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Former FBI chief Comey tells the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that he had turned over all his memos of conversations with president Trump to Special Counsel Mueller. It would be for Mueller to examine this for possibility obstruction of justice. Comey said Mueller would have to "try and understand what the intention was there and whether that's an offense." The matter relates to an FBI probe into Mr. Flynn, a Trump adviser, during the 2016 election year for ties to Russia.

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China has made an astonishing turn away from covid restrictions. Yet this comes after three years that hurt growth which will affect the recovery says this column in WSJ. China is looking for 5% growth in 2023. Problems in the way are a public affected by the lockdowns, a covid surge, housing that will take time to recover, and diversification by Foxconn and other companies away from China to India, Vietnam.

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Scott Bessent Treasury Secretary told the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday evening that the founders knew something more enduring than what we have come up with in the last couple of decades with chips and other technologies- " "The founders understood something far more enduring: that the fortunes of a nation are shaped by the energies of its people. Those energies transformed a small republic on the edge of a continent into the most prosperous nation in the long sweep of human civilization." We should never forget this, and we should make the energies of the American people and how it affects them the core of everything we do.  America's strengths lie not just in its natural resources and the depth of its capital markets it lies in the conditions, the character, capacity of its people- "It resides most of all in the character and the capacity of our people: the entrepreneur with an idea, the worker who can master new trades and technologies, institutions with the freedom and confidence to flourish." We must remember Bessent says what Alexander Hamilton as one of the founders in the 1780's taught us about possessing within us all the essentials of national supply, so that we produce what we need- "Alexander Hamilton taught us: that every nation “ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the essentials of national supply.” Our strength is derived from what we can build, for the nation that can’t produce what it needs isn’t truly secure. The nation that depends on its adversaries for critical inputs isn’t truly sovereign. And the nation that reduces its economics to consumption isn’t truly prosperous." Access to cheap supplies of goods is not what the American Dream was and is about from the beginning of the settlement of this continent in 1620's and throughout the period before and after independence for 400 years.  "Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American Dream. The American Dream is rooted in the concept that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility, and economic security. For too long, the designers of multilateral trade deals have lost sight of this. International economic relations that do not work for the American people must be re-examined." ...

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Iran's Assembly of Experts (clerics) acting as an arbiter as a power struggle takes place between elected president Pezeshkian and the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Assembly of Experts made up of clerics and the Ayatollah as its head shift support to one faction then to the other. This is who US is talking to and negotiating with. To negotiate with Pezeshkian even when agreement is reached the next day IRGC can come out and take action to control Hormuz by knocking out ships. A Qatari ship carrying 2 million barrrels in Hormuz was hit by IRGC when Pezeshkian signaled he had reached an agreement with the US that would release $6 of $12 billion in Iranian funds in Qatar. IRGC plan is to control Hormuz, charge tolls, and raise $40 billion a year through tolls. IRGC believes it can disrupt the narrow 15 mile channel on the Omani side in violation of international law of navigation that the US wants to keep open. For the US the question is - Can you even negotiate with the entity that is Pezeshkian and the elected government when it is in a power struggle with IRGC? Can you negotiate in the context of the burial as martyr of Iran's current religious leader Ali Khamenei? And even if you negotiate, IRGC responds to close Hormuz, US restarts bombing, where does this get the US when Hormuz remains closed. The US has we show here has only one option not stated in the Media. That is to bypass and ignore Hormuz and get alternative supplies of oil and keep naval blockade at low cost. For the US and the world to generate alternative supplies to Hormuz the US works with China, India, Japan, Indonesia and European Union, Arab states, to take the following action. Get 5-6 million of the 20 billion of Hormuz barrels as day using existing and new Saudi and UAE pipelines outside of Hormuz channel, accelerating renewable energy and EV's hybrids, China doing without the 4 million barrels a day from Hormuz by cutting its oil use through energy efficiency, alternative sources of oil from Venezuela ramp up and new oil production in the US and other places in the world, using reserves and rebuilding reserve supplies, better management of the 80-90 million barrels a day of the 108 million barrels a day the world used in 2025. All of these action are taking place in the transition to a world without Hormuz for the last 60 days. ...

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The European commissioner for industrial strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, says “Whenever European public money is spent in Europe, it must contribute to European production and quality jobs." The Guardian supports this view for an industrial strategy to create jobs and economic benefits for Europe in 2026 to match "Made in China."

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Lael Brainard, formerly Fed Governor and president Biden's key economic policy adviser, takes leadership in protecting the $779 billion of 401K's that in 2023 were rolled over for retirement savings into IRA's. Brainard says- "When a retirement saver pays for trusted economic advice that is not actually in their best interest and comes at a hidden cost in their lifetime savings, that's a junk fee." When the courts failed to introduce regulatory oversight of IRA's the Biden administration has introduced the protection under junk fee protection. 

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U.S. president Trump says former FBI director lied under oath in testimony before Congress, and disputes Comey's comments that he was fired because of the FBI investigation into connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.That investigation is now in the hands of Special Counsel Mueller. Trump called Comey "a leaker."

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The Roseta orbiter launched in 2004 lands on a comet 2 miles in diameter after travelling 500 million miles by 2014.

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Zelensky's speech to the Joint Session of the US Congress comes 81 years after Winston Churchill's speech to the US Congress in December 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

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For Kamala Harris cooking is a form of meditation, the kitchen a place to relax. Kim Severson shows this side of Harris who may even carry the tradition of cooking Sunday dinner into the White House. Looking back no one comes close. Kamala loves to cook, hopes to write a cookbook, has her favorite cooking experts, such is her passion for cooking.

