about to undergo puberty—and they suggest giving puberty blockers to stop puberty at age 10 to 11 1/2—and when you do that for little boys, they aren’t able to get tissue from the penis and scrotum, so creating a vagina is very difficult,” Dr. Oliva told The Epoch Times. “You have to use tissue from other areas of the body, such as the peritoneum or the colon. Some researchers in Brazil are actually looking into using tilapia fish,” he added.

According to a 2021 paper in the International Brazilian Journal of Urology, a rectovaginal fistula is the “most devastating complication” of a vaginoplasty that can occur “despite careful technique” and without obvious injury to the rectum.

A rectovaginal fistula is an abnormal connection between the rectum and vagina that can cause fecal incontinence, hygiene issues, vaginal or anal irritation, and potentially life-threatening abscesses and fistula recurrence.

A 2021 review in Andrology found that rates of complications following penile inversion vaginoplasty ranged from 20 to 70 percent, with most of the complications occurring during the first four months following the procedure.

In a 2018 Clinical Anatomy review and meta-analysis, researchers reviewed 125 articles to assess neovaginal complications following surgery. After selecting 13 studies that included 1,684 patients, they found a complication rate of 32 percent, with a reoperation rate of 22 percent for non-esthetic reasons.

“For cosmetic surgery, if the complication rate was more than 2 percent to 3 percent, you wouldn’t have any patients,” Dr. Oliva told The Epoch Times. “These are very high percentage rates that we just accept.”

Dr. Oliva said complications with these surgical procedures are very high and he thinks this is why suicide rates are so high.

“People think this is going to solve the problem and it doesn’t,” he said.

A June 2018 paper on postoperative outcomes of 117 patients who underwent vaginoplasty published in the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that 26 percent of patients experienced granulation tissue, 20 percent had intravaginal scarring, and 20 percent experienced prolonged pain.

In a 2017 paper published in The Journal of Urology, researchers followed patients who underwent penile inversion vaginoplasty. Of 330 patients, 95 (29 percent), presented with postoperative complications. Three of those patients developed a rectoneovaginal fistula, and 30 patients required a second operation.

In a 2016 study published in Urology, researchers retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 69 patients who underwent vaginoplasty from January 2005 to January 2015. Although complications during surgery were not reported, 22 percent of patients experienced major postoperative complications.

“We’ve been transitioning adults in the United States since 2007, but where’s the data from gender identity clinics? Why is nothing published in the United States about long-term function? Why do we have nothing published on sexual function? We should be able to follow that and should be studying it and we’re not,” Dr. Oliva told The Epoch Times. 

*  *  *

“Trans people are strong and brave, also if you use a pronoun they don’t like they might kill themselves and it will be your fault” https://t.co/gWbDhoqY9u

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 31, 2024

By John Gallagher of FreightWaves,

The Biden administration acknowledged that its aggressive push to decarbonize trucking will be costly — but that the federal government will be here to help.

“The overarching challenge is aligning the market-driven desire from fleets to adopt zero-emission freight vehicles with the resources required to make it successful, and right now, they cost more,” said Gabe Klein, executive director of the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.

Speaking to NPR before the release on Friday of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new phase-three truck emissions rule, Klein said that “cost parity” has yet to be reached that would make electric trucks as affordable. A new Class 8 diesel truck costs roughly $180,000 compared with up to $400,000 for a battery-electric truck, according to estimates.

“That’s why the federal government is providing subsidies, to bring it down closer to cost parity,” he said. “I will also say the charging infrastructure is of course a limiting factor. So we need to make sure everybody has access, not just the big fleets and companies.”

EPA’s “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3” final rule, which applies to model years 2027 through 2032, avoids 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to the emissions from more than 13 million tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline, according to the agency. EPA also estimated $13 billion in annualized public health benefits.

“In finalizing these emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, EPA is significantly cutting pollution from the hardest working vehicles on the road,” commented EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA’s strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector.”

Timelines loosened

According to the rule’s preamble, the new standards for heavy-duty trucks include less stringent standards for all vehicle categories in model years (MY) 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 than had been originally proposed last year.

