Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Subcommittee on Government Operations Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) and Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) continue to examine the Department of Defense’s (DOD) financial management practices and path toward achieving a clean audit. In aletterto DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers request a bipartisan briefing on DOD’s updated efforts to address any outstanding issues related to the Department’s financial management and progress toward achieving a clean audit by December 2028, with a plan declared by the end of June 2025.
“DOD spending comprises nearly half of the federal government’s discretionary spending and its physical assets make up more than 70 percent of the government’s physical assets. The failure to fully account for these assets and spending results in gaps in DOD’s operational readiness and the financial strength of the entire federal government,” said the lawmakers. “Experts from the DOD Office of the Inspector General, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) detailed the challenges that DOD faces and necessary actions to increase the likelihood of achieving a clean audit opinion by the mandated deadline of December 31, 2028.”
This examination of DOD’s progress is part of the Subcommittee’s larger investigation into DOD’s discretionary spending and ineffective financial management that prevents them from achieving a clean audit. The Subcommittee held a hearing on April 29, 2025, to track DOD’s progress toward achieving a clean audit. DOD has failed seven financial audits and has not achieved a clean audit since being required to in 1990. The U.S. Marine Corps is the only service to obtain a clean audit opinion. The Department’s long history of poor financial and fraud risk management also makes it highly susceptible to fraud, waste, and abuse. The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will continue to examine how DOD can be a better steward of taxpayer dollars.
“In correspondence received in lieu of attendance, we were assured ‘that working towards a ‘clean audit’ is among the Department’s top priorities.’ As stated in previous hearings, if DOD is to achieve a clean audit opinion by December 2028, significant progress must be made by fiscal year 2026. Based on testimony before the Subcommittee, there is still a lot of work ahead for the Department. To assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter, we request a briefing on DOD’s efforts to address outstanding issues related to financial management and plans for achieving a clean audit opinion for the Department, by June 30, 2025,” concluded the Members.
Read the letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethhere.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
June 16, 2025
Durbin: If the Senate passes the GENUIS Act, it would give Congress’ blessing for President Trump & his family to further enrich themselves with little protection for consumers
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered a speech on the Senate floor condemning President Trump’s use of cryptocurrency ahead of the Senate vote on the GENUIS Act this week. During his remarks, Durbin highlighted that President Trump’s level of corruption is unprecedented.
“Throughout his first term, President Trump was officially skeptical of crypto. In a social media post from July 11, 2019, the President said, ‘I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated cryptoassets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.’ But once the President figured out how to personally make billions off crypto scams, he changed his tune,” said Durbin.
Three days before he took office for his second term, President Trump launched his memecoin—a novelty item, similar to baseball cards or Beanie Babies, that holds no intrinsic value. Memecoins are risky and highly volatile. Despite the risks, many investors purchased President Trump’s memecoin, and in the first few weeks after its launch, the President profited up to $100 million in trading fees while more than 200,000 investors lost money. Then, President Trump auctioned off access to himself by hosting a “crypto gala.” The President made a whopping $148 million just off this dinner from the top 220 investors willing to pay for face time with the President. But nearly half the “winners” of the memecoin dinner competition were still “losers.” About 95 attendees suffered a net $8.95 million loss from purchasing President Trump’s memecoin. And in total, 764,000 investors lost money to President Trump’s memecoin scam.
“But his corruption does not stop there. His family started its own crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, and in March, they launched their own stablecoin right as the Senate was working on the GENIUS Act, legislation to regulate the stablecoin market. Conveniently, this legislation allows the President and his family to continue owning and issuing stablecoins,” said Durbin.
Durbin continued, “Passing the GENIUS Act could help the stablecoin market grow 10-fold over the next three years to a $2 trillion market. I will vote ‘no’ when it comes up this week. We prohibit congress from [issuing] cryptocurrency, why do we have two different standards? I think the answer is obvious. If the Senate passes this legislation tomorrow, it would give Congress’ blessing forPresident Trump and his family to further enrich themselves with very little protection for consumers. President Trump’s crypto dealings reportedly account for nearly 40 percent of his net worth… In just a few months, the Trump family has pulled in approximately $1 billion from crypto.”
Tomorrow, the Senate is scheduled to vote on passage of the GENUIS Act without a single vote on amendments.
Durbin concluded, “This is shameful, it’s corrupt, especially since we could have stopped this from happening if we had conducted an open amendment process like Leader Thune promised… I filed an amendment to crack down on crypto ATM operators who have been scamming seniors out of their life savings. My amendment would have created guardrails to prevent crypto ATM fraud… Instead, the GENIUS Act will allow crypto scammers to continue [to scam] at the expense of unsuspecting Americans and to the enrichment of the President and his family.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
June 16, 2025
In his speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also called on his colleagues from both sides of the aisle to speak out and condemn these violent acts
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke about the politically motivated, targeted, and deadly assassination and assassination attempt of elected officials in Minnesota this weekend and called on his colleagues from both sides of the aisle to speak out and condemn these violent acts.
“Over the weekend, while most of the country slept, a gunman targeted two Minnesota state legislators in their homes. He pretended to be a police officer, and he gunned down Democratic state legislator John Hoffman and his wife. Fortunately, they survived and are recovering from surgery and reportedly in stable condition. We pray for State Senator Hoffman and his wife’s full recovery,” Durbin said. “Then the gunman attacked another Democratic state legislator with over 20 years of service, Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark. She and her husband leave behind two children. These killings are not only horrifying for Minnesota, but a tragedy for America. This heinous act of political violence defies American values and democracy.”
Durbin continued, “Unfortunately, we have seen a disturbing increase in political violence in recent years, seemingly as part of a misguided and sickening attempt to strike fear and intimidation in the hearts of the American people and those who are engaged in public service. Violence and hate have no place in America. Leaders on both sides of the aisle must speak out and condemn these violent acts. I have said this repeatedly, it bears repeating: political violence from the right or the left is never—never—acceptable and is never the answer.”
Durbin then spoke out against the radical language we see online and even from some of his Senate colleagues. One Republican Senator tweeted a picture of the Minnesota shooter, and wrote, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.” He tweeted another picture of the shooter, and wrote, “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” an apparent attempt to blame Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the shooting. Another Republican Senator tweeted about the shooting, “The degree to which the extreme left has become radical, violent, and intolerant is both stunning and terrifying.”
“To attempt to politicize this tragedy is absolutely unacceptable. This rhetoric from elected officials is beyond dangerous and incites even more violence. It is reprehensible, and it must be called out—on both sides of the aisle—both sides of the aisle,” Durbin said. “Because in the land of the free and the home of the brave, everyone should feel safe expressing their political views—and we must never do so in a way that condones violence or intimidation.”
Durbin concluded, “I pray for Minnesota during this heartbreaking time and vow to continue to denounce and combat political violence of any kind.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is availablehere.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is availablehere.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is availableherefor TV Stations.
Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Mark Rutte, at the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Prime Minister Carney shared his government’s plan to rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces – meeting the NATO 2 per cent target this year and accelerating those investments in the years to come.
Prime Minister Carney emphasized the new government’s mandate to assert Canada’s sovereignty and increase collaboration with the NATO Alliance. The leaders discussed trans-Atlantic security and helping Ukraine achieve a just and lasting peace, including through the provision of military assistance.
The Prime Minister looked forward to meeting again with the Secretary General at the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, from June 24 to 25.
Today, Canada’s first Chief Accessibility Officer, Stephanie Cadieux made the following statement, following the release of her second report on the outcomes being achieved under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA):
“The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) has seven priority areas, including employment. While looking at overall outcomes under the ACA, this report places a special emphasis on what is happening with employment for people with disabilities, recognizing that progress in this area reflects progress overall.
“Until the number of people with disabilities increases throughout the workforce, our progress in other areas will be slowed as well. Not only will hiring more people with disabilities position them to help identify gaps and challenges in accessibility that others may miss, but we also know that inclusive workplaces are more innovative and productive. The business case is irrefutable. Everyone benefits.
“In spite of this, progress on employment for people with disabilities has been uneven and awareness and understanding of the ACA remains low. National surveys show that, despite minor improvements, many equity gaps remain. For example, people with disabilities are still less likely to be employed, to have a full-time job, or to have an income higher than $80,000. This is a significant loss, considering that more than 1 in 4 Canadians live with one or more disabilities, and that many of us, including those in the workforce, will experience a condition that affects our mental, cognitive, and/or physical functions at some point in our lives.
“Some sectors are making progress faster than others. Overall, we still have a lot of work to do. Far too many people with disabilities in Canada are highly qualified and eager to work but are prevented from doing so. Systemic barriers to employment persist, from the hiring process to organizational culture and retention. Not only does this reduce opportunities and quality of life for people with disabilities, but it comes at a high cost to our economy, stalling innovation and hindering our competitiveness in the global marketplace.
“This report includes four recommendations for action in key areas. It also includes testimonials from people with disabilities seeking work, or working in sectors from the service industry, to neurology, academia, law and the performing arts. Their reflections shed light on the undeniable value people with disabilities bring to their places of employment, clients, and the public as a whole.
“We need to recognize that people with disabilities are vastly, diversely talented and stop limiting our assumptions about what they are capable of and what kind of work they can do. Attracting labour and top talent has never been more challenging, but doing so is critical. We can solve the problem of excluding skilled people. There are excellent models in Canada and in other countries to look to as examples of how to do it. I know the will is there. We just have to move from words to actions.
Quick facts
The role of Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO) was created by the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), which came into force in 2019
As an independent adviser to the Minister, the CAO provides advice on wide-ranging accessibility issues, monitors and report on progress made under the ACA, and provides annual reports detailing outcomes achieved under the ACA, as well as systemic and emerging accessibility issues
The Office of the CAO serves as a trusted source of information on accessibility, and supports the CAO in promoting a positive and productive dialogue between the federal government, disability stakeholders, national and international organizations
This report was developed with information gathered, in part, by conducting targeted interviews with disability service providers, post-secondary institutions, international experts, federally regulated entities (FREs) in the public and private sectors, provincial and territorial government departments, disability experts/advocates, and representatives from employees with disabilities networks across the federal public service, as well as through an examination of Accessibility Plans and Progress reports, which are required by FREs under the ACA.
Watson Lake, Yukon, June 17, 2025 — Investing in green energy infrastructure is vital to building cleaner and more sustainable northern communities. With a joint investment of more than $28.6 million from the federal government, the Government of Yukon and First Kaska Utilities LP, the Sādę Solar Initiative project will significantly reduce diesel use for power generation in Watson Lake.
This project will construct a 2.85MW solar power plant combined with a battery energy storage system that will connect to the existing micro-grid in Watson Lake, which is currently powered by diesel generators. The plant, located within the asserted traditional territory of the Liard First Nation (LFN), will be brought online in two stages to maintain grid stability and manage power fluctuations. Additional works include preparing the site for solar panel installation and upgrading the access road to support a high volume of transport trucks during the construction period.
When running at full capacity in the peak season, the plant will provide more energy than peak loads, allowing for full generator off time. The solar energy produced is expected to replace more than 24 percent of the diesel-generated power in Watson Lake, ultimately reducing diesel consumption by approximately 1,020,300 litres and cutting GHG emissions by 3,509 tonnes annually. This initiative is also expected to have economic benefits for LFN, allowing them to generate revenues by selling surplus power to the grid operator, while creating jobs and training opportunities.
