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Now What? With Carbon Pricing Eroded and Pipeline Politics Advancing, Here Are the Pathways for Climate Success
At the end of a whirlwind week of news on carbon pricing and electricity strategy, capping a madcap year of pretty much non-stop, dramatic change, the word across much of Canada’s climate and energy transition community is that climate policy in this country has been shredded. Eviscerated. Hit with a sledgehammer by policy rollbacks that have pushed the country’s 2050 net zero target “well out of reach”. That means it’s never been more important to look for the rays of hope and glimmers of possibility. To glimpse the seeds of the next set of strategies to get Canada’s climate pollution under control and the country into the accelerating global dash away from fossil fuels. And then, once we’ve spotted those possibilities, get on with the hard, day-to-day slog of trying to make them a reality. Nothing takes away from the frustration and the deep disappointment so many climate and energy hawks are expressing, the sense of betrayal by the author of Value(s) and the former UN special envoy for climate action and finance. But we knew two things as the week drew to a close. We’re looking at the world as it most definitely is. And we don’t get to give up finding the pathways to confront climate change and deliver faster, deeper carbon cuts that leave no one else behind. So really, the first question we all have to ask ourselves is: What’s next? Subscribe All the Oxygen in the Room The outpouring of anger and grief over the carbon pricing deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been absolutely understandable. So much of the climate community poured years, more than a decade, into dragging the current federal pricing regime across the finish line, then defending it from a deluge of three-syllable rhymes after the Trudeau government proved utterly incapable of delivering its own message. The policy foisted on us by neo-classical economists took up all the oxygen in the room, burned through years of climate response time that we won’t get back, while cornering climate hawks into the position that the best response to the crisis of our lifetimes is a new tax…in an era of historic anti-tax sentiment. I mean, really—what could possibly have gone wrong? Against that history, let’s appreciate columnist Max Fawcett’s point that even a modest carbon pricing agreement with a government as off-the-wall libertarian/conspiracist as Danielle Smith’s—those adjectives are mine, not Max’s—is a win worth savouring (as long as Smith keeps her promises for a change). But part of living in the world as it is (no, I’m not letting that go) is to be clear-headed about what we can and can’t control. And one thing we get to decide, after seeing this week’s carbon price festivities take up all the oxygen yet again, is whether we want to keep letting that happen. Particularly when success down that road depends on a factor that no one with a climate agenda can control or influence—a provincial carbon pricing mechanism that has been manipulated and eroded beyond its lowest possible denominator. Thankfully, that’s not the way it has to go. Not when we have so many other powerful, practical tools at our disposal, including the ones still available to us through this abominable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Alberta. Tools In Our Toolbox When I started roughing out this list, I didn’t expect it to grow to nearly a dozen bullet points. It’s probably still incomplete. Some of the greatest hits in today’s climate solutions toolbox include: • No Carbon Capture, No Pipeline: On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly stated that there’s been no change to the MOU provision that there will be no West Coast pipeline without an industry commitment to build its massive, $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage (CCUS) hub in Northern Alberta, and vice versa. The two megaprojects were joined at the hip when the MOU was signed Nov. 27, and the implementation agreement this week affirmed that they still are. A parade of independent analysts have spent years pointing to the economic and technical flaws in CCUS, while the industry kept postponing its investment decision until it could arm-twist the government for more “clarity” (by which it meant even more lavish taxpayer subsidies) on the project. Now the industry itself is running away from the CCUS hub and insisting the pipeline should proceed without it, but Carney doesn’t seem to be budging from a central tenet of the MOU to which Smith has signed on. • No Subsidies, No Investors: Climate analysts and advocates have quite rightly been hammering away at Carney and his team, insisting that any new capacity the industry wants to build must proceed without new subsidies. The government has responded with a growing collection of funding and financing mechanisms for the very wide menu of industrial development and nation-building projects they say they want to take on, and that menu always includes fossil fuel infrastructure. But it’s hard to see how even the combined fiscal clout of the federal and supportive provincial governments will deliver the financial backing private investors would need when the business case for new fossil fuel development is evaporating before their eyes. Particularly when… • No Market, No Demand, No Investors: As our friend Markham Hislop at Energi Media (our apparently sleepless friend, given the massive volume of great material he’s been churning out) points out this morning, the biggest vulnerability in any pipeline deal is the assumption that Asian buyers will want the oil or liquefied natural ga that our fossil industry is so keen to send them. Hislop writes in part: Ottawa and Alberta are effectively betting that countries like China and India will continue increasing oil imports for decades as their economies grow and energy consumption rises. That assumption underpins the entire economic rationale for expanding oil sands production and building billions of dollars in new export infrastructure. But Asian energy systems are changing rapidly… China, India, South Korea, and other major hydrocarbon importers are now investing hundreds of billions of dollars into electricity systems built around wind, solar, batteries, nuclear, hydro, and expanded transmission infrastructure. Domestic “energy sovereignty” is increasingly replacing the old energy-security model based on stable oil and gas imports. Those investments are expected to sharply slow oil demand growth and eventually reverse it, even as overall energy consumption continues rising. There are also refining constraints. Many Asian refineries and petrochemical complexes are already optimized to process discounted heavy