Good news – the slipway at Admiral’s Hard has been repaired and is ready to welcome the Cremyll ferries back again.
From this Friday – 20 June – boats which ferry passengers across the Tamar to Mount Edgcumbe will be able to land once more at the slipway.
It has been closed since mid-March following reports of damage to the structure and work has now been carried out to stabilise the historic slip.
A section of sheet piling on the wall of the slip had collapsed, releasing a quantity of stone infill into the water, preventing the ferries from using the slip.
Specialist marine engineers were deployed to repair this part of the quay which is Grade II listed and whose origins date back to the Bronze Age, although most of the slip was built in the late 18 and 19th centuries.
Their work entailed replacing the sheet piles and clearing the debris. Other work including concrete pours into voids which were created by wave action – not an easy task given the time needed for concrete to dry – even if it is quick drying – and the tides coming in and out.
Metal strappings have also been installed along the edge to provide more rigidity.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, cabinet member with responsibility for assets said: “Plymouth has miles of coastline with quays, wharves, walls and slipways which given their location, are always going to be at the mercy of time, tide and wave action.
“We try to prioritise spend where it is most needed and I am sure residents – and visitors who enjoy a day out to Mount Edgcumbe will appreciate that this work is now finished – particularly with a warm spell arriving.
“It means the Plymouth Boat Trips can use this historic slipway once more and I would like to thank the company – and their customers – for their flexibility and understanding while we carried out these works.”
Ben Squire, Managing Director of Plymouth Boat Trips, who run the Cremyll Ferry said: “We have managed in the Royal William Yard but walking down Admiral’s Hard somehow feels like the start of the trip, so it is great to be able to do this again.
“It’s brilliant that this work is now finished just as we are coming into the busy season.”
Some minor painting work is still to be carried out once the service has resumed as these can be carried out between ferry landings.
The work has enabled more detailed survey to be carried out on the quay and a further programme of work is being planned.
BOSTON – A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehension led to federal charges for an illegally present, 43-year-old Brazilian alien residing in Somerville. A federal grand jury indicted Paulo Vinicius Cardozo-Pereira June 9 charging him with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. This indictment follows Cardozo-Pereira’s arrest by officers with ICE Boston May 10.
“Paulo Vinicius Cardozo-Pereira has allegedly illegally re-entered the United States after having previously been removed by ICE,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “He has apparently shown a blatant disregard for U.S. immigration laws, and now he will be forced to answer for his actions. The officers of ICE Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing alien offenders from our New England communities.”
ICE previously deported Cardozo-Pereira from the United States July 25, 2014.
It is alleged that sometime after his July 2014 removal, Cardozo Pereira illegally re-entered the United States without permission.
Cardozo-Pereira will appear in federal court in Boston to face the charge on June 24.
If convicted, Cardozo-Pereira faces a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. ICE will seek to remove Cardozo-Pereira from the United States following the completion of any sentence the federal district court imposes.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X at @EROBoston and @HSINewEngland.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kodzo Tse, the ground movement noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of transportation of the joint force throughout African Lion 2025 (AL25), U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), poses for a photo in Agadir, Morocco, May 22, 2025. AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by SETAF-AF on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) VIEW ORIGINAL
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U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF)
AGADIR, Morocco – U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kodzo Tse, the ground movement noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of transportation of the joint force throughout African Lion 2025 (AL25), U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), plays a pivotal role at the exercise.
Born in Kpalimé, Togo, Tse oversees the movement of personnel—including distinguished visitors (DVs)—across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, ensuring logistical precision for an exercise involving 10,000 troops from over 50 nations. For Tse, AL25 is more than a mission; it’s a homecoming to the continent where he was born, blending personal heritage with professional purpose.
“My role is to plan and provide manifests for all personnel movements, from start to finish,” Tse said. “Whether it’s troops or DVs, I make sure everyone gets where they need to be to keep AL25 running smoothly.”
A global career, built on adaptability
Tse’s journey began in a bustling city 120 kilometers north of Lomé, the capital of Togo. After immigrating to the U.S., he settled in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which he now considers his second home. Enlisting as an automated logistics specialist, Tse built a diverse career, serving as a squad leader, warehouse NCOIC, platoon sergeant, drill sergeant and operations sergeant.