A former Texas hotel manager pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Derek T. Gilliland to filing a false income-tax return.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2014 to 2022, Hieu Duc Tran embezzled more than $1 million from the Hewitt, Texas hotel where he was a manager. To accomplish this, Tran would charge hotel guests’ credit cards using a payment processing system that he controlled, instead of the hotel’s own system, and keep the funds for himself. He would also deposit checks hotel guests wrote to pay for their stays into his own bank account. Though Tran knew that the money he embezzled was taxable income, he did not report any of that income on the tax returns he filed for 2014 through 2021.
In total, Tran caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $200,000.
Tran will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. He also faces 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 Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Curtis J. Weidler of the Tax Division is prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
What you need to know: Against the backdrop of President Trump’s massive and costly bill gutting laws protecting against AI-generated child pornography, scams, and other criminal activity, Governor Newsom is continuing his leadership by releasing a groundbreaking new report from leading experts and academics to help guide the responsible, safe, and ethical development and deployment of AI in California and beyond.
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Governor Newsom advanced California’s ongoing leadership in the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence with the release of a new report from world-leading AI academics and experts. The group, which was convened at the request of the Governor last September, today released its final report, The California Report on Frontier AI Policy. This landmark report will help pave the way for the responsible, ethical, and safe use of AI for the benefit of all Californians by offering a policy framework for workable guardrails based on an empirical, science-based analysis of the technology’s capabilities and risks. The announcement comes as President Trump pushes his massive spending bill, which includes a 10-year moratorium on state laws protecting against the misuse of AI, including California’s laws that ban AI-generated child pornography, deepfake porn, and robocall scams against the elderly.
“California is the home of innovation and technology that is driving the nation’s economic growth — including the emerging AI industry. As Donald Trump chooses to take our nation back to the past by dismantling laws protecting public safety, California will continue to lead the way with smart and effective policymaking. I thank the experts and academics who responded to my call for this important report to help ensure that, as we move forward to help nurture AI technology, we do so with the safety of Californians at the top of mind.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
AI is already changing the world, and California will play a pivotal role in defining that future. As the fourth-largest economy in the world and the birthplace of the tech industry, California continues to dominate this sector as the leader in AI. The state is home to 32 of the 50 top AI companies worldwide. In addition to championing safe, responsible, and ethical development and use of this emerging industry, California is harnessing its potential to increase government efficiency and support state operations.
Studying AI’s risk and opportunities
Today’s report is a result of the Governor’s convening of leading experts on artificial intelligence and policy to help California develop workable guardrails for deploying generative AI (GenAI), focusing on developing an empirical, science-based trajectory analysis of frontier models and their capabilities and attendant risks. Authors include the “godmother of AI,” Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and Founding Co-Director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute; Mariano-Florentino “Tino” Cuéllar, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Social and Ethical Implications of Computing Research; and Dr. Jennifer Tour Chayes, Dean of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at UC Berkeley.
The report includes recommendations on ensuring evidence-based policymaking, balancing the need for transparency with considerations such as security risks, and determining the appropriate level of regulation in this fast-evolving field.
Public engagement
The report incorporated robust public participation in the drafting process. The final report incorporates public feedback submitted following the draftreleased in March 2025, and provides a framework that can help California policymakers, as well as policymakers across the country, provide guardrails on the frontier of AI development
California’s AI global leadership
California has launched efforts to help the state take advantage of this emerging technology, while also creating responsible policy guardrails to protect Californians, including businesses and workers
In 2023, Governor Newsom signed an executive order laying out California’s measured approach to state GenAI procurement. That EO has shaped the future of ethical, transparent, and trustworthy GenAI deployment, all while California remains the world’s GenAI leader. Within state government, projects are already underway to utilize GenAI to reduce highway congestion, improve roadway safety, and enhance customer service in a state call center.
First of-its-kind effort with NVIDIA
In August 2024, the state partnered with NVIDIA to launch a first-of-its-kind AI collaboration. The initiative, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom and NVIDIA founder & CEO Jensen Huang, aims to train students, educators and workers; support job creation and promote innovation; and use AI to solve challenges that can improve the lives of Californians.
Staying ahead of threats
Last year, Governor Newsom also signed a series of bills to crack down on sexually explicit deepfakes and require AI watermarking, ban AI-generated child pornography, protect consumers by preventing scams from AI-generated robocalls, protect performers’ digital likenesses, and combat deepfake election content.
Press releases, Recent news
Recent news
Jun 17, 2025
News What you need to know: As Governor Newsom’s motion to block the Trump Administration’s illegal militarization of downtown Los Angeles heads to the Ninth Circuit, former military leaders agree – Trump’s takeover poses grave risk to both servicemembers and…
Jun 13, 2025
News What you need to know: Donald Trump is raiding public safety funds to bankroll his militarized birthday party this Saturday, while stripping local police departments, first responders, and communities across the country of the tools they need to keep Americans…
Jun 13, 2025
News What you need to know: President Trump’s illegal military deployment impacts firefighting resources already seeing cuts by the U.S. Forest Service. SACRAMENTO – With the risk of catastrophic wildfire on the rise as peak fire season sets in across California, the…
IAM Air Transport Territory Chief of Staff Edison Fraser recently visited his home station and membership at Baltimore’s Thurgood Marshall International Airport.
While walking the property, Fraser spoke to members at Southwest, United, and American Airlines, emphasizing the importance of connecting with our members, regardless of station size. He also highlighted IAM General Vice President Richie Johnson’s commitment to the membership.
Watch the video here.
Fraser was also accompanied by IAM District 141 Assistant General Chairs Warren Glenn and Steve Miller, as well as District 142 General Chair Loraine Fraser. Several Southwest Shop Stewards, including Nina Caldwell (SWA), Marlene Howard (SWA), along with Devon Crawford (SWA), took time to make sure members got a chance to meet with Fraser. American Airlines Grievance Committee member Jason Copeland and United Airlines’ Above-the-Wing Committee member Kimberly Worthman helped get members to meet with the visiting guests.
Several members appreciated Fraser’s visit and the IAM Union’s representation, underscoring the positive impact of leadership presence and support for union members in the transportation industry.
The post BWI Membership Connects with Air Transport Territory Chief of Staff in Home Station Visit appeared first on IAM Union.
Fishing for evidence: How can machine learning help?
As human impacts on the environment rapidly accelerate, so does the need to understand those impacts and develop strategies to build resilience amidst growing threats.
This story was written by Gretchen Stokes, ORISE Participant with the National CASC and was originally published by Current Conservation at Fishing for evidence: How can machine learning help? | Current Conservation
As human impacts on the environment rapidly accelerate, so does the need to understand those impacts and develop strategies to build resilience amidst growing threats. Often, researchers can identify the larger causes of environmental degradation (‘drivers’, such as climate change or pollution), observe changes in the environment (‘impacts’, such as habitat loss or poor water quality), and notice how species respond (‘responses’, such as changes in reproduction or population declines) to these changes.
However, it is much more challenging to link drivers, impacts, and responses as a direct cause-and-effect relationship. For example, illegal logging might cause increased soil erosion along a river and fishers may catch fewer fish, but documenting a direct link between land use change and fish mortality can be difficult. Yet, uncovering these driver-impact-response links can help identify opportunities for interventions and appropriate conservation actions.
Untangling the links
One logical approach to understanding these links is utilising documented evidence of drivers, impacts, and responses already published in the scientific literature. There has been a surge in the number of publications about global environmental change, which is useful for providing more evidence but challenging because of the high volume of papers, and in turn requires substantial effort to sift and extract information. However, artificial intelligence tools such as machine learning—computers that learn to detect patterns and make predictions based on the data—can help overcome this challenge.
In this study, we focused on understanding driver-impact-response links across 45 river basins and large lakes with the highest freshwater fish catch. Freshwater fish comprise over half of the world’s fish species and are a vital food source for billions of people. Yet, they are some of the most threatened animals on the planet.
We searched for relevant literature using keywords and extracted 9,336 abstracts for review. After reviewing over half of them, we realised that machine learning could help sort abstracts “with threats” and “without threats” into two categories. We trained and tested four computer models and chose the one that best detected abstracts with threats to sort the remaining abstracts. This process taught us a few things.
Lessons learned
First, we discovered that some threats are better documented than others. For example, pollution and dams were the most documented drivers and the most frequently linked to negative fish responses. Other drivers known to have substantial impacts on fish, such as climate change, were seldom documented with direct fish responses. This may be because it is difficult to link climate impacts in real-time, and because some drivers have complex interactions with other drivers.
Second, we learned that machine learning was much better at classifying irrelevant abstracts (those without threats) than at correctly classifying those with threats. We think this may be due, in part, to the unstandardised nature of fisheries literature. For instance, defining a fishery can be variable, so it is not surprising that computers would have a hard time learning text patterns with nuanced language. This contrasts with other fields like medicine, where language is more standardised for medical reports. High performance in classifying irrelevant abstracts is still extremely useful and quickly helped us eliminate thousands of papers.
Through this study, we were able to demonstrate a successful application of machine learning to improve efficiency—by over 50 percent—and optimise the extraction of evidence to inform conservation planning. While neither method of evidence synthesis (human or computer) could function independently, the combination of both methods proved useful.
Since ecologists often lack the specialised training to apply complex methods in machine learning, we also created a toolkit for users to extract evidence and understand performance metrics and outputs. Overall, our study provides a transdisciplinary bridge from computer science to ecology and a useful toolkit for evidence synthesis amidst accelerating global environmental change.
Related
Assessing the State of Global Inland Fisheries
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) documents the status and trends of marine fish stocks that represent approximately 80% of global marine catch. These stocks are routinely monitored, and the FAO assessment describes the extent of exploitation against different reference points – such as underfished, sustainable fished, or overfished. Although inland…
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) documents the status and trends of marine fish stocks that represent approximately 80% of global marine catch. These stocks are routinely monitored, and the FAO assessment describes the extent of exploitation against different reference points – such as underfished, sustainable fished, or overfished. Although inland fisheries, which
Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Mornings With Maria on Fox Business to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, the ongoing negotiations of the budget reconciliation package, and final passage of the GENIUS Act.
*Click the photo above or here to watch*
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on Trump preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon: “It’s not surprising. President [Donald] Trump has been entirely clear this entire period that Iran needs to come to the table, that he will not allow them to have a nuclear weapon. Yet what does Iran do? Continues to tap the ball. They go past the 60-day window that they’d been given, and they continue to advance their nuclear program. It’s no surprise that Israel has taken the action that they have, Maria. I think they have no choice. This is an existential decision on behalf of [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. He cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon because Iran’s been very clear: death to Israel and also death to America. We have to take them at their word. This regime has been nothing but using every tactic in the book to, basically, buy more time to ‘negotiate’ while, in the background, they continue to develop this weapon. This capability is something we can’t let them finalize. President Trump has been, again, extraordinarily clear. He will not let that happen.”
Hagerty on the U.S. standing with Israel: “I think President Trump has been very clear. He’s not for these forever wars that go on. I agree with that. At the same time, he’s also been very clear that we stand with Israel. I think most people in America feel the same way. I think President Trump has a spectrum of options before him. I’m not going to get ahead of him and try to predict what he might do, but I’ll say this: Israel’s doing an incredible job. Their intelligence has been impeccable, and I think the Iranians need to wake up and realize they’re on their back foot. They’re on their back heel, and they need to get to the table quickly to get this resolved because they are not winning.”
