Each of the 13 federal circuit courts of appeals gets a Justice assigned to it, mainly to handle one-Justice applications (for stays, extensions of time, and the like) coming from that Circuit.
They are often given to Justices based on their connections to the circuit. Several Justices have the circuits on which they hard served: Roberts (D.C.), Sotomayor (2d), Alito (3d), Barrett (7th), Gorsuch (10th). Justice Thomas has the 11th, presumably because he’s from Georgia. Naturally, some Justices have to double up (and Chief Justice Roberts is quadrupling up, though three of his circuits are the ones with the smallest caseloads).
Which was Justice Jackson assigned to, under yesterday’s order? The answer seems to be the same for all recent freshly appointed Justices, except for JusticeAlito.
DucDucLow: US Oil Drillers Are Running Out Of Spare Wells
By Natalia Kniazhevich, Bloomberg Markets Live analyst and reporter
As oil prices have climbed to around $110 a barrel, US producers have been restarting projects that had stalled.
They’re starting to run low on these extra wells, which could limit future domestic production.
The number of drilled but not completed oil wells — also known as DUCs — has been shrinking for almost two years, and is now at its lowest level since the series started at the end of 2013.
The oil production process involves, at a high level, two separate steps: drilling and fracking. When a company drills a well it can leave it uncompleted, which happens when oil prices are low. That’s exactly what we saw during the early part of the pandemic.
When prices, like now, are soaring, companies complete wells and begin to extract crude. But with a limited number of DUCs left, drilling more oil in the US will involve tapping more new wells, a harder process for companies facing pressure to meet ESG targets and maintain capital discipline.
Apple Top Insider Trading Lawyer Pleads Guilty To Insider Trading
Apple’s former senior director of corporate law and security has pleaded guilty to insider trading after being indicted in 2019, in what prosecutors called a five-year scheme to profit off of quarterly earnings announcements.
Gene Levoff, who’s been with Apple since 2008 and moved into his position as senior director of corporate law from 2013 – 2018, made the trades in question between 2011 and 2016 while abusing his position as corporate secretary, head of corporate law and co-chair of a committee that reviewed drafts of Apple’s results, according to the indictment.
After initially fighting the charges, Levoff admitted to using nonpublic information about Apple’s financials in order to trade company stock, resulting in $604,000 of illegal gains on more than $14 million of trades, according toCNBC.
Specifically, when Levoff learned that Apple was about to have a strong quarter, he would purchase large quantities of stock which would then be sold into the subsequent pop.
Prosecutors said Levoff ignored the quarterly “blackout periods” that barred trading before Apple’s results were released, as well as the company’s broader insider trading policy — which he was responsible for enforcing. -CNBC
“Gene Levoff betrayed the trust of one of the world’s largest tech companies for his own financial gain,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna in New Jersey in a statement. The case was filed in New Jersey because servers which were used to execute the trades were located there.
As 9to5Mac notes, “this case is incredibly ironic: one of Levoff’s responsibilities at Apple included enforcing the company’s insider trading policy. In fact, he even informed Apple employees about a trading blackout period for AAPL stock, while also buying and selling the stock himself.”
Lovoff was fired in September, 2018, five months before he was criminally charged.
The indictment carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, which we’re guessing Levoff just cut a deal to avoid. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 10. The SEC has filed related civil charges.
Kinney County sheriff’s deputies responded to a suspected smuggling vehicle on a county road early in the morning on June 29. During the ensuing pursuit, the fleeing driver lost control of the vehicle and flipped it.
The driver, a Mexican national wearing a cartel-related medallion, was taken into custody and is facing at least seven felony charges, according to Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe.
Of the five passengers, all illegal immigrants, one female was taken to the hospital in Del Rio for non-life threatening injuries, while the remaining four declined medical treatment.
Coe said Border Patrol told him they could take the four uninjured illegal aliens into custody for processing only if they had been checked medically first.