crude from the Middle East and Latin America. That raises serious questions about how much additional Canadian bitumen Asian markets can absorb at profitable prices. Small wonder that there’s still no private sector investor for the project, despite Smith’s government desperately beating the bushes to put together a deal. For now, Alberta is acting as proponent and covering early start-up costs for a pitch to the federal Major Projects Office, which could actually turn into the next tough hurdle for Smith and her pipeline to jump. • Canada Day Looms: How ironic that Canada’s birthday this year could become a major chokepoint for the provincial premier who’s been working so diligently to tear the country apart! The July 1 target date for Alberta’s pipeline proposal is baked into the MOU, was reaffirmed by the implementation plan, but it hadn’t dawned on me that it cuts both ways. As one very smart colleague wrote in an email yesterday, “they’ve thrown the ball into Alberta’s court to get the project proposal on the table really quickly and to have to do a whole pile of work to put together a massive, complicated project that would typically take years to assemble, and they’ve given them weeks to do it.” That makes July 1 a looming deadline that Smith won’t be able to run away from politically, especially with the separatists in her party and her caucus breathing down her neck. (See previous ref to off-the-wall.) But if Alberta comes in with a sloppy, incomplete submission, even after Carney bent over backwards to simplify the application process and the rules that govern it, it may be harder for the province or the industry to blame Ottawa and insist on the faster process they claim their investors are demanding. (Oh, wait—which investors would those be??) • We’ll See You In Court (Then We’ll See You Again): If Carney did cave, that would be just one more reason for Indigenous and other affected communities to take the government and the process to court—Just as Alberta First Nations did, successfully, in response to Smith’s half-baked separation referendum. Veterans of the Harper era have been warning that a shoddy process around fossil fuel infrastructure or other major projects will be a recipe for the very delays that process seeks to avoid. And now more than ever, with renewable energy and energy storage eating fossil fuels’ lunch in import markets around the world, a delayed pipeline or LNG terminal may be as good as a cancelled one. • Charged Up, Ready to Go: With its goal of doubling Canada’s electricity supply to meet a doubling of demand by 2050, the national electricity strategy that Carney unveiled Thursday has a lot to like. With its explicit language about speeding the shift from fuels to more efficient and affordable electricity, global investment and deployment patterns that already favour that shift, an emerging bidirectional power grid, the role of front-line options like rooftop solar and heat pumps, the emergence of electric vehicles as behind-the-meter energy storage, and the domestic jobs and manufacturing to make it all happen, the document doubles down on the essential cornerstone of a faster shift off fossil fuels. The strategy envisions a more prominent role for gas and nuclear power. But some of those provisions were already in the Clean Electricity Regulations that climate hawks are now fighting so hard to defend, inserted as a compromise in a futile attempt to mollify the industry and its political representatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But once again, gas will be a tougher sell when it’s more expensive and now so much more unpredictable than the clean alternatives. The new nuclear technologies are still speculative and deeply vulnerable to cost overruns. Increasingly, utilities, developers, and investors know it. Carney declared Thursday that “it doesn’t do us good to be sitting in court all the time with provinces. It doesn’t do us good to be talking past each other. What does do us good is to come together with specific projects.” There are no guarantees, but so much of the language and narrative-building in the electricity strategy suggests the lion’s share of those projects will be renewable. • The Party Has Already Started: The electricity strategy only rarely digs down to specific projects, but provinces representing three-quarters of Canada’s population are already embracing a faster transition. Hydro-Québec is working on a 10-year, $185-billion renewable energy and grid buildout by 2035. Ontario recently brought 10 provinces and territories together in a National Energy Corridor Agreement to boost interprovincial and -territorial transmission infrastructure. And the MOU implementation agreement commits Alberta to facilitate investment in renewable energy projects, a big step back from its continuing, punitive restrictions on renewables development. The electricity strategy envisions much of the financing and infrastructure that will be needed to pull those advances together into an integrated whole. • Delivering on Affordability: The MOU implementation plan has little or nothing to say about affordability (are you surprised?), but the electricity strategy does, with a top-line pledge to reduce home energy costs for seven out of 10 Canadian households by 2050, a total saving of $15 billion across the board. It’s just a start, but it puts affordability on the government’s narrative map. If they’re serious and deliberate about patching together a least-cost energy strategy, it’ll have little if any room for oil, gas, or nuclear—not with powerful evidence, for example, that electricity prices are higher when those prices are set by gas. • Smith Proves that Canada Works: By signing a deal that makes it harder to claim the federal government is blocking a new pipeline, Smith has helped prove Carney’s constant anti-separatist refrain that “Canada works”—incurring the rage, no doubt, of her own political base. Canada also needs to work for anyone who depends on a clean environment, healthy and thriving ecosystems, and safe, stable climate. But with Smith and her separatist constituents setting up as a fifth column for annexation by Donald Trump’s United States, let’s set aside any notion that 51st state status for Canada is a recipe for anything other than climate disaster (and so much else). Resisting and withstanding Trump (just 170 more sleeps until mid-term elections, which is a damn sight better than the 730 we started with) doesn’t mean a free pass for a pipeline, but we can still appreciate it that keeping Canada whole and sovereign is still Carney’s Job One. • The Words Not Spoken: Apart from a commitment to export a million barrels of “low-emission” Alberta bitumen per day (memo to Smith and Carney: You realize that that’s less than the industry is already