Source: US Geological Survey
The Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) makes detailed predictions of storm-induced coastal flooding, erosion, and cliff failures over large geographic scales. CoSMoS was developed for hindcast studies, operational applications and future climate scenarios to provide emergency responders and coastal planners with critical storm-hazards information that can be used to increase public safety…
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Source: US State of Pennsylvania
July 02, 2025 – Newport, PA
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Deputy Secretary John Ryder will visit Little Buffalo State Park in Perry County to highlight the importance of residents taking precautions to prevent Lyme disease and tick bites.
Pennsylvania typically ranks in the top 10 in the country for Lyme disease cases per 100,000 residents. Last year, DOH recorded 16,620 lab-confirmed cases of Lyme disease. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a short course of antibiotics. However, if the infection is left untreated, it can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
WHO:
DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn
DOH Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen
DEP Deputy Secretary for Field Operations John Ryder
WHEN:
Wednesday, July 2, at 11:00 AM
WHERE:
Little Buffalo State Park Amphitheater
(Google Maps Location)
VISUALS:
A tick drag demonstration will occur following the news conference.
MEDIA RSVP:
Media interested in attending should RSVP to werobinson@pa.gov“.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
DAVIDSON, N.C., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ingersoll Rand Inc., (NYSE: IR) a global provider of mission-critical flow creation and life science and industrial solutions, has acquired Termomeccanica Industrial Compressors S.p.A. (“TMIC”) and its subsidiary Adicomp S.p.A. (“Adicomp”) (collectively “TMIC/Adicomp”) with a purchase price of approximately €160 million.
TMIC is an international leader in the design and production of air and gas compressors with over 100 years of experience and innovation. Its subsidiary Adicomp provides engineered-to-order (ETO) solutions in the renewable natural gas (RNG) industry. TMIC/Adicomp are based in Italy, with an existing presence in North America and recent expansion into Brazil and India, and improve the company’s RNG gas-ends and packaging presence. The businesses will join the Industrial Technologies and Services (IT&S) segment.
“TMIC/Adicomp are leading businesses in their respective industries, and today we welcome them to Ingersoll Rand,” said Vicente Reynal, chairman and chief executive officer of Ingersoll Rand. “These companies strengthen our core capabilities and broaden our service offerings, enabling us to deliver greater value to our customers while advancing our long-term growth strategy for shareholders. Additionally, these companies reflect the strength of our M&A flywheel and reaffirm our ability to partner with family-owned businesses on a proprietary basis.”
About Ingersoll Rand Inc.
Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR), driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and ownership mindset, is dedicated to Making Life Better for our employees, customers, shareholders, and planet. Customers lean on us for exceptional performance and durability in mission-critical flow creation and life science and industrial solutions. Supported by over 80+ respected brands, our products and services excel in the most complex and harsh conditions. Our employees develop customers for life through their daily commitment to expertise, productivity, and efficiency. For more information, visit www.IRCO.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to Ingersoll Rand Inc.’s (the “Company” or “Ingersoll Rand”) expectations regarding the performance of its business, its financial results, its liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “target,” “endeavor,” “seek,” “predict,” “intend,” “strategy,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “on track to,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “guidance” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than historical facts are forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on Ingersoll Rand’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from these current expectations. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The inclusion of such statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include, among others, (1) adverse impact on our operations and financial performance due to natural disaster, catastrophe, global pandemics (including COVID-19), geopolitical tensions, cyber events, or other events outside of our control; (2) unexpected costs, charges, or expenses resulting from completed and proposed business combinations; (3) uncertainty of the expected financial performance of the Company; (4) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of completed and proposed business combinations; (5) the ability of the Company to implement its business strategy; (6) difficulties and delays in achieving revenue and cost synergies; (7) inability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel; (8) evolving legal, regulatory, and tax regimes; (9) changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions; (10) actions by third parties, including government agencies; and (11) other risk factors detailed in Ingersoll Rand’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as such factors may be updated from time to time in its periodic filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive.
Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Ingersoll Rand undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or development, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) stood up for New Mexico families by voting against Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation that funds Republicans’ tax handouts for billionaires at the expense of working people.
For over 27 hours, Heinrich pushed to amend Republicans’ reconciliation legislation, repeatedly voting to lower costs for families, block cuts to Medicaid, protect rural hospitals in New Mexico, extend tax credits for health care premiums, and prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance.
“The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. The largest transfer of wealth to the rich in American history. The largest cut to food assistance in American history. The largest increase to the national deficit in American history: That’s what this bill represents. And it has one effect — billionaires win, American families lose. It’s a betrayal of working families masquerading as legislation.
“If signed into law, this bill will hike electricity bills, leave tens of millions uninsured, cut food assistance for millions more, shutter hundreds of nursing homes, force rural hospitals to close, and send health insurance premiums soaring. The consequences of this bill will be deadly — and Republicans will own every single one.
“Senate Republicans had a choice: stand with working families or bend to billionaires. They chose greed, cruelty, and a callous disregard for the people they represent. New Mexicans and all Americans will suffer for it. I urge all Americans to raise their voices and call on their elected leaders in the House of Representatives to stop this disaster before it becomes law.”
Last night, Senate Republicans blocked Heinrich’s efforts to:
Fight Increasing Costs
Senate Republicans voted against:
Lowering health care costs for working families and small businesses and ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Protecting food assistance for kids, veterans, and seniors, including 223,000 New Mexicans from losing all or part of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in just the first year this bill is enacted into law.
Preventing cuts to Medicaid that could lead to increased costs for people with private insurance.
Increasing the Child Tax Credit by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Lower energy prices for families and small businesses by preserving the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits.
Providing permanent tax relief for overtime wages for working class Americans.
Protect families and small businesses from cost increases by ending the trade war with Canada.
Preventing any policy changes that raise the cost of electricity prices.
Protect Rural Hospitals
Senate Republicans voted against:
Preventing rural hospitals from closing, converting, reducing, or stopping services, including emergency care, mental health care, and labor and delivery services.
As a result, this bill could cause 6 to 8 rural hospitals to close in New Mexico, according to the New Mexico Hospital Association.
Protect Medicaid
Senate Republicans voted against:
Stopping cuts to Medicaid and preventing over 90,000 New Mexicans from losing their coverage within the first year alone.
Stopping cuts to Medicaid that put 4 four nursing homes in New Mexico at risk of closure.
Stopping cuts to Medicaid that help fund substance use disorder treatment.
Protecting millions of Americans from losing their health care as a result of new administrative burdens and paperwork requirements.
Extending the health care premium tax credits created in the Affordable Care Act to prevent millions of people from losing health insurance.
Keeping labor and delivery units open by stopping cuts to Medicaid that fund 40% of births nationwide and nearly 50% of births in rural communities.
Ensuring access to reproductive care — including cancer screenings and birth control – by keeping Planned Parenthood funded.
Expanding Medicaid to cover dental, vision, and hearing and to cut the price of prescription drugs under Medicare in half.
Protect Our National Security
Senate Republicans voted against:
The financial, health, and well-being of our nation’s veterans by prohibiting any federal agency from carrying out mass firings of veterans.
Prioritize Working Families Over Billionaires
Senate Republicans voted against:
Preventing tax handouts for people making over $10 million a year.
Preventing tax handouts for people and corporations making over $100 million a year.
Preventing tax handouts for people making over $500 million a year.
Preventing tax handouts for people making over $1 billion a year.
Preventing tax handouts for corporations making over $1 billion a year.
Preventing more than $37 trillion from being added to the debt in 30 years—more debt than has accumulated over the past 249 years.
Below is a list of amendments that Heinrich filed to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people:
Amendment to stop a new burdensome requirement that could strip health care from 64,000 New Mexicans on Medicaid.
Amendment to stop a $268 million cost shift that could force New Mexico to cut SNAP benefits and kick families off their food assistance.
Amendment to protect food assistance for hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans by stopping harsh, burdensome work requirements that would cut SNAP benefits for families, including 39,790 New Mexicans who could lose their benefits altogether.
Amendment to expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing and cut prescription drug prices under Medicare by 50%.
Amendment to ensure no increase in cost for middle class families or individuals using Medicaid, CHIP, or private insurance marketplaces established by the ACA.
Amendment to lower student loan payments by blocking a plan to force borrowers into a more expensive repayment option.
Amendment to protect students from losing their Pell Grants to cover the cost of rising tuition costs.
Amendment to protect a tax credit that helps families keep energy costs low by incentivizing clean energy upgrades like installing home heat pumps.
Amendment to protect a tax credit that helps families save on energy bills and make their homes more comfortable and energy efficient.
Amendment to protect a tax credit that incentivizes developers and home builders to build energy-efficient homes.
Amendment to remove a provision in the bill that bars workers providing Medicaid home- and community-based services from obtaining job-based health insurance, retirement benefits, skills training, and the option to have a voice on the job through a union.
Amendment to save the Inflation Reduction Act’s EPA Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles grant program that makes our air cleaner, improves public health, spurs important energy and fuel savings for public school districts, and creates high-quality jobs.
Amendment to protect funding for air pollution reductions, greenhouse gas corporate reporting, methane emissions and waste reduction, environmental and climate justice block grants.
Amendment to protect the $7,500 clean vehicle tax credit to help Americans with the upfront cost of electric vehicles.
Amendment to provide $200 million in economic assistance for facilities and businesses harmed by the New World screwworm outbreak.
Amendment to provide $500 million to combat the spread of and eradicate the New World screwworm through surveillance, training, biosecurity, research, and the construction of sterile fly production and dispersal facilities.
