Morgan Stanley makes big bet on meme-stock Revlon


David Randall
Mon, August 15, 2022 

Revlon products are seen for sale in a store in Manhattan, New York City

By David Randall

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of bankrupt cosmetics company Revlon Inc soared nearly 27% on Monday after asset manager Morgan Stanley revealed in a filing that it purchased 400,650 shares in the company over the last quarter.

The purchase increased Morgan Stanley's stake by approximately 1,793%, according to its filing, known as a 13-f.

Shares of Revlon are up 582% from their mid-June low, boosted by hopes the company can replicate the success of shareholders in car-rental company Hertz, who were handsomely rewarded when Hertz was rescued from bankruptcy by a group of investors.

Revlon's rebound has come alongside rallies in other so-called meme stocks popular with retail investors such as AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc and GameStop Corp, which were hit hard in the first half of the year.

Revlon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June after saying that its high debt load left it too cash-poor to make timely payments to vendors. The company received approval for a $1.4 billion bankruptcy loan on Aug. 1 despite objections from its official creditors committee, which called the company a "mess" in a court filing.

Despite the recent rally, Revlon's shares are down 30% for the year-to-date.

(Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Citi Sues Revlon Over Lender Status After $900 Million Mistake

Jeremy Hill Mon, August 15, 2022 

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. has sued Revlon Inc. in a bid to resolve a nagging legal question that emerged after the bank mistakenly wired $900 million to the cosmetics giant’s lenders and intensified after Revlon filed for bankruptcy.

When Citi accidentally sent $900 million to Revlon lenders in August 2020 and later failed to get most of it back, the bank said it became a lender to Revlon, effectively stepping into the shoes of funds who refused to return about $500 million of the mistaken payment. But Revlon has since hinted that it may challenge Citi’s status as a creditor, prompting Citi to file suit in bankruptcy court Friday.

Citi is asking Revlon’s bankruptcy judge to dispel any doubt about its right to repayment under the Revlon term loan. Because it had no obligation to pay down Revlon’s debt, denying the bank its rights as a creditor would let Revlon “escape liability for its own debt obligations,” lawyers for Citi wrote in the complaint.

The bank was not aware that anyone would challenge its status as a creditor until days before the cosmetics company filed for Chapter 11 protection in June, according to court papers. It was then that Revlon and some of its creditors refused to acknowledge the bank’s rights as a secured lender in the company’s bankruptcy financing package.

“Unsurprisingly, neither the Revlon Group nor any other party-in-interest had ever articulated any legitimate legal or factual basis for challenging Citibank’s subrogation rights for inclusion in the DIP Orders,” lawyers for Citi wrote. “There is none.”

Representatives for Revlon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The bankruptcy case is Revlon Inc., 22-10760, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

BOOM GO CRASH

Crypto Lender Celsius On Pace to Run Out of Cash by October


Krisztian Sandor
Mon, August 15, 2022 


Celsius Network, the crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy in July, appears to be in even worse financial straits than previously signaled.

A new court filing Monday from Kirkland & Ellis, a law firm the crypto lender hired to lead its restructuring efforts, included financial projections that Celsius will run out of cash by October.

The filing, submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in advance of an upcoming hearing, also stated that the crypto lender holds $2.8 billion less in crypto than it owes to depositors.

“My initial thought was, ‘Wow, that's a big hole.’ It’s pretty tough,” Thomas Braziel, founder of 507 Capital, an investment firm that provides financing around bankruptcies and reorganizations, told CoinDesk.

Celsius was caught up in this year's crypto crisis, which led to withdrawal suspensions and insolvencies of various lenders, exchanges and investment companies. Celsius halted all user withdrawals in June, citing “extreme market conditions.”

Last month, Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and acknowledged that it had a $1.2 billion hole in its balance sheet – liabilities exceeding assets – after it paid off its debt to decentralized finance protocols. That calculation included the estimated value of the firm’s mining equipment and unspecified “other” assets.

Read more: Celsius Lays Out Mining-Focused Reorganization Plan at First Bankruptcy Hearing

Running out of money

The latest disclosure showed that Celsius holds cash that is enough for less than three months, and it forecasted that the company will run out of money by the end of October.

In the monthly cash flow forecast, the firm disclosed a beginning cash balance of almost $130 million at the start of August.

Given the firm’s operating expenses and other costs including expenditure for restructuring efforts are expected to total $137 million for the next three months, the balance would turn negative in October. By then, the firm projects it would have liquidity of negative $33.9 million.