“Well they had declined any type of medical help,” Coe told The Epoch Times. “So I can’t let them walk the streets. I can’t say, ‘Hey, go, be free.’ Because I still have to protect the Constitution and protect the people in the county.”
Coe said he loaded the three males and one female into his truck and drove to Eagle Pass, about an hour away, and dropped them at the port of entry between the United States and Mexico.
In response to a question by The Epoch Times about the sheriff’s move, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the sheriffs in Texas play a “vital role” up and down the border.
“I applaud all of our sheriffs for having to respond in unprecedented conditions. And that’s causing all of us to use unprecedented action,” Abbott said during a press conference in Eagle Pass on June 29.
“And so whether it’s doing what that sheriff in Kinney County is doing, or what we’re doing, such as turning back more than 20,000 people, we all have our own tools and strategies that we use to either turn back or to return people across the border.”
Coe said he agrees with Abbott that local law enforcement shouldn’t have to be tying up so many resources on the border issue.
“But to let them go, undocumented, unaccounted for, just go because of a policy—I couldn’t do it. It’s going to be the exception rather than the rule. But at the same time, if Border Patrol won’t take a group for whatever reason, I don’t have a choice.”
He said he’s not sure if there will be any legal ramifications—”we’ll see what happens.”
Kinney County deputies have arrested 66 smugglers so far in June as the county remains a thoroughfare from the U.S.–Mexico border to San Antonio.
My general policy is to read each Supreme Court decision the day it comes out. Alas, publication deadlines have prevented me from reading all of the cases decided since June 21. Randy and I are finalizing the second edition of An Introduction to Constitutional Law. We have added several cases–recent and old. But the most difficult additions are Bruen and Dobbs. Our publisher had set a deadline of July 5 for both chapters. Thankfully, the Court released both cases earlier than expected, so we had a few extra days. On the flip side, they totaled more than 300 pages! Much of our time has been spent on distilling both cases down to chapters for the book. Both chapters are now submitted, and are going through the editing process. The book should go to press in August, and will be published in November. We are also preparing an illustrated version of the book–stay tuned for more details.
Now that those deadlines are out of the way, I can return to reviewing the other cases. On my agenda are Carson v. Makin, Vega v. Tekoh, Berger v. NAACP, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, Torres v. Texas DPS, West Virginia v. EPA, and Biden v. Texas. I will blog observations about each case as I make my way through.
My general policy is to read each Supreme Court decision the day it comes out. Alas, publication deadlines have prevented me from reading all of the cases decided since June 21. Randy and I are finalizing the second edition of An Introduction to Constitutional Law. We have added several cases–recent and old. But the most difficult additions are Bruen and Dobbs. Our publisher had set a deadline of July 5 for both chapters. Thankfully, the Court released both cases earlier than expected, so we had a few extra days. On the flip side, they totaled more than 300 pages! Much of our time has been spent on distilling both cases down to chapters for the book. Both chapters are now submitted, and are going through the editing process. The book should go to press in August, and will be published in November. We are also preparing an illustrated version of the book–stay tuned for more details.
Now that those deadlines are out of the way, I can return to reviewing the other cases. On my agenda are Carson v. Makin, Vega v. Tekoh, Berger v. NAACP, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, Torres v. Texas DPS, West Virginia v. EPA, and Biden v. Texas. I will blog observations about each case as I make my way through.
Putin & Modi Hold Warm Phone Call As India Gorges On Cheap Russian Oil
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held an important phone call Friday wherein Modi underscored that India favors dialogue and diplomacy toward reaching a peaceful Ukraine solution. “In the context of the ongoing situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister reiterated India’s long-standing position in favor of dialogue and diplomacy,” a readout from his office said. But unlike interaction with Western leaders, including France’s Macron, it appears Modi kept things relatively “light” when it came to rhetoric on Ukraine.
