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Earth Intelligence

02 May 2025 — 6 min read

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On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to halt federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), citing concerns over alleged bias in their programming. The order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private nonprofit funded by Congress with an annual budget of approximately $535 million, to stop providing direct and indirect financial support to NPR and PBS, including grants to local stations that use their content. NPR receives about 1% of its budget directly from CPB, while PBS relies on CPB for roughly 16%. The order also requires federal agencies to review and terminate any existing grants or contracts with these broadcasters, arguing that government-funded media is unnecessary in today’s diverse media environment.
The CPB has filed a lawsuit, asserting that it operates independently of presidential authority and that the order violates its congressional mandate. NPR and PBS have defended their roles, stating they provide objective news, educational content, and critical services like emergency alerts, especially in rural areas where local stations depend on CPB funding for up to 50% of their budgets. Critics argue the defunding threatens access to public media in underserved communities, while supporters contend that public funding for NPR and PBS is unjustified given perceptions of bias.

Economics & Markets:

Yesterday’s U.S. stock market:

Yesterday’s commodity market:

Yesterday’s crypto market:

Environment & Weather:

Between May 1 and 2, 2025, Moscow and its surrounding region recorded 43 mm of snowfall in 36 hours, surpassing a 116-year record and accounting for 70% of the average monthly snowfall. This significant spring snow event, linked to an Arctic air mass, affected infrastructure and daily activities across the area, leading to power outages and transportation challenges.

The storm left 26,000 residents in the Moscow region without electricity due to infrastructure damage, and response teams have been deployed to address the issue. Major roads were closed, and flight schedules at Moscow’s airports faced delays. Weather experts suggest that such events may be tied to broader climate patterns, with the possibility of additional snowfall in the near future.

Space:

Yesterday, May 1, 2025, at 9:51 p.m. EDT, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying 28 Starlink v2-mini satellites for the Starlink Group 6-75 mission. These satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit to expand SpaceX's second-generation Starlink constellation, which provides high-speed internet globally. The Falcon 9's first-stage booster, on its 18th flight, landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, showcasing SpaceX's reusable rocket technology.

The v2-mini satellites feature advanced phased-array antennas and E-band technology, offering about four times the data capacity of earlier models. Launched into a 43-degree inclination orbit under clear weather conditions, the mission had a 99% success probability. This launch contributes to the Starlink constellation, which includes over 6,750 satellites and serves millions of users worldwide.

Science & Technology:

On May 1, 2025, Anthropic introduced Integrations for Claude, a feature that connects the AI assistant to third-party applications via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open-source protocol launched in November 2023. Integrations allow Claude to access real-time data like project details, task statuses, and organizational knowledge from connected apps, enhancing its role in professional workflows. Supported apps at launch include Atlassian’s Jira, Confluence, Zapier, Cloudflare, Intercom, Asana, Square, Sentry, PayPal, Linear, and Plaid, with future integrations planned for Stripe and GitLab. Developers can build custom integrations in about 30 minutes using Anthropic’s documentation or Cloudflare’s tools, which provide OAuth authentication and deployment support. Data exchange is secured with encryption and complies with GDPR and CCPA standards.

Each integration enables specific tasks: Jira allows Claude to retrieve issues, create tickets, or summarize sprints; Confluence supports accessing or summarizing documentation; Zapier connects Claude to thousands of apps for automation, like pulling CRM data; Asana enables task creation or status checks; Intercom provides conversation histories for customer support; Plaid and PayPal handle financial transactions; Linear and Sentry aid developers with project timelines and error tracking. These capabilities streamline project management, knowledge sharing, automation, and customer service. Additionally, Claude’s advanced Research mode, available in beta for Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, searches the web, Google Workspace, and integrations for detailed, cited reports. Web search is now globally accessible to all paid plan users, making Claude a powerful tool for professional tasks like research and project planning.

Statistic:

Largest public financial service companies by market capitalization:

🇺🇸 JPMorgan Chase: $686.13B
🇺🇸 Visa: $657.72B
🇺🇸 Mastercard: $496.43B
🇨🇳 ICBC: $319.40B
🇺🇸 Bank of America: $303.68B
🇨🇳 Agricultural Bank of China: $256.79B
🇺🇸 Wells Fargo: $233.68B
🇨🇳 China Construction Bank: $216.53B
🇨🇳 Bank of China: $207.12B
🇬🇧 HSBC: $199.59B
🇺🇸 American Express: $188.13B
🇺🇸 Morgan Stanley: $187.63B
🇮🇳 HDFC Bank: $184.44B
🇦🇺 Commonwealth Bank: $180.13B
🇺🇸 Goldman Sachs: $172.12B
🇨🇦 Royal Bank of Canada: $169.53B
🇺🇸 S&P Global: $153.01B
🇺🇸 Charles Schwab: $148.01B
🇯🇵 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial: $142.68B
🇨🇳 CM Bank: $140.68B
🇺🇸 Citigroup: $127.26B
🇮🇳 ICICI Bank: $119.45B
🇨🇦 Toronto Dominion Bank: $110.60B
🇪🇸 Santander: $104.53B
🇸🇦 Al Rajhi Bank: $103.88B

History:

The history of banking traces back to ancient civilizations, where early financial systems emerged to support trade and economic growth. In Mesopotamia around 2000 BC, temples and palaces served as safe repositories for grain, livestock, and precious metals, issuing loans and facilitating trade. By the 7th century BC, the Greeks developed coinage, and private merchants began offering deposit and lending services. In Rome, argentarii and mensarii acted as money-changers and bankers, managing deposits, loans, and currency exchange. Medieval Europe saw the rise of Italian merchant banks, such as the Medici in Florence, which financed trade and governments, introducing innovations like bills of exchange and double-entry bookkeeping by the 14th century. These early banks laid the groundwork for modern financial systems, driven by the need to secure wealth and enable commerce.
The modern banking era began in the 17th century with the establishment of central banks and formalized institutions. The Bank of Amsterdam (1609) and the Bank of England (1694) introduced standardized currency, government-backed securities, and monetary policy, stabilizing economies and fostering global trade. The 19th century saw the proliferation of commercial banks, which offered savings accounts, mortgages, and business loans, fueled by the Industrial Revolution’s capital demands. Innovations like fractional reserve banking and clearinghouses streamlined transactions, while the 20th century brought regulatory frameworks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve (1913), to manage economic crises. The digital revolution of the late 20th and early 21st centuries transformed banking with ATMs, online platforms, and fintech, making services globally accessible.

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