Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

LAKE VILLAGE, Ark.—On a breezy day, sun and shadow dance across Mencer farms, turning it into a patchwork of green in the fertile Arkansas Delta.

It is humid here in the deep South, where the clock seems to run slower and the temperature hotter than in other places.

Joe Mencer, owner of Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Lake Village is a small town sitting along Lake Chicot, an abandoned channel of the Mississippi River. Over thousands of years, flooding deposited rich alluvial soil, making it ideal for crops such as rice, cotton, soybeans, and corn.

As a child, William Mencer’s grandfather handed him a cowboy hat and a garden hoe to dig up the pigweeds growing between the crop rows.

The 31-year-old farmer remembers spending long, sweltering days alongside the farmworkers, his hands growing rough and calloused with the effort.

“So I learned, you know, what it was like for these workers,” he told The Epoch Times.

He vowed to escape the sweat and toil of the fields by going to law school and working in an office. But the family farm drew him back like a love song.

Now he is partnering with his father, Joe Mencer, to keep the farm afloat with temporary agriculture workers through the H-2A visa program.

The fourth-generation family farm, which costs $4 million per year to operate, includes 6,000 acres that they own and lease.

While some may claim agriculture needs illegal immigrants to pick crops and work the fields, Joe Mencer told The Epoch Times that they’ve never had an illegal immigrant come looking for work.

They can’t get anyone local to work either, meaning that if they didn’t have the guest farm workers, they couldn’t stay in business.

What Is the H-2A Visa?

It costs more to bring in temporary legal workers than it would if they could find enough people locally to work. But without temporary migrant workers, William Mencer said local farms would go bust, affecting the nation’s food security.

The process has become much more complex since the Mencers began using the guest worker program back in the 1980s.

So much so that the younger Mencer started a small law practice helping other farmers obtain the labor they sorely needed.

He also shares his knowledge with other farmers as a member of the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

The process of hiring workers through the program, sometimes called a guest worker program, starts early in the year for the Mencer family.

William Mencer, who works on his fourth-generation family farm, at Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025. He partners with his father to keep the farm running with the help of temporary agricultural workers through the H-2A visa program. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

The paperwork needs to be filed 60 to 75 days before their start date, which is mid- to late-February, he said.

It costs as much as $5,000 to bring in several guest workers from Mexico to the United States, he said, noting that the cost doesn’t include the housing and transportation provided to the workers.

Most return home in mid-December, but they are eligible to stay for up to three years in certain situations when agricultural work is available.

The program requires the Mencers to advertise their farm jobs locally before they can be given to guest workers.

Joe Mencer, 65, noted that the rules call for him to fire any foreign worker he’s brought over if an American shows up and wants the job.

Tangled in Red Tape

The process to petition for workers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service is antiquated, with all communications taking place via mail, according to William Mencer.

The government does not offer online services, email, or a phone number. If there’s a problem, then the farm’s labor source is jeopardized because of the lack of communication, he said.

“Sometimes things get lost in the mail. You know, literally,” he said.

One of his client’s petition paperwork didn’t arrive in the mail. So they filed a claim for the lost package and resubmitted the paperwork.

This time, the paperwork made it to the Dallas office, but the postal carrier found the original package and shipped it, too.

With both petitions filed with the government, it almost took an act of Congress to clear it up.

The younger Mencer sent a letter explaining what happened with the evidence to the government officials, just like he would in court, but the office didn’t respond.

He enlisted the help of his congressman to clear things up. By the time it was all done, his client was behind by a month in getting guest workers.

It makes him wonder if the difficulty and red tape is “by design.”

Joe Mencer, owner of Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025. The Mencer family began using the H-2A visa program in the 1980s to bring in foreign workers. The program, often called the guest worker program, requires employers to first advertise farm jobs locally before hiring foreign labor. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

The workers are so important that the Mencers keep them busy even when the weather is bad, although it doesn’t help their bottom line.

When there’s no field work, they cut firewood for use in the winter months.

Joe Mencer said he realized a few years back that his son’s law degree would be helpful on the farm, especially given the increasing complexity of the H2A visa program.

Guest Worker Success

The Mencers said their farm couldn’t operate without H-2A visa workers, although the labor cost is higher than using local workers.

Farmers’ margins are already slim because of increased production costs for fertilizer, herbicides, seed, and fuel.

José Mondragon, who started as an H-2A visa worker, is now a green-card holder. He has worked for the Mencer family for nearly 30 years.

Others, such as Gabino Mondragon (no relation to José Mondragon) are H-2A visa holders who have only been working at the farm for a few years.

José Mondragon lives with his wife in a little house on the farm surrounded by flowers and trees. The 57-year-old has deep roots in the land, even serving as a pallbearer when Joe Mencer’s father passed away.

In late April, he operated a self-driving orange Case Magnum row crop tractor, which plowed the earth between the corn rows to improve irrigation.

José Mondragon said he’s seen American workers quit after two or three months, long before the crops are harvested in the fall. The lack of local workers can open the door for temporary visa workers, which is good for everyone, he said.

“The people [are] asking us if we have some opportunities to come with my boss, and we say we will ask him,” he said.

José Mondragon said some people come to the United States illegally because they get into trouble with the law back home or to escape the cartels. Others come to make more money to help support their families in their native countries.

Workers from Mexico make $14.83 per hour on the Mencer farm as legal workers, with the wage set by the government for each state.

Green card holder Jose Delores Mondragon operates a tractor at Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025.

José Mondragon said human smugglers, known as coyotes, charge people big money to cross the southern border illegally.

Gabino Mondragon has been working at the Mencer farm on a guest visa for two years. He is experienced at running a spreader for nitrogen fertilizer for corn. One truckload of fertilizer can cost $20,000, according to William Mencer, so having a skilled operator is critical.