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The Affordable Care Act subsidies are basically a band aid approach to a fundamentally broken health care system in the US, says Washington Post Editorial Board on Nov. 1, 2025. The 22 million ACA subsidies will cost $350 billion over 10 years. Democrats have the government shutdown over this issue of extending Obama ACA subsidies where enrolment increased in the covid and Biden years with generous subsidies. The Washington Post looks at how we got here since 1945, decisions made about employer insurance plans that created a patchwork of plans from private sector and other plans outside it with perverse incentives and inefficient subsidies. It calls the system stupid, and politicians looking to the next 2 year midterm elections wary of addressing the whole problem in the proper way for a system that will benefit all the people of the US.

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This analysis in The Guardian says prime minister Sunak's strategy in Britain to water down net zero goals and gasoline car phase out deadlines is not likely to prove popular with voters. Mr. Sunak is looking for ways to revive Conservative fortunes after 13 years in power and Labor under Keir Starmer 15-20 percentage points ahead in polls for much of the year. It also comes as Liz Truss is gaining some support inside the Conservative party, leaving Conservatives divided after Boris Johnson's departure.

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Simple numerical skills, finding information on a website might be difficult for a good third of the American population. Peggy Carr, a Commissioner at the Education Department says- "There’s a dwindling middle in the United States in terms of skills. Over time we’ve seen more adults clustered at the bottom.”  US is lagging behind other countries and is also having a shocking level of lack of basic skills for a significant part of the population. The failure of the Education Department and different administration's programs in the last 3 decades suggests need for companies and individuals to come up with their own efforts- including use of Lyrarc.com for reading comprehension and numerical skills. The number of test takers whose skills were at about the level of a primary school student in math went up to 34% in 2024 up from 29% in 2017. Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies Test was given in 31 economic regions, to 161,000 people of which 2600 were in the US. It was given in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2023. US ranked 14th in literacy, 15th in adaptive problem solving, and 24th in numerical skills. Countries doing best ranked are Finland, Japan Norway, Sweden and Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium and Denmark. Northern Europe does best and Japan.   ...

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US can working with all countries find replacement for Hormuz supplies. The meetings with Iraqi prime minister Zaidi at the White House are one part of an extended effort that includes China, India, UAE, EU, Venezuela, other oil producers and oil consuming countries and regions with expanding shift to renewable energy (India, China, EU). Chevron and other companies plan to invest $60 billion in oil projects in Iraq including Kirkuk to Baniyas pipeline. The plan is to ramp up Iraqi oil production to the 4.5 million barrels a day Iraqi production by rebuilding or putting  new pipeline from Iraq to the Syrian coast on the Mediterranean. This is activity from the White House to replace Hormuz as this will keep the US out of a prolonged conflict. The media has not covered the replacement of Hormuz as a viable option to bypass the conflict, leaving a naval blockade in place, and continuing focus on domestic priorities with China, India, EU and other major nations all working together in this direction. China's economy is weak, India's needs trade and technology infusion, EU needs US cooperation and trade, all 3 powers keenly interested in a different path than one put forward by Iran of prolonged and unneeded conflicts for 4 billion people in these largest economies and the 4 billion people in Africa other Asia, and Latin America. That is 8 billion people's interests vs 45 million in Iran (if IRGC has only half the population's support in rural Iran, small towns). Can 5% of the world's population determine the direction of the 95%? Can culture wars in the US which heavily determine the distortions appearing in the NYT,  and the ideological wars on capitalism vs socialism in the WSJ, Republican vs Democrats midterms and other election politics distorted presentation, be allowed to obscure this fact that 95% of the world's people including Americans are interested in fixing drug cartels and fentanyl, fixing dilapidated infrastructure, in building new housing, in tackling oil prices, not the bombing of targets in the Middle East (limiting such action to nuclear weapons facilities not using force in Hormuz). China adds 4 million barrels a day by finding alternatives sources. UAE and Saudis are increasing production outside Hormuz, UAE outside of OPEC. Iraq can add 3 million barrels a day from 1.5 million barrels a day in June 2026 to 4.5 million barrels a day. Because Venezuela's current production is about 1 million barrels a day it can ramp this up to 3.5 adding 2.5 million barrels a day. The chart below shows how Hormuz can be replaced and the task ahead for nations and regions representing 8 billion people in the world. UAE 2 million barrels a day via pipelines, Saudi add 2 million barrels a day via pipelines, Iraq 3 million barrels a day via pipelines, China 4 million barrels a day by alternative sources, India 2 million barrels a day from alternative sources and renewable energy target upgrade, Venezuela 2.5 million barrels a day,  US  1 million barrels a day, Other - Guyana, Canada, Brazil. Shown alongside is a report from Goldman Sachs analysis which come to a similar conclusion and with facts on each specific region's ramp up of oil supplies to replace Hormuz in a race against time.So that Hormuz will be left behind, so that the world and the US of 8 billion people can pursue other priorities of peaceful cooperation, to achieve "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as the Founders aspirations and the world's aspirations.     ...

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Self-help aphorisms that are delivered with verve and conviction over and over from Kamala Harris come from Harris's mother Shyamala Gopalan.

"What can be, unburdened by what has been?" Harris herself is unburdened in this way, it appears as one sees her originality and style.

"A desire to honor the women who made history throughout history."

 

 

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Eighteen year old Bianca Andreescu, part Romanian, playing for Canada in the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, a teenager with poise and creativity, wins against veteran player Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5. Martina Navratilova, who with Margaret Court is one of the women's tennis great players, describes Andreescu's game as so refreshing and old fashioned because it is the creative game that was played by fellow Romanian Ilie Nastase and players like Rod Laver and John Newcombe from another era. In a highly creative game with poise and variety of shots Andrescu is bringing back the game to what it once was. In today's game, says Navratilova, players stay on the baseline and play similar shots till something happens. Andrescu intelligently and creatively used a variety of shots, making it fun to watch her play.