The crypto lender projects to run out of cash by October. (Kirkland & Ellis)

“They [Celsius] could obtain debtor-in-possession financing or sell assets,” Brandon M. Hammer, counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, a law firm, told CoinDesk. “However, to take such steps they would need court approval, which requires notice and an opportunity for interested parties, like customers and the creditors committee, to object." (Neither Hammer nor the law firm are involved in the bankruptcy case.)
Bitcoin Hole

The document also showed that Celsius’ liabilities in crypto to customers surpasses $6.6 billion while the lender only holds $3.3 billion of digital coins – for a $2.8 billion difference as of July 29.

“The coin deficit seems somewhat greater than the losses described in the first day disclosures,” Hammer said. “It also appears that the company likely had to sell assets at depressed prices to meet customer withdrawals before the 'pause.' Such sales are common in bank run situations and may, depending on the particular facts, be subject to clawback risk.”

The most alarming is the hole in bitcoin holdings. Celsius disclosed it owes $2.5 billion in bitcoin (104,962 BTC) while the firm holds $348 million in bitcoin (14,578 BTC) and $557 million in a type of bitcoin derivative (23,348 WBTC).

“The bitcoin hole is huge, much bigger than I would have suspected,” Braziel said.

Celsius' digital coin liabilities to users exceed its assets by $2.8 billion. (Kirkland & Ellis)

The lender also holds $1 billion less in ether (ETH) than what it owes to users, although the 410,000 stETH, an ether derivative token, is still in the firm’s possession. The hole in USDC stablecoin holdings accrues to $700 million.
The issue with CEL token

According to the filing, Celsius has 658 million CEL tokens in its treasury; this is the platform’s utility token. Celsius owes 279 million of the tokens to clients, leaving the firm with a 379 million surplus . At current market prices, the CEL net position would be worth almost $1 billion, more than double than what’s in the document, as the token is in the middle of a social-media-driven short squeeze attempt.

Still, the price rise does not help the company solve its balance sheet problem. Most of the token’s supply is locked up on the platform and liquidity on exchanges is thin. If the firm would try to sell CEL to cover a part of the hole on its balance sheet, prices would likely tank.

“The asset side of the CEL holding is probably worth zero,” Braziel said, adding that the liabilities are still there because CEL token owners will probably try to come after Celsius and claim for $1 per token.

CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Galaxy Digital terminates BitGo merger, setting up another crypto legal fight

David Hollerith

·Senior Reporter

Mon, August 15, 2022 

One of the crypto industry's biggest acquisitions appears headed for court.

On Monday, Galaxy Digital said it was terminating a $1.2 billion deal to acquire crypto custodian and prime broker BitGo originally announced in May 2021.

Galaxy said it won’t pay a termination fee, citing BitGo’s failure to deliver “audited financial statements for 2021 that comply with the requirements of our agreement.”

Just hours later, BitGo called the termination “improper,” saying it has hired a law firm to recoup a $100 million “reverse break fee [Galaxy Digital] had promised back in March 2022.”

The now-terminated deal represented the largest corporate acquisition in the crypto sector’s history.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 8, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images)

“Either Galaxy owes BitGo a $100 million termination fee as promised or it has been acting in bad faith and faces damages of that much or more,” R. Brian Timmons, a Quinn Emanuel partner representing BitGo said in the company’s response, arguing the merger agreement was not scheduled to expire. BitGo ended 2021 with more than $64 billion in assets held in custody, according to its founder and CEO Mike Belshe.

Since the deal was announced in May 2021, the total value held in crypto assets has dropped by 53% according to Coinmarketcap.

In that same time, shares of Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO), which are listed on the Toronto stock exchange and trade on over-the-counter markets, have fallen by 73% from $34 to $9 per share.

At the end of its first quarter, Galaxy announced that it would restructure the terms of its acquisition of BitGo due to the decline in the company’s share price.

Galaxy Digital was known as a heavy backer of the Terra blockchain, with CEO Mike Novogratz having inked a LUNA tattoo on his arm months before the $45 billion collapse of Terra’s LUNA and sister coin, algorithmic stablecoin UST in May.

"It is public knowledge that Galaxy reported a $550 million loss this past quarter, that its stock is performing poorly, and that both Galaxy and Mr. Novogratz have been distracted by the Luna fiasco," Timmons added.

Galaxy Digital reported a $554 million loss in its most recent quarterly earnings results, citing the decline in crypto asset prices as well as an unrealized loss charge it took for its crypto holdings. Additionally, the company held approximately $1 billion in cash.