Amendment to protect mixed-status families by removing unjust new vetting rules that discourage adults from sponsoring unaccompanied children in need of care.
Amendment to eliminate $2 billion in wasteful spending for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would fund unjust, extreme immigration enforcement measures that target vulnerable migrants and expand deportation efforts.
Amendment to block nearly $30 billion from funding U.S. Immigration and Customs’ (ICE) extreme and unconstitutional immigration enforcement agenda.
Amendment to stop steep new immigration fees that would block immigrants from applying for legal status and push more strain onto New Mexico border communities and law enforcement.
Amendment to stop $46 billion in wasteful spending on President Trump’s border wall, which bypasses environmental regulations and threatens important wildlife habitats for dozens of endangered species, including Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona.
Amendment to shift funding away from unproductive, invasive background checks on immigrant families and instead invest in child welfare professionals at DHS to ensure unaccompanied kids receive safe, supportive care.
Amendment to ban the President, Vice President, Senate-appointed Executive Branch Officials, Members of Congress, Special Government Employees, and their spouses and children from directly or indirectly issuing or profiting from cryptocurrencies.
Below is a total list of amendments that Heinrich filed in his capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people:
Amendment to ensure meaningful Tribal consultation occurs on federal oil and gas leasing projects.
Amendment that decouples Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) oil and gas leasing from renewable energy approvals.
Amendment to protect clean energy manufacturing jobs.
Amendment striking metallurgical coal from 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit, which has no phase out.
Amendment prohibiting companies from receiving a royalty rate reduction authorized under OBBB if the price of oil rises above the price at the time of enactment, protecting taxpayers from high oil prices and pain at the pump.
Amendment to strike provisions that would increase electricity prices on American households and force a debate on how OBBB raises costs.
Amendment to strike the new Loan Program Office (LPO) title named “Energy Dominance Financing, which will give $1 billion to fund only coal, oil and gas projects, instead of opening financing to cleaner, cheaper energy options.
Amendment reserving $100 million for Tribal Energy Projects from the $1 billion provided for “Energy Dominance Financing” program.
Amendment to strike $1 billion from “Energy Dominance Financing,” which primarily finance coal, oil, and gas projects.
Amendment grandfathering LPO pipeline projects in “Energy Dominance Financing,” ensuring that projects currently in LPO’s pipeline are still considered under the new program.
Amendment eliminating Inflation Reduction Act recissions.
Amendment to strike provision that expands oil and gas leasing in the National Preserve in Alaska, to protect Alaskan lands from additional leases.
In February, Heinrich attempted to amend Republicans’ resolution by offering an amendment to reinstate blocked grants for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and ensure law enforcement can hold predators and abusers accountable. Republicans voted against his amendment. Watch Heinrich’s video here.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
Published: 07.01.2025
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on Senate passage of Congressional Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill:
“I’m deeply disappointed that my Republican colleagues passed a bill that will rip away health care and food assistance for millions of Americans, spike health care premiums and increase energy costs for millions more, all so that the President can cut taxes for the ultra wealthy. What’s worse, they’re doing it on the backs of hardworking American families – making life even more expensive for the middle class to benefit the richest among us, all while driving our national debt through the roof.
“Americans want, expect and deserve elected representatives who work side-by-side to deliver solutions to the challenges they’re facing. This disaster of a bill does the exact opposite. When my Republican colleagues were scrambling to find support for their big betrayal, the President encouraged them to ‘close your eyes and get there.’ That’s no way to govern – and I can assure President Trump that Granite Staters’ eyes are wide open as we continue calling attention to each and every outrageous provision Washington Republicans crammed into this bill.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
(Washington, DC) – During the Senate “Vote-A-Rama” on Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill,” U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, forced a vote on an amendment to preserve four longstanding bipartisan consumer energy efficiency and clean energy tax credits that lower energy costs for families, make housing more affordable, protect American jobs and help give businesses the certainty they need to thrive. All but two Senate Republicans—Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)—voted to block Shaheen’s amendment. Click here to watch Shaheen’s remarks on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.
“A vote for this amendment is a vote to make energy and housing more affordable and support American jobs and businesses,” said Senator Shaheen. “Last year, these credits helped build 350,000 new efficient homes that save families about $450 a year on energy. […] These credits create good jobs in a sector that is growing at twice the rate of jobs in the overall economy. If we vote to adopt this amendment, we can keep that job creation going.”
Shaheen’s amendment would have kept four bipartisan tax incentives—the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, the Residential Clean Energy Credit, the New Energy Efficient Home Credit and the Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction—as they are in current law, preventing the Republican megabill from jacking up costs for middle-class families.
Shaheen leads legislative action in the U.S. Senate to support energy efficiency projects and initiatives. Last month, Shaheen pushed back on the Trump administration’s plans to scrap the Energy Star Program, which helps Americans save on energy costs.
Shaheen was a lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided an approximately $6 billion investment in energy efficiency, including funding for residential, municipal, industrial and federal entities to implement efficiency upgrades based upon her longstanding bipartisan legislation with former U.S. Senator Rob Portman.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement:
“Moving the FBI from the Hoover Building to the Reagan Building isn’t a plan, it’s a punt. For years, Democratic and Republican administrations alike have agreed on the need for a secure, purpose-built headquarters that actually meets the FBI’s mission needs. This announcement brushes aside years of careful planning, ignores the recommendations of security and mission experts, and raises serious concerns about how this decision was made. Unfortunately, it fits a broader pattern from this administration — one marked by indiscriminate firings, canceled leases, and a general disregard for the federal workforce.
“The law enforcement and intelligence professionals of the FBI deserve more than a hasty, improvised approach. They deserve a facility that matches the gravity of their work to keep Americans safe.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released internal Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) emails revealing the FBI suppressed intelligence of alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election to insulate then-FBI Director Christopher Wray from criticism, after Wray provided inaccurate and contradictory testimony to Congress.
The FBI declassified and provided the requested records to Grassley, along with an accompanying cover letter, after Grassley initially received some information from whistleblower disclosures. The FBI emails offer an inside look at the Bureau’s decision to recall and suppress an Intelligence Information Report (IIR) from the FBI’s Albany Field Office on September 25, 2020. The IIR contained information from an FBI Confidential Human Source (CHS) alleging the Chinese government was producing “tens of thousands” of fraudulent drivers’ licenses to manufacture mail-in votes for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
According to the FBI, these allegations, despite showing initial signs of credibility, were allegedly never fully investigated due to the FBI’s sudden and “abnormal” decision to halt the investigation and bury the IIR’s existence, preventing any additional FBI field offices, as well as other Intelligence Community elements, from accessing or studying the document. The FBI’s stated reason for doing so was because “the reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony.”
“These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution. Ahead of a high-stakes election happening amid an unprecedented global pandemic, the FBI turned its back on its national security mission,” Grassley said. “One way or the other, intelligence must be fully investigated to determine whether it’s true, or if it’s just smoke and mirrors. Chris Wray’s FBI wasn’t looking out for the American people – it was looking to save its own image. Now’s the time to rebuild the FBI’s trust. Director Patel’s willingness to work with me to establish renewed transparency and accountability is a critical part of that process, and I applaud him for his efforts.”
Political ReasoningFollowing the IIR’s recall, an FBI Albany intelligence analyst summarized the concerning series of events that led to the suppression:
“Most concerning to me, is stating the reporting would contradict with Director Wray’s testimony. I found this troubling because it implied to me that one of the reasons we aren’t putting this out is for a political reason, which goes directly against our organization’s mission to remain apolitical and simply state what we know. Likewise, at the field operational level, I do not feel it is our job to assess whether or not our intelligence aligns with the Director…. My concern is that I think it gets dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out our information.”
Source CredibilityAn FBI Albany official noted “the IIR was coordinated and disseminated in textbook fashion.” Further, a re-interview of the FBI CHS yielded additional context that supported the initial IIR’s findings. An FBI Albany official described the CHS as “competent” and “authentic in his/her reporting.” The CHS described the confidence in his/her sub-sourcing as a “9-10 range. [V]ery, very confident.”
Decision for RecallAccording to an Assistant Section Chief in the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, the IIR immediately generated “a lot of attention from all [Headquarter] divisions.”
Upon receiving the IIR, an FBI Albany official stated, “We have no reason to recall at this point.” Minutes later, the Albany Field Office was commanded to recall the IIR at the direct request of officials at FBI Headquarters, including Nikki Floris, then-Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. Months before dismissing the IIR, Floris provided an unnecessary briefing to Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) regarding their investigation into the Biden family. The briefing – though classified – was later leaked to the press in an effort to falsely smear the senators’ investigation as Russian disinformation.
Following the IIR’s recall, FBI Headquarters informed field offices that “all raw reporting concerning the election will now require [Headquarters] coordination,” which had not been previously required.
Contradictory TestimonyDuring sworn testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) on September 24, 2020, Wray stated:
“I think what I would say is this: We take all election-related threats seriously, whether it is voter fraud, voter suppression, whether it is in person, whether it is by mail. And our role is to investigate the threat actors. Now, we have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it is by mail or otherwise… [B]ut people should make no mistake we are vigilant as to the threat and watching it carefully, because we are in uncharted new territory.”
Wray doubled down on his assertion in response to further questioning from HSGAC Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
Peters: “Right, but your answer is clear. You have not seen any widespread fraud by mail. It is something the FBI watches continuously to make sure that that is not happening.”
Wray: “That is something that we would investigate seriously.”