Gabino Mondragon believes that more people in Mexico would like to apply for an H-2A visa. Still, if they are caught coming into America illegally, they won’t be eligible unless they get a waiver. It would depend on their record.

The Mencers brought Gabino Mondragon’s family over on an H-4 visa so they could live close by while he worked.

The H-4 nonimmigrant visa allows the spouse and unmarried children younger than 21 years of age to accompany the primary visa holder to the United States.

It’s also an excellent opportunity for Gabino Mondragon’s family because his children are going to school and learning English.

“If our people are happy, it just reinforces that it’s a good thing for everybody,” William Mencer said.

Hanging by a Thread

The high cost of labor, diesel, and chemicals is making it extremely difficult for family farms to stay in business, according to William Mencer.

“We’ve been in four or five really bad years now,” he said.

Some farmers are faced with losing their farms to foreclosure by banks over crop production loans, finding a different line of work, or selling out.

Read the rest here...

Via Middle East Eye 

Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned the US against assassinating President Ahmed al-Sharaa before the new Syrian leader met with President Donald Trump, a US senator said on Thursday.

The remarkable statement by a US senator reveals the deep hostility toward Sharaa in some circles of the Trump administration. It reaffirms Trump's own statements that he has been lobbied directly by foreign leaders to give Sharaa a chance, while his own advisors are skeptical. 

"I have been concerned by some rumors that I have heard in…some foreign policy circles of the administration that one option that’s been suggested is assassinating the new leader of the Syrian government, Ahmed al-Sharaa," Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a Senate hearing on Thursday.

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, via AP

According to Shaheen, Jordan’s King Abdullah II heard about the alleged discussions to assassinate Sharaa and warned against it.

“One of the things that was pointed out to us by King Abdullah was that a change in leadership of that kind would create an all-out civil war in Syria. That would not be good to take advantage of the opportunity we have to move that country forward,” Shaheen said.

Shaheen met with King Abdullah in Washington, DC, in May, suggesting that those discussions may have taken place just before Trump cancelled sanctions on Syria and met Sharaa. Shaheen made the remarks during her questioning of Joel Rayburn, Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of state for the Near East, the top Middle East position in the State Department.

The admission by Shaheen is remarkable, given the events of this week. Trump surprised his own senior officials and Israel by announcing he was lifting all sanctions on Syria. Trump then held a meeting with Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One after the meeting, Trump showered praise on Sharaa, saying he was a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter”.

Asked to comment on the assassination "option", Rayburn replied, “I’m not familiar with efforts like that, but that's clearly not in line with the president's intention…or his description of Sharaa in the past couple of days.”

Blindsided

Trump’s decision to remove all US sanctions on Syria, going back to 1979, was met with thunderous applause in Riyadh, but has annoyed members of the US government. Some in the US State Department who have advocated for sanctions relief also felt sidelined.

It must have been a tense meeting yesterday in Damascus between HTS chief Jolani and the head of Iraqi intelligence. Especially for the Iraqi delegation a hard pill to swallow as Jolani before his time in Syria was in Iraq with Zarqawi blowing up Iraqis. pic.twitter.com/mojl2jTmEd

— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) December 27, 2024

Just a few days before the announcement, the State Department’s Syrian advisors were briefing foreign counterparts that the Trump administration was set to keep sanctions on the new government in Damascus, one regional official told Middle East Eye.

Meanwhile, hardline members of Trump’s National Security Council have told counterparts privately that they would try to drag out the sanctions relief process to obtain concessions from Sharaa, one current and one former US official told MEE.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy warned on Thursday about members of Trump’s administration working to “undermine” his decision. Rayburn’s hearing was notable because he was seen as hard line on Syria when he served as envoy to the country during Trump’s first term in office.

“I support the President’s goals and his initiative as he laid out,” Rayburn said. “It offers a golden opportunity to turn the page…the president is taking a bold move…he has expectations.”

The White House says it wants Sharaa to expel Palestinian fighters and foreign fighters from Syria, and combat the Islamic State militant group. Trump also said he discussed Syria normalizing ties with Israel. "I told him, 'I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do," Trump said, according to a White House pool report.

Sharaa was the commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, an Islamist group which toppled the decades-long Assad dynasty in December 2024. Sharaa participated in the Iraq insurgency after the US’s 2003 invasion and served time in a US prison. He once pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

The Biden administration removed a $10m bounty on Sharaa's head in early 2025, but he is still designated a "global terrorist". That designation is likely to be removed now, given Trump's order, experts say. 

Sharaa’s closest foreign ally is Turkey, but his country has also been moving towards the Gulf states. On Tuesday, Trump told the world he was asked to remove sanctions and had two advocates to credit, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

The UAE has been holding indirect talks between Israel and Syria to de-escalate tensions. Israel has been striking Syria for months and occupies a swath of southwestern Syria. The Trump administration lobbied Israel and Turkey to enter deconfliction talks in Syria earlier this year.

Ali al-Rifai, director of public relations in Syria's information ministry, was asked by Kan News after Trump’s announcment about the prospect of his country joining the Abraham Accords, the agreement curated by Trump in 2020 that saw a number of Arab countries recognise Israel. “Peace with everyone, without exception,” he responded.

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

In 1856, 18-year-old chemist William Henry Perkin was experimenting with coal tar-derived compounds in a crude laboratory in his attic.

His teacher, August Wilhelm von Hofmann, had published a hypothesis on how it might be possible to make a prized malaria drug using chemicals from coal tar, and as his assistant, Perkin was hoping that he would be the one to discover it.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

The experiment was a failure. Rather than the prized drug, Perkin created a thick brown sludge. However, when he went to wash out the beakers with alcohol, it left behind a bright purple residue.

The residue became the world’s first-ever mauve synthetic dye.