Galaxy's “long-awaited acquisition of BitGo had been part of a broader plan that included to become a Delaware-based company and then to list its stock on a U.S. exchange,” according to Mark Palmer, head of digital asset research with BTIG.

Galaxy said Monday it remains on the path to gain status as a Delaware company with the aim of eventually listing on the Nasdaq.

Bitcoin Miner PrimeBlock Cancels Listing Plans, Terminates $1.25B Merger With 10X Capital
Jamie Crawley
Tue, August 16, 2022 


Bitcoin (BTC) mining company PrimeBlock has ended its plans to go public via a merger with blank check company 10X Capital Venture Acquisition (VCXA).

The two firms terminated their agreement by mutual consent on Aug. 12, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Plans for the listing were confirmed in April with expectations that the merger would be completed in the second half of 2022 carrying an enterprise value of $1.25 billion.

No official reason has been given for the decision, but the uncertain conditions in both the crypto and mainstream markets in recent months may have been a factor.

Special-purpose acquisition company deals have been a prevalent means for crypto companies to access public stock markets in recent years, but their attraction has cooled following the downturn in digital asset markets.

In July, trading platform eToro's planned public listing via a $10.4 billion merger with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V was terminated with Fintech Chairman Betsy Cohen saying it had become "impracticable."

Bitcoin Miner Riot Takes $349M Goodwill 

Impairment Charge on Acquisitions

Aoyon Ashraf

Tue, August 16, 2022 

Riot Blockchain (RIOT), one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners, recorded $349.1 million in impairment charges to goodwill in the second quarter, tied to its acquisitions of miner Whinstone U.S. and electrical equipment provider ESS Metron in 2021, in its second-quarter earnings released on Monday after the close. It also reported an impairment charge of $99.8 million on its bitcoin holdings.

Large impairment changes have been a common occurrence for miners as the prices of cryptocurrencies have plummeted this year. Most recently, peer Marathon Digital (MARA) said it booked $127.6 million impairment changes in the second quarter due to the decline in the prices of digital currencies.

“Although challenging global market conditions in the second quarter, further impacted by a steep decline in the price of Bitcoin and resulting decline in market valuations for publicly-traded Bitcoin miners, including Riot, necessitated non-cash impairment charges this quarter, these non-cash charges had no impact on our solid financial position and ample liquidity, both of which were further strengthened this quarter,” said CEO Jason Les in a statement.

The miner was scheduled to report its earnings last week, when most of its peers released their results. However, Riot said on Aug. 9 that it delayed its quarterly earnings report because it needed more time to calculate how much the cryptocurrency rout, the war in Ukraine and other macroeconomic issues have reduced the value of its assets.

Riot maintained its hash rate growth guidance of about 12.5 exahash per second (EH/s) by the first quarter of next year, which it first forecasted on Aug. 3.

Riot also reported total first quarter revenue of $72.9 million, missing consensus estimate of $75.5 million, according to FactSet data. It currently has 44,720 bitcoin miners, with a hash rate capacity of 4.4 EH/s.

Riot shares fell about 6% on Tuesday. Its stock has fallen about 60% this year, in-line with its mining peers, while bitcoin’s price has been cut nearly in half.

BHP reveals record dividends as soaring coal prices and M&A activity power miner's profits to $31bn

Harry Wise For This Is Money - 

BHP Group has declared bumper annual earnings and shareholder returns thanks to soaring coal and copper prices.

The mining giant reported profit growth of 173 per cent in the 12 months ending June to $30.9billion, bolstered by a $7.1billion gain from the merger of its petroleum business with Woodside Energy and the sale of its Mitsui Coal operation.

BHP paid out a special $19.6billion dividend following the Woodside deal and on Tuesday announced a final dividend worth $8.9billion, meaning the firm will return a record $36billion of cash to investors for the year.


© Provided by This Is Money

Shareholder Boom: BHP announced a final dividend worth $8.9billion today, meaning the Australian firm will return a record $36billion of cash to investors

The firm also saw record underlying profits and free cash flow on the back of huge sales from its Western Australian iron ore business and surging commodity prices.

Copper prices traded at historic highs for much of the financial year, while both energy and metallurgical coal prices rose to their highest ever levels in the second half of the period.

Commodity prices have been boosted by sanctions against the Russian mining industry following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Energy coal prices jumped as people began switching to coal as liquefied natural gas costs skyrocketed, trade flows were redirected from Asia to Europe, and hot weather affected prominent importing regions.

Related video: BP Raises Dividend, Buybacks as Higher Prices Boost Profits
View on Watch

This helped the group's coal segment triple its revenues to $15.5billion and swing back to an underlying profit of $8.7billion, having recorded a $577million loss the previous year.