Peters: “Absolutely.”
Wray: “And aggressively.”
FITF-China Prevents Further Follow-upOn October 8, 2020, an official with the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF)-China division confirmed FITF-China had still not approved a reissue of the IIR. Despite FITF-China offering to “discuss next steps” for the IIR, the FBI on June 27, 2025 confirmed to Grassley that they had “found no information to indicate that FITF-China aggressively investigated the reported information, despite corroborating intergovernmental reporting and logical investigative leads.”
Wray established FITF with the stated goal to “identify and counteract malign foreign influence operations targeting the United States.” Grassley called the Trump administration’s recent decision to close FITF “a positive step, given what the task force had been twisted into,” noting specifically its conduct against his and Senator Johnson’s Biden family investigation.
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US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today voted to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to protect Iowans from being hit with the largest tax increase in history and provide historic investments in border security and law enforcement. The legislation will now receive a vote in the House of Representatives before heading to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
“In November, Americans gave President Trump a mandate to fix the economy and secure the border. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act delivers a resounding victory for the American people, enacting the America First policies that President Trump and congressional Republicans promised. Together, we’re preventing the largest tax increase in the history of our country and giving relief to the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. As a lifelong family farmer, I’m proud our bill will also deliver a modernized farm safety net that gives Iowa farmers the certainty they need,” Grassley said.
“As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I oversaw the bill’s measures to make monumental investments in our immigration system, border security and law enforcement. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will provide safety and prosperity for American families for generations, and I urge my colleagues in the House to quickly get this bill to the President’s desk,” Grassley continued.
Background:
This legislation prevents a more than $4 trillion tax hike on American families and workers by making the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, ahead of their previously projected expiration on December 31, 2025. Moreover, it further reduces their taxes by increasing the child tax credit, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime and providing additional tax relief to seniors.
It also updates the farm safety net to provide family farmers certainty, so they can continue producing crops to feed and fuel America and the world.
The legislation includes many additional wins for Iowa, such as an extension and reforms to the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit that puts farmers first by eliminating subsidies for foreign feedstocks. It also provides relief to help small biodiesel plants in Iowa get back up and running. Grassley secured an important victory for the wind and solar industries by getting the creation of a punitive new tax on wind and solar stricken from the bill.
In his capacity as Judiciary Chairman, Grassley spearheaded large portions of the legislation that strengthen America’s border security and immigration system and support law enforcement.
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US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
07.01.25
WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today helped secure passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, legislation to provide permanent tax relief for American families and small businesses, while delivering on key promises, including:
At the same time, the legislation finds savings of $1.6 trillion through common sense reforms and reducing waste, fraud and abuse, ultimately reducing the deficit by $507 billion.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill will provide permanent tax relief, ensuring that Americans can keep more of their hard-earned dollars,” said Hoeven. “This legislation delivers on promises made by President Trump, including securing the border, investing in our military, empowering American energy dominance and supporting our farmers and ranchers. These are the priorities that will make our nation more prosperous and more secure.”
Tax Relief for Families and Small Businesses
The legislation permanently extends current individual tax rates and bracket changes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preserving $2.6 trillion in tax breaks for those earning under $400,000 per year, and preventing a $1,700 tax hike on the average family of four.
The bill provides new and expanded tax deductions and credits for individuals, families and seniors, including:
The legislation helps small businesses, including agricultural producers and manufacturers invest in their operations by:
Support for Farmers and Ranchers
The legislation provides strong support for the nation’s farmers and ranchers, and improves the farm-safety net to meet today’s markets and input costs by:
Unleashing U.S. Energy Dominance
The One Big Beautiful Bill will help restore American energy dominance by rolling back burdensome Green New Deal policies and empowering domestic energy production, including:
Bolstering the Military
Securing the Border
Supporting Water Infrastructure
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Idaho James E Risch
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today released the following statement on advancing President Trump’s America First agenda through the passage of the Senate budget reconciliation bill.
“The American people gave us a mandate—secure the border, make the Trump tax cuts permanent, dismantle the Green New Deal, and address wasteful spending. While no bill is perfect, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill delivers on these priorities and provides working Americans with the largest tax cut in history,” said Risch.“Congress is not done tackling out-of-control spending. I remain committed to reining in the national debt and ending the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
Key achievements of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill include:
Cutting $1.6 trillion in federal spending;
Providing the largest tax relief in U.S. history for working Idahoans and making the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent;
Directing historic funding to secure the southern border, finish border wall construction, and strengthen immigration enforcement;
Protecting Idaho’s public lands from being sold to the highest bidder;
Repealing Green New Deal subsidies for unreliable, intermittent renewable wind and solar and preventing Idaho tax dollars from bankrolling unwanted projects like Lava Ridge;
Modernizing and extending Farm Bill safety net programs to support Idaho farmers and ranchers;
Preserving Medicaid for vulnerable Americans by enacting common-sense reforms that prioritize resources for those who need care;
Eliminating taxes on most firearms under the National Firearms Act, including suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns; and
Enhancing national security through investments in servicemember quality of life, Golden Dome for America, and military procurement.
Source: United Nations 4
On Monday afternoon, 16 June, the Secretary-General travelled to Canada, where he was invited to take part in an outreach session of the G7 leaders summit in Kananaskis, in the province of Alberta.
On Monday evening, in Calgary, the Secretary-General attended a dinner organized for the outreach leaders by the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon.
On Tuesday, the Secretary-General travelled to Kananaskis, where he took part in a discussion titled “Energy security: diversification, technology and investment to ensure access and affordability in a changing world”. This session included G7 leaders, as well as other leaders invited to the outreach segment of the summit.
The session was closed, but in his remarks, the Secretary-General emphasized that energy security is no longer just about barrels and pipelines. It is about renewable energy and united action to support accessibility, affordability and supercharge sustainable development.
Throughout the day, the Secretary-General had informal meetings with leaders attending the summit and discussed a broad range of topics, including the situation in the Middle East.
On Wednesday morning, 18 June, the Secretary-General travelled back to New York.
Source: Securities and Exchange Commission
As part of an effort to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets,[1] the Division of Corporation Finance is providing its views[2] on the application of certain disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws to offerings and registrations of securities by issuers of crypto asset exchange-traded products (“crypto asset ETPs”). Crypto asset ETPs are investment products that are listed and traded on national securities exchanges. They are typically structured as trusts that hold assets which consist of spot crypto assets or derivative instruments that reference crypto assets. These trusts are issuers of securities who must register their offerings and classes of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), respectively. Issuers of crypto asset ETPs[3] are also subject to the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. However, the crypto asset ETPs addressed in this statement are not registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940.[4]
The disclosures required in connection with offerings and registrations under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and promote fair, orderly, and efficient markets. In recent years, issuers have registered offerings of crypto asset ETPs under the Securities Act and registered classes of these securities under the Exchange Act. This statement reflects our observations regarding disclosure practices in our reviews of crypto asset ETP filings. It also addresses our views about certain specific questions that market participants have presented to the staff. While disclosures should be based on an issuer’s specific facts and circumstances, we believe that issuers may benefit from the identification of common issues we have observed during our reviews.
This statement addresses our views about certain disclosure requirements set forth in Regulation S-K and Regulation S-X as they apply to Securities Act registration forms (such as Form S-1). This statement does not address all material disclosure items, and the disclosure topics addressed below may not be relevant for all issuers. Each issuer should consider its own facts and circumstances when preparing its disclosures. Each issuer also should consider whether it is permitted to provide “scaled disclosure” with respect to any applicable disclosure requirements.[5] Moreover, issuers should note that disclosure is not required where a particular disclosure requirement is not applicable.[6]
SEC rules require issuers to provide information on the outside front cover page of the prospectus related to the offering, including the offering price of the securities, the nature of any underwriting arrangements and the name(s) of the underwriter(s).[7] Crypto asset ETPs are required to disclose on the cover page the initial offering price of the securities. We have observed cover page disclosure identifying the initial authorized participant (“AP”)[8] or the initial purchaser as a statutory underwriter.
