A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Friday for tax evasion and filing false tax returns related to a scheme to conceal income received from his commercial property business.
The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: Steven Loo, of Seattle, controlled and operated eight companies that owned commercial real estate. Each was managed by independent property management companies, which were responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the real estate. Loo diverted the income he earned from his real estate by instructing the property management companies to issue checks, categorized as asset management fees, to two other entities that Loo controlled. Loo knew that the funds deposited into these bank accounts, totaling more than $4.8 million, were income to him and that he was required to report and pay tax on the funds. Nevertheless, Loo filed tax returns for 2015 through 2020 that did not report or pay tax on these funds.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Loo owes $1.6 million in taxes on his unreported income.
Loo is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of the false tax return charges and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges for which he was convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Regina Jeon of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dion and Sean Waite for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
Hallowell, Maine– The Maine Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the sale of energy or renewable energy credits (RECs) to promote the economic reuse of contaminated land through clean energy development, in accordance with 35-A M.R.S. 3210-J (statute).
The RFP seeks proposals for energy or RECs from eligible Class IA renewable resources. Proposals must be submitted by 11:59 PM on July 25, 2025. The Commission seeks to procure up to 1,573,026 MWh in this solicitation.
“This RFP demonstrates Maine’s strong commitment to both advancing clean energy and supporting the reuse of contaminated land for economic benefit,” said Commission Chair Philip L. Bartlett II. By prioritizing projects on PFAS-contaminated agricultural land, were helping communities turn environmental challenges into opportunities for sustainable development and cost savings for ratepayers.
To be eligible, a Class IA resource must:
-Qualify as a Maine RPS Class IA resource;
-Begin commercial operations on or after September 19, 2023; and
-Have either an executed interconnection agreement or a system impact study underway, if required by the applicable regional transmission organization, independent system operator, or administrator.
Proposals will be evaluated based on the requirements of the statute, and the criteria detailed in the RFP. To be selected, a project must demonstrate that it is likely to produce net benefits to ratepayers that exceed its costs.
In accordance with the statute, the Commission will give primary preference to projects located on contaminated land-specifically agricultural land contaminated by PFAS. Projects sited on contaminated land will be awarded contracts before other qualifying projects that are not sited on contaminated land. To qualify for this preference, at least 90% of the project footprint must be located on such land.
For more information, please visit the Commissions website at:
CONTACT: Susan Faloon, Media Liaison CELL: 207-557-3704 EMAIL: susan.faloon@maine.gov
Preliminary economic losses are estimated at US$18–22 billion, reflecting both residential and infrastructure damages.
Understanding the anatomy of this flash flood, and unravelling the complex interplay of meteorological, geomorphological and hydrological forces, forms the foundation for a comprehensive assessment of what happened. This information is vital to help prevent future similar tragedies from occurring.
The July 2025 flood event in central Texas was triggered by a rare and potent meteorological configuration.
Atmospheric anomalies are weather conditions that differ from what’s expected. Analysis of the July 2025 atmospheric anomalies reveals exceptional thermodynamic conditions that directly contributed to the flood’s severity.
The total precipitation over the core impact zone in the Hill Country during July 3 to 6 is estimated to have delivered more than 15 billion cubic metres of water — an extraordinary volume.
This deluge was supported by persistent temperature anomalies ranging from 5.4 to 6.9 degrees Celsius above the mean. Such elevated temperatures increased the atmosphere’s capacity to retain moisture.
At these anomaly levels, the air mass could store 35 to 50 per cent more water vapour than normal.
Simultaneously, specific humidity anomalies reflected a 60 to 70 per cent increase over July baselines for central Texas. Specific humidity, which quantifies the actual mass of water vapour per kilogram of air, provides a more direct metric of latent moisture available for precipitation.
The convergence of these extreme thermodynamic variables created an ideal environment for deep, moisture-laden convection, supporting prolonged intense rainfall.
This map of Texas highlights the core impact zone in Hill Country, where rainfall totals exceeded 430 millimetres, more than four times the regional July average. (H. Bonakdari/GSMaP), CC BY
Terrain impacts
While meteorological extremes initiated the July 2025 flood event, the morphology of the Guadalupe River — its shape, behaviour and flows — was pivotal in transforming heavy rainfall into a catastrophic flash flood.
The upper basin’s physical geography, drainage configuration and valley structure contributed to the rapid concentration and propagation of floodwaters.
Known as “Flash Flood Alley,” the terrain of the upper Guadalupe River basin amplified the July 2025 flood through a combination of steep slopes, shallow soils and karstic geology.
These steep slopes limited infiltration and led to rapid soil saturation under intense rainfall. The predominance of karstic limestone — limestone that has been shaped by water creating plains and sinkholes — further reduced storage below the surface, resulting in minimal delay between rainfall and discharge.
Additionally, narrow valley sections created hydraulic bottlenecks, accelerating flow and increasing flood depth, particularly affecting residential areas and campsites.
A map showing the relationships between steep headwaters, tributary confluences and vulnerable downstream communities. (H. Bonakdari/NASA), CC BY
In contrast, broader valleys allowed for the water to spread laterally; there was still destructive momentum due to upstream forcing. These geomorphic traits, compounded by the extreme atmospheric moisture, created an environment where floodwaters accumulated rapidly and struck with devastating force, especially along confluence zones and densely occupied riverfronts.
Excessive runoff
Prior to the July 2025 event, central Texas had already experienced elevated soil moisture conditions due to above-average rainfall during June and early July. Antecedent moisture indices that measure how wet the ground is before rainfall approached 90 to 100 per cent saturation, meaning that the ground was effectively primed for rapid runoff generation.
The region’s karst terrain — characterized by shallow, rocky soils — offered less than five per cent effective porosity, severely limiting absorption into the ground. Simultaneously, regional groundwater tables had risen underground, further reducing the ground’s capacity to absorb water.
This set the stage for an outsized response to the incoming deluge. When intense rainfall arrived, the ground was quickly and completely saturated, resulting in immediate and rapid surface runoff.
Water flows fast down the slopes and through underground limestone channels, leaving little time for it to soak into the ground. As a result, rivers such as the Guadalupe can swell rapidly, rising several feet in a short time, which causes fast-moving flood impacts in narrow valleys and low-lying communities.
Multiple forces
The July floods in Texas were devastatingly deadly. A confluence of various meteorological and topographical factors were to blame.
An overheated atmosphere, saturated with water vapour, unleashed record-breaking rainfall. The unique terrain of Texas Hill Country funnelled that rain swiftly into the river system, while the region’s hydrology, already primed by previous storms, converted nearly all of it into runoff.
By understanding how these atmospheric, geographic and hydrological elements combined, we can better anticipate future risks in “Flash Flood Alley” and improve early warning systems to save lives.
Hossein Bonakdari 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.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Melise Panetta, Lecturer of Marketing in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University
For years, the expression “the robot took my job” has brought to mind visions of machines replacing workers on factory floors. But Gen Z is facing a new challenge: the loss of internships and other entry-level positions to AI.
Internships and junior roles have historically provided a predictable ladder into the workforce by providing new workers with the experience and skills needed for long-term career development.
Entry-level roles traditionally involve low-complexity, high-frequency tasks such as data entry, scheduling or drafting reports — tasks that generative AI can do significantly cheaper and faster than a human. This almost certainly means fewer traditional bottom rungs on the career ladder.
We are already seeing the impact of this: entry-level jobs are becoming scarcer, with candidates competing against a 14 per cent hike in applications per role, according to LinkedIn.
No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.
Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of executives say they are willing to use AI tools to drive up productivity at the expense of losing staff. Conversely, only one in three executives are willing to keep their staff at the expense of higher expected productivity.
It is also projected that declines in traditional entry-level or junior roles in sectors such as food services, customer service, sales and office support work could account for nearly 84 per cent of the occupational shifts expected by 2030.
Talent and entry-level role shortages in the future
Data on AI and the future of work also points to another potential problem: a talent shortage for certain skill sets. A 2024 report from Microsoft and LinkedIn found that leaders are concerned with shortages in areas such as cybersecurity, engineering and creative design.
Though this data might appear contradictory, it signals that in addition to fewer entry level positions being available, changes to job roles and skill sets are also on the horizon.
As a result, competition for entry-level roles is expected to increase, with greater value put on candidates who can use AI tools to improve their productivity and effectiveness.
Rather than simply eliminating jobs, many roles are evolving to require new capabilities. There is also growing demand for specialized talent where AI cannot yet fully augment human abilities.
AI literacy is the new entry requirement
As AI becomes more prevalent in the workforce, “entry-level” roles are no longer just about completing basic tasks, but about knowing how to work effectively with new technologies, including AI.
Employers are beginning to place immense value on AI literacy. Two-thirds of managers say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills and 71 per cent say they would prefer a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one without them.
With fewer entry-level positions available, young workers will need to figure out how to stand out in a competitive job market. But despite these challenges, Gen Z may also be the best-positioned to adapt to these changes.
As digital natives, many Gen Z are already integrating AI tools into their work. A report from LinkedIn and Microsoft found 85 per cent are bringing AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot into the workplace, indicating they are both comfortable and eager to make use of this technology.
This trend mirrors broader trends across the workforce. One report found 76 per cent of professionals believe they need AI-related skills to remain competitive. That same Microsoft and LinkedIn report found there has been a 160 per cent surge in learning courses for AI literacy.
This growing emphasis on AI skills is part of a wider shift toward “upskilling” — the process of enhancing skill sets to adapt to the changing conditions of the job market. Today, upskilling means leaning how to use AI to enhance, accelerate and strengthen your performance in the workplace.
A new kind of entry-level job
Since AI literacy is becoming a core career skill, being able to present yourself as a candidate with AI skills is important for standing out in a crowded entry-level job market. This includes knowing how to use AI tools, evaluate their outputs critically and apply them in a workplace context. It also means learning how to present AI skills on a resume and in interviews.
Employers also have a role to play in all this. If they want to attract and retain employees, they need to redesign entry-level roles. Instead of eliminating entry-level roles, they should refocus on higher-value activities that require critical thinking or creativity. These are the areas where humans outperform machines, and where AI can act as a support rather than a replacement.
The future of work isn’t about humans being replaced by robots, but about learning how to use the technology to enhance skills and creating new entry points into the professional world.
Melise Panetta 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.
In the wake of recent strikes by Israel and the United States on Iranian cities, military sites and nuclear facilities, a troubling paradox has emerged: actions intended to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons may actually be accelerating its pursuit of them and encouraging other countries to follow suit.
On June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. The operation began with a series of co-ordinated strikes targeting Iran’s top nuclear scientists, senior military officials and key members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Despite establishing air dominance, Israel did not possess the capability to destroy Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear facilities — especially the Fordow enrichment site, which is buried deep within a mountain.
On June 21, the U.S. carried out major airstrikes targeting Iran’s critical nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Using B-2 stealth bombers equipped with bunker-busting bombs, the operation aimed to cripple Iran’s deeply fortified nuclear infrastructure.
Three days later, Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, bringing the 12-day conflict to an end. While both sides declared aspects of the campaign successful, the war marked a dangerous escalation in regional tensions and raised renewed concerns over the future of nuclear nonproliferation and security in the Middle East.
History of nuclear negotiations
The U.S. has consistently asserted that Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. In 2006, Iran was subjected to international sanctions after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported the government was not in compliance with its nuclear energy obligations.
Under former president Barack Obama, the U.S. government pursued a diplomatic path, culminating in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment to 3.67 per cent and allow intrusive IAEA inspections. In exchange, it received relief from some international sanctions.
The Biden administration sought to revive the JCPOA, but Iran demanded binding guarantees that future U.S. governments would not again withdraw — an assurance Biden could not provide.