Cost control measures also enabled the Australian company to slash its net debt by 92 per cent to just $333million.


© Provided by This Is MoneyRecovery: BHP's coal segment saw revenues triple to $15.5billion, while it swung back to an underlying profit of $8.7billion, having recorded a $577million loss the previous year

Chief executive Mike Henry said: 'These strong results were due to safe and reliable operations, project delivery and capital discipline, which allowed us to capture the value of strong commodity prices.'



BHP Group shares closed trading 5.5 per cent higher at £23.60 on Tuesday, meaning their value has grown by around a fifth since the start of 2022.

The company warned that its near-term outlook would be negatively impacted by slowing growth across major markets, political uncertainty and central banks pursuing tighter monetary policies.

However, it expects to benefit from a rebound in the Chinese economy, which has been heavily affected by severe lockdown restrictions and a downturn in its commercial property industry.

Susannah Streeter, a senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Despite China's fragility, commodity giant BHP Billiton sees it as the more reliable source of revenue ahead, while other advanced economies face more of a struggle amid rising inflationary pressures.




'Weaker commodity prices, especially for industrial metals, remain a risk for the miner ahead especially given worries about China's property sector, although its strong cost control and low-cost operations should give it resilience amid the uncertainty.'

To try and take advantage of the fall in commodity prices, BHP recently launched a takeover bid for Adelaide-based Oz Minerals worth $5.8billion, a 32 per cent premium on the firm's closing share price on 5 Friday.

The board of Oz rejected the offer on the grounds that it substantially undervalued the business, while chief executive and managing director Andrew Cole called it 'highly opportunistic.'

India buys discounted Venezuelan petcoke to replace coal

Sudarshan Varadhan and Marianna Parraga
Tue, August 16, 2022 

Smoke billows from the cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant in Ahmedabad
In this article:

CHENNAI/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Indian companies are importing significant volumes of petroleum coke from Venezuela for the first time, trade sources and shipping data show, as the OPEC nation boosts exports not specifically targeted by U.S. sanctions.

India's growing appetite for Venezuela's petcoke – a byproduct from oil upgrading and an alternative to coal - is being driven by a scramble for inexpensive fuel to power industries as global coal prices have surged.

Graphic: India's petcoke use and imports -

 https://graphics.reuters.com/INDIA-VENEZUELA/PETCOKE-EXPORTS/movangdwnpa/chart_eikon.jpg

This could boost cash flow for the South American producer, where state and private companies have increased exports of petrochemicals and oil byproducts, and the more competitively-priced Venezuelan supplies could displace cargoes from traditional suppliers.

Indian cement companies imported at least four cargoes carrying 160,000 tonnes of petroleum coke from April to June, according to three trade sources, Refinitiv shiptracking data and Venezuelan shipping schedules.

Another 50,000-tonne cargo is expected to reach the port of Mangalore on India's south western coast in the coming days while a 30,000-tonne shipment is scheduled to depart later in August, the data showed.

India, which counts the United States and Saudi Arabia as major petcoke suppliers, received its first ever cargo from Venezuela in the beginning of 2022, according to two of the sources and the documents.

A surge in global coal prices to record highs since the Russia-Ukraine war has pushed Indian cement makers including JSW Cement, Ramco Cements Ltd and Orient Cement Ltd to import petcoke from Venezuela, trade sources said.

"The quality of petcoke is very good and it has very low sulphur," Ramco Cements Chief Financial Officer S. Vaithiyanathan said, adding the downside is that the cargoes take nearly 50 days to arrive in India.

Ramco Cements booked two 50,000-tonne cargoes of Venezuelan petcoke, which were delivered in June and July at a discount of $15-20 per tonne to the market price, Vaithiyanathan said.

Ramco paid $214.40 and $221 per tonne for the June and July cargoes, respectively, while Orient imported about 28,300 tonnes in April for $220 per tonne, Indian customs documents reviewed by Reuters showed.

JSW Cement imported over 30,000 tonnes in June, according to two trade sources, ship tracking data and customs documents.

JSW Cement and Orient did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

SUPPLIERS

The petcoke cargoes were shipped in April-June by Shimsupa GmBH, a Germany-headquartered scrap trading firm, which has an exclusive arrangement with Switzerland-based Maroil Trading to supply Venezuelan petcoke to India, China, Pakistan and Turkey.

"We are exclusive partners of Maroil Trading AG and have all necessary approvals of OFAC and the German government," Annamalai Subbiah, who owns 100% of Shimsupa, told Reuters.

