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Oura just gave it's hit smart ring design a serious glow up — here's what's new.

It’s time to get that bread — better bread, that is.

If anything, the Knicks have provided a glimpse of the attention that could follow if Glenn and the Jets find a way to create some magic of their own.

Boomer Esiason isn't backing down from his Abdul Carter eruption.

According to the FDA, products containing undisclosed sildenafil can pose health risks to consumers.

The release of the film comes amid the release of numerous UFO files from the US government over the last few months.

The release of the film comes amid the release of numerous UFO files from the US government over the last few months.

Get set for a blue micromoon this weekend — a blue moon that’s also the most distant and smallest-looking full moon of the year.

EU Wants Crisis Powers To Seize Control Of Chip Supplies, Seeks Restrictions On Chinese Imports

The EU - which is badly lagging the rest of the world when it comes to AI development - is preparing sweeping emergency powers to intervene in Europe’s semiconductor supply chains during shortages, including by forcing chipmakers to override existing contracts, the FT reported. So much for the sanctity of those "contract-backed" backlogs... 

The draft law also enables common purchasing to boost the bloc’s negotiating power, and would mark a clear expansion of the EU’s powers to intervene directly in industrial supply chains.

Amid tensions between Beijing and Washington, there are growing fears in Europe that semiconductors can become a tool of economic coercion, heightened by European reliance on Taiwan for high-performance chips.

The clearest example of Europe's heavy hand was laid bare last year when the Dutch government took control of chipmaker Nexperia from its Chinese owner over concerns that it was moving production and assets out of Europe. The flow of chips from Nexperia’s China arm slowed dramatically, forcing some European car companies to reduce production.

The Dutch government last year took control of chipmaker Nexperia from its Chinese owner over concerns it was moving production out of Europe

The draft law, which is still subject to change ahead of its expected publication next week, would allow the European Commission far-reaching powers in the event of semiconductor shortages that threaten supplies of weapons, medical devices, digital infrastructure and other key categories of goods. In such a crisis, the Commission could impose fines of up to €300,000 on companies that fail to provide requested information on their supply-chain capacity. It could also “force semiconductor manufacturers to prioritize orders for crisis-critical products, overriding existing contracts”, the draft reads.

Brussels could also enable common purchasing to “strengthen negotiating power and prevent competition between EU countries for limited supplies”. The Commission would then act as a central buyer for multiple EU countries, as it did to acquire vaccines during the pandemic.

According to the FT, the so-called Chips Act forms part of a wider push from the bloc to reduce its dependence on US technology by backing European alternatives in sectors from semiconductors and cloud computing to AI. In the document, Brussels acknowledges that the bloc is “almost entirely dependent on the US and Asia” for the most advanced chips.

Semiconductor supply chains are vast and complex, with a typical Nvidia system tapping thousands of suppliers in dozens of countries. And yet, the EU currently produces less than 10% of global semiconductors. Earlier plans to double the EU’s global market share in semiconductors by 2030 are far behind schedule.

The bloc, like the rest of the world, is overwhelmingly dependent on Taiwan for its supply of high-performance chips, with the home of semiconductor company TSMC accounting for more than 90 per cent of leading-edge chip manufacturing. China has made repeated threats to use force against Taiwan if Taipei continues to resist its sovereignty claims. Any conflict in the region could cause global shortages of components critical to electronics from smartphones and AI data centres to cars and medical gear. 

Separately, the Guardian reports that EU commissioners will meet on Friday for talks aimed at imposing new restrictions on imports from China amid growing concern that Beijing is fuelling conditions for US-style rust belt towns in Europe.

The surge in imports of everything from electric cars to key components in machines, medical devices and food stuffs - which many including us warned long ago would lead to collapsing European domestic production as Chinese exports are dumped in European markets and overwhelm local producers - has been dubbed China Shock 2.0, potentially mirroring the experience in the US 25 years ago when Beijing joined the World Trade Organization.

Ironically, it was the Trump administration which warned that Europe's attempts to offset US sanctions by overreliance on China, would lead to just this outcome. Well, Europe is now there. 

Commissioners representing each member state have been asked to bring examples of Chinese activities in all 27 portfolios, spanning trade to agriculture, defence, health and digital initiatives to the talks. While no decisions would be taken on Friday but the talks would help “align” the commission’s thinking and address overproduction in China, which is leading imports into the EU to be sometimes up to 40% cheaper than local products.