exporting??), the MOU implementation plan says nothing about the international trade and economic sovereignty deals that Carney has been travelling the world to negotiate. It didn’t have to. Carney doesn’t need permission from Danielle Smith, her American enablers, or her separatist allies to continue building the alliances that will ratchet down our economic dependency on our unstable, unreliable neighbour to the south. But every connection he builds with countries outside North America helps align our economy and our future with a faster shift off fossil fuels. Little if any of this was on our bingo cards a year or two ago. But it’s the pathway that has opened up to us. And if it gives Canada any climate or energy gains at all in an era still dominated by Trump and his increasingly ridiculous tariffs, his loutish trade negotiations and his continuing annexation threats, we have to take the wins. Not least because they’ll be the point of departure for what we can achieve in 2027, 2029, and beyond, as Trump’s grip and this era begin to loosen and then fade. What is Carney Doing? If this line of thought is right—and it’s a possibility, not a prediction—it means that Carney’s actions and decisions are largely about buying time. Time for Trump’s power to wane. Time for Alberta’s separatist/conspiracist virus to spread, mutate, die out, or at least die back, with help from a vaccine of federal steadiness and calm (appropriate enough, for a movement populated largely by vaccine deniers) that no conspiracy theory can dismiss. And time for the government’s trade and investment agenda to deliver results—even knowing that some of those results will bring impacts that front-line communities will not and should not accept. In the immediate moment, none of this changes the way the wider climate community has to respond, from campaigners to investors to front-line practitioners. All of our voices are still essential. But those voices will be stronger and more confident if we have a clearer sense of the brutal game we’ve been pulled into, and a plausible path (or two it three) for playing it to the win we need. This conversation also underscores our biggest task for the remaining years of what was supposed to be the “decisive” decade for climate response: if we can shift the energy narrative in Canada, make it a mainstream view that the country’s preoccupation with oil and gas has us falling farther behind a changing world, we’ll see far better results in the 2030s and beyond. For many veteran climate advocates, taking on that part of the fight will begin with recognizing that most of our friends and family, neighbours and colleagues already understand that climate change is real and right in front of us: they’re looking away and staying silent because they don’t have what climate communicator Katharine Hayhoe calls “efficacy”. As Hayhoe recently pointed out in a feature interview with The Energy Mix, it amounts to science denial to keep hammering away at the dire news about global warming without also helping audiences understand what they can do about it, with multiple studies telling us why that won’t work. Far better to open those conversations with the dominant crises like energy security, food security, emergency preparedness and business continuity, affordability, and financial security that have knocked climate change far lower on the list of public priorities, and will likely keep it there. We Knew This Would Happen Climate hawks have always known this day would come. For decades, we warned that everyone had to pay attention to climate change right now, because it would be much tougher to respond once the crisis itself started affecting our daily lives. We were right, and here we are. But now, thanks to decades of hard work, communities and countries have an alternative to doubling down on fossil fuels. “In 10 years everyone will have ‘always known’ that solar and batteries were going to win,” Morgan Solar Executive Chair Mike Andrade writes on LinkedIn. With the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz roiling energy priorities around the world, Canada and the United States are among the shrinking number of countries that are still very keen on fossil fuel development. Understanding that gap is a first, essential step in spotting the opportunities ahead, and averting the deep economic as well as environmental and social risk we face if we don’t seize them. Thanks for reading The Energy Mix Weekender! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. Subscribe Mitchell Beer traces his background in renewable energy and energy efficiency back to 1977, in climate change to 1997. Now he and the rest of the Energy Mix team scan 1,200 news headlines a week to pull together The Energy Mix and The Energy Mix Weekender. Chart of the Week BYD Eyes 20 Dealership Locations After Canada Greenlights Chinese EV Imports ‘Sledgehammer’ Carbon Price Deal Boosts Emissions by 230Mt, Aims for Fall 2027 Pipeline Approval ‘Worse Than Harper’: Regulatory Rollback Would Stop Canada from Assessing Project Impacts, Critics Warn Electricity Strategy Aims for Doubling by 2050, Allows ‘Flexibility’ for Gas Power Plants Opposition Mounts as O’Leary’s Data Centre Approved in Drought-Stricken Utah Diluted Carbon Price Misses ‘Reality of the World We’re In’, Could Impede Diversified Trade: Climate Institute $200B in Clean Energy Investment Will Need On-Time Delivery, Reliable Policies, Trade Association Says ‘Sovereign Pipeline’: CEO Pitches to Keep Trans Mountain in Government Hands What a Supercharged El Niño Could Mean for Canada Canada’s future is electric, and here’s how a power grid superhighway would get us there (Toronto Star) The Perilous Waters of Hecate Strait (Globe and Mail) Saudi Aramco profits jump despite conflict in Middle East (The Guardian) Farmers confront rising cost of fertilizer and fuel as spring seeding under way (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Clarkson forecasts 24% decline in offshore oil, gas capital expenditures (Oil & Gas Journal) Pipe Dreams: How Oil and Gas Fail to Deliver Economic Development in Africa (Oil Change International) Developing countries must hold the pen to script the fossil fuel transition (Climate Home News) Iran war threatens the dream of a post-oil economy in the Gulf (Washington Post) U.S. Oil, Gas Work Force Hits Lowest Level Since 2022 (Rigzone) Why Polestar Is Doubling Down on Net Zero as Rivals Pull Back on EVs (Bloomberg) Why this Michigan utility plans to sell its hydro dams for $13 (E&E News/Politico) Levees can no longer save New Orleans (Vox)
Digital piracy is on the rise and the entertainment industry is losing billions
“Avatar” film leaked early, costing Paramount profits. Digital piracy costs entertainment $75B annually, driven by subscription fatigue and rising costs.