Annamalai confirmed supplying Venezuelan petcoke cargoes for Ramco, Orient and JSW Cement.

The cargoes were shipped from Venezuela's main oil terminal of Jose, according to the sources and documents. Maroil has in recent years revamped petcoke operations to increase export capacity.

Maroil, owned by Venezuela-born shipping magnate Wilmer Ruperti, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The U.S. Treasury Department, which has so far not targeted Venezuelan exports of petrochemicals and byproducts, declined to comment.

Venezuela's oil sector has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019. Washington imposed sanctions on the country's most important global business as the former Trump administration ratcheted up its bid to force socialist president Nicolas Maduro out of power.

Higher Venezuelan supplies have weighed on global prices this year, according to petcoke traders in Houston.

"Those extra supplies have had an impact on the global market," one of the traders said. "They are increasing the offer and diversifying Venezuelan cargoes' destinations."

Venezuelan petcoke is being offered at discounts of 5-10% to petcoke from the United States, Indian traders and cement company officials said.

A tonne of petcoke is more expensive than coal, but produces more energy when burnt. It is generally not used as fuel because of toxic emissions, but is widely used by the cement industry - its largest consumer, as sulphur dioxide emissions are absorbed by limestone.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Florence Tan and Jacqueline Wong)

History uncovered: Fossils older than dinosaurs, and a religious refuge



Erika Page
Mon, August 15, 2022

Discoveries of an old human civilization and ancient animals and plants are enriching knowledge of life on Earth. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is developing a new environmental curriculum to help safeguard the planet.

1. Brazil

Brazilian paleontologists rediscovered a mother lode of fossils that had been lost for decades. The incredible fossil site was initially discovered in 1951 in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul. But without a description of the exact location, the fossils may have remained hidden if landowner Celestino Goulart hadn’t been curious about the fossil of a fish on his grandfather’s mantel that he’d heard came from his backyard.

A research team has since dug 6 feet into the ground, uncovering hundreds of fossils so far that range from pteridophyte vegetation to mollusks and ancient fish from the Permian period, a time that led to a mass extinction and paved the way for the dinosaurs. Scientists draw parallels between that period and today.

“While what we’re going through now is a result of human behavior, the mechanisms of extinction are very similar to those that happened during the Permian period,” says paleontologist Felipe Pinheiro. “We are interfering in the same biogeochemical cycles – the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle – that during the Permian period, because of natural factors, caused the death of almost 90 percent of species. So when we study this extinction, we’re studying the present day.”
Source: National Geographic

2. United States

The number of young people at Hawaii’s juvenile detention facility has fallen dramatically. Minors who end up at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility are some of the most vulnerable and high-risk youth. In 2014, there were over 100 youths at the facility. Thanks to extensive reforms, there were only 15 young people in incarceration in June – and no girls.

Many young people land in prison for low-level offenses and have histories of abuse or poverty. Hawaii’s success does not mean the state has fully solved the problems facing youth, but reflects a key shift toward trauma-informed care.

“What I’m trying to do is end the punitive model ... and we replace it with a therapeutic model,” said Mark Patterson, administrator of the correctional facility. “Do we really have to put a child in prison because she ran away? What kind of other environment is more conducive for her to heal and be successful in the community?” Nationally, incarceration rates for young people dropped by two-thirds between 2000 and 2018, according to the justice reform initiative Square One Project.
Sources: Hawaii News Now, The Washington Post

3. United Kingdom

Aspiring to be a world leader on climate change, the U.K.’s Department of Education is creating a new national curriculum for secondary school students to inspire environmental responsibility. The natural history course will focus on three main sustainability issues: local wildlife, environmental field studies, and the impact of human development on the natural world. The course will be ready for students by 2025.

Nearly 60% of young people across the U.K. and nine other countries reported feeling very worried or extremely worried about climate change, according to a 2021 survey. “We can make studying the natural world as much a part of school life as maths and English, establishing it as a foundational subject,” wrote environmentalist Mary Colwell, who first proposed the idea of a curriculum in 2011. Some educators say climate change should be taught across subjects, not siloed into its own course; other advocates are pushing for a more robust environmental curriculum earlier on in the school system.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Schools Week

