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President Donald Trump on Tuesday walked back threats to charge a 20 percent fee on all cargo ships that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that has been central to the renewed U.S.-Iran conflict.

In a post to Truth Social , Trump said the strait will be open to “ALL Ship traffic except for Iran” and the U.S. will implement a “FULL Blockade, but only on Ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo.”

The president added that the previously announced 20 percent fee will be replaced with trade and investment deals between Gulf states and the U.S. “Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” Trump said.

Trump’s announcement marks a swift backtrack from his proposal to charge all ships traveling the strait a 20 percent fee, a plan he announced Monday . It triggered grumbling from international allies and even some Republicans on Capitol Hill .

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.

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Earlier today I reported that Chinese memory makers, such as CXMT, are ramping up their production big time, and are set to run hot on the heels of Micron in output even by the end of this year. But hold up, don't get too excited, because the same research that produced those figures also predicts "the 2030 DRAM squeeze" matching the SK hynix CEO's warnings from earlier in the week.

As relayed by Citrini researcher Zephyr on X , even by 2030 and factoring in increased supply from China, there will still be a shortfall. Demand for DRAM will still exceed supply—and it won't even be particularly close.

The supply deficit will grow from 18% to 25% by 2030 https://t.co/6Hngmgszc8 pic.twitter.com/EJX6vUkQM5 July 13, 2026

Citrini's research predicts a 28.7 exabyte (EB) shortfall out of a total global demand of 157.5 EB. The overall figure includes HBM as well as DRAM, but "general DRAM remains the main bottleneck."

What's more, given they haven't modeled any demand for physical AI (such as humanoides or autonomous cars), Zephyr says : "even if my DC & AI demand estimates are too high (they are not), it will be balanced out by physical AI demand."

If those numbers seem big, too, it's because they are. Current estimates have it that this year will see a global capacity of 40 EB of DRAM. That's not that much more than the shortfall —the unmet demand—it's being predicted we'll see in 2030. Ever-more production, ever-more demand.

One thing that makes my stomach sink is seeing, in the graphic, how the expected consumer demand section is smaller than the unfulfilled demand section. Consumer demand meaning, of course, demand for products such as RAM sticks for people like you and I, rather than for big servers.

(Image credit: Remitski via Getty Images) To wit, Zephyr again: "I expect a 25% deficit for the general DRAM market. 91 EB/year of supply versus 120 EB/yr of demand. DRAM ASP will remain inflated and will likely stay in the $1.5/Gb-$2.0/Gb range."

There is, of course, always the possibility that innovations pertaining to AI efficiency could help improve the situation and lessen demand. Google's recently developed TurboQuant algorithm, for instance, promises a 6x reduction in memory overhead . Though whether such developments actually reduce demand or simply open up room for even more AI is also an open question.

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This is the year artificial intelligence has emerged in the public square as a full-fledged bogeyman.

College grads boo commencement speakers who invoke AI as the modern equivalent of “plastics,” the career advice given to Dustin Hoffman’s character in the 1967 film “The Graduate.” Workers recoil when companies wield it as a cost-cutting, job-slashing sword . Even a wary Pope Leo XIV warns against the fusion of AI into nuclear war-fighting systems.

So this month’s low-key unveiling of Claude Science , an app that adapts Anthropic’s large language model for biopharma research labs, was a timely reminder that AI still has the potential to do more than reduce corporate head counts and endanger civilization.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

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2026 has been a big year for Game of Thrones fans, who have been treated to not one, but two projects for the first time in franchise history. The first George R.R. Martin -inspired project to take the world by storm was the debut season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms , which premiered back in January. Despite consisting of only six shorter episodes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms won the hearts of fans around the world, and HBO is already hard at work on Season 2. Just a few weeks ago, HBO brought back the long-awaited third season of House of the Dragon , which is firing on all cylinders through its first four episodes. Showrunner Ryan Condal has also confirmed that the next season of House of the Dragon will be the last.

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Bit Bot Media has a wide variety of offerings on its official site, from original comics like the meta-horror True Believers series to Blu-ray releases for cult favorites like PG: Psycho Goreman and Shin Ultraman , and other merchandise made in partnership with franchises like The Terminator . They've even backed publications based on classic games, most recently launching a BackerKit campaign for a new comic set within the Thief universe . However, creating their own video games remains one of the company's specialties. They currently have 14 released titles on their website, with another 5 in development, including their ambitious sci-fi action experience, Unioverse . Now, ahead of San Diego Comic-Con , they've landed a new project that will whisk players into the over-the-top world of a bloody and brutal modern comic breakout hit.