Trump disparages incumbent Sen. Cassidy and tries to propel his challenger in Louisiana GOP primary
Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy, in an unusual attempt to dislodge an incumbent senator. Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial.
Country music fans heartbroken as two popular groups split: ‘Loved your music’
The groups have gone their separate ways.
Scientists catalog the ‘fractal dimensions’ of more than 130,000 islands
The “coastline paradox” helped to define fractals, but coastlines themselves turn out to be less fractal than thought
Colorado Politics Calendar May 18-24
CoPo’s weekly political calendar helps you find political and public policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]
Canada’s Carney travels to Alberta as separatists face legal setback
Trip comes as court rules separatists did not follow proper procedure in collecting referendum signatures.
Paramount's tech chief is leaving after 7 years, read the memo
Paramount's chief tech officer is stepping down during David Ellison's digital transformation. Read the memo to employees.
Andreas Rettig: 'You can't separate sports and politics'
The World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico is sparking discussions beyond the realm of football. DFB Director Andreas Rettig discusses the Germany team and the geopolitical situation in an interview with DW.
Andreas Rettig: 'You can't separate sports and politics'
The World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico is sparking discussions beyond the realm of football. DFB Director Andreas Rettig discusses the Germany team and the geopolitical situation in an interview with DW.
Marine Corps Veteran embraces first Winter Sports Clinic
Sixteen years ago, a car accident left USMC Veteran Joe Gibson paralyzed. Through adaptive sports at the Winter Sports Clinic, he is pushing past barriers.
Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.
Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe
St. Louis Science Center’s YES program pauses abruptly, leaving students without resources
For more than two decades, Youth Exploring Science, known as the YES program, served as a safe space for St. Louis area students who wanted hands-on STEM learning, mentorship, and college preparation.
Head Coach Abby Carchio Announces 2026 Women’s Sporting Staff - Vermont Green Football Club
Vermont Green FC Head Coach Abby Carchio has announced her staff for her first season at the helm. Caitlyn Fogel, Rory Twomey, and Edgar Vargas will serve as assistant coaches. Kat Paradis will be the athletic trainer, supported by Hannah Tremel and Dr. J.P. Begly.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley reveals the health changes she made after vocal cord scare
The “9-1-1 Nashville” star talked to Fox News Digital about her two-year battle with partial vocal cord paralysis.
Paramount's Keith Cox to Exit MTV Entertainment Studios
After 20 years with Paramount brands, MTV Entertainment Studios president Keith Cox is stepping down from his position.
Paramount+ pursues podcasts, following Netflix's lead
Paramount+ is exploring adding podcasts, as Netflix has done. David Ellison's streamer also recently introduced a short-form video feed.
Employee misconduct is becoming harder for companies to ignore
Rising workplace misconduct is becoming a growing concern for employers, with new research suggesting the problem may be rooted in shifting attitudes toward ethics and accountability, Inc. writes. A U.K. fraud prevention survey found notable tolerance for behaviors like expense fraud, moonlighting for competitors and even selling company login credentials, while a separate U.S. survey […]
A free concert, bigger parade and expanded entertainment: Buckhannon's investment helps Strawberry Festival festival reach new heights
Buckhannon boosted its support for the West Virginia Strawberry Festival with a record $50,000 contribution, helping fund a free Main Street concert headlined by Parmalee and expanded entertainment.
BET Gets Into the Microdrama Business With New Partnership
The Paramount brand inks a deal with the startup firm from Hollywood vets Jana Winograde, Susan Rovner and Lloyd Braun.