In the aftermath, Iran significantly escalated its nuclear activities. According to IAEA reports, Iran has more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium to 60 per cent — an amount that, if further refined to 90 per cent, could be sufficient to produce 10 to 12 nuclear weapons.
The second Trump administration resumed negotiations for a new nuclear deal aimed at imposing stronger constraints on Iran’s nuclear program.
Although five rounds of negotiations were held, a sixth round scheduled for June 15 was disrupted when Israel conducted a military strike on Iran two days earlier. The attack escalated tensions and derailed the diplomatic process, further complicating the possibility of reaching a renewed agreement.
Although it maintains ambiguity about its nuclear program, Israel is seen to be the only country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons. It has taken military action to prevent other countries in the region from developing nuclear programs.
The Israeli government may have calculated that airstrikes could also effectively work against Iran. However, the difference is that Iran’s nuclear program is far more advanced than Syria or Iraq’s were. While the recent strikes may have set the program back by two years, Iran retains the knowledge and capacity to rebuild.
Ironically, the Israeli and U.S. strikes, which aimed to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities, may instead encourage Iranian officials to accelerate their efforts. Following the war, Iran ended all co-operation with the IAEA, expelling inspectors and cutting off access to its nuclear sites. Without IAEA personnel on the ground, it has become extremely difficult to monitor or verify the scope of Iran’s nuclear activities.
Bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities each time it advances its nuclear program is not a sustainable strategy. Israel had hoped that a decisive military strike would trigger widespread unrest and potentially lead to the Iranian government’s collapse.
Instead, the opposite occurred: the Iranian public rallied around the flag, perceiving the attack as a blatant violation of national sovereignty. As a result, the government strengthened its domestic legitimacy and further suppressed political opposition.
For now, Iranian officials have maintained that they do not intend to develop a nuclear weapon. However, the Iranian parliament is preparing legislation to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which Iran is currently a signatory.
Exiting the treaty would remove a major legal and diplomatic constraint on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Should Iran decide to go down that path, it would likely trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.
Saudi Arabia has indicated that if Iran builds a nuclear weapon, it will seek to do the same.
The most effective way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is through sustained diplomacy and a renewed nuclear agreement. A credible deal that includes robust verification mechanisms and IAEA inspections and sanctions relief remains the most viable solution.
Military strikes, by contrast, tend to backfire, and will likely reinforce the belief in Iran — and elsewhere — that only a nuclear deterrent can shield them from external threats.
Saira Bano 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.
NIST Hurricane Maria Program | Technical Update (July 2025)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a video update and press release on its study of Hurricane Maria’s impacts on Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017, was one of the most devastating and costly hurricanes in U.S. history. The storm caused nearly 3,000 deaths and more than $90 billion in damages. While nature cannot be controlled, communities can reduce the impacts of natural hazards by making their buildings and infrastructure more resilient, upgrading emergency preparedness plans for critical facilities, and strengthening evacuation and communication protocols.
In 2018, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched an investigation into Hurricane Maria’s impacts to learn what went wrong and to take steps to make Americans safer from future hurricanes.
“Our goal is to learn from that event to recommend improvements to building codes, standards and practices that will make communities more resilient to hurricanes and other hazards, not just in Puerto Rico but across the United States,” said NIST’s lead Hurricane Maria investigator Joseph Main.
The investigation has been an enormous undertaking. NIST experts have conducted hundreds of surveys and interviews, analyzed dozens of buildings, conducted laboratory experiments, and more. As NIST’s National Construction Safety Team nears the end of its investigation, it has released a video update that highlights significant milestones and preliminary findings.
What Made Hurricane Maria So Dangerous?
Hurricane Maria set off a cascade of building and infrastructure failures across Puerto Rico that had lasting impacts on society, including health care, business and education. The storm itself was a Category 4 hurricane, with peak gusts as high as 140 mph over flat terrain, strong enough to topple trees and lift roofs off houses. The wind was even stronger along the ridges of hills and mountains, where power lines and cellphone towers were located. Those lines and towers were damaged or destroyed, knocking out electric, phone and internet service for almost the entire island.
The steep mountains of Puerto Rico also intensified the rainfall, resulting in extensive flooding and more than 40,000 landslides. This destroyed roads and bridges, blocking routes to hospitals and shelters for those who badly needed them. The hospitals and shelters themselves were heavily damaged by the storm, lifesaving medical equipment was destroyed, and parts of the buildings became uninhabitable. Each of these impacts intensified others. For example, the loss of electricity made it more difficult to move patients and supplies within some hospitals because elevators stopped working.
Why NIST?
NIST has a long history of studying disasters and building failures. Under the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, NIST is authorized to establish teams “to assess building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of any building failure that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that posed significant potential of substantial loss of life.”
Additionally, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act gives NIST responsibility for “carrying out research and development to improve model building codes, voluntary standards, and best practices for the design, construction, and retrofit of buildings, structures, and lifelines” with the purpose of achieving “measurable reductions in the losses of life and property from windstorms.”
Previous NIST investigations have led to building code improvements for tornadoes and fires that can save lives in communities across the country.
Responding to Hurricane Maria, NIST created a team of experts in structural and civil engineering, public health, epidemiology, medicine, anthropology, communications, sociology and economics. These experts came from NIST, other federal agencies and universities, including outside experts based in Puerto Rico.
“Having a local presence has been critical in carrying out this work, especially during the pandemic,” said Maria Dillard, investigation associate lead.
The Investigation So Far
The investigation is wide-ranging and has included reconnaissance of the island, creation of a detailed map of wind speeds during the hurricane, long-term measurements of wind speeds at cell towers, and wind tunnel tests. The NIST team conducted hundreds of interviews with emergency communicators; family members of the deceased; hospital, school and shelter staff members; shipping and transportation sector representatives; infrastructure officials; and others impacted by the storm. They also surveyed more than 1,500 households, 450 businesses, 300 schools and 16 hospitals for the project.
Understanding the impact on hospitals and emergency shelters was a high priority for the investigators, who conducted detailed evaluations of five hospitals and five shelter facilities.
This information went into computer models to understand how the hurricane and the long recovery process unfolded.
During the course of the investigation, Puerto Rico was buffeted by more disasters, including a series of earthquakes that started in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Hurricane Fiona in 2022, and Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2024. These events made the recovery from Hurricane Maria more difficult and presented additional challenges for the investigation.
Importance of NIST’s Hurricane María Investigation
Preliminary Findings
The complete report will not be released until 2026, so these findings may change before the report is finalized. However, in the video Main and Dillard share the following major preliminary findings, which they anticipate will be included in the final version.
While peak wind speeds over flat terrain reached as high as 140 mph (225 kmh), those winds were accelerated to over 200 mph (322 kmh) in some areas by the shape of steep hills and mountains. The mountains also intensified the rainfall. The most extreme rainfall reached 30 inches (76 centimeters) in some areas.
A major challenge for the investigation was that many weather-measuring devices were damaged during the storm. Only three out of 22 weather stations were fully functional throughout the hurricane. A Doppler weather radar site was destroyed by high winds, and the majority of rain gauges failed during the storm.
Surveys with family members of those who died in the two weeks following the hurricane showed that only about one-tenth of the deaths occurred on the day of landfall and that only a small fraction of the deaths were caused by storm-related injuries. Reduced access to health care was found to be a significant factor in the deaths that occurred. The most common causes of death were noncommunicable medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and kidney disease, as those who suffered from these conditions had difficulty obtaining the medical care they needed.
Landslides, collapsed bridges and fallen trees blocking roads kept people from getting help. Such road disruptions were estimated to have cut off hospital access for just over half of the population immediately following the hurricane. Many patients sought medical care at multiple places before receiving treatment. After arriving at hospitals, patients encountered additional disruptions in care from hospital buildings that were damaged, flooded and without electrical power.
The investigation also found that 95.3% of schools lost power, for an average of over 100 days. Lack of potable water was also an issue for school recovery. One school emphasized that students needed to bring their own water because the school’s water was not safe to drink.
Success Stories
One important preliminary finding from the study is that emergency preparations work. Businesses, schools and hospitals that prepared before Hurricane Maria were able to resume operations more quickly afterward. Preparations included preestablished emergency plans, designated risk mitigation funds, and backup power sources.
Preliminary findings also showed that financial assistance was effective. Statistically, businesses, schools and hospitals that received financial assistance were able to recover more quickly than those that did not.
Anticipated Recommendations
Through the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, NIST has a responsibility to use investigation findings to create recommendations and help implement them.
Recommendations from the Hurricane Maria Program are anticipated to result in:
New building standards to account for faster winds caused by mountains and hills.
New standards for storm shelters and refuge areas.
Measures that will help hospitals and other critical facilities maintain services during and after hurricanes, such as requiring standby generators for elevators and air-conditioning.
Guidance on recording damage to communications systems in a way that will prioritize recovery.
More robust tools for measuring wind, rainfall and flooding.
New standards for creating death certificates during an emergency.
These changes will be important for hurricane-prone regions throughout the U.S., not just Puerto Rico. Hurricane Helene, which carved a destructive path from Florida through North Carolina in 2024, shared many similarities with Hurricane Maria, such as significant rainfall in mountainous areas that led to flooding and landslides; neighborhoods and communities being cut off from road access; massive infrastructure failure; and at least one hospital requiring evacuation.
By applying the lessons of Hurricane Maria, this investigation can help the increasing number of communities that are experiencing intense hurricanes prepare for, respond to, and recover from them.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dale Pankhurst, PhD candidate and Tutor in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
The British government announced in early July that a far-right group called the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) will be banned under terrorism legislation. This will make it a criminal offence in the UK to be a member of the group or to express support for it.
The RIM was at the centre of a string of letter bomb attacks targeting high-profile people and institutions in Spain in 2022. These included a bomb addressed to the official residence of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, which was intercepted by his security detail.
Six more letter bombs were mailed to targets including the American and Ukrainian embassies in Madrid, military installations, and weapons manufacturing companies that supply arms to Ukraine. No one was killed in the attacks, which US officials considered to be acts of terrorism.
Investigators soon announced that they suspected the RIM of being involved. US and European officials alleged that the group was directed to carry out the attacks by Russian intelligence officers.
What is the RIM?
The RIM is an ultra-nationalist, neo-nazi and white supremacist organisation based in Russia. It was created in 2002 by Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, a Russian national who is designated a terrorist by the US government.
The group seeks to create a new Russian empire, and uses the Russian imperial flag as its sign. The previous Russian empire (1721-1917) encompassed all of modern-day Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Georgia, Armenia and the Baltic states, as well as parts of China.
The movement does not recognise Ukrainian sovereignty. It sees Ukraine as part of what it calls a global Zionist conspiracy designed to undermine Russia and promote Jewish interests. The RIM has engaged in Holocaust denial and is formally outlawed in the US, Canada and now the UK.
It also has a paramilitary wing called the Imperial Legions, which operates at least two training facilities in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The US State Department believes these facilities are being used to train RIM members in woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
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Denis Valliullovich Gariyev, the Imperial Legions’ leader, has in the past called on “young orthodox men” to join the Legions and defend Novorossiya – a term used to describe Russia’s claim over Ukraine. As of 2020, the Imperial Legions was estimated to have several thousand members.
The RIM and its paramilitary wing have engaged in a wide range of activities and operations. These range from passive alliances with other far-right groups in Europe to providing paramilitary training for terrorist organisations. They have also participated directly in bomb attacks.
Since 2014, when the conflict in eastern Ukraine began, the movement has trained and sent members as mercenaries to bolster the pro-Russian separatist groups fighting there. Its members have also actively supported the Russian armed forces in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
After the invasion, posts related to the RIM on various social media platforms such as Vkontakte and Telegram revealed a ramping up of recruitment to join operations in Ukraine. Its fighters have posted videos of themselves in Ukraine armed with weaponry from sniper rifles to anti-tank missiles.
