Higher inflation reports pushed U.S. Treasury yields on Friday to rates not seen since the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Yields on the 30-year Treasury rose to 5.13 percent, the highest since June 2007. The 10-year yield jumped to 4.59 percent, the highest since May 2025.

The rise in rates comes in the wake of increasing consumer, producer, and import–export prices. The Consumer Price Index jumped to 3.8 percent according to data released this week, the highest since May 2023.

Fears over higher inflation pushed investors to demand higher yields on treasuries, a benchmark for borrowing costs like mortgages.

Debt financing continues to impose an increasing burden on the Treasury and Federal Reserve, as interest alone on the national debt grew higher than defense spending in fiscal year 2024. The federal government’s refinancing of this debt pushes treasury rates higher as the risk of failure to repay grows. 
These pressures put further challenges on President Donald Trump’s appointed Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, who wishes to wind down the central bank’s balance sheet while cutting interest rates.

The post U.S. Treasury Rates Highest Since Before Financial Crisis appeared first on The American Conservative.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba on Thursday for talks with senior officials, including “Raulito” Castro, the grandson of Communist Party of Cuba head Raúl Castro, the CIA told The Hill. Ratcliffe delivered President Donald Trump’s message that Washington is open to engagement only if Havana makes “fundamental changes.” 

In addition to Castro, who has served as an informal intermediary with Washington, Ratcliffe met with Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas, Cuba’s intelligence chief. The talks covered intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and security concerns.

The Cuban government said the meeting came at Washington’s request. “The information presented by the Cuban side, along with the exchanges held with the U.S. delegation, served to categorically demonstrate that Cuba poses no threat to U.S. national security, nor are there any legitimate grounds for including it on the list of countries alleged to sponsor terrorism,” it said in a statement.

Trump has placed significant pressure on Cuba during his second term, conducting a campaign to cut off its oil imports and threatening a “friendly takeover” of the country.

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President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post depicting Venezuela overlaid with an American flag and labeled the 51st state followed a Fox News report that Trump had said he was “seriously considering” such a move.

The post Trump Floats Venezuela as ‘51st State’ appeared first on Breitbart.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Virginia Democrats for the nation's high court to intervene after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled to strike down a gerrymander scheme that would have redrawn the state's congressional map in favor of Democrats.

The post Supreme Court Rejects Virginia Democrats’ Request to Intervene in Gerrymander Scheme appeared first on Breitbart.

During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” President Donald Trump said that the United States allowed China to get tankers filled with Iranian oil out. Host Bret Baier said, “China got three tankers

The post Trump: ‘We Allowed’ China to Get Tankers with Iranian Oil Out appeared first on Breitbart.

Americans have an abundance of payment mechanisms available to them, including cash, debit cards, credit cards, and others. Although inflation has eroded purchasing power, by world standards, the U.S. dollar remains a bastion of stability and credibility. In this menagerie, stablecoins and cryptocurrency remain niche payment products for many Americans.

The relative novelty of digital assets is reflected in the current heated Beltway debate between policy wonks and industry experts. So why should everyday Americans care about legislation like the GENIUS Act (enacted last year to create a regulatory framework to facilitate stablecoin adoption) or the Clarity Act, which got one step closer to becoming law yesterday, for crypto? Because even though use today is not yet ubiquitous, the stakes are huge — nothing short of the United States’s future global financial leadership and civil liberties for all Americans.

Today’s stablecoins have come a long way from early cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin), and stablecoins were pure digital money backed by nothing tangible. Today, virtually all stablecoins are backed by some tangible, convertible asset. Overwhelmingly, that convertible asset is some U.S.-dollar-denominated asset, such as short-term Treasury bonds or insured bank deposits. Overall, more than 99% of all stablecoins in circulation worldwide are backed by dollar-based assets, with Euro- and Yen-backed assets comprising less than 0.5% each.

OPINION — CRYPTO CLARITY: TIME FOR WASHINGTON TO TAKE THE FUTURE OF MONEY SERIOUSLY

Stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies are here already and are expected to grow rapidly in the near future. According to a recent survey, 27% of Americans say they have already used stablecoins for purchasing or investing. But the generational numbers are striking. While only 2% of baby boomers and 14% of Gen Xers have used stablecoins, 42% of Generation Z say they have.

The implications of getting policies right are heightened because the adoption of USD Coin is even higher in the rest of the world. This is especially the case in developing countries, where populations do not trust their local currencies.