Also high on the agenda was the very uncertain and calamitous state of global energy and food markets. Modi had days prior addressed G7 leaders, saying, “Even in the present situation, we have constantly urged for the path of dialogue and diplomacy. The impact of this geopolitical tension is not just limited to Europe. The rising prices of energy and food grains are affecting all the countries.”
But things aren’t so dire for either Russia or India when it comes to energy, as both appear to be positively benefitting from the West’s attempt to halt Russian energy flows to Europe, even as G7 countries mull imposing a price cap on Russian oil.
This as Russia is quickly muscling into India’s oil market, with Modi’s India only too happy to gorge on cheap Russian barrels, as Bloomberg underscored days ago, suggesting that Russia could now be positioned as India’s biggest single supplier: “Deprived of many of its traditional European buyers, Moscow is on course to deliver somewhere between 1 million and 1.2 million barrels a day to the world’s third-largest oil importer this month, according to tanker tracking figures compiled by Bloomberg and two oil analytics firms,” according to the report.
This is even significantly far beyond supplies coming from Saudi Arabia, though India relies more heavily on Iraq crude flows.
To review an astounding New York Times admission from last month on how the West’s “punishing” of Vladimir Putin is going…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered global condemnation and tough sanctions aimed at denting Moscow’s war chest. Yet Russia’s revenues from fossil fuels, by far its biggest export, soared to records in the first 100 days of its war on Ukraine, driven by a windfall from oil sales amid surging prices, a new analysis shows.
Russia earned what is very likely a record 93 billion euros in revenue from exports of oil, gas and coal in the first 100 days of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, according to data analyzed by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a research organization based in Helsinki, Finland. About two-thirds of those earnings, the equivalent of about $97 billion, came from oil, and most of the remainder from natural gas.
“The current rate of revenue is unprecedented, because prices are unprecedented, and export volumes are close to their highest levels on record,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst who led the center’s research.
But India, and also China, have been enjoying a steep discount of around $30 less per barrel compared to Brent during that time period the Times documented.
As S&P Global reviewed of those opening three months of the Ukraine war, “The price of Russian Urals CIF Rotterdam averaged $69.89/b in April, according to Platts data. This compares with a monthly average of $104.40/b for United Kingdom’s Forties, which is similar in quality to Urals.”
Russia’s readout of the Modi call focused on messaging that Moscow fundamentally lays blame on the West for the emerging global food crisis in the wake of Ukraine grain shipments not being available for export.
“Putin drew attention to the systemic mistakes made by a number of countries, which led to the disruption of free trade in food products and provoked a significant increase in their price. Unlawful sanctions against Russia have exacerbated an already difficult situation,” the Kremlin press service said according to TASS. “Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia has been and remains a reliable producer and supplier of grain, fertilizers, and energy carriers, including to Indian partners,” the call readout said.
Meanwhile, Western populations are being told to ‘shut up and sacrifice’ for the indefinite foreseeable future…
CNN: “What do you say to those families that say, ‘listen, we can’t afford to pay $4.85 a gallon for months, if not years?’”
BIDEN ADVISOR BRIAN DEESE: “This is about the future of the Liberal World Order and we have to stand firm.” pic.twitter.com/LWilWSo72S
The three U.S. citizens found dead at the Sandals resort in the Bahamas in May died from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Royal Bahamas Police on Wednesday.
“We can officially confirm that all three of the victims died as a result of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement to news outlets. “This matter remains under active investigation.”
Michael Phillips, 68; Robbie Phillips, 65; and Vincent Chiarella, 64; were found unresponsive at Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma on May 6. Chiarella’s wife, Donnis, was hospitalized in critical condition and was reportedly discharged from a Miami-area hospital after several weeks. Her current health condition is not currently known.
“Despite initial speculation, Bahamian authorities have concluded that the cause was an isolated incident in one standalone structure that housed two individual guest rooms and was in no way linked to the resort’s air conditioning system, food, and beverage service, landscaping services, or foul play,” the Sandals resort said in a statement to news outlets in May.