According to analysts, the movement also maintains strong ties with the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group. Imperial Legions fighters are believed to have operated alongside Wagner mercenaries in Syria, Libya and possibly the Central African Republic.
Outside of these activities, the movement has been active in supporting far-right organisations in Europe. These include the Nordic Resistance Movement in Sweden and similar groups in Germany, Spain and elsewhere.
It provides training to these groups through its so-called “Partizan” (Russian for guerrilla) programme. The training includes bombmaking, marksmanship, medical and survival skills, military topography and other tactics. According to the UK government, the Partizan programme aims to increase the capacity of attendees to conduct terrorist attacks.
Two Swedish nationals who took part in the programme later committed a series of bombings against refugee centres in Gothenburg, a city on Sweden’s west coast, in late 2016 and early 2017. The men were convicted in Sweden, with the prosecutor crediting RIM for their terrorist radicalisation and training.
The RIM has also provided specific paramilitary training to far-right groups in Finland. Some members of these groups have fought on Russia’s side in Ukraine, while others have attempted to establish a Finnish cell of the international neo-nazi Atomwaffen Division. Police raids in 2023 also unveiled plans to assassinate the then Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin.
Links with the Russian state
The movement has previously been critical of the Russian government. It initially believed the approach of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, to Ukraine was too soft, while the group’s promotion of white supremacy and neo-nazism is at odds with Putin’s pragmatic nationalism within Russia.
In 2012, the RIM even took part in discussions with other far-right groups in Russia to form an opposition movement called New Force to challenge Putin’s rule. However, the crisis in Ukraine that erupted in 2014 after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power has caused the Kremlin and RIM’s political objectives to converge.
Indeed, the group can now be viewed as one of the core Russian proxy paramilitaries operating in Ukraine at a time when Putin needs more recruits to continue the war. Western intelligence agencies now believe it has a relationship with officials from Russian state intelligence.
It is difficult to pinpoint the total number of RIM fighters operating in Ukraine as the involvement of mercenary groups there is a closely guarded secret. However, based on previous intelligence reports on the group’s activities, it is reasonable to assume the number is in the hundreds to low thousands.
The decision by the British government to proscribe the RIM indicates concern that the far-right group is increasing its operational capacity both in Ukraine and throughout Europe. With its extensive network, the movement will become an increasing threat to security if it is allowed to continue acting as a proxy for Putin’s foreign policy objectives.
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.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dale Pankhurst, PhD candidate and Tutor in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
The British government announced in early July that a far-right group called the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) will be banned under terrorism legislation. This will make it a criminal offence in the UK to be a member of the group or to express support for it.
The RIM was at the centre of a string of letter bomb attacks targeting high-profile people and institutions in Spain in 2022. These included a bomb addressed to the official residence of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, which was intercepted by his security detail.
Six more letter bombs were mailed to targets including the American and Ukrainian embassies in Madrid, military installations, and weapons manufacturing companies that supply arms to Ukraine. No one was killed in the attacks, which US officials considered to be acts of terrorism.
Investigators soon announced that they suspected the RIM of being involved. US and European officials alleged that the group was directed to carry out the attacks by Russian intelligence officers.
What is the RIM?
The RIM is an ultra-nationalist, neo-nazi and white supremacist organisation based in Russia. It was created in 2002 by Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, a Russian national who is designated a terrorist by the US government.
The group seeks to create a new Russian empire, and uses the Russian imperial flag as its sign. The previous Russian empire (1721-1917) encompassed all of modern-day Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Georgia, Armenia and the Baltic states, as well as parts of China.
The movement does not recognise Ukrainian sovereignty. It sees Ukraine as part of what it calls a global Zionist conspiracy designed to undermine Russia and promote Jewish interests. The RIM has engaged in Holocaust denial and is formally outlawed in the US, Canada and now the UK.
It also has a paramilitary wing called the Imperial Legions, which operates at least two training facilities in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The US State Department believes these facilities are being used to train RIM members in woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox.Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.
Denis Valliullovich Gariyev, the Imperial Legions’ leader, has in the past called on “young orthodox men” to join the Legions and defend Novorossiya – a term used to describe Russia’s claim over Ukraine. As of 2020, the Imperial Legions was estimated to have several thousand members.
The RIM and its paramilitary wing have engaged in a wide range of activities and operations. These range from passive alliances with other far-right groups in Europe to providing paramilitary training for terrorist organisations. They have also participated directly in bomb attacks.
Since 2014, when the conflict in eastern Ukraine began, the movement has trained and sent members as mercenaries to bolster the pro-Russian separatist groups fighting there. Its members have also actively supported the Russian armed forces in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
After the invasion, posts related to the RIM on various social media platforms such as Vkontakte and Telegram revealed a ramping up of recruitment to join operations in Ukraine. Its fighters have posted videos of themselves in Ukraine armed with weaponry from sniper rifles to anti-tank missiles.
According to analysts, the movement also maintains strong ties with the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group. Imperial Legions fighters are believed to have operated alongside Wagner mercenaries in Syria, Libya and possibly the Central African Republic.
Outside of these activities, the movement has been active in supporting far-right organisations in Europe. These include the Nordic Resistance Movement in Sweden and similar groups in Germany, Spain and elsewhere.
It provides training to these groups through its so-called “Partizan” (Russian for guerrilla) programme. The training includes bombmaking, marksmanship, medical and survival skills, military topography and other tactics. According to the UK government, the Partizan programme aims to increase the capacity of attendees to conduct terrorist attacks.
Two Swedish nationals who took part in the programme later committed a series of bombings against refugee centres in Gothenburg, a city on Sweden’s west coast, in late 2016 and early 2017. The men were convicted in Sweden, with the prosecutor crediting RIM for their terrorist radicalisation and training.
The RIM has also provided specific paramilitary training to far-right groups in Finland. Some members of these groups have fought on Russia’s side in Ukraine, while others have attempted to establish a Finnish cell of the international neo-nazi Atomwaffen Division. Police raids in 2023 also unveiled plans to assassinate the then Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin.
Links with the Russian state
The movement has previously been critical of the Russian government. It initially believed the approach of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, to Ukraine was too soft, while the group’s promotion of white supremacy and neo-nazism is at odds with Putin’s pragmatic nationalism within Russia.
In 2012, the RIM even took part in discussions with other far-right groups in Russia to form an opposition movement called New Force to challenge Putin’s rule. However, the crisis in Ukraine that erupted in 2014 after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power has caused the Kremlin and RIM’s political objectives to converge.
Indeed, the group can now be viewed as one of the core Russian proxy paramilitaries operating in Ukraine at a time when Putin needs more recruits to continue the war. Western intelligence agencies now believe it has a relationship with officials from Russian state intelligence.
It is difficult to pinpoint the total number of RIM fighters operating in Ukraine as the involvement of mercenary groups there is a closely guarded secret. However, based on previous intelligence reports on the group’s activities, it is reasonable to assume the number is in the hundreds to low thousands.
The decision by the British government to proscribe the RIM indicates concern that the far-right group is increasing its operational capacity both in Ukraine and throughout Europe. With its extensive network, the movement will become an increasing threat to security if it is allowed to continue acting as a proxy for Putin’s foreign policy objectives.
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.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
July 10, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement today after the Trump Administration announced plans to indiscriminately fire hundreds of civil service and Foreign Service Officers:
“Once again, Trump’s illegal, chaotic actions are putting our servicemembers at greater risk, undermining our national security and making all Americans less safe. It was Trump’s first Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, who said ‘If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition…’
“Our diplomats are the first line of defense around the world, anticipating crises and providing invaluable expertise to help prevent conflicts from exploding into catastrophes. By deciding to indiscriminately fire hundreds of these devoted patriots without regard for their merit, expertise, Veteran status or years of experience, Trump is guaranteeing our nation’s response to foreign threats will be less informed, less intelligent and far less effective than before—all at a time when Trump himself is emboldening our enemies and inflaming already red-hot tensions abroad.
“This is a gift to our adversaries and a betrayal of our values. If Republicans care about our national security at all, they must speak out and rein in this President before it’s too late.”
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
July 10, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement today after the Trump Administration announced plans to indiscriminately fire hundreds of civil service and Foreign Service Officers:
“Once again, Trump’s illegal, chaotic actions are putting our servicemembers at greater risk, undermining our national security and making all Americans less safe. It was Trump’s first Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, who said ‘If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition…’
“Our diplomats are the first line of defense around the world, anticipating crises and providing invaluable expertise to help prevent conflicts from exploding into catastrophes. By deciding to indiscriminately fire hundreds of these devoted patriots without regard for their merit, expertise, Veteran status or years of experience, Trump is guaranteeing our nation’s response to foreign threats will be less informed, less intelligent and far less effective than before—all at a time when Trump himself is emboldening our enemies and inflaming already red-hot tensions abroad.
“This is a gift to our adversaries and a betrayal of our values. If Republicans care about our national security at all, they must speak out and rein in this President before it’s too late.”
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
July 11, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in this appropriations bill, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.
“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Duckworth said. “Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it’s critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that support our rural communities.”
“Congress is tasked with the critical responsibility to fund our government programs and agencies. While Congress has fulfilled this responsibility by routinely passing continuing resolutions, I hope that we can have a true bipartisan effort to pass appropriations bills in a timely, thoughtful process,” said Durbin. “And as the Trump Administration aims to gut our government, I will continue to push for the funding and resources for Illinoisans to thrive.”
The Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA funding bill includes the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:
Health Clinic, LaHarpe: $1.38 million to Memorial Hospital Association to help construct an additional health clinic to expand access to health care in the Western Illinois community.
Hospital Infrastructure Improvements, Watseka, Illinois: $645,000 to the Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home to update aged and outdated facilities, including HVAC systems and flooring.
Intergenerational Center, Fairbury, Illinois: $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County to construct an intergenerational community center to provide programming and services to youth and seniors at the same site.
Laboratory Renovation, Pittsfield, Illinois: $1 million to the Blessing Care Corporation to update the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in order to modernize facilities that are more than 80 years old.
Medical Technology Upgrades, Lawrenceville, Illinois: $450,000 to provide essential technological upgrades at Lawrence County Memorial Hospital, including improvements in diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring systems, and life-saving equipment.
Pre-K Expansion, Herrin: $263,000 to Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 to help expand capacity at the district’s pre-K center.
Rural Health Clinic Expansion, West Frankfort, Illinois: $1 million to Southern Illinois Hospital Services to expand the Miners Memorial Rural Health Clinic to provide improvements in both patient rooms and provider workspace.
Teledentistry Initiative, Mattoon, Illinois: $110,000 to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to expand rural telehealth efforts to include teledentistry with an emphasis on underserved children.
The Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill includes additional Illinois priorities secured through the programmatic appropriations process:
USDA
Bee Genome: $3 million, an increase of $750,000 from FY25, to continue sequencing the genome of more than 4,000 domestic bee species, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Midwest Soybean Germplasm Lab: The President’s Budget Request proposes closing research labs in three states, including two operations at the University of Illinois—the National Soybean Germplasm Collection and the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center. The bill includes language to prohibit USDA laboratory and facility closures without USDA providing Congressional notification and approval.
Agricultural Research: $3.2 billion for basic food and agricultural research nationwide, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Tracking Farm Exports by State: Includes report language requiring USDA to track and publish the top five farm commodities exported, or imported, by State, and the country of destination, or origin.
Plant Health, Tree and Wood Pests: $59 million to help identify and contain wood-boring pests threatening tree health across the country, 19 of which have been detected in the past decade, including the Emerald Ash Borer. This funding will allow for the identification and containment of Emerald Ash Borer infestations and increase public awareness of the threat posed by EAB in the 15 states that are battling this invasive species.
Animal Welfare: $27 million to implement and enforce provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those governing facilities that previously have fallen out of compliance with the AWA.
Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program): $35 million to support loans and grants that facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas without sufficient broadband access.