Before the invention of synthetic dyes, people obtained dyes through organic materials such as plants, clay, minerals, or certain animals such as insects and squid.

Natural dyes such as those from clay tended to fade quickly, and those that were long-lasting, such as natural indigo dyes, required an arduous extraction process that made them expensive.

However, Perkin’s mauve dye was stable and easy to make.

Mauve dye became an instant hit in the UK and globally. Consumers were seized by “mauve measles.” Everyone wanted a piece of it, including Queen Victoria, a fashion icon at the time who ordered mauve gowns, hats, and gloves.

Perkin’s discovery and commercial success prompted chemists in Europe to find more dyes in coal tar; magenta was discovered in 1858, methyl violet in 1861, and Bismarck brown in 1863.

Synthetic dyes would soon be added to everything—clothing, plastics, wood, and food.

The rapid innovation was not without consequences. Many dyes were found to be harmful within decades of discovery. More than a century later, the United States recently announced the removal of synthetic dyes from food.

Dyes in Food

For centuries, people have colored food to make it appear more appealing. Butter, for example, is not always yellow. Depending on the cattle feed, breed, and period of lactation, the color of butter can fluctuate seasonally, from bright yellow in the summer to pale white in the winter.

“Dairy farmers colored butter with carrot juice and extracts of plant seeds, called annatto, to give them a uniform yellow all year round,” Ai Hisano, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo specializing in cultural and business history, wrote in the Business History Review.

Butter is made at a factory in a biological treatment plant in Albertville, France, on April 26, 2016 (L); Butter melts on toast. Jean-Pierre clatot/AFP via Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images

Natural colors, unlike artificial ones, are susceptible to changing pH, temperature, and moisture. They can change in hue and intensity, and yellows can become pale.

The practice of mass coloring and striving for uniformity likely emerged as a result of industrialization in the late 19th century, when packaged and processed foods became widely available, according to Hisano.

“Mass production and industrialization required easier, more convenient ways of making food, and using coal-tar dyes was one of the solutions for creating more standardized food products,” Hisano told The Epoch Times.

Since packaged foods lose freshness, they may lose color or look less natural. So previously, some companies would add compounds such as potassium nitrate and sodium sulfites to products such as meats to preserve their color. These compounds were relatively harmless.

More lurid examples include toxic metals such as lead used to color cheese and candies. Copper arsenate was added to pickles and old tea to make them look green and fresh, and reports of deaths resulted from lead and copper adulteration.

Dye companies started producing synthetic food dyes in the 1870s. Food regulation began in the 1880s. The Bureau of Chemistry, a branch of the Agriculture Department that would later become the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), looked into food adulteration and modification.

Dairy products such as butter and cheese were the first foods authorized by the federal government for artificial coloring.

Just as synthetic food dyes are a prime target of current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, they weren’t popular with Bureau of Chemistry head Harvey Wiley, who wrote in 1907, “All such dyeing materials are reprehensible, both on account of the danger to health and deception.”

Despite Wiley’s criticisms, by the time his book “Foods and Their Adulteration” was written, practically all the butter on the market was artificially colored.

“The object of coloring butter is, undoubtedly, to make it appear in the eyes of the consumer better than it really is, and to this extent can only be regarded as an attempt to deceive,” Wiley wrote, arguing that if the cows were properly fed during winter, they would naturally produce butter of the appealing yellow shade.

“The natural tint of butter is as much more attractive than the artificial as any natural color is superior to the artificial.”

The FDA

The previous year, in 1906, Congress passed the Food and Drugs Act, prohibiting the use of poisonous or dangerous colors in food. The FDA was formed on the same day the bill was made into law.

After the prohibition, the FDA approved seven synthetic food dyes—most of which would be banned in the 1950s after new animal studies indicated their toxic effects.

However, the FDA has always given greater scrutiny to synthetic dyes than to natural ones. Synthetic food dyes must be given an FDA certification before they can be used, but there is no requirement for natural dyes. While the FDA regulates synthetic dyes as a food additive, natural dyes can be regulated as generally recognized as safe, which is a less stringent authorization procedure.

In 1938, new laws were passed requiring all food dyes, whether synthetic or natural, to be listed on product labels.

By the 1950s, as oil and gas replaced coal as the main sources of energy, food dyes were no longer made with coal tar derivatives; they were made with petroleum-based compounds instead.

These new petroleum-based food dyes are considered very similar in composition and chemistry to their earlier coal tar counterparts, food scientist Bryan Quoc Le told The Epoch Times.

“Petroleum is cheaper, safer, and available in greater quantities,” he said.

The use of synthetic food dyes has been steadily increasing every decade. Data based on FDA dye certification suggest that food dye consumption has increased fivefold since 1955.

A 2016 study estimated that more than 40 percent of grocery store products that were marketed to children contain artificial colors.

Many packaged snacks contain synthetic food dyes. Scott Olson/Getty Images, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Cancer Concern

By the time Wiley became the first head commissioner of the FDA, experts were in contention over which food dye was riskier than the other. Over the following decades, dyes that were initially approved were gradually whittled down to the six remaining dyes of today.

In 1950, many children fell ill after eating Halloween candy containing Orange No. 1, a synthetic food dye. Rep. James Delaney (D-N.Y.) began holding hearings that prompted the FDA to reevaluate all approved color additives.

The hearing also led to the passing of the Delaney Clause, which prohibits the FDA from approving any food additive that can cause cancer in either humans or animals.

Orange No. 1 and several other approved dyes were removed after evidence of animal carcinogenicity.

The Delaney Clause was what prompted the removal of Red No. 3 in January under the Trump administration.

Professor Lorne Hofseth, director of the Center for Colon Cancer Research and associate dean for research in the College of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina, is one of the few researchers in the United States studying the health effects of synthetic food dyes.

