Navy's Top Officer Admits Ford Carrier Fire Halted Its Combat Sorties For Two Days

US Business Confidence Soared In April Amid "Panic, Emergency" Buying Ahead Of Price Spike Despite the recent slide in 'hard' macro data, analysts expected an incremental improvement in the preliminary April S&P Global PMI data this morning. Consensus was right as both Services and Manufacturing surveys signaled an uptick in April US business activity growth recovered slightly in April having slowed to near-stagnation in March following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. However, the overall pace of expansion remained subdued, most notably in the services economy where demand faltered. Flash US...

Senators Unanimously Pass Resolution To Withhold Their Own Pay During Shutdowns Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times, The Senate unanimously approved a resolution on May 14 that would suspend senators’ pay during government shutdowns. The measure, introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), passed by voice vote and is scheduled to take effect after the November midterm elections. Under the resolution, the Senate secretary would withhold lawmakers’ salaries whenever a government shutdown affects one or more federal agencies. Pay would be released once government funding is restored. Supporters say the proposal is intended...

China's Breakthrough Lithium Battery Could Double EV Range To 600+ Miles, Survive -94°F Temp Authored by Bojan Stojkovski via Interesting Engineering, A team of researchers in China has unveiled an all-weather electrolyte designed to boost the performance of lithium batteries across a wide range of conditions. Scientists based in Shanghai and Tianjin report that batteries built with the new hydrofluorocarbon-based electrolyte delivered more than twice the energy density of conventional designs when tested at room temperature.  Fluorine-based electrolyte could improve EV and drone battery efficiency. Beyond efficiency gains, the team says the chemistry...