Prospectus Summary
SEC rules require issuers to provide a summary in plain English of the information in the prospectus where the length or complexity of the prospectus makes a summary useful.[9] In this summary, we have observed issuers that have identified those aspects of the offering that are the most significant and highlighted those points in clear, plain language, avoiding merely repeating the text of the prospectus.[10] Examples of disclosure we have observed in the prospectus summary include:
Risk Factors
SEC rules require a discussion of the material factors that make an investment in the issuer and product speculative or risky.[11] The content and scope of an issuer’s risk disclosure will depend on the nature of the security, the issuer’s business, the underlying crypto asset(s), the tracking index or benchmark, and, if material, may include factors such as the characteristics of the security, limited rights of holders, insurance coverage, valuation and liquidity risks, technological risks, cybersecurity risks, and legal, regulatory and tax risks. Discussion of risks that could apply generically to any issuer is discouraged.[12] The following are examples of risks that have been disclosed:
Description of Business
The Trust, Crypto Asset Prices, and Calculation of NAV
SEC rules require issuers to provide a narrative description of the material aspects of their business.[13] Crypto asset ETPs generally provide disclosure regarding the trust’s assets, including the characteristics of the underlying crypto asset(s), and describe the applicable index or benchmark methodology, as well as the methodology to calculate net asset value (“NAV”).[14] Disclosure should be presented in clear, concise, and understandable language, without overly relying on technical terminology or jargon.[15] For example, to the extent applicable, we have observed disclosure that:
Underlying Crypto Asset(s) and Associated Network(s)
Index or Benchmark
Calculation of NAV
The Trust’s Service Providers, Custody of the Trust’s Assets, and Fees and Expenses
SEC rules require disclosure of information material to an understanding of the issuer’s business,[16] which may include the extent to which the issuer’s business is materially reliant on third parties. Issuers generally rely on the services of a sponsor and several third-party service providers, including one or more crypto asset custodians. Issuers generally pay a fee to the sponsor of the trust that typically covers the issuer’s operating expenses. Issuers generally disclose the various fees and expenses payable to the sponsor and third-party service providers. Additionally, issuers are required to file as exhibits to the registration statement material contracts not made in the ordinary course of their business, or in the case of ordinary course contracts, those on which they are substantially dependent, except where immaterial in amount or significance.[17] In this regard, we have observed issuers providing the following to the extent applicable:
The Trust’s Service Providers
Custody of the Trust’s Assets
Fees and Expenses
Description of Securities
SEC rules require a description of the issuer’s securities.[18] In describing the securities offered by the trust, issuers are required to disclose the circumstances under which shareholders have voting rights.[19] Examples of disclosure we have observed in this context include the following:
Plan of Distribution
SEC rules require disclosure of the plan of distribution of securities offered and sold in a registered offering.[20] Additionally, issuers conducting delayed or continuous offerings under Securities Act Rule 415 undertake to include in a post-effective amendment to the registration statement material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed or any material change to that information included in the effective registration statement.[21] Among other information, issuers have provided the following information regarding the plan of distribution:
Directors, Executive Officers, and Significant Employees
Management
SEC rules require disclosure of information relating to the identity and experience of those entrusted with the management of the issuer, including executive officers, directors, and certain significant employees who make (or are expected to make) a significant contribution to the issuer’s business.[22] SEC rules also require such disclosure for persons who do not hold formal titles or positions as executive officers or directors but who perform policy-making functions typically performed by executive officers or perform similar functions as directors.[23] Crypto asset ETPs typically have a sponsor whose directors and executive officers perform functions similar to a board of directors and executive officers for the trust. To the extent that a sponsor performs policy-making functions, disclosure has been provided with respect to the directors, executive officers, or other employees of the sponsor performing such functions. Although disclosure regarding executive compensation of the issuer would not be applicable in this situation,[24] we have observed disclosure of the fees paid to the sponsor or third party for performing such functions, as discussed in “The Trust’s Service Providers, Custody of the Trust’s Assets, and Fees and Expenses” above.[25]
Conflicts of Interest
SEC rules require disclosure of material information about transactions with related persons and policies and procedures related to the review, approval, or ratification of transactions with related persons.[26] Issuers have disclosed existing and potential conflicts of interest between the sponsor and its affiliates and the trust, including the following:
Financial Statements
We have observed that some issuers are organized as statutory trusts or limited partnerships that are registering the offer and sale of beneficial units or limited partnership interests in multiple series. In these instances, for purposes of SEC reporting, the staff has taken the position that the trust or partnership should be treated as the sole registrant, not the individual series.[27] However, the staff has also taken the position that in addition to providing financial statements of the trust or partnership, issuers should provide separate financial statements of each individual series. Issuers have separately provided, prepared, or evaluated, as applicable, the following for the sole registrant and for each series:
Filing Fee Tables
Issuers electing to register the offering of an indeterminate number of exchange-traded vehicle securities[28] in reliance on Securities Act Rules 456(d) and 457(u) should be aware that the EDGAR fee tag for “Type of payment” is “2” and the EDGAR “Security type” is “Exchange-Traded Vehicle Securities.” Failure to include these tags may prevent the issuer from being able to file a form of prospectus under Securities Act Rule 424(i) and pay its registration fee not later than 90 days after the end of any fiscal year during which it has publicly offered securities.
Contacting the Division
The Division welcomes questions about the application of the SEC’s disclosure rules to offerings and registrations of crypto asset ETPs, as well as any ongoing reporting obligations. We also welcome requests for other assistance (including requests for interpretive or no-action letters) relating to these issues and questions. Information about how to contact the Division is available on our website.[29]
[1] For purposes of this statement, a “crypto asset” is an asset that is generated, issued, and/or transferred using a blockchain or similar distributed ledger technology network (“crypto network”), including, but not limited to, assets known as “tokens,” “digital assets,” “virtual currencies,” and “coins,” and that relies on cryptographic protocols. References in this statement to “network” refer to a crypto network, and references to “application” refer to an application running on such a crypto network.
[2] This statement represents the views of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”). It is not a rule, regulation, exemption, guidance, or statement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”), and the Commission has neither approved nor disapproved its content. This statement, like all staff statements, has no legal force or effect: it does not alter or amend applicable law, and it creates no new or additional obligations for any person.
[3] For brevity, we refer to crypto asset ETP issuers as “issuers” in this statement.
[4] As a result, these crypto asset ETPs are not subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940, such as the legal requirements related to valuation and custody of fund assets.
[5] Scaled disclosure refers to disclosure accommodations that the federal securities laws sometimes provide for smaller or newly public companies, such as smaller reporting companies, non-accelerated filers, or emerging growth companies. These accommodations apply to a qualifying company’s registered offerings and its ongoing public company reporting. Scaled disclosure permits these companies to provide less extensive disclosure than other companies.
[6] See, e.g., Rule 404(c) under the Securities Act and General Instruction II.B. of Form S-1. For example, disclosure regarding properties only is required where issuers have material physical properties. See Item 102 of Regulation S-K.
[7] See Item 501(b) of Regulation S-K.
[8] APs are financial intermediaries that provide liquidity for crypto asset ETPs by facilitating the creation and redemption of shares (often referred to as creation and redemption units or creation and redemption baskets). APs place orders to create and redeem baskets.
[9] See Item 503 of Regulation S-K.
[10] See Instruction to paragraph 503(a) of Item 503 of Regulation S-K.
[11] See Item 105 of Regulation S-K.
[13] See Item 101 of Regulation S-K.
[14] NAV of a crypto asset ETP is the trust’s total assets minus its total liabilities.
[15] See Securities Act Rule 421(b).
[16] See, e.g., Items 101(c) and 101(h) of Regulation S-K.
[17] See Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K.
[18] See Item 202 of Regulation S-K.
[19] See Item 202(d) of Regulation S-K.
[20] See Item 508 of Regulation S-K.
[21] See Securities Act Rule 415(a)(3); Item 512(a)(1) of Regulation S-K; and Part II, Item 17 to Form S-1 and Part II, Item 17 to Form S-3.
[22] See Item 401 of Regulation S-K.
[23] See Securities Act Rule 405. Disclosure is not required where a particular disclosure requirement is not applicable, or the issuer otherwise does not have responsive information. For example, crypto asset ETPs do not have a board of directors and, therefore, do not provide disclosure regarding members of a board of directors.
[24] See Item 402 of Regulation S-K.
[25] See Item 404 of Regulation S-K.
[26] See Item 404 of Regulation S-K.
[27] See Securities Act Sections Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations, Question 104.01. Compliance and disclosure interpretations reflect the views of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance. They are not rules, regulations, or statements of the Commission. The Commission has neither approved nor disapproved these interpretations.
Source: US State of Vermont
Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott announced action on the following bill, passed by the General Assembly.
On July 1, Governor Scott signed a bill of the following title:
To view a complete list of action on bills passed during the 2025 legislative session, click here.
###
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology
The beginning of the financial year means for the first time in Australia the public will see previously unreleased tax reports produced by multinational taxpayers.
These documents, known as country-by-country reports, or CbCR for short, contain information about the tax practices of large Australian businesses and foreign businesses operating in Australia. This information, previously only available to the taxpayer and the Australian Tax Office, will be made public.
Country-by-country reports, announced in the October 2022-2023 budget, were introduced with other measures designed to improve corporate tax behaviour. The reports will be released from this week as part of corporate reporting practices. Multinationals have 12 months to comply.
Country-by-country reporting forms part of the government’s multinational tax integrity election commitment package. The aim is to ensure a fairer and more sustainable tax system. Large firms will be required to publish a statement on their global activities plus tax information for each jurisdiction in which they operate.
Until now, large multinationals only had to prepare annual consolidated financial statements under international financial reporting standards. The traditional reports aggregate results and provide limited geographic reporting information.
Traditional high-level reporting allows multinationals to conceal their country-level activities. This hides questionable tax practices.
Country-by-country reporting allows us to better see where a multinational operates. More importantly, the amount of activity in each jurisdiction is reported. The information provides clues as to whether artificial profit shifting has occurred.
Anyone interested can uncover details about how multinationals structure their global operations. Information may reveal a misalignment between the company’s real economic presence in a country, the profits they book and taxes they pay in that country.
Country-by-country reporting is not new. It is the requirement that the information be made public that has changed.
Australian firms have been required to provide such reports to the Australian Tax Office since 2016. However, the information has been confidential.
The new public disclosure law brings Australia in line with large firms operating in the European Union which brought in the change last year.
A taxpayer with annual global income above A$1 billion and at least A$10 million of its turnover Australian-sourced will need to produce a report. The obligation to disclose rests with the parent entity no matter where they are located.
Australia’s largest companies, including mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, biotech firm CSL, and investment bank Macquarie Group, will be among those expected to report, as will foreign tech behemoths such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.
These tech giants are the same US firms likely to be excluded from the global minimum tax rules under a G7 agreement reached last week. Under the agreement, US multinationals were exempted from paying more corporate tax overseas. Other G7 members gave in to protect their own companies from the US’s threat of retaliation.
