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Seib draws parallels between the situation in 1889 with the large immigration, growing inequality, impact of science and technology, and progressive parts of the two main political parties. Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson pulled together progressives in the Republican and Democratic parties in the next two decades, and FDR-Truman continued progressive policies in the nineteen thirties and forties to tackle the Depression and promote economic recovery. Financial crises are not mentioned by Seib. The recurring financial crises since that period led to the creation of the central bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve and financial regulations for banks. The financial crises with asset bubbles in 2000 for tech and bubble in real estate in 2009, resulted from the lifting of financial regulation and lack of close supervision of financial markets.

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Nutrition critical for health is only now in 2026 being made part of Medical School curriculum with efforts of RFK Jr.  It took so long and in the meantime several generations of Americans have suffered from obesity and poor nutrition, higher incidence of diseases stemming from poor nutrition, and the overuse of pharmaceuticals. This also made medical care more costly, increasing the medical cost burden for families.

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DW.com looks at the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1917. Colonial powers Britain and France create artificial states of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon by 1921 out of the collapsed Ottoman Empire, that are unmanageable even in 2026 with mix of different Islamic sects at odds with each other. Danger being of US and Europe getting sucked into the mess of five decades of wars in the Middle East.

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Benchmark jet fuel at $1838 on April 16 2026, compared to $838 before Iran War. The need to replace 50% of EU fuel imports from Middle East to last 6 weeks till June. At 75% replacement OK till August. US and Nigeria provide alternative supplies to Middle East sources of jet fuel. Airlines could feel shortages it it is not replaced. Jet fuel is 20-40% of airline costs.

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Victor Webanyama of the San Antonio Spurs in Game Three of NBA Finals 2026. Wemby gets 32 points in a win for the Spurs to end a 13 game losing streak. It is now Knicks 2 and Spurs 1 as the games head into the 4th of 7. New Yorkers gave a rousing reception to their team at Madison Square Garden, it just revved up the city.

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Kansas City as one of the key host cities for World Cup Soccer 2026 hosts training facilities for Argentina, Netherlands and England. Kansas City has built world class stadiums and facilities over the last 2 decades and given a boost to men's and women's soccer leagues. The English team trains at nearby Lawrence, Kansas, with a great deal of privacy and seclusion.

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SCOTUS decision on Voting Rights Act by knocking down gerrymandered district in Louisiana, April 2026. Republican States are redrawing their maps so that they are no longer gerrymandered (altered) to favor race or gender. The US Supreme Court supports this in Louisiana and this will mean 1 seat  in Louisiana and 4 seats in Florida may be gained by Republicans for the House in the midterms.

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Hungary under newly elected government of Magyar in 2026  to receive 18 billion euros of EU funds frozen for several years because of Orban's policies. Magyar needed 133 seats in parliament for a majority to change aspects of the Constitution modified by Viktor Orban. It now has two thirds of the seats in parliament to restore rule of law and take action on corruption.

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Tens of millions of migrant workers head back to their homes in poorest states as LPG cylinder prices quadruple and are in short supply April 13, 2026. This piece in Le Monde shows how India which relies on imports for 60% of LPG supplies used for cooking in a country of 1.4 billion people is affected by the actions of nations in Middle East interrupting open seas navigation. 

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Microfinance turned into a for profit industry with interest rates upto 100%- $217 billion loans outstanding in 2026 and 140 million borrowers. It has turned into a disaster for borrowers, for women and families, with high interest rates and for profit companies using the favorable media presentation to charge high interest rates. The World Bank and the IDFC public institutions in the US have also financed these loans.

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The 14 paragraphs of the complete Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran agreement reached June 17 2026- with Beijing Xi agreement and G-8 (+India) agreement. It is this totality of the agreement bringing in all major countries in the world that makes it unique and in many ways potential for lasting or enduring direction for West Asia. The guarantors are all these major countries.

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Cost of driving depends on where you live in the US- California (taxes and climate change fee), and mountain states (no inland supplies in West), Illinois taxes are much higher compared to the South and South East (close to refineries no taxes). Specific formulations add extra on the Eastern seaboard states  from New Hampshire to Virginia, and in the West California have requirements to reduce smog and pollution. At one time in the 1980's in Pasadena the smog would be so bad you could not see the green color on the leaves clearly. For most of the US gas prices on April 22, 2026 are around $3.62 or lower compared to $3.92 on average in March for the whole US and $5.83 in California, $5.00 in Oregon, $5.38 in Washington. Texas, Alabama, North and South Carolina at around $3.62 and Florida at $4.00. In Virginia to Maine in the North East it is around $4.00. A look at the map shows that talk of $5.00 gasoline hurting the Republicans in the midterms for Congress is incorrect because the Democrats are likely to hold on to California, Washington Oregon, their base with gas at close to $6.00 the very opposite of what they are saying. Much of it because of state policies against oil refining and climate change taxes, formulations of gasoline that cost more to address smog. The head of the distribution channel for gasoline in the US, Scott Berhang, head of fuel wholesalers marketing group Sigma says- “At some point, [the war] could translate into supply shortages. That could happen. But we’re not really there yet. I talk to my members all over the U.S. They’re not seeing any supply issues. There’s no problem getting fuel. Everything is normal.” State taxes can be as low as 9 cents in Alaska and 71 cents in California, 66 cents in Illinois. The price of gas in swing states Arizona $4.59, Pennsylvania $4.11, Michigan $3.78, Wisconsin $3.69, North Carolina $3.75, Georgia $3.57. If we use $3.61 price of Texas and most of South and close to this in all but mountain states and western states then we are slightly above the same price gasoline was sold at the pump in 2011-2014 of $3.51 per gallon. This is a significant fact considering the media talks about gasoline prices in the US as a significant cost of living issue. Which means saying Iran War is "crippling" US consumers at the pump is farfetched and totally incorrect.  ...