These dyes are xenobiotics, which are substances that are foreign to the human body, and “anything foreign to your body will cause an immune reaction—it just will,” he told The Epoch Times.

“So if you’re consuming these synthetic food diets from childhood to your adulthood, over years and years and years and years, that’s going to cause a low-grade, chronic inflammation.”

Hofseth has tested the effects of food dyes by sprinkling red, yellow, and blue food dyes on cells in his laboratory and observed DNA damage. “DNA damage is intimately linked to carcinogenesis,” he said.

His research showed that mice exposed to Red No. 40 through a high-fat diet for 10 months developed dysbiosis—an unhealthy imbalance in gut microbes and inflammation indicative of damaged DNA in their gut cells.

“This evidence supports the hypothesis that Red 40 is a dangerous compound that dysregulates key players involved in the development of [early-onset colorectal cancer],” Hofseth and his colleagues wrote in a 2023 study published in Toxicology Reports.

The mechanism of how food dyes cause cancer remains to be elucidated.

Hofseth speculates that the biological effects of red and yellow dyes may be attributed to the fact that they are what’s known as azo dyes. The gut hosts bacteria that can break down azo compounds into bioactive compounds that may alter DNA. Hofseth said he believes that if these bioactive compounds impair the gut, they may also contribute to the behavioral problems reported in some children after consuming food dyes.

Behavioral Problems

While the link between food dyes and cancer may remain elusive, the link between food dyes and behavioral problems in some children is much more accepted.

Rebecca Bevans, a professor of psychology at Western Nevada College, started looking into food dyes after her son became suicidal at the age of 7.

Read the rest here...

While wages in the U.S. have grown in recent years, many families are still feeling the squeeze of high inflation. Pay levels vary widely not just by profession, but also by geography.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, maps the average salary by U.S. state using the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2025. The figures represent total private hourly earnings, not seasonally adjusted.

DC Tops the List

At the top of the list is Washington, DC, where workers earn an average of $52.89 per hour, far outpacing every state. This reflects the region’s concentration of high-paying jobs in government, law, and professional services.

Massachusetts comes in second at $42.50/hour, followed by Washington at $41.82, and California at $40.93. In common, these states are home to major tech, biotech, and finance hubs.

State/District Average hourly earnings District of Columbia $52.89 Massachusetts $42.50 Washington $41.82 California $40.93 Colorado $39.20 Connecticut $39.08 New York $38.71 Minnesota $38.25 New Jersey $37.98 Alaska $37.65 Hawaii $37.64 Oregon $36.58 Virginia $36.08 Rhode Island $36.01 Maryland $35.86 New Hampshire $35.55 Utah $35.18 Vermont $35.18 Illinois $35.02 Arizona $34.68 Texas $34.49 Florida $34.38 Wisconsin $34.26 North Dakota $34.18 Georgia $34.04 Idaho $34.03 North Carolina $33.59 Michigan $33.31 Ohio $33.24 Nebraska $32.77 Montana $32.73 Pennsylvania $32.66 Delaware $32.54 Missouri $32.45 Maine $32.22 Indiana $32.07 South Carolina $32.05 Nevada $31.72 Wyoming $31.59 Kansas $31.51 Alabama $31.24 South Dakota $31.16 Iowa $30.94 Tennessee $30.75 Oklahoma $30.65 Kentucky $30.18 Arkansas $29.95 West Virginia $29.86 New Mexico $29.19 Louisiana $29.17 Mississippi $28.25

At the other end of the spectrum are Mississippi ($28.25) and Louisiana ($29.17)—the only two states with average wages below $30 per hour.

Northeastern states dominate the upper end of the scale, with Connecticut and New York joining Massachusetts above the $38/hour mark. In contrast, much of the South and Midwest sits closer to or below the national median. For example, Iowa ($30.94) and Indiana ($32.07) reflect more modest earnings common in the region.

When compared, the earnings gap between the highest (DC) and lowest (Mississippi) is more than $24 per hour. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour for workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), though many states have set their own, often higher, minimum wage rates.

If you enjoyed this map, check out this map on Voronoi about the income needed to buy a home in every U.S. state.

Update (1715ET): President Trump took to TruthSocial to issue his brief but terse statement:

"THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!"

*  *  *

The Supreme Court ruled this afternoon to keep in place its block on President Trump's deportations of (alleged) Venezuelan gang members under a 1798 law historically used only in wartime after their ACLU lawyers said the government was set to remove the men without judicial review in violation of a prior order by the justices.

The Supreme Court has previously issued two orders stemming from those cases.

Justices agreed that the president could rely on the centuries-old wartime law to remove immigrants from the country - provided they first have an opportunity to challenge those claims in court - and then temporarily blocked the government from deporting another group of Venezuelans in Texas while their lawyers scrambled to challenge the allegations against them.

In his proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, Trump stated that “all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of [Tren de Aragua], are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.”

The 7-2 decision clarified an unusual order issued by the justices in the early hours of April 19 that hit pause on any government plans to deport people held in northern Texas.

The Supreme Court delivered a blow to the Trump Administration in blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. However, the Court only did so based on the lack of notice (24 hours) afforded by the Administration. It did not rule on the legality of the use of the AEA...

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 16, 2025

Over the dissents of conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the justices in the latest unsigned decision slammed the Trump admin for only giving the detainees 24 hours to launch legal challenges.

“Notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,” the court wrote in its unsigned opinion.  

“But it is not optimal for this Court, far removed from the circumstances on the ground, to determine in the first instance the precise process necessary to satisfy the Constitution in this case. We remand the case to the Fifth Circuit for that purpose,” the opinion continued.

However, as The Hill reports, the justices declined the ACLU’s additional request to leapfrog the lower courts to immediately take up the issue of whether President Trump can invoke the rarely used law outside of wartime.