Under the law change in Australia, a parent entity will provide its name, the names of all members of the group, a description of their approach to tax, and information about operations in certain countries. Included on the list are countries that attract multinationals due to reduced tax obligations, such as Singapore, Switzerland, and the Bahamas.
Everyone will be able to see where a multinational is operating. They will also see the types of business activities conducted, number of employees, assets, revenue, and taxes paid. Large profits in a country but little business activity and very few employees may raise questions, especially if a country has a low tax rate.
Access to the extra information will help investors assess the tax and reputational risk of a firm. A multinational that shifts profits to low tax countries may be audited and pay extra tax and penalties.
Increased transparency allows greater scrutiny. In turn, it is hoped multinationals will reduce aggressive tax planning due to potential risk to their reputation.
If multinationals shift less taxable profits out of Australia to low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions, this will lead to Australia receiving a greater share of much needed corporate tax revenue.
Recent academic research on public country-by-country reporting reveals it provides additional information to better identify tax haven activity. However, it does not result in a significant drop in corporate tax avoidance.
Increased tax transparency helps investors and tax authorities to better understand a multinational’s economic and tax geographic footprint. It is also important when it seems that US giants will be excluded from the 15% global minimum tax rules. Transparency by itself, however, does not lead to multinationals paying more corporate taxes.
By its very nature, tax avoidance is legal but pushes the boundaries by going against the spirit of the law. Indeed, many large multinationals argue tax is a legal obligation and is not voluntary. They maintain they pay the tax required of them according to the law.
Undoubtedly, Australia’s new public country-by-country regime is a positive step for tax transparency. As a country initiative, it has been applauded as groundbreaking and world leading. However, it is not a panacea to corporate tax avoidance.
To limit corporate tax avoidance and have multinationals pay more corporate taxes, we must get to the heart of the problem. We must change the law that dictates the way multinationals are taxed.
Kerrie Sadiq currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.
Rodney Brown has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.
– ref. News laws to make it harder for large Australian and foreign companies to avoid paying tax – https://theconversation.com/news-laws-to-make-it-harder-for-large-australian-and-foreign-companies-to-avoid-paying-tax-260004
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology
The beginning of the financial year means for the first time in Australia the public will see previously unreleased tax reports produced by multinational taxpayers.
These documents, known as country-by-country reports, or CbCR for short, contain information about the tax practices of large Australian businesses and foreign businesses operating in Australia. This information, previously only available to the taxpayer and the Australian Tax Office, will be made public.
Country-by-country reports, announced in the October 2022-2023 budget, were introduced with other measures designed to improve corporate tax behaviour. The reports will be released from this week as part of corporate reporting practices. Multinationals have 12 months to comply.
Country-by-country reporting forms part of the government’s multinational tax integrity election commitment package. The aim is to ensure a fairer and more sustainable tax system. Large firms will be required to publish a statement on their global activities plus tax information for each jurisdiction in which they operate.
Until now, large multinationals only had to prepare annual consolidated financial statements under international financial reporting standards. The traditional reports aggregate results and provide limited geographic reporting information.
Traditional high-level reporting allows multinationals to conceal their country-level activities. This hides questionable tax practices.
Country-by-country reporting allows us to better see where a multinational operates. More importantly, the amount of activity in each jurisdiction is reported. The information provides clues as to whether artificial profit shifting has occurred.
Anyone interested can uncover details about how multinationals structure their global operations. Information may reveal a misalignment between the company’s real economic presence in a country, the profits they book and taxes they pay in that country.
Country-by-country reporting is not new. It is the requirement that the information be made public that has changed.
Australian firms have been required to provide such reports to the Australian Tax Office since 2016. However, the information has been confidential.
The new public disclosure law brings Australia in line with large firms operating in the European Union which brought in the change last year.
A taxpayer with annual global income above A$1 billion and at least A$10 million of its turnover Australian-sourced will need to produce a report. The obligation to disclose rests with the parent entity no matter where they are located.
Australia’s largest companies, including mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, biotech firm CSL, and investment bank Macquarie Group, will be among those expected to report, as will foreign tech behemoths such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.
These tech giants are the same US firms likely to be excluded from the global minimum tax rules under a G7 agreement reached last week. Under the agreement, US multinationals were exempted from paying more corporate tax overseas. Other G7 members gave in to protect their own companies from the US’s threat of retaliation.
Under the law change in Australia, a parent entity will provide its name, the names of all members of the group, a description of their approach to tax, and information about operations in certain countries. Included on the list are countries that attract multinationals due to reduced tax obligations, such as Singapore, Switzerland, and the Bahamas.
Everyone will be able to see where a multinational is operating. They will also see the types of business activities conducted, number of employees, assets, revenue, and taxes paid. Large profits in a country but little business activity and very few employees may raise questions, especially if a country has a low tax rate.
Access to the extra information will help investors assess the tax and reputational risk of a firm. A multinational that shifts profits to low tax countries may be audited and pay extra tax and penalties.
Increased transparency allows greater scrutiny. In turn, it is hoped multinationals will reduce aggressive tax planning due to potential risk to their reputation.
If multinationals shift less taxable profits out of Australia to low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions, this will lead to Australia receiving a greater share of much needed corporate tax revenue.
Recent academic research on public country-by-country reporting reveals it provides additional information to better identify tax haven activity. However, it does not result in a significant drop in corporate tax avoidance.
Increased tax transparency helps investors and tax authorities to better understand a multinational’s economic and tax geographic footprint. It is also important when it seems that US giants will be excluded from the 15% global minimum tax rules. Transparency by itself, however, does not lead to multinationals paying more corporate taxes.
By its very nature, tax avoidance is legal but pushes the boundaries by going against the spirit of the law. Indeed, many large multinationals argue tax is a legal obligation and is not voluntary. They maintain they pay the tax required of them according to the law.
Undoubtedly, Australia’s new public country-by-country regime is a positive step for tax transparency. As a country initiative, it has been applauded as groundbreaking and world leading. However, it is not a panacea to corporate tax avoidance.
To limit corporate tax avoidance and have multinationals pay more corporate taxes, we must get to the heart of the problem. We must change the law that dictates the way multinationals are taxed.
Kerrie Sadiq currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.
Rodney Brown has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.
– ref. News laws to make it harder for large Australian and foreign companies to avoid paying tax – https://theconversation.com/news-laws-to-make-it-harder-for-large-australian-and-foreign-companies-to-avoid-paying-tax-260004
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Bui, Assistant Professor of Information and Digital Studies, University of Michigan
When the online review platform Yelp added a “Black-owned” tag in 2020, it boosted the visibility of Black-owned restaurants in Detroit. It also caused their ratings to drop, according to our recent study.
Both local and nonlocal reviewers who showed awareness of a restaurant’s Black ownership rated restaurants 3.03 stars on average. Those who did not acknowledge Black ownership gave a rating of 3.78 stars on average. The tag seems to have caused the average rating to drop by attracting more reviewers who were aware of Black ownership.
Technology companies often introduce new features and tools to influence user behavior and make their platforms more usable.
Although Yelp intended to support Black communities with the Black-owned tag, the design intervention was harmful to Black restaurant owners in Detroit because Yelp failed to consider platform and community-based factors that significantly shape user interactions.
Yelp’s user base is predominantly white, educated and affluent. Making Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants more visible to Yelp users may have amplified cross-cultural interactions and frictions. For example, non-Black users sometimes mentioned “slower” and “rude” service as justifications for lower ratings. Close readings of these reviews hinted at intercultural and communicative clashes.
Even if Black-owned restaurants businesses didn’t select the tag, they appeared in searches for “Black-owned restaurants,” in 2022 when we conducted the study and as recently as 2025. Businesses can remove the “Black-owned” tag, but Yelp doesn’t provide a way for them to opt out of search results.
To examine the local impacts of Yelp’s Black-owned tag, we collected over 250,000 Yelp reviews of Black- and non-Black-owned restaurants in Detroit and Los Angeles.
We identified Black-owned restaurants through community-sourced lists for Detroit and Los Angeles and then generated a random sample for the non-Black-owned restaurants.
We then identified reviews that explicitly noted “Black ownership” for closer analysis.
Detroit’s Black-owned businesses saw a greater loss in business compared with “ownership-unreported” restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means they also potentially had more to gain from the new tag.
We found the awareness of Black ownership on Yelp significantly increased following Yelp’s addition of the Black-owned tag in June 2020. A year after the tag was added, reviews in Detroit mentioned Black ownership 4.3% more often than a year before it was rolled out.
Detroit Black-owned restaurants also saw a small temporary spike in their number of reviews, largely around the time Yelp added the Black-owned tag. At the same time, the restaurants’ average star ratings dropped from 3.91 to 3.88. In contrast, non-Black-owned restaurants’ ratings stayed relatively steady at 3.90.
This metric is an aggregate of all Detroit restaurants’ Yelp reviews over their entire existence, so a .03-star rating change is small but significant.
Even minor changes to star ratings affect the number of diners restaurants attract, their earning potential and the likelihood they will sell out of food.
Adding obstacles in digital platforms serves to reproduce and amplify inequalities these businesses already face, rather than alleviate them. For example, Black-owned businesses have a harder time getting loans and are relatively underrepresented in Michigan as a whole.
These findings may seem surprising given that Detroit is a majority Black city. However, Black users on Yelp are a minority. Keeping in mind the skewed user base of Yelp, we hypothesize the lower reviews for businesses featuring a Black-owned tag reflect existing racial and digital divides in the city.
