Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)
It’s not just March Madness. It’s MAGA Madness.
No timeouts. No second chances. Just strong leadership, fearless patriots, and the will to win.
With President Trump leading the charge, the People’s House is victorious.
Source: US Geological Survey
Burn bans remain in effect for North and South Carolina, where multiple wildfires have caused road closures and evacuations. Dry conditions and downed trees from Hurricane Helene have fueled the fires.
Source: US State of North Carolina
Headline: Governor Stein Encourages Employers to Apply for HIRE Vets Medallion Program
Governor Stein Encourages Employers to Apply for HIRE Vets Medallion Program
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Governor Josh Stein and North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley are encouraging North Carolina employers to hire veterans and to apply for recognition with a HIRE Vets Medallion Award, an official program of the U.S. Department of Labor.
The application period runs through April 30, 2025.
“North Carolina is home to approximately 700,000 veterans, who bring great skills and experience to our state’s workforce,” said Governor Stein. “The HIRE Vets program recognizes companies for their support for our nation’s heroes, cementing North Carolina’s position as the most military-friendly state.”
HIRE Vets medallions are the only federal-level veterans’ employment awards that recognize an organization’s commitment to veteran hiring, retention and professional development. In 2024, 28 North Carolina employers received a HIRE Vets Medallion Award.
The N.C. Department of Commerce pioneered a first-of-its-kind online feature that highlights North Carolina employers that have received the HIRE Vets medallion award on the state’s NCWorks job search site and on the NCWorks Veterans Portal, located at veterans.ncworks.gov. This tool helps veterans more easily find jobs that the recognized companies are currently advertising.
“North Carolina’s military community is one of our state’s strategic assets, and we applaud the many employers who recognize the talent, value and unique perspective that our veterans provide,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “By recruiting and training veterans for meaningful employment opportunities, companies assist in the transition to civilian life and honor the sacrifice of military service.”
“Veterans and their families enrich North Carolina communities and provide a ready and skilled workforce that is second to none,” said Secretary Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette of the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NC DMVA). “Transitioning from active-duty military to Veteran status is easier when Veterans and employers engage and connect. The economic impact is significant, but the security of supporting your family with meaningful employment is something beyond measure. We appreciate the HIRE Vets Medallion program and all it does to inspire, create, and encourage employment opportunities for our Veterans.”
The HIRE Vets Medallion Award is based on several criteria, ranging from veteran hiring and retention to providing veteran-specific resources, leadership programming, dedicated human resources, and compensation and tuition assistance programs – with requirements varying for large, medium, and small employers. There is a fee to apply for the HIRE Vets Medallion Program, which is used to cover the costs associated with carrying out the HIRE Vets Act. The fee for large employers is $495 per applicant, the fee for medium employers is $190 per applicant, and the fee for small employers is $90 per applicant.
One of the many North Carolina employers recognized by the program is the nonprofit Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries (ABCCM), the parent organization of Veterans Services of the Carolinas. Founded in 1969 through the collaboration of local churches, ABCCM works with community organizations to offer free assistance to veterans and their families.
“At ABCCM Veterans Services of the Carolinas, we are deeply committed to empowering and supporting our nation’s Veterans as they transition into meaningful careers,” said Jessica Rice, Managing Director for Veterans Services of the Carolinas. “We are honored to be a three-time recipient of this award, recognizing the immense value Veterans bring to our organization. Their unique skills and experiences not only enhance our team but also allow them to connect on a deeper level with both their Veteran coworkers and the Veterans we serve. Together, we can ensure that those who have served our country receive the opportunities, support, and respect they deserve.”
The Department of Commerce, working in close partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, has 50 NCWorks Veterans Services professionals (all of whom are veterans themselves). Their primary mission is to help veterans find good jobs and training opportunities. These professionals are located across the state at local NCWorks Career Centers, which serve veterans and other jobseekers, while also helping employers meet their talent needs. The department also partners with North Carolina For Military Employment (NC4ME) on special hiring events.
To learn more and apply for the HIRE Vets Medallion Award Program, go to www.HireVets.gov.
Employers and veterans may also visit or contact an NCWorks Career Center for assistance. Contact information for each career center is found at www.NCWorks.gov.
NCWorks Veterans Services are supported by the Jobs for Veterans State Grant from the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) of the U.S. Department of Labor as part of an award to North Carolina totaling $5,703,016, with 0% financed from non-governmental sources.
Source: – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Rooftop solar in Canada: everything you need to know – CanREA on Energi Talks Podcast
Energy journalist Markham Hislop interviews Phil McKay of Canadian Renewable Energy Association about the newly released annual Go Solar Guide. It’s the go-to resource for Canadians looking to install solar on their property. Watch now.
The post Rooftop solar in Canada: everything you need to know – CanREA on Energi Talks Podcast appeared first on Canadian Renewable Energy Association.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Becky Freeman, Professor in Public Health, University of Sydney
New laws come into effect in Australia today that change the look, ingredients, and packaging of tobacco products.
The Australian government passed the package of tobacco laws in late 2023, which include:
standardised tobacco pack and cigarette stick sizes, no more novelty pack sizes or cigarette lengths
updated and improved graphic health warnings and quitting advice inserts within all tobacco packs
warnings printed directly on cigarettes
banning ingredients that make tobacco taste better and easier to smoke, including menthol.
Retailers have a three-month grace period to sell any old stock already in their stores by July 1.
Here’s what’s behind these changes – and what needs to happen next.
Cigarette packaging requirements have been stagnant since 2012, when Australia introduced plain packaging laws that banned the use of all on-pack logos and branding. This was a world-first.
While large graphic health warnings are effective in both preventing smoking uptake and aiding quitting smoking, the effects wear out if warnings are not refreshed and varied.
Cigarette packages must carry one of ten new health warnings. Fresh warnings that smoking doubles the risk of cervical cancer and leads to diabetes will be new information for many smokers.
There are also warnings for roll-your-own, cigar, bidi and shisha tobacco packaging.
Cigarettes themselves must now include one of eight health warnings printed directly on the filter paper.
Canada was the first country in the world to adopt similar requirements in 2023.
The size, shape, and colour of cigarettes has also been standardised to prevent tobacco companies from using unique cigarette designs to attract new users. Long, thin cigarettes, for example, have been marketed to women as a fashion accessory and diet tool for nearly a century.
The ingredients permitted in cigarettes are also changing, with ingredients that enhance the flavour of tobacco being now banned. The long list of prohibited ingredients includes everything from cloves, to sugar, to probiotics and vitamins.
Until now, the tobacco industry has had free reign to add ingredients that increase the palatability and attractiveness of cigarettes. This banned list also captures menthol and any ingredients that mimic the cooling properties of menthol.
Menthol masks the harshness of smoke. Just like cold lollies that contain menthol to soothe sore throats and tame coughs, menthol in cigarettes prevents inexperienced smokers from reacting to the rough effects of tobacco smoke in the throat. This helps to make smoking a more pleasant experience that young users will return to.
The introduction of crushable menthol capsules in cigarette filters has proven very popular with Australian teenagers. Teens who use these products are more likely to have recently smoked and have higher smoking intentions in the future. The new laws also explicitly prohibit these “crush balls” or “flavour beads.”
Other counties that have banned menthol have seen drops in tobacco sales and use and increases in quitting behaviours.
Menthol cigarettes have been heavily marketed to African American people since at least the 1950s and make up one-third of the total US cigarette market share. Tobacco control groups in the US have been advocating for a menthol ban for well over a decade.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule banning menthol in 2022, and a 2024 US Surgeon General report highlighted that menthol products increase addiction and are:
disproportionately used by Black people, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people, women and people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
Under the Biden Administration, the FDA delayed issuing the final rule which meant the ban was not properly enacted before Trump was elected.
In January 2025, the Trump administration completely withdrew the ban.
A menthol ban in the US was predicted to reduce total smoking by 15% and the number of smoking attributable deaths among African Americans by up to 238,000.
Organised criminals are operating in Australia’s tobacco supply chain to illegally import and sell tobacco products. Government action to step in and gain control of that supply system is long overdue.
Until this year, Australia’s two most populous states didn’t even require tobacco sellers to be licensed, and Queensland only introduced licensing last year.
Australia will need to change how tobacco is sold. It should not be so easy and commonplace to sell such an addictive and deadly product.
Both state and national governments need timely and transparent reporting on the size and scope of the illicit market, and strict licensing of the entire tobacco supply chain.
Businesses that sell illicit tobacco must face real consequences – not only large fines and loss of licences to operate, but also criminal charges.
All aspects of the tobacco supply chain – from wholesalers to retailers – must be tightly controlled.
