Source: Niskanen Center
by Owen Tritt
“In April, China halted exports of seven rare earth metals, reportedly in retaliation to Trump’s tariffs. The move triggered global shortages, underscoring the geopolitical leverage China derives from its dominance in critical minerals. Despite growing awareness of this vulnerability, the United States remains heavily reliant on Chinese extraction and refining. Building a resilient domestic supply chain will require more than infrastructure — it demands a skilled workforce across the entire critical minerals sector: mining, refining, and research. We need experts to locate deposits, design and operate mines, improve refining processes, and drive innovation that positions the U.S. competitively in this global market. Developing that talent pipeline will take years; in the meantime, the U.S. must draw on foreign expertise to fill urgent gaps.” (08/14/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/building-a-domestic-critical-mineral-workforce-through-immigration/
Source: Politico
“Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the state will open a second immigration [concentration camp] inside a now-shuttered state prison in North Florida as the fate of its first such facility in the Everglades lies in the hands of a federal judge. Florida plans to spend up to $6 million to stand up Baker Correctional Institution — which is 15 minutes away from an airport in Lake City — to hold more than 1,300 people awaiting deportation. Baker was ‘temporarily closed’ amid ongoing staffing problems in the state prison system. … DeSantis had previously said the state was looking to set up a second [concentration camp] at Camp Blanding, the main training facility for the Florida National Guard located in North Florida. But state officials decided instead that it would be cheaper and more efficient to use the closed state prison.” (08/14/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/14/florida-to-use-shuttered-prison-as-2nd-immigration-detention-center-after-alligator-alcatraz-00509108
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“What to expect from the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.” (08/14/25)
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/nx-s1-5502223/what-to-expect-from-the-trump-putin-summit-in-alaska
Source: The Atlantic
by Quinta Jurecic
“Trump’s plan to leverage the DOJ for his campaign of revenge is not generating the results he might have hoped for, and not just because Obama remains a free man. The Justice Department has been slow to move forward with the investigations Trump demanded, hemmed in by the constraints of the legal system. Federal prosecutors targeting protesters and Democratic politicians have been dealt embarrassing defeats. American criminal law appears to be a less flexible tool in the hands of an authoritarian than Trump hoped — at least for now.” (08/14/25)
https://archive.is/JcvEM
Source: Politico
“Former EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, the early front-runner to become Ireland’s next president, on Thursday withdrew from the race citing health concerns. McGuinness, 66, made her surprise announcement a week after her previously undisclosed hospitalization for an unspecified illness. While not all potential candidates have declared for an election that must be held by November, McGuinness had been rated the most likely winner in all opinion polling and political betting markets.” (08/14/25)
https://www.politico.eu/article/mairead-mcguinness-quits-irish-presidential-race
Source: The Fifth Column
“Creed, Crimea, Crime … and a City of Baby Newts.” (08/14/25)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/519-creed-crimea-crimeand-a-city
Source: Orange County Register
by Veronique de Rugy
“A new report from the Department of Energy concludes that, yes, the climate is changing and humans contribute to it — but no, it’s not necessarily the impending catastrophe we’ve been warned about. In another era, an agency charting this kind of middle course would be unremarkable. Today, it feels revolutionary. The debate over climate change and responses has become so polarized that acknowledging the problem of human-driven warming without accepting a narrative that can sound apocalyptic invites attacks from all sides. I understand that the findings are controversial and hope climate scientists debate every detail. Considering the upside of getting this issue right, you would think more people would encourage open debate.” (08/14/25)
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/08/13/new-climate-report-deserves-to-be-debated-not-silenced/
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Joyce Brand, Author of Pioneering Prosperity:The Morazan Model for Free Cities and co-author of Economics and the Spiritual Life of Free Men, comes on the show to talk about free cities; what are they, where are they, do they work, etc.” (08/14/25)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/383038-2025-08-14-2025-08-15-ernest-hancock-interviews-joyce-brand-free-cities.htm
Source: Racket News
by Matt Taibbi
“In the coming weeks you’ll be reading (at Racket, among other places) about wholesale abuse of other surveillance programs. It turns out an alarming number of senior Trump campaign officials from the 2024 cycle were notified about prior FBI surveillance (news about Kash Patel, Dan Scavino, and Jeff Clark receiving such notices has already broken, but more names are coming). Widespread surveillance of congressional officials in a 2017 leak probe was the underlying context of recent revelations suggesting two members, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, approved leaks of classified information. The legacy press is ignoring the releases both because they paint Donald Trump as a victim of overreach and because the press played such a prominent role in the Russiagate corruption.” (08/14/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/russiagate-releases-lifting-a-veil
Source: NBC News
“A stolen 16th-century manuscript signed by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés has been found and returned to the Mexican government, the FBI said Thursday. The rare item offers a glimpse into the government of New Spain, which grew to cover a vast stretch of land from modern-day Washington state to Louisiana and Central America. Signed by Cortez on Feb. 20, 1527, the document details payments in pesos of gold for expenses, the FBI said. … The FBI said the missing document was likely stolen between 1985 and October 1993, due to a system of wax numbering used by Mexican archivists. There will be no criminal charges connected to the case, Dittmer said, because the document had ‘changed hands many times over’ since it went missing.” (08/14/25)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-returns-missing-16th-century-document-signed-conquistador-cortes-m-rcna224946