Howard Community College Featured in 'State of Business' Address
In his Business Outlook Luncheon remarks at Turf Valley Resort last week, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball outlined how Howard County “stands on business” through five pillars: managing crises, investing in people, backing businesses, making strategic investments, and preparing for the future. Howard Community College appears by name in the pillar that anchors the others: investing in people. Dr. Ball highlighted the $11 million county investment in HCC’s Cathy and Danny Bell Workforce and Trades Center, which will open this fall. He described the facility as a world-class center with state-of-the-art training in key industries, championed by HCC President Dr. Daria J. Willis, and positioned to help Howard County compete with institutions worldwide. He also recognized HCC’s Complete4Success program, supported by a $3.5 million county investment in 2022, as a continuing driver of certifications and degrees that prepare students to enter Howard County’s workforce ready to contribute on day one. Dr. Ball connected HCC’s work to the broader economic moment in the county, including more than 1,580 apprentices now training across Howard County businesses, up from roughly 1,100 in 2018, and the SPARK program that bridges classroom learning to high-demand industries. Each of these efforts depends on the kind of workforce pipeline HCC is built to deliver. Educational Services is one of the top three employment sectors for county residents, alongside Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services and Health Care & Social Assistance. HCC will award 1,263 degrees next week at its annual commencement ceremony, and every year, that output feeds directly into the industries the County Executive named as drivers of Howard County’s growth. The full picture also includes the families who are not yet there. The 2024 ALICE update from United Way of Central Maryland found that 35,346 households in Howard County, 29% of the total, fell below the ALICE Threshold in 2022, meaning they earned more than the Federal Poverty Level but less than the basic cost of living in the county. The Household Survival Budget for a Howard County family of two adults, an infant, and a preschooler reached $118,608 annually, requiring an hourly wage of $59.30 to cover housing, child care, food, transportation, and other essentials. Affluence and economic strain coexist within the same county lines. That gap is the reason higher education and economic development are inseparable. Every certification, associate degree, and apprenticeship credential issued at HCC represents a household closer to crossing the ALICE Threshold and into long-term financial stability. The Bell Center, Complete4Success, Howard P.R.I.D.E., Parent Scholars, and the institution’s transfer-rate gains are significant components of Howard County’s economic mobility infrastructure. HCC is grateful to Dr. Ball for his sustained partnership over nearly eight years of service and for recognizing that this college plays a central role in the economic story Howard County is telling. Standing on business in Howard County means standing alongside the flagship institution that prepares its workforce.
As Jamaica loosened its politics-and-gangs ties, Haiti tightened them
COMMENTARY To observe Haitian Flag Day on May 18, the members of Haiti's political and business elite who've sponsored violent gangs could reflect on the possibly irreparable damage they've done.
Paramount Sports Entertainment Makes Trio of Hires
"Their leadership will be instrumental in driving our production pipeline, expanding partnerships, and supporting our next phase of growth," says unit head Jesse Sisgold.
Paramount Sports Entertainment Makes Trio of Hires
"Their leadership will be instrumental in driving our production pipeline, expanding partnerships, and supporting our next phase of growth," says unit head Jesse Sisgold.
Paramount Sports Entertainment Makes Trio of Hires
"Their leadership will be instrumental in driving our production pipeline, expanding partnerships, and supporting our next phase of growth," says unit head Jesse Sisgold.
Joe Rogan podcast appearance tied to rise in demand for alternative cancer treatment
Ivermectin prescriptions spiked among cancer patients after Mel Gibson endorsed antiparasitic drugs on Joe Rogan's podcast, a new JAMA study reports.
What's in the billion dollar paragraph behind the White House ballroom debate
The $1 billion request is tied directly to the transformation of the East Wing into a massive ballroom, though limited to “security”-related needs. Here's what we know.
Paramount Sports Entertainment hires three execs for leadership team
Stefanie Markman, Alix Teppel and KC Warnke are joining Paramount Sports Entertainment -- home to Skydance Sports -- in senior leadership positions.
Fairground Entertainment Solves Streaming's "Scroll Fatigue" with Carousel: A New AI-Driven Content Format
Fairground Entertainment today announced the wide-market launch of Carousel, a first-of-its-kind AI content platform designed to transform streaming libraries into high-engagement, broadcast-ready entertainment. By automating the production of tailored "Discovery Shows," Carousel lowers subscriber churn and helps solve one of the industry's most persistent problems: the 12-minute 'decision paralysis' - the amount of time it takes to choose what to watch.
Israeli strikes on cars in south Lebanon kill 12, health ministry says
Two children are among those reported dead after seven cars were struck in separate attacks south of Beirut.
Maine's mental health system is failing families and taxpayers
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. But for Maine families living alongside severe mental illness, awareness is not enough. We need action, accountability, and reform. I am a nurse and a professor. More importantly, I am a mother. Our adult son lives with schizoaffective disorder, causing paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, and profound instability. Compounding his illness […]
Xiaomi officially announces new flagship phone with Leica cameras and large display
The Xiaomi 17 Max has been confirmed for a May launch in China, with pre-orders already open. The company has teased the device in a light blue colorway, revealing its design language and a few key highlights. Separately, a leak has shown the device in multiple additional colorways.
Hayden Panettiere Reveals the Harsh 3 Words Her Mom Told Her When She Severed Business Ties at 19
Hayden Panettiere reflected on her complicated relationship with her estranged mother, revealing the "disappointing" response she got after asking to separate their personal and professional lives at 19.
Brooklyn FC welcomes the next generation of athletes for Youth Sports Night this Saturday
Family-friendly activities, a pregame parade, halftime rugby, postgame penalty kicks, and more await fans at Maimonides Park this Saturday night.
Scientists Found the DNA ‘Switch’ That Made Us Human
DNA methylation plays an important role in separating us genetically from our closest relatives.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gets new Mineru's Construct amiibo in September
Why now, though?