Becky Freeman is an expert advisor to the Cancer Council tobacco issues committee and a member of the Cancer Institute vaping communications advisory panel. She has received relevant competitive grants from the NHMRC, MRFF, NSW Health, the Ian Potter Foundation, VicHealth, and Healthway WA.
– ref. Menthol cigarettes will be banned from April 1. Here’s why – and what else is changing – https://theconversation.com/menthol-cigarettes-will-be-banned-from-april-1-heres-why-and-what-else-is-changing-251920
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Andrew Buzzell, Postdoctoral Fellow, Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Western University
Election interference is a much broader phenomenon than is often assumed. Once limited to intimidation, voter fraud or hacking, election interference includes more mundane, pervasive and ubiquitous interactions. A seemingly innocuous and casual chat with a neighbour or barista could now be considered part of a hostile influence campaign.
From this perspective, interference is less about how ballots are cast and more about shaping the motivations, intentions and contexts in which voters think about politics. Yet those same processes, debates, persuasions and messy arguments are integral to democracy.
If “election interference” encompasses all efforts to influence opinion, do we risk diluting its meaning, creating a new hollow accusation like “fake news?” More importantly, if this broad view is right, it raises difficult new challenges beyond the narrow measures of election law.
Germany recently accused Elon Musk of meddling in their February election, claiming that his prominent endorsement of the Alternative for Germany party on X was an illegal foreign donation. During the 2022 Brazilian election, misinformation on WhatsApp and Telegram swayed voter intentions, and the Superior Electoral Court frequently requested that content be taken down.
Much of this content was homegrown, produced, endorsed and circulated by Brazilians themselves. If such content was traditional journalism, existing laws and standards could be applied. But when it resembles ordinary political speech, many see takedowns as censorship. Blurred lines between citizen speech and journalism complicate the laws and policies designed to address clearly defined electioneering.
During the 2020 Taiwan elections, officials worried that pro-unification memes came not only from Chinese-controlled bots and paid posters (itself a form of election interference), but were trending because the TikTok algorithm systematically prioritized it.
And in the United States, the legislative push to ban TikTok gained momentum alongside political concern that an apparent uptick in anti-Israel sentiment was caused by covert manipulation of TikTok’s algorithm.
Concerns about election interference should extend the focus beyond the ballot to include information vulnerabilities. Politicians of all stripes have called for action on deceptive speech, but there is little agreement on the nature of the problem, especially across partisan divides
Complaints about fake news are as likely to be strategic as sincere. News isn’t just about facts, it’s about what matters and why, and as such, media regulation should not solely be determined by the legal system. There is the risk that any effort to control content used to interfere with elections (propaganda, disinformation, fakes) will be inescapably partisan, thus unacceptable in democracies.
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) notes some of these concerns. The act indicates that monitoring and reporting about societal risks and public transparency databases will be required. It establishes “trusted flaggers” (experts and civil society groups) to help moderate content. It doesn’t mention elections, but voices concerns that platforms may be “used to disseminate or amplify misleading or deceptive content, including disinformation,” which can undermine fundamental rights.
The DSA is new but already facing friction. The U.S. has indicated that enforcement may undermine free speech. Other issues include the absence of funding, the lack of standards for transparency databases and growing mistrust in the very idea of flagging. Flagging posts has been criticized for conflating editorship with censorship
There are two schools of thought in competition with each other pertaining to free speech. The first defines it as freedom from interference with the media environment, and the view that the response to bad speech should be more and better speech, not censure.
Currently, too much speech is circulating, along with the power given to algorithms and human moderators to make sense of it. This suggests a different ideal — the freedom to be informed and in control of our information environments, to feel authentically represented and to have fair dealings with speech platforms. Translating these to policies and slogans is much harder than a hands-off approach to media regulation.
Overwhelmed with information, consumers favour brands, curators, editors, tastemakers, vibes and tribes that align with their personal values. If there is a shift in values, consumers cancel, unfollow and disconnect — and then replace the source.
Trust-breaking disrupts the systems we use to filter, verify and contextualize information. This is exemplified in “firehose of falsehood” tactics and hack-and-leak operations that simultaneously sow distrust and weaponize predictable reactions.
For every internationally important election or referendum, there are hundreds of local contests, municipal elections, internal party nominations and the like that shape political realities just as meaningfully. Influencers operating at small scales can have outsized effects that ripple through broader constituencies. A post on a local forum might spark a thousand invisible offline conversations.
These broad concerns about vulnerabilities in our media systems matter all the time, not just during elections. Political representation requires trust in the media that inform us about what other people and communities think and care about. These reflections are distorted by online social media platforms and messaging apps.
We will have to eventually consider something like a “made in Canada” Digital Services Act that can give voters a voice in the kind of information environment they want. There’s much to be learned from the EU’s early lessons, especially as they respond to American tech companies that control so much of the online information space.
Andrew Buzzell received funding from SSHRC.
– ref. Thanks to social media platforms, election interference is more insidious and pervasive than ever – https://theconversation.com/thanks-to-social-media-platforms-election-interference-is-more-insidious-and-pervasive-than-ever-251764
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ben Marwick, Professor of Archaeology, University of Washington
New technologies today often involve electronic devices that are smaller and smarter than before. During the Middle Paleolithic, when Neanderthals were modern humans’ neighbors, new technologies meant something quite different: new kinds of stone tools that were smaller but could be used for many tasks and lasted for a long time.
Archaeologists like me are interested in the Middle Paleolithic – a period spanning 250,000 to 30,000 years ago – because it includes the first appearance of our species, our arrival into many parts of the world for the first time, and our invention of many new kinds of stone tools.
In our study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of international collaborators and I describe our discovery in China of the first complete example of a Middle Paleolithic technology previously seen only in Europe and the Middle East.
Archaeologists have thought that ancient people in East Asia completely skipped the Middle Paleolithic. Our discovery challenges the long-standing notion that while ancient people in Europe and Africa were inventing new tools during this period, people of East Asia stuck to only the most basic tools that remained unchanged for thousands of years.
The tool we’ve identified is called a Quina scraper. This type of stone tool is well known from archaeological sites in Europe and the Middle East.
Quina scrapers are typically quite thick and asymmetrical, with a broad and sharp working edge that shows clear signs of being used and resharpened multiple times. This shape results in durable cutting edges, ideal for long cycles of use followed by resharpening.
People used Quina scrapers to scrape and cut soft materials, such as meat and animal skins, and medium-hard materials, such as wood. We know this from tiny scratches and chips on the scrapers that match traces caused by working these materials in experiments using contemporary stone tools.
European archaeologists believe that Quina scrapers were invented to meet the needs of highly mobile hunters living in cool and dry climates. These hunters were focused on seasonal migratory prey such as reindeer, giant deer, horse and bison. Quina scrapers would have helped them process their kills into food and other resources – for example, to extract marrow.
Our team, led by Hao Li of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and Qijun Ruan of the Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, excavated Quina scrapers and related stone tools from the Longtan archaeological site in southwest China.
Our colleague Bo Li at the University of Wollongong used optical luminescence dating methods on the layers of earth that contained the artifacts. This technique can identify how much time has passed since each individual sand grain was last exposed to the Sun. Dating many individual grains in a sample is important because tree roots, insects or other animals can mix younger sediments down into older ones.
After we identified and removed intrusive younger grains, we found the layers containing the artifacts were 50,000 to 60,000 years old. This is roughly the same time Quina scrapers were being used in Europe at Neanderthal sites.
Keliang Zhao from China’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology looked at pollen grains from the Longtan excavations. He found that the Middle Paleolithic people of Longtan lived in a relatively open forest-grassland environment and a dry and cool climate. This environment is similar to that of Quina sites in Europe.
Davide Delpiano, Marco Peresani and Marie-Hélène Moncel, experts on European Middle Paleolithic tools, joined our team to help with the comparison of the Chinese and European specimens and confirm their similarities.
Hélène Monod, from Universidad Rovira i Virgili in Spain, looked at our Quina scrapers under the microscope and found traces on them from scraping and scratching bones, antlers and wood. She also found polish from using the tools on meat, hides and soft plants.
Our new discovery of Quina scrapers joins another recent find of a different kind of Middle Paleolithic technology in East Asia: Levallois tools from Guanyindong Cave in Guizhou Province in south-central China. Levallois tools result from a distinctive multistep sequence that efficiently produces lots of useful cutting tools, with minimal wasted stone. Taken together, these two finds make a strong case that Middle Paleolithic technologies were present in East Asia.
But why are we only just finding this Quina tool kit now, when it has been known in Europe for such a long time?
One reason is that archaeologists have been looking in Europe for longer than almost anywhere else in the world. Another reason Middle Paleolithic evidence appears rare in East Asia is because what now seem to be less typical variations of the Quina tool kit previously found in China had been overlooked, likely due to archaeologists’ narrow definitions based on European examples.
