News Round-Up: Trump Ending ‘Climate Lunacy’, EU Scraps ICE Ban, and More Studies on Harmful Covid Shots
Every week, the editorial team of Freedom Research compiles a round-up of news that caught our eye, or what felt like under-reported aspects of news deserving more attention.
Over the past week, the following topics attracted our attention:
No More Climate Lunacy: Trump Plans To Break Up US Climate Research Center
EU Scraps 2035 Combustion Engine Ban
New Study: Covid Shots Increases Risk of Shingles
UK: 18 Months in Prison for Online Posts Seen by 33 People
Australia Uses Bondi Beach Attack To Curb Speech
No More Climate Lunacy: Trump Plans To Break Up US Climate Research Center
The Trump administration plans to break up Colorado’s National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the largest federal climate research lab, dubbed ‘the premier research stronghold for left-wing climate lunacy’ by a White House official. Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, announced the plan Tuesday, NBC News reports.
“The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado,” Vought wrote in his post on X. “This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. A comprehensive review is under way and any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.”
A senior White House official described NCAR to NBC News as ‘the premier research stronghold for left-wing climate lunacy’ and said that breaking it up would ‘eliminate Green New Scam research activities.’
The announcement about NCAR is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to end alarmist climate research and cancel unreliable and expensive wind and solar energy projects. President Trump himself has called climate change a “hoax” and “a con job,” basing his opinions on scientists describing a much more realistic picture about our climate.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently published a report examining the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on ecosystems and society. The report’s authors, leading scientists in the field, estimate that the impact of CO2 is significantly smaller than previously thought and find no basis for climate panic. In other words, they argue that climate science has largely relied on science fiction in recent years and has created unfounded apocalyptic fears.
The report was commissioned by the US Energy Secretary Christopher Wright and was authored by climate researchers from several universities and institutes: John Christy, Judith Curry, Steven Koonin, Ross McKitrick, and Roy Spencer, of whom Curry and McKitrick have previously given interviews to Freedom Research as well.
EU Scraps 2035 Combustion Engine Ban
European Union-based carmakers will need to comply with a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2035, instead of the 100% previously set in EU law, the European Commission announced Tuesday, revoking a wholesale ban on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles adopted in March 2023, Euronews reports.
Manufacturers will have to compensate for the remaining 10% of emissions by using low-carbon steel produced in the EU or by using fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels. The industry will be allowed to continue producing plug-in hybrids, range extenders, mild hybrids, and ICE vehicles beyond 2035. Full electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen vehicles will also be encouraged, with car manufacturers eligible to receive “super credits” for producing small, affordable electric cars made in the EU27, the Commission said.
Germany, Italy, and several other member states have lobbied the EU executive to withdraw the ban, arguing that the social fabric of their economies, propped up by the automotive industry, is disappearing. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Slovakia were also among the EU countries that asked the Commission to reconsider the 2035 ICE ban and think of the sale of hybrid vehicles under the law. France and Spain wanted to keep the ban, but asked the EU executive to support domestic production.
European car manufacturers have been struggling for some time and have demanded that the EU change its climate policy. For example, last year BMW announced a pessimistic outlook and described the extent to which European car manufacturers are dependent on China for the production of EVs. BMW also stated that Europeans are unwilling and unable to buy EVs and that sales have declined significantly. BMW also recommended that Europe allow the development and production of other solutions, such as synthetic or biofuels and hydrogen fuels.
In addition to BMW, other car manufacturers, such as VW and Renault, have called for the CO2 targets to be relaxed or postponed since the sales of EVs are not progressing. Volkswagen announced last year that due to the decline in sales, the company may be forced to close three car factories in Germany. In agreement with the unions, not all employees will be laid off, but VW will reduce both jobs and production capacity by 2030. Now VW has made the decision to close the Dresden plant, which mainly produced EVs.
Other car manufacturers have taken or considered similar steps. Škoda announced this year that it is considering laying off nearly 6,000 people as part of the cuts needed to cope with the costly launch of electric cars. Last year, Audi described plans to close its electric car factory in Belgium and did so in February, resulting in the loss of 3,000 jobs.
Stellantis, the parent company of Opel, Peugeot, and others, also announced that European climate requirements are forcing the company to make very difficult decisions. Stellantis believes that European climate goals are unachievable. They would require selling at least twice as many EVs, but this is impossible for many reasons. EVs are simply not being bought, or if they are, cheaper Chinese models are preferred.
The European Commission’s current proposal will now be negotiated by the European Parliament and the European Council.
New Study: Covid Shots Increases Risk of Shingles
Although information about such serious side effects as shingles related to Covid shots has been available before, it is now supported by more and more peer reviewed literature and reported by the ‘legacy media’. The Daily Mail reports that scientists from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have found that the risk of shingles may rise in the weeks following a Covid shot. The authors analyzed electronic health records from more than two million people aged 12 and older who had received at least one Covid vaccine.
The study, published in the peer‑reviewed journal Drug Safety, found that the risk of developing shingles within 28 days of vaccination increased by 7% when all doses were combined and by 21% after the third, or booster dose of an mRNA vaccine. Shingles, which appears as a painful, blistering rash, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which most people first encounter in childhood as chickenpox.
