Good morning! Here's the latest in trending:

New outbreak: Forget lettuce. Taylor Farms is recalling products containing jalapeños.

Buybacks: Berkshire (BRK.B) reports earnings and Abel puts the cash pile to work.

Article 5? Turkey says Egypt may be next to join new Mecca defense pact.

Washington is continuing to accelerate its push to secure critical supply chains like rare earth elements, especially given the current geopolitical environment and its reliance on Beijing. Ahead of the weekend, the U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital unveiled a $400M debt financing agreement with Australia's Sunrise Energy Metals (SREMF), sending the stock surging up to 29% in Monday trading Down Under. The deal will develop the world's first primary mine for scandium, and give the U.S. government the first rights to its output, with production expected to start in late 2028.

Strategic importance: Scandium is used in advanced alloys that have notable applications for the aerospace and defense industries, as well as the booming semiconductor sector that's powering the AI revolution. Other rare earths, which total 17 in number, are also critical to modern technology, with uses ranging from energy infrastructure to military equipment. Despite the name, there are deposits of the minerals all over the world, but it is unusual to find them in a pure form or in concentrated quantities, hence the title "rare."

"For decades, politicians let other countries steal our mines and mining jobs, and put American producers out of business," President Trump said at the Roundtable on American Mining on Friday. "We're reclaiming America's rightful place as the minerals superpower of the world." Mining executives attending the meeting came from firms like MP Materials (MP), Century Aluminum (CENX), USA Rare Earth (USAR), Energy Fuels (UUUU), The Metals Company (TMC), U.S. Antimony (UAMY), and American Resources (AREC).

Outlook: Hopes of U.S. mining companies looking to break into the industry have been dashed in the past due to strict environmental regulations, but that's now changing. There have been executive orders to streamline mine permitting, fast-track funding for mineral processing and refining, as well as direct equity investments and support from the White House. While strong policy backing creates significant upside potential for long-term investors, the sector remains exposed to heavy capital requirements, operational bottlenecks, sharp commodity volatility, and strict government conditions. Take the WSB survey.

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Companies reporting today include Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Plug Power (PLUG).

See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today's economic calendar.