Hagerty on China supporting Iran’s terror regime: “They have been supporting Iran, Maria, over time. If you think about it, who’s been buying this illicit oil? Iran’s been evading sanctions. How? They’re selling their oil to China. China’s been providing the funds. The funds have been used, therefore, to build up Hamas, to build up Hezbollah, to build up Houthis. It’s Iranian technology, Iranian knowhow, that’s being used, along with Iranian funds, which are being, basically, funneled from China through Iran, back into these zones of terror. China needs to bring this to a complete halt. They need to join us, and we need to see this come to an end.”
Hagerty on the ongoing budget reconciliation negotiations: “There’s a lot in that that, I think, is going to be refined. There’s going to be more deficit reduction orientation in what the Senate is working on right now. I’m not going to get in the middle of negotiations, but just take SALT, for example, the state and local tax exemption. It came over from the House with a $40,000 exemption per year. The Senate’s come back with a $10,000 exemption. That’s a negotiation that’s underway. Again, I’m not going to try to get ahead of the negotiators, but this is what’s going to take place. This is how it gets done here in Washington. Overall, though, I’d say this: we have to keep in mind that to not address this, to not address the extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would deliver north of $4 trillion of tax increases to the American people. The White House budget model predicts that there would be a six percent decline in GDP next year, were that to happen. We’re not going to let that happen either, Maria. So, we’re in the process of fine-tuning. Everybody wants this to be as conservative as it can be, but also, it’s imperative that we get this passed and passed quickly, so the capital expenditure plans can firm up, so that the investments that we want to see happen in America do begin to get plans. The 2026 is the best year we’ve seen on record.”
Hagerty on SALT provisions: “I think you look at the Senate, we don’t have a SALT constituency in the Senate. We don’t have [Republican] senators from California, New York, Illinois. We’re trying to address this, but we’re trying to do this in a fiscally responsible manner. Again, we’re in the middle of a negotiation. [Representative] Mike [Lawler] is at $40,000, the U.S. Senate right now is at $10,000. Again, I’m sure Mike will be clear in his point tomorrow, but we’re in the middle of a negotiation. We’ll see where it lands.”
Hagerty on the IRA subsidies: “I think they’re going to be scrutinized very, very carefully, Maria. I understand the arguments that is that certain companies are relied, to their detriment, on the tax subsidies that were there, but I think we’re going through this with a fine-tooth comb. Certainly, we don’t want to see anymore new utilization of these types of tools, and I think they’re trying to minimize the disruption in the damage that might have occurred from those companies that have already relied upon it and started projects.”
Hagerty on final passage of the GENIUS Act: “I’m very enthusiastic about the stablecoin legislation that I’ve led. We’ve been working on this for months. We have a strong bipartisan product. We will deliver that midday today. We’ll have it ready, and I think it’s got a tremendous amount of input from the industry, from my colleagues here. We’ve involved the administration. I think we’re going to have a great product that actually sets the stage for moving into a modern-day payment system into the 21st century. Getting us off the old system that was designed in the 1970s and eighties, making the dollar the key element in the digital arena. And frankly, it will stimulate more demand for U.S. treasuries. It will strengthen the dollar’s position as a reserve currency. We’re going to see that advance in a way that, again, takes a lot of friction out of an old, clunky system, reduces counterparty risk, reduces currency risk, and will bring a lot of working capital back to the companies that need it and back into the economy. With respect to the [Securities and Exchange Commission], I couldn’t ask for a better partner than [SEC Chairman] Paul Atkins. He’s doing a terrific job already. We’re going to be working arm-in-arm to try to help advance the entire cryptocurrency industry, the entirety of this industry, that’ll keep us on the cutting edge of the 21st century. As you mentioned, I want to make my state a hub. We’ve got Bitcoin miners there. We’ve got Bitcoin Park there. We had the great Bitcoin Conference there that President Trump attended. That’s where he announced that he would be firing [Former SEC Chairman] Gary Gensler. I think that received great applause, and I think everybody’s extremely happy to see someone, strong conservative, hard-nosed fellow, like Paul Atkins, coming into office. I’m looking forward to working, arm-in-arm, together with him.”
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Phoenix Field Division, in conjunction with the Las Cruces Police Department, is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old.
At about 9 p.m. on June 2, the Las Cruces Police Department responded to a parking lot near the intersection of Solano Drive and Spruce Avenue on a report of a road rage shooting involving gunfire from one vehicle into another. Tragically, a 14-year-old boy who was seated in the rear passenger-side seat of the vehicle that was fired upon sustained gunshot wounds and died at the scene.
The suspect vehicle, described as a 2018-2022 white mid-size SUV, was driven by a male and fled the scene.
Anyone with information about this homicide should contact ATF at (888) ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477). Information can also be sent toATFTips@atf.govor through ATF’s website atwww.atf.gov/contact/atftips. Tips can be submitted anonymously using the Reportit® app, available from both Google Play and the Apple App store, or by visitingwww.reportit.com.
ATF is the lead federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction involving firearms and violent crimes. Our Investigative priorities focus on armed violent offenders and career criminals, narcotics traffickers, narco-terrorists, violent gangs, and domestic and international arms traffickers. ATF targets, investigates and recommends prosecution of these offenders to reduce the level of violent crime and to enhance public safety. More information about ATF and its programs is available atwww.atf.gov.
The Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), under the Ministry of Ayush, kicked off the global initiative ‘Yoga Bandhan’ today, marking a significant milestone in the lead-up to the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2025. As one of the 10 Signature Events for IDY 2025, the program underscores India’s commitment to fostering global collaboration through yoga, promoting cultural exchange, academic dialogue, and holistic well-being.
The inaugural event brought together yoga ambassadors from 15 countries, including academicians, practitioners, studio founders, authors, and wellness experts. Held at MDNIY’s campus in Delhi, ‘Yoga Bandhan’ served as a platform to strengthen institution-to-institution partnerships and showcase India’s leadership in global yoga diplomacy.
In his keynote address, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, emphasized yoga’s universal appeal, noting that 95% of India’s population is aware of Ayush systems, with 35% actively practicing yoga, according to National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data. “Yoga has found resonance across the globe,” he said, highlighting initiatives like Harit Yoga, Yoga Connect, and Samyoga under IDY 2025. He revealed that over 3.3 lakh yoga events have already been organized worldwide, with projections of reaching 5 lakh by June 21, 2025.
Kotecha also discussed upgrades to the Yoga Certification Board (YCB) to meet the rising demand for certified yoga professionals globally, inviting international delegates to collaborate with YCB for mutual growth.
Nandini Singla, Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), lauded the international dignitaries, calling them “voices of peace and harmony.” She highlighted yoga’s role in India’s cultural diplomacy, citing demonstrations by foreign dignitaries at iconic Indian locations like Delhi, Varanasi, Jodhpur, and Jaipur. Singla proposed introducing short-term yoga courses for international visitors to further promote cultural exchange.
Monalisa Dash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, described IDY as a global movement that unites millions in pursuit of health and harmony. “The theme of IDY 2025 reflects the Indian philosophy of *Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam*—the world is one family,” she said, emphasizing yoga’s universal relevance.
Dr. Kashinath Samagandi, Director of MDNIY, welcomed the global gathering, stating, “Yoga Bandhan reflects India’s commitment to sharing yoga’s timeless wisdom, fostering humanity’s shared bonds through its unifying power.”
The event featured a guided tour of MDNIY’s campus, an interactive session on yoga communication, and a cultural yoga fusion performance by MDNIY students. Delegates explored opportunities for collaboration in yoga research, education, and training.
Notable international delegates included Josh Pryor (President & CEO, Yoga Australia), Prof. Danilo Forghieri Santaella (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Yin Yan (Founder, Yogi Yoga, China), and Vidya Volkova (Director, Shakti Yoga Studio, Kazakhstan), among others.
Over the coming days, these ambassadors will engage in cultural immersions, institutional visits, and policy dialogues, culminating in the grand IDY 2025 celebrations on June 21, 2025.
The Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), under the Ministry of Ayush, kicked off the global initiative ‘Yoga Bandhan’ today, marking a significant milestone in the lead-up to the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2025. As one of the 10 Signature Events for IDY 2025, the program underscores India’s commitment to fostering global collaboration through yoga, promoting cultural exchange, academic dialogue, and holistic well-being.
The inaugural event brought together yoga ambassadors from 15 countries, including academicians, practitioners, studio founders, authors, and wellness experts. Held at MDNIY’s campus in Delhi, ‘Yoga Bandhan’ served as a platform to strengthen institution-to-institution partnerships and showcase India’s leadership in global yoga diplomacy.
In his keynote address, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, emphasized yoga’s universal appeal, noting that 95% of India’s population is aware of Ayush systems, with 35% actively practicing yoga, according to National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data. “Yoga has found resonance across the globe,” he said, highlighting initiatives like Harit Yoga, Yoga Connect, and Samyoga under IDY 2025. He revealed that over 3.3 lakh yoga events have already been organized worldwide, with projections of reaching 5 lakh by June 21, 2025.
Kotecha also discussed upgrades to the Yoga Certification Board (YCB) to meet the rising demand for certified yoga professionals globally, inviting international delegates to collaborate with YCB for mutual growth.
Nandini Singla, Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), lauded the international dignitaries, calling them “voices of peace and harmony.” She highlighted yoga’s role in India’s cultural diplomacy, citing demonstrations by foreign dignitaries at iconic Indian locations like Delhi, Varanasi, Jodhpur, and Jaipur. Singla proposed introducing short-term yoga courses for international visitors to further promote cultural exchange.
Monalisa Dash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, described IDY as a global movement that unites millions in pursuit of health and harmony. “The theme of IDY 2025 reflects the Indian philosophy of *Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam*—the world is one family,” she said, emphasizing yoga’s universal relevance.
Dr. Kashinath Samagandi, Director of MDNIY, welcomed the global gathering, stating, “Yoga Bandhan reflects India’s commitment to sharing yoga’s timeless wisdom, fostering humanity’s shared bonds through its unifying power.”
The event featured a guided tour of MDNIY’s campus, an interactive session on yoga communication, and a cultural yoga fusion performance by MDNIY students. Delegates explored opportunities for collaboration in yoga research, education, and training.
Notable international delegates included Josh Pryor (President & CEO, Yoga Australia), Prof. Danilo Forghieri Santaella (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Yin Yan (Founder, Yogi Yoga, China), and Vidya Volkova (Director, Shakti Yoga Studio, Kazakhstan), among others.
Over the coming days, these ambassadors will engage in cultural immersions, institutional visits, and policy dialogues, culminating in the grand IDY 2025 celebrations on June 21, 2025.
Headline: Breaking down the chaos of a seemingly infinite workday
In our recent 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report, we charted the emergence of the Frontier Firm—powered by intelligence on tap, run by human-agent teams, and defined by a new role for every employee, the agent boss. These firms are redesigning business processes around AI and agents to scale rapidly, operate with agility, and generate value faster than traditional companies.
But organizations will never complete their journey to becoming a Frontier Firm by concentrating on process alone. Our research, based on trillions of globally aggregated and anonymized Microsoft 365 productivity signals, reveals a challenging new roadblock: a seemingly infinite workday.