His assignments have taken him across the world, including Al Dhafra in Abu Dhabi, as well as nine months in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Poland.
“I’ve served across the globe, from Afghanistan to Poland,” Tse said. “Each assignment taught me how to deliver under pressure and adapt to new challenges.”
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kodzo Tse, the ground movement noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of transportation of the joint force throughout African Lion 2025 (AL25), U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), poses for a photo in Agadir, Morocco, May 22, 2025. AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by SETAF-AF on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) VIEW ORIGINAL
Now with SETAF-AF, Tse’s expertise ensures AL25’s complex personnel movements are seamless, supporting the exercise’s goals of enhancing combat readiness and interoperability among African and NATO partners.
Turning challenges into growth
Tse credits his skilled team for helping him manage AL25’s logistical demands. Yet, his career has presented its share of challenges, most notably mastering the art of briefing general officers (GOs) with concise, actionable information.
“Briefing GOs is an art—giving them exactly what they need, simply and effectively,” he said. “My team has been incredible, helping me refine that skill from day one. I’m still learning every day.”
This reliance on teamwork mirrors Tse’s approach to AL25’s multinational setting, where he navigates language and cultural differences to keep operations on track, from troop manifests to DV schedules.
Leadership as a mindset
Tse views leadership as a mindset rooted in adaptability and clear communication, guiding teams toward shared objectives. During AL25, he has witnessed this principle in action as leaders collaborate across offices, ensuring mission alignment.
“In this exercise, leadership is about clear communication at every level,” he said. “We’re all working together, from junior NCOs to senior officers, to make this happen.”
His leadership shines in coordinating logistics across four countries, ensuring every echelon—from planners to executors—functions as a cohesive unit.
A legacy of impact
As AL25 progresses, Tse reflects on the legacy he is crafting. Returning to Africa to support the training of African militaries resonates deeply, tying his personal roots to his professional impact.
“I want to tell the story of coming back to my continent, helping improve combat readiness and operational efficiency,” he said. “That’s what this mission means to me.”
His advice to young soldiers is straightforward yet powerful.
“Do what’s right. Strive to be better than yesterday and aim for the top,” advised Tse.
It is a philosophy that has guided his own path of service and growth.
A life anchored in heritage and purpose
Tse maintains a strong connection to Kpalimé, even as he builds a life in Gaithersburg. These dual homes represent a bridge between his past and present, grounding him amid the demands of military service.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kodzo Tse, the ground movement noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of transportation of the joint force throughout African Lion 2025 (AL25), U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), poses for a photo in Agadir, Morocco, May 22, 2025. AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by SETAF-AF on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) VIEW ORIGINAL
“Gaithersburg is home, but Kpalimé will always be part of me,” he said. “It’s where I learned the value of hard work and community.”
As AL25 concludes, Tse’s contributions underscore the power of adaptability, teamwork and purpose. His story bridges continents and cultures, leaving a lasting mark on this historic exercise.
About African Lion
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win.
About SETAF-AF
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
Source: United States Small Business Administration
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in California of the July 18, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the Airport Fire occurring Sept. 9-Oct. 6, 2024.
The disaster declaration covers the California counties of Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties as well as La Paz County in Arizona.
Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs impacted by financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.
EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.
“SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than July 18.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
Source: United States Small Business Administration
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Arizona of the July 18, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by drought beginning Nov. 12, 2024.
The disaster declaration covers the Arizona counties of La Paz, Maricopa, Pima and Yuma as well as Imperial County in California.
Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.
EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills not paid due to the disaster.
“Through a declaration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, SBA provides critical financial assistance to help communities recover,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “We’re pleased to offer loans to small businesses and private nonprofits impacted by these disasters.”
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.62% for PNPs with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than July 18.