The Quina tools at Longtan are among the earliest artifacts from that site, which makes it hard for researchers to determine the origins of this new technology. Was it introduced by visitors from Europe? Or did local people in East Asia independently invent it?
To answer these questions, we hope to find more Quina scrapers at sites with deeper – meaning older – layers than Longtan. If older layers hold what look like the remnants of experiments in stone toolmaking that would eventually result in Quina tools, it suggests Quina tools were invented locally. If deeper layers have dissimilar tools, that suggests Quina technology was introduced from a neighboring group.
We also hope future work will reveal who made these tools. Our excavations at Longtan did not find any human bone or DNA that could help us identify the toolmakers.
During the Middle Paleolithic, there were multiple human species that could make tools like this. It could have been modern humans like us. But it could also have been Neanderthals. Considering that the Quina technology in Europe is directly associated with Neanderthals, this seems likely. But it could also have been Denisovans, an extinct species similar to modern humans found during this time in Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and Laos, or even a new human species that hasn’t been seen before.
Whoever was making and using these Quina scrapers, they were able to be inventive and flexible with their technology, adapting to their changing environment.
Ben Marwick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle Paleolithic, like in Europe and Middle East – https://theconversation.com/stone-tool-discovery-in-china-shows-people-in-east-asia-were-innovating-during-the-middle-paleolithic-like-in-europe-and-middle-east-252868
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
HARTFORD, Conn. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended an illegally present Guatemalan alien charged with second-degree felony sexual assault, fourth-degree felony sexual assault and felony risk of injury to minor. Officers with ICE Boston’s Hartford field office arrested Yosmar Imai Bravo-Ortiz, 21, in Hartford Feb. 20.
“Yosmar Imai Bravo-Ortiz has been charged with sex crimes against a member of our Connecticut community,” said ICE Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “Bravo-Ortiz represents a threat to our New England neighborhoods that ICE will not tolerate. We remain committed to our mission of prioritizing public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats to our residents.”
U.S. Border Patrol arrested Bravo-Ortiz October 25, 2018, after he illegally entered the United States near Sasabe, Arizona. USBP transferred Bravo-Ortiz to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. On December 22, 2018, ORR released Bravo-Ortiz. Officers from the Hartford Police Department arrested Bravo-Ortiz May 14, 2024, and charged him with second-degree felony sexual assault, fourth-degree felony sexual assault and felony risk of injury to minor.
Officers with ICE Boston’s Hartford field office arrested Yosmar Imai Bravo-Ortiz, 21, in Hartford Feb. 20. Bravo-Ortiz remains in ICE custody.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X: @EROBoston.
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
STERLING, Va. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended an illegally present Salvadoran national and documented member of the 18th Street Gang who illegally reentered the United States after being removed. Officers with ICE Washington, D.C.’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Walter Bladimir Lopez-Ayala in Sterling Feb. 20.
“Walter Bladimir Lopez-Ayala is exactly the kind of individual that ICE works to arrest and remove,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott. “A documented member of a notorious criminal gang, Mr. Lopez has no benevolent reason for being in the country and represents a threat to the residents of our Northern Virginia communities. ICE Washington, D.C., will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing criminal aliens from our neighborhoods.”
U.S. Border Patrol arrested Lopez April 7, 2016, after he illegally entered the United States Subject near Rio Grande Valley, Texas. USBP issued Lopez a notice to appear before a Justice Department immigration judge.
On Jan. 16, 2020, the DOJ immigration judge ordered Lopez removed from the United States to El Salvador.
ICE removed Lopez from the United States to El Salvador Jan. 29, 2020.
Lopez illegally reentered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. Between May 2023 and January 2025, Lopez was charged and convicted for several crimes including public intoxication and traffic violations.
Officers with ICE Washington, D.C.’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Walter Bladimir Lopez-Ayala in Sterling Feb. 20.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X: @EROWashington.
Source: US State of Pennsylvania
March 31, 2025 – Harrisburg, PA
On behalf of Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor, Deputy Auditor General for Audits Gordon Denlinger today released the findings of a performance audit of UPMC’s Community HealthChoices contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) that found UPMC failed to update participant information, which cost taxpayers more than $350,000 in 2022– $120,000 of which DHS was unable to recover.
“UPMC is required to report to DHS whether a person has died, went to jail or is no longer eligible to be part of the program,” Denlinger said. “DHS uses this as part of the data to set the rate it pays UPMC to provide care to people on Community HealthChoices. UPMC needs to make sure there is greater accountability in its management structure to ensure the required assessments are happening on time and regularly.”
Speaker list:
Deputy Auditor General for Audits Gordon Denlinger
Leigh Ann Weaver, Performance Audit Senior Manager
Source: US State of Pennsylvania
April 01, 2025 – Reedsville, PA
Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding will visit Metzler Forest Products in Mifflin County for an announcement on the Administration’s action to support agricultural innovation and discuss how we are standing up for farmers across the Commonwealth. This announcement comes amid growing uncertainty for Pennsylvania farmers and businesses as a result of the tariffs enacted by the federal government.
Last week, Governor Shapiro and Secretary Redding announced that his Administration is appealing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s unlawful termination of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program, which provides funds to Pennsylvania’s farmers who supply local food banks with fresh produce.
WHO:
Governor Josh Shapiro
Secretary Russell Redding, Department of Agriculture
Kevin Kodish, Mifflin County Commissioner
Nate Metzler, General Manager of Metzler Forest Products
Stephanie Phillips-Taggart, Executive Director of Keystone Wood Products Association
Nick Gilson, Founder and CEO of Gilson Snow
WHEN:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 11:45 AM
WHERE:
Metzler Forest Products
26 Timber Lane
Reedsville, PA 17084
LIVE STREAM:
pacast.com/live/gov
governor.pa.gov/live/
RSVP:
Press who are interested in attending must RSVP with the names and phone numbers for each member of their team to ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov.
Source: US State of Pennsylvania
April 01, 2025 – Harrisburg, PA
What:
Timothy L. DeFoor, Pennsylvania Auditor General and PA State Representative Carol Hill-Evans will join members of the General Assembly and local partners to kickoff Financial Literacy Month, which occurs each year in April.
When:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025; 1:00 p.m.
Who:
Timothy L. DeFoor, Pennsylvania Auditor General
Carol Hill-Evans, Pennsylvania State Representative
Ryan Unger, President, Harrisburg Chamber & CREDC
Alex Halper, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry
Where:
Capitol Media Center
Commonwealth Ave, Harrisburg, PA
Watch:
pacast.com/live/audgen and facebook.com/PaAuditorGeneral
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
March 31, 2025
Senators say “requirements in this illegal order would likely disenfranchise millions of American voters…places a variety of other process burdens on voters, especially married women, rural residents, and low-income voters, and communities of color.”
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said today they have joined Senate colleagues in calling on Donald Trump to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order that would disenfranchise millions of Americans.
“This unlawful directive exceeds your authority over an independent agency and would likely disenfranchise millions of eligible American voters by creating barriers to voting, while also inviting chaos into state voter registration processes – including by inappropriately sharing Americans’ data with the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),” the lawmakers wrote. “Under the Constitution and existing law, this Executive Order cannot be implemented. Sadly, we are not surprised at your continued efforts to undermine our free and fair elections. From welcoming foreign election interference in our elections, to supporting the January 6 insurrection, to promoting baseless election conspiracy theories, your dangerous rhetoric has undermined public confidence in our election system.”
The proof of citizenship requirements in the executive order would restrict the right to vote for millions of Americans given the burden it creates to obtain these documents. Nearly half of all American citizens do not have valid passports, and millions more have a legal name that differs from other government-issued documents, including up to 69 million married women whose birth certificates no longer match their legal name.
The senators emphasized that the order runs counter to the constitutional foundation that elections are to be primarily administered by the states. They also sounded the alarm on the order’s attempt to empower DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review state voter registration lists, other state records, and various federal databases, with the power of subpoena.
“Voting by noncitizens is already a federal crime and, despite unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, is extremely rare. By interjecting DOGE into the process, this order would interfere with states’ maintenance of voter registration lists, compromising voters’ personal information,” the lawmakers continued.
“The new federal voter registration requirements in this illegal order would likely disenfranchise millions of American voters. Millions of Americans do not have passports and many face challenges obtaining other documents that would be required by this order, if it was ever implemented,” the lawmakers concluded. “This order also places a variety of other process burdens on voters, especially married women, rural residents, and low-income voters, and communities of color.”