It will also feed into the next leaders summit on 18 June when China will be one of the handful of items on the agenda.

Ignacio García Bercero, a senior fellow at the Brussels thinktank Bruegel and a former official at the European Commission’s trade department, said the EU needed to formulate “a clearer strategy about how to deal with China”.

He said quotas and tariff rate quotas could be introduced on Chinese goods, as they were safeguards that were much faster to implement than tariffs and could focus on areas that China is targeting, such as hybrid cars and chemical components.

“I think that sometimes there’s a little bit of a tendency to sound very tough, but then not to act tough, and I don’t think that is a clever way to handle things.”

He said while showing it was prepared to act, the EU must also engage with China.

“The US has an engagement with China, Canada has an engagement with China. Everyone is having an engagement with China. I think in my view … we need to find a way to make sure that we are properly respected by China when we have that engagement.”

Earlier this month industry leaders told the Guardian of fears that EU factories would cannabilise themselves through their reliance on Chinese components, an issue which rarely makes the headlines.

Longer term, the EU could also look to a slew of laws: its never used anti-coercion instrument; legislation such as the cybersecurity act 2.0 that could stop procurement of certain Chinese products and the industrial accelerator act commonly known as the “made in EU” law.

Grzegorz Stec, the head of the Brussels office of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics), said China has not set out to destroy European business but it is potentially the consequence of its steeling focus of the survival of its own industries now, and into a post-AI world future.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 13:00

DOJ Urges Supreme Court To Take Up Case That Could Lead To Pre-Election Voter Roll Cleanups

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that could determine whether states are allowed to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls in the 90 days leading up to an election.

In the case, the DOJ argues that the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 does not prevent states from taking noncitizens off voter rolls before elections.

The National Voter Registration Act is also known as the Motor-Voter law because it allows people to register to vote with relative ease at motor vehicle agencies and government offices. The NVRA requires states to make a reasonable effort to remove ineligible individuals’ names from voter rolls, but a federal appeals court ruled that names cannot be removed in the 90 days before an election.

The DOJ made its argument on May 26 in a brief urging the high court to grant the petition in Republican National Committee (RNC) v. Mi Familia Vota.

If the Supreme Court grants the RNC’s petition, states may be allowed to purge voter rolls close to elections.

Arizona law allows only U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections. It requires people registering to vote to produce documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers. It also allows the names of noncitizens to be removed from voter rolls.

If election officials procure “information” from periodic inspections of the state’s voter rolls that confirm a “person registered is not a United States citizen,” they “cancel the registration,” according to the brief.

A 2018 consent decree, reached as part of a court-enforced settlement from a previous lawsuit, required the state to register applicants who lack proof of citizenship as “federal-only” voters who could participate in federal elections but not state or local elections. A consent decree is a legally binding court-enforced settlement made with the consent of the litigants.

Mi Familia Vota and other groups sued, alleging that the Arizona law violates the NVRA and the consent decree.

A federal district court ruled mostly for the plaintiffs, issuing an injunction that blocked certain parts of the state law, including the proof of citizenship requirement, the brief said.

The Supreme Court in August 2024 issued a partial stay of the district court order that allowed Arizona to continue to enforce its proof of citizenship requirement when voters register using state forms.

In February 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the injunction, finding that the consent decree blocks the proof of citizenship requirement and that the NVRA preempts, or supersedes, the requirement—among other things. The appeals court also blocked the removal of names from the voter rolls in the 90-day run-up to an election, a practice it said the NVRA already forbids, according to the brief.

The Supreme Court’s partial stay prevails over the Ninth Circuit’s block of the proof of citizenship requirement. The high court’s stay will remain in effect until the circuit court disposes of the appeal, or the Supreme Court issues a final decision or denies the RNC’s petition for review.

Does Not Apply to Noncitizens: DOJ

The DOJ argues in its brief that the NVRA’s restrictions on taking individuals’ names off the list of eligible voters in the 90 days preceding an election “do not apply to noncitizens who were never eligible to register in the first place.”

The Ninth Circuit’s ruling to the contrary is “badly mistaken,” deepens a split among federal courts of appeals, and “risks significant harm,” said Hashim Mooppan, filing as acting U.S. solicitor general for the purposes of this case. Solicitor General D. John Sauer himself is recused in the case.