Generally, our study provides additional evidence that digital interventions are not “one-size-fits-all,” nor is digital visibility inherently positive for all businesses.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.
_This article was updated to clarify how labels are added to profiles.
This research was supported by a research grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Matthew Bui does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Cameron Moy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Detroit restaurants identified as ‘Black-owned’ on Yelp saw a slight drop in business ratings – https://theconversation.com/detroit-restaurants-identified-as-black-owned-on-yelp-saw-a-slight-drop-in-business-ratings-256306
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). The OBBB includes key language authored by Sen. Cruz, including Trump Accounts, the No Tax on Tips Act, and two historic school choice initiatives.
Sen. Cruz said, “Today, we delivered on our promise to the American people to cut taxes, create jobs, support working Americans, and transformationally invest in our children.
“For over a decade, I have led the fight in the U.S. Senate for school choice. Today, the Senate passed my legislation to provide billions of dollars in K–12 scholarships for kids across the nation. This historic investment represents the largest federal school choice program ever passed.
“The OBBB also includes my No Tax on Tips Act to help waiters and waitresses, bartenders, taxi drivers, barbers, and hairdressers all across America. We also mandated the auction of 800 MHz of spectrum, which will enable us to beat China in the race to 6G—resulting in billions in new investments and the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“The Senate also passed my legislation creating Trump Accounts—personal investment accounts for every child in America—which will unleash the power of compound growth and create new generations of capitalists.
“I am also pleased to see the inclusion of our State Border Security Assistance Act, which is crucial for reimbursing the state of Texas for funds spent during the Biden administration’s illegal alien invasion.
“I strongly urge my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to put American families first and retain these vital provisions in the final version of the One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker
WASHINGTON – Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., released the following statement upon the Senate’s passage of the reconcillation bill.
“The Senate-passed reconciliation bill is an investment in the future of the United States. Through this legislation, the Senate secured a down payment on a generational upgrade for our nation’s defense capabilities. Many of the key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be cemented and expanded. This will stimulate the economy and benefit job creators across the country. Additionally, this legislation will help secure the southern border and unleash American energy production. I encourage my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass this bill and deliver on the promises we made to the American people in November.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued the following statement after her vote against passage of the Senate Reconciliation Bill:
“I strongly support extending the tax relief for families and small businesses. My vote against this bill stems primarily from the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes.
“The Medicaid program has been an important health care safety net for nearly 60 years that has helped people in difficult financial circumstances, including people with disabilities, children, seniors, and low-income families. Approximately 400,000 Mainers – nearly a third of the state’s population – depend on this program. Certainly, there are improvements that should be made to the Medicaid system. For example, I support work requirements for able-bodied adults who are not raising young children, who are not caregivers, or attending school. However, a dramatic reduction in future Medicaid funding, an estimated $5.9 billion in Maine over the next 10 years, could threaten not only Mainers’ access to health care, but also the very existence of several of our state’s rural hospitals.
“This bill has additional problems. The tax credits that energy entrepreneurs have relied on should have been gradually phased out so as not to waste the work that has already been put into these innovative new projects and prevent them from being completed. The bill should have also retained incentives for Maine families who choose to install heat pumps and residential solar panels.
“I am pleased that the bill contains a special fund that I proposed to provide some assistance to our rural hospitals, but it is not sufficient to offset the other changes in the Medicaid system. While I continue to support the tax relief I voted for in 2017, I could not support these Medicaid changes and other issues.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
July 01, 2025
Reporting revealed AI program delayed Social Security retirement claims processing by 25 percent
“We are concerned that SSA will make even bigger mistakes in incorporating AI into higher-risk tasks, particularly in roles that could jeopardize Americans’ financial security.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano, demanding answers on the reckless installation of artificial intelligence (AI) into SSA’s phone systems, which have blocked people from accessing their earned Social Security benefits—all while leaving Congress, advocates, and the American people in the dark.
“This lack of communication from your agency undermines its efforts to improve services by sowing chaos and confusion, which breeds distrust in the agency and its leadership,” wrote the senators.
SSA is rushing to incorporate a new AI tool into its national 1-800 number and the phone systems of 1,200 field offices—without having sought input from advocates, Congress, or the American people. SSA made this rash decision just a month after it was forced to abandon its fraud-detection AI chatbot, which slowed claims processing by 25%—and found that fraud is essentially non-existent.
The senators emphasized that the Trump administration failed to develop comprehensive AI policies and follow basic IT guidelines. Under previous SSA Commissioner O’Malley, the agency developed policies that would foster Americans’ trust in SSA’s use of AI.
“As the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the Social Security and SSI programs, we have a responsibility to ensure SSA pays the right benefit amount to the right person at the right time, provides the public with the level of customer service they expect, and is a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, including overseeing SSA’s development and adoption of emerging technology like AI,” concluded the senators.
To further understand how SSA will change its reckless actions of implementing AI systems without consultation, the senators requested answers to the following questions by July 18, 2025:
Please provide a detailed description of the new AI-based chatbot, including how it determines whether it has successfully answered a caller’s questions before hanging up?
What metrics is SSA using to determine whether this AI-based chatbot is successful at improving service delivery at the national 1-800 number?
What metrics did SSA use to evaluate the successes or challenges of this AI-based chatbot before rolling it out nationwide to field offices?
What stakeholders, especially those who represent beneficiaries and employees, were consulted pre- and post-deployment of this AI-based chatbot?
Is SSA planning to procure, develop, or implement any new AI systems this year? If so, please list and provide a detailed description of these AI systems, their expected implementation dates, how they are expected to improve service delivery, and what steps SSA will be taking to prevent disruptions to services during the transition.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Senate Republicans narrowly passed their billionaire-first budget reconciliation bill to gut critical programs, kick 17 million Americans off their health care, explode the debt by over $3.5 trillion, and skyrocket energy costs for Californians:
“Senate Republicans just voted to let President Trump and his billionaire buddies steal from working families in order to cut their own taxes by trillions of dollars.
“Americans are struggling to keep up with rising costs from Trump’s chaotic tariffs. Instead of trying to reduce costs, Senate Republicans have chosen to cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid, kicking 17 million people — including over 2.3 million Californians — off their health insurance. Their votes will cause rural hospitals across the country to close. They’re decimating SNAP nutrition assistance that parents count on to feed their children. And electricity bills will go up while our energy system becomes less reliable.
“One thing is clear: Republicans are voting for this bill knowing full well it will hurt their constituents, all in an effort to please Donald Trump and enrich the billionaire class.”
Overnight, Senator Padilla proposed an amendment to the reconciliation bill to force Republicans to make changes to ensure it would not increase the deficit. Republicans rejected the amendment, highlighting their complete hypocrisy on the national debt. Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill adds more to the debt than the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, and CHIPS and Science Act combined — all to pay for yet another round of tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations.
As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Padilla previously circulated a memorandum outlining Senate Republicans’ hypocritical violation of filibuster rules in order to exploit the expedited reconciliation process while hiding the true cost of their tax bill. Padilla also spoke on the Senate floor against the Republican budget resolution in April, and voted against advancing it in the Senate in both February and April. He condemned House Republicans’ passage of the reconciliation bill in May.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Fox News Op-Ed
Padilla: “The Trump administration wants this spectacle. They want to distract from their failures, while giving them an excuse to push the boundaries of Trump’s power.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, published an op-ed on Fox News’ website where he slammed President Trump and Vice President Vance for creating a militarized spectacle and scapegoating immigrants to distract from their failed and unpopular policies, including their “Big Ugly Bill” that will add trillions to the federal deficit and kick tens of millions of Americans off their health care in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires.
Padilla emphasized that Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines draws them away from important core missions and puts them in an “impossible position” of being “political props.” He also warned about how Trump’s manufactured crisis in Los Angeles sets a dangerous precedent for presidents abusing the military for their own partisan goals, causing chaos to suppress Americans’ fundamental rights.
Key Excerpts:
Senator Padilla has been outspoken in calling out the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and Trump’s misguided deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marine Corps. Padilla recently led the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in demanding that President Trump immediately withdraw all military forces from Los Angeles and cease all threats to deploy the National Guard or active-duty servicemembers to American cities. He and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also demanded answers regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to deploy approximately 700 Marines to Los Angeles. Padilla has spoken at a spotlight hearing and on the Senate floor multiple times to blast President Trump for manufacturing a crisis by launching indiscriminate ICE raids across Los Angeles and deploying the National Guard and active-duty servicemembers to the region. He also joined all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats last month in calling on Chairman Grassley to schedule Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem for a broad oversight hearing for testimony before the committee.
Full text of Senator Padilla’s Fox News op-ed is available here and below:
Fox News Digital: Sen Alex Padilla: JD Vance and Trump personify political theater. And we’re watching their biggest act yet
By U.S. Senator Alex Padilla
Last month, Vice President JD Vance visited Los Angeles.
No, not to better coordinate with local law enforcement frustrated after the dangerous lack of communication coming from the Trump administration as they keep Marines and National Guardsmen in Los Angeles.
Instead, the vice president came to escalate a crisis of President Trump’s own making and to disparage California’s elected officials.
How else would you describe the vice president’s conduct, when three days after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass lifted the curfew downtown and protests were dissipating, he staged a press conference to attack state and local leaders, falsely claiming they had ‘decided to go to war against’ law enforcement.
That’s a far cry from lowering the political temperature. But for this administration, it’s standard operating procedure.