###
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
A Colorado dentist was sentenced yesterday to 41 months in prison for tax evasion related to his use of an illegal tax shelter.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: since 2014, Ryan Ulibarri owned and operated Ulibarri Family Dentistry in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2016, Ulibarri purchased an abusive-trust tax shelter for $50,000. The tax shelter involved concealing income and creating false tax deductions through the use of a so-called business trust, family trust, charitable trust and a private family foundation, all of which Ulibarri created and controlled. From 2016 through 2023, Ulibarri used this tax shelter to conceal from the IRS over $5 million in income he earned from his dental practice and evade more than $1.6 million in federal and state income taxes owed on that income.
To set up the tax shelter, Ulibarri signed trust instruments that named him as trustee of the three trusts and foundation, and he opened bank accounts in the name of each entity. He further recruited friends to falsely sign his trust instruments as the purported creators of the trusts to make it seem as if Ulibarri himself was not the real creator. Ulibarri then transferred majority ownership of his dental practice to his business trust. He did this despite having been warned by attorneys and CPAs that, in Colorado, a trust could not own a dental practice.
Ulibarri then transferred over $5 million in income he earned from his dental practice into the bank accounts of the various trusts and foundation to create the illusion that the funds belonged to those entities, not him. In reality, Ulibarri retained complete control over those funds and used the funds to pay for personal expenses including his home mortgage, credit card bills, boats, luxury vacations, and professional baseball season tickets. Ulibarri also filed false tax returns for himself, his dental practice, the trusts, and his foundation that falsely reported the income he earned from his dental practice as income of the trusts. On those tax returns, Ulibarri also claimed fraudulent deductions for his personal living expenses which he disguised as trust expenses and charitable donations.
In total, Ulibarri caused a tax loss to the United States of $1.6 million.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang ordered Ulibarri to serve 3 years of supervised release, to pay a $150,000 fine and to pay $1,449,121 in restitution to the IRS and $166,966 in restitution to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Special Agent in Charge Amanda Prestegard of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Denver Field Office made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Amanda R. Scott and Lauren K. Pope and Assistant Chief Andrew J. Kameros of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ judgment in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which bans critical, lifesaving gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents suffering from gender dysphoria. In September 2024, Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief urging the Court to reverse the judgment, arguing that a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and transgender status and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Court held that Tennessee’s law does not discriminate on the basis of sex or transgender status, but rather differentiates based on age (barring care for minors but not adults) and medical treatment (barring treatment for certain conditions but not others). In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized that logic and reasoned that the majority “retreat[ed] from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most.”
“All Americans regardless of their gender identity have the inalienable right to equal protection under the law. This includes the right to access healthcare free from discrimination,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Across the nation, we’ve seen a rise in hate-fueled violence and intimidation against our LGBTQ+ community, and laws such as Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1 only serve to exacerbate these conditions by blatantly discriminating against transgender youth and denying them access to critical life-saving care. In California, we will continue to promote and protect access to healthcare, not restrict it. My office and I remain committed to safeguarding and upholding the healthcare rights and freedoms for all individuals, including our transgender youth.”
quick-moving wildfire in Jefferson County that led to level 3 evacuations Monday afternoon prompted the Oregon State Fire Marshal to mobilize an incident management team and several structural protection task forces.
The agency is mobilizing resources to the Alder Springs Fire burning west of Crooked River Ranch in Jefferson County. The fire sparked midday Monday on the Crooked River National Grasslands and grew rapidly to 1,500 acres by 5 p.m. Throughout Monday afternoon, wildland firefighters worked to slow the fire on the ground and in the air with several large air tankers and smoke jumpers.
On Monday night, the state fire marshal mobilized two structural task forces through Immediate Response. On Tuesday morning, the OSFM’s Red Incident Management Team and six more structural task forces will arrive in Central Oregon.
“This is the second time our agency has mobilized resources in the last week because of a wildfire,” State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “The conditions we are seeing across Oregon are extremely concerning, especially in early June. It only takes a spark to cause a disaster, so be wildfire aware.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office issued levels 1, 2, and 3 evacuation notices for homes and properties near the fire. You can find the latest on evacuations here. The Deschutes County Sheriff also issued level 1 evacuations. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says a shelter is set up at Highland Baptist Church in Redmond and Ranch Chapel. Animals can be taken to the Deschutes County Fairgrounds or Over the Edge Taphouse (with your own corral).