AI offers a way out of the mire, especially if paired with a reimagined rhythm of work. Otherwise, we risk using AI to accelerate a broken system. To get a handle on this barrier to transformation, let’s start our infinite workday.
The workday often begins before a lot of people are out of bed. By 6 am, many Microsoft 365 users are scanning overflowing inboxes in hopes of getting ahead. Our telemetry data shows:
40% of people who are online at 6 am are reviewing email for the day’s priorities.
The average worker receives 117 emails daily—most of them skimmed in under 60 seconds.
Mass emails with 20+ recipients are up 7% in the past year, while one-on-one threads are on the decline (-5%).
The inbox may still be the front door to work, but too often it opens to a flood of unprioritized chaos.
The chaos of the infinite workday
It starts early, mostly in email, and quickly swells to a focus-sapping flood of messages, meetings, and interruptions.
By 8 am, Microsoft Teams overtakes email as the dominant communication channel, shifting the day into high gear.
The average worker receives 153 Teams messages per weekday.
Messages per person are up 6% YOY globally—more than 20% in regions like Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and over 15% in the UK and South Korea.
Each email or message notification may seem small, but together they can set a frenetic tempo for the day ahead.
The most valuable hours of the workday are often ruled by someone else’s agenda. Half (50%) of all meetings take place between 9–11 am and 1–3 pm—precisely when, as research shows, many people have a natural productivity spike in their day, due to their circadian rhythms. But our data reveals that we fill this time with meetings, leaving little room for deep focus. Tuesdays now carry the heaviest meeting load (23%), while Fridays taper to just 16%. Instead of deep work, these prime hours are spent cycling through a carousel of calls.
Meetings hijack prime focus time
Studies show that many people have two natural performance spikes each day, but our data reveals that we fill one of them with meetings, leaving little room for focus work.
An area chart showing average productivity levels for workers between the hours of 6 am and 12 am, indicating that a high percentage of meetings are often scheduled during peak productivity hours, leaving workers with less time to dedicate to focus work.
But meetings aren’t the only force fracturing attention. By 11 am—peak productivity for many—message activity also surges, with 54% of users active. According to our telemetry data it’s the most overloaded hour of the day, as real-time messages, scheduled meetings, and constant app switching converge, making focus on any one task nearly impossible.
Calendars may show a break in meetings after lunch, but that could also be a mirage. During this time we see Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (WXP) usage surge as employees attempt focus work like writing, analyzing data, and creating decks—but that time is fragmented. Our telemetry data shows that, on average, employees using Microsoft 365 are interrupted every 2 minutes by a meeting, email, or notification. That competing digital noise doesn’t appear on calendars, but as many information workers will likely attest, it’s deeply felt. In fact, our global Work Trend Index survey shows that nearly half of employees (48%)—and more than half of leaders (52%)—say their work feels chaotic and fragmented.
The issue isn’t just volume—it’s sprawl. Our data shows that modes of communication are changing, coordination is more complex, and mental load is heavier.
57% of meetings are ad hoc calls without a calendar invite—and 1 in 10 scheduled meetings are booked at the last minute.
Large meetings (65+ attendees) are the fastest-growing type—likely a result of employees navigating increasingly complex, cross-functional teams.
Nearly a third of meetings now span multiple time zones—up 35% since 2021.
And in the final 10 minutes before a meeting, PowerPoint edits spike 122%—the digital equivalent of cramming before an exam.
For many, the workday now feels like navigating chaos—reacting to others’ priorities and losing focus on what matters most. In a time when every hour counts, that drift could quietly drain energy and stall business progress.
The shift to the triple peak day that started during the pandemic is no longer a trend—for many, it’s the norm. Today’s workday stretches well into the evening. Our telemetry data shows that meetings after 8 pm are up 16% year over year, with global and flexible teams accounting for much of the increase. And it’s not just meetings: the average employee now sends or receives more than50 messages outside of core business hours, and by 10 pm, nearly a third (29%) of active workers dive back into their inboxes, pointing to a steady rise in after-hours activity.
But “working late” can be experienced differently. A recent study from Microsoft Research found that remote workers often see evening hours as a productive window for quiet catch-up. Hybrid workers, by contrast, are more likely to experience that same time as a source of stress. For managers and leaders, this isn’t just a footnote—it’s a signal that can help set clearer expectations, shape team culture, and better support teams.
And for some, this pressure spills into the weekend—making Sunday feel like just another Monday:
Our telemetry data shows a notable bump in weekend email usage. Nearly 20% of employees actively working on the weekend are checking their email before noon on Saturday and Sunday—waking up to work, even on typical days off. And over 5% are back in email on Sunday evenings (6 pm and later)—the Sunday scaries are real and measurable.
And while email patterns mimic the workweek, other apps tell a different story: over the weekend, usage of WXP overtakes Teams messages as employees finally carve out time for uninterrupted focus work.
The infinite workday bleeds into evenings and weekends
Boundaries are eroding as 1 in 3 employees say the pace of work over the past five years makes it impossible to keep up.
This points to a larger truth: the modern workday for many has no clear start or finish. As business demands grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, time once reserved for focus or recovery may now be spent catching up, prepping, and chasing clarity. It’s the professional equivalent of needing to assemble a bike before every ride. Too much energy is spent organizing chaos before meaningful work can begin.
Leaders are feeling the squeeze. With flat budgets and rising pressure to perform, 1 in 3 employees in our global Work Trend Index survey responded that the pace of work over the past five years has made it impossible to keep up. The signals are clear: it’s time to break the cycle. The future of work won’t be defined by how much drudgery we automate, but by what we choose to fundamentally reimagine. AI can give us the leverage to redesign the rhythm of work, refocus our teams on new and differentiating work, and fix what has become a seemingly infinite workday. The question isn’t whether work will change. It’s whether we will.
Adopting AI isn’t enough. What you need now is a Frontier Firm mindset—one that questions how time is spent, how work gets done, and what truly drives impact. Here are three places to start:
Follow the 80/20 rule. In a world of flat budgets and shrinking attention, activity is not the same as progress. The most effective organizations know this—and act on it. Frontier Firms are putting the Pareto Principle into practice, focusing on the 20% of work that delivers 80% of the outcomes. AI makes this not only possible but scalable. By deploying AI and agents to streamline low-value tasks—status meetings, routine reports, admin churn—leaders can reclaim time for what moves the business: deep work, fast decisions, and focused execution. The companies that can win in the age of AI won’t just work harder—they’ll work smarter and sharper. Not sure where to start? Watch this leadership keynote from the Microsoft 365 Community Conference on Building the Future Firm.
Redesign for the Work Chart. Today, teams are organized by static functions like finance, marketing, and engineering. But with expertise available on demand through AI and agents, rigid structures add unnecessary friction. Take a product launch: content lives in marketing, data in analytics, budget in finance, and messaging with comms. A simple update like a price adjustment can take days and multiple meetings. It’s time to move from the org chart to the Work Chart—an agile, outcome-driven model in which lean teams form around a goal and use AI to fill skill gaps and move fast. At Supergood, an AI-first agency formerly called Supernatural, employees use a platform powered by decades of ad strategy to access insights instantly—no need to loop in a strategist on every brief.
Become an agent boss. There’s a new generation of professionals rising through the chaos—not by working more, but by working smarter. We call them agent bosses. Take Alex Farach, a researcher at Microsoft who uses a trio of agents to supercharge his work: one collects new research daily, the next runs statistical analysis, and the third drafts briefs to help connect the dots. Instead of getting bogged down in manual work, Farach can focus on what matters—fast, high-quality insights that benefit the entire team. This is the future of work: human-agent teams built to adapt and scale.
Methodology
Microsoft 365 Telemetry All data is based on aggregated and anonymized Microsoft 365 productivity signals, ending February 15, 2025. Data excludes education (Edu) and European Union (EU) tenants.
Interruptions Employees are interrupted every two minutes during core work hours—275 times a day—by meetings, emails, or chats. Calculated as a rolling 28-day sum of pings (meeting invites, emails, chats) per unique user per workday. The two-minute figure reflects the average time between pings during an eight-hour workday. The 275 is based on the 24-hour day. Based on the top 20% of users by ping volume received.
Last-Minute PowerPoint Edits Edits in PowerPoint spike 122% in the final 10 minutes before a meeting. Calculated as a rolling 28-day sum of PowerPoint view and edit actions per meeting participant, measured across fixed time windows before meetings.
Ad Hoc Meetings 60% of meetings are unscheduled or ad hoc. Based on a rolling 28-day volume of unique meetings per user per workday. Represents the top 20% of users by meeting volume.
After-Hours Chats Chats sent outside the standard 9-to-5 workday are up 15% year over year, with an average of 58 messages per user now arriving before or after hours. Calculated as a rolling 28-day sum of chats sent outside of Monday–Friday, 9 am–5 pm
Late-Night Meetings & Cross–Time Zone Work Meetings starting after 8 pm are up 16% year over year, driven by an increase in cross–time zone collaboration. 30% of meetings now span multiple time zones—a figure that has risen 8 percentage points since 2021. Measured as a rolling 28-day sum of meetings starting between 8 pm and 11:59 pm, adjusted for each participant’s local time.
Work Trend Index Survey The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed knowledge workers across 31 markets between February 6, 2025 and March 24, 2025. This survey was 20 minutes in length and conducted online, in either the English language or translated to local languages across markets. 1,000 full-time workers were surveyed in each market, and global results have been aggregated across all responses to provide an average. In the US, an additional sample of 4,500 full-time employed or self-employed knowledge workers was collected across nine sub-regions/metros.
Global markets surveyed include: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
Sub-regions/Metros in the United States surveyed include: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, DC Metro, Houston, New York City, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Audiences mentioned in the report are defined as follows:
Knowledge workers: Those who typically work at a desk (whether in an office or at home). This group includes those who are in person or working remotely in some capacity.
Leaders: Knowledge workers in mid to upper job levels (e.g., SVP, VP, Sr. Director, General Manager, EVP, C-Suite, President, etc.) who have at least some decision-making influence related to hiring, budgeting, employee benefits, internal communications, operations, etc.
Employees: Knowledge workers who are not in mid to upper job levels or have no influence on decision-making related to hiring, budgeting, employee benefits, internal communications, operations, etc.
Managers: Knowledge workers who manage a team or group of employees. Managers can be business decision makers or non-business decision makers.
Frontier Firms: Leaders who say their company has organization-wide deployment of AI and believe their organization is a leader in actively investing in AI, and is measuring ROI on these investments. They say they have seen some ROI from implementation of AI and believe it is critical to their long-term success as an organization. They believe agents will be key to realizing a return on their company’s AI investments. These leaders say they work at organizations that are currently using agents or other AI tools that bring previously outsourced skill sets in-house, or are using multi-agent systems that collaborate to achieve a goal or execute complex workflows. Their company plans to moderately or extensively incorporate agents into its AI strategy over the next 12–18 months.
Today in Kananaskis, Alberta, Prime Ministers Mark Carney and Giorgia Meloni met on the margins of the G7 Summit and reaffirmed the vitality and strategic value of the Canada-Italy partnership and their fruitful cooperation within the UN, NATO and the G7 to foster global peace, the rule of law, economic growth and prosperity and strong international institutions.