4. Turkey

Researchers are uncovering details about civilization in ancient Turkey, as they explore a sprawling city below modern-day Midyat. An underground tunnel leading to the town of at least 74 acres was discovered during a restoration project of local homes in 2020. The site is thought to be a former refuge for Christians and Jews, who were persecuted by the Roman Empire in the first century. Researchers have turned up coins, lamps, and silos for food, oil, and drinks among the homes carved out of limestone, where an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people lived between the first and sixth centuries. One rock wall bears an engraved Star of David that may have been part of a synagogue. Archaeologists know of several dozen other underground cities across the country, but none as large as this discovery, being called Matiate. Only around 5% of the town has been excavated so far.
Source: The Wall Street Journal

5. Mozambique

A national park in Mozambique now offers a haven for rhinos, formerly extinct in the region. Zinave National Park became a protected area in 1972, but a civil war from 1977 to 1992 decimated the land. Following years of other rewilding and restoration efforts, conservationists recently succeeded in transporting 19 white rhinos from neighboring South Africa to Zinave. The rhinos traveled over 1,000 miles in the longest rhino road transfer yet completed.

An estimated 8,000 rhinos have been killed by poachers in southern Africa in the past decade. Reintroduction efforts give species a better chance at survival by providing a habitat for future generations – a healthy female rhino calf was born in June. The team intends to release 40 rhinos in Zinave over the next two years, to join over 2,400 animals from 14 species already introduced, including leopards, wildebeests, and hyenas. Zinave is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, linking national parks in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe – an important initiative for conservation, tourism, and local job creation.
Reuters, Peace Parks Foundation

Donald Trump is above the law. Deal with it, America. Admit it. Here's how we prove it


EJ Montini, 

AZCentral | The Arizona Republic
Mon, August 15, 2022 

Let’s say you believe Donald Trump is being framed.

A lot of people do. So many, in fact, that Trump may never face any consequences for what may be illegal activity.

And we can prove it if Trump supporters were willing answer a few simple questions.
Pretend, for a moment, that this wasn't Trump

Imagine a man, not Trump, with access to secret government documents who takes a bunch of them home with him after leaving his job. This can be illegal, and potentially could threaten national security, so the man is asked to return the documents.

He somewhat complies, but authorities find out he didn’t return all of the documents.

The government asks for the rest, but the man doesn’t respond.

Unprecedented: Trump FBI search brings a political minefield

So the government issues a subpoena to have the rest of the documents returned.

It is ignored.

Would you say it was unreasonable for authorities to seek a search warrant of the man’s estate in order to try to retrieve those documents … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?
How important could the papers be?

Former President Donald Trump departs Trump Tower on Aug. 10, 2022, in New York City.

To be fair, you might first want to know how important those documents were. That’s only natural.

What if it turns out the man had in his possession 11 sets of documents, including some labeled “classified/TS/SCI,” which means “top secret/sensitive compartmented information,” which refers to something so sensitive it is only supposed to be reviewed in a secure government facility?

Would you think authorities would be justified in retrieving such documents … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?

Also, given the sensitivity of such information and the restrictions about where it could be viewed, would you think a criminal investigation into whether any laws were broken would be justified … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?

Then again, what if the man contended that he had the authority to “declassify” such documents, so having them in his possession should not be a big deal?

That would seem to mitigate concerns, right?

Is it a violation of the Espionage Act?

Except in this case, the proper procedure may not have been followed and the man’s authority to declassify would not matter, since having in his possession information that could harm national security or aid an enemy is a possible violation of the Espionage Act. It is also illegal to conceal or destroy such documents in order to obstruct a government investigation.

And since the kind of information included in “SCI” documents could deal with important ongoing missions abroad or highly sensitive technology at home, would you object to pursuing a criminal investigation into what the man was doing with them … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?

Others may be involved in something like this as well.

What if an attorney working for the man who’d kept the classified documents had signed a statement months ago saying all of the documents marked classified had been given back, but that turned out to be untrue?

Would you want the FBI to investigate whether the lawyer and/or his client were being purposefully deceitful when they made that initial claim … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?
Is everyone equal under the law?

Now, imagine the man who took the documents and his associates first tried to divert attention from the documents by blaming the judge for authorizing the search, then blamed the FBI, then blamed the attorney general, then said the documents were planted, then said he declassified the documents, then said the information was privileged, would that make you a bit suspicious … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?

There is always a danger in politics, and in life, for our heartfelt belief in a person to obscure our notion of right and wrong.

Each of the situations described occured during the lead up to the search of the former president’s estate and what happened afterward.

Would you say that no one in America is above the law … if it wasn’t Donald Trump?