Using the reasoning of the Ninth Circuit, “a State could never remove a noncitizen from its voter rolls once registered,” he said.

“That cannot be correct and cries out for reversal,” Mooppan said, urging the Supreme Court to grant the RNC’s petition.

Although the current federal voter registration form requires only that applicants attest that they are citizens, the NVRA gives states the flexibility to mandate that applicants supply documentary proof of citizenship when using state voter registration forms, he said.

Mooppan said the Supreme Court in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Inc. (2013) gave Arizona’s prior proof of citizenship requirement as an “example” of the rule that “state-developed forms may require information the Federal Form does not.”

The Ninth Circuit’s decision “cannot be reconciled” with this precedent, and the majority on the circuit panel “did not even try,” he said.

The RNC’s petition “presents both of these questions and provides a good vehicle to address them,” Mooppan said.

It is unclear when the Supreme Court will consider the petition.

The Epoch Times contacted the RNC’s attorney, Gilbert Dickey of Consovoy McCarthy in Arlington, Virginia, and Mi Familia Vota’s attorney, David Fox of Elias Law Group in Washington, for comment. No replies were received by publication time.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 12:45

Consumer Isn't Dead Yet: US Retail Stocks Surge As Resilient Shoppers Surprise Markets

The S&P Retail Select Industry Index rose more than 1% Thursday morning as shares of Kohl's, Best Buy, and Dollar Tree surged on better-than-expected earnings results. Results suggest the U.S. consumer was stronger than feared in the prior quarter, even as households were battered by a fuel-price shock at the pump, persistent inflation, and softening confidence, which has led to them draining what little savings they have left.

As Bloomberg notes, the three chains operate in very different parts of the retail sector, yet all surprised investors to the upside in a sign of strength by US consumers who are facing multiple hurdles. Here are the earnings highlights from this morning:

• Kohl's comparable sales declined 1.1%, beating the estimated decline of 1.71%
• Best Buy reported first-quarter sales of $8.9 billion, beating analyst estimates, with comparable sales rising 2%
• Dollar Tree boosted comparable sales 3.5% in the first quarter, topping estimates, driven by a 4.5% gain in average transaction

The result was a surge in their respective stock prices: 

With gas prices soaring since the start of the war in Iran, and workers worried about the impact of artificial intelligence amid still elevated inflation, consumer confidence has collapsed. And yet, Americans are still opening their wallets. US data released Thursday showed that consumer spending edged up in April despite accelerated price increases. In fact, spending growth is now drastically outpacing income growth, in a trend that is certainly unsustainable and the only buffer - personal savings - is rapidly being depleted.

This is unsustainable: personal spending growth is surging while income growth is collapsing, resulting in an extremely rapid drain of personal savings https://t.co/uXTN4wOKNp pic.twitter.com/d0uujZknU0

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 28, 2026

At Kohl’s, stronger-than-expected sales boosted the department-store chain’s turnaround. Electronics seller Best Buy said revenue across major categories gained and this month was off to a strong start. Dollar Tree highlighted that customers spent more per transaction.

“Across all income levels, customers are value focused and definitely prioritizing affordability,” Dollar Tree CEO Creedon said on the earnings call.

Shares of all three retailers jumped on Thursday. Kohl’s soared 25%, followed by Dollar Tree with a 16% advance and Best Buy at a roughly 8% gain.

Despite these results, retailers and consumer brands have been saying throughout this earnings season that there is plenty to worry about. S&P Retail Select Industry Index has been range bound since mid-2025. 

Last week, big-box retailers including Target and Walmart signaled that shoppers remain resilient despite years of elevated inflation. But higher prices on essentials like groceries and gas have squeezed shoppers’ discretionary budgets, pushing them to trade down to cheaper brands and cut back on less essential purchases. Earlier, new personal savings rate data showed that Americans are frantically digging into their savings to keep up with inflation.

Earlier this month, Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane said lower-income Americans were “literally running out of money at the end of the month” because of higher costs, especially gasoline. 

At Dollar Tree, its lower-income customers are visiting less because of their pressured finances, wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a note to clients. The retailer boosted comparable-store sales last quarter 3.5%, but that growth came from a gain in shoppers spending more on each transaction as the number of purchases fell 1%. 