The Prime Ministers took stock of the implementation of the Italy-Canada Roadmap for Enhanced Collaboration, including the launch of a Joint Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence, a Joint Statement on Critical Minerals and Critical Raw Materials Cooperation, actions to enhance cooperation in defence, outer space, science, technology and innovation, and mutual economic prosperity. As agreed during Prime Minister Carney’s recent visit to Rome, a Canada-Italy Energy Dialogue will be launched in the coming months to enhance cooperation on critical minerals, conventional and clean energies, and hydrogen.
Acknowledging the unprecedented challenges facing the world since the Roadmap was launched last year, and the need to seize on new opportunities, Prime Ministers Carney and Meloni announced additional cooperation between Canada and Italy the following areas:
Prosperity and Innovation
Building on the strong foundation enabled by the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the Leaders committed to deepening commercial ties and diversifying trade between Canada and Italy. This would include organizing high level business and investment trade missions, aimed at foster greater engagement between respective industry and private capital stakeholders, in priority sectors such as energy, life sciences, defence and infrastructure.
Noting also the recent high tempo of interaction between Canadian and Italian researchers and industrial stakeholders on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, clean technologies, nuclear and photonics, the Prime Ministers encouraged the pursuit of further opportunities for cooperation between Italian and Canadian organizations in areas such as nuclear energy and medical isotopes, hydrogen, AI and supercomputing and quantum. They likewise looked forward to proposals for future work by the Joint Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence on AI for Health and AI for Science.
Security and Defence
The two Leaders signaled the importance of closer collaboration as NATO Allies, including through information exchange and high-level dialogue to address current and future security challenges. They also recognized the opportunities for increased engagement and expanded commercial ties in the defence sector, as both countries seek to enhance their respective industrial defence bases.
Finally, the two leaders expressed appreciation for the continuity of priorities and results between their respective G7 Presidencies and signaled the importance of close coordination on key global challenges, including in the lead up to the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Text of Letter
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) and fellow members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) as well as Representatives Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) and Bill Keating (MA-09) in demanding that the Trump administration reverse its decision to cancel federal Job Corps funding, threatening the abrupt closure of 99 contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.
Their letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez DeRemer highlights the impact to Massachusetts’ three Job Corps centers: Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens, Grafton Job Corps Center in North Grafton, and Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee.
“We are writing to express our deep concerns regarding the Department of Labor’s recent decision to pause operations at Job Corps centers across the country. We urge you to consider the long-standing value and potential of the Job Corps program in offering young people a critical second chance at personal and professional success,” the lawmakers wrote.
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a pause in operations at contractor-run Job Corps centers across the U.S. With more than 120 centers nationwide, the Job Corps program provides opportunities for low-income and at-risk youth to gain the skills necessary to begin successful careers in a skilled trade or other profession.
“With 92,000 Massachusetts residents aged 18 to 24 living in poverty, the Shriver, Grafton, and Westover Job Corps Centers stand as vital resources for economic mobility and career development. Combined, they contribute an estimated $80 million to the local economy annually and across the state, we have seen the impact. Graduates have become union carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, police officers, cybersecurity professionals, and entrepreneurs. This is not just an investment in the local talent pipeline for employers but an investment in our communities as many of these graduates stay in the region to live, work, and raise their families. Pausing operations at these centers at the end of the month will directly detract from workforce training and discourage economic development in communities across the country like Devens, North Grafton, and Chicopee,” the lawmakers continued.
The decision to close Job Corps centers was met with swift legal opposition. On June 3, 2025, the National Job Corps Association, a trade organization representing Job Corps centers nationwide, filed a lawsuit against the DOL, arguing that the closure of the country’s largest residential career training program was both unlawful and based on misleading data about its performance. The following evening, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, blocking the DOL from suspending program operations.
“The Job Corps program is built on second chances, and we urge you to offer this program the same opportunity to adapt and grow that it has provided its students for the last 60 years,” the lawmakers concluded.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Text of Letter
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) and fellow members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) as well as Representatives Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) and Bill Keating (MA-09) in demanding that the Trump administration reverse its decision to cancel federal Job Corps funding, threatening the abrupt closure of 99 contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.
Their letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez DeRemer highlights the impact to Massachusetts’ three Job Corps centers: Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens, Grafton Job Corps Center in North Grafton, and Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee.
“We are writing to express our deep concerns regarding the Department of Labor’s recent decision to pause operations at Job Corps centers across the country. We urge you to consider the long-standing value and potential of the Job Corps program in offering young people a critical second chance at personal and professional success,” the lawmakers wrote.
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a pause in operations at contractor-run Job Corps centers across the U.S. With more than 120 centers nationwide, the Job Corps program provides opportunities for low-income and at-risk youth to gain the skills necessary to begin successful careers in a skilled trade or other profession.
“With 92,000 Massachusetts residents aged 18 to 24 living in poverty, the Shriver, Grafton, and Westover Job Corps Centers stand as vital resources for economic mobility and career development. Combined, they contribute an estimated $80 million to the local economy annually and across the state, we have seen the impact. Graduates have become union carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, police officers, cybersecurity professionals, and entrepreneurs. This is not just an investment in the local talent pipeline for employers but an investment in our communities as many of these graduates stay in the region to live, work, and raise their families. Pausing operations at these centers at the end of the month will directly detract from workforce training and discourage economic development in communities across the country like Devens, North Grafton, and Chicopee,” the lawmakers continued.
The decision to close Job Corps centers was met with swift legal opposition. On June 3, 2025, the National Job Corps Association, a trade organization representing Job Corps centers nationwide, filed a lawsuit against the DOL, arguing that the closure of the country’s largest residential career training program was both unlawful and based on misleading data about its performance. The following evening, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, blocking the DOL from suspending program operations.
“The Job Corps program is built on second chances, and we urge you to offer this program the same opportunity to adapt and grow that it has provided its students for the last 60 years,” the lawmakers concluded.
Phil Barry ’54, who dedicated over 60 years of his life to the University of Connecticut as a student, Division of Athletics administrator, and later as a member of the Board of Trustees, passed away June 14 at the age of 96.
Born Philip Paul Barry in Willimantic on March 30, 1929, to the late Patrick and Rosa (Giraca) Barry, he leaves his beloved wife of 68 years, Lena (Gray) Barry, of Brooklyn, Conn. A lifelong resident of eastern Connecticut, Barry was a friend to all, a dedicated family man, loyal associate, and collaborator to organize good times.
Phil Barry (Contributed photo)
A 1947 graduate of Windham High School, he was class president of his freshman and senior classes. He excelled in sports – particularly basketball and baseball.
Barry enrolled at UConn and his academic career was interrupted by service in the United States Army, in which he completed officer training for two years during the Korean War. Following his military discharge, he graduated from UConn in 1954 and worked for two years at the former Willimantic Trust Company, where he met his wife when she came in to cash her nursing payroll checks.
Barry was hired in the UConn Division of Athletics as ticket manager and worked for 31 years in the department. His career in athletics progressed to business manager and later assistant to the director of athletics. In August 1970, he was named assistant director of athletics and in 1983 was named associate director of athletics for operations, before retiring in 1987. At UConn, he served on many search committees to fill staff and team coaching vacancies.
Barry served as the first treasurer of the Big East Conference at the league’s inception in 1979 and was also secretary-treasurer of the Yankee Conference.
He was active for many years in the Collegiate Athletic Business Management Association, serving that national group as president in 1974 and being named National Athletic Business Manager of the Year in 1975.
Following retirement, Barry was a member of UConn’s Board of Trustees from 2001-09 and the Board of Directors of the UConn Alumni Association. Barry was elected and served two terms as a member of the Mansfield Town Council. During his tenure, he focused on the Downtown Storrs project and worked to foster closer ties between the Town of Mansfield and UConn.
Phil Barry accepts the National Athletic Business Manager of the Year Award in 1975 from the College Athletic Business Managers Association. (Contributed photo)
In the community, Barry had many interests, including membership in the Willimantic Country Club, Elks Club, and Irish Club of Willimantic. He was one of the last living members of Roy’s Boys – a dedicated group of Willimantic area baseball players who benefited as teens under the guidance and teaching of Willimantic YMCA Director Roy Dissinger.
Barry was predeceased by his brother, John (Eloise) Barry; his sister, Pauline (Ben) Nault; and his son-in-law, John Geissler. In addition to his wife, Lena, Phil leaves four children: Patricia Geissler, David (Lori) Barry, Douglas (Pamela) Barry, and Daniel (Julie) Barry. He had nine grandchildren, which include Kristin (Phillippe and their children, Daysia, Mariah, and Devin), Alyssa (Michael), Sean, Nikki, Jessica, Anna, Emma, Ryan, and Bradley.
Barry’s family will receive relatives and friends Tuesday, July 1, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 7p.m. at First Baptist Church of Mansfield, 945 Storrs Road, Storrs. A memorial service will be celebrated Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Mansfield in Storrs. The family invites those attending to wear UConn blue and white.
The family would like to thank the kind and compassionate staff at Creamery Brook and Pierce Home in Brooklyn for its extraordinary care since 2019. Donations may be made in Barry’s honor to either St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Pierce Memorial Baptist Home Recreation Fund (checks made payable to PMBH, noting Recreation), 44 Canterbury Road, Brooklyn, CT 06234.
I never imagined that art curation and hospitals could be such a dynamic pair. The idea of intentionally organizing the placement of artwork around such a facility was so foreign to me that I almost missed having one of the most enlightening roles of my career. I eventually realized how wrong I was and how right this job is for me, but I did not come to this conclusion easily. After a friend nudged me multiple times to apply for this position at UConn Health, it was not long before a mutual friend urged me to read the description again thoroughly, then apply. This was in fact a job for me. My experience up to that point in my career had all but placed a billboard in front of me with a giant red arrow pointing in this direction.
The Frank Stella piece hanging behind curator Andre Rochester outside the Health Sciences Library is among the highest-profile pieces in UConn Health’s art collection. (2023 photo by Tina Encarnacion)
After a few friendly nudges and divine signs, I went for it. On the day of the interview, I hit a massive traffic jam caused by a statewide police procession. I called ahead from the highway, mortified, but they could see it happening outside the window. The moment felt doomed, but it led to one of the most meaningful jobs of my life. Arriving 15 minutes late, prepared with a lengthy CV, anecdotes about my art career and a decade of curatorial experience, I entered the lobby where I met my future manager. She led me to a conference room where two others patiently awaited my grand entrance. Although I arrived flustered and felt like I somehow blew this opportunity by coming in so late, the interview went well. They invited me back a couple of weeks later and presented an offer.
“The Family” is a bronze sculpture by Wolfgang Behl. (Photo provided by Andre Rochester)
Becoming the art curator at UConn Health has broadened my perspective of art placement and its function in the healing environment. People may not even notice art as they walk past it in our public spaces every day. Yet, how do you think patients, staff, or visitors might feel without it there? How drab and boring would it be if there was nothing to break up the empty space in our corridors? A part of healing from any ailment is mental. The atmosphere in which you endure or help someone through that process is important. Art must engage, inspire, invoke, and uplift. Art has the power to change the environment in which we place it. We decorate our homes because it makes us feel something. The same can be said about our workspace. Art is a subtle, but important part of feeling better. I have made it my personal mission to ensure people notice the art at UConn Health, but more importantly, they connect with it. Being an art curator in a hospital means wearing a few hats: interior decorator, creative consultant, and sometimes you become somewhat of a community organizer.