In addition, while emissions standards for sleeper cabs in the final rule begin in MY2030 as proposed, they are less stringent for that year and for MY2031. However, they are equivalent in stringency to what EPA had proposed for MY2032, the preamble notes.

While placating environmental groups, much of the trucking firmly opposes the rule despite adjustments made to the final rule.

“The post-2030 targets remain entirely unachievable given the current state of zero-emission technology, the lack of charging infrastructure and restrictions on the power grid,” commented American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear.

He stressed that while the final rule includes lower zero-emission vehicle rates for the initial model years, rates in the later years will drive battery-electric and hydrogen investment and limit other potential zero-emission options.

“While we are disappointed with today’s rule, we will continue to work with EPA to address its shortcomings and advance emission-reduction targets and timelines that are both realistic and durable,” Spear said.

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer called the new rules “unworkable” requirements.

“This administration appears more focused on placating extreme environmental activists who have never been inside a truck than the small business truckers who ensure that Americans have food in their grocery stores and clothes on their backs,” Spencer said.

Daimler throws in support

But not all companies involved in heavy-duty trucking opposed the rule, particularly companies that have been investing heavily in zero-emission technologies, like vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck North America (DTNA). The company had lobbied EPA for less aggressive timelines when the rule was proposed.

“We thank the agency for addressing industry concern about the challenges of the early years of the rule and we remain committed to upholding the spirit of this regulation,” commented DTNA vice president Sean Waters.

“Ultimately, the successful transition of the commercial vehicle industry is dependent on the availability of reliable zero-emission charging and refueling infrastructure and the ability to conduct business at a reasonable cost of ownership,” he added.

Charging availability and cost was questioned by much of the trucking industry, which commissioned a recent study estimating the cost to install charging infrastructure at $1 trillion.

Incentives needed

The Biden administration’s Klein pushed back on cost concerns, however, pointing to incentives provided at the federal level.

“We’ve already invested $253 million through the Department of Transportation — that’s charging and fueling infrastructure grants — just recently,” he said.

“But there’s also a great deal of private sector funding. And really the goal here is to supplement the private sector, not to supplant their funding.” 

Following concerns over research to embed vaccines in produce, the Tennessee Senate has passed a bill which would require any food containing vaccines or vaccine materials to be labeled as pharmaceutical drugs.

The bill, HB 1894, was passed by the Senate in a 23-6 vote on March 28 after the state House passed it 73-22 on March 4. It awaits the governor’s signature.

The bill comes in response to a University of California-Riverside research project looking into whether mRNA which targets pathogens could be implanted into edible plants, which would then be consumed. The research was funded by a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

“You would have to get a prescription for that to make sure that we know how much of the lettuce you have to eat based off of your body type so we don’t under-vaccinate you, which leads to the possibility of the efficacy of the drug being compromised, or we overdose you based off how much lettuce is [eaten],” said Republican state Rep. Scott Cepicky during a House committee meeting in February, WKRN-TV reports.

Cepicky said that the bill, which local media described as a move targeting “vaccine lettuce,” would classify foods modified to act as vaccines, as pharmaceuticals.

“So if you want to consume them you would go to your doctor and get a prescription,” he said.

In a 2021 press release, UC Riverside associate professor of Botany and Plant Sciences, Juan Pablo, said “We are testing this approach with spinach and lettuce and have long-term goals of people growing it in their own gardens,” adding “Farmers could also eventually grow entire fields of it.”

According to Pablo, “Ideally, a single plant would produce enough mRNA to vaccinate a single person.“

Another researcher, Nicole Steinmetz, said in the same release that they planned to use nanoparticles or “plant viruses, for gene delivery to plants.”

When asked by WKRN-TV about the status of the research, a UC Riverside spokesperson said that the project is not yet complete.

“Research into the process of having plant chloroplasts express vaccine chemistry is ongoing. There are no definitive results to report,” said Jules Berinstein after the Tennessee bill was passed.

