© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.17.2
Biden Urges Oil Companies to Increase Supply, Criticizes High Profit Margins
On Wed., Pres. Biden sent a letter to seven oil companies calling on them to increase supply and accusing them of taking advantage of the inflation crisis to increase their profit margins to "above normal" levels.
Biden also directed Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm to convene an emergency meeting with oil companies to gather explanations on capacity reductions since 2020, and brainstorm ideas to increase supply.
In a more forceful tone, Biden wrote that he was prepared to use "appropriate federal government tools" to increase oil output, though he didn't outline specific measures the government would take.
Republican narrative
This letter is the height of hypocrisy Biden, who promised to end oil drilling in the name of his green policies, is demanding companies to increase production now that it's politically convenient. This is nothing more than a sad attempt to pass the blame.
Democratic narrative
It's wrong to blame Biden. COVID and its cascading effects drove the energy crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war only adds complexity. There is very little Biden can do to fix rising gas prices, and he shouldn't be condemned for trying to lessen the burden on regular Americans.
EU Signs Gas Deal With Israel, Egypt
Seeking to diversify away from Russian energy, the EU, Israel, and Egypt signed a natural gas export deal in Cairo on Wed., allowing significant exports of Israeli gas to Europe for the first time.
According to the European Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen, Israel has agreed to send natural gas from its offshore fields in the eastern Mediterranean via pipeline to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and shipped to Europe as LNG.
This trilateral deal will only replace a fraction of what the EU is currently importing from Russia. In 2021, the EU imported about 45% of its gas from Russia, approx.155B cubic meters of natural gas.
Narrative A
The EU has become increasingly distressed by Russian brutality in Ukraine and moved Europe toward a more fragmented energy strategy. This means the EU will buy smaller amounts of energy from a number of different countries. Europe can no longer afford to be depending on just one energy source and is prudently heading toward market diversification.
Narrative B
Europe and the EU have been hit by an electricity price crisis caused by failing politicians, not failing supply. The EU aims to be the world's environmental policy beacon but risks falling behind economically. The EU's overall energy policies' aims are honorable, but in practice, very difficult to implement due to mismanagement.
Day 113 Roundup: Western Leaders Visit Kyiv as Russia and China Pledge 'Mutual Support'
The leaders of the EU's three biggest countries – France, Germany and Italy; represented by Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi, respectively – visited Kyiv on Thurs. to discuss Ukraine's ambitions of joining the bloc ahead of a European Commission meeting on Ukraine's candidacy this Friday.
While the countries have been lukewarm on Ukraine's bid to join the EU, Macron on Thurs. said they now support the "immediate" candidate status. Ukraine has previously been critical of the countries for allegedly dragging their feet with support and weapons shipments.
Ahead of the meeting, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told German outlet Bild he was concerned EU leaders would pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal favorable to Russia. "They will say that we need to end the war that is causing food problems and economic problems… that we need to save Mr Putin's face."
Pro-establishment narrative
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after a fraudulent election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
Pro-Russia narrative
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.
Nerd narrative
There is a 2% chance that Ukraine will join the European Union before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
US Regulators Cite Tesla Autopilot in Hundreds of Crashes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that Teslas were involved in 273 out of 392 total crashes of vehicles using partially automated driver-assist systems from Jul. 2021 to May 2022.
Telsa accounted for 69.6% of reported incidents. Although Telsa calls its systems "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving," it also cautions that the vehicles cannot drive themselves and drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.
The next closest of 12 automakers that reported crashes was Honda with 90 incidents. Honda states it has approximately 6M vehicles on US roads with such autopilot systems, while Tesla is believed to have about 830k. Tesla may have reported a larger fraction of its accidents than other companies because of electronic crash reporting.
Narrative A
Tesla is clearly an outlier in terms of automated vehicle health and safety. Car and tech companies insist such technologies save lives, but with more deaths in auto crashes in the last year than in the previous three decades combined, better data is needed before these vehicles can be confirmed to improve road safety.
Narrative B
This is only the first round of data, and any preliminary findings shouldn't be taken out of context. The intent of the report was only to analyze trends in defects, and there will be more updates each month. Let's wait for more information to be collected before we jump to conclusions about Tesla.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that Tesla will have a market capitalization of at least 1.51k billion USD on January 1, 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Border Agents Wrongly Accused of 'Whipping' Migrants to Face Disciplinary Action
Texas border patrol agents who were accused of "whipping" Haitian migrants are reportedly set to be disciplined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The original allegations of "whipping" were quickly debunked, as the agents were determined to be swirling their long reins to control the horses. But the images went viral and caused outrage among many, including Pres. Biden, who said the agents would be punished.
The photographer who took some of the photos, Paul Ratje, said he never saw anyone being whipped, but that they can be "misconstrued when looking at a still photo."
Right narrative
This is authoritarian behavior on the part of Biden. He wasn't able to punish the agents for criminal misconduct, so he's decided to conjure up some "administrative violations" to target agents who were simply doing their job but went against the open border philosophy of his liberal voters. Every American should be outraged.
Left narrative
Even if they weren't using whips on migrants, the use of horses to herd human beings is still inhumane and was ended as a practice by federal law enforcement. Immigration should never be deemed a crime, and once we learn that, we won't have agents treating them like criminals.
US: Abortions Rise For First Time in 30 Years
According to data published on Wed. by abortion rights group Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions carried out in the US grew between 2017 and 2020 for the first time in 30 years.