UConn Health art curator Andre Rochester (left) leads an art committee of volunteers who are current and former employees, including (as of August 2024, from left) Edith Lamonica, Ann Taridona, Christine McNally, Jillian Silverberg, Felicia Vezina, Emily Ziemba, Jo Cohen, and Rachael Norris. (Tina Encarnacion/ UConn Health photo)
The Connecticut Collection (as it was named by its founder, Celeste LeWitt) is a gem hidden in plain sight. A full spectrum of visual art can be found throughout all UConn Health locations. It started with museum-level artwork thanks to Celeste’s appeal to some of the most notable artists in the state. Through her own network and that of her cousin, world renowned conceptual artist and Hartford native Sol LeWitt, the collection quickly developed into something truly special. Since 1979, The Connecticut Collection has grown to over 2,500 works of art, including items from a wall tapestry by Frank Stella, original prints by Anni Albers, an array of sculptures by Wolfgang Behl, and a drawing by Sol LeWitt. Throughout the year, we receive donations from artists of all backgrounds- professionals and hobbyists alike- with styles ranging from landscapes to portraits, folk art, and photography. Donors also include art collectors, current and former employees, patients, and their families. What makes the Connecticut Collection so unique is we have a little bit of everybody and a little bit of everything visual arts. In 2024, an artist from Oakland, California, donated a beautiful terra cotta sculpture- a testament to the breadth of our reach as a health institution and an alignment between Celeste LeWitt’s vision and the community at large.
“Four Seasons in New England” by Tracy Kane is 10-ft-tall, 16-ft-wide acrylic mural on wood panels. (Provided by Andre Rochester)
This role includes processing art donations, leading an art committee, curating exhibits, and bringing awareness to the art collection. I help select art for offices, conference rooms, waiting rooms, and some patient treatment areas. In addition to the Connecticut Collection, we have two galleries. Celeste LeWitt Gallery is on the north side of our main dining facility. It was established by our previous curator, Linda Webber, in honor of the late Celeste LeWitt. During her 22-year tenure as art curator, Linda started as a volunteer, advocating for this to become a paid position, and nearly doubled the size of the collection. This position would not exist without her efforts. I start every art tour at an original painting by Linda to pay homage to her legacy by acknowledging the big shoes I had to fill upon my arrival at UConn Health. Even in her retirement, Linda’s passion for art at UConn Health is still felt. She often attends our receptions. Our newly established Connector Gallery is in the main floor corridor connecting our main building to John Dempsey Hospital.
“Visitor in My Garden” is a painting by Stanwyck Cromwell. (Provided by Andre Rochester)
Celeste LeWitt Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting artists from across the state of Connecticut and parts of New England. We host four exhibits per year featuring two artists at a time. This recently included a debut for Maggie Prado from our carpentry and paint team and Martha G. Trask, who works for our library. The Connector Gallery started with an exhibit for Art Connection Studio (ACS), a program of Vinfen, an organization that provides support for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This experience inspired me to connect UConn Health with organizations and people that use art as a tool for healing and cultivate opportunities for collaboration. Later that year, this mission expanded to include ongoing employee art shows in between these collaborative exhibits.
I met the ACS team in 2023 at one of their receptions. They partner with local artists to teach participants how to make several types of art and schedule shows for them throughout the state. I was so inspired by their art that I offered an opportunity to exhibit at UConn Health. By spring 2024, with full support from our executive leadership team, we displayed a temporary installation of their 15-foot collaborative mural which says the words “THIS ABILITY” along with paintings from three of their artists. We also called attention to our Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service. As a result of this first collaboration, our Office of Diversity and Inclusion led a campaign to recruit members of the UConn Health community to volunteer at ACS.
From left: UConn Health employees Jameson MacInnis, Irina Bezsonova, Rachael Norris, and Jo Cohen observe some of the submissions to the fall 2024 employee art show along the hallway connecting UConn Health’s Connecticut Tower and University Tower. Norris and Cohen are members of UConn Health’s art committee, and Bezsonova’s work has been accepted for an exhibit. (Photo provided by Andre Rochester)
We have hosted four employee exhibits in the Connector Gallery so far. This includes a solo exhibition for Irina Bezsonova, associate professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics. I am proud to say that we get at least three submissions from someone new with each call for employee artwork. We have displayed art by employees from across the entire organization. It serves as proof that there are many talented people who work at UConn Health. I am especially proud that employee artwork has had a presence in our collection from the beginning. The Connector Gallery is only one year in its journey, and the impact of these exhibits is felt by all.
I led an effort to source artwork for the New England Sickle Cell Institute and Connecticut Blood Disorder Center, an opportunity for which I am profoundly grateful. Their leadership team trusted my vision to engage artists from across the state directly. Some of whom shared that they have a personal connection to the population we serve in NESCI/CBDC. I have also collaborated with our Office of Professional Wellbeing and Engagement to facilitate lunchtime art workshops for employees that focus on forward thinking, goal setting, and mindfulness using a lesson in color theory. I also host tours for students, employees, and occasional visitors upon request.
It has only been a two-and-a-half-year journey for me, but so much has happened in the time I have been the art curator at UConn Health. I am digging deeper into my purpose: a personal mission to use my own progress as an artist and creative professional to help others thrive. I continue to grow in this position, and with the help of our art committee, I will find more ways to raise awareness and increase engagement with art at UConn Health.
We must acknowledge that the scope of art at UConn Health goes beyond visual media. Creativity is the foundation for writing, music, and theater. We have an Orchestra of UConn Health (O.U.C.H.), a student acapella group, and J.J. Odom. director of buildings and grounds, is a talented drummer. Furthermore, there are authors like Lucius Downing and Shawn Brown, who work in IT. UConn Health is a premier location for medical treatment, but there is an arts community that exists among the people who work here. I have only scratched the surface but there is a deep connection between health and creativity here and I am honored to be a part of it. I hope to continue cultivating a space where art, wellness, and community thrive together at UConn Health.
Andre Rochester is UConn Health’s art curator. (Photo by Keith Claytor, Time Frozen Photography)
About the author: Andre Rochester is an artist, curator, and arts administrator based in Hartford. He currently serves as the art curator at UConn Health, where he oversees the Connecticut Collection and curates exhibitions that elevate healing through creativity. A passionate advocate for the intersection of art and wellness, Andre uses his platform to support emerging artists, cultivate community, and foster a culture of belonging through visual storytelling.
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced the completion of the New York State Regional Food Hub, a $45 million cold-storage facility that will transform food access across New York. The first-of-its-kind 60,000 square-foot facility, operated by GrowNYC in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx, will enable a 600 percent increase in locally-sourced food distribution — from approximately 3 million pounds to 20 million pounds annually by 2034 — while creating over 200 new jobs and providing a critical economic lifeline to New York farmers. The facility, supported by $19 million from New York State, as recommended by the New York City Regional Economic Development Council, represents a joint State and City investment designed to strengthen the local food economy, support New York farmers, and improve access to healthy and affordable foods for low-income communities.
“The New York State Regional Food Hub is a game-changer for families and farmers across New York,” Governor Hochul said. “From the streets of the Bronx to the farms of Batavia, the Empire State has so much to offer. That’s why we invested in this massive GrowNYC facility to expand access to fresh, local food while creating new economic opportunities for our agricultural producers.”
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “We are proud to support this transformative infrastructure that will create jobs and dramatically expand access to affordable, healthy food for New Yorkers. ESD’s strategic investment enhances the efficiency, sustainability, and equity of our state’s food system by connecting upstate farmers directly to downstate markets, ensuring urban families have access to the quality produce they deserve. The New York State Regional Food Hub represents a model investment that will benefit communities across our state.”
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “The New York State Regional Food Hub is designed to be a game changer for our farmers bringing product to market and to our families who will have greater access to quality New York grown fruits and vegetables. We learned during the pandemic that we needed to double down on our efforts to strengthen the food supply chain and make sure that we had a food system right here in New York that was resilient and could feed its communities. This Food Hub is a tremendous piece of that puzzle and will provide an incredible benefit to our underserved populations and to our farmers.”
GrowNYC President and CEO Marcel Van Ooyen said, “We’re beyond grateful for the vast support from City and State leaders that led to the completion of this state-of-the-art facility and that will advance our work promoting equitable food access in New York. Our Food Hub provides ample opportunities for GrowNYC and farmers to make a tangible impact on the everyday lives of underserved New Yorkers, and I’m hopeful it will serve as a scalable model for how cities across the United States can combat hunger while supporting local farm systems.”
The Food Hub will enable GrowNYC to quadruple its aggregation and distribution square footage, dramatically expanding wholesale distribution capacity to make fresh, local foods accessible to underserved New Yorkers. The facility will serve wholesale buyers including institutions and restaurants while strengthening innovative partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Building on GrowNYC’s current work distributing free produce through New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets New York Food for New York Families program — which unites a network of 20 community partners including Graham Windham and The POINT to serve the Hunts Point community and beyond — the expanded Hub will significantly scale these vital food access efforts. Additional funding was provided by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Council, U.S. Economic Development Administration, Bank of America, and others.
The facility addresses a critical need identified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when food insecurity in New York City grew from 1.4 million residents to approximately 2 million. By sourcing food directly from regional farms and creating new jobs, the Hub will support New York State farmers — particularly small- and mid-sized operations — while increasing food distribution capacity and enhancing access to New York City’s wholesale marketplace. The processing facility will assist upstate producers and processors in targeting institutional and private sector procurement opportunities, offering a significant boost to New York’s agricultural economy while building a more resilient food supply chain.
NYCREDC Co-Chairs Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, City University of New York Chancellor, and William D. Rahm, CEO of Everview Partners, said, “The NYCREDC sees the Food Hub as a vital tool to address our region’s needs, and an engine of economic opportunity for New York City and our upstate neighbors. The expansive cold storage space will help alleviate food insecurity — a major struggle for many households in the region — and support farming communities’ livelihoods. This investment strengthens our regional food system and builds economic partnerships that benefit communities across New York State.”
State Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “Strengthening the connection between upstate farmers and downstate communities has long been one of New York’s greatest opportunities — and the NYS Regional Food Hub brings that vision to scale. Every New Yorker deserves to eat fresh, healthy food, and this innovative model lays the groundwork to expand food access to more New Yorkers, especially those in historically underserved communities. It sets a national standard for how we fight hunger and invest in agriculture as a powerful engine of both economic growth and social progress, and I’m proud to champion this project alongside partners who share that vision.”
Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, “We have anxiously awaited the opening of GrowNYC’s new Regional Food Hub. Providing expanded market opportunities for NY farmers is a win-win for them and for the communities who will benefit from fresh and locally sourced fruits and vegetables. I’m very happy that Empire State Development agreed with NYC’s Regional Council to make this substantial investment. I’m sure that other cities will want to emulate the work being done here.”
The New York State Regional Food Hub was first developed as the result of the New York State-New York City Regional Food Hubs Task Force, which created a roadmap to build a Regional Food Hub System. The goal was to enhance the connection between upstate food producers and the downstate market, increase access to fresh food for underserved populations, boost in-state food production and consumption, and create new job opportunities in the growing sector of food manufacturing. As a high priority in the task force’s final action plan, this facility now serves as a national model for creating sustainable, self-sufficient food systems that safeguard local food supplies.
Jackson, TN – Arrest warrants have been issued for Jose Inocencio Fraire Chavez, 39. The warrants are related to incidents which occurred in Obion County, Tennessee. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the issuance of the arrest warrants today.