Democrat Senators oppose

During the debate on the Tennessee Senate Floor, some lawmakers questioned the need for the bill.

“Does the sponsor know of any instances of there being food offered in the state of Tennessee that contains vaccines in some kind of a retail or public forum?” asked state Sen. Heidi Campbell.

Rep. Cepicky hit back, highlighting in February that a Kentucky company has already been “infecting growing tobacco plants with a genetically modified coronavirus” to see if it can produce antibodies for a potential vaccine, adding that the company “can already do this right now.”

Massie sounds the alarm

In 2023, US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) raised concerns over the use of federal money to create “transgenic edible vaccines,” which would transform edible plants such as spinach and lettuce into mRNA vaccine delivery vehicles.

Rep. Massie: “I Think It’s Dangerous to Play God with Our Food” 9/27/2023
There’s a push to create edible vaccines—food products like tomatoes, lettuce, or milk that are genetically modified to have the effects of a vaccination when someone consumes them.
Rep. Thomas Massie… pic.twitter.com/saA0JxZQfB

— Camus (@newstart_2024) March 6, 2024

In September 2023 during a debate over an appropriations bill, Massie highlighted an incident in which an edible vaccine was introduced into a corn crop used to feed pigs in order to mitigate diarrhea. The corn crop, however, became commingled with a soybean crop – contaminating 500,000 bushels that had to be recalled.

“Do we want humans eating vaccines that were grown in corn meant to stop pigs from getting diarrhea? I don’t think we want that to happen. Yet that almost happened, and it could happen,” said Massie. “There is another case where the pollen cross-contaminated another crop of corn, and 155 acres of corn had to be burned. What are the cases where we’re not discovering this? I think it’s dangerous to play God with our food.”

Submitted by Sam Bourgi of CreditNews

The middle class today isn’t what it was even as recently as just a few years ago. After the highest inflation breakout in nearly 50 years, many middle-class families have been priced out of the standard of living that most Americans took for granted not that long ago.

The raging effects of inflation aren’t limited to consumer goods and services but to asset prices as well. In recent years, a growing chorus of politicians and pundits appeared to conclude that homeownership—one of the pillars of the American Dream—is no longer within reach for regular Americans.

To put that theory to the test, Creditnews Research studied the relationship between income distribution and housing costs across the 100 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States.

What we discovered reveals the story of two Americas: one where middle-class families can still qualify for an average home and one where they’ve been priced out entirely.

The good news is there are still pockets of affordability across the country. The bad news is that affordable metros are declining rapidly.

Key findings

• In 2024, the middle class can afford an average home in just 52 of the top 100 metro areas in the United States—a decline from 91 in 2019;

• Those in the lower-middle class are priced out of 93 of the top 100 metro areas, up from just 33 in 2019;

• The most affordable metros for middle-class families are mainly located in the Midwest, Rust Belt, and parts of Texas. The most affordable metros in 2024 are Youngstown, OH; Toledo, OH; McAllen, TX; Scranton, PA; and Wichita, KS;

• The most unaffordable metros for the middle class are mainly concentrated in California and the Tri-State Area—they are San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; and Honolulu, HI;

• The top five metros that, since Covid, have seen the largest increase in housing costs are all in California; they include San Jose, CA; San Diego, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Oxnard, CA.

• Metros that are affordable for middle-class families are in rapid decline. 39 of the 100 most populous metros became unaffordable since Covid alone.

Housing affordability by income tier

There’s no single definition of the middle class, but one of the most go-to benchmarks is Pew Research’s household income percentile ranges for economic classes, which go as follows:

• Lower-middle class: 20th – 40th percentile

• Middle class: 40th – 60th percentile

• Upper-middle class: 60th – 80th percentile

Based on these percentile ranges, America’s “middle class” households fall into three main income tiers:

• Lower-middle class: $30,001—$58,020

• Middle class: $58,021—$94,000

• Upper-middle class: $94,001—$153,000

Affordability is another variable that carries many assumptions and could be approached in multiple ways.