The letter was led by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter is also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Angus King, I-Maine, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
The full text of the letter is here.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) joined his colleagues to introduce legislation that will direct much-needed funding to farmers in Maine. The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would release federal funding — currently being withheld by the White House — for all contracts and agreements previously agreed to by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Farmers, and the organizations that serve them, operate on tight margins, and right now are waiting for funding they rightfully deserve and need for essential operations. This legislation would require the USDA to pay farmers all past due payments as quickly as possible to prevent them from having to shut down. If not quickly made whole, these organizations will be forced to make difficult and unnecessary financial decisions, destroying years of progress in advancing local food systems.
“Farmers are an original building block of our state economy, providing jobs and a secure food source for thousands of people in Maine and across the northeast,” said Senator King. “The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would ensure that Maine’s farmers receive the federal funding from all signed agreements and contracts as quickly as possible to prevent any operations from having to shut down. This is a critical step to protect the Maine agricultural economy and food supply that everyone in our state rely on for their essential nutrition needs.”
“Maine farmers produce milk, apples, beef, seafood, wild blueberries, vegetables, and more. These nutritious foods sustain the health of Americans in Maine, New England, and throughout the country, and are the lifeblood and the economy of rural communities across the state,” said Eric Venturini, President of the Agricultural Council of Maine. “Increasingly, Maine’s farmers are forced to compete within our own domestic market with cheaper imported foods. The economic sustainability of the Maine agricultural community requires constant change and innovation to remain competitive in this global marketplace. USDA staffing and funding are all essential programs that support Maine farms. We thank Senator King and others for their ongoing support to maintain these important programs for Maine farms.”
“Farmers are struggling with a perfect storm of stressors from escalating costs of production to labor shortages to low pay prices to extreme weather events,” said Heather Spalding, the Deputy Director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. “The last thing that farmers need right now is for USDA to abandon the farmers they have pledged to support. Honoring the farmer contracts is all about putting American farmers first. It’s about building self-reliance, a strong economy, a clean environment and healthy people.”
The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would:
Require USDA to unfreeze all signed agreements and contracts;
Require USDA to make all past due payments as quickly as possible;
Prohibit USDA from cancelling agreements or contracts with farmers or organizations providing assistance to farmers unless there has been a failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the agreement or contract.
Prohibit USDA from closing any Farm Service Agency county office, Natural Resources Conservation Service field office or Rural Development Service Center without providing 60 days prior notice and justification to Congress.
The Honors Farmers Contracts is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
To read the full text of the bill, click here
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, and Thom Tillis (R-NC) sent a letter last week urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to work with Congress to quickly distribute the more than $23 billion Congress passed in December to assist farmers, ranchers and rural Americans in responding to devastating natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. In their letter, the Senators note that the assistance is sorely needed as farmers and ranchers across the country struggle to address the fallout of several billion-dollar natural disasters.
The Senators wrote, in part: “These funds will benefit producers in every State—the natural disasters that struck farms and ranches in 2023 and 2024 affected a wide range of crops, livestock, and on-farm infrastructure. In North Carolina, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused almost $5 billion in agricultural losses, and in New Hampshire, a disastrous freeze in 2023 damaged apple and peach trees, as well as other crops, with growers seeing as high as 100 percent crop losses for the year.”
They continued: “As you know, this program is intended to serve both producers with and without crop insurance, and reach small, diversified operations. The supplemental provides targeted funds for small farm states, and it also specifically directs the Secretary to offer technical assistance to interested non-insured producers to help them apply for funding made available.”
The lawmakers concluded: “As the Department implements all of the disaster assistance programs, we stand ready to assist you in this effort to advance our shared priority of helping farmers and rural communities recover and thrive. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
Dear Secretary Rollins,
Congress passed an expansive emergency supplemental in December, which included more than $23 billion to assist farmers, ranchers and rural Americans in responding to devastating natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. We write to urge you to distribute these funds expeditiously and in consultation with Congress. This assistance is crucial as our Nation’s farmers and ranchers are struggling to respond to several billion-dollar natural disasters around the country while preparing for planting in a challenging farm economy.
These funds will benefit producers in every State—the natural disasters that struck farms and ranches in 2023 and 2024 affected a wide range of crops, livestock, and on-farm infrastructure. In North Carolina, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused almost $5 billion in agricultural losses, and in New Hampshire, a disastrous freeze in 2023 damaged apple and peach trees, as well as other crops, with growers seeing as high as 100 percent crop losses for the year. The department must move swiftly and thoughtfully to implement a program that will support farms of varying size and production.
As you know, this program is intended to serve both producers with and without crop insurance, and reach small, diversified operations. The supplemental provides targeted funds for small farm states, and it also specifically directs the Secretary to offer technical assistance to interested non-insured producers to help them apply for funding made available.
Rural communities are also struggling to recover from natural disasters, and we urge you to prioritize distributing the $362 million appropriated for the Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund, the first time this fund has received a direct appropriation. While we recognize it will take some time to implement a new program, Congress chose to utilize this fund to allow Rural Development to be nimble and provide specialized assistance to assist communities where they need it most. The department should work with all Rural Development State Offices to catalogue disaster needs and develop a fair allocation of available funds.
As the Department implements all of the disaster assistance programs, we stand ready to assist you in this effort to advance our shared priority of helping farmers and rural communities recover and thrive. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke with President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Troy Meink, during his Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing.
Read excerpts from their exchange below or watch on YouTube or Rumble.
TUBERVILLE: “Dr. Meink, this question is for you here on the future of engineering in your department. […] We’re gonna have a tough time keeping good engineers and people employed because of the private companies taking our good people away out of the military. What’s your thoughts and your plan of hopefully keeping the best and the brightest in the military instead of taking the private route?” […]
MEINK: “Thanks for the question, Senator. And just kind of to echo, I think it’s not just money. I think it is the opportunity to do advanced research, do advanced engineering that has a mission outcome. Right? That what we found in my current organization is it’s a very highly technical workforce. We’ve done very well in recruiting and retention, and it goes kinda back to the quality of service I mentioned a little bit earlier—[…] when you bring in these really skilled, talented people, regardless of what that talent is, you need to have—there needs to be an opportunity for them to be successful and to do what they love to do because it takes a lot of work to get some of these skill sets. I think in many cases, that’s even more important than just pure funding or pure salary.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Source: US State of Oregon
appy Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month! This is a time to celebrate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their many contributions to their communities. As the month comes to a close, this year’s theme from the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities, “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Always,” reminds us that awareness and support should happen all year round, not just in March.
At the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), our goal is to make sure everyone, no matter their abilities, has the opportunity to thrive and be included. Through our Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, we help people with I/DD and their families by offering services that help them live fulfilling lives, discover their talents, and support their individual choices.
To get ODHS I/DD services, people must apply and meet certain requirements. To learn more, visit our I/DD Services and Eligibility page or contact your county’s Community Developmental Disabilities Program (CDDP) or Support Services Brokerage.
Just like adults, children with I/DD can receive in-home supports to help their families care for them at home. For children with very high medical or behavioral needs, Children’s Intensive In-Home Services (CIIS) and the Children’s Extraordinary Needs Program offer additional support. With the Children’s Extraordinary Needs Program, parents and guardians can receive up to 20 hours of paid care per week to help with their child’s needs (due to limited funding, this program currently has a waitlist).
For children, out-of-home support options include Foster Homes, Host Homes, and Residential Care Homes. These services ensure that people with I/DD receive the care, stability, and support they need while staying connected to their families and communities.
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is an opportunity to recognize the vital role that services play in supporting people with I/DD. By ensuring access to the right services and supports, we hope to build a future where everyone in Oregon, can feel safe, supported, and able to reach their highest potential. For more information about ODHS I/DD services, visit https://www.oregon.gov/odhs/idd/Pages/default.aspx.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
Washington, D.C.–Access to affordable housing remains one of the most pressing issues affecting both employees and employers across Idaho. Today, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) launched a housing survey across the state of Idaho to solicit feedback from homeowners, renters, insurance brokers, bankers, realtors, government officials and general contractors. Information provided in the survey will help inform Senator Crapo of common issues where legislation may be considered.
“A lack of affordable housing is the number one issue Idahoans raise with my staff and me in meetings across the State,” said Crapo. “Idaho is far from alone in this nationwide challenge, but Idahoans can be a key part in piecing together the housing puzzle as I continue to work to find collaborative solutions to this issue. I invite any Idahoan to complete the survey and share as much detail as they are willing and able to provide.”
The housing survey follows the model of Senator Crapo’s veterans’ surveys from 2014 and 2015 that ultimately resulted in legislation Senator Crapo introduced being signed into law.