Instead, the case will return to the lower courts alongside a handful of other challenges being brought by the civil rights group around the country. 

So it’s legal for a president to ship millions of illegal aliens into our country but it’s illegal to send them home?

The system is broken. The Supreme Court failed us.

Whose country is this anymore?

— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) May 16, 2025

The issue could ultimately return to the justices, who directed the lower courts to act “expeditiously.”

Now, we all anxiously await President Trump's response to this decision...

Bt Stuart Chirls of Freightwaves

Hapag-Lloyd saw container bookings from China to the United States jump by 50% following the break in the tariff battle between the trading partners. 

In comments during an earnings call, Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen explained that while recent bookings were down 20%-30%, there has been “a surge of over 50% in recent days,” though he noted the difficulty in predicting exact growth patterns.

“We expect capacity to return fairly swiftly. We have deployed smaller ships instead of doing blanks [canceled sailings], and we will reverse that soon. Within the next couple of weeks, we will deploy bigger ships again, and others may also increase capacity as the quarter progresses.”

The CEO also confirmed that upsizing vessels can be accomplished without significant disruption due to the simplified Gemini network with Maersk, and that it “won’t materially change overall costs,” with no current issues regarding mispositioning of containers.

Profit increased 45% to $469 million on revenue that was up 15% year over year to $5.3 billion in the first quarter, driven by a 9% increase in liner shipping volumes, marking the highest year-on-year growth in several years. 

Liner shipping saw revenues of $5.2 billion on volume of 3.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units and an average freight rate of $1,480 per TEU, both of which were 9% higher y/y on strong demand. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by 18%, to $1.1 billion, and earnings before interest and taxes were up by 25%, to $472 million.

The successful launch of the Gemini network saw schedule reliability of 90%, a remarkable figure in an industry that is usually around 65%.

The carrier faced operational challenges during the quarter, including ongoing rerouting of ships away from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope, as well as disruptions at various ports. These challenges increased operational costs and impacted efficiency but were effectively managed to minimize adverse effects on overall performance.

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Drug overdose deaths in the United States dropped sharply in 2024, falling to their lowest level since before the pandemic, according to provisional data released on May 14 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Packets of fentanyl and methamphetamine seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico are displayed during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Ariz., on Jan. 31, 2019. U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Reuters

The report estimates that 80,391 people died of a drug overdose in 2024—a 26.9 percent decline from 110,037 in 2023, marking the largest one-year drop since the agency began collecting comparable data more than four decades ago.

It’s the second consecutive annual decrease after overdose deaths surged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Social isolation, disruptions to treatment, and other factors helped push fatalities to a peak of nearly 115,000 in 2023.

All but two states—Nevada and South Dakota—recorded declines last year, with especially steep drops in hard-hit areas such as West Virginia, which reported a 43.5 percent decrease. While the final figures may shift slightly as data are finalized, the CDC data indicate an unmistakable downward trend.

The decline was driven almost entirely by a reduction in fentanyl-related deaths. The synthetic opioid—at least 50 times more potent than heroin—was linked to more than 76,000 deaths in 2023, but that number dropped to just over 48,000 in 2024.

Experts have cited several possible reasons for the downturn, including expanded access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone—sold as Narcan—which became available over the counter in 2023. It is now carried by most first responders. Increased use of addiction treatment medications and changes in drug supply patterns may also be factors.

Despite the improvement, the new data revealed troubling increases in deaths tied to stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

Fatalities involving meth rose from 29,456 to 37,096, while cocaine-related deaths jumped by about 8,000, reaching 30,833. Since overdose statistics often overlap—many deaths involve multiple substances—it remains unclear how many of these fatalities involved stimulants alone.

The Trump administration has intensified efforts to choke off the international supply chain responsible for flooding the country with synthetic opioids.

While most fentanyl consumed in the United States is manufactured in Mexico, the raw chemicals used to make it overwhelmingly come from China. A Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by Reuters last year exposed how Chinese chemical suppliers and Mexican cartels continue to enable the epidemic.

Reporters were able to legally purchase all the chemicals and equipment needed to produce $3 million worth of fentanyl for just $3,600—exploiting a since-closed customs loophole known as the “de minimis” rule. That exemption had allowed goods valued at or under $800 to be imported duty-free.

A recent report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) found that Beijing is not only failing to stop the export of fentanyl precursors but is actively encouraging it.

According to the report, the Chinese regime offers tax rebates and state subsidies to companies producing illegal synthetic opioid components, fueling what lawmakers call a deliberate assault on the United States.

“Through its actions, as our report has revealed, the Chinese Communist Party is telling us that it wants more fentanyl entering our country,” Select Committee Chair Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said during an April 16, 2024, hearing. “It wants the chaos and devastation that has resulted from this epidemic. And yes, that means more dead Americans.”

In response, the Trump administration in February announced a new round of targeted tariffs on China’s synthetic drug supply chain, aiming to disrupt the production and export of fentanyl precursors.

Update (1210ET): The House Budget Committee has voted down the reconciliation bill by a vote of 16-21 - with GOP Reps. Clyde, Roy, Breechen, Norman and Smucker (who flipped his vote) all voting "no".

Speaker Mike Johnson (L), President Donald Trump, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX)

"This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits," said Rep. Chip Roy.

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said "I am unable to support this package in its current form, but I look forward to strengthening this bill to ensure that it does pass, so that we full all of our America First promises to the American people."

Whilst Ralph Norman (R-SC) said "Sadly, I’m a hard no until we get this ironed out."

According to Punchbowl's Jake Sherman, Smucker likely flipped "no" to preserve the ability to reconsider the bill at a later time.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jody Arrington (R-TX) said after the vote "I do not anticipate us coming back today."