“The trips they’ve cut out are those of a more discretionary nature which, on some level, is pleasing because they’re still using Dollar Tree for essentials,” Saunders said. 

Meanwhile, Burlington Stores shares tumbled 14%, the most since May 2022, despite beating Bloomberg Consensus estimates.

Some chains have kept prices low amid their own rising costs to maintain market share. But it’s not clear how long they can maintaining that strategy. Walmart warned last week that if fuel prices stay at current levels, prices across the board could rise throughout the year.

While wealthier shoppers have been the driving force behind the US consumer economy for some time, even they are feeling pressure and increasingly trading down to cheaper options. Dollar Tree and other low-priced chains have been courting higher-income shoppers, often with great success. That’s a good outcome for these retailers, but raises doubts about the sustainability of these spending levels.

US consumer confidence edged down this month amid anxiety over the economy, according to the Conference Board. Two-thirds of shoppers reported cutting back on spending due rising prices, with many respondents saying they are delaying expensive purchases and buying cheaper versions of the same item.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 12:30

'Tank Bottoms' Loom At Cushing After Across-The-Board Inventory Draws, Another Huge SPR Drain

Oil prices bounced higher overnight after the US and Iran exchanged new strikes despite their purported ceasefire, rekindling uncertainty about an end to the Middle East war.

The latest strikes were the most serious since an April ceasefire, and came despite a series of headlines suggesting talks on a deal were progressing.

"A fresh exchange of strikes between the two countries is testing the fragile ceasefire and forcing a reassessment of the chances of a near-term agreement which can reopen the Strait of Hormuz and dial down the pressure the crisis is putting on the global economy," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

But then, around 1000ET, Axios reports that U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

That sent oil prices reeling lower...

With the geopolitical headlines so dominant, this morning's official US crude inventory and supply data is taking a back seat to Washington and Tehran again (despite some chunky draws reported by API overnight).

API

• Crude -2.8mm

• Cushing -2.9mm

• Gasoline -3.19mm

• Distillates +1.1mm

DOE

• Crude -3.33mm (-3.2mm exp)

• Cushing -2.79mm - biggest draw since Aug 2023

• Gasoline -2.57mm

• Distillates -2.11mm

Inventories saw across the board drawdowns with Cushing standing out. Distillate draws returned as gasoline stocks fell for the 15th straight week

Source: Bloomberg

'Tank Bottoms' loom as inventory at Cushing is the lowest for this time of year since 2014...

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve saw another major drawdown (over 9mm barrels)...

Source: Bloomberg

US Crude production ticked higher as rig counts are rising rapidly...

Source: Bloomberg

The market has backed away from believing the Axios report (after a denial from Iranian news) and the big draw is helping WTI recover...

"The bigger picture is that crude is still on course for a second weekly decline, suggesting investors are not yet pricing in a worst-case disruption," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman said.

"For now, the market looks caught between short-term nerves over renewed hostilities and a lingering hope that both sides still have enough incentive to get energy flows moving," he added.

Investment strategist Ed Yardeni wrote in an overnight note that "oil markets will be in dire straits" if the Strait of Hormuz doesn't open soon. He sketched out looming crisis points that have turned the U.S.-Iran negotiation into the "ultimate game of chicken."

The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports means the country's oil industry is producing too much and storage capacity is quickly filling. Yardeni concludes that Iran has until mid- or late June before storage is maxed out, forcing a sharp cut in production to domestic consumption levels. "The toll on Iran's oil industry and its broader economy is certainly one of President Trump's best negotiating cards," he wrote.

Yardeni further notes that oil inventories in Asia are already approaching minimum levels, meaning the war-driven dearth of oil imports will soon lead to shortages.

Europe faces the same situation, possibly by late June.

Yardeni highlighted International Energy Agency Director Faith Birol's warning that depleted stocks and high usage during the summer travel season could push global oil markets into "the red zone in July or August."

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 12:09

At 21-35 and buried at the bottom of the American League standings, the Angels are quickly becoming the perfect example of a franchise going nowhere. “Sell the team” chants have echoed throughout Angel Stadium in recent weeks as frustration with owner Arte Moreno continues to boil over. Angels’ Season From Hell Hits New Low After...

The Goop creator made headlines last year for quitting the Paleo diet, confessing she was "getting back into eating sourdough bread [and] cheese."