For this particular study, Creditnews Research assessed affordability by calculating the minimum annual income households need to qualify for a mortgage on a typical home in each metro. A home is considered affordable if the monthly mortgage and housing payment doesn’t exceed 28% of a household’s gross income.

Although a middle-class income is essential to broadening one’s access to home financing, it’s not enough to close the gap in the country’s largest markets.

Based on the above criteria, middle-class households can afford an average home in just 52 out of the 100 top metros in 2024.

These 52 metros represent a diverse cross-section of America but are mainly located in the Midwest, Rust Belt, Appalachia, and parts of Texas.

For the lower-middle class, there are only seven affordable housing metros in the top 100—while the upper-middle class can afford homeownership in 87 of the top 100 metros.

As one might expect, the qualifying income and monthly housing costs vary dramatically by city.

In the most affordable cities across the Midwest and Rust Belt, a household income of below $70,000 is more than enough to qualify for a home. But that’s nowhere near enough along the Pacific Coast, Northeast, the Tri-State Area, and even parts of Florida.

In total, 41 out of the 100 metros in the study require a gross annual income of at least $100,000 to qualify for an average home. Most of these areas are accessible to the upper-middle class. But not all. Thirteen metros require a household income of more than $155,000.

The average monthly housing cost across the 100 metros amounts to $2,180, but again, there’s a huge variance between the lower and upper end of the range.

In the most affordable city, homebuyers can expect to pay a mere $942 a month for their mortgage and related costs. On the flip side, the most expensive metro could set you back an eye-popping $9,931.

Two Americas

Today’s housing market is really a tale of two Americas.

The Midwest and parts of the South continue to offer affordable options even for middle class households, whereas the ultra-desirable coastal cities are out of reach even for affluent buyers.

The root cause of this divide is rather straightforward: in large coastal cities, the supply of housing hasn’t kept up with demand as more people flock to those places for work or lifestyle.

In recent years, Americans have been stymied by the largest housing supply shortage in history—a well-documented contributor to record home prices.

That’s on top of a generational spike in mortgage rates, which has priced many average Americans out of the threshold.

Overall, middle-class households have 52 metros in the top 100 to choose from if they are looking for a home priced within their means. The question is whether they’re prepared to move or put down roots in those regions.

Many Americans bemoan the idea of living in the Midwest or smaller southern cities and would prefer the bright lights of San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, or Boston.

Unfortunately, these metros are the last places middle-class Americans should be going to buy a home. In fact, the same is even becoming true for the upper-middle class.

As Creditnews Research found, a total of 11 metros have become unaffordable even for upper middle-class households since Covid. Six of those metros are located on the Pacific Coast and three on the East Coast.

The most affordable metro areas

With few exceptions, the majority of middle-class households (including lower-middle-class families) can decidedly qualify for a home in America’s 10 most affordable metro areas.

Apart from El Paso, Syracuse, and Little Rock—which became out of reach for the lower-middle class—the following metros have held their own on affordability over the past half-decade.

One state that makes several appearances on our most affordable list is Ohio.

This is due in part to the state’s generous homeowner subsidies in the form of grants and tax credits, coupled with ongoing investments in home construction and affordable housing.

Another catalyst has been the low down payment threshold throughout the Buckeye State, which, at $35,250, is outdone only by Iowa and Mississippi.

Gary Painter, Ph.D, real estate professor at Carl H. Lindner College of Business, stated: “Given the relatively robust economy, a young household’s ability to afford a down payment in Cincinnati and other Ohio cities is quite high relative to regions of similar size across the United States.”

The following cities represent the 10 most affordable metros in America, starting on the low end.

1. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA: Youngstown shows up first in our rankings, with a monthly payment below $1,000 ($942) in 2024. To qualify for a typical home, buyers need an income of just over $40,000—well within the range of lower-middle-class and middle-class households. Youngstown’s population has fallen in recent decades but appears to have stabilized; the drop hasn’t been as drastic as peer cities Flint, Michigan, and Gary, Indiana. Housing prices are rising, but poverty in this city surpasses that of the state of Ohio.
2. Toledo, OH: Ohio reappears in our rankings with the Toledo metro claiming the No. 2 spot. With an average monthly payment of $1,130, Toledo’s qualifying income for an average home jumps 20% from Youngstown to roughly $48,500. Average monthly housing costs in this metro soared 78% from pre-Covid (2019) levels of $635 to $1,130 in 2024. Even so, all segments of the middle class should be able to afford a house in this area. Catalysts driving Toledo’s real estate market include reasonable prices and a wide range of job opportunities across manufacturing, healthcare, education, and the public sector.
3. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX: Rounding out the three most affordable metros is McAllen, where residents must earn just below $50,000 in income to qualify for an average home without stressing their budgets. Qualifying income has roughly doubled since 2019 when it was below $25,000. So has the average monthly payment, hitting $1,156 in that stretch. McAllen’s close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico makes it a less expensive alternative for families who prefer to live by the water. McAllen has come a long way from its beginnings as a private ranch in the late 1800s to a standout economy in the Rio Grande Valley. In a speech given in McAllen in 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott touted the state’s massive property tax cuts, which have helped to propel economic development in the region.
4. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA: Scranton takes the fourth spot in our rankings, representing Pennsylvania’s debut on our list. Households must earn a qualifying income of just over $52,000 to afford an average home in this metro and keep costs at 28% of earnings. Monthly housing expenses in 2024 hover at $1,215, a massive 80% jump versus 2019 when they were below $700. But the entire middle class should still be able to afford a house in this metro. Scranton’s housing market has become more competitive of late, with home prices climbing 4% in Q1 2023. Scranton’s population currently hovers at approximately 376,000 but is projected to reach nearly 400,000 by 2031 despite rising property taxes. Scranton is considered among the top metros in the country for economic development in its comp set and has gained a reputation as one of the best places in the U.S. to retire, owing in part to housing options.
5. Wichita, KS: Kansas enters the most affordable housing fray thanks to Wichita, which claims the No. 5 spot. Given Wichita’s qualifying income of $55,243, middle-class households can afford this metro without breaking the bank with monthly payments of roughly $1,300 in 2024. But it’s a far cry from 2019’s qualifying income of below $23,000 and monthly housing costs of only $532. Wichita hasn’t been able to escape the real estate market headwinds of late, which has weighed on deal activity, but economic activity in the state has been growing hand over fist. In Q3 2023, Kansas’s GDP grew by nearly 10%, fueled by a booming farming community.
6. Pittsburgh, PA: The northeast revisits our rankings with Pittsburgh in the No. 6 spot. Pittsburgh’s qualifying income of $55,457 for an average home places it in the same ballpark as the Wichita metro. With a monthly payment of slightly below $1,300, the entire middle class should be able to afford a home in this area. But that doesn’t mean affordability hasn’t deteriorated over the years. Monthly housing costs have soared 66% since 2019 when they were below $800. With approximately 303,000 residents, Pittsburgh’s population is about half of where it was in the 1950s, the collapse of which is aligned with the decline of the country’s steel industry. Home sales in Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, sank 25% between 2021 and 2023 to an all-time low amid the high interest rate and low inventory environments.
7. Akron, OH: Demonstrating its prominence among the most affordable cities, Ohio is back with Akron—the Rubber Capital of the World—snagging the No. 7 spot. Households must earn a qualifying income of $56,743 to afford an average home in this metro, a 44% jump compared with 2019 levels. But with an average monthly payment of just over $1,300, the middle class wouldn’t feel cash strapped owning a home in this area. Akron’s housing demand remained strong even throughout the latest industry downturn, buoyed by an emerging tech hub that makes the city an attractive destination for jobs.
8. El Paso, TX: El Paso lassoed the No. 8 spot in our rankings, strengthening the Southwest’s grip among the most affordable metros. As the first metro in our rankings to exclude the lower-middle class, El Paso’s affordability has been slipping away since Covid. The city’s qualifying income and monthly housing costs have roughly doubled to $58,114 and $1,356, respectively, since the pandemic, making it increasingly difficult to afford. El Paso’s per capita income has been on the rise, a trend that is expected to persist into 2025, with a housing market that’s been fueled of late by out-of-state buyers hunting a bargain of late.
9. Syracuse, NY: As the first metro to represent New York, Syracuse claims the No. 9 spot in our rankings. Syracuse joins El Paso as the second metro where the lower-middle class was priced out since Covid, with the qualifying income soaring from $30,228 to $58,157 in that period. Similarly, the average monthly payment has nearly doubled from about $700 to $1,357 since 2019. But Syracuse’s days among the most affordable metros are probably limited as the housing market continues to draw comparisons to Manhattan and San Francisco. The city has become a hotbed for tech startups and jobs, including the rise of Micron Technology’s semiconductor plant in nearby Clay, NY that’s projected to create 50,000 jobs.
10. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: Rounding out the top 10 most affordable metros is Little Rock, where once again the middle class is getting squeezed. Residents must earn a qualifying income of $58,286 to comfortably afford a home in this area, a whopping 41% increase compared with 2019. Monthly costs have jumped a steeper 69% to $1,360. Even with that sharp rise, Little Rock is affordable enough to make it into the top 10. While affordability has been waning in this metro, the economy is buzzing with job growth as of Q4 2023 exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