The Wildfire-Fighting Union Leader Who Could Change Montana Politics
Sam Forstag made a career of parachuting into forest fires. As Democrats fight to win races in solidly red districts, could a man who has dedicated his life to the most dangerous kind of public service signal a new way forward?
Personnel note: Brightwater Strategies Group boosts leadership team with Jason Andreotta
'Jason is a rare talent who combines a deep technical understanding of Florida’s environment with an unparalleled ability to solve complex problems.'
This Coloradan can plug his brain into a computer. He’s trying to help turn science fiction into reality
Brandon Patterson, who is paralyzed from the chest down and has limited use of his arms, was the first person in Colorado to have a brain-computer interface implanted into a part of his brain involved in decision-making.
Politics, Pubs, Parades, + the Parish: Senator Bernie Kenny Part II
Former Senator Bernie Kenny of Hoboken in this second edition of Politics, Pubs, Parades, + the Parish talks about his roots in politics.
American passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrive back in the U.S.
One passenger who is suffering mild symptoms will be taken to a second site to be treated separately, officials said.
Figure1_YukiNagao_20260511
Figure 1: A visual comparison showing how interfacial proton transport, previously merged in conventional measurements, can now be separated and measured at each interface.
Neon, winner of 6 straight Palmes d'Or, comes into the Cannes Film Festival an unlikely heavyweight
It’s one of the most unparalleled streaks in movies.
Neon, winner of 6 straight Palmes d'Or, comes into the Cannes Film Festival an unlikely heavyweight
It’s one of the most unparalleled streaks in movies.
"From Sea to Shining Sea": Stafford Township to Celebrate America’s 250th at Founders Day 2026
Join Stafford Township Founders Day 2026 celebration on June 13: parade, live music, food trucks & fireworks as America marks its 250th. Click for details!
As asthma counts for most health-related school absences, Colorado school districts are getting prepared
Twenty-four out of Colorado's nearly 180 school districts have earned special recognition for asthma preparation and education. Cherry
Developer demolishing part of Atlantic City's Garden Pier for 'entertainment project'
Developer Bart Blatstein has been demolishing part of Garden Pier and extending the reach of the Boardwalk in preparation for an "entertainment project" he plans to announce soon. Blatstein, who...
Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show Named Favorite TV Mom in IMDB Fan Poll
Everyone should aim to be like her.
Trump and Xi’s Uneven Relationship Faces a Stress Test
Plus, humanoid robots rake in cash, Pope Leo’s influence, and the paradox of bowling.
How Investors May Respond To Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) Profit Squeeze And Kalshi Branding Deal
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. has reported its fiscal third-quarter 2026 results, with revenue rising to US$246.26 million while net income eased to US$5.11 million, and separately entered a multi-year partnership making Kalshi an Official Prediction Market Partner with naming rights to the sixth-floor Kalshi Concourse at Madison Square Garden. Despite higher expenses weighing on quarterly profit, management’s confidence in robust full-year growth and the Kalshi collaboration’s...
Colorado Politics Calendar May 11-17
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]
Costa Rica’s paradox of political continuity
Across Latin America, voters have punished incumbents and rejected traditional parties. Costa Rica appears to be an exception.
Nannie Helen Burroughs Parade, business fair prompt road closures in DC
It will be another busy weekend in the nation’s capital with two big events that are expected to attract a bunch of people and close off some D.C. roads.
Scientists split gentoo penguins into four species, one totally new to science. Three of them are already threatened.
Biologists argue that gentoo penguins should be divided into four separate species, including a newly recognized “cryptic” species. The habitats of three of them are imperiled by climate change.
Mid-Michigan entertainment for the weekend of May 8-10 and beyond
Check out what’s going on around the area.
The science behind social media’s peptide obsession
As peptide “stacking” takes over social media feeds, we separate the science from the hype of the Internet’s latest wellness obsession
🗞️ Madrid in meltdown, Friday's back pages look like this
What should have been a week of preparation for Sunday’s Clásico has turned into Real Madrid’s biggest internal crisis in years. This Friday’s front pages all agree on a devastating diagnosis:...
Strawberry Festival nears with fiesta theme and expanded entertainment lineup
The 2026 Strawberry Festival is just days away, and organizers say excitement and registrations are at record highs. New entertainment has been added on Main Street and at Jawbone Park, alongside a bigger parade and expanded family fun night.
Scientists uncover hidden parasite diversity in barb fish from the Sea of Galilee
When most people think about biodiversity in lakes and rivers, they imagine fish, plants, or perhaps birds and amphibians. But beneath the surface exists another world that often goes unnoticed: microscopic ...
The real storm chasers of the Great Plains
A veteran chaser separates Hollywood magic from the real, on-the-ground excitement of tornado season.
2026 Players Era Tournament increasing to 24 teams in two separate brackets with millions in NIL prize money
The third iteration of the NIL-based November college basketball event will again be staged in Las Vegas later this year and move to ESPN's airwaves
This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition - Former Jags linebacker helps athletes translate sports skills to business
Kent Justice talks with former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Akin Ayodele, now Gallagher’s market leader for South Florida, about the Gallagher Partnership Internship Program with the Jaguars—designed to help pro athletes translate what they’ve built in sports (resilience, preparation, competition, leadership) into post-playing careers, especially in consultative sales and risk management. Ayodele explains how the program works (typically in the offseason), what interns experience day-to-day inside Gallagher, and why he believes employers should value an athlete’s mindset even if the résumé doesn’t look “traditional.”