The survey is available on Senator Crapo’s official website at https://www.crapo.senate.gov/issues/affordable-housing-survey, or at the QR code at the bottom of this release. Flyers with the QR code can be picked up at any of Crapo’s Idaho regional offices, listed below. At the conclusion of the survey, data will be aggregated and released into a final report available to the public. No personally identifiable information will be included in the final report and responses will ensure anonymity.
The housing survey will run through May 31, 2025.
Boise
251 E. Front St.
Suite 205
208-334-1776
Coeur d’Alene
610 Hubbard St.
Suite 209
208-664-5490
Lewiston
313 D St.
Suite 105
208-743-1492
Twin Falls
202 Falls Ave.
Suite 2
208-734-2515
Pocatello
275 S. 5th Ave.
Suite 138
208-236-6775
Idaho Falls
410 Memorial Dr.
Suite 204
208-522-9779
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined a bicameral letter urging United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Acting CEO Victor Morales and Special Advisor Kari Lake to rescind the Trump administration’s illegal actions to dismantle the agency, terminate grants for several government-funded outlets worldwide, and place Voice of America and other federal staff on administrative leave.
“Congress reaffirmed its commitment to your agency, its mission, and its personnel by funding the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at $866.9 million in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025, and expects that each of the entities will continue their unique mission of broadcasting content to audiences around the world,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your decisions to terminate the grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia (RFA) (in addition to withholding funds for the BenarNews service), Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and Open Technology Fund; place on administrative leave Voice of America (VOA), Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Technology, Services, and Innovation, and other federal staff; cancel hundreds of contracts; and pull transmissions from the air violate several provisions in the appropriations bill.”
“These actions are not just illegal and wasteful, they run counter to our interests,” they continued. “America’s authoritarian adversaries are investing billions in state-backed media, targeting the same countries USAGM entities reach. With an audience of 427 million people speaking more than 60 languages, USAGM networks are a trusted and reliable source of information in the face of state censorship, including in the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Afghanistan, and across Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The technology developed by the Open Technology Fund and used across grantees will leave users who are dependent on their tools to circumvent censorship stranded. Once America loses the trust of these audiences, it will be difficult to get it back.”
“We respectfully request that you rescind the actions you have taken to date and refrain from any further downsizing or terminations, and that you ensure you are in compliance with your legal requirements, including to consult and notify Congress of any proposed changes and to meet congressional spending directives,” they concluded.
U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), as well as U.S. Representatives Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Norma Torres (D-Calif.), and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) also signed the letter.
The full text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Acting CEO Morales and Ms. Lake:
You are at the helm of an agency with a critical mission to increase freedom of expression, circumvent censorship, and deliver objective, accurate, and relevant information to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. This mission directly supports U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.
Given its importance, we write to express our concerns with the decisions you have made in response to the March 14, 2025 Executive Order titled “Executive Order on Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.”
Congress reaffirmed its commitment to your agency, its mission, and its personnel by funding the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at $866.9 million in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025, and expects that each of the entities will continue their unique mission of broadcasting content to audiences around the world. Your decisions to terminate the grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia (RFA) (in addition to withholding funds for the BenarNews service), Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and Open Technology Fund; place on administrative leave Voice of America (VOA), Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Technology, Services, and Innovation, and other federal staff; cancel hundreds of contracts; and pull transmissions from the air violate several provisions in the appropriations bill. This includes sections 7015 and 7063, and the provisions under the United States Agency for Global Media heading, of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, as carried forward by the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025.
Additionally, the actions you have taken to significantly downsize the agency, including termination of the new building lease and closeout costs, will cost the U.S. taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars.
These actions are not just illegal and wasteful, they run counter to our interests. America’s authoritarian adversaries are investing billions in state-backed media, targeting the same countries USAGM entities reach. With an audience of 427 million people speaking more than 60 languages, USAGM networks are a trusted and reliable source of information in the face of state censorship, including in the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Afghanistan, and across Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The technology developed by the Open Technology Fund and used across grantees will leave users who are dependent on their tools to circumvent censorship stranded. Once America loses the trust of these audiences, it will be difficult to get it back.
In 2020, when then-USAGM CEO Michael Pack instituted mass firings, then-Senator Rubio led a bipartisan effort to have such actions reversed. In the letter, Senator Rubio and colleagues stated:
“We are at a critical moment in history where malign actors including Russia, China, and Iran, are using advanced tools and technology to undermine global democratic norms, spreading disinformation, and severely restricting their own free press to hamper access to independent news for their citizens. As these and other authoritarian regimes further crack down domestically, their citizens turn to outside media as their only trustworthy source of unbiased, accurate news.”
This is no less true today.
We are equally troubled that these actions put staff across all of those entities, who have faithfully served the interests of the U.S. government, at risk if they are forced to return to authoritarian countries where they may be subject to harassment, persecution, or arbitrary arrest. The agency appears to have no plan in place to address these risks. Already, 1,300 VOA staff and 75 percent of RFA U.S.-based staff have been put on leave.
We respectfully request that you rescind the actions you have taken to date and refrain from any further downsizing or terminations, and that you ensure you are in compliance with your legal requirements, including to consult and notify Congress of any proposed changes and to meet congressional spending directives. We request that you respond to this letter no later than April 4, 2025 confirming your intent to do so.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Representatives John Larson (D-Conn.-01), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.-02), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.-03), Jim Himes (D-Conn.-04), and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.-05) in reintroducing the Save Our Small (SOS) Farms Act of 2025. This legislation improves the farm safety net and expands federal crop insurance by allowing small farms to better access crop insurance policies often limited to large commercial farms to protect their business.
Extreme weather and other disasters can cause severe losses for farms lacking crop insurance, forcing them to depend on disaster relief. This disproportionately affects small farms, which often cannot access insurance. A recent survey by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture revealed that Connecticut farmers have lost over $50 million due to weather-related events in 2023 and 2024. The SOS Farms Act aims to provide a stronger safety net by expanding the number of farms eligible to purchase crop insurance, lower coverage costs for small farms, and directing the USDA to develop more responsive coverage options for farmers during extreme weather.
According to the nationwide 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture, only 5% of Connecticut farms are enrolled in crop insurance, compared to 19% of farms nationally.
“Small farmers in Connecticut work hard to keep their businesses running, but don’t have adequate insurance programs to protect them when extreme storms and droughts wipe out their crops. This legislation would make disaster assistance and insurance more affordable and effective, so local farmers aren’t left behind when disaster hits,” said Murphy.
“Climate change has made it abundantly clear that we need a stronger safety net for farmers when floods, drought or other natural disasters strike. Our measure makes necessary reforms to programs that simply do not work for farmers by making coverage and assistance more accessible and affordable than before. Small farms are an essential part of Connecticut’s culture, environment, and economy—they deserve the best protection and support to recover from devastating storms,” said Blumenthal.
“After the Connecticut River Valley was devastated by severe flooding during the summer of 2023, many small farms throughout the region lost hundreds of acres of crops,” said Larson. “The Save our Small Farms Act will better tailor our nation’s crop insurance programs to the unique needs of small to midsized farmers. Our bill will make crop insurance more affordable and accessible and reduce the paperwork burdens our farmers face to access support when disaster strikes. The entire Connecticut delegation will continue to stand together with our farmers, so they get the support they deserve and are not left on their own to pick up the pieces after a natural disaster.”
“More and more farmers across Connecticut are facing the devastating impacts of extreme weather events. Unfortunately, the broken federal crop insurance system has let smaller farms fall through gaps in coverage and left them on the hook with major losses. The Save Our Small Farms Act reforms the crop insurance system and provides small farmers with the safety net they need to access assistance programs and recover from damages that come at no fault of their own. I look forward to once again working with my colleagues from Connecticut to ensure this issue receives the attention it deserves in Congress,” said Courtney.
“As the backbone of our food system, small farms deserve fair access to the resources they need to thrive,” said DeLauro. “Each year, as the climate crisis intensifies, unforeseen and catastrophic weather events are becoming more and more common. This makes our efforts to protect our farmers crucial, which is why I am a strong supporter of The Save Our Small Farms Act, which will guarantee that federal programs serve all farmers, not just the largest operations. This legislation is necessary to address the gaps in our current farm safety net. I am proud to support this legislation aimed at bolstering our agricultural economy, safeguarding local producers, and creating a more resilient food supply.”
“Each year seems to bring worse storms than the last, with Connecticut’s small farmers incurring ever-steeper crop losses because of increasingly common severe weather. The Save our Small Farms Act expands crop insurance options for small farmers and improves how the federal government provides disaster aid in times of crisis. This is a commonsense bill that brings federal agricultural policy in line with the realities of climate change and the hardships our nation’s small farmers face,” said Himes.