Chavez has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm; willful failure to comply with removal procedures in violation of Title 8 U.S.C. § 1253(b); and flight to avoid prosecution.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement are working together in coordination with the Union City Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to safely locate Chavez and his child, who have not been seen in the Union City area since May 2, 2025.
“Since issuing a statewide Endangered Child Alert on May 5th, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has remained committed to working alongside our local, state, and federal partners to bring Tah Yah Yona Chavez home safely,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “At the heart of this investigation is an innocent child who deserves to be safely reunited with her family in West Tennessee. We are truly grateful for the invaluable teamwork of our law enforcement partners in these efforts.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Lawler Parham.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law. If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of the factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
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For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebookor on Xat @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi during the high-level event on combatting marine pollution at the United Nations Conference in Nice, France (Photo: E. McDonald/IAEA)
The IAEA highlighted the role of nuclear science in protecting our oceans at the 2025 United Nations Oceans Conference held last week in Nice, France.
Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the conference convened over 10,000 participants, including scientists, diplomats and politicians, to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. It aimed to accelerate progress towards SDG14, Life Below Water, through innovative technologies and action. The IAEA took center stage at the event to share how nuclear technology is boosting ocean health and tackling critical threats such as marine plastic pollution.
The IAEA organized and participated in more than a dozen events at the conference, and on research vessels in the Port of Nice. Experts from the IAEA’s Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco highlighted how isotopic tools can help monitor and reduce plastic pollution in the ocean.
Plastic waste is not only infiltrating our oceans, but also the human body in the form of microplastics. Without urgent action, the amount of plastic entering the ocean each year could reach 37 million metric tons by 2040, according to UN estimates, becoming a threat to marine and human life.
Plastic pollution featured prominently throughout the conference, with a focus on the ongoing negotiations for the development of an internationally legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The negotiations for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-led treaty are expected to conclude later this year in Geneva, following five previous sessions.
At the conference, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi spoke about the IAEA’s work to combat plastic pollution and emphasized the need to share data data between scientists, policymakers and environmental agencies.
“Four years ago, at the last UN Ocean Conference, I announced NUTEC Plastics, an initiative that gives countries the tools they need to address the issue of marine microplastic pollution. Today, I am delighted to report that we have made significant progress with 99 countries involved, and we have been equipping more than 100 Member State laboratories all over the world. We are building the capacity that countries need to translate data into policies and action.”
NUTEC Plastics is an IAEA flagship initiative that supports countries in researching microplastics and using nuclear techniques to improve recycling techniques.
Director of the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories Florence Descroix-Comanducci (left), highlighted the work of the IAEA’s Marine environment laboratories at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in France (Photo: E.McDonald/IAEA)
“Nuclear and isotopic techniques add incredible value to boost ocean health,” said Florence Descroix-Comanducci, Director of the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories. “Our laboratories in Monaco support Member States in the implementation and use of these techniques, and to develop harmonized methods to generate globally comparable data, especially in light of the forthcoming plastics treaty.”
At events organized by the IAEA, panelists highlighted the need to address the top of the plastic life cycle to prevent further pollution, employing a “source to sea approach” to reduce marine litter and, by extension, marine plastic pollution. “Our metrics on marine litter are moving in the right direction,” said Martin Adams, Head of the Environment Department at the European Environment Agency. “Timely and relevant data are increasingly important, but we don’t need to know everything. We just need to know enough to act.” Other events organized by the IAEA focused on ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, ocean acidification, IAEA support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and nuclear energy and ocean health.
The IAEA’s unique expertise in nuclear applications is contributing to both mitigations, by using radiation technology for waste recycling, and monitoring, by using isotopic techniques to monitor and assess impacts of microplastic pollution. Through the NUTEC Plastics initiative, 99 countries are participating in marine monitoring of microplastics, and 52 around the world are developing innovative recycling technology.
The International High-Level Forum on NUTEC Plastics, organized by the IAEA on 25–26 November 2025, in Manila, Philippines, will highlight the progress achieved to date, address current challenges, and chart course to strengthen regional and international cooperation in the sustainable management of plastic waste through innovative nuclear technologies.
Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
Lawmakers: “Failure to hold hearings and a markup on this reconciliation bill before it is considered on the Senate floor would be an abdication of our duty to the American people.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined every Democratic member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to demand Senate hearings to examine the disastrous impact of the Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill on the health and well-being of the American people and markup this legislation before it reaches the Senate floor.
“We are deeply concerned that if these policies were signed into law they would create a national health care emergency,” the lawmakers wrote. “Not only would millions of Americans lose their health insurance and tens of thousands of our constituents die as a result of the House-passed reconciliation bill, the cost of prescription drugs would go up for seniors, hospitals and community health centers in rural and underserved areas would close or shut down access to services that patients rely on, and nursing homes would be made less safe.”
The lawmakers continued: “Regardless of your views on the merits of these policies, we hope you agree with us that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has a solemn responsibility to hold extensive hearings on the impact these policies would have on the health and well-being of the American people and our entire health care system.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of the Republican budget stated the legislation would result in 16 million Americans losing health insurance and increase our national debt by $2.4 trillion.
Nearly 80 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) nationally. Medicaid covers the care for over 60% of all nursing home residents.
The Republican budget proposal calls for extreme Medicaid cuts of more than $700 billion, which would take away people’s health benefits; make it harder for them to see their health care providers; and prevent seniors from getting nursing home care.
The Senate now must consider the House-passed budget. Hickenlooper has already voted against the Republican budget resolution on the Senate floor twice and offered amendments to prevent cuts to Medicaid. He will vote against the proposal again when it comes to the Senate.
Read the full letter HERE.
Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) rolled out six proposals for the One Big Beautiful Bill based on her decade of work to make Washington Squeal, reduce reckless spending, and save taxpayers’ money.
Ernst’s proposals would save tens of billions of dollars by eliminating bogus payments, snapping back SNAP overpayments, ending unemployment for millionaires, defunding welfare for politicians, stopping subsidies for union bosses, and selling vacant buildings.
Here is some of the coverage of the proposals:
Fox News | Republican senators roll out DOGE budget proposals for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
“While a $9.4 billion rescissions package, a formal request from the executive branch to codify its DOGE cuts, is in the works, proponents of the Senate DOGE package say their total estimated savings would accentuate that and also surpass it in value.”
National Review |Ernst Pushes Plan to End Food Stamp Overpayments to Cut Spending in ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill
“Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) is rolling out a series of measures to cut spending in the GOP’s ‘big, beautiful,’ bill including a proposal for ending mismanagement in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.”
New York Post | Sen. Joni Ernst pushes to ban taxpayer-funded union time in One Big Beautiful Bill Act
“Sen. Joni Ernst wants to tweak the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act to eliminate the longstanding practice of taxpayer-funded union time. Approximately $160 million of your money went toward fed workers’ union time as of 2019, the last time such data was available, and Ernst (R-Iowa) has been on a quest for more recent information.”
Breitbart | Sen. Joni Ernst Aims to Stop Fraudulent Payments as Pay-For in Big Beautiful Bill
“The Hawkeye State senator, as the chair of the Small Business Committee, aims to have her bill, the Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Spending Act, as a pay-for in Trump’s marquee bill to stop fraudulent and improper federal payments. The legislation could have a significant effect, as more than $160 billion in improper payments occurred in fiscal year 2024.”
The six proposals are:
Saving billions in bogus payments
Snapping back overpayments
Ernst’s Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act strengthens the integrity of the important Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by identifying all errors, clawing back overpayments, and holding states with high payment inaccuracies accountable.
In 2023, there were approximately $10.73 billion in overpayments. However, the true cost is unknown because errors totaling $56 or less are excluded.
Ending unemployment for millionaires
Eliminating welfare for politicians
The ELECT Act eliminates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which utilizes tax dollars to fund presidential campaigns.
This fund has been dipped into previously to reduce spending. Last year, $320 million was allocated to Secret Service and $25 million was given to the Department of Justice.
Ending the absurd practice of taxpayer-funded union time
Ernst’s Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallet Act ends the absurd policy of taxpayer-funded union time which allows federal employees to engage in union activities when they are supposed to be serving the American people.
It cost taxpayers at least $160 million per year according to the most recent report from 2019.
Selling vacant buildings
Ernst has exposed how it costs billions every year to maintain thousands of vacant government buildings and empty offices.
Selling just a handful of these buildings would generate hundreds of millions of dollars.
LEWES, Del., June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pacific AI, the healthcare AI governance company, today announced the results of the 2025 AI Governance Survey, exploring how organizations are managing the risks and responsibilities of deploying generative AI systems. Conducted in April and May by Gradient Flow, the results highlight the priorities, practices, and concerns of professionals and technology leaders in this space. The results will be presented in an upcoming webinar on the state of AI governance taking place at 2pm ET on June 18.
As AI becomes foundational for modern business, governance should be top of mind. However, the results indicate that the pressure to innovate is outpacing the ability to scale AI systems safely and responsibly. Despite 75% of respondents reporting the existence of AI usage policies, only 59% have dedicated governance roles, and just 54% maintain incident response playbooks for AI-specific risks. Fewer than half (48%) of organizations are monitoring their AI systems for accuracy, misuse, or drift—numbers that drop drastically in small firms.
The leading barrier to effective governance is the pressure to move fast. Nearly half (45%) of all respondents—and 56% of technical leaders—cite speed-to-market as the top challenge, often resulting in shortcuts that compromise safety. Technical leaders, who are driving the most aggressive deployment timelines, are simultaneously those most aware of these governance shortcomings.
Other key findings show:
Production Reality Gaps. Only 30% of organizations have deployed generative AI systems to production, with just 13% managing multiple deployments. Large enterprises are five times more likely than small firms to have multiple systems running.
Technical Leader Ambition. Technical Leaders drive more aggressive adoption, with 48% targeting 3-5 new use cases versus 25% for other roles.
Small Company Vulnerability. Small companies consistently lag in governance maturity: only 36% have governance officers (vs 62-64% for larger firms), and just 41% provide annual AI training (vs 59-79%).
Regulatory Awareness Deficits. Familiarity with frameworks like NIST AI RMF remains concentrated in large enterprises. Small companies report only 14% familiarity with most major standards, exposing compliance risk.
Immature Incident Response. Many organizations lack protocols for AI-specific failure modes, such as prompt injection attacks or biased outputs, indicating a lack of capabilities beyond traditional IT playbooks.
“This survey exposes a growing disconnect between AI policy and practice. Organizations that don’t address it are playing with fire and they know it,” said David Talby, CEO, Pacific AI. “Without responsible AI practices baked into the entire AI development lifecycle, developers and thereby the organizations they work for are escalating legal, financial, and reputational risks.”
To help, Pacific AI provides a free AI Policy Suite available to anyone. Recent updates include an AI Incident Reporting Policy addressing some of the major gaps reported in the survey. Conforming to 110 different laws, regulations, and industry standards, the Policy Suite ensures companies are operating legally anywhere in the US. This can be especially beneficial to smaller organizations with limited resources that still need to track and implement evolving legislation and industry standards.
Register here for our upcoming webinar,“The State of AI Governance,” detailing the research and outlining the priorities, practices, and concerns of technology leaders using AI. Read the full survey report here. To learn more about Pacific AI, visit https://pacific.ai/.
