Calm Before the Storm: Today's News for October 6th

Fox News:

'Calm before the storm': Trump remark sparks foreign policy speculation

President Donald Trump said Thursday it was “the calm before the storm” as he met with senior military leaders amid increasing tensions around the globe and speculation of changes in foreign policy.

The president's use of the ominous phrase prompted others to question what he meant by it – to which the president replied even more ominously: “You’ll find out.”

Trump said he expected the Pentagon brass in the room to offer him “a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace.”

Multiple reports, however, have suggested the White House next week will effectively scrap the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration in 2015, kick-starting a new standoff between Iran and the U.S.

Trump, who earlier said Iran had “not lived up to the spirit" of the nuclear deal, was expected to “decertify” and denounce the controversial accord as not being in the U.S. national interest, passing the issue to Congress, the Washington Post reported.

Such a move would trigger a 60-day period which it would be up to Congress to decide whether to impose sanctions on Iran.

The only question is whether this is one of Trump's infamous off-the-cuff remarks, or whether he is trying to send a verbal warning shot to Iran? We will see.

In other "calm before the storm" news...

National Weather Service:

Update on Tropical Storm Nate

Speaking of storms...

CNN Money:

Can Elon Musk fix Puerto Rico's broken power grid?

Elon Musk is offering to solve Puerto Rico's energy crisis -- for the long haul.

Millions of Puerto Ricans are living in the dark at home after Hurricane Maria pummeled the island, knocking out its already fragile electric grid. Two weeks later, only 9% of residents have electricity, according to Puerto Rican government figures.

Musk, the CEO of electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA), suggested his company's solar power unit could be a long-term solution.

"The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico," Musk tweeted Thursday morning, adding that the decision is up to Puerto Rican government officials.

Not surprisingly, Puerto Rico was receptive. A tweet from the governor of Puerto Rico:

@elonMusk Let's talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project. https://t.co/McnHKwisqc

— Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) October 6, 2017

Further:

A Tesla-powered system would be a complete reversal for Puerto Rico's energy grid. Right now, the island imports and burns oil to generate electricity.

Under that antiquated system, ordinary Puerto Ricans have been paying exorbitantly high electric bills for years. Several told CNNMoney this week that a monthly electric bill can easily go for $250. 

If Musk can pull this off, it would be huge for both him and Tesla.

There would be a certain historical irony if he did do it: The namesake for Tesla Motors, Nikola Tesla, was renowned for his "electricity war" with Thomas Edison in the late 19th century. Tesla promoted alternating current electricity, whereas Edison wanted direct current. Tesla won that war.

But like the company's namesake, Musk could revolutionize the world's electricity generation if he can re-wire Puerto Rico for solar power. Even if he only ends up contributing a significant percentage to Puerto Rico's power generation, it would be a milestone in alternative energy.