“In the Fifth District, small farms help feed our communities and drive our economy. Although these farmers need assistance, our crop insurance and disaster programs too often leave them behind. And as we continue to see extreme weather patterns becoming more frequent, we must find new solutions to ensure small farm operators are protected before disasters strikes,” said Hayes. “The SOS Farms Act would expand coverage and assistance, lower costs for small farmers, and direct the USDA to develop more responsive coverage options. Small farms are an essential part of our culture, environment, and economy.”
Specifically, the SOS Farms Act:
Creates a streamlined application process to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), which offers farmers the opportunity to purchase coverage for losses due to natural disasters in areas where crop insurance is unavailable. The bill provides new authority to USDA to launch pilot projects to address emerging needs and to improve data collection to support the development of new crop insurance policies.
Producers may not be able to find an insurance policy that covers any or all of their crops, or insurance premiums may be prohibitively expensive.
Paperwork requirements, premiums, and service fees have often kept small farms from accessing NAP coverage.
2. Directs the Farm Service Agency to create an on-ramp from NAP coverage to a true insurance policy under the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program (WFRP), the most comprehensive crop insurance program for small and mid-sized farms.
3. Expands WFRP to allow smaller farms to better access crop insurance policies by:
Reducing paperwork requirements for applicants.
Allowing policies for farms that use crop-rotation.
Modifies insurance plans to improve effectiveness for specialty crop and diversified farms.
Increases response timeliness of insurance applications.
Requires providers and the Risk Management Agency to account for different cultivation cycles for different crops when calculating premium discounts.
Authorizing the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to study WFRP participation by small farms that sell to local or regional markets.
Expanding the network of insurance agents selling crop insurance policies to small farms through increased compensation
4. Directs USDA to develop an index-based insurance policy that is responsive to crop and income losses due to extreme weather events.
A weather index-based insurance policy uses extreme weather events as a proxy for agricultural income losses.
This approach reduces paperwork while making the policy more responsive to losses from adverse weather conditions.
Insurance would also be based on a farm’s income instead of the price of its crops, better aligning payouts with income losses associated with crop losses.
Since payouts are automatically triggered by a weather event, producers would not have to fill out paperwork or wait months to receive support following a natural disaster.
The SOS Farms Act is endorsed by the California Climate and Agriculture Network, California FarmLink, Coastal Enterprises, Inc., Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Community Farm Alliance, Dakota Rural Action, Environmental Working Group, Farm Action, Farm Aid, Farm to Table – New Mexico, Farmshare Austin, Friends of Family Farmers, HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Kiss the Ground, Land for Good, Land Stewardship Project, Maine Farmland Trust, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Marbleseed, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Michigan Food and Farming Systems, Midwest Farmers of Color Collective, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), National Young Farmers Coalition, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH), Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Organic Farming Association, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, Pesticide Action and Agroecology Network, Regenerate America, Renewing the Countryside, Rogue Farm Corps, Rural Advancement Foundation International, Rural Coalition, Sierra Club, Sustainable Food Center, and World Farmers.
A one-pager of the legislation is available HERE, and the full bill text is available HERE.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dale Pankhurst, PhD Candidate and Tutor in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
Colombia has experienced an upsurge in political and criminal violence over the past few months. In late February, the National Liberation Army (ELN) leftist guerrilla insurgent group carried out four bombings in Cúcuta, a city on the border with Venezuela. Several people were left injured by the attacks, and 1,200 soldiers were subsequently deployed across the city.
Then, in early March, dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) Marxist-Leninist rebel group captured 29 members of the security forces in the Cauca region, including a police lieutenant colonel and an army major. The renegade faction expressed anger at government efforts to eradicate 8,000 hectares of coca in the area.
Colombia’s fragile peace process, in which the government has sought to bring the country’s multiple armed groups to the negotiating table, looks to be in danger. Some leftist insurgent groups remain active, while drug cartels and offshoots of Colombia’s former right-wing paramilitaries, such as the Clan del Golfo, continue to expand their influence.
Colombia suffered Latin America’s longest-running insurgency. In the 1960s, Farc emerged with the goal of overthrowing the Colombian state and establishing a communist government.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s, when the drug trade emerged as a funding source, that the Farc insurgency became a serious threat to Colombia’s government. Farc took over large parts of rural Colombia, forcing state control to retreat to the urban centres of regional towns and cities. By 2001, Farc was operating in the periphery of Colombia’s capital, Bogotá.
At the same time, the Colombian security forces also battled other left-wing insurgent forces. These included the 19th of April Movement (M-19), the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) and the ELN, which is now Colombia’s largest active guerrilla insurgent group.
In response to the revolutionary Marxist threat, anti-insurgent paramilitaries coalesced under the banner of the United Self-Defense Forces. These paramilitary groups both collaborated and conflicted with the state, before the vast majority disbanded through a government demobilisation programme between 2002 and 2006.
It is estimated that the decades-long armed conflict in Colombia resulted in the deaths of over a quarter of a million people, with many more injured and displaced from their homes. Tens of thousands are still missing.
The insurgency was officially brought to an end in 2016, when the Colombian government signed a peace agreement with Farc. The group was to be demobilised, victims of the conflict would receive justice, and the government promised significant investment in rural areas previously under Farc control.
It also guaranteed seats for former Farc rebels in the Colombian Senate and House of Representatives for two terms, starting in 2018. In its new incarnation as a political party, Farc would then have to secure seats through engaging in elections.
Despite the peace agreement and demobilisation programmes, there are a variety of armed groups across Colombia still intent on collapsing the peace process. The ELN, for example, has rejected every peace deal since its inception in 1964.
It continues to carry out attacks and seeks to control territory throughout Colombia, particularly in regions where the drug trade proliferates. In 2019, the ELN carried out a suicide car bombing at the General Santander National Police Academy in Bogotá, killing 21 people as police cadets readied for their graduation ceremony.
Several Farc fronts also rejected the 2016 peace agreement and formed their own dissident factions, including the so-called Central General Staff and the Segunda Marquetalia. Farc dissidents and the ELN have clashed over the years, but have both used neighbouring Venezuela as a launch pad to conduct attacks into Colombia.
Demobilised Farc combatants face assassinations and threats from dissident rebel factions who view former militants that are now pro-peace as traitors. These threats may encourage some demobilised groups to rearm in the future.
Alongside the growing insurgent threat, Colombia’s security forces are also dealing with neo-paramilitary factions which are, like the remaining dissident guerrillas, heavily involved in drug trafficking.
Groups such as the Clan del Golfo seek to generate wealth and power through criminality while also attacking rebel groups such as the ELN and Farc dissidents. These neo-paramilitary groups have an estimated membership of 6,000 volunteers spread throughout Colombia.
Following the 2022 election of Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, a new peace strategy was announced that was designed to disarm and demobilise the remaining leftist insurgents, neo-paramilitary factions and organised crime cartels. Petro, himself a former M-19 guerrilla and the country’s first leftist president, sought to use his plan for “total peace” to end Colombia’s remaining violent campaigns.
It was hoped that peace talks between Petro’s government and rebel factions may have produced better outcomes than previous attempts due to Petro’s left-wing politics and his history as a rebel combatant in the 1980s. However, attempts at establishing peace have repeatedly collapsed.
The decision by the US president, Donald Trump, to cut foreign aid to Colombia has also heightened fears that groups such as the ELN will benefit as a result. The funding that has been slashed primarily focused on helping communities living in poverty and isolation as well as supporting anti-gang and pro-peace programmes.
Government initiatives to secure peace continue to stall. But community organisations at a regional and local level have achieved success in transitioning demobilised combatants back into civilian life.
Groups such as the Medellín-based Peace Classrooms Foundation have used the experiences of former paramilitary members and rebels to warn of the dangers of violence. These groups may hold the key to addressing some of the social injustices that encourage dissent and violence in Colombia.
The continued violence in Colombia should remind anyone with an interest in wanting peace to succeed that the internal armed conflict is far from settled.
Dale Pankhurst does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Colombia’s fragile peace process in danger as guerrilla violence rises – https://theconversation.com/colombias-fragile-peace-process-in-danger-as-guerrilla-violence-rises-252582
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chee Meng Tan, Assistant Professor of Business Economics, University of Nottingham
China’s president Xi Jinping recently held a meeting with 40 leaders of multinational companies, including BMW and AstraZeneca.
In contrast to Donald Trump’s rhetoric, Xi told the top level executives that globalisation was not going away. Xi is attempting to boost foreign investment in China, which has dropped in the last few years, and build new relationships that will offset Trump’s tariffs on many Chinese goods.
In the March 28 meeting, Xi “vowed to improve market access” and assured corporate leaders that “lines of communication” between them and the Chinese government are open.