*  *  *

A fiery intra-party fight exploded on Capitol Hill Friday as House Republicans clashed over President Donald Trump's mammoth "One Big Beautiful Bill," with Trump himself jumping into the fray to torch conservative holdouts as attention-hungry "grandstanders."

As the House Budget Committee met to advance the 1,116-plus-page megabill - packed with Trump’s signature proposals on taxes, Medicaid, and immigration - chaos broke out behind the scenes, and in front of the cameras, as hardline conservatives threatened to blow up the entire process.

"Republicans MUST UNITE behind ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’" Trump posted on Truth Social. "We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!"

The scorched-earth post came as the House Budget Committee met down to mark up the massive reconciliation bill, which bundles together much of Trump’s second-term policy wishlist: tax cuts, welfare reform, immigration crackdowns, and the death of Biden’s green energy subsidies.

But what was supposed to be a legislative victory lap turned into a high-stakes hostage crisis, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) caught between warring GOP factions, each demanding major changes and threatening to sink the bill if they don’t get their way.

Conservatives on the committee - Reps. Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andrew Clyde, and Josh Brecheen - signaled they were ready to vote against the bill unless major changes were made. Their demands include a faster phase-in of Medicaid work requirements, a ban on undocumented immigrants receiving federal benefits, and immediate termination of Inflation Reduction Act clean energy provisions.

"If they don’t [change it], I’m gonna vote no. We’ll kill it," Norman warned Thursday. "I don’t want to. But I will."

The vote is ongoing, with Roy and Norman both using their time during committee to voice their opposition, CNN's Sarah Farris reports.

Ok we're now at TWO no votes: Roy and Norman both used their time during committee to say they're opposed

Both Brecheen and Clyde supposed to speak now but neither are there to speak. If either opposes, it's done for today. https://t.co/pDIwEaw6zT

— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) May 16, 2025

The tension spilled into full view Friday morning when Norman, Roy, and Clyde abruptly left the committee room moments before the markup was scheduled to begin, prompting immediate speculation they were staging a walkout. All three returned shortly afterward, saying little, but still signaling deep frustration.

Norman told reporters the situation was “very disappointing," adding “I hope they recess.”

Rep. Roy: “I'm not going home this weekend. I'm staying here all weekend and we're going to get this damn thing done but the right way.

I'm not going to vote for a bad bill. I didn't come here to raise debt. I didn't come here to increase deficits. I didn't come here to cement… pic.twitter.com/0jcqR9cgz3

— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) May 16, 2025

Johnson, for his part, is trying to keep the circus moving. He has pledged to make some concessions - such as speeding up work requirement timelines and possibly harmonizing those across both Medicaid and SNAP - but every adjustment risks triggering a backlash from the other side of the GOP spectrum.

"If you push too hard on one side, the other side bulges out," opines Punchbowl News. "That’s exactly what’s happening here."

Very SALTy

Moderates are already howling over cuts to safety net programs and demanding changes of their own. Blue-state Republicans want the SALT deduction cap raised above the $30,000 ceiling currently in the bill. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) wants to remove language that would block legal refugees from getting food aid. And Florida Republicans are furious over a provision that clamps down on provider taxes - a method states use to draw more federal Medicaid dollars.

The markup itself became a theater of dysfunction - with Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) joking about the fact that he went viral earlier this week for falling asleep during a late-night hearing. “I also appreciate that you schedule the markup during daylight hours,” he said. Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) fired back: “Some of the staff decided to chip in and equip your chair with an electric shocking mechanism... I hope that is also a bipartisan proposal.”

Unbelievable. Rep. Blake Moore falls asleep during a committee meeting and had to be woken up. pic.twitter.com/xSKPKkP628

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) May 14, 2025

But behind the laughs, the reality is grim. With Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) absent for the birth of his child, Johnson can’t afford even a single Republican defection if he wants the bill to make it out of committee.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) tried to downplay the drama, telling reporters, “The goal is to get it out of the committee today... because failure is not an option.”

How did we get here? These speed bumps aren’t surprising. This is a gigantic legislative grab-bag with lots of disparate priorities. We get that. It reminds us a bit of Build Back Better – which failed and led to the IRA, for what it’s worth. -Punchbowl News

Indeed, Speaker Johnson has tried to do what many before him could not: push through a comprehensive, everything-at-once bill that pleases both fire-breathing conservatives and centrist pragmatists. But by skipping the usual slow walk through committee education and member negotiations, he may have created a legislative trap for himself.

And of course, after all of this - the bill still has to get through the Senate...

Stay tuned for updates...

Our previous supply chain analysis revealed a list of major US brands that remained heavily exposed to China. The ongoing trade war has lit a fire under U.S. management teams, accelerating efforts to shift production—either through friend-shoring or reshoring—as it appears likely that some level of tariffs on Chinese goods will remain through the second half of the year. 

The latest U.S. company highlighting its China exposure is drinkware brand YETI, which disclosed at an investor conference this week that shifting production out of China has become a top priority.

Goldman analysts Brooke Roach, Evan Dorschner, and others wrote in a note on Thursday about the top takeaways from their visit to YETI's headquarters in Austin, Texas, for an investor meeting. 

Roach said their conversations with management revolved around :

1. U.S. growth;

2. Drinkware;

3. Product innovation and portfolio extension;

4. Supply chain transformation and tariffs;

5. International expansion

On US growth, the drinkware business, and the innovation pipeline, the analyst summarized their conversations with management:

• U.S. growth opportunity: YETI continues to see immense growth opportunity in its core U.S. market. Within this, management expects growth to be driven by three components: (1) Stoking brand heat; (2) Continuing to build out the product portfolio; and (3) Expanding the depth of their channels. On product, management's tone was especially positive on the bags category as a driver, but they also highlighted continued extensions of their core hard cooler and drinkware portfolios through new form factors, use cases, sizes, and other diversification.