This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition - Former Jags linebacker helps athletes translate sports skills to business
Kent Justice talks with former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Akin Ayodele, now Gallagher’s market leader for South Florida, about the Gallagher Partnership Internship Program with the Jaguars—designed to help pro athletes translate what they’ve built in sports (resilience, preparation, competition, leadership) into post-playing careers, especially in consultative sales and risk management. Ayodele explains how the program works (typically in the offseason), what interns experience day-to-day inside Gallagher, and why he believes employers should value an athlete’s mindset even if the résumé doesn’t look “traditional.”
Nancy Guthrie Update: Forensic Science Professor Reveals What She Thinks Will Ultimately Solve the Case
'Today' co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's mom is still missing three months after her abduction.
'It wasn't stage-managed, it was just joy'
Arsenal should celebrate. If there's one learning to be taken from the days between Saturday's victory over Fulham and Tuesday's against Atletico Madrid - it's that vibes are paramount. For the majority of this season, Arsenal have been top of the table, soundtracked by endless talk of a quadruple or non-quadruple, unable to move for bottle memes.
Viral TikTok trend poses serious health risks, company warns
While there may be some benefits to your health, improper preparation can cause more harm.
Justice Department Sues Colorado Over Gun Law
The lawsuit, which follows a separate suit the agency filed against the city of Denver on Tuesday, involves a state ban of high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Baltic health ministers convene in Vilnius for 20th Baltic Policy Dialogue
Milestone anniversary edition focuses on long-term care investment as ageing populations place growing pressure on health and social systems across the region Vilnius, 6 May 2026 — Health ministers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are meeting in Vilnius today (5-6 May 2026) for the 20th edition of the Baltic Policy Dialogue (BPD), a milestone that marks two decades of structured, evidence-based health policy cooperation across the three Baltic States. Jointly organised by the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the BPD has since 2004 served as a unique sub-regional platform where senior health decision-makers can candidly exchange experiences, examine comparative evidence, and explore policy options. Founded in the wake of the Baltic EU accession, the BPD series was born from a shared ambition: to open a wider window into health systems across Europe and to build lasting cooperation among countries with common aspirations and shared challenges.
Applied Digital (APLD) Stock Separates Cloud Business as Hyperscaler Deals Reshape the Story
Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: APLD) closed Monday, May 4, 2026 at $35.63, a gain of 6.20% on the session, as investors processed a busy corporate
American College of Radiology Council approves ‘groundbreaking’ framework for assessing AI
Leaders voted to OK the new Practice Parameter for Imaging Artificial Intelligence during ACR’s annual meeting, being held in Washington, D.C.
Canceled Cinco de Mayo parade impacts Little Village businesses for second year in a row
Business owners say the canceled Cinco de Mayo parade dampens what is typically a time to celebrate Mexican culture in neighborhoods like theirs.
The Horror of a Hantavirus Cruise
Cruise ships are a paradise for pathogens, but a hantavirus outbreak is a first.
Crew Works Health, Spacesuits, and Cargo Mission Preps on Tuesday
Health monitoring, spacesuit checks, and preparations for an upcoming cargo mission kept the Expedition 74 crew busy on Tuesday. The International Space Station residents rounded out the day with a variety of maintenance on science hardware and life support equipment.
From Final Four to Summer Baseball, Student Builds Sports Journalism Skills
Emily Tuttle is turning classroom preparation into real-world sports journalism experience, using Final Four reporting and an upcoming Rockford Rivets internship to...
A Security Researcher Decompiled The White House App, & What They Found Is Pretty Alarming
Recently, The White House launched its own official app on iOS and Android, claiming that it gives users "unparalleled access to the Trump
Fight Your Fight: EA SPORTS™ UFC® 6 Arrives June 19, Delivering Next-Level Fighter Individuality and Gameplay Depth
Powered by Fighters, UFC ® 6 Features Alex Pereira and Max Holloway Stepping onto the Cover Watch the Reveal Trailer HERE Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today unveiled EA SPORTS™ UFC® 6 , launching June 19, 2026 on PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S. Powered by fighters, UFC 6 brings unparalleled fighter authenticity to players with true-to-life fighter movement and striking. Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former UFC featherweight and BMF champion Max Holloway headline the Standard and Ultimate Edition covers, ushering in a new era of fighter individuality appearing in gameplay, allowing players to fight their fight like never before. UFC 6 Standard Edition EA SPORTS™ UFC® 6 delivers the most realistic and authentic fighting experience yet. Athletes move, strike, and react like their real-life counterparts thanks to Markerless Capture and the next generation of Sapien Technology, setting a new standard for authenticity in the Octagon and a
Applied Digital Completes Separation of Cloud Business, Establishing ChronoScale as Independent Public Company
ChronoScale to begin trading on Nasdaq under ticker CHRN Applied Digital to retain approximately 97% ownership and invest $15.75 million at…...