In Latin America, for example, U.S. stablecoins have become institutionalized as part of their financial infrastructure and account for 7.7% of regional GDP transactions. In Africa, it’s 6.7% and, according to research, the majority are everyday people using stablecoins for ordinary payments and savings, not speculation. In short, through stablecoins, we are quietly and quickly dollarizing the world economy and providing an important counterweight to China’s global economic influence.

Through the spread of dollar-based stablecoins, the U.S. is therefore expanding its economic and financial power worldwide, effectively enabling the rest of the world to invest in the United States. When we dominate the global digital economy, the benefits of stablecoins are not just for the rest of the world — they flow to Americans as well.

But this rapid expansion requires market structure and clarity. Without U.S. leadership and growth, this sector will come to a screeching halt. That’s why the Clarity Act, the product of nearly a year of negotiations, is essential. Lawmakers have worked diligently to strike the right balance of implementing guardrails to protect consumers without heavy-handed bureaucracy that would stifle this exciting financial innovation. Senators’ diligent, bipartisan efforts to reach such a compromise are likely why both Democrats and Republicans voted in the Banking Committee yesterday to advance the bill to the full Senate.  

Throughout the process, however, legacy financial institutions worked assiduously against the Clarity Act, moving goalposts, skipping negotiations, and earlier this week, complaining that negotiations were happening publicly instead of behind closed doors. The bank lobby has made it clear that tanking the compromise negotiated in Clarity is their goal because legitimizing digital currency would cut into their own profits and market power. As we’ve seen with the debate over open banking and fintech innovation, many of these big banks simply want to use their lobbyists and trade associations to strangle competition. But the crypto ship has sailed, and experts and even skeptical lawmakers suggest the banks have already gotten the overwhelming majority of what they wanted in negotiations. The White House team, which has led good-faith discussions and brought all parties to the table throughout negotiations, also grew weary of the bank lobby’s eleventh-hour bait-and-switch.

OPINION: WHILE CONGRESS BALKS AT CRYPTO REGULATION, OUR ADVERSARIES PUSH FOR MARKET DOMINANCE

Privately-issued, dollar-backed digital currencies offer the best of both worlds: the ability to spread the influence of the dollar around the world while providing a buffer against the overwhelming presence of the regulatory state to weaponize the payments system to punish political opponents and disfavored speech.

The Clarity Act represents an opportunity for a major bipartisan win on an issue of critical importance to our financial system and our position in the world. The bank lobbyists have telegraphed that they’re not giving up their stall tactics as this bill moves to the Senate floor. But any further delay would in effect surrender American leadership in the next era of global financial innovation, risking our economic and national security. The yearlong negotiations have produced measured legislation that balances stability, security, and structure, with room for innovation and growth. Senators should pass the Clarity Act as quickly as possible.

Todd Zywicki is a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School and co-founder of the Institute for Consumer Financial Choice. From 2020-21, he was chairman of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law.

More than 25 Tren de Aragua gang members have been arrested and many other criminals brought to justice, FBI Director Kash Patel said during a weekly agency update.

The post FBI Director Kash Patel Celebrates Major Victories: More than Two Dozen Tren de Aragua Gang Members Arrested appeared first on Breitbart.

Grammy-winning music producer and singer Jack Antonoff blasted what he called "Godless whores" who create art with artificial intelligence.

The post Music Producer Jack Antonoff Slams AI Users as ‘Godless Whores’: ‘By All Means, Drive Right off That Cliff’ appeared first on Breitbart.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Texas Attorney General's Office announced a "landmark" $10 million resolution with the Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) on Friday, which includes the creation of a clinic for detransitioners harmed by sex-rejecting drugs and surgeries. 

The post Texas Children’s Hospital to Pay Millions, Create ‘First-Ever’ Detransition Clinic in DOJ Settlement appeared first on Breitbart.

In a study that followed more than 30,000 adults in the U.S. for two decades, people who consistently helped others outside the home showed a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline. The researchers found the decline was reduced by about 15%-20% among those who either volunteered formally or helped in informal ways, such as supporting neighbors, family, or friends. The strongest and most consistent benefit appeared when people spent about two to four hours per week helping others.

The findings were published recently in Social Science & Medicine. The work was supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

"Everyday acts of support -- whether organized or personal -- can have lasting cognitive impact," said Sae Hwang Han, an assistant professor of human development and family sciences at UT who led the study. "What stood out to me was that the cognitive benefits of helping others weren't just short-term boosts but cumulative over time with sustained engagement, and these benefits were evident for both formal volunteering and informal helping. And in addition to that, moderate engagement of just two to four hours was consistently linked to robust benefits."