Yet, one thing the vice president said did surprise me. It came when one of his handpicked reporters lobbed yet another softball question, asking for his comment on the string of Democratic lawmakers — myself included — that the Trump administration has handcuffed for speaking out.
‘Well, I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t the theater,’ he said, smirking. ‘That’s what this is: it’s pure political theater.’
Political theater. Huh.
The vice president, my former colleague and the current president of the U.S. Senate intentionally chose to call me ‘Jose’ instead of ‘Alex.’ He knows my name. But sadly, his behavior in June is indicative of a larger trend from this administration.
In 2025, there is no one who personifies political theater better than JD Vance and Donald Trump. In fact, we’re in the middle of their biggest act yet — as they use service members and federal law enforcement in Los Angeles as props to justify their latest power grab.
None of this is new.
Time and time again, when the Trump administration finds itself in hot water, it returns to the same tired playbook: pick a fight to distract people. Scapegoat immigrants. Threaten the use of force. Do whatever you can to create a spectacle and change the news cycle. And as it turns out, just a few short weeks ago, things were going terribly wrong for Donald Trump.
He was facing failures on nearly every front: failing to bring prices down or to secure a wave of trade deals despite his trade adviser’s promise to secure “90 deals in 90 days” Failing to quickly pass his “Big, Beautiful Bill” as allies and adversaries alike began to warn of the trillions of dollars it would add to the federal deficit. And perhaps most embarrassing of all, he was facing a messy public break-up with Elon Musk.
So no, it was no coincidence that at the lowest point of his presidency yet, Donald Trump turned to his break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, federalizing and deploying 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles along with hundreds of Marines.
The Trump administration wants this spectacle. They want to distract from their failures, while giving them an excuse to push the boundaries of Trump’s power.
But this isn’t just about how the Trump administration treats blue states or immigrants. It’s about how they treat our military, too. Anyone who applauds President Trump’s militarization of Los Angeles is also applauding a politician tearing away our service members from critical missions any time the president begins to feel some political pressure. And applauding putting every Guardsman and Marine in an impossible position.
No one enlists to become a political prop.
But to Americans watching from home who still think this doesn’t concern them because they’re not a Californian, not an immigrant, not a Democrat, or not from a military family: think hard about what comes next.
The Trump administration has argued the president alone can deploy the military to put down protests over the wishes of the governor. Of the mayor. Even of local law enforcement.
While you might not care to speak up today, imagine if a Democratic president returns to office and chooses to deploy our military to your state. It doesn’t matter that the overwhelming majority of protestors remain peaceful — one bad actor who chooses to exploit a protest to cause chaos, and the president could militarize your community, too.
In the end, this doesn’t come down to Republican versus Democrat, or Trump and Vance versus Los Angeles. It comes down to the basic question: do you believe that in America, an attack on anyone’s rights is an attack on everyone’s rights?
Or, if you’re like J.D. Vance, are you just here for the show?
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
July 1, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as part of the budget reconciliation process.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver for Nebraska,” said Ricketts. “This legislation will result in increased security, strength, and prosperity for the American people. The bill restores critical pro-growth business provisions and makes them permanent, benefitting Nebraska farming, ranching, and small business. Most of all, this is a win for families in Nebraska—creating a brighter future for our country.”
BACKGROUND:
This legislation is a win for Nebraska families:
Source: US State of Georgia
ATLANTA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today nominated Frank O’Connell for appointment to the Chief Judge position of the newly-created Georgia Tax Court. The Court will bring improved efficiency in the adjudication of tax cases at the state level and was created by a constitutional amendment approved by Georgia voters during the November 2024 election. Pending his confirmation by the Georgia House and Senate Judiciary committees, O’Connell’s four-year term as Chief tax court judge will begin on April 1, 2026.
“Georgia taxpayers deserve leadership at the Department of Revenue that recognizes who they are most accountable to and as commissioner, Frank O’Connell has never forgotten that – serving the people of our state with honor and great work ethic,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “That’s why I’m again asking Frank to serve in a leadership position that will benefit the entire state. Marty and I are confident that with his skills and expertise, he will bring the same level of dedication to this new role.”
“Georgia’s fiscal stability and success is a testament of the great leadership from public servants like Frank O’Connell,” said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. “Commisisoner O’Connell has led the Department of Revenue well and I believe he will continue to be a great leader for Georgia in this new role. I look forward to working with him and seeing his expertise positively impact Georgia’s tax court.”
“Frank O’Connell has served the hardworking taxpayers of our state with integrity and dedication for over two decades,” said House Speaker Jon Burns. “Like our colleagues in the Senate, we look forward to confirming his appointment as Chief Judge of the Georgia Tax Court.”
Frank M. O’Connell currently serves as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Revenue, following his appointment by Governor Kemp to that role in February 2023. O’Connell previously served as Deputy Commissioner and as General Counsel for the Georgia Department of Revenue. He began his 21 years of service with the State of Georgia in the Department of Revenue’s Compliance Division and transferred to what is now the Office of General Counsel as Assistant Director before his appointment as General Counsel.
In his previous role as Deputy Commissioner, O’Connell was responsible for the Tax Operations divisions of Audits, Taxpayer Services, Compliance, and Processing, and the External Operations divisions of Motor Vehicle Tag & Title, Alcohol & Tobacco Regulation, Local Government Services, and Special Investigations. In his role as General Counsel where O’Connell spent most of his DOR career, he oversaw the drafting of legislative bills for the Department’s annual legislative package, the drafting of all DOR tax, alcohol & tobacco, and motor vehicle regulations, and advised the Department on agency contracts, Open Records Act responses, and the application of confidentiality laws protecting taxpayer data.
Prior to joining the Georgia Department of Revenue in 2003, Mr. O’Connell consulted in state and local taxation for ten years at two “Big Four” accounting firms. A member of the Tax Section of the State Bar of Georgia, Mr. O’Connell received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame and his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University.
O’Connell resides in East Cobb with his wife, Shelia.
Source: US State of California
A federal grand jury in Fort Worth, Texas, returned an indictment on June 11, unsealed yesterday, charging four family members with conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing tax returns that sought millions of dollars in false refunds.
The following is according to the indictment: beginning in 2016, David Hunt, of Arlington, Texas, his twin sons Brandon Hunt and Baylon Hunt, also of Arlington, and Brandon and Baylon’s half-brother Corey Burt, of Mississippi, allegedly conspired to file false tax returns in the name of purported trusts that sought over $8.5 million in tax refunds that the trusts were not entitled to receive. Brandon Hunt also filed a false return in his own name. Collectively, the defendants allegedly received over $1 million from the IRS based on those false tax returns.
Brandon and Baylon Hunt also allegedly submitted additional fake documents to the IRS as part of their scheme, including falsified financial instruments and altered money orders. The indictment further alleges that they shared in the proceeds of their fraud by transferring money between themselves. The defendants also allegedly used the refunds to purchase luxury goods, cryptocurrency, and real estate.
Each defendant was charged with conspiracy as well as aiding and assisting in the preparation of tax returns. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. The defendants also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. 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 for Criminal Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Daniel Lipkowitz of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht for the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved projects worth more than $300 million that will protect forests in Papua New Guinea, promote sustainable fisheries in Saint Lucia, and help grow Africa’s Great Green Wall.
The initiatives, designed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), were greenlighted at the 42nd meeting of the GCF Board, held in the Papua New Guinea capital from June 30 to July 3. It represents the highest-value batch of such approvals to date.
“Through sustainable forestry management, fisheries transformation and land restoration, these FAO-designed projects will make a significant difference to the lives and livelihood of these vulnerable communities, especially in the current global context of overlapping and complex crises due to climate extremes and other shocks,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “FAO appreciates the unwavering trust that the GCF and Member Countries place in FAO’s professional capacity to provide the required technical expertise to strengthen resilience and safeguard the livelihoods of the most vulnerable,” he added. “The FAO-GCF partnership continues to be critical for the climate investments in agrifood systems required to deliver science-based concrete solutions to countries and communities where they are needed most, leaving no one behind.”
All three approvals were outcomes of successful FAO-led GCF readiness projects, as well as other long-standing technical collaborations, which unlocked the resources countries needed to pursue more ambitious climate projects.
Papua New Guinea
FAO has supported the country to design a high-impact climate project, within the framework of GCF’s pilot programme for results-based payments, that will direct investments worth $63.4 million into Papua New Guinea’s sustainable forest management activities.
This substantial GCF investment recognizes the Government’s achievements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) during the 2014-2016 period – comparable to taking over 3 million cars off the road for a year.
Funding for the project falls under the initiative known as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), and will support the Government’s efforts to conserve forests and implement the National REDD+ Strategy 2017–2027.
Papua New Guinea has been an advocate for the REDD+ global process since its very inception in 2008. The country has kept forest conservation and reducing emissions from the forest sector high on the national and global agenda including through support from FAO and the UN-REDD programme.
The investments seek to promote a virtuous cycle of emission reductions by promoting agroforestry, sustainable fuelwood and charcoal production, community pole and timber plantations, the restoration of natural forest, and more.
The project will place special emphasis on the social dimension, prompting benefit sharing, encouraging stakeholder engagement, and strengthening both local and national capacities.
Papua New Guinea’s tropical rainforests – of which three-quarters are primary forests – cover 78 percent of the country’s land, making it a global biodiversity hotspot. The forests are home to 191 species of mammals, and 750 species of bird. They also serve as vital carbon sinks, storing large amounts of carbon in above-ground biomass and soil.