The OSFM Red Incident Management Team will be briefed Tuesday at 9 a.m. and take unified command with the Central Oregon Fire Management Service Type 3 Team. For updates on the fire, please follow Central Oregon Fire.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal mobilizes resources through the Emergency Conflagration Act when invoked by the Governor. The Alder Springs Fire is the second conflagration of 2025.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
TALLAHASSEE & PENSACOLA – United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced today that 16 previously deported aliens have been indicted separately by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry into the United States.
Jose Victor Aguilar-Zelaya, 40, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Fort Walton Beach in March 2025, after previously being deported in 2010.
Oscar Alva-Cabrera, 23, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Gulf Breeze in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2024.
Ofelia Andrea Caal-Chub, 22, of Guatemala, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located Madison County in June 2025, after previously being deported in 2021.
Bernardo Chavez-Chavez, 46, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 1997.
Joel Coto-Mendoza, 48, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2023.
Luis Armando Funez-Gomez, 48, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2008.
Roberto Gonzales-Coto, 46, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2004.
Candido Hurtado-Solano, 39, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2012.
Juan Hurtado-Solano, 43, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2012.
Omar Jimenez-Salinas, 29, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2014.
Jose Luis Morales-Huerta, 40, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Santa Rosa County in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2018.
Cevero Enrique Ordonez, 29, of Guatemala, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2014.
Juan Gomez Perez, 22, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2022.
Elpidio Abelardo Perez-Perez, 33, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in February 2025, after previously being deported in 2010, 2012, and 2013.
Maximo Solis-Xec, 25, of Guatemala, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Santa Rosa County in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2018.
Juan Carlos Hernandez Vallejos, 42, of Nicaragua, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2014 and 2015.
The penalty for illegally reentering the United States after deportation is a maximum of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The cases are being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshal’s Service, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Etherton, Harley Ferguson, Alicia Forbes, Justin Keen, Walter Narramore, and Eric Welch are prosecuting the cases.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
TALLAHASSEE & PENSACOLA – United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced today that 16 previously deported aliens have been indicted separately by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry into the United States.
Jose Victor Aguilar-Zelaya, 40, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Fort Walton Beach in March 2025, after previously being deported in 2010.
Oscar Alva-Cabrera, 23, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Gulf Breeze in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2024.
Ofelia Andrea Caal-Chub, 22, of Guatemala, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located Madison County in June 2025, after previously being deported in 2021.
Bernardo Chavez-Chavez, 46, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 1997.
Joel Coto-Mendoza, 48, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2023.
Luis Armando Funez-Gomez, 48, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2008.
Roberto Gonzales-Coto, 46, of Honduras, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2004.
Candido Hurtado-Solano, 39, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2012.
Juan Hurtado-Solano, 43, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2012.
Omar Jimenez-Salinas, 29, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2014.
Jose Luis Morales-Huerta, 40, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Santa Rosa County in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2018.
Cevero Enrique Ordonez, 29, of Guatemala, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2014.
Juan Gomez Perez, 22, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2022.
Elpidio Abelardo Perez-Perez, 33, of Mexico, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Pensacola in February 2025, after previously being deported in 2010, 2012, and 2013.
Maximo Solis-Xec, 25, of Guatemala, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Santa Rosa County in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2018.
Juan Carlos Hernandez Vallejos, 42, of Nicaragua, allegedly reentered the United States illegally and was located in Tallahassee in May 2025, after previously being deported in 2014 and 2015.
The penalty for illegally reentering the United States after deportation is a maximum of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The cases are being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshal’s Service, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Etherton, Harley Ferguson, Alicia Forbes, Justin Keen, Walter Narramore, and Eric Welch are prosecuting the cases.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Curwensville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Jason Lentz, 31, pleaded guilty to Count One of the Indictment before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines on June 17, 2025.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, in and around January 2024, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Lentz possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for October 14, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Lentz.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Curwensville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Jason Lentz, 31, pleaded guilty to Count One of the Indictment before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines on June 17, 2025.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, in and around January 2024, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Lentz possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for October 14, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Lentz.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A St. Louis, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court yesterday for illegally possessing firearms, and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine.