The least affordable metro areas

America’s least affordable metro areas won’t come as too much of a shock, with luxurious Pacific Coast metros dominating the rankings.

Half of the metros in this category are located in the state of California. Not to be outdone, Hawaii also makes an appearance, along with a trio of metros on the Eastern seaboard.

America’s middle class is priced completely out of each of these metro areas, including the upper end of the income range at $153,000.

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: San Jose takes first place with a qualifying income of $425,614 just to afford an average home. With an average home price of $1.5 million, the San Jose metro could see some relief from dwindling land on which to build. Surrounded by Silicon Valley, this metro area has been hit by a slow return to offices at tech companies like Zoom, PayPal, and X Corp, threatening to trigger a wave of out-migration and create what’s known as a “donut city” where residents and businesses relocate to the suburbs.
2. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA: It comes as no surprise that the tech capital of California is the country’s second least affordable metro for the middle class. With an average home price of $1.1 million, average monthly payments are just over $7,200, up from $4,679 five years ago. As part of California’s Bay Area, San Francisco has a reputation as one of the country’s most expensive real estate markets. Billions of dollars in investment continue to pour into this high-tech region, making it unlikely that housing prices will retreat anytime soon.
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: Continuing with the California trend, Los Angeles rounds up to the top three least affordable metros. LA is the first city on our list to become unaffordable to the upper-middle class since Covid, with a $112,329 increase in qualifying income to $256,286. LA’s average home price hovers at $935,800, resulting in monthly housing costs of nearly $6,000. LA’s financial district is transforming into high-end apartments due to waning demand for offices.
4. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: With an average home price of $924,365, San Diego is out of reach for every segment of the middle class, including the upper-middle class. Monthly payments for an average home are more than $5,900. Market dynamics don’t appear to be improving. San Diego led the nearly two-dozen cities tracked in the latest Case Shiller rankings, owing to an 11.2% increase in housing prices in the 12-month period ending in January 2024. Despite having a vibrant economy and a pristine climate, the vast majority of families couldn’t make it here.
5. Urban Honolulu, HI: Honolulu rounds out the top five, joining the list of cities that have become too pricey for the upper-middle class. With an average home price of approximately $860,000, very few households outside of the wealthy can afford property here. A one-two punch of a tourism slowdown and recent wildfires have contributed to slower economic growth in Hawaii. But that hasn’t kept real estate values from rising amid strong demand for Honolulu’s beaches, rainforests, and spectacular views.
6. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA: Located in California’s Ventura County, Oxnard takes the No. 6 spot in our rankings. With an average home price of nearly $850,000, monthly payments have soared 77% since 2019 to $5,425. Ventura County has strict land-use rules, pressuring inventory and resulting in a shrinking population, including Oxnard’s middle class, a trend that’s forecast to persist in the coming years.
7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: Representing Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle claims the No. 7 spot in our rankings. This metro’s qualifying income has more than doubled over the past decade and is no longer affordable to the upper-middle class. For everyone else in the middle class, Seattle is simply too rich for household budgets. With an average home price of $719,217, monthly payments are almost $4,600. New residents have been flocking to Seattle—the location of e-commerce giant Amazon’s corporate headquarters—for employment opportunities and income growth.
8. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: The Northeastern city of Boston ranks eighth on our list. Boston’s qualifying income of $181,971 reflects an increase of nearly $80,000 since the pandemic, reserving this metro for high-income households. With an average property price of $664,491, monthly housing costs are now about $4,246, up 77% since 2019. The Boston metro, which extends to Massachusetts cities Cambridge and Newton, plus the neighboring state of New Hampshire, boasts one of the highest in-migration rates among Gen Zers in the country.
9. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA: The New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania metros make the cut as the least affordable areas. With a qualifying income of $173,786, New York became out of reach for even the upper-middle class after the pandemic. With an average home price of $634,651, monthly housing costs have climbed 65% higher since 2019 to $4,055. New York Mayor Eric Adams has made affordable housing a priority in the city, increasing financing for new construction and the preservation of affordable homes by 80% in 2023 year-over-year.
10. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT: Rounding out our top 10 least affordable metros is Bridgeport, CT. This metro, which also extends to Stamford and Norwalk, has a qualifying income of $163,371. With an average home price of almost $600,000, monthly housing costs hover at $3,812. Connecticut has been on the receiving end of an in-migration trend, adding 81,000 residents in 2022. With Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont implementing the biggest income tax deduction that the state has ever seen and lifting a tax credit for low-income workers, the trend is unlikely to reverse anytime soon.