Saint Lucia
The FISH-ADAPT project in Saint Lucia, with an investment of $16.7 million, has been designed to reduce the risks that climate change poses to the fishing and aquaculture sectors in this Small Island Developing State located in the eastern Caribbean Sea.
The project aims to transform Saint Lucia’s fisheries sector by making fishing safer and more productive despite a changing climate. It will foster a circular economy to help reduce waste, enhance resource efficiency, and promote livelihood diversification for more resilient communities. Fish value chains and markets will be strengthened; coastal fish grounds and aquaculture systems will become more climate resilient; and fishers will have more diversified incomes.
The initiative will put in place agrifood solutions that build sustainability and resilience to improve efficiency, safety and productivity in the fisheries sector. These include empowering fishers and aquaculture farmers by enhancing access to weather data, upgrading landing sites and promoting sustainable offshore fishing.
Saint Lucia’s geographic position and socio-economic dependence on the fisheries sector make it especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Fisherfolk who rely on the sea for their livelihoods are finding it increasingly difficult to adapt to a changing climate and declining fish stocks. Increased air temperature and changing rainfall patterns have also been affecting inland aquaculture.
Considering these challenges, FISH-ADAPT will target approximately 75,000 beneficiaries – about 41 percent of the population – including marine fishers, sea-moss farmers, fish vendors and processors, and inland aquaculture farmers.
The Sahel
The Scaling-Up Resilience in Africa’s Great Green Wall (SURAGGWA), with an investment of $222 million, will support livelihoods of agropastoral and pastoral communities living in the Sahel’s semi-arid regions, who are extremely vulnerable to climate change.
The initiative is FAO’s first multi-country proposal and the largest funding request ever submitted on behalf of its Member Countries. It builds on the extensive work done by FAO on the Great Green Wall initiative, in particular the Action Against Desertification Programme.
The initiative will seek to scale up successful land restoration practices using a diversity of native species to increase livelihood resilience while also sequestering carbon. It will develop value chains for climate-resilient and low-emission non-timber forest products, supporting the livelihoods and food security of vulnerable communities.
Another key aspect of the project will be to strengthen national and regional Great Green Wall institutions to ensure the sustainability and coordination of interventions and monitoring of restoration results as well as mobilizing additional resources including through climate change adaptation and mitigation financing mechanisms.
The SURAGGWA Programme will advance the African Union’s ambitions to transform Sahelian landscapes by restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land and creating 10 million jobs. Working with smallholder farmers and pastoralist communities, it will also build resilience and contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration in restored lands across the eight participating countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal).
A quarter of the 100 million people who live in the Sahel rely on pastoralist livelihoods. Poverty, social tensions, and climate change put additional strain on herders and farmers who already compete for limited resources and land. Agriculture, livestock and forestry activities are the foundation of their economies and more than 70 per cent of rural communities depend directly on rainfed agriculture.
The FAO–GCF partnership
The new approvals raise FAO’s GCF portfolio to over $1.8 billion, with climate investments delivering sustainable agrifood system solutions to the countries and communities where they are needed most.
You can read more about FAO’s partnership with GCF here.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Source: Government of India
Source: Government of India (4)
Britain’s Jack Draper was handed the prime-time early evening slot to get his Wimbledon campaign up and running and spared his fans any fingernail biting as he eased past Argentina’s injured Sebastian Baez in double quick time on Tuesday.
A dominant Draper was leading 6-2 6-2 2-1 on a boiling Court One when Baez, who hurt his knee earlier in the contest when slipping on the baseline, decided enough was enough with only one hour and 14 minutes on the clock.
Home fans without tickets had parked themselves on the sun-baked hill adjacent to Court One and those watching at home on TV on their sofas for the entrance of world number four Draper.
But on a day when many top men’s seeds withered in the scorching temperatures, 23-year-old Draper dispensed with any drama and got the job done in ruthless fashion.
Left-hander Draper, the highest British seed at Wimbledon since Andy Murray returned as defending champion in 2017, will need all his mental and physical reserves to navigate the pitfalls of Wimbledon under an intense spotlight.
He has been saddled with trying to fill the void left by the retirement of twice champion Murray, and avoiding drawn-out early round matches, the like of which Murray sometimes inflicted on his legion of fans, is no bad thing.
Although, speaking on court, Draper said he would have perhaps preferred a slightly tougher test.
“I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty. It is no way to win like that and I wish Sebastian the best in his recovery of course,” Draper, who has rocketed up the rankings after reaching the U.S. Open semi-final last year, said.
Draper will have a much sterner test in the next round when he faces big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic, a player who won the U.S. Open and also reached a Wimbledon final.
He is also seeded to meet seven-times champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Asked how he is coping with the weight of expectation on his broad shoulders, Draper said: “I don’t think about it until people mention it every five minutes! I just think about what I can control and play the best tennis I can.
“I have to face whoever is in front of me, I can’t be thinking about five matches ahead. I focus on whoever is up next. Everyone who is in this draw is in on their own merit, they can all play incredible tennis.”
When the draw was made it seemed that Draper had been given a tough first hurdle with Baez ranked 38th in the world.
In reality it was a mismatch.
Draper’s serving power and venomous forehand were too much for a player more suited to clay and the writing was on the wall for Baez when he dropped his opening service game.
The first set lasted only 25 minutes and towards the end of it the lightweight Baez slipped awkwardly when trying to change direction and early in the second set he required a lengthy check over from a doctor.
Had it been a boxing match the towel might have been thrown in by then as Draper was handing out some serious punishment with a barrage of booming groundstrokes.
Admirably Baez opted to carry on but the outcome was never in doubt and after he lost serve at the start of the third set he walked to the net and offered his hand.
Draper has now matched his best Wimbledon run, having previously made the second round twice in three visits.
This time, however, he will be expected to go much further.
-Reuters
Source: Government of India
Source: Government of India (4)
Britain’s Jack Draper was handed the prime-time early evening slot to get his Wimbledon campaign up and running and spared his fans any fingernail biting as he eased past Argentina’s injured Sebastian Baez in double quick time on Tuesday.
A dominant Draper was leading 6-2 6-2 2-1 on a boiling Court One when Baez, who hurt his knee earlier in the contest when slipping on the baseline, decided enough was enough with only one hour and 14 minutes on the clock.
Home fans without tickets had parked themselves on the sun-baked hill adjacent to Court One and those watching at home on TV on their sofas for the entrance of world number four Draper.
But on a day when many top men’s seeds withered in the scorching temperatures, 23-year-old Draper dispensed with any drama and got the job done in ruthless fashion.
Left-hander Draper, the highest British seed at Wimbledon since Andy Murray returned as defending champion in 2017, will need all his mental and physical reserves to navigate the pitfalls of Wimbledon under an intense spotlight.
He has been saddled with trying to fill the void left by the retirement of twice champion Murray, and avoiding drawn-out early round matches, the like of which Murray sometimes inflicted on his legion of fans, is no bad thing.
Although, speaking on court, Draper said he would have perhaps preferred a slightly tougher test.
“I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty. It is no way to win like that and I wish Sebastian the best in his recovery of course,” Draper, who has rocketed up the rankings after reaching the U.S. Open semi-final last year, said.
Draper will have a much sterner test in the next round when he faces big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic, a player who won the U.S. Open and also reached a Wimbledon final.
He is also seeded to meet seven-times champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Asked how he is coping with the weight of expectation on his broad shoulders, Draper said: “I don’t think about it until people mention it every five minutes! I just think about what I can control and play the best tennis I can.
“I have to face whoever is in front of me, I can’t be thinking about five matches ahead. I focus on whoever is up next. Everyone who is in this draw is in on their own merit, they can all play incredible tennis.”
When the draw was made it seemed that Draper had been given a tough first hurdle with Baez ranked 38th in the world.
In reality it was a mismatch.
Draper’s serving power and venomous forehand were too much for a player more suited to clay and the writing was on the wall for Baez when he dropped his opening service game.
The first set lasted only 25 minutes and towards the end of it the lightweight Baez slipped awkwardly when trying to change direction and early in the second set he required a lengthy check over from a doctor.
Had it been a boxing match the towel might have been thrown in by then as Draper was handing out some serious punishment with a barrage of booming groundstrokes.
Admirably Baez opted to carry on but the outcome was never in doubt and after he lost serve at the start of the third set he walked to the net and offered his hand.
Draper has now matched his best Wimbledon run, having previously made the second round twice in three visits.
This time, however, he will be expected to go much further.
-Reuters
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Amendment Would Strip Republican Provisions Defunding Planned Parenthood and Essential Care, and Replace It with Bill to Repeal Hyde Amendment
Amendment Text (PDF)
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01), Co-Chairs of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, filed an amendment to Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill to protect and expand reproductive healthcare.
The amendment would strip the bill’s language prohibiting Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood and other essential reproductive healthcare providers, and replace it with the text of the EACH Act, bold legislation to repeal the Hyde Amendment and lift unjust abortion coverage restrictions for those who depend on Medicaid and other government-sponsored plans.
“Trump and Republicans are doing everything they can to attack Planned Parenthood and other essential healthcare providers as part of their extremist march toward a nationwide abortion ban—and their Big, Ugly Bill is just the latest example of that,” said Congresswomen Pressley and DeGette, Co-Chairs of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “While we fight to stop this bill in its tracks, our amendment would protect Planned Parenthood while helping ensure everyone in America can get the reproductive healthcare they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code.”
Full text of the amendment is available here.
Congresswoman Pressley has been an outspoken critic of this harmful legislation since its inception.
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