930,160 abortions were reportedly performed in 2020, up 8% from the 862,320 in 2017.
The figures also showed that there was a 6% decline in births over the period, which according to the study indicates that there were fewer pregnancies overall and a higher proportion of them ended in abortion
Left narrative
It's a woman's right to access abortion, and tough restrictions merely force people to travel out of state to seek medical care. The need for abortions will always exist - as confirmed by these numbers - and the overturning of Roe v. Wade will only strip Americans of their reproductive rights.
Right narrative
It's the State's duty to protect the unborn. We need to stop spending so much on abortions and start considering how to support pregnancy and childbirth so that a woman doesn't think abortion is the only option.
Nerd narrative
There's a 92% chance that Roe v. Wade will be overturned before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Israeli Police Avoid Punishment for Misconduct at Abu Akleh's Funeral
An Israeli probe into clashes between officers and attendants at slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral in Jerusalem last month has reportedly revealed police misconduct but concluded that nobody should be penalized - a decision allegedly made prior to the investigation.
Israel police announced on Wed. that conclusions were presented to Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, with Shabtai conceding that there were officer wrongdoings.
Akleh was fatally shot last month while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin. Although Israeli authorities claim it's unclear who fired the bullet, Palestinians and journalists at the scene say it came from an Israeli sniper.
Pro-Palestine narrative
It's no surprise that the Israeli-led investigation doesn't promote justice for Palestinians. It has been Israel's policy for years to cover up attacks against journalists and repress Palestinian nationalism by denying Palestinians their right to express their identity.
Pro-Israel narrative
This investigation is important for the Israeli police's improvement as an organization. While the report found instances of police misconduct, it also found that they made a tangible attempt to ensure the funeral would follow according to the organizer's plans amid rioters who threatened the ceremony.
Nerd narrative
There's a 7% chance that Israel and Palestine will hold peace talks in 2022, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Indonesian Trade Minister Sacked Amid Palm Oil Ban Backlash
On Wed., Indonesia's Pres. Joko Widodo fired his trade minister, Muhammad Lutfi, amid controversy over a series of palm oil export policies.
Lutfi came under fire due to his inability to curb the rising prices of palm oil. His policies included a three-week ban on exports of the product, which sent shockwaves through global markets and led to multiple arrests for alleged corruption before being lifted on May 23.
The country's newly-appointed trade minister Zulkifli Hasan has pledged to "rapidly resolve issues on the availability and affordability of cooking oil in particular."
Narrative A
Pres. Widodo's replacement of his trade minister is the right move and will improve the performance of the ministry. On top of that, this move has received immense public support with a recent poll showing nearly two-thirds of people support Widodo reshuffling his cabinet.
Narrative B
This move was merely done to please the political elite in Indonesia. President Widodo should rethink this decision if he wants to leave a good legacy. It's unlikely that Hasan will solve a complex problem that a highly qualified person like Lutfi couldn't.
Jan. 6 Committee Releases Capitol Tour Footage
On Wed., the Jan. 6 committee released footage of a tour led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) the day before the riots that appears to show individuals photographing and recording areas of the US Capitol complex.
The committee alleges that the areas are "not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases and security checkpoints," and sent a letter to Loudermilk requesting his cooperation in answering questions about the tour.
As part of his work on the House Administration Committee, Loudermilk previously claimed to have reviewed security footage of the Capitol in the days before Jan. 6. The committee concluded that "there were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on."
Republican narrative
Capitol Police already reviewed the footage in question and the Chief concluded that there was nothing suspicious about the tour. But the Jan. 6 Committee is now willing to politicize its own police force in the interest of scoring partisan points. Is there no end to the witch hunt?
Democratic narrative
Contrary to Rep. Loudermilk's claims, this isn't normal. The fact that one of the people identified in the video participated in the Jan. 6 attack in itself is suspicious. Loudermilk needs to answer for his earlier lies and deflections about the tour, and these new developments should be thoroughly investigated.
Jan 6 Hearings: Day 3
The US House Jan. 6 Committee held its third public hearing on Thurs. with a focus on the alleged pressure campaign against former Vice Pres. Mike Pence.
Testifying in person, Pence's general council Greg Jacob alleged that Trump lawyer, John Eastman, acknowledged the plan to use dueling electors was "dead on arrival" and violated the Electoral Count Act, but he continued to push it anyway. Eastman also reportedly wrote to Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in the days after Jan. 6 asking to be put "on the pardon list."
The committee also played testimony recordings of Ivanka Trump, Gen. Keith Kellogg, and one of Ivanka's aides, alleging Trump had a "pretty heated" phone call with Pence on the morning of Jan. 6. Ivanka's aide alleged Trump called Pence a "wimp" and derogatory insults.
Pro-Trump narrative
Throughout the coming midterm and 2024 elections, Democrats will be spewing Russian collusion and January 6 insurrection talking points - the same old stuff we've heard for years now. What they didn't have was Trump's former VP taking their side, and now he's done just that. Pence has betrayed his party and RINOs like him shouldn't be accepted anymore.
Democratic narrative
The fact of the matter is that Trump wanted Pence to do something no VP has ever done before in American history. He wanted Pence to break his oath to the Constitution, and we should be grateful for Pence's courage in the face of mounting pressure from Trump. America's democracy narrowly avoided a cataclysm on that fateful day.