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Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire tomorrow, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations. Within weeks, two of those sources told me, the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash. (The sources I spoke with for this story requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions.)

Sometime near the end of the Biden administration, USAID spent about $800,000 on the high-energy biscuits, one current and one former employee at the agency told me. The biscuits, which cram in the nutritional needs of a child under 5, are a stopgap measure, often used in scenarios where people have lost their homes in a natural disaster or fled a war faster than aid groups could set up a kitchen to receive them. They were stored in a Dubai warehouse and intended to go to the children this year.

https://archive.ph/O6mw8

summary:

"Democratic Rep. Josh Harder argues that Democrats must become the party most angry at the status quo to regain voter trust and electoral success. He emphasizes that the party currently faces a serious disconnect with many voters, who see Democrats as elitist and out of touch with everyday concerns. Harder criticizes the influence of far-left groups within the party, which push extreme positions such as decriminalizing border crossings and Medicare for All, that are unpopular even among the groups they claim to represent. He warns that candidates who align too closely with these far-left demands risk alienating moderate and swing voters, which contributed to Vice President Kamala Harris's poor performance in the 2024 election. Harder calls for Democrats to abandon these extreme pledges, reconnect with pragmatic voters, and focus on policies that can win broad support rather than ideological purity. He stresses the need for boldness and a break from outdated practices to rebuild the party's appeal and competitiveness"

https://archive.ph/XkENe#selection-2745.0-2767.217

TOKYO -- Tokyo Gas has decided to acquire part of a shale gas development in Texas from U.S. oil major Chevron, Nikkei has learned, as the Japanese energy company looks to expand profit through trading. The deal, estimated at tens of billions of yen (10 billion yen equals $66.6 million), is expected as early as April. Tokyo Gas will use the natural gas it extracts from the development to trade on the market, as well as supply the fuel to power plants and other customers. Because natural gas produces about half the carbon dioxide at fossil fuel plants compared with coal, Tokyo Gas anticipates that demand will continue to rise. The enthusiasm for shale gas expressed by U.S. President Donald Trump also was a factor. At the end of 2023, Tokyo Gas bought Rockcliff Energy, a Texas-based shale gas developer, for around 400 billion yen. The Japanese utility will acquire a new interest close to Rockcliff and reduce the costs of laying pipeline to transport shale gas. Tokyo Gas is in the process of replacing inefficient assets. In February, the company reached a basic agreement to sell its stake in a shale gas development in southern Texas to Shizuoka Gas for around 20 billion yen.

A federal judge has struck down parts of Florida’s laws and policies banning gender-affirming care, saying that the bans contradict “widely accepted standards” of medical care. While the judge’s decision only affects three of the seven families of trans youth who sued state officials over the ban, legal observers say the judge’s ruling could help restore healthcare for countless trans Floridians of all ages.

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