Agricultural Extension – Food Safety Outreach Program: $10 million to provide food safety training and tech assistance to owners and operators of small farms, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable vendors affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.
Food for Peace: $1.5 billion to meet emergency food needs around the world, including due to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, and conflict, displacement, poverty, and climate change exacerbating needs around the world, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program: $240 million to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
Local and Regional Procurement: Continues support for the promotion of locally sourced agricultural products, which remain less costly and more accessible when compared to commodities sourced from the United States and shipped overseas.
FDA
Tobacco: Includes substantial bill language pertaining to FDA’s Tobacco Center to eliminate harmful provisions and ensure alignment with public health needs. The statutory language specifies $200 million for e-cigarette enforcement activities, out of the $712 million total for the FDA’s Tobacco Center—which will increase resources to investigate and stop illegally sold products. The language also enhances reporting to Congress, dedicates $2 million to the interagency task force between FDA, DOJ, and DHS, and provides statutory authority requested by FDA Commissioner Makary to enable FDA to detain and destroy seized illegal e-cigarettes at ports of entry. There also is report language ensuring that the FDA’s regulatory focus is on kid-friendly and flavored products, and balanced between unauthorized Chinese vapes and also-illegal, unauthorized domestic vapes (made by Altria, RJ Reynolds, JUUL).
ALS: Provides no less than $2.5 million for FDA to continue implementation of the ACT for ALS law to enable FDA to fund early stage clinical trials for new ALS therapies.
Food Safety: $1.17 billion for FDA’s Human Foods Program to oversee food and nutrition in the United States. Includes report language encouraging coordination between FDA, USDA, and CDC in better ensuring the safety of our nation’s foods.
Dietary Supplements: Includes report language calling on FDA to strengthen its enforcement actions against adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
July 11, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in this appropriations bill, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.
“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Duckworth said. “Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it’s critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that support our rural communities.”
“Congress is tasked with the critical responsibility to fund our government programs and agencies. While Congress has fulfilled this responsibility by routinely passing continuing resolutions, I hope that we can have a true bipartisan effort to pass appropriations bills in a timely, thoughtful process,” said Durbin. “And as the Trump Administration aims to gut our government, I will continue to push for the funding and resources for Illinoisans to thrive.”
The Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA funding bill includes the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:
Health Clinic, LaHarpe: $1.38 million to Memorial Hospital Association to help construct an additional health clinic to expand access to health care in the Western Illinois community.
Hospital Infrastructure Improvements, Watseka, Illinois: $645,000 to the Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home to update aged and outdated facilities, including HVAC systems and flooring.
Intergenerational Center, Fairbury, Illinois: $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County to construct an intergenerational community center to provide programming and services to youth and seniors at the same site.
Laboratory Renovation, Pittsfield, Illinois: $1 million to the Blessing Care Corporation to update the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in order to modernize facilities that are more than 80 years old.
Medical Technology Upgrades, Lawrenceville, Illinois: $450,000 to provide essential technological upgrades at Lawrence County Memorial Hospital, including improvements in diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring systems, and life-saving equipment.
Pre-K Expansion, Herrin: $263,000 to Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 to help expand capacity at the district’s pre-K center.
Rural Health Clinic Expansion, West Frankfort, Illinois: $1 million to Southern Illinois Hospital Services to expand the Miners Memorial Rural Health Clinic to provide improvements in both patient rooms and provider workspace.
Teledentistry Initiative, Mattoon, Illinois: $110,000 to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to expand rural telehealth efforts to include teledentistry with an emphasis on underserved children.
The Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill includes additional Illinois priorities secured through the programmatic appropriations process:
USDA
Bee Genome: $3 million, an increase of $750,000 from FY25, to continue sequencing the genome of more than 4,000 domestic bee species, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Midwest Soybean Germplasm Lab: The President’s Budget Request proposes closing research labs in three states, including two operations at the University of Illinois—the National Soybean Germplasm Collection and the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center. The bill includes language to prohibit USDA laboratory and facility closures without USDA providing Congressional notification and approval.
Agricultural Research: $3.2 billion for basic food and agricultural research nationwide, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Tracking Farm Exports by State: Includes report language requiring USDA to track and publish the top five farm commodities exported, or imported, by State, and the country of destination, or origin.
Plant Health, Tree and Wood Pests: $59 million to help identify and contain wood-boring pests threatening tree health across the country, 19 of which have been detected in the past decade, including the Emerald Ash Borer. This funding will allow for the identification and containment of Emerald Ash Borer infestations and increase public awareness of the threat posed by EAB in the 15 states that are battling this invasive species.
Animal Welfare: $27 million to implement and enforce provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those governing facilities that previously have fallen out of compliance with the AWA.
Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program): $35 million to support loans and grants that facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas without sufficient broadband access.
Agricultural Extension – Food Safety Outreach Program: $10 million to provide food safety training and tech assistance to owners and operators of small farms, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable vendors affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.
Food for Peace: $1.5 billion to meet emergency food needs around the world, including due to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, and conflict, displacement, poverty, and climate change exacerbating needs around the world, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program: $240 million to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
Local and Regional Procurement: Continues support for the promotion of locally sourced agricultural products, which remain less costly and more accessible when compared to commodities sourced from the United States and shipped overseas.
FDA
Tobacco: Includes substantial bill language pertaining to FDA’s Tobacco Center to eliminate harmful provisions and ensure alignment with public health needs. The statutory language specifies $200 million for e-cigarette enforcement activities, out of the $712 million total for the FDA’s Tobacco Center—which will increase resources to investigate and stop illegally sold products. The language also enhances reporting to Congress, dedicates $2 million to the interagency task force between FDA, DOJ, and DHS, and provides statutory authority requested by FDA Commissioner Makary to enable FDA to detain and destroy seized illegal e-cigarettes at ports of entry. There also is report language ensuring that the FDA’s regulatory focus is on kid-friendly and flavored products, and balanced between unauthorized Chinese vapes and also-illegal, unauthorized domestic vapes (made by Altria, RJ Reynolds, JUUL).
ALS: Provides no less than $2.5 million for FDA to continue implementation of the ACT for ALS law to enable FDA to fund early stage clinical trials for new ALS therapies.
Food Safety: $1.17 billion for FDA’s Human Foods Program to oversee food and nutrition in the United States. Includes report language encouraging coordination between FDA, USDA, and CDC in better ensuring the safety of our nation’s foods.
Dietary Supplements: Includes report language calling on FDA to strengthen its enforcement actions against adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements.
(From left to right) Mason Marshall, David Hume, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Daniel Rodriguez Castillo stand in front of the aluminum ion clock at NIST. With its recent improvements, the clock can pave the way for the campaign to redefine the second as well as explore new ideas in physics.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
There’s a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy.
Optical clocks are typically evaluated on two levels — accuracy (how close a clock comes to measuring the ideal “true” time, also known as systematic uncertainty) and stability (how efficiently a clock can measure time, related to statistical uncertainty). This new record in accuracy comes out of 20 years of continuous improvement of the aluminum ion clock. Beyond its world-best accuracy, 41% greater than the previous record, this new clock is also 2.6 times more stable than any other ion clock. Reaching these levels has meant carefully improving every aspect of the clock, from the laser to the trap and the vacuum chamber.
The team published its results in Physical Review Letters.
“It’s exciting to work on the most accurate clock ever,” said Mason Marshall, NIST researcher and first author on the paper. “At NIST we get to carry out these long-term plans in precision measurement that can push the field of physics and our understanding of the world around us.”
NIST physicist David Hume holds the newly modified ion trap for the aluminum ion clock. By modifying the trap, the aluminum ion and its magnesium ion partner were able to “tick” unperturbed.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
The aluminum ion makes an exceptionally good clock, with an extremely steady, high-frequency “ticking” rate. Its ticks are more stable than those of cesium, which provides the current scientific definition of the second, said David Hume, the NIST physicist leading the aluminum ion clock project. And the aluminum ion isn’t as sensitive to some environmental conditions, like temperature and magnetic fields.
But the aluminum ion is kind of shy, Marshall explained. Aluminum is difficult to probe and cool with lasers, both necessary techniques for atomic clocks. The research group therefore paired the aluminum ion with magnesium. Magnesium doesn’t have the beautiful ticking properties of aluminum, but it can be easily controlled with lasers. “This ‘buddy system’ for ions is called quantum logic spectroscopy,” said Willa Arthur-Dworschack, a graduate student on the project. The magnesium ion cools the aluminum ion, slowing it down. It also moves in tandem with its aluminum partner, and the state of the clock can be read out via the magnesium ion’s motion, making this a “quantum logic” clock. Even with this coordination, there was still an array of physical effects to characterize, said Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, also a graduate student on the project.
“It’s a big, complex challenge, because every part of the clock’s design affects the clock,” Rodriguez Castillo said.
One challenge was the design of the trap where the ions are held, which was causing tiny movements of the ions, called excess micromotion, that were lowering the clock’s accuracy. That excess micromotion throws off the ions’ tick rate. Electrical imbalances at opposite sides of the trap were creating extra fields that disturbed the ions. The team redesigned the trap, putting it on a thicker diamond wafer and modifying the gold coatings on the electrodes to fix the imbalance of the electric field. They also made the gold coatings thicker to reduce resistance. Refining the trap this way slowed the ions’ motion and let them “tick” unperturbed.
The newly modified ion trap for NIST’s aluminum ion clock, with an inset showing a CCD image of the aluminum-magnesium ion pair. The circle shows the position of the aluminum ion, which is dark to the camera as it can only be read out using quantum logic spectroscopy via the magnesium ion.
Credit: NIST
The vacuum system in which the trap must operate was also causing problems. Hydrogen diffuses out of the steel body of a typical vacuum chamber, Marshall said. Traces of hydrogen gas collided with the ions, interrupting the clock’s operation. That limited how long the experiment could run before the ions needed to be reloaded. The team redesigned the vacuum chamber and had it rebuilt out of titanium, which lowered the background hydrogen gas by 150 times. That meant they could go days without reloading the trap, rather than reloading every 30 minutes.
There was still one more ingredient they needed: a more stable laser to probe the ions and count their ticks. The 2019 version of the clock had to be run for weeks to average out quantum fluctuations — temporary random changes in the ions’ energy state — caused by its laser. To reduce that time, the team turned to NIST’s own Jun Ye, whose lab at JILA (a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder) hosts one of the most stable lasers in the world. Ye’s strontium lattice clock, Strontium 1, held the previous record for accuracy.
This was a team effort. Using fiber links under the street, Ye’s group at JILA sent the ultrastable laser beam 3.6 kilometers (a little more than 2 miles) to the frequency comb in the lab of Tara Fortier at NIST. The frequency comb, which acts as a “ruler for light,” allowed the aluminum ion clock group to compare its laser with Ye’s ultrastable one. This process enabled the Ye lab’s laser to transfer its stability to the aluminum clock laser. With this improvement, the researchers could probe the ions for a full second compared to their previous record of 150 milliseconds. This improves the clock’s stability, reducing the time required to measure down to the 19th decimal place from three weeks to a day and a half.
(From left to right) Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Mason Marshall work together on the aluminum ion clock at NIST in Boulder. This atomic clock sets a new record for accuracy.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
With this new record, the aluminum ion clock contributes to the international effort to redefine the second to much greater levels of accuracy than before, facilitating new scientific and technological advances. The upgrades also drastically improve its use as a quantum logic testbed, exploring new concepts in quantum physics and building the tools needed for quantum technology, an exciting prospect for those involved. More importantly, by cutting down the averaging time from weeks to days, this clock can be a tool to make new measurements of Earth’s geodesy and explore physics beyond the Standard Model, such as the possibility that the fundamental constants of nature are not fixed values but actually changing.
“With this platform, we’re poised to explore new clock architectures — like scaling up the number of clock ions and even entangling them — further improving our measurement capabilities,” Arthur-Dworschack said.