Housing affordability: Pre-Covid vs. 2024

The fact that housing became more expensive after Covid is hardly breaking news. The question is, by how much?

Our analysis shows that average Americans have to earn almost twice as much today compared to pre-Covid to qualify for an average home.

Thanks to the doubling of qualifying income thresholds, 39 out of 100 of America’s most populous metros dropped out of middle-class affordability.

Taking into account lower-middle-class families, that figure balloons to a staggering 60 metro areas.

Perhaps predictably, the metropolitan areas witnessing the sharpest increases in income thresholds and housing expenses since Covid eerily match the 10 most unaffordable metros in 2024.

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: In addition to being the most unaffordable metro in the country for the middle class, San Jose real estate has seen the largest increase since pre-Covid times. Home prices are up a whopping 73% versus 2019 levels. Average monthly payments in this metro are unnervingly close to $10,000 compared with pre-Covid levels of $5,716.
2. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: Not only does San Diego make the top four least affordable metro areas, but it’s also seen one of the biggest spikes since the pandemic. San Diego has experienced a 95% increase in qualifying income since 2019 to $253,157.
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: While Los Angeles was never really affordable for the middle class, since Covid, housing affordability has gone off the deep end. Between 2019 and 2024, housing costs in LA have soared by $112,329. Over that period, average monthly payments have increased by a staggering 78%.
4. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA: San Francisco joins the other major California metros with a massive spike in qualifying income standards since Covid, rising $109,492 since 2019 to $310,000 in 2024. But although residents here command a high income, even the upper-middle class doesn’t make enough to afford the average home.
5. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA: Oxnard is one of several California metros that have become out of reach for even the upper-middle class after Covid. Since the pandemic, qualifying income in this metro has soared almost $101,200, making it unaffordable even for those earning above $150,000.
6. Urban Honolulu, HI: This Hawaii metro experienced a 64% jump in qualifying income since 2019 to $235,543. Over the past half-decade, Honolulu real estate has priced out even the upper-middle class with monthly payments nearing $5,500.
7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: Since the pandemic, this metro’s qualifying income has increased by $88,253 to $196,971, pricing America’s entire middle class out of the Seattle market.
8. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: Known for its red-hot housing market, this New England city has become unaffordable for the middle-class homebuyer. In fact, even the upper-middle class has been priced out since Covid. Since the pandemic, Boston’s qualifying income has increased by $88,253 to $196,971.
9. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT: Bridgeport doesn’t have the name recognition as other major metros on the list, but its affordability crisis has worsened since Covid. The qualifying income for an average home has increased by more than $77,400 since 2019. Monthly housing costs are up a massive 90% from pre-Covid levels.
10. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: Due to large population growth and close proximity to LA, Riverside’s housing market has soared over the past half-decade. Since 2019, buyers need to earn $75,114 more to qualify for an average home in this metro.

