A U.S. federal judge on Thursday halted the Trump administration’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, issuing a ruling that the government trampled free-speech protections when it classified the artificial-intelligence company as a security threat and barred government use of its models.?
Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California in her decision ordered the Trump administration to desist from applying the president’s directive that federal agencies stop using Anthropic’s technology, and from implementing its designation of the company as a risk to the national security supply chain. She also required the government to provide a report by April 6 detailing how it has complied with her ruling.
Rode over to another dealership early this morning and looked at but did not buy another one of those enormous trucks. It felt good to walk out of the dealership, but I am hoping I hear back, as I wasn’t going to play games in the showroom. They tried to get me to stay, but I gave them my card, and told them this bullshit, and if they don’t want to fuck with me, give me a text or email when you have a fair price.
Saturday one of my buddies is taking me to dealerships in his diesel SuperDuty, 🛻 and I told him I’d pay him to keep it idling in the parking lot while I run in, so they can’t waste too much of my time. Seriously though, I am continuing to work car deals and test drive those enormous trucks, while I am thinking I am drawing close to having a deal on at least one of the trucks I’m looking at.
Other then that, it was a very late night at the Town Board Meeting, before the early morning at the dealership. And now I’m off to the office to work on the database update. Truth is I am just so tired, trying to figure out every angle on this, 📐 and what truck I actually want to buy. I have moved money and have a good idea of what is a fair price based on my outreach to dealerships, now just to make the deal before the month draws to a close. Then get a camper shell, move over the the batteries and equipment. Going to be a great rig, once I close the deal.
Going to rain this evening, but hopefully I won’t get soaked riding down to the bus stop downtown on my bike, but I needed the bike to get to the dealership much too early this morning. Well when I get home, I will probably just strip off my wet clothes and hide in bed. I was in bed after 10:30 PM again last night, and then up at 3 AM. I just so want to get one of the deals to work this weekend, without overpaying by too much.
The costs of shielding the global economy from the most severe energy shock in decades are adding up—just when governments can least afford it.
Authorities around the world are trying to cushion the blow to ordinary people from soaring prices. The state of Georgia suspended its 33 cents-a-gallon gas tax, with other U.S. states considering doing the same. The U.K. government has promised to help pay some consumers’ heating-fuel bills. China, Hungary and Japan have limited prices at the gas pump.
The efforts contain inflation but strain already-groaning government budgets. The longer the crisis in the Persian Gulf lasts, the more that governments will feel compelled to do.
While crude oil futures are surging again, officials in the Trump administration are discussing a range of scenarios, including oil reaching as high as $200 a barrel, according to Bloomberg. Oil prices have surged as a result of the war because the conflict has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a passageway that carries around 20% of the world's oil. Iran is reportedly looking to formalize its control over the Strait as a result of the war, as the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council said Iran is already starting to charge fees to allow ships to pass through safely during the war while its parliament drafts a bill that would make the tolls law, per the Associated Press.12
For decades, liquefied natural gas acted as the global economy’s reliable escape valve during energy crises, keeping factories humming and homes warm.
Now, LNG has become the battlefield itself.
The war in Iran has fractured every node of the regional LNG supply chain. Iranian strikes on Qatar, one of the world’s top LNG producers, have damaged its Ras Laffan facility, knocking out some 17% of its capacity for up to five years, and delayed the country’s massive expansion plans. On Tuesday, QatarEnergy declared force majeure on some of its LNG supply contracts, including customers in China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium.
Meanwhile, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries around a fifth of global LNG, is paralyzed. Buyer confidence in Gulf supply has also been undermined.
Even if the Trump administration and Iran agree to end the war soon, the consequences for the LNG market will be long-lasting—and even more profound than for oil, experts say.
For a glimpse of how much higher energy prices could still soar, look beyond the prices Wall Street analysts normally track for West Texas Intermediate in the U.S. and Brent in Europe.
At the center of the supply squeeze in the Middle East, traders are paying an eye-watering $160 a barrel for the Emirati oil that can dodge the Strait of Hormuz, far above those global benchmarks.
Those sky-high prices, traders say, are a harbinger of where the rest of the market could be heading if the Persian Gulf isn’t reopened soon. That is because Asian customers are scouring the world for similar varieties of crude to keep churning out diesel and jet fuel.
Benchmark oil prices sank after President Trump postponed strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and said the U.S. had held “productive” talks with Tehran, raising the prospect he might be searching for a way to end the war.
at the Town Board Meeting, before the early morning at the dealership. And now I’m off to the office to work on the database update. 
Truth is I am just so tired, 
trying to figure out every angle on this, 📐 and what truck I actually want to buy. I have moved money and have a good idea of what is a fair price based on my outreach to dealerships, now just to make the deal before the month draws to a close. 
Then get a camper shell, move over the the batteries and equipment. Going to be a great rig, once I close the deal. 
but hopefully I won’t get soaked riding down to the bus stop downtown on my bike, 
but I needed the bike to get to the dealership much too early this morning. Well when I get home, I will probably just strip off my wet clothes and hide in bed. I was in bed after 10:30 PM again last night, and then up at 3 AM. I just so want to get one of the deals to work this weekend, without overpaying by too much.