Paper: Mason C. Marshall, Daniel A. Rodriguez Castillo, Willa J. Arthur-Dworschack, Alexander Aeppli, Kyungtae Kim, Dahyeon Lee, William Warfield, Joost Hinrichs, Nicholas V. Nardelli, Tara M. Fortier, Jun Ye, David R. Leibrandt and David B. Hume. High-stability single-ion clock with 5.5×10−19 systematic uncertainty. Physical Review Letters. Published online July 14, 2025. DOI: 10.1103/hb3c-dk28
(From left to right) Mason Marshall, David Hume, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Daniel Rodriguez Castillo stand in front of the aluminum ion clock at NIST. With its recent improvements, the clock can pave the way for the campaign to redefine the second as well as explore new ideas in physics.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
There’s a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy.
Optical clocks are typically evaluated on two levels — accuracy (how close a clock comes to measuring the ideal “true” time, also known as systematic uncertainty) and stability (how efficiently a clock can measure time, related to statistical uncertainty). This new record in accuracy comes out of 20 years of continuous improvement of the aluminum ion clock. Beyond its world-best accuracy, 41% greater than the previous record, this new clock is also 2.6 times more stable than any other ion clock. Reaching these levels has meant carefully improving every aspect of the clock, from the laser to the trap and the vacuum chamber.
The team published its results in Physical Review Letters.
“It’s exciting to work on the most accurate clock ever,” said Mason Marshall, NIST researcher and first author on the paper. “At NIST we get to carry out these long-term plans in precision measurement that can push the field of physics and our understanding of the world around us.”
NIST physicist David Hume holds the newly modified ion trap for the aluminum ion clock. By modifying the trap, the aluminum ion and its magnesium ion partner were able to “tick” unperturbed.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
The aluminum ion makes an exceptionally good clock, with an extremely steady, high-frequency “ticking” rate. Its ticks are more stable than those of cesium, which provides the current scientific definition of the second, said David Hume, the NIST physicist leading the aluminum ion clock project. And the aluminum ion isn’t as sensitive to some environmental conditions, like temperature and magnetic fields.
But the aluminum ion is kind of shy, Marshall explained. Aluminum is difficult to probe and cool with lasers, both necessary techniques for atomic clocks. The research group therefore paired the aluminum ion with magnesium. Magnesium doesn’t have the beautiful ticking properties of aluminum, but it can be easily controlled with lasers. “This ‘buddy system’ for ions is called quantum logic spectroscopy,” said Willa Arthur-Dworschack, a graduate student on the project. The magnesium ion cools the aluminum ion, slowing it down. It also moves in tandem with its aluminum partner, and the state of the clock can be read out via the magnesium ion’s motion, making this a “quantum logic” clock. Even with this coordination, there was still an array of physical effects to characterize, said Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, also a graduate student on the project.
“It’s a big, complex challenge, because every part of the clock’s design affects the clock,” Rodriguez Castillo said.
One challenge was the design of the trap where the ions are held, which was causing tiny movements of the ions, called excess micromotion, that were lowering the clock’s accuracy. That excess micromotion throws off the ions’ tick rate. Electrical imbalances at opposite sides of the trap were creating extra fields that disturbed the ions. The team redesigned the trap, putting it on a thicker diamond wafer and modifying the gold coatings on the electrodes to fix the imbalance of the electric field. They also made the gold coatings thicker to reduce resistance. Refining the trap this way slowed the ions’ motion and let them “tick” unperturbed.
The newly modified ion trap for NIST’s aluminum ion clock, with an inset showing a CCD image of the aluminum-magnesium ion pair. The circle shows the position of the aluminum ion, which is dark to the camera as it can only be read out using quantum logic spectroscopy via the magnesium ion.
Credit: NIST
The vacuum system in which the trap must operate was also causing problems. Hydrogen diffuses out of the steel body of a typical vacuum chamber, Marshall said. Traces of hydrogen gas collided with the ions, interrupting the clock’s operation. That limited how long the experiment could run before the ions needed to be reloaded. The team redesigned the vacuum chamber and had it rebuilt out of titanium, which lowered the background hydrogen gas by 150 times. That meant they could go days without reloading the trap, rather than reloading every 30 minutes.
There was still one more ingredient they needed: a more stable laser to probe the ions and count their ticks. The 2019 version of the clock had to be run for weeks to average out quantum fluctuations — temporary random changes in the ions’ energy state — caused by its laser. To reduce that time, the team turned to NIST’s own Jun Ye, whose lab at JILA (a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder) hosts one of the most stable lasers in the world. Ye’s strontium lattice clock, Strontium 1, held the previous record for accuracy.
This was a team effort. Using fiber links under the street, Ye’s group at JILA sent the ultrastable laser beam 3.6 kilometers (a little more than 2 miles) to the frequency comb in the lab of Tara Fortier at NIST. The frequency comb, which acts as a “ruler for light,” allowed the aluminum ion clock group to compare its laser with Ye’s ultrastable one. This process enabled the Ye lab’s laser to transfer its stability to the aluminum clock laser. With this improvement, the researchers could probe the ions for a full second compared to their previous record of 150 milliseconds. This improves the clock’s stability, reducing the time required to measure down to the 19th decimal place from three weeks to a day and a half.
(From left to right) Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Mason Marshall work together on the aluminum ion clock at NIST in Boulder. This atomic clock sets a new record for accuracy.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
With this new record, the aluminum ion clock contributes to the international effort to redefine the second to much greater levels of accuracy than before, facilitating new scientific and technological advances. The upgrades also drastically improve its use as a quantum logic testbed, exploring new concepts in quantum physics and building the tools needed for quantum technology, an exciting prospect for those involved. More importantly, by cutting down the averaging time from weeks to days, this clock can be a tool to make new measurements of Earth’s geodesy and explore physics beyond the Standard Model, such as the possibility that the fundamental constants of nature are not fixed values but actually changing.
“With this platform, we’re poised to explore new clock architectures — like scaling up the number of clock ions and even entangling them — further improving our measurement capabilities,” Arthur-Dworschack said.
Paper: Mason C. Marshall, Daniel A. Rodriguez Castillo, Willa J. Arthur-Dworschack, Alexander Aeppli, Kyungtae Kim, Dahyeon Lee, William Warfield, Joost Hinrichs, Nicholas V. Nardelli, Tara M. Fortier, Jun Ye, David R. Leibrandt and David B. Hume. High-stability single-ion clock with 5.5×10−19 systematic uncertainty. Physical Review Letters. Published online July 14, 2025. DOI: 10.1103/hb3c-dk28
(From left to right) Mason Marshall, David Hume, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Daniel Rodriguez Castillo stand in front of the aluminum ion clock at NIST. With its recent improvements, the clock can pave the way for the campaign to redefine the second as well as explore new ideas in physics.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
There’s a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy.
Optical clocks are typically evaluated on two levels — accuracy (how close a clock comes to measuring the ideal “true” time, also known as systematic uncertainty) and stability (how efficiently a clock can measure time, related to statistical uncertainty). This new record in accuracy comes out of 20 years of continuous improvement of the aluminum ion clock. Beyond its world-best accuracy, 41% greater than the previous record, this new clock is also 2.6 times more stable than any other ion clock. Reaching these levels has meant carefully improving every aspect of the clock, from the laser to the trap and the vacuum chamber.
The team published its results in Physical Review Letters.
“It’s exciting to work on the most accurate clock ever,” said Mason Marshall, NIST researcher and first author on the paper. “At NIST we get to carry out these long-term plans in precision measurement that can push the field of physics and our understanding of the world around us.”
NIST physicist David Hume holds the newly modified ion trap for the aluminum ion clock. By modifying the trap, the aluminum ion and its magnesium ion partner were able to “tick” unperturbed.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
The aluminum ion makes an exceptionally good clock, with an extremely steady, high-frequency “ticking” rate. Its ticks are more stable than those of cesium, which provides the current scientific definition of the second, said David Hume, the NIST physicist leading the aluminum ion clock project. And the aluminum ion isn’t as sensitive to some environmental conditions, like temperature and magnetic fields.
But the aluminum ion is kind of shy, Marshall explained. Aluminum is difficult to probe and cool with lasers, both necessary techniques for atomic clocks. The research group therefore paired the aluminum ion with magnesium. Magnesium doesn’t have the beautiful ticking properties of aluminum, but it can be easily controlled with lasers. “This ‘buddy system’ for ions is called quantum logic spectroscopy,” said Willa Arthur-Dworschack, a graduate student on the project. The magnesium ion cools the aluminum ion, slowing it down. It also moves in tandem with its aluminum partner, and the state of the clock can be read out via the magnesium ion’s motion, making this a “quantum logic” clock. Even with this coordination, there was still an array of physical effects to characterize, said Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, also a graduate student on the project.
“It’s a big, complex challenge, because every part of the clock’s design affects the clock,” Rodriguez Castillo said.
One challenge was the design of the trap where the ions are held, which was causing tiny movements of the ions, called excess micromotion, that were lowering the clock’s accuracy. That excess micromotion throws off the ions’ tick rate. Electrical imbalances at opposite sides of the trap were creating extra fields that disturbed the ions. The team redesigned the trap, putting it on a thicker diamond wafer and modifying the gold coatings on the electrodes to fix the imbalance of the electric field. They also made the gold coatings thicker to reduce resistance. Refining the trap this way slowed the ions’ motion and let them “tick” unperturbed.
The newly modified ion trap for NIST’s aluminum ion clock, with an inset showing a CCD image of the aluminum-magnesium ion pair. The circle shows the position of the aluminum ion, which is dark to the camera as it can only be read out using quantum logic spectroscopy via the magnesium ion.
Credit: NIST
The vacuum system in which the trap must operate was also causing problems. Hydrogen diffuses out of the steel body of a typical vacuum chamber, Marshall said. Traces of hydrogen gas collided with the ions, interrupting the clock’s operation. That limited how long the experiment could run before the ions needed to be reloaded. The team redesigned the vacuum chamber and had it rebuilt out of titanium, which lowered the background hydrogen gas by 150 times. That meant they could go days without reloading the trap, rather than reloading every 30 minutes.
There was still one more ingredient they needed: a more stable laser to probe the ions and count their ticks. The 2019 version of the clock had to be run for weeks to average out quantum fluctuations — temporary random changes in the ions’ energy state — caused by its laser. To reduce that time, the team turned to NIST’s own Jun Ye, whose lab at JILA (a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder) hosts one of the most stable lasers in the world. Ye’s strontium lattice clock, Strontium 1, held the previous record for accuracy.
This was a team effort. Using fiber links under the street, Ye’s group at JILA sent the ultrastable laser beam 3.6 kilometers (a little more than 2 miles) to the frequency comb in the lab of Tara Fortier at NIST. The frequency comb, which acts as a “ruler for light,” allowed the aluminum ion clock group to compare its laser with Ye’s ultrastable one. This process enabled the Ye lab’s laser to transfer its stability to the aluminum clock laser. With this improvement, the researchers could probe the ions for a full second compared to their previous record of 150 milliseconds. This improves the clock’s stability, reducing the time required to measure down to the 19th decimal place from three weeks to a day and a half.
(From left to right) Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Mason Marshall work together on the aluminum ion clock at NIST in Boulder. This atomic clock sets a new record for accuracy.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
With this new record, the aluminum ion clock contributes to the international effort to redefine the second to much greater levels of accuracy than before, facilitating new scientific and technological advances. The upgrades also drastically improve its use as a quantum logic testbed, exploring new concepts in quantum physics and building the tools needed for quantum technology, an exciting prospect for those involved. More importantly, by cutting down the averaging time from weeks to days, this clock can be a tool to make new measurements of Earth’s geodesy and explore physics beyond the Standard Model, such as the possibility that the fundamental constants of nature are not fixed values but actually changing.