Melvin Navarro Morgan, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven R. Bough to 210 months in federal prison without parole, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
On Dec. 19, 2024, following a one-day bench trial on Oct. 28, 2024, Morgan was found guilty of one count each of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of firearms.
When Springfield, Mo., Police Department (SPD) officers contacted Morgan on Jan. 5, 2023, he fled on foot. During the foot chase, Morgan threw two baggies containing a total of 24.35 grams of fentanyl. When officers searched Morgan, they found methamphetamine, cocaine, and over $2,000 in cash.
On April 17, 2023, officers with SPD executed a search warrant at Morgan’s residence. Officers seized approximately 117.35 grams of fentanyl, 50.75 grams of cocaine, and 416.87 grams of methamphetamine. During the search, officers found six guns, including an AR-pistol with no serial number or markings (also known as a “ghost gun”), and a pistol with an extended magazine. Officers also seized over $8,200 in cash. At trial, an FBI Special Agent testified that the approximate value of the seized drugs was $43,662.
Morgan fled from officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD), when they attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Oct. 9, 2023. When SLMPD apprehended Morgan, he was in possession of 98 pills containing heroin and fentanyl; powders containing cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and tramadol; and off-white chunks containing cocaine base.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Lucas. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
There’s a reason casinos rarely have windows or clocks, they’re engineered to make you lose track of time. But what if it’s not just time you’re losing? New research suggests that the lighting used in gambling environments could be quietly altering how we make decisions, making us more prone to take risks.
The colour of the lights surrounding us can do more than just set the mood. It can shape our behaviour.
The new study from researchers at Flinders University in Australia found that blue-enriched lighting (the same cold, bright hue used in many modern LED lights and digital screens) can reduce a gambler’s sensitivity to losses. In a controlled experiment, participants exposed to this kind of light took riskier bets and responded less emotionally to losing.
The researchers believe this change in decision-making is rooted in our biology. The human body is sensitive to different wavelengths of light, not just for vision but also for regulating our internal clocks and emotional states. Blue light in particular has been shown to suppress melatonin production, a hormone which signals to the body it’s time to prepare for sleep.
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Research has also shown blue light can increase alertness and influence brain areas tied to reward and motivation by stimulating the neural circuits involved in anticipation and decision-making. In the case of gambling, this heightened arousal might dampen our natural aversion to loss, even when the odds are stacked against us.
Light can influence us in many other surprising ways. Studies have shown that cooler, blue-toned lighting can enhance cognitive performance and alertness during the day, which is why it’s often used in offices and classrooms. Warmer lighting is more relaxing and is typically recommended by sleep scientists and health professionals for evenings to promote better sleep.
Retailers, too, have long exploited the psychological effects of lighting, using bright, targeted lighting – often in the form of spotlighting or high-intensity LEDs – to draw attention to products.
The colour and intensity of lighting can also affect consumers’ perception of value and attractiveness. This encourages spending by increasing visual salience, making a product stand out more and grab your attention, and creating a more engaging sensory experience.
Specific colours of light seem to have an array of effects in different environments. Red lighting may have effects which increase appetite. This is possibly because it stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which is associated with arousal and physiological readiness. Meanwhile studies suggest green light may reduce pain and light sensitivity for migraine sufferers.
But lighting is only one half of the sensory equation in casinos. Sound design plays a major role in immersive gambling environments. Upbeat music can make people less risk-averse by speeding up decision-making and creating a sense of urgency.
Jingles and celebratory sounds serve as auditory rewards, reinforcing positive feelings even in the absence of a financial win. When players lose, slot machines often produce celebratory sounds and flashing lights, creating what researchers call a “loss disguised as a win”. This sensory mismatch tricks the brain into thinking it’s succeeding, distorting our ability to assess risk or stop playing.
In gambling environments, red light combined with casino‑style sounds has been shown to eliminate the usual cognitive slowdown after losses during decision-making tasks, leading players to make faster choices without the normal pause for reflection.
A 2018 study showed that flashing animations and vivid colours can increase arousal and attention, making gambling more stimulating and immersive. This, in turn, delays self-regulation and increases time spent gambling. In effect, your surroundings are constantly nudging you to stay, to play, and to believe the next win is just around the corner.