About Pacific AI Pacific AI is dedicated to helping organizations deliver AI systems that comply with the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape in the USA. Whatever your starting point, Pacific AI can help you reach the next level of AI governance, implement tools and controls for compliance, or audit and certify what you’ve already built. To learn more, visit: https://www.pacific.ai.
Contact Gina Devine Head of Communications Pacific AI Corp. gina@pacific.ai
People living in and around Kamloops now have more access to team-based primary care through the new Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS) North Shore Community Health Centre (CHC) at 202B-780 Windsor Ave.
“The STEPS North Shore Community Health Centre brings us closer to our goal of providing everyone in B.C. the high-quality health care they need, when and where they need it,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “This centre is expected to facilitate more than 30,000 patient visits each year in a culturally safe, trauma-informed environment.”
Once fully operational, STEPS North Shore CHC will provide comprehensive person-centred primary care that will connect 4,300 people in the area without a family doctor or nurse practitioner with a primary-care provider.
“STEPS is focused on strengthening long-term relationships between patients and health-care providers,” said Colin O’Leary, president, STEPS. “These relationships have been shown to improve health outcomes, help avoid preventable illness and reduce the cost of health care. The new North Shore Community Health Centre will expand on the network of care we have built in the Thompson region and enhance primary-care services for underserved populations in our community.”
Since May 15, 2025, when the CHC opened, STEPS has hired 0.2 full-time equivalent (FTE) family physician, one FTE registered nurse, one FTE mental-health therapist, 0.8 FTE community-health worker and one FTE executive director. It is currently interviewing for additional clinical positions.
Once fully operational, the CHC will have a clinical staffing complement of approximately 13.5 FTE health-care workers, including two FTE family physicians, three FTE nurse practitioners, 2.3 FTE registered nurses, 1.15 FTE licensed practical nurse, 2.8 FTE social workers and community-health workers, and one FTE physiotherapist, and an executive director and support staff.
“By working closely with community partners, such as STEPS, we are expanding access to primary care, which includes health promotion and wellness services,” said Susan Brown, president and CEO of Interior Health. “This means more people will be supported in staying healthy through early intervention, personalized care plans and a broad team of health professionals focused on long-term health and well-being.”
The STEPS North Shore CHC plans to be open six days a week, including some morning and/or evening hours.
“As we continue to implement a primary-care network across the region, this new centre represents a key step in aligning community-based services with our shared vision for integrated, team-based care,” said Dr. Meghan Macdonald, president of the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice.
The Province has committed more than $2.6 million in annual operating funding with more than $2 million in additional, one-time start-up funds, which includes more than $1.3 million for tenant improvements for the North Shore CHC.
The health centre will be operated by STEPS, a non-profit society that has been providing interdisciplinary, team-based primary health care in the Thompson Region since 2017. It is a community driven initiative made possible through the collaboration of STEPS, Interior Health, the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice and the Ministry of Health.
The STEPS North Shore CHC will be part of the Thompson Region Primary Care Network (PCN), which brings together health-care providers in Kamloops and the Lower Thompson region to improve access and attachment to team-based, comprehensive and culturally safe primary care.
The investment in the STEPS North Shore CHC aligns with the Province’s primary-care strategy to improve access to team-based, patient-focused care though PCNs, which are geographically based, locally planned and co-ordinated systems of primary care, as well as single-site models of care, such as First Nations Primary Care Initiatives and Urgent and Primary Care Centres.
Quick Facts:
Including the new STEPS North Shore CHC in Kamloops, there are 13 publicly funded CHCs in B.C. that are delivering services, including one publicly funded CHC operating in the Interior Health region.
Publicly funded CHCs are required to be integrated into primary-care networks.
Learn More:
To learn more about the Province’s Primary Care Strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018PREM0034-001010
To learn about the Province’s Health Human Resources Strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0059-001464
To sign up to be matched with a family doctor or nurse practitioner on the Health Connect Registry, visit: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-connect-registry
Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison today announced $3.4 million over four years to support the development of two new facilities at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) which includes the Omics Resource Centre at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and Beef Reprotech facilities at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE).
The investment will be delivered through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) as part of the governments’ commitment to support partnerships with strategic agricultural research organizations.
The new initiative, called IntegrOmes (Integrated Genomics for Sustainable Animal Agriculture and Environmental Stewardship), will advance beef genetics by matching genomic markers with desirable traits and evaluate reproductive efficiencies. This integrated approach will enable producers to make more precise and data-driven breeding decisions that improve livestock productivity in Saskatchewan.
“Innovation – like what we are seeing through genomics research – is vital to the continued success of Canada’s agriculture sector,” MacDonald said. “This shared investment with Saskatchewan will support the expanded efforts of these facilities and ensure a vibrant future for Saskatchewan’s livestock sector.”
“Saskatchewan producers already bring generations of expertise and innovation to our livestock sector, and this investment builds on that legacy – helping ensure Saskatchewan’s ranchers remain global leaders at what they do best,” Harrison said. “The work of USask is recognized globally, and we are proud to support this initiative and the livestock sector it serves.”
The IntegrOmes project will address issues of beef cattle production and reproductive efficiency, animal health and the environment through the adoption of genomic tools. Saskatchewan producers will benefit from having access to these tools to stay competitive in the domestic and international market.
“Genomic research is advancing rapidly, and USask is leading the way in this evolving field,” University of Saskatchewan Research Vice-President Baljit Singh said. “Our researchers are applying cutting-edge methods to advance our understanding of beef genetics, which couldn’t be possible without the support of this joint funding from the provincial and federal governments. We thank them for their continued support as we aspire to be the university the world needs.”
USask, the WCVM and the LFCE are world-class research, teaching and knowledge-transfer facilities that connect innovation across the livestock production chain. USask’s work in feedlot and cow-calf management, veterinary science and forage systems plays a vital role in driving improvements in productivity and sustainability in the sector.
This investment builds on the long-standing support for agricultural research by the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan. Through shared priorities under Sustainable CAP, over the past five years nearly $170 million has been committed in Saskatchewan toward research to improve productivity, expand markets and ensure our agri-food products remain globally competitive.
With today’s announcement, USask’s LFCE and the WCVM continue to strengthen Saskatchewan’s reputation as a global leader in high-quality, safe and sustainable food production.
Sustainable CAP is a five-year, $3.5 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments.
To strengthen competitiveness, innovation and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.
Today, Highways Minister David Marit announced the provincial government’s allocations of $1 million in short line rail infrastructure investments, an increase of $470,000 or 88 per cent from last year’s budget. This increase recognizes the key role rail transportation plays supporting Saskatchewan’s export-based economy.
“Short line railways are an integral link that help move our commodities to markets around the world,” Marit said. “They support Saskatchewan’s export-based economy that sustains our quality of life. Short lines are a safe and efficient way to move bulk commodities, which reduces wear and tear on Saskatchewan highways.”
Ministry of Highways’ Short Line Railway Improvement Program (SRIP) funding will go toward track upgrades and expansion, improved crossing surfaces and sightlines, bridge maintenance, track rehabilitations and other projects. As the SRIP is a 50-50 cost-sharing program between the provincial government ($1 million) and privately-owned short lines ($1 million) for eligible projects, the total short line rail infrastructure investment will be up to $2 million this year under this program.
Provincial government funding allocations for 2025-26 are:
Big Sky Rail (Delisle, Eston, Elrose region) $167,541.
Carlton Trail Railway (Saskatoon to Prince Albert area) $71,391.
Great Sandhills Railway (Swift Current to Leader area) $82,945.
Great Western Railway (Assiniboia, Shaunavon, Coronach area) $250,073.
Last Mountain Railway (Regina to Davidson) $56,122.
Long Creek Railroad (west of Estevan) $45,000.
Northern Lights Rail (west of Melfort) $45,000.
Red Coat Road and Rail (Ogema area) $47,456.
Southern Rails Cooperative (south of Moose Jaw) $45,000.
Stewart Southern Railway (southwest of Regina to Stoughton) $54,471.
Thunder Rail (Arborfield area) $45,000.
Torch River Rail (Nipawin to Choiceland area) $45,000.
Wheatland Rail (Cudworth, Wakaw area) $45,000.
“The Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association thanks the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways for their support of the short line railway industry,” Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association Director of Communications and Government Relations Rachel Mackenzie said. “Rising material costs over the last three years means that it is now more expensive per mile for railways to maintain their tracks to meet and exceed the safety and performance standards required.
“The Saskatchewan railway improvement program now provides more funding per mile to support the maintenance and improvement of this valuable trade-enabling infrastructure. This increase of almost 90 per cent to the program will go a long way to further supporting the value that short line railways bring to the supply chain.”
The provincial grants provide up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs and determined by how much track each short line owns. Short lines with less than 80 kilometres of track receive at least $45,000. Larger networks receive a proportional amount based on how much track they operate.
Thirteen provincially regulated short line railways operate on 2,123 kilometres of track in Saskatchewan.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah 6th District Wisconsin)
Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) joins Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in introducing the CREATE JOBS Act, a bicameral bill which will restore key pro-manufacturing provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), incentivizing domestic production and creating over one million full-time jobs for hardworking Americans.
The CREATE JOBS Act would reinstate and make permanent two expired TCJA provisions that were vital in driving manufacturing growth and attracting investment back to the U.S. In addition, the bill applies neutral cost recovery for structures, such as factories. Taken together, these provisions will bolster manufacturing, raise wages, and create good-paying jobs.
“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) delivered major wins for American families and workers, but some of its most powerful tools for growth have already expired, hurting the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry,” said Grothman. “Wisconsin’s Sixth District is the most manufacturing intensive district in the country, so I’ve seen directly how this affects the hardworking men and women at home.
“The bottom line is we must make these provisions permanent to support our manufacturers, restore what we know works, and expand policies that strengthen our economy and create jobs across the nation. After our workforce has suffered through inflation and economic turmoil over the past four years, I’m proud to join Senator Ted Cruz in introducing the CREATE JOBS Act to invest in American workers and grow our industrial base.”
“As Congress considers extending immediate deductions for research and equipment, it’s long past time to give structures similar treatment. The 2017 tax cuts were a leap forward for investment, but they left buildings behind. By fixing that omission, the CREATE JOBS Act levels the playing field for all types of investment and unlocks capital for American manufacturing. Updating cost recovery for all investments is the single most pro-manufacturing, pro-growth reform Congress could include in reconciliation,” said Adam Michel, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute.
“WMC thanks Rep. Grothman for his leadership making the Wisconsin and American economies pro-business. One-hundred percent bonus deprecation and full-expensing of R&D costs were boons for economic growth across Wisconsin and the country following the passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Making these provisions permanent will provide predictability for business investments, make America more attractive for growth, and ultimately strengthen our economy. The CREATE JOBS Act is common-sense policy that is positively pro-business and promotes job creation right here in Wisconsin and across America,” said Kurt Bauer, President & CEO at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC).
Background Information
The CREATE JOBS Act would make permanent two key pro-manufacturing provisions of the TCJA and create further incentives to produce domestically.
Specifically, the bill would make the bonus-depreciation and full-expensing for research and development (R&D) provisions of the TCJA permanent and apply neutral cost recovery to rental units and commercial structures, like factories.
According to the Tax Foundation, these provisions would increase long-run GDP by 5.1 percent, increase wages by 4.3 percent, and create over one million full-time jobs for American workers.
Senator Ted Cruz previously introduced this bill in 2020,2021, and 2023.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) is serving his fifth term representing Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.