Can homeownership become more attainable?

This study serves as yet another piece of evidence that America’s middle class isn’t what it once was—certainly from a homeownership point of view.

In previous generations, being able to own a home was almost taken for granted. Not anymore. And considering the steep drop in affordability since Covid alone, housing is unlikely to become more attainable anytime soon.

The good news is that the housing affordability crisis hasn’t gone unnoticed.

The issue is top of mind at the White House, with the Biden administration proposing tax credits and other home buying initiatives to make it easier for the middle class to enter the market.

Some builders are also set to convert empty office space into residential units—a promising, albeit limited, plan to improve housing access.

In the meantime, a growing number of metro areas are becoming out of reach for middle-class homeowners—thanks to elevated mortgage rates, sky-high house prices, and scarce inventory.

When, or if, housing could become more attainable is yet to be seen.

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Russia is continuing to make arrests of alleged conspirators involved in the March 22 terror attack on Crocus City Hall in a Moscow suburb which left at least 140 dead and hundreds injured and wounded.

In addition to the four gunmen who were quickly detained, dozens of other alleged plotters have been rounded up amid an ongoing investigation. The Kremlin says it is probing Ukrainian and potential US links to the deadly attack. 

Moscow previously announced “substantial evidence” of the attackers’ financial links to Ukraine involving cryptocurrency transfers. President Putin has acknowledged that ‘Islamic extremists’ were behind it, yet said some other entity or even state was likely directing them.

In fresh statements translated to English in Russian state media, Putin said of the terrorists, “They’re doing anything for money, not guided by any religious or political considerations, only financial ones.” He added that “any information can be easily bought and sold” in such a market. He vowed “We will definitely get them” — in apparent reference to those who ultimately masterminded the plot.

Washington has vehemently rejected any accusations against either Ukraine or the US or Western governments. Instead, it says the Biden White House tried to warn Russian authorities.

However, on Tuesday Russia’s spy chief, FSB head Sergei Naryshkin stated that US warnings were too broad and ambiguous. There wasn’t enough info to prevent any attack, he said.

“The Federal Security Service [FSB] received some information from the U.S. intelligence services that such a thing was unfortunately possible,” Naryshkin told a press briefing. “But as our Russian colleagues said, the information was too general and did not allow us to fully identify those who committed this terrible crime,” he was cited by Interfax as saying.

Putin in his Tuesday comments also referenced the “mercenary terrorist attacks” which are “a weapon that is being used against Russia” but that in the end it will be a “double-edged weapon” blowing back on those who use it. 

This is really worth sharing: a top Chinese international relations scholar (Ma Xiaolin, director of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies at Zhejiang International Studies University) shares his view on why ISIS is now targeting geopolitical enemies of the West.

I translated…

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 2, 2024

The White House meanwhile is not buying any of this. Last week the Biden administration rejected these Russian claims as “nonsense” and said it was clear that the Islamic State was “solely responsible”. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby in a Thursday briefing reiterated that Washington had passed info on to Moscow that a terror attack was imminent. Kirby described this as delivered in the form of a “written warning”. The US Embassy in Moscow also issued a public alert calling on Americans to avoid large public venues and gatherings.

“It is abundantly clear that ISIS (Islamic State) was solely responsible for the horrific attack in Moscow last week. In fact, the United States tried to help prevent this terrorist attack and the Kremlin knows this,” Kirby said. But this is what the Kremlin is now dismissing as too vague.