Sandals, an exclusive resort, added that detectors for carbon monoxide—an odorless gas—have been installed in “all guest rooms at Sandals Emerald Bay and although not mandated in any Caribbean destination where we operate, detectors will be installed in all guest rooms throughout the portfolio.”
And the company recently told news outlets that it has “taken additional measures such as engaging environmental safety experts” to review its systems.
About a month ago, authorities in the Bahamas suspected that it was carbon monoxide poisoning that killed the three American tourists, although few details were provided and it was not officially confirmed. None of the three Americans showed any signs of trauma, according to the Royal Bahamian Police, which also ruled out foul play.
“There’s still some investigations ongoing at the Sandals resort. We also have the pathologists in-country who have done their job and samples were sent to a very reliable lab in the United States,” Dr. Michael Darville, the minister of health for the Bahamas, told Eyewitness News at the time.
Several days after their deaths were confirmed, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement that it is “closely monitoring” the situation.
“We can confirm the death of three U.S. citizens in the Bahamas. We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect for the privacy of the families, we have nothing further to add at this time,” an agency spokesperson told media outlets at the time.
Sandals has not immediately responded to a request for comment.
Daily Briefing: Risk Management Is the Most Important Thing
The major U.S. equity indexes edged into positive territory after opening in the red, even as a measure of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to 53 in June from 56.1 in May, a two-year low, and the latest update to the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow gauge came in at negative 2.1% on an annualized basis. Not only is a U.S. recession more likely than a soft landing; we may already be in one. “I’m keeping an open mind, and if we do have a recession it will produce an even more powerful rally, as bull markets are born out of recessions,” says Mark Ritchie II. Ritchie II, managing partner and chief investment officer of RTM Capital Advisors, joins Real Vision’s Ash Bennington to talk about financial markets, the global economy, and capital preservation. We also hear from Mark Minervini about diversified portfolios in a bear market versus a bull market. And we drop in on an exclusive interview between Ash and CEO Mark Lamb about CoinFLEX’s struggle for survival amid the crypto downturn. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3AeGKaR. Watch the full conversation featuring Mark Minervini, Jared Dillian, and Mark Ritchie II here: https://rvtv.io/3OAxAcR. Watch Ash’s interview with Mark Lamb here: https://rvtv.io/3yw0ghH.
Biden Admin Halts 2nd Largest US LNG Plant From Restarting Operations After Blast
The Biden administration is preventing the second-largest US liquefied natural gas export facility from repairing or restarting operations in the wake of a fire earlier this month over ‘risks to public safety.’
As Reuters reports, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which operates under DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, has prevented Freeport LNG’s 15 million tonne per year (mtpa) Quintana plant in Houston, TX, exacerbating the global energy crunch.
“Continued operation of Freeport’s LNG export facility without corrective measures may pose an integrity risk to public safety, property or the environment,” PHMSA said in its preliminary report, after a problem with a safety valve led to an 18-inch stainless steel pipe to overpressurize and burst. This released LNG and methane, leading to the blast.
It laid out a series of steps for investigating what caused a 300-foot (91-m) section of pipe to burst and release about 120,000 cubic feet of LNG.
The root cause analysis likely will delay a partial restart of the plant for 90 to 120 days, and could delay a full restart, analysts said.
Closely-held Freeport said it will continue working with PHMSA and other regulatory bodies to obtain necessary approvals to restart operations. It estimated resumption of partial liquefaction operations to be in early October and a return to full production by year-end. -Reuters
“The actual process (of reviews, repairs and approvals) will take longer than three months, and potentially take six to 12 months,” said Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG at consultants Rapidan Energy Group.
According to the report, PHMSA ordered the company to submit a plan within 60 days for an outside investigator to report on the extent of the damage to the facility – and gave no indication of how long it would take to approve a plan. Freeport must also contract with a third-party to review the condition of its LNG storage tanks.
Then, and only then, can the company submit a repair plan, derailing their goal of a partial restart in September, and full operation by year-end.
