Butler Shooting
A DHS Inspector General report released July 2 stated that the Secret Service did not receive 102 radio transmissions from local law enforcement regarding a suspicious person prior to the July 13, 2024, shooting at Trump’s Butler rally. The service received five phone calls and three texts, but did not alert the protective detail. The counter-drone system was inoperable, and classified intelligence was not shared with the Pittsburgh field office. The Secret Service accepted all seven recommendations in the report.
Geopolitics
The New York Times reported that US officials warned Iran that Israel might try to assassinate its top negotiators. Netanyahu’s office described the report as false.
Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones at Kyiv in an 11-hour attack, resulting in at least 20 deaths and damage to residential buildings, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Poland scrambled fighters in response.
The Telegraph and Polish media reported that the US informed Warsaw of possible Russian provocations to test NATO. Some social media accounts questioned the reports due to a lack of corroborating evidence.
Artificial Intelligence
Samsung informed customers of an approximate 20% increase in average DRAM prices for the third quarter, according to Shanghai’s Yicai. South Korea aims to double memory output. Apple is sourcing DRAM from Chinese suppliers, and prices for Xbox and PlayStation consoles have risen. Many attribute rising prices to AI demand, although a federal lawsuit accused Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron of coordinating to restrict DRAM supply and inflate prices.
Turning to data centers, Blackstone sold its interests in three Northern Virginia data centers to Digital Realty Trust for $3.5 billion, consisting of $1.2 billion in cash and $2.3 billion in shares. The transaction involves an 80% stake in two 96-megawatt facilities in Manassas and a 50% stake in a 96-megawatt site in Sterling.
Meanwhile, the Cheyenne, Wyoming Board of Public Utilities disclosed that Meta, through Goat LLC, released contaminants into the city’s wastewater treatment system in late February. Public notice occurred last week, and the data center was identified this week, after the Cheyenne City Council approved new data center projects last month.
Energy
European powers have conceded that ships transiting Hormuz will pay fees to Iran and Oman, according to Bloomberg. Iran may charge approximately $2 million per ship. Indirect talks between Iran and the US in Qatar are paused. Relatedly, several ships reversed course in the Strait near the Omani coast, only to resume transit along northern routes closer to Iran.
Meanwhile, although Iran received a 60-day sanctions waiver under the Trump MOU, over 58 million barrels of Iranian crude and condensate were at sea without a clear destination as of July 1. Chinese refiners have reduced operations, and China’s May crude imports fell about 30% year-on-year.
In a post about current oil prices, Art Berman stated that oil markets function as complex adaptive systems. He argues that WTI prices declined despite disruptions at Hormuz and falling inventories because the market had priced in a war premium earlier. Comparative inventory data show that the situation differed from the Ukraine war period.
Speaking of which, Ukraine conducted a drone strike on oil infrastructure near St. Petersburg, targeting the port of Vysotsk in its continued assault on Russian energy infrastructure.
Back in the US, Henrico County, Virginia, directed county and school employees to reduce electricity use as rates increased 25% on July 1. PJM issued an emergency alert on Friday for demand response due to high demand nearing record levels. Spot prices in some zones exceeded $2,500 per megawatt-hour. No widespread outages occurred despite the measures.
Sources
Meta’s Spill Hidden to Greenlight Cheyenne Data Centers
This was done to suppress information when the Cheyenne City Council voted on data centers last month.
Secret Service Missed 102 Warnings Before Trump Butler Shooting: Report
The U.S. Secret Service missed multiple opportunities to detect, prevent, and disrupt the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, including missing more than 102 radio transmissions warning of a suspicious person, a Department of Homeland Security report concluded.
Oil Markets: Order Without Equilibrium
Comparative inventory reveals order without equilibrium.
Source | Submitted by Karl Klein
Iran’s Oil Glut: Tankers Idle as China’s Slump Kills Demand
China’s economy is in far worse shape than telegraphed, and as a result it does not need Iranian oil
Europe Capitulates to Iran-Oman Hormuz Fees
Some leading European powers now accept that ships transiting the vital Strait of Hormuz will have to pay fees to Iran and Oman, according to people familiar with the matter.
Russia Strikes Kyiv in Record 11-Hour Barrage After Months of Ukrainian Drone Hits on Its Energy Sites
The attack on Kyiv lasted more than 11 hours and came in several waves starting with a drone strike on Kyiv’s historic quarter, setting off a fire in a hotel in the city center.
NYT Claims US Warned Iran of Israeli Hits on Negotiators; Israel Calls It Fake News
As usual, The New York Times’ latest story about Israel and the Iranian negotiators is fake news. A complete fabrication of reality,
Blackstone Bails on Data Center Bet, Leaving Megaproject in Doubt
Now, it may be pulling a page from its old, pre-Lehman playbook by calling the top in yet another commercial real estate segment: data centers.
Source | Submitted by Rodster
Henrico’s Data Center Boom Forces Schools to Dim the Lights
Henrico County is a community of more than 350,000 people in eastern Virginia just outside of Richmond. It also hosts 37 data centers and there are plans to build 17 more, including plans to convert hundreds of acres of Civil War battlefields into data centers.
Source | Submitted by Shplad
PJM Triggers Emergency Power Cuts as Eastern Grid Nears Record Demand
U.S. power grid operator PJM, the nation’s largest covering much of the East Coast and Midwest, on Friday ordered customers in emergency electricity-reduction programs to curb their use, as it battled generator outages, overloaded transmission lines and surging air-conditioning demand during a prolonged heat wave.
Source | Submitted by RandomMike
Samsung’s 20% DRAM Hike Deepens the Memory Squeeze
Samsung plans to raise the average selling price of its DRAM by 20% in the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter.
Ships U-Turn at Hormuz, Shift to Iran-Approved Routes
At least eight ships attempting to exit the Persian Gulf abruptly reversed course near the critical waterway.
Russia’s Alleged Poland Provocation Plot: US Intel or Polish Propaganda?
These reports are rife with wild speculation, however, and thus could be standard wartime propaganda.
Ukraine Drones Strike St. Petersburg Oil Ports in 850km Raid
The distance from Ukraine’s state border is more than 850 kilometers.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: QubbleOfficial, BizToc, rybar_mena, and cristian_xrpl.