“With this platform, we’re poised to explore new clock architectures — like scaling up the number of clock ions and even entangling them — further improving our measurement capabilities,” Arthur-Dworschack said.
Paper: Mason C. Marshall, Daniel A. Rodriguez Castillo, Willa J. Arthur-Dworschack, Alexander Aeppli, Kyungtae Kim, Dahyeon Lee, William Warfield, Joost Hinrichs, Nicholas V. Nardelli, Tara M. Fortier, Jun Ye, David R. Leibrandt and David B. Hume. High-stability single-ion clock with 5.5×10−19 systematic uncertainty. Physical Review Letters. Published online July 14, 2025. DOI: 10.1103/hb3c-dk28
(From left to right) Mason Marshall, David Hume, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Daniel Rodriguez Castillo stand in front of the aluminum ion clock at NIST. With its recent improvements, the clock can pave the way for the campaign to redefine the second as well as explore new ideas in physics.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
There’s a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy.
Optical clocks are typically evaluated on two levels — accuracy (how close a clock comes to measuring the ideal “true” time, also known as systematic uncertainty) and stability (how efficiently a clock can measure time, related to statistical uncertainty). This new record in accuracy comes out of 20 years of continuous improvement of the aluminum ion clock. Beyond its world-best accuracy, 41% greater than the previous record, this new clock is also 2.6 times more stable than any other ion clock. Reaching these levels has meant carefully improving every aspect of the clock, from the laser to the trap and the vacuum chamber.
The team published its results in Physical Review Letters.
“It’s exciting to work on the most accurate clock ever,” said Mason Marshall, NIST researcher and first author on the paper. “At NIST we get to carry out these long-term plans in precision measurement that can push the field of physics and our understanding of the world around us.”
NIST physicist David Hume holds the newly modified ion trap for the aluminum ion clock. By modifying the trap, the aluminum ion and its magnesium ion partner were able to “tick” unperturbed.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
The aluminum ion makes an exceptionally good clock, with an extremely steady, high-frequency “ticking” rate. Its ticks are more stable than those of cesium, which provides the current scientific definition of the second, said David Hume, the NIST physicist leading the aluminum ion clock project. And the aluminum ion isn’t as sensitive to some environmental conditions, like temperature and magnetic fields.
But the aluminum ion is kind of shy, Marshall explained. Aluminum is difficult to probe and cool with lasers, both necessary techniques for atomic clocks. The research group therefore paired the aluminum ion with magnesium. Magnesium doesn’t have the beautiful ticking properties of aluminum, but it can be easily controlled with lasers. “This ‘buddy system’ for ions is called quantum logic spectroscopy,” said Willa Arthur-Dworschack, a graduate student on the project. The magnesium ion cools the aluminum ion, slowing it down. It also moves in tandem with its aluminum partner, and the state of the clock can be read out via the magnesium ion’s motion, making this a “quantum logic” clock. Even with this coordination, there was still an array of physical effects to characterize, said Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, also a graduate student on the project.
“It’s a big, complex challenge, because every part of the clock’s design affects the clock,” Rodriguez Castillo said.
One challenge was the design of the trap where the ions are held, which was causing tiny movements of the ions, called excess micromotion, that were lowering the clock’s accuracy. That excess micromotion throws off the ions’ tick rate. Electrical imbalances at opposite sides of the trap were creating extra fields that disturbed the ions. The team redesigned the trap, putting it on a thicker diamond wafer and modifying the gold coatings on the electrodes to fix the imbalance of the electric field. They also made the gold coatings thicker to reduce resistance. Refining the trap this way slowed the ions’ motion and let them “tick” unperturbed.
The newly modified ion trap for NIST’s aluminum ion clock, with an inset showing a CCD image of the aluminum-magnesium ion pair. The circle shows the position of the aluminum ion, which is dark to the camera as it can only be read out using quantum logic spectroscopy via the magnesium ion.
Credit: NIST
The vacuum system in which the trap must operate was also causing problems. Hydrogen diffuses out of the steel body of a typical vacuum chamber, Marshall said. Traces of hydrogen gas collided with the ions, interrupting the clock’s operation. That limited how long the experiment could run before the ions needed to be reloaded. The team redesigned the vacuum chamber and had it rebuilt out of titanium, which lowered the background hydrogen gas by 150 times. That meant they could go days without reloading the trap, rather than reloading every 30 minutes.
There was still one more ingredient they needed: a more stable laser to probe the ions and count their ticks. The 2019 version of the clock had to be run for weeks to average out quantum fluctuations — temporary random changes in the ions’ energy state — caused by its laser. To reduce that time, the team turned to NIST’s own Jun Ye, whose lab at JILA (a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder) hosts one of the most stable lasers in the world. Ye’s strontium lattice clock, Strontium 1, held the previous record for accuracy.
This was a team effort. Using fiber links under the street, Ye’s group at JILA sent the ultrastable laser beam 3.6 kilometers (a little more than 2 miles) to the frequency comb in the lab of Tara Fortier at NIST. The frequency comb, which acts as a “ruler for light,” allowed the aluminum ion clock group to compare its laser with Ye’s ultrastable one. This process enabled the Ye lab’s laser to transfer its stability to the aluminum clock laser. With this improvement, the researchers could probe the ions for a full second compared to their previous record of 150 milliseconds. This improves the clock’s stability, reducing the time required to measure down to the 19th decimal place from three weeks to a day and a half.
(From left to right) Daniel Rodriguez Castillo, Willa Arthur-Dworschack and Mason Marshall work together on the aluminum ion clock at NIST in Boulder. This atomic clock sets a new record for accuracy.
Credit: R. Jacobson/NIST
With this new record, the aluminum ion clock contributes to the international effort to redefine the second to much greater levels of accuracy than before, facilitating new scientific and technological advances. The upgrades also drastically improve its use as a quantum logic testbed, exploring new concepts in quantum physics and building the tools needed for quantum technology, an exciting prospect for those involved. More importantly, by cutting down the averaging time from weeks to days, this clock can be a tool to make new measurements of Earth’s geodesy and explore physics beyond the Standard Model, such as the possibility that the fundamental constants of nature are not fixed values but actually changing.
“With this platform, we’re poised to explore new clock architectures — like scaling up the number of clock ions and even entangling them — further improving our measurement capabilities,” Arthur-Dworschack said.
Paper: Mason C. Marshall, Daniel A. Rodriguez Castillo, Willa J. Arthur-Dworschack, Alexander Aeppli, Kyungtae Kim, Dahyeon Lee, William Warfield, Joost Hinrichs, Nicholas V. Nardelli, Tara M. Fortier, Jun Ye, David R. Leibrandt and David B. Hume. High-stability single-ion clock with 5.5×10−19 systematic uncertainty. Physical Review Letters. Published online July 14, 2025. DOI: 10.1103/hb3c-dk28
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) –South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Dallon Christopher Barnwell, 22, of Pickens, S.C., on 10 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led them to Barnwell. Investigators state that Barnwell possessed files of child sexual abuse material.
Barnwell was arrested on July 3, 2025. He is charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.
What you need to know: Clean energy reliably powered California to levels never seen before – 67% in 2023 – as renewable energy and clean resources continue to advance the state’s world-leading energy transition while fueling the nation’s largest clean energy workforce, more than a half-million strong.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced California achieved an historic milestone – the state was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. California is the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy.
The state released new data showing California’s continued progress toward a clean energy future with 67% of the state’s retail electricity sales in 2023 coming from renewable and zero-carbon electricity generation — compared to just 61% the previous year and around 41% a decade ago. Sources of clean energy include generation from solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, geothermal and biomass.
In 2024, the state added a record-breaking 7,000 megawatts (MW) of clean capacity to the grid, representing the largest single-year increase in clean energy capacity added to the grid in state history. This new figure broke the previous records set in both 2022 and 2023, marking a third consecutive year of unprecedented clean energy growth.
As the federal government turns its back on innovation and commonsense, California is making our clean energy future a reality. The world’s fourth largest economy is running on two-thirds clean power – the largest economy on the planet to achieve this milestone.
And for the first time ever, clean energy provided 100% of the state’s power nearly every day this year for some part of the day. Not since the Industrial Revolution have we seen this kind of rapid transformation.
Governor Gavin Newsom
Historic investments over the past 15 years have led to an extraordinary pace of development in new clean energy generation. And as the grid is increasingly powered by clean energy, pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 – even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period. The power sector is a major driver of the decline in greenhouse gases – emissions from electric power have been cut in half since 2009, helping the state achieve its emissions reductions goals years ahead of schedule.
California is home to the most clean energy jobs in the U.S. and the state’s renewable energy and clean vehicle industries lead the nation in growth. California boasts more than a half-million green jobs and has 7 times more clean jobs than fossil fuel jobs. Solar and wind jobs account for a majority of green jobs, and battery storage and grid modernization is the second-fastest growing sector within California’s clean energy workforce.
California continues to move at a rapid pace on bringing clean energy online. Since 2019, a record 25,000 MW of new energy resources statewide have been added to the grid, with most of that being solar and battery storage. This aligns with the Governor’s roadmap to the state’s clean energy future released in 2023, which called for 148,000 megawatts (MW) of new clean power by 2045.
“California has achieved yet another major milestone on our journey to a clean energy future. The latest numbers show how our state is demonstrating that clean energy is mainstream and is here to stay,” said California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild.
Sources eligible under the state’ Renewables Portfolio Standard – such as solar and wind – made up 43% of the power mix in 2023, up from 39% in 2022. Other zero carbon resources continue to power the grid with large hydro accounting for 12% and nuclear power at 12% in 2023.
“California has set ambitious clean energy goals, and utilities and community choice aggregators have stepped up to deliver clean resources at competitive prices to communities up and down the state,” said California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds. “We are bringing renewable energy online at an unprecedented scale and pace never seen before.”
Solar represents the technology with the largest amount of installed renewable energy capacity in the state – over 21,000 MW of solar capacity operates the electric grid and another 19,000 MW of behind-the-meter generation. The California grid regularly breaks solar generation peak record levels – the latest solar peak recorded in late May was over 21,500 MW of solar generation.
The state is also doubling down on its goals by swiftly increasing its battery energy storage capacity. The state’s battery fleet now stands at over 15,000 MW – 1,944% higher than when the Governor took office in 2019. The state’s storage fleet is regularly storing any available extra solar energy generated during the day, and supporting the grid by dispatching during the evening.
Clean energy days
More than 9 out of 10 days so far this year have been powered by 100% clean energy for at least some part of the day in California. In 2025, California’s grid has run on 100% clean electricity for an average of 7 hours a day.
Data compiled by the California Energy Commission shows clean energy has powered the equivalent of 51.9 days in the state – nearly 30% of the year to date running on 100% clean electricity. That already surpasses the amount of “clean energy days” last year – and represents a 750% increase in clean energy days since 2022.
Press releases, Recent news
Recent news
Jul 11, 2025
News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement today on the court’s decision in Vasquez Perdomo, et al. v. Noem to temporarily stop federal immigration agents from unlawful suspicionless stops in California: Justice prevailed today…
Jul 11, 2025
News What you need to know: Californians are strongly encouraged to use state and local resources to protect themselves from heat illness as triple digit temperatures move across the state. SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom is encouraging Californians to prepare for…
Jul 11, 2025
News What you need to know: Governor Newsom is announcing that the California Employment Development Department is awarding $11 million to help six California organizations connect underserved adults — including veterans, people with disabilities, and at-risk young…
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A series of reports, released by Foresight Canada in partnership with the Clean Energy and Major Projects Office (CEMPO), investigates British Columbia’s potential to establish major hydrogen hubs in various regions and examines the feasibility of hydrogen transportation. In addition to outlining potential challenges, the research identifies key supply and demand opportunities across four areas: BC’s Lower Mainland, Northeast, Southern Interior, and Vancouver Island, highlighting their distinct competitive advantages for hydrogen development.