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Was Donald Trump framed? If you think so, ask yourself this

 Fact check: False claim that wind turbine generators only last 3 to 4 years

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY

Mon, August 15, 2022 

The claim: Wind turbine generators typically only last three to four years

Wind turbines, which contributed more than 9% of U.S. electricity in 2021, last roughly 20 to 25 years before they must be replaced, according to the Energy Information Administration.

But some social media users are claiming that wind turbine generators – the part that produces electricity when the turbine blades are spinning – must be replaced much more frequently.

"The wind farm in Mt. Pulaski has been running for 3 1/2 years," reads a July 17 Facebook post. "They have been replacing the generators in all the wind towers. There are 100 of them in this wind farm. So evidently the life span on the generators on these things is about 3 to 4 years."

The post then disparages wind power, asserting that a "huge" amount of diesel fuel required for repairs and maintenance.

The post was shared 18,000 times in three weeks, but it is inaccurate and misleading.

Like any technology, wind turbine generators are subject to manufacturing defects or other problems. However, they typically last much longer than three or four years, according to research and industry representatives.

Further, even when the fossil fuels required to manufacture, install, maintain and dispose of wind turbines are considered, wind power releases far less greenhouse gases per kilowatt-hour than burning fossil fuels for electricity.

Finally, while the post doesn't name a specific wind farm, the photo accompanying the post shows turbines at the HillTopper wind farm just outside of Mt. Pulaski, Illinois, according to a spokesperson for the company that operates the farm, Enel Green Power. HillTopper recently replaced 17 gearboxes, not 100 generators.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the claim for comment.

Wind turbine generators typically last longer than four years

There is no evidence that wind turbine generators have a lifespan of only three or four years.

Jason Meeks, site manager of HillTopper wind farm, told USA TODAY that generators are "typically expected to last around 20 years."

According to an analysis conducted in 2012 and 2013, wind turbine generators have a failure rate of about three and a half percent per year for the first 13 years, Eric Lantz, wind analysis manager at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told USA TODAY in an email.

Based on this failure rate, only 14 percent of generators would fail after four years. However, the industry has worked to improve the technology in the years since then.

Fact check: Energy costs of wind turbine manufacturing recouped in months

Based on information from industry representatives, Lantz believes generator failure rates are lower now than they were a decade ago. But National Renewable Energy Laboratory has not independently assessed more recent data, he said.

HillTopper farm repairs due to manufacturing defects

While the post claims that all the generators are in the process of being replaced, Meeks said that HillTopper has not replaced any generators in its three and a half years of operation.

Instead, 17 gearboxes had to be swapped out "due to unforeseen and rare defects related to the equipment procured from a third-party manufacturer," he said. A gearbox is a device used to transform the relatively slow turbine blade rotation speeds into faster rotational speeds ideal for generator function.

In addition to HillTopper, Enel Green Power operates the Whitney Hill wind farm outside of Mt. Pulaski, but this project has not required any major recent repairs, according to Meeks.

Fact check: Wind turbine blades can be recycled, but it rarely happens today

Wind turbine company Vestas also operates a large wind farm about 15 miles east of Mt. Pulaski. Vestas spokesperson, Chelsea Sassara, told USA TODAY in an email that the company has not been replacing generators and that the turbine pictured in the social media post did not belong to Vestas.

Wind power generation releases far less CO2 than fossil fuels

The post is correct that utilizing diesel-fueled vehicles to maintain wind turbines releases CO2. However, wind power still produces far less CO2 per kilowatt-hour than burning fossil fuels.

Fact check: Storm damaged a wind turbine in Texas, not a heat wave

When manufacturing, construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning are considered, wind releases about 11 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour, according to the Department of Energy. Meanwhile, natural gas releases 465 grams per kilowatt-hour and coal produces 980 grams per kilowatt-hour.

"That makes coal’s carbon footprint almost 90 times larger than that of wind energy, and the footprint of natural gas more than 40 times larger," says the Department of Energy website.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that wind turbine generators typically only last three to four years. According to 2013 data, only 14% of generators would be expected to fail after four years, and an expert says lifespans have likely increased since then. The wind farm shown in the social media post is not in the process of replacing all of its generators but recently replaced 17 gearboxes, according to the company that operates the farm.

Our fact-check sources:

• Eric Lantz, Aug. 1-3, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Jason Meeks, Aug. 1-11, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Chelsea Sassara, Aug. 4-5, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Trieu Mai, Aug. 8, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• U.S. Wind Turbine Database, accessed Aug. 4, Mt. Pulaski, Illinois area

• Department of Energy, Aug. 30, 2021, How wind energy can help us breathe easier

• Department of Energy, accessed Aug. 5, How do wind turbines work?