Paramount earnings, revenue beat expectations as streaming business offers a boost
Paramount Skydance said it added streaming subscribers during the first quarter even as it instituted its first price hike since 2024.
Drive to Celebrate Youth Sports Athletes at Fluor Field
Drive to Celebrate Youth Sports Night at Fluor Field on May 12 Youth athletes invited to enjoy complimentary ticket, pregame parade, District 356 street party, and more The Greenville Drive will celebrate the next generation of athletes on Tuesday, May 12, as Fluor Field hosts the 4th annual Youth Sports
AI Is Great at “Normal Science,” but Breakthroughs Still Belong to People
In a recent capstone presentation, Darden professor Keith McCormick offered a grounded perspective on what AI can and cannot do today. According to McCormick, AI excels at what science philosopher Thomas Kuhn calls “normal science,” but may fall short of reaching artificial general intelligence (AGI) without some new scientific breakthrough that changes the current paradigm.
Corteva's seed business to be named Vylor following planned 2026 separation
Corteva has renamed its seed and genetics business Vylor. In a statement, the company says the new division will further strengthen gene editing and disease resistance, while also helping farmers explore new row crop opportunities. Corteva says the overall restructuring is designed to capitalize on investments in biological and differentiated crop protection products, while also […]
What Doctors Want You to Know About Cannabis and Health
The government recently loosened medical marijuana rules. Experts separate fact from fiction about the drug’s safety and benefits.
Caring for mental health together
In a church that proclaims God’s care for people’s bodies, minds and spirits, tending to mental health is not separate from faith.
Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)
The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.
Phil Jackson Comments on NBA Legend's Celtics Question
Legendary NBA coach Phil Jackson casually dropped basketball knowledge after a 5-time NBA champion asks about Boston Celtics' 'paralysis' in Game 7 loss to Philadelphia 76ers.
Trucordia acquires Connecticut agency Paradiso Financial
The move adds a community agency with a diversified personal and small commercial book
Trucordia acquires Connecticut insurer Paradiso Financial
The move adds a community agency with a diversified personal and small commercial book
Is Tencent Music (TME) Offering Value After Recent Share Price Weakness?
If you are wondering whether Tencent Music Entertainment Group at around US$9.10 is attractively priced or not, it helps to separate the story from the numbers. The stock's journey has been uneven, with a 2.6% decline over the last 7 days, a 0.8% decline over the last 30 days, a 49.0% decline year to date, a 34.8% decline over the last year, a 30.4% gain over 3 years and a 40.7% decline over 5 years. Recent coverage has focused on how Tencent Music Entertainment Group fits into the broader...
The creepy feeling in old buildings might have a surprising cause
A hidden force may be quietly shaping how you feel—and you’d never even know it. Infrasound, an ultra-low-frequency vibration below the range of human hearing, is everywhere from traffic to old buildings. In a small experiment, people exposed to it became more irritable, less engaged, and even showed higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol—despite having no idea it was present. The findings suggest our bodies can “sense” these vibrations without conscious awareness, potentially explaining eerie sensations in places like basements or supposedly haunted buildings.
Malaria didn’t just kill early humans, it shaped who we became
Long before humans spread across the globe, a deadly disease may have quietly shaped where our ancestors lived—and even how we evolved. New research reveals that malaria didn’t just threaten early human survival; it actively pushed populations away from high-risk regions across Africa, fragmenting groups over tens of thousands of years. This separation influenced how different populations met, mixed, and exchanged genes, helping shape the genetic diversity we see today.
Today’s Papers – Farewell Zanardi, the Superhero
La Gazzetta dello SportSuperheroFarewell to the man of impossible featsA driver living life always on the edge. The crash and his legs were amputated, then he won the gold medals at the Paralympic Gam...
Are your memories real? Physicists revisit the Boltzmann brain paradox
A new analysis of the “Boltzmann brain” paradox suggests our memories and sense of reality could, in theory, be random illusions born from cosmic chaos. By uncovering circular reasoning in how physicists think about time and entropy, the study raises fresh doubts about what we can truly know about the past.
Tyson, Shatner, and Science’s Next Great Frontier
The implications of such paradigm-altering evidence are well articulated by William Shatner in his interview.
2026 Best & Brightest MBA: Paramvir Singh, Hong Kong University Business School
Paramvir Singh, who is graduating from Hong Kong University, has been named a Poets&Quants Best & Brightest MBA for 2026
Colorado Politics Calendar May 4-10
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]
"We are killing them all over again": Critics say history is being erased as Trump reshapes narratives at national parks
At national parks, visitors will be confronted with changes enacted after Trump’s order to remove or replace narratives that “disparage” Americans.
Spirit Airlines closer to a shutdown
A person familiar with the matter said preparations were being made for a Saturday shutdown.
Scientists sound alarm as dangerous amoebas spread globally
Free-living amoebae are emerging as a global health concern, fueled by warming temperatures and outdated water systems. While many are harmless, some can cause deadly infections and even protect other dangerous microbes. Their ability to survive heat and disinfectants makes them especially hard to control. Scientists say improved surveillance and water treatment are urgently needed.