As British Columbia works toward net zero, a diverse mix of cleantech solutions and energy alternatives will be required. Hydrogen is a promising option to complement electrification. BC has a strong foundation of innovation and expertise to build on. The reports highlight how this established sector, combined with regional strengths, uniquely positions the province to lead in hydrogen production and adoption. While scaling this sector presents real challenges—including the need for new regulations and infrastructure to ensure its safe transport—the opportunities for BC to drive the clean energy transition through strategic hydrogen hub development are significant.
Access the hydrogen hub research reports:
Quotes
“We’re very excited about the insights these reports unveil, highlighting British Columbia’s immense potential to not only lead in hydrogen innovation but also decisively pave the way for Canada’s clean energy transition. A huge thank you to CEMPO for empowering us to conduct this critical research and bring these exciting opportunities to light.” — Jeanette Jackson, CEO, Foresight Canada
“British Columbia has tremendous potential to continue to lead in hydrogen innovation and creating these reports and releasing the findings helps fuel this potential. I want to thank Foresight Canada for partnering with us to continue to help drive Canada’s clean energy transition.” – Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, British Columbia
About Foresight Canada
Foresight Canada helps the world do more with less, sustainably. As Canada’s largest cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator, they connect public and private sectors to the world’s best clean technologies, de-risking and simplifying the adoption of innovative solutions that improve productivity, profitability, and economic competitiveness, all while addressing today’s most urgent climate challenges.
About CEMPO
The Clean Energy and Major Projects Office (CEMPO) is a strategic advisor and accelerator for clean energy and major projects across B.C. CEMPO advances clean energy development in B.C. by supporting project proponents and stakeholders, building strategic partnerships, and acting as the central knowledge hub for clean energy projects such as hydrogen, carbon capture, biofuels, and renewable natural gas.
It provides strategic guidance throughout the entire project lifecycle, helping accelerate projects to final investment decisions while ensuring alignment with provincial priorities.
Vanessa Albert Manager, Communications and Engagement Clean Energy and Major Projects Office, Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions vanessa.albert@gov.bc.ca
Toronto, ON, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nicola Real Estate (NRE), the in-house real estate team of Canadian investment firm Nicola Wealth, welcomes industry veteran Adam Sherriff-Scott as Vice President, Leasing and Portfolio Strategy. Based in Toronto, Sherriff-Scott brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate to NRE at a pivotal moment of strategic growth for the firm. Adam’s addition reinforces NRE’s long-term commitment to serving clients, tenants, and partners across Central and Eastern Canada and the U.S.
Adam joins Nicola Real Estate at a time of ongoing expansion, with the firm growing its portfolio in Canada and the U.S. In his new role, he will contribute to strengthening NRE’s leasing platform and portfolio strategy in the East, helping deepen relationships with tenants, brokers, and development partners while supporting value creation for our funds and institutional clients.
“Adam is very well regarded in the industry. His extensive network in the brokerage community and his deal-making acumen bring immediate firepower to our strategic growth plans,” said Ron Bastin, Managing Director, Real Estate. “The NRE team is excited for Adam to bring his energy and leadership to our Toronto team. Adam’s experience and insights are expected to contribute positively to our clients and partners.”
Prior to joining Nicola Real Estate, Adam worked as a senior broker representing local, regional, and national tenants as well as owners in both leasing and sales. His collaborative approach, deep network in the brokerage community, and knowledge of market dynamics will help position NRE’s presence for leasing and acquisition opportunities across the region.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Nicola Real Estate for over a decade and have consistently been impressed by their disciplined approach and long-term perspective,” said Sherriff-Scott. “What has always stood out is the quality of the people and the professionalism of every interaction. Nicola Real Estate’s client-focused mindset and commitment to creating long-term value for clients align closely with my own values. I’m excited to join a team I’ve long respected and contribute to the continued growth of the platform.”
Adam’s client-first mindset, dedication to integrity, and willingness to listen and collaborate make him a natural fit with NRE’s culture. His addition reflects NRE’s commitment to delivering investor value through long-term, tenant-first partnerships.
About Nicola Real Estate
Nicola Real Estate (NRE) is the in-house real estate team of Nicola Wealth, a premier Canadian financial planning and investment firm with over $17 billion in assets under management as of May 2025. NRE has an experienced and innovative team that sources and asset manages a growing portfolio of properties in major markets across North America. The diversified portfolio includes industrial, self-storage, multi-family rental apartments, retail, seniors housing, and office assets, exceeding $10 billion in gross asset value. For more information, please visit nicolawealth.com/real-estate.
New York City, NY, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
The total network computing power exceeded the historical high of 900 EH/s, and the mining cost of each BTC soared 34% to $70,000-miners are looking for the survival code in the carnival and anxiety.
01 Computing power inflation and cost crisis: the life and death game of mining Cost storm: The mining cost of a single Bitcoin exceeded $70,000 in Q2 2025, a 34% increase from the beginning of the year. After the halving, the block reward was halved to 3.125 BTC, but the total network computing power rose against the trend to 908 EH/s, causing the unit computing power income (Hashprice) to plummet by 60% to $0.049/TH.
Energy noose: The energy cost of North American mining companies doubled year-on-year, and mining machines in areas with electricity prices exceeding $0.1/kWh were shut down on a large scale. The Middle East has become a new gold mine – the UAE government project electricity price is as low as $0.035/kWh, and Oman subsidizes electricity prices of $0.05-0.07/kWh, attracting large-scale capital migration.
02 Capital mergers and acquisitions and technological revolution: Reconstructing the new mining landscape Capital integration wave Giant acquisitions: AI cloud computing company CoreWeave acquired British mining company CoreScientific. The stock price soared 18.5% on the day the transaction was exposed, revealing the value transfer of computing power assets to technology giants.
Financing frenzy: American Bitcoin Corp, supported by the Trump family, raised $215 million; listed mining companies Mara, Riot, and CleanSpark raised more than $3.7 billion in half a year; Southeast Asian mining company CloudKGN received $120 million from Sequoia Capital to expand the Singapore hydropower station data center.
Technical breakthrough path Technical direction Breakthrough case Energy efficiency improvement Liquid-cooled mining machine cluster KGNcloud third-generation liquid cooling system Mining machine density increased by 3 times, energy consumption reduced by 35% Dynamic load balancing Mining computing power and AI task intelligent scheduling Energy reuse rate exceeds 80% Hybrid mining protocol Dynamic switching of 6 currencies including BTC/ETH Revenue volatility risk reduced by 57% “The essence of mining machines is upgrading from ‘computing power tools’ to ‘energy converters’” – Bitmain’s chief engineer pointed out at the 2025 World Mining Summit
03、Personal miner survival guide: The cruel reality of the four major tracks Lottery Mining
Operation: Use 3-5 TH/s small equipment for independent mining
Income: The success rate is only 0.0000006%, but in 2024, there will be miners with 3 TH/s wins $200,000 block reward
ASIC single-soldier combat
Hardware threshold: Ant S21+ (235TH/s) or Shenma M61 (202TH/s), the cost of a single unit exceeds $3000
Cruel reality: The average daily income of a single machine is 0.000133 BTC, and a cluster of more than 20 units is required to break 1 block per year
Pool mining (mainstream choice)
Income logic: income is distributed according to the proportion of computing power, and the FPPS mode guarantees daily settlement
Case: 10 S21+ join AntPool, with an average daily income of about 0.00133 BTC (about $112)
04 、Why choose KGNcloud? KGNcloud combines technological advantages with financial compliance to create the world’s leading intelligent cloud mining platform:
UK FCA Authoritative Certification
The platform has passed the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) compliance certification, with formal operations, transparent funds, and user asset security.
All new users will automatically receive $100 worth of free computing power after registration, and can start mining without recharging, truly realizing a zero-cost experience of daily cryptocurrency income.
The only “principal and interest guaranteed” contract in the entire network
KGNcloud pioneered the “principal and interest guaranteed” mining mechanism, locking the principal and distributing fixed income every day, helping users to make stable profits without fear of fluctuations.
AI intelligent mining system
The platform uses AI algorithms to automatically dispatch the world’s best mining pool resources to achieve 24-hour uninterrupted and efficient mining, and the income far exceeds the industry average.
The income is settled daily and can be withdrawn or reinvested at any time
Users can flexibly manage income and withdraw coins quickly, supporting mainstream currencies such as BTC, USDT, ETH, and XRP.
Summary: KGN cloud offers up to 6.63% daily returns through cloud mining, without having to worry about market fluctuations. Join KGN Miner now, get a $500 free trial, and start enjoying a stable and easy cryptocurrency income. Stop blindly following the trend – start mining and grow your wealth.
Sign up now to get $100 worth of free cloud computing power and start your path to a stable daily income.
The IAM Union Air Transport Territory issued a strong call for action and accountability following a guilty plea in a violent assault against a United Airlines gate agent and IAM member at Washington Dulles International Airport.
On July 10, 2025, Christopher Stuart Crittenden pleaded guilty in federal court to charges stemming from an attack in which he punched an IAM Union member/United Airlines customer service agent, knocking them unconscious, and attempted to assault another IAM member who barely avoided the assault.
Your IAM Union leadership responded swiftly with renewed calls for greater protections for our members in the airline industry.
“No airline worker should ever fear being physically attacked for doing their job,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “This plea is a step toward justice but cannot stop here. Our members show up every day to keep travelers safe. We need Congress and federal agencies to show up for them by ensuring they are fully protected under the law.”
The IAM represents over 100,000 airline workers, including customer service agents, ramp workers, aircraft mechanics, fleet service workers, flight attendants, stock clerks, and more. This latest assault justifies the need for stronger deterrents and enforcement mechanisms, as physical and verbal assaults on airline workers have spiked in recent years.
“We are grateful that Mr. Crittenden has admitted guilt,” said IAM Union Air Transport Territory General Vice President Richie Johnsen. “But this isn’t just about one individual. It’s about a system that has too often failed to protect frontline workers from harassment and violence. We demand change, not just for our member at United Airlines, but for every airline employee.”
Click here to read the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release on Crittenden’s guilty plea.
“This was a completely preventable act of violence,” said IAM Union Air Transport Territory Chief of Staff Edison Fraser. “Too many of our members have been assaulted while trying to do their jobs with professionalism and care. They’re not asking for applause — just for the ability to work without being punched or screamed at.”
This assault has spotlighted the demands for legislative and regulatory action.
“District 141 stands behind our member and their family every step of the way,” said IAM Union District 141 President and Directing General Chair Mike Klemm. “It’s not enough to just prosecute after the fact. We need action from the Department of Transportation and airline management to create safer workplaces for gate agents and all airport employees.”
The IAM continues to push for reforms that include:
Mandatory federal penalties for assaults on all aviation workers;
Increased staffing and security in high-risk airport areas;
Expanded training for de-escalation and reporting;
Zero-tolerance policies that are jointly enforced by airlines and federal agencies.
“We have been leading this fight on customer service assaults on Capitol Hill for years,” said IAM Union National Legislative and Political Director Hasan Solomon. “We’ve called on Congress and the Department of Justice to treat assaults on airline workers with the same urgency as assaults on flight crews or law enforcement. This person was banned from ever flying on United Airlines, but these types of incidents should get a person banned forever on all airlines.”
The IAM urges the public, elected officials, and airline companies to stand with frontline workers and ensure they receive the dignity and security they deserve.
The post IAM Union Air Transport Territory Demands Increased Protections After Guilty Plea in Violent Assault on IAM Union Member, United Airlines Worker at Washington Dulles International Airport appeared first on IAM Union.
overnor Kathy Hochul issued a letter to President Trump and Congressional leaders regarding the threat posed by unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, and highlighting the critical need for a federal comprehensive strategy on drone detection capabilities. Late last year in the New York City area and the Hudson Valley, a number of drone sightings underscored the inadequacy of the federal government’s posture and the constrained ability of state authorities to detect and mitigate these threats.