• Energy Information Administration, accessed Aug. 5, Electricity explained

• Enel Green Power, Dec. 12, 2018, Enel Green Power starts operation of HillTopper, its first wind farm in the U.S. state of Illinois

• U.S. Wind Turbine Database, accessed Aug. 5, Radford's Run Project

• Yale Climate Connections, June 30, 2021, What's the carbon footprint of a wind turbine?

• My Climate, accessed Aug. 9, What are CO2 equivalents?

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory, May 7, 2013, Operations Expenditures: Historical trends and continuing challenges

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory, July 2015, NWTC collaborative increases gearbox reliability and helps reduce cost of wind energy

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim wind turbine generators only last 3 to 4 years

Reed Timmer captures rare glimpse of how a powerful flash flood starts


Water moving down an arroyo in Wilhoit, Arizona. (Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer)


Allison Finch
Tue, August 16, 2022 

From a trickle of water running between rocks in a dry, barren, mountainside landscape to a roaring river in a matter of mere minutes: Monsoon floods in the Southwest escalate quickly. Each summer, Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer, who may be best known for chasing tornadoes, goes on "flash flood chases" in which he aims to capture the moment that the rainwaters transform the parched landscape into a dangerous wall of water.

A dramatic video recently captured by Timmer perfectly illustrated the North American Monsoon that was in full swing during early August in Wilhoit, Arizona, a town just north of Phoenix. The swift water quickly created a roaring river in the Arizona desert landscape.

Watching Timmer pull off these "flash flood intercepts," as he describes them, is something at which to marvel and as many who watch these videos may end up asking: How'd he do that?

"I've always been interested in the small-scale meteorology including tornadoes, lake-effect snow and flash floods, but I love the hybrid atmospheric and geographic approach to chasing flash floods," Timmer told AccuWeather in an interview. "It also requires all senses -- you can often hear the flash flood approaching several minutes before it arrives."

In the Southwest, states like Arizona and New Mexico are typically arid for most of the year, relying heavily on the monsoon season for yearly precipitation, AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva explained.

The dry, hard, cracked land and scarce amount of vegetation across the Southwest make it nearly impossible for any water to be absorbed into the ground, which often results in water runoff when rain falls. And it takes only an inch or two of rain to create a life-threatening situation.

"Flash floods can happen very quickly. Since the Southwest doesn't typically get as much rain as eastern areas, it can take only a small amount of rain to cause a flash flood," DaSilva said.

Timmer captured the moment that people seldom see last week. The arroyos, or dry stream beds, in the area were quickly filled with a surge of water, which seems to have no end in sight.

As water flows down the newly formed riverbed, which was created in mere seconds in front of Timmer's camera, the front wall of a flash flood is formed.

These arroyos and slot canyons carry this swift-moving water several miles away from where the rainstorm occurred, which can affect areas where it hasn't rained and threaten hikers who are not weather-aware.

"I use radar-derived rainfall data and target the storms that even have a little bit of spin evident in radar reflectivity," explained Timmer. "This means they are producing a lot of rain and are releasing the heat energy stored in the water molecules, causing the storms to have a little spin."

Timmer explained to AccuWeather in 2018 when he first started chasing floods in the Southwest, as the water flowed through the arroyos, debris came along with it, leading to what he describes as a "debris plug."

According to Timmer, when arroyos haven't flooded in a while, they typically have a massive plug of debris. Due to the friction of the earth, the debris plug moves slower, allowing for the flood to build stronger behind the plug.

"I also target the old burn scar areas from previous wildfires, because they can flood much more easily and often have debris flows or debris plugs along the front wall of the flood," said Timmer. "The debris gives the flash flood even more destructive power."

In a video he captured in 2018, the debris plug can be seen holding back a powerful current of water. His videos are just another reminder not to underestimate the power of fast-moving water. An afternoon outside or a hike in the canyons can quickly turn into a life-threatening situation.

"It's all about patience and waiting for the flood to arrive," Timmer said. "The earth's surface out here in the Desert Southwest does not absorb water very rapidly, especially across the burn scars, so it only takes about 0.75" of hourly rainfall to produce a life-threatening flash flood."

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), more people die annually as a result of flooding than from hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning, and although flash flooding is a specific type of flooding, it still causes a significant number of casualties each year.

Earlier this month, heavy rain resulted in deadly flash flooding overnight in eastern Kentucky, resulting in more than 38 casualties.

AccuWeather forecasters say these elusive videos illustrate just how dangerous flash flooding can be and highlight the importance of heeding all weather warnings and evacuation orders.