Xi is hoping to build on an anti-Trump bounce and inspire businesses to back Beijing as some signs emerged that China’s economy was doing a little better than expected in early 2025. Industrial production went up by 5.9% in January and February. Credit growth, which measures the amount of loans banks give out, also appears to be picking up, suggesting that businesses might be growing in China.
Retail sales, which are a major economic marker indicating consumer spending, has risen by up to 4% in January and February this year, compared to last year.
Beijing is also willing to create further stimulus packages to sustain China’s economic growth, which might lift consumer confidence further.
But this is hampered by a real estate crisis that began in 2021. What followed was an already high local government debt that was exacerbated by the property crisis, and high youth unemployment that existed since 2023.
The big question then is what are the factors that could lead to a more buoyant outlook in China’s economic fortunes?
According to a Bloomberg report, China has traditionally relied on cheap loans and subsidies to boost economic sectors in infrastructure, manufacturing, and the property market. However, those times are over.
The problem is China has produced more goods to sell than people are willing to buy. In the past, Beijing relied on the west to purchase its products, but with rising protectionism and looming tariffs stemming from a Donald Trump-led US, US consumption of Chinese goods is likely to fall.
And if another key market in the form of the EU were to take a cue from Trump’s economic playbook and impose more tariffs on China, then Chinese hope for sales in the west for economic growth may not materialise.
Beijing’s surest way of boosting sales is through domestic consumption. This isn’t easy as China’s domestic spending remains relatively low at 40% of the country’s GDP, which is about 20% lower than the global average. And if Beijing wants cautious consumers to spend amid a relatively weak economic outlook, it needs to do more to raise consumer confidence.
Although China did introduce a stimulus package in September 2024, it has resolved to do more. In an early March 2025 speech in the Chinese parliament, Chinese premier Li Qiang promised a “special action plan” to vigorously raise domestic consumption for 2025. Several weeks later Li reiterated in the China Development Forum that Beijing would roll out more stimulus packages when the need arose.
These assurances are likely to have helped improve market sentiment, and the fact that China’s GDP growth target was also set at an ambitious level of around 5%, might signal Beijing’s confidence and resolve that the economy will improve.
In the past, China was considered a copycat nation known for manufacturing shanzai, or fake and pirated products. This difficulty in innovating and reliance on the designs of others largely lay with an education system steeped in rote learning, and a top-down culture with a conformist approach.
This is why experts thought China would struggle when the US decided to introduce restrictions on Chinese access semiconductor and AI technologies. However, despite these restrictions, China has managed to develop a highly capable AI model of its own in the form of DeepSeek, which was unveiled early this year, and immediately boosted China’s image as an innovator.
Unlike other AI models, DeepSeek was apparently made at a fraction of the cost of other traditional AI models such as ChatGPT, and may have a more efficient coding scheme that allows for quicker problem solving. This has prompted Donald Trump to coin DeepSeek’s development as a wake-up call for the US tech industry.
Many AI startups in China are now revamping their business models to compete with DeepSeek, following widespread adoption of the latter’s technology. As the AI revolution in China could potentially reduce costs and thereby boost efficiency in the financial sector.
Following Trump’s return to the Oval Office, investors across the globe have been trying to reduce their reliance on the US by looking for investment opportunities elsewhere. This isn’t entirely surprising given Trump’s knack for the unpredictable, and how new US tariffs have been applied to a host of US allies such as Mexico, Canada, and the European Union.
While Trump is striking an increasingly protectionist tone, China is taking the opposite approach. Trump’s penchant for tariffs and disregard for the economic interest of US allies may mean Beijing might not need to do too much to attract more nations and businesses to consider turning towards Chinese markets.
Chee Meng Tan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. How Beijing plans to bounce back against Trump’s tariffs – https://theconversation.com/how-beijing-plans-to-bounce-back-against-trumps-tariffs-253086
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Don Beyer (D-VA) introduced H.R. 2385, the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2025, or the CREATE AI Act, legislation that would establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) to remove barriers to the essential tools and infrastructure that power artificial intelligence research and development.
Currently, only a handful of large technology companies possess the computing resources, massive datasets, and advanced infrastructure required to perform cutting-edge research in AI. The CREATE AI Act seeks to level the playing field by making those critical tools available to students, researchers, non-profits, small businesses, and academic institutions across the country. The NAIRR would serve as a shared national resource, providing cloud computing, curated datasets, AI testbeds, and educational tools to a broad community of users, ensuring that the future of AI is shaped not just by corporations, but also by entrepreneurs and academia.
“Artificial intelligence is one of the most transformative technologies of our time, but currently the tools needed to develop it are out of reach for most Americans,” said Rep. Jay Obernolte. “The CREATE AI Act will democratize access to cutting-edge AI resources by establishing a shared national infrastructure for research and experimentation. By empowering students, universities, startups, and small businesses to participate in the future of AI, we can drive innovation, strengthen our workforce, and ensure that American leadership in this critical field is broad-based and secure.”
“By establishing the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), we would provide an excellent resource for researchers, educators, small businesses, and even students like me to learn how to use artificial intelligence. This access to high-quality data, compute resources, and support would drive the innovation necessary to strengthen our global competitiveness in trustworthy AI development and in turn help accelerate solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “I am thrilled to co-lead this bipartisan, bicameral, and pro-innovation legislation, and look forward to seeing the increased access to high-tech tools and resources that the CREATE AI Act will provide.”
The bill establishes a formal governance structure for the NAIRR, including a Steering Subcommittee under the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and a Program Management Office within the National Science Foundation. This structure will oversee operations, manage federal and private resource contributions, select an independent operating entity through a transparent bidding process, and ensure adherence to strict standards of privacy, ethics, scientific integrity, and national security.
The NAIRR will offer researchers secure, tiered access to computational resources, structured Application Programming Interfaces or APIs for working with large AI models, access to interoperable datasets, and educational resources designed to broaden participation in STEM and AI research. In addition to technical infrastructure, the NAIRR will prioritize access for projects that address durable and secure AI development—key issues in ensuring artificial intelligence is aligned with American values and interests.
Importantly, the NAIRR will be built using donated resources from both federal agencies and the private sector, ensuring that its impact is achieved without requiring a massive new federal expenditure. Cloud computing power, datasets, storage capabilities, AI models, and educational tools will all be contributed by participating partners, leveraging existing infrastructure to maximize access and minimize cost. This collaborative model empowers government, academia, and industry to work together to expand opportunity and accelerate innovation in a fiscally responsible way.
The CREATE AI Act has earned early praise from many leading voices in the tech and research community:
“The tech sector wants the United States to be the world leader in AI research and deployment,” said ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman. “The CREATE AI Act will help U.S. AI leadership by codifying the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) and providing AI researchers, small business owners, and students with cutting-edge research tools for AI development. We thank Congressman Jay Obernolte and Congressman Don Beyer for their leadership on this bipartisan, bicameral legislation and urge the U.S. Congress to advance the bill quickly.”
“Enabling AI research and development helps to keep the United States as the destination for AI innovation and adoption. The CREATE AI Act would facilitate AI R&D by establishing the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), a foundational resource to enable AI research and development across the economy. This legislation would also broaden access to AI research resources to make sure that small businesses, technology startups, and universities and community colleges across the country are equipped with the tools to facilitate further innovation. We commend Reps. Obernolte and Beyer for their work to advance this legislation during the 119th Congress.” – The Business Software Alliance
The full text of the CREATE AI Act of 2025 can be found here.
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia)
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jay Obernolte’s (R-Hesperia) Cost-Share Accountability Act, aimed at improving transparency and government accountability within the Department of Energy, has passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 405-0.
The Cost-Share Accountability Act requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to submit public quarterly reports on the use of its authority to reduce or waive statutory cost-sharing requirements when awarding grant funding.
“The federal government has a responsibility to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Jay Obernolte. “The Cost-Share Accountability Act ensures greater transparency in how the Department of Energy administers grant cost-sharing requirements, helping Congress and the public hold our institutions accountable. I’m proud to see this commonsense, bipartisan measure pass the House.”
“For Congress to fulfill our oversight responsibilities, we must be able to access information on how our departments and agencies are operating,” said Rep. Foster. “Cost-sharing requirements help protect the use of federal funds at the Department of Energy. As the department continues their next-generation research and development, it’s critical Congress understands how cost-sharing is implemented in support of their projects.”
This legislation not only increases accountability for the DOE’s federally funded projects but also ensures greater transparency and fairness in the DOE’s awards process, while improving stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
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Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NASHVILLE – Rimon Salim, 37, a naturalized citizen of the United States; Antuan Rhodes, 44, of Nashville, Tennessee; and Jorge Luis, 35, a citizen of Mexico without legal status in the United States, have been arrested and charged in three separate criminal complaints for their involvement in drug-related crimes at two Antioch, Tennessee, nightclubs, announced Robert E. McGuire, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
“The extraordinary number of calls from citizens to police about these establishments justifies law enforcement efforts to hold these individuals accountable for their criminal activity,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “Night clubs like these, where illegal activity is rampant, are a blight on our city and we will do what it takes to clean them up for the benefit of the community.”