The study suggested that shingles might occur after a Covid booster because important immune cells, called lymphocytes, can be temporarily depleted after vaccination, which may allow the virus that causes shingles to wake up. Repeated vaccine doses, especially a third booster, might also make T-cells less active for a short time, and T-cells help control viruses that hide in the body. The researchers emphasized that this does not prove the vaccine causes shingles, only that there is a temporary link in some people. The study noted that Hong Kong reported a sharp increase in hospitalizations for shingles shortly after the start of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccinations.
Separate research found that adults aged 50 and over who were hospitalized with shingles were seven times more likely to develop dementia. Among men of all ages, researchers found a significantly higher risk of shingles after receiving a vector-based vaccine, with a 38% increase. Authors noted that the increase in shingles risk after a booster mRNA dose is small, temporary, and limited to certain subgroups, and most cases are treated in general practice rather than requiring hospitalization.
The study comes as the US FDA is drawing up plans to put a ‘black box’ warning on Covid vaccines, the agency’s most serious warning over potential side effects. A black box warning, which appears at the top of prescribing information, is placed on drugs or vaccines to highlight major risks such as serious side effects or setbacks.
According to a memo leaked from the FDA, it has been established that at least 10 children have died after receiving the Covid shots. In July, the FDA updated the warning label for the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines to warn that the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis, i.e. inflammation of the membranes surrounding the heart, was highest among males aged 12 to 24 years.
UK: 18 Months in Prison for Online Posts Seen by 33 People
An X user in the UK who posted two immigration related tweets that were viewed just 33 times has been jailed for stirring up racial hatred, The Daily Mail reports. Luke Yarwood, 36, received an 18-month sentence after tweeting in the wake of the Christmas market car attack in Magdeburg, Germany, in December 2024, in which 6 people were killed. His posts were reported to the police by Yarwood’s own brother-in-law who he did not get on with. Siobhan Linsley, prosecuting, said Yarwood’s ‘extremely unpleasant posts’ had the potential to trigger disorder at one of three high-profile migrant hotels in Bournemouth, Dorset, near which he lives.
His barrister argued the posts had 33 views between them and were the ‘impotent rantings of a socially isolated man’ that had no ‘real-world’ consequences. But Judge Jonathan Fuller said Yarwood’s ‘odious’ tweets were designed to stir up racial hatred and incite violence, and jailed him.
Yarwood made a series of anti-Muslim and anti-immigration posts between December 21, 2024 and January 29, 2025. They started the day after the car attack in Germany – Yarwood responded to a post that stated thousands of Germans were taking to the streets and wanted their country back. Yarwood responded: “Head for the hotels housing them and burn them to the ground.”
The second illegal tweet was made in response to a post by GB News. He wrote: “I think it’s time for the British to gang together, hit the streets and start the slaughter. Violence and murder is the only way now. Start off burning every migrant hotel, then head off to MPs’ houses and Parliament, we need to take over by FORCE.”
Yarwood also wrote about the amount of foreign people in Bournemouth, stating: “Walking for ages and not hearing a word of English.” He also wrote of his disgust at seeing ‘asylum seekers outside the hotel staring at young college girls’.
For all that, he received an 18-month sentence.
Australia Uses Bondi Beach Attack To Curb Speech
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announced a significant expansion of Australia’s hate speech laws following the deadly terrorist attack on Sydney’s Jewish community at Bondi Beach last Sunday, The Independent reports.
Speaking after a meeting of the National Security Committee, Albenese outlined a suite of legislative and policy changes aimed at lowering the threshold for prosecuting hate speech, particularly targeting religious preachers and organizational leaders who incite violence or racial hatred.
The proposed changes would introduce new federal offences for ‘aggravated hate speech’, increase penalties for speech that promotes violence, and make hatred an aggravating factor in sentencing for crimes involving online threats or harassment.
The federal government had already tightened its hate speech laws in February to address rising antisemitic and Islamophobic sentiment, but stopped short of criminalising vilification. A separate framework would allow authorities to formally list organisations whose leaders promote violence or racial supremacy, expanding the government’s ability to disrupt extremist networks operating at the margins of the law, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday.
It should be noted here that ‘hate speech’ is a broad term and restrictions on hate speech by the authorities tend to result in restrictions on people’s freedom of expression, as they can no longer freely express their opinions on certain topics or are afraid to do so.
The authorities also gain the power to decide when to initiate criminal proceedings on the basis of speech – for example, in Europe it has become common for criminal proceedings to be initiated against conservative politicians, but no similar threat is seen in comparable statements made by the so-called progressive camp.
If we ever needed evidence of the precious value of our first amendment rights in the USA, the Brits, Europeans, and now the Australians are providing new rich data for the argument. It is so pathetic that these political types do not see how malignant hate speech laws have been and will be in their societies. God bless the USA.
Excellent roundup covering the EU's signifcant policy pivot on combustion engines. The shift from 100% to 90% CO2 reduction basically admits the original targets were economically unworkable, and the allowance for e-fuels and biofuels to cover that last 10% is basically creating a carve-out that undermines the entire emissions framework. I worked in automotive supply chain briefly and saw firsthand how manufacturers were getting squeezed between mandates they couldn't meet and consumers who wouldn't buy EVs at scale. Stellantis calling the goals "unachievable" wasn't hyperbole, it was just stating the obvious that policymakers ignored for years.