The Goop creator made headlines last year for quitting the Paleo diet, confessing she was "getting back into eating sourdough bread [and] cheese."

The second season is a bit more muddled than the first, but it still rides on the charm of star Emmy Myers.

Bank Of Canada Warns Markets More Vulnerable To Sharp Correction Due To AI Concentration, Basis Trades

The Bank of Canada said the global financial system has functioned (surprisingly) well through recent global shocks, but underscored the risk of a sharp asset price correction as well as vulnerabilities related to the role hedge funds are playing in debt markets.

The central bank’s 2026 financial stability report released Thursday noted financial asset valuations have continued to rise, while the stock market is increasingly concentrated in a handful of large tech companies that are heavily invested in artificial intelligence. That makes asset managers more vulnerable to a sudden correction, and a negative shock to AI sectors would have an outsized impact on broader stock indexes.

The central bank also reminded markets that the risk of basis trades remains front and center, warning that the increased role of hedge funds in overnight funding markets poses a vulnerability to the overall financial system, Bloomberg reported.

“A sharp pullback in hedge fund activity in government debt markets, for example, could negatively affect the liquidity and functioning of these markets and other fixed income markets. This, in turn, could generate financial system stress,” the report said.

While senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said individually, these vulnerabilities look “manageable", he added that “the economic and geopolitical environment has become more volatile. And this has made it more likely that a new shock or a combination of shocks could cause several vulnerabilities to crystallize at once."

The report analyzes risks to the Canadian financial system, but doesn’t assign probability and isn’t a projection from the central bank.

Meanwhile for households and businesses, the bank said the main financial health vulnerability relates to a geopolitical or economic shock that leads to a deep recession and a spike in unemployment. While the central bank previously flagged mortgage renewals as a concern, it noted on Thursday that most borrowers have managed this risk well.

“With the final wave of these renewals set to happen over the next 12 months, we expect this risk to have fully passed by the second half of 2027,” Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle said.

While the ratio of household debt to disposable income has increased slightly over the past year, the central bank noted households appear better off when wealth is taken to account.

It attributes that improvement to higher home prices over time, but noted the recent increase in net worth has been driven by gains in financial markets as the housing market softened.

As for Canada’s big banks, the report says they have become more resilient over the past year amid higher profitability and healthy capital buffers.

“They have also set aside additional funds to absorb potential loan losses. This positions them to support the economy and financial system, even in a severe downturn,” Gravelle said.

The report cautioned that in the stress‑test scenario, as unemployment rises and housing prices fall, households and businesses come under significant stress. Rates of mortgage arrears increase and reach a multi‑decade high. Businesses face increased costs and a decline in demand, which pushes corporate default rates close to levels seen during the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, the aggressive use of repo markets has further increased their importance in Canada’s financial system. More than $130 billion in repo transactions now take place in Canada each day, about double the amount from five years ago. A wide range of market participants use repos to obtain leverage, borrow and lend securities, earn returns on extra cash and manage funding liquidity.

The report cautioned that repo activity is rising in part because more Government of Canada bonds are being issued and traded.

Repos are a flexible and cost‑effective way to finance trading in government bonds and therefore play an important role in facilitating dealers’ market‑making activities. They also allow hedge funds to finance their activities, including basis trades in government bonds and futures. These activities, in turn, support liquidity and efficiency in the markets for government securities.

Government bonds are widely used as collateral and liquid assets to manage risks. They are also used as pricing benchmarks for other securities. Because of this, a disruption in repo markets would have broad implications for the financial system. These include:

• A sudden deleveraging by asset managers. For example, if hedge funds or other asset managers cannot obtain repo funding, they may need to quickly sell government bonds, further reducing market liquidity.
• A reduction in overall market liquidity. Wider bid‑ask spreads and higher trading costs in government bond markets could spill over into other fixed‑income and derivative markets. If this led to significant margin calls, it could result in a liquidity spiral as market participants are forced to sell liquid assets to raise cash.
• Sharp movements in the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA). This would affect the large numbers of financial instruments that use CORRA as a risk‑free rate, such as interest rate derivatives and floating rate notes.

The report concludes that if any of these situations were to occur, "borrowing costs across the economy would go up, leading to potential second‑round effects."

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 12:00

We need more 9-1-1 ASAP.

Dave & Buster's is giving gamers the chance to score free tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

It's the new uptown hangout spot.