• Drinkware: While drinkware remains an area of pressure for the business overall given headwinds in specific SKUs, the company continues to see growth opportunity for the category as a result of innovation and new form factors. Management sounded particularly constructive on improving upon core products (such as stackable products vs. original items in the same family), as well as ceramic coated drinkware items and the upcoming sports jug launch. The food and cooking categories are also an area of opportunity, with management noting that several recent launches (food storage and bowls) were top requested items from ambassadors and customers. The company also pointed out its historical ability to weather other drinkware cycles in the past. Looking ahead, the company remains focused on driving relevancy in the core through innovation, though SKU productivity remains a key priority as well.

• Approach to innovation: The company is accelerating its innovation pipeline, with plans to launch 30 products this year and sustain the faster pace of innovation recently reached, while simultaneously building brand stories around new product launches. YETI discussed its approach to innovation, noting they have dedicated senior leaders who focus on each of their core growth opportunities: (1) softgoods; (2) C&E, and (3) food and beverage. The company highlighted that its current product portfolio provides opportunities for significant expansion in the shoulder areas of where they currently play, with products having connections to the core brand. Importantly, all products must have durability, performance, and design as core principles, as well as offer relevance to the consumer in multiple aspects of their life. YETI is thus focused on broader use cases outside of core outdoor categories (i.e. bags and backpacks rather than just the subcategory of hydration bags). Management noted several new innovations are on the horizon, including a broader rollout of their small soft coolers / lunchbag category and additional SKUs in the backpack category.

Here's where analysts and YETI management discussed tariffs, sourcing, and international strategy.

The key takeaway: tariff pressures have accelerated YETI's supply chain shift out of China, with production increasingly moving to Thailand, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries equipped with full-scale manufacturing capabilities.

• Tariff commentary: YETI highlighted tariff disruption did drive the company to rework its product development process, driving a faster innovation cycle and speed to market. The company noted that the tariff impact will depend on timing of purchases and capitalization of inventory on the balance sheet (with constraints focused on new launches with production in China), but that it can recapture a lot of the pressures as they continue to diversify and optimize their supply chain.

• Sourcing: Shifting production out of China remains a key priority for YETI. The company clarified that its top partners have been building manufacturing facilities in Thailand and Malaysia which are now ramping. Beyond this, tertiary partners are also shifting production outside of China but are in earlier stages of the transition, with factories set to open in SE Asia. Net, the company expects to have four key partners and five factory facilities outside of China in their first wave of diversification which leverages existing suppliers. Importantly, management noted these facilities have full manufacturing capabilities (not just finishing and testing), are efficient (strong labor force / robotics capabilities), and have competitive costing to China sourcing (following initial start-up inefficiencies).

• International: Management reiterated the Australian and Canadian markets continue to perform well overall, and struck a constructive tone regarding the company's potential in the UK. Germany is also a high-potential market but is in earlier stages of scaling compared to the UK. YETI also highlighted the whitespace it has in Asia which is largely an untapped market for the company.

Roach has a "Neutral" rating on YETI shares with a 12-month price target of $28. 

On Tuesday, Aaron Jagdfeld, CEO of Generac Holdings, appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss the company's long-term strategy to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains. He outlined that Generac has been reducing its supply chain exposure to China since President Trump's first term and will reduce its 10% exposure to 5% in 18 months. 

Seattle, Washington-based Wyze Labs, a popular seller on Amazon of smart home and wireless camera products, revealed on X earlier this month that their "first tariff bill" has "accelerated" efforts to leave China in two months, with serious consideration of restoring supply chains in the United States.

Trump's tariff shock is working. It has always been about pressuring corporate America to detach from cheap China supply chains and either friend-shore or re-shore.  

.   .   . 

Just a reminder...

In Hot Water: YETI Bars Conservative Group from Customizing Cups https://t.co/1EGUoSSiY1

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 28, 2025

Having embarrassed themselves with their TDS-driven cognitive dissonance over the past few months, Democrat-voting UMich respondents (and women, and low income Americans) in the preliminary May survey (a month after Liberation Day and also post-Pause and the massive meltup in stocks) turned the TDS-terror dial to '11'.

Consumer Expectations are now at their lowest since - drum roll please... May 1980...

Source: Bloomberg

Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from almost 60% in April; uncertainty over trade policy continues to dominate consumers’ thinking about the economy. 

Note that interviews for this release were conducted between April 22 and May 13, closing two days after the announcement of a pause on some tariffs on imports from China.

The percentage of UMich respondents making unsolicited negative comments about news they've heard on government economic policy has surged to a record high of 66%!

Source: Bloomberg

The share of consumers expecting unemployment to rise in the year ahead increased for the sixth consecutive month and is now more than double the November 2024 reading and the highest since 2009.

Source: Bloomberg

Year-ahead inflation expectations surged from 6.7% last month to 7.3% this month, the highest reading since 1981 and marking five consecutive months of unusually large increases of 0.5 percentage points or more.

Source: Bloomberg

This month’s rise was seen across all three political affiliations. Long-run inflation expectations climbed from 4.4% in April to 4.6% in May, reflecting a particularly large jump among Democrats to a ridiculous 9.6% over the next year!!

Source: Bloomberg

Republicans did forecast a rise in their view of 5Y inflation expectations (while Democrats were flat at 5.1%)...

Source: Bloomberg

Spot the odd one out - UMich Democrats, The NY Fed, or The Market...

Source: Bloomberg

One more for fun - comparing Democrats view of the inflationary outlook to the 'hard' inflationary data...

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, given their historic track record (completely refusing to acknowledge the surge in inflation under Biden), should we simply be ignoring the manic Democrats screaming about inflation now?

Source: Bloomberg

The Republicans seemed to get it? But then again, they're all racist ignoramuses with no PhDs... so there's that, right!?