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A disservice by DW.com to conservative Julia Klockner  when Europe and the US are moving in a conservative direction, and people have lost patience with illegal migration and lack of integration in society. Julia Klockner is Bundestag president and is close to chancellor Merz. She is a senior politician of the CDU, from Rhineland Palatinate. Her father is a wine grower in that region. She started out as a journalist and from 2010 -2022 led the CDU in her home state. She has taken a position on the destabilization of German politics by the AfD party after Merkel's failures in illegal immigration that has stretched public resources. Similar to the premier of Denmark Mette Fredericksen, a Social Democrat, Klockner as a Christian Democrat understands that illegal migration is bad for social cohesion in Germany. Klocker and Merz both understand that the public's patience has been tested to the limits by millions of illegal migrants as in the US. Her view early on in Merkel's cabinet was that legal immigrants have to be integrated into German society. She sees no need for AfD, when the CDU/CSU conservatives in Germany and in Bavaria can prevent illegal migrants from entering the country. She says-"You don't have to vote AfD for what you want. There is a democratic alternative: The CDU."  ...

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Koch Industries which is built on oil is investing heavily in electric batteries. The company has made 10 investments of over 750 million dollars in the US battery supply chain and electric vehicles in 2021-2022. This money is coming at a critical time for many new battery company startups.

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Wind and solar finally overtake coal in power generation for the European Union. 30% of EU electricity is now generated by wind and solar. Power generation from coal and gas dropped by 17% in first 6 months of 2024, resulting in one third drop in sector emissions, according to climate think tank Ember. In 13 member states power generation from solar and wind was higher than coal and gas with Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary achieving this for the first time. This makes US commitment to climate change all the more critical for 2024-2028. EU is a big contributor to emissions for climate change. It is also setting aggressive goals. This progress brings into view zero power from coal and gas.  Andrea Hahmann , scientist at Denmark technical University, author of one chapter in the IPCC report on energy systems says “The ‘crossing of the lines’ demonstrates that the EU’s electricity transition is possible, and we should not give in to pessimism. The renewable energy targets that must be met are substantial but achievable with the proper policy measures.” ...

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So many Republican districts jobs depend upon the Clean Energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act. Kasey Carpenter, Republican of Dalton, Gerogia says- “So much money has been spent building these facilities. The last thing you want to do is get it all built, and then jobs disappear.”  From August 2022 to December 2024 the private company investment in clean energy is four times greater in Republican Congressional districts than in Democratic districts. NYT provides visual graphs showing this. The investments being $118 billion Republican districts vs $35 billion in Democratic districts.These are investments under the Inflation Reduction Act one of the achievements of the Biden administration that are reflected in the strong economy in 2024. This allocation was for $390 billion for Clean Energy over 10 years. A similar situation is happening for the CHIPS and Science Act investments opf the Biden administration. Lael Brainard of the Biden administration says- "They are not going to want to undermine those jobs and those businesses that we know for the first time are really strong in so many districts around the country that have been left behind under trickle-down policies."   ...

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172,000 US jobs growth in May 2026 unemployment steady at 4.3%. Recent jobs growth is at 180,000 a month. Americans looking for work or working is at 62%.

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Drop to 22,000 from 127,000 for irregular migration after border checks in Germany under chancellor Merz of the CDU coalition. Family reunification is ended for subsidiary migration. Step by step Germany is regaining control of the country and taking responsible actions to prevent extreme responses and protecting democracy from every source of danger.

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This story in WSJ says China may have a lead in electric car battery sales in 2024 and beyond. China is investing heavily in battery plants and EV plants in Europe and the US. This would help China meet the restrictions on import of electric vehicles from China by the Biden administration. CATL increased its market share in Europe from 10% to 24%. Sales of EV vehicles in China went up by 37% in the first 9 months of 2023, and China is the top exporter of electric vehicles. CATL's electric battery sales in Europe doubled compared to 60% for LG. And in excluding China sales CATL has caught up with LG both having 28% of the market.

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1.2-2 million barrels a day go from Iran's Kharg island through Straits of Hormuz for ship to ship transfers in South China Sea, then labeled Emirati oil and unloaded at refineries on Shandong coast. These refineries are called teapot refineries. In this way US sanctions are avoided. Shipments of oil were about 700,000 barrels a day before 2023. After 2023 this more than doubled. China gets this at a 10-15%  discount costing Iran about a third of revenues it would otherwise be able to sell this oil if it decided to work with the US in a new arrangement. This report in FR24 shows China as limiting it's relations with Iran to oil, careful to not let it affect more important trading relations with US European Union, and Germany. This is similar to the situation for Venezuela -which under a new arrangement the US has with Venezuela- now gets market prices for its oil increasing it's revenues substantially by about one third to benefit the Venezuelan people suffering from high inflation and economy wrecked by sanctions. ...

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During this coronavirus pandemic SOuthwest Airlines in the U.S. is expanding its network and adding new airports to its flights. Four more in 2020 and six more in 2021.