Formal volunteering and informal helping both mattered

The study is among the first to examine formal volunteering and informal helping side by side. Informal helping can include giving someone a ride to a health appointment, watching children, doing lawn work, or helping prepare taxes for a neighbor, relative, or friend.

Previous reports suggest about 1 in 3 older Americans take part in scheduled or formal volunteering. In contrast, more than half regularly help people they know in these less formal ways.

"Informal helping is sometimes assumed to offer fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition," Han said. But in fact, "It was a pleasant surprise to find that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to formal volunteering."

Long-term national data strengthens the findings

To study these patterns over time, the researchers analyzed longitudinal data from the national Health and Retirement Study. The dataset includes a representative sample of U.S. residents over age 51, with information dating back to 1998.

The researchers accounted for other factors that can shape both helping behavior and cognitive health, including wealth, physical and mental health, and education. Even after considering those influences, cognitive decline tended to slow when people started helping others and continued to do so. The results also suggest that the benefits may grow when helping becomes a steady routine year after year.

"Conversely, our data show that completely withdrawing from helping is associated with worse cognitive function," Han said. "This suggests the importance of keeping older adults engaged in some form of helping for as long as possible, with appropriate supports and accommodations in place."

Why this may matter for public health and aging

The researchers argue these results strengthen the case for thinking about volunteering, helping, and neighborhood connection as public health issues. This may be especially important later in life, when conditions tied to cognitive decline and impairment, including Alzheimer's, are more likely to develop.

The paper also points to related work by the same lead researcher. Another recent study led by Han found that volunteering helped counter the harmful effects of chronic stress on systemic inflammation -- a known biological pathway linked to cognitive decline and dementia. The benefit was strongest among people with higher levels of inflammation.

Taken together, these findings suggest helping others may support brain health in more than one way. It may reduce the physical strain linked to stress, and it may strengthen social bonds that provide psychological, emotional, and cognitive support. As societies age and concerns about loneliness and isolation grow, the results also support continued efforts to keep people involved in ways that let them contribute, even after cognitive decline has begun.

"Many older adults in suboptimal health often continue to make valuable contributions to those around them," Han said, "and they also may be the ones to especially benefit from being provided with opportunities to help."

Other authors on the study were former UT postdoctoral researcher Shiyang Zhang and Jeffrey Burr of the University of Massachusetts Boston.

President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post depicting Venezuela overlaid with an American flag and labeled the 51st state followed a Fox News report that Trump had said he was “seriously considering” such a move.

The post Trump Floats Venezuela as ‘51st State’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Every major emerging technology has required more energy and infrastructure. Everything digital runs through data centers, making them foundational, not optional. Questions should center on their undertaking rather than their elimination.

The post The Electricity Myth: Data Centers Aren’t the Villain appeared first on Watts Up With That?.

Beware the horror of temperatures a few degrees warmer than normal.

The post Claim: The Coming El Nino Global Warming may Kill 50 Million People appeared first on Watts Up With That?.

Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach (@WEschenbach on X, my personal blog is here) We live in an odd age when a billionaire can look at the planetary mess, point at…

The post Wildebeest, Buffalo, and Cattle, Oh My! appeared first on Watts Up With That?.

WILLISTON, N.D. — A major dust storm created blizzard-like conditions in western North Dakota Thursday afternoon, reducing visibility to near-zero and causing several crashes on local highways. 

DANGERS OF DUST STORMS

Video from the North Dakota Highway Patrol showed a wall of dust that made it nearly impossible to see. 

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

Troopers responded to a crash involving tanker trailers on Highway 85 in Williams County around 1:30 p.m. local time. Police said the driver was saved by their seatbelt.

A pickup towing a trailer rolled over on Highway 83 south of Minot during the dust storm. Similar conditions were seen on Highway 28, north of Berthold and on Highway 40, south of Tioga.

A High Wind Warning for gusts between 40 and 70 mph was in effect and a Blowing Dust Advisory was upgraded to a Blowing Dust Warning just after 2 p.m.

LIGHTNING SPARKS MASSIVE GRASSFIRE AND BURNS THOUSANDS OF ACRES IN TEXAS

An area of low pressure in Canada pumped strong wind gusts across the Northern Plains Thursday and also fueled a Fire Weather Warning.

A Blowing Dust Advisory remains in effect for North Dakota Friday and police are asking drivers with high-profile vehicles to avoid peak winds.