“This operation exemplifies the effectiveness of collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies who have united to combat a drug trafficking operation,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “The FBI remains committed to working with our partners to keep illegal drugs off our streets and holding those accountable for endangering our communities.”
According to court documents, Salim owns and operates Miami Club and Paisanos bar and billar. Paisanos operates as a nightclub on the weekends from 6:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. When Paisanos closes, Miami Club opens next door as an “after-party nightclub” from 2:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has received over 400 calls for service from these clubs and nearby businesses. These calls have been for fights, weapons, shots fired, individuals suffering gunshot wounds, theft, disorderly conduct, and various other crimes.
Approximately 18 months ago, law enforcement began investigating drug trafficking in these clubs. Undercover agents went inside the clubs and observed drug sales and drug usage. Law enforcement also used informants to purchase drugs from individuals in the nightclubs’ bathrooms. Specifically, between February 2024 and March 2025, Jorge Luis sold informants cocaine in Paisanos’ bathroom on multiple occasions. In addition, between August 2024 and March 2025, Salim, Rhodes, and others sold and provided informants methamphetamine and cocaine in Miami Club on multiple occasions.
Salim is charged with maintaining a drug-involved premises and distributing controlled substances. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine for maintaining a drug-involved premises. He faces up to life in federal prison and a $10,000,000 fine for distributing controlled substances.
Luis and Rhodes are both charged with distributing controlled substances. They face up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1,000,000 fine for each count.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Safeeullah is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
A complaint is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Young Kim (CA-39)
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Young Kim (R-CA), the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, and Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and the former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, introduced the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, bipartisan legislation that counters Beijing’s attempts to exclude Taiwan from participating in international organizations.
The legislation previously passed the House in July 2023.
“Beijing continues to do all it can to isolate Taiwan from the outside world and silence Taiwan’s voice on the world stage. Taiwan has a track record of success in democracy and global health security, and its perspective deserves to be heard,” said Kim. “The Taiwan International Solidarity Act helps the United States demonstrate through meaningful action our support for Taiwan’s status in international organizations. Taiwan’s participation in global conversation is the world’s gain.”
“For too long, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has distorted policies and procedures at international organizations to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, often to the detriment of global health, governance, and security efforts,” said Connolly. “This bipartisan legislation ensures that we stand against Beijing’s weaponization of international organizations and in solidarity with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan.”
The Taiwan International Solidarity Act builds on the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act, which was signed into law in March 2020, to further counter the PRC’s attempts to weaponize international organizations to claim that Taiwan is part of China by distorting the language, policies, and procedures of international organizations. The legislation clarifies that U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 does not preclude the United States from using its vote, voice, and influence to resist the reckless campaign against Taiwan’s place on the world stage. It also encourages the U.S. to work with allies and partners to oppose the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to undermine Taiwan’s diplomatic relationships and partnerships globally. Finally, the bill expands reporting requirements to include information relating to any prior or ongoing attempts by the People’s Republic of China to undermine Taiwan’s participation in international organizations as well as its ties and relationships with other countries.
Text of the legislation is available here.
Source: Government of Canada regional news
The B.C. government is cancelling the carbon tax by introducing legislation to drop the rate to $0, effective Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
“British Columbians are doing everything they can to reduce their emissions. But people shouldn’t have to choose between climate action and being able to afford their bills,” said Premier David Eby. “That’s why we are eliminating the consumer carbon tax, which has become divisive at a time we need to be united. We will help people with costs and fight climate change by ensuring big polluters continue to pay, encouraging industry to innovate and giving British Columbians affordable options to make sustainable choices.”
The reduction of the tax to $0 is an immediate step to align B.C.’s carbon tax rate with the new federal carbon tax rate. The elimination of the carbon tax means people in British Columbia will no longer be required to pay the consumer carbon tax, taking approximately 17 cents per litre off the cost of fuel and approximately 15 cents per cubic metre for natural gas on their home heating bill.
The climate action tax credit, developed to help offset the impacts of the consumer carbon tax on people and families, will also be cancelled. The final payment will be distributed in April 2025.
“The carbon tax has been an important tool in B.C. for over a decade and half, but it has become too politically divisive and a distraction from the important issues we are tackling,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance. “While this is a significant shift for our province, we will offset the impact while focusing on growing the economy during these challenging economic times.”
Cancelling the tax and the credit will have an estimated impact of $1.99 billion in the coming fiscal year. The Province will restructure programs funded by carbon tax revenue to minimize the impact on B.C.’s budget, while supporting people in British Columbia in achieving climate goals.
The Province will continue to ensure big polluters pay through the B.C. output-based carbon pricing system. The system supports decarbonization efforts, incentivizing industry to lower their emissions to avoid paying the tax.
“We remain committed to driving down emissions while making life more affordable,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions. “We are continuing to invest in practical solutions, such as home heat pump rebates for those who need them most and energy-efficiency upgrades, so people can lower their energy costs and reduce emissions without bearing an extra financial burden.”
The Province has made notable progress in promoting the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, expanding public charging infrastructure, and enhancing energy efficiency in homes and buildings. These efforts contribute to emission reductions, support economic growth by creating jobs in clean-energy sectors and help lower energy costs for people in British Columbia.
Quick Facts:
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For more information about B.C. legislation, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/Legislation
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced he is cosponsoring the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, legislation that would extend funding that benefits 9/11 responders and survivors.
“9/11 was one of the most horrific and painful days in American history,” said Kaine. “It is our responsibility to permanently fund the health care program that the thousands of brave souls—who risked their lives to save their fellow Americans—rely on. I am proud to uphold our promise to never forget by supporting our first responders and survivors, many of whom continue to face grave, longstanding health issues.”
Despite recent congressional action, the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) continues to face an impending funding shortfall. As a result, by October 2028, the program will be forced to close enrollment to new 9/11 responders and survivors seeking benefits, and existing enrollees will face direct cuts to their care and be denied medical monitoring and treatment.
The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 would update the program’s outdated funding formula to ensure adequate funding until the program’s expiration in 2090. The bill would also increase funding for data collection on 9/11-related conditions and expand access to mental health care for program members.
This legislation is led by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Representatives Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-2), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12).
Full text of the legislation is available here.
Source: US State of Colorado
DENVER — Colorado continues to set the standard for digital health transformation and health equity as Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera traveled to Orlando, FL, for the Social Determinants of Health & Health Equity Summit last week.
Representing one of the nation’s most forward-thinking states in healthcare innovation, Lt. Governor Primavera highlighted the groundbreaking work of the Colorado Social Health Information Exchange (CoSHIE) and its role in improving access to care, integrating social determinants of health (SDoH) data, and advancing health equity across the state.
CoSHIE is a pioneering initiative that bridges healthcare and social services, ensuring that patients receive comprehensive, whole-person care. By leveraging technology to seamlessly connect medical providers, community-based organizations, and public health agencies, CoSHIE is reducing gaps in care, addressing social needs, and driving better health outcomes for Coloradans.
“Colorado has long been a leader in health care innovation, and our work with the Colorado Social Health Information Exchange is a testament to that commitment,” said Lt. Governor and Director of the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care, Dianne Primavera. “By integrating social determinants of health into our digital health strategies, we’re ensuring that individuals receive the support they need — whether it’s food security, housing assistance, or access to mental health care — alongside traditional medical treatment. This will support our continued efforts to ensure that all Coloradans have access to high-quality, affordable health care.”
Stephanie Pugliese, Executive Director of the Office of eHealth Innovation (OeHI), emphasized the importance of community collaboration in driving CoSHIE’s success: “Colorado Social Health Information Exchange represents more than just a technological advancement — it’s a reflection of Colorado’s unwavering commitment to equity and person-centered care. By aligning state agencies, health care providers, and local organizations, we’re building a more connected and compassionate system that meets people where they are and helps improve their overall well-being.”
Colorado’s ongoing efforts in health technology extend beyond CoSHIE, with investments in telehealth, rural broadband expansion, and data-driven policy initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes statewide. These initiatives underscore Colorado’s commitment to using technology as a force for good — ensuring healthcare is more accessible, equitable, and efficient.
For more information on Colorado’s digital health initiatives, visit OeHI’s website.
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Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)
We were honored to welcome these curious, young gardeners to the White House this past week!
With the help of the National Park Service, they planted fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs for the Kitchen Garden!
