Axios

There have been four incidents of piracy off the coast of Somalia in the last month, per the NYT, including the first seizure of a large commercial vessel since 2012. This is a surprising resurgence, as piracy off the coast of Somalia had dropped dramatically to 15 incidents in 2015-2016 compared to 237 in 2011, per the UN.

Why it matters: This could wreak havoc on the economies of the area, as well as whichever countries have ships traversing the waters at risk here. 90% of the world's commerce travels by sea and previous attacks off the Coast of Somalia "threatened the free flow of international commerce and energy supplies," according to the State Department.

The UN Navy's Fifth Fleet, which commands regional antipiracy, said it was "monitoring the situation."

Why the uptick is happening: Analysts told the NYT, "a number of factors had driven the resurgence in piracy, including drought, famine, corruption, a surge of smuggled weapons and the influence of the Islamic State." The decrease came after a new government was installed in Somalia in 2012 that prioritized stopping piracy. Anti-piracy policies, including prosecuting pirates and installing armed guards on commercial vessels, had also helped.

The great thing about the endless speculation on carbon taxes is that everyone is right. They're alive and dead at the same time, which brings us to...

The latest: The Washington Post broke a big story yesterday with a report that the White House is weighing a carbon tax and a value-added tax as officials search for revenue in wider tax code overhaul plans.

The fallout: That set off a ton of follow-up stories, but the White House quickly tried to settle things down. "As of now, neither a carbon tax nor a VAT are under consideration," deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said Tuesday afternoon.

• This was the second time in the last few weeks that the White House has sought to put the kibosh on the idea that a carbon tax is under serious consideration.

The Trump Administration is considering a carbon tax, which would target emissions of carbon dioxide in the burning of fossil fuels, according to an official and a person briefed on the matter, per The Washington Post.

Our thought bubble: The White House first declined to rule a carbon tax out, then told Axios last month it was ruling it out, so we'll see if the seesaw continues.

The Administration is also reportedly considering a value-added tax, which consumers would pay when making purchases and businesses would pay when buying supplies, services, or raw materials.