Economy
A broad-based selloff across commodities occurred, with silver falling roughly 5% after a 6% drop the prior day, copper sliding nearly 3%, and platinum and palladium dropping around 5%. Gold broke below $4,000, oil fell 4.6% to sub-$70, and the dollar rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 10 basis points while the 2-year fell four, producing a bull flattener. New home sales fell 7.3% month-over-month against expectations of a 3.2% gain.
Gold’s drop below $4,000 has been attributed by Bloomberg and ING analysts to comments from new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh emphasizing price stability. The metal is down 30% from January highs near $5,600. Goldman Sachs cut its year-end forecast by $500 to $4,900, and Deutsche Bank trimmed its Q4 estimate 17%, though both noted continued strong central-bank demand. Some analysts suggest rate cuts could still arrive by September rather than a purely hawkish path.
US Politics
Republican members of Congress are split over the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID at the polls. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and House conservatives said they will block all rule votes until the Senate advances the bill. President Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and said he would not sign it until SAVE passes. However, the housing bill, which also bars a Fed CBDC through 2030, passed both chambers by veto-proof margins.
Relatedly, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, an Obama appointee, permanently blocked most of Trump’s Executive Order 14248, which had required documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Casper ruled that the Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections” and that the order violated the separation of powers. The DOJ will appeal. Supporters of the ruling frame it as upholding state and congressional authority over elections.
In other news, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a Sixth Circuit ruling against the Pung family of Michigan in Pung v. Isabella County and returned the home-equity-theft case for further review. The Court held that an auction price from a fairly conducted sale satisfies the Constitution’s just-compensation requirement. The justices left open whether Isabella County’s auction was fair after it seized a home assessed at nearly $200,000 over a disputed $2,242 tax bill and sold it for $76,000. Justices Thomas and Gorsuch wrote that the county’s process “likely” violated the Constitution. Legal commentator Ilya Somin described the ruling as a terrible takings decision.
Lastly, the latest undercover video from James O’Keefe’s O’Keefe Media Group shows Clark County School District English and theater teacher Christopher Segal of Las Vegas stating on hidden camera that he coaches middle school students on “coming out as Queer,” uses student-chosen names without parental notification, and said, “everyone should be a little gay.” Segal also said concerned parents should not “come after me because I support them,” and he expressed bewilderment at black students who support President Trump. The Clark County School District stated that it expects all employees to follow district policies.
Iran War
The Strait of Hormuz saw increased traffic under a new UN International Maritime Organization framework coordinated with Iran, Oman, the U.S., and regional states. Energy Secretary Wright said roughly 72 ships transited in 24 hours. Tanker rates rose, with one VLCC booked at 897% of the benchmark. Secretary Rubio voiced “zero support” for Iranian Hormuz tolls, while the IRGC warned non-complying ships “will be dealt with.”
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that a “very large percentage” of up to $50 billion in unfrozen Iranian assets routed through Qatar must purchase U.S. foodstuffs and medicine. Trump said the funds would go “largely to our farmers.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected the framing, and Ambassador Ali Bahreini said “Iran is the only country who decides what to do with those assets.” Iranian officials stated that purchases would follow market prices and quality, with no restrictions on asset use.
Lastly, CNN reports the pilot of a U.S. F-15 downed over Iran during the April bombing campaign described Iranian drones flying in a “jellyfish” formation. If true, this would suggest that Iranian drone capabilities far surpass current assessments. Analysts caution the pilot was concussed during ejection.
Energy
After the UAE exited OPEC in April, Iraq is threatening to also leave unless its quota is raised. Iraq aims to pump 7 million bpd, and oil prices fell on the report. However, some reports indicate the threat is primarily a leverage tactic rather than an imminent exit.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s largest oil refinery, operated by Gazprom Neft, will be offline at least six months following Ukrainian drone strikes, Reuters sources say. The facility processed 11.6 million tons of crude in 2024. Russia has requested 50,000 tonnes of gasoline from Kazakhstan, and Deputy PM Alexander Novak is weighing a diesel export ban.