Sorry, one more that made us fucking laugh... one-third of women surveyed believe inflation over the next year will be 15% or higher...

Low-Income Americans are also terrified like never before...

So someone is lying: actual spending all time high while reported sentiment (based on 250 polled UMich respondents) is all time low.

Is the soft-data slump all driven by leftists imbibing mainstream media's desperate propaganda-fueled terror of what Trump is doing?

Perhaps that explains why soft survey data has started to turn back up to hard data reality in the last week as it's hard to hate and keep pushing out your depression-era forecasts when stocks are at record highs and jobless claims remain near record lows.

New Jersey was hit by its first statewide transit strike in over 40 years early Friday morning, as 450 unionized locomotive engineers walked off the job amid a contract dispute about pay. The strike brought NJ Transit's rail network to a halt and disrupted service for 350,000 commuters.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced the strike late Thursday night on X, sharing a post that included a link detailing the breakdown in contract negotiations between its negotiators and NJ Transit negotiators over terms of the new contract for locomotive engineers. 

BLET locomotive engineers on strike at NJ Transit. Read more here: https://t.co/DdRhKTf8bh pic.twitter.com/4SR1PqUDIO

— Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (@BLET) May 16, 2025

"After 15-hours of non-stop contract talks today, no agreement on a wage increase was reached this evening between BLET and NJ Transit managers," the union wrote in a press release, adding, "NJ Transit managers walked out of the talks shortly before 10 p.m. and through their actions have forced a strike despite the transit agency having the funds for a raise." 

Rail Teamsters from the @BLET are on strike at New Jersey Transit and picketing major terminals in Newark, New York Penn Station, and Atlantic City.

If NJT can spend half-a-billion dollars on lavish penthouse offices, they can come back to the table with a fair deal for their… pic.twitter.com/HXvPC4BHcC

— Teamsters (@Teamsters) May 16, 2025

BLET members have been in talks with NJ Transit since 2019 about a new labor contract, but have failed to reach a deal every time. 

"In August 2023, the members of the local union voted unanimously to grant the BLET National President the authority to call a strike when it became lawful to do so and if a deal had not been reached," the union said. 

BLET National President Mark Wallace blasted NJ Transit: 

"NJ Transit has a half-billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters and $53 million for decorating the interior of that unnecessary building. They gave away $20 million in revenue during a fare holiday last year. They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their front-line workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve."

Wallace was quoted by the local media outlet NBC 4 New York as saying that engineers are committed to the strike until a fair deal is reached. 

NBC 4 New York provided a breakdown of key points of the contract dispute:

• The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday, leaving some 350K NJ Transit riders impacted

• The nation's third-largest transit system, NJ Transit, provides nearly 1 million weekday trips, including into New York City. More NJ Transit buses are being added, but supplemental service can only accommodate about 20% of the people who could be accommodated if the trains were running

• The MTA and other transit agencies are also adding service to help mitigate impacts

• Wages have been the main sticking point. The union claims its members earn an average of $113,000 a year and says an agreement could be reached if that went to $170,000. NJ Transit leadership disputes the union's data, saying engineers have average total earnings of $135,000 annually

• The last time there was a transit strike was in 1983. That one lasted about a month

A BLET spokesman said the union "is ready to bargain" and "returns to the table now." Talks are now scheduled for Sunday and will include federal mediators.

Earlier, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy apologized to commuters whose daily commutes to work were abruptly disrupted and called the labor action a "slap in the face of every commuter." 

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said, “the contract being negotiated at this moment is about the long-term future of NJ Transit,” but the state will not “cave” in order to end the first railroad strike in more than 40 years for the agency https://t.co/RoqnQYu4jk pic.twitter.com/gp0a7hp0hk

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) May 16, 2025

The New York Times noted: "The abrupt suspension of all of New Jersey Transit's train service on Friday will make it harder for Gov. Philip D. Murphy to claim that he rescued the troubled transit agency."

Authored by Larry Kudlow via RealClearPolitics.com,

While Democrats are busy defending criminal gang members and terrorists from Tren De Aragua and MS-13, President Trump is putting on a command performance in the Middle East.

In a blockbuster speech yesterday at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump said this: “Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos.”

Then, he urged the Saudis to join the Abraham Accords, telling them: 

“It’s my fervent hope, wish, and even my dream, that Saudi Arabia — a place I have such respect for — will soon be joining the Abraham Accords. … You will be greatly honoring me and you will be greatly honoring all those people that have fought so hard for the Middle East.”

Then, he stunned the audience and drew a standing ovation by announcing that he’s lifting American sanctions on Syria.

Today, he met with the Syrian president, the first time an American president has done so in 25 years.

In between all of this, Mr. Trump has probably raised something around $2 trillion of investment from the Saudis and the Qataris.

Yet he also made it clear that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon.

Let me quote:

“Iran can have a much brighter future — but we will never allow them to threaten America and our allies with terrorism or a nuclear attack. The time is right now for them to choose.”

Plus, all that money Mr. Trump is raising to invest in America will be the beneficiary of the lowest taxes and regulations of any major country in the world.

That’s because another Trump success is the big, beautiful tax cut bill that just passed the House Ways and Means Committee under the excellent stewardship of its chairman, Congressman Jason Smith.

Of course, Democrats are gnashing their teeth at Mr. Trump’s flurry of new successes.

Not only his tax policies — but a number of trade and tariff deals, rock-bottom consumer inflation, a resilient economy, and a huge rebound in the stock market.

Democrats thought they could pound Mr. Trump with tariffs, but he has turned the tables on them with his adroit dealmaking.

And, as mentioned before, Democrats backing criminals and gangsters in their crusade to stop deportations are digging a deeper and deeper political grave for themselves.

And Mr. Trump is selling them the shovel.