In the letter, Governor Hochul also urges federal leaders to grant states the ability to maintain and expand the authority to improve detection and mitigation of drone threats in coordination with federal agencies.
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear President Trump:
I am writing to you with respect to the critical need for federal action regarding the threat posed by unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly known as drones. As you are aware, late last year, the New York City area and the Hudson Valley experienced concerning UAS sightings that underscored the inadequacy of the federal government’s posture and the constrained ability of state authorities to detect and mitigate these threats.
In early June, the Ukrainian military launched a successful surprise attack against Russian strategic air forces using drones. This serves as a stark reminder of the evolving and significant danger these systems present. An attack against strategic military and critical infrastructure in New York poses an urgent danger to the United States. I urge the Administration to proactively improve the UAS detection and mitigation posture in New York and for Congress to extend existing authorities and expand states’ abilities to detect and mitigate these threats themselves.
The reality is that the federal government is unprepared and poorly postured to detect and mitigate UAS threats and states are hamstrung by a lack of legislative authority and action by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The time for decisive action is now.
I am asking your immediate attention on two fronts:
1. Coordinated Federal Action on Drone Threats. We need a comprehensive federal strategy that not only dramatically improves drone detection capabilities nationally but also provides robust, multi-layered mitigation measures. These detection and mitigation measures must first protect critical infrastructure like population centers, utilities, and military assets, but also be able to be swiftly deployed to areas of concern when necessary. In the summer of 2026-12 short months away – the New York area will be the epicenter for multiple high-profile events, including the World Cup, the flotilla of Tall Ships, International Naval Review, the largest ever Macy’s fireworks show, and America’s 250th birthday celebration, which will present prime targets.
2. Increased Authority for States to Detect and Mitigate Drones. New York State must maintain the authority to take proactive steps to detect and mitigate drones. The previous Congress extended important counter-drone authorities granted to the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation, but only to September 2025. The sunset of this authority puts the U.S. at risk and this authority must be extended. Additionally, expanded authorities and capabilities must be granted to states, such as through the measures proposed by the Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act. Granting states the authority they need to improve detection and mitigation of UAS threats, in coordination with federal agencies, is no longer a matter of preference. It is a matter of urgent concern.
The security of our state and the nation demands a coordinated and robust response to the challenge posed by drones. I urge you to prioritize this issue and take swift action before it is too late.
We stand ready to collaborate with the federal government and Congress to address this critical threat.
Sincerely,
Kathy Hochul
Governor
CC:
The Honorable Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
The Honorable Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation
The Honorable Chris Rocheleau, Acting Administrator of the FAA
New York City, NY, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
July 14, 2025
(NEW YORK, NY) –Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today issued the following statement regardingnewsthat plans to launch a new ferry route reconnecting Staten Island and Brooklyn have moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
“As a member of the Congressional Ferry Caucus and one of the lawmakers who voted for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law which has invested in our infrastructure, ports, and waterways, I’m pleased that today’s announcement reflects a top priority of mine to strengthen, modernize, and expand our maritime transportation and ferry network.
For years, we’ve urged the city to better utilize our waterways to ease traffic and expand transportation options for Staten Islanders and Brooklynites. Now, for the first time in decades, the city is one step closer to reconnecting Staten Island and Brooklyn by ferry. If there is enough positive response during the upcoming public comment period, this long-awaited route could become a reality as soon as this winter. When the feedback period opens, we urge Staten Islanders and Brooklynites to weigh in so both boroughs have greater access to reliable and affordable ferries.”
Earlier this year, Malliotakis launched the Bipartisan Congressional Ferry Caucus, aiming to advocate for the needs of communities that rely on ferry transportation, highlight the benefits of ferry systems, and secure long-term federal investments to strengthen marine operations, shoreside infrastructure, and workforce development.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
July 14, 2025
(NEW YORK, NY) –Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today issued the following statement regardingnewsthat plans to launch a new ferry route reconnecting Staten Island and Brooklyn have moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
“As a member of the Congressional Ferry Caucus and one of the lawmakers who voted for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law which has invested in our infrastructure, ports, and waterways, I’m pleased that today’s announcement reflects a top priority of mine to strengthen, modernize, and expand our maritime transportation and ferry network.
For years, we’ve urged the city to better utilize our waterways to ease traffic and expand transportation options for Staten Islanders and Brooklynites. Now, for the first time in decades, the city is one step closer to reconnecting Staten Island and Brooklyn by ferry. If there is enough positive response during the upcoming public comment period, this long-awaited route could become a reality as soon as this winter. When the feedback period opens, we urge Staten Islanders and Brooklynites to weigh in so both boroughs have greater access to reliable and affordable ferries.”
Earlier this year, Malliotakis launched the Bipartisan Congressional Ferry Caucus, aiming to advocate for the needs of communities that rely on ferry transportation, highlight the benefits of ferry systems, and secure long-term federal investments to strengthen marine operations, shoreside infrastructure, and workforce development.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
July 14, 2025
(NEW YORK, NY) –Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today issued the following statement regardingnewsthat plans to launch a new ferry route reconnecting Staten Island and Brooklyn have moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
“As a member of the Congressional Ferry Caucus and one of the lawmakers who voted for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law which has invested in our infrastructure, ports, and waterways, I’m pleased that today’s announcement reflects a top priority of mine to strengthen, modernize, and expand our maritime transportation and ferry network.
For years, we’ve urged the city to better utilize our waterways to ease traffic and expand transportation options for Staten Islanders and Brooklynites. Now, for the first time in decades, the city is one step closer to reconnecting Staten Island and Brooklyn by ferry. If there is enough positive response during the upcoming public comment period, this long-awaited route could become a reality as soon as this winter. When the feedback period opens, we urge Staten Islanders and Brooklynites to weigh in so both boroughs have greater access to reliable and affordable ferries.”
Earlier this year, Malliotakis launched the Bipartisan Congressional Ferry Caucus, aiming to advocate for the needs of communities that rely on ferry transportation, highlight the benefits of ferry systems, and secure long-term federal investments to strengthen marine operations, shoreside infrastructure, and workforce development.
62 new projects will improve traffic and pedestrian safety
Flashing pedestrian crossing signs in Estevan, a crosswalk in Lampman and streetlights on the Red Earth Cree Nation are among the road safety enhancements that will be delivered using funding provided in the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund’s latest round of grants.
Sixty-two projects in 61 Saskatchewan communities will receive grants, totalling nearly $1.54 million. Grants in this round range from $853 to $100,000.
“The Government of Saskatchewan and SGI are committed to delivering safer roads for everyone in Saskatchewan,” Minister Responsible for SGI Jeremy Harrison said. “This $1.5 million in provincial grants will enable 61 municipalities and First Nations throughout our province to deliver enhancements to traffic safety in their communities.”
The full list of approved projects and grant amounts can be found on SGI’s website.
Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants are awarded to communities twice a year, using proceeds from photo speed enforcement. A total of $14.55 million has been awarded to 918 projects in Saskatchewan since the program was established in 2019.
Eligible projects must focus on one or more of these traffic safety priorities: speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, occupant protection, intersection safety, aggressive driving, vulnerable road users or medically-at-risk drivers.
Applications are reviewed by a committee made up of representatives from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Prince Albert Grand Council, the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Highways and SGI.
Applications are now being accepted for the next round of funding. The deadline for applications is Sept. 30, 2025. For more information and for the full list of approved projects, visit SGI’s website: https://sgi.sk.ca/community-grants-programs.
62 new projects will improve traffic and pedestrian safety
Flashing pedestrian crossing signs in Estevan, a crosswalk in Lampman and streetlights on the Red Earth Cree Nation are among the road safety enhancements that will be delivered using funding provided in the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund’s latest round of grants.
Sixty-two projects in 61 Saskatchewan communities will receive grants, totalling nearly $1.54 million. Grants in this round range from $853 to $100,000.
“The Government of Saskatchewan and SGI are committed to delivering safer roads for everyone in Saskatchewan,” Minister Responsible for SGI Jeremy Harrison said. “This $1.5 million in provincial grants will enable 61 municipalities and First Nations throughout our province to deliver enhancements to traffic safety in their communities.”
The full list of approved projects and grant amounts can be found on SGI’s website.
Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants are awarded to communities twice a year, using proceeds from photo speed enforcement. A total of $14.55 million has been awarded to 918 projects in Saskatchewan since the program was established in 2019.
Eligible projects must focus on one or more of these traffic safety priorities: speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, occupant protection, intersection safety, aggressive driving, vulnerable road users or medically-at-risk drivers.
Applications are reviewed by a committee made up of representatives from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Prince Albert Grand Council, the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Highways and SGI.
Applications are now being accepted for the next round of funding. The deadline for applications is Sept. 30, 2025. For more information and for the full list of approved projects, visit SGI’s website: https://sgi.sk.ca/community-grants-programs.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17)
In a Letter to President Trump, NOAA Leadership, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Representatives Want Answers to What Contributed to the Deaths of More Than 100 Americans
Representatives Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), and Lloyd Doggett (TX-37) are demanding answers from President Donald Trump, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on why hundreds of Americans were unprepared to evacuate from the deadly Texas floods. In a letter they sent to the current Administration, the representatives are calling for an urgent review of the disaster to determine if staffing shortages, stalled forecasting improvements, or insufficient flood preparedness contributed to the deaths of more than 100 people.
“As someone who has reported on dangerous floods for my neighbors as a meteorologist in my local community, I know how critical it is for NWS meteorologists, local media, and emergency management coordinators to work together seamlessly and quickly to share urgent warnings,” said Congressman Sorensen. “The deadly toll of the flash floods that hit Texas last week beg the question of what went wrong with the warning systems in place and what more could have been done to prevent this tragedy. The Trump Administration’s cuts to NOAA and the NWS are already having a real impact on the accuracy of our nation’s weather forecasting, creating cause for major concern. That is why I am calling on President Trump, NOAA, and the Army Corps of Engineers to undertake a full-scale investigation into what went wrong and what can be done to prevent catastrophes like this in the future.”
“This flood was not just a natural disaster but a failure of foresight and leadership,” said Congresswoman Kaptur. “A changing climate is rewriting the rules of weather, and our federal agencies must keep pace. The American people deserve a weather warning system that does more than sound the alarm. It must be fully staffed and ready to act to ensure that everyone in harms way receives it. This letter is a demand for accountability, but more importantly, it’s a demand for lives to be protected anywhere severe weather strikes.”
“As Texans in my state are faced with much pain and uncertainty, we cannot wait to ask the hard questions,” said Congressman Doggett. “Effective oversight saves lives. That is why we need a full account of the ways in which the Trump administration’s recent actions have undermined the federal response, both before and after this catastrophe. Learning from these failures and recognizing that weather intensification driven by climate change increasingly endangers lives will help prevent more tragedies.”
You can read the full letterHERE.
Since President Trump took office, there has been a 15% reduction in National Weather Service (NWS) staffing that has begun to degrade forecasting capabilities and operational capacity at NWS offices across the country.
As the only meteorologist in Congress, Congressman Sorensen has been a fierce advocate for protecting and strengthening NOAA and the NWS from cuts. Starting last year, he has been warning about the impact of Project 2025’s plans to dismantle and privatize NOAA and the NWS. As the Department of Government Efficiency began making cuts to the agencies, Congressman Sorensen has beenspeaking out,introducing legislation, andcalling onthe Administration to bring a stop to the disastrous cuts. He recently introduced theWeather Workforce Improvement Actto help the NWS fully staff critical positions at their offices and theRural Weather Monitoring Systems Actto help strengthen weather forecasting in rural America.