Geopolitics
European rearmament efforts face limits from Chinese controls on critical raw materials, Nikkei reports. China accounts for at least 70% of global mining or refining for 17 of the EU’s 34 critical materials, eight of which are now under Chinese export controls. EUISS analyst Joris Teer said China is “pulling the rug out from under Europe’s rearmament efforts.” The EU’s 2024 Critical Raw Materials Act sets nonbinding 2030 targets, and the bloc joined the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative. Analysts note that full decoupling of European military supply chains from China is unlikely in the short term, with de-risking as the realistic path.
Similarly, a RealClearInvestigations review found U.S. dependence on Chinese supply chains largely unchanged six years after COVID. China controls over 60% of rare earth production and nearly 90% of refining, two-thirds of global PCB fabrication, and roughly 90% of key starting materials for generic drug APIs. USCC member Leland Miller cited market-driven thinking and private-sector resistance to transparency requirements. Tariffs and the DoW Office of Strategic Capital initiatives have been implemented.
In other news, an independent UN inquiry published Tuesday concluded that Israeli forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza, engaged in sexual abuse and torture of minors in detention, and produced degrading imagery of Palestinian boys. Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said evidence shows children have been “deliberately targeted and killed.” The Commission found these actions amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Israeli officials rejected the report as a libelous sham and biased.
Sources
O’Keefe Exposes Teacher Bragging He Pushes ‘Everyone Should Be A Little Gay’ on Kids
Everyone should be a little gay, everybody.
Supreme Court Revives Michigan Family’s Challenge to County’s Tax Sale Heist
“What Isabella County did to the Pungs was wrong, and, on my initial view, likely unconstitutional.”
Source | Submitted by PhilH
George Gammon: Commodities Crash Exposes Economic Slowdown, Not Fed Hike Hype
When you see the dollar ripping and when you see rates tanking and when you see silver and copper selling off and when you see oil selling off that that usually isn’t a sign that the economy is jamming you usually that ain’t good.
Source | Submitted by Friedrichs_teeth
Warsh’s Hawkish Pivot Crushes Gold’s Debasement Trade Below $4000
“The primary driver behind gold’s recent decline has been a significant repricing of interest-rate expectations,” Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING Groep NV wrote in a note Wednesday.
Source | Submitted by nickythec
China’s Rare Earth Grip Stalls EU Rearmament Ambitions
China is in the process of pulling the rug out from under Europe’s rearmament efforts,
America’s Risky Reliance on Chinese Supply Chains Endures
America’s effort to reduce dependence on China in pivotal sectors has been slow and faces a slew of challenges.
US Insists on Controlling Iran’s Unfrozen Billions for American Farmers Only
The money that we lift is going to go to our farmers, largely to our farmers.
Hormuz Logjam Cracks as UN Corridor Opens, Tanker Rates Spike Ninefold
Ships have already begun to pass under the plan,
US Pilot Calls Iranian Drone Swarm ‘Real Alien Shit’ in Jellyfish Formation
“Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs. Real alien sh*t.”
Moscow Refinery Shut for Six Months After Ukrainian Drone Strikes
“Repairs will take at least six months,” one source said, describing the extent of the damage at the Moscow Oil Refinery.
GOP Fractures Deepen as Luna Freezes House and Cassidy “Brothers” Trump Over SAVE Act
The Republican Party’s long-simmering tensions over election integrity exploded into open warfare on Wednesday, with chaos breaking out simultaneously in the House and Senate – and President Trump caught in the middle of both.
Obama Judge Blocks Trump’s Citizen-Voting Safeguard
A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.
UN Report Alleges Israeli Targeting of Gaza Children
The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces.
OPEC’s Crumbling Cartel: Iraq Threatens Exit Over Quotas
If Iraq follows, OPEC’s grip on supply is finished.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: Clark County School District, Ilya Somin, Sen. Mark Kelly, ABC News, The Guardian, @DrGiladNoam, @IsraelinGeneva, altsexybaldcapt, volkova_ma57183, TaliNewsWire, Meduza, @Globalwatchh, Davo0820, @DSD_Kings, @KCLSecurity, @warstudies.
by rodster 