As gambling moves increasingly online, these principles are being translated to digital platforms. Online slot games often use flashing animations, vivid colours, and background music that mimic the ambience of a physical casino. The blue light emitted from screens can be just as stimulating – especially late at night – potentially exacerbating the effects seen in the Flinders University study.
If subtle changes to lighting can lead to riskier decisions, then regulating these features might help promote less harmful gambling behaviour. For instance, encouraging warmer lighting in gambling venues or digital settings could help prevent excessive play.
The lights and sounds that surround us in these environments aren’t just decoration. They’re carefully designed to heighten arousal, dull sensitivity to losses, and encourage riskier decisions.
Our responses to colour, brightness and sound happen at a subconscious level, meaning even informed players can still be swayed by them. Reducing your device’s screen brightness, using blue light filters at night, or turning off in-game sounds can help counteract some of these psychological effects for online gambling.
But meaningful change will probably require policy intervention that treats environmental design not as a neutral backdrop, but as a powerful behavioural influence – one that should be shaped with responsibility to the wellbeing of the consumer, not just profit, in mind.
If you believe your or someone else may benefit from support with gambling behaviour, please access the International Support Contact for your jurisdiction or GamCare for UK specific support.
In the last three years, Dr Glen Dighton has received funding from Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, and an honorarium from Greo Evidence Insights for grant-proposal review
‘Planting the sugar-cane’: vast fortunes were made from the trades in both sugar and human slaves in the Americas.Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library
Rich British aristocratic families with a legacy of owning colonial slave plantations are often accused by campaigners that their wealth solely originates from these plantations. One frequent target of this criticism has been the Drax family of Dorset, which is headed by Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, who was the Conservative MP for South Dorset until July 2024.
Historian Alan Lester of the University of Sussex has noted of Drax (as he is commonly known): “Much of his fortune is inherited, coming down the family line from ownership of the Drax sugar plantations and the 30,000 enslaved people who worked them as Drax property for 180 years before emancipation in Barbados.”
Recently, I have researched and written a book on the Drax family’s history and involvement in the slave trade in the Caribbean, Drax of Drax Hall, that gives fresh insights into the level of wealth they derived from the sugar trade and the trade in African slaves who worked their plantations – as well as the family’s other income sources.
I searched the archives in the UK and Caribbean for evidence of their revenue streams until Britain’s 1834 abolition of slavery in the colonies. I estimate that the family today are worth more than £150 million from their land and property in Dorset and Yorkshire.
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Over a period of two centuries until 1834, eight generations of Drax ancestors owned and worked hundreds of enslaved African captives at any one time. The latest beneficiary of primogeniture – the legal concept that recognises the first-born child as heir to a familiy’s fortune – Richard Drax inherited the family’s still-operating 621-acre Drax Hall plantation in Barbados in 2021.
Drax, 67, has said: “I am keenly aware of the slave trade in the West Indies, and the role my very distant ancestor played in it is deeply, deeply regrettable. But no one can be held responsible today for what happened many hundreds of years ago. This is a part of the nation’s history, from which we must all learn.”
My research reveals the sources of his family’s wealth are more complex than the critics’ claims that it all derives from the slave-worked plantations.
Like most British landed gentry, much of the Drax family income has come as extensive landlords of their British estates which, in 1883, exceeded 23,000 acres across various counties. Today, it includes nearly 16,000 acres in Dorset and 2,520 acres in the Yorkshire Dales.
However, my research also shows the Drax family made more money from slavery than was previously thought, when taking into account the way revenues from their plantations were channelled into the family’s British estates over the two centuries of slavery.
Drax Hall plantation in Barbados
The Drax Hall plantation in the Barbados parish of Saint George has been described by Barbadian historian Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community reparations commission, as a “killing field” where as many as 30,000 slaves died in brutal conditions. Despite pressure from reparation campaigners in the Caribbean, Britain and elsewhere, Richard Drax has declined to make a formal public apology or gesture of recompense in the Caribbean for the years of slavery.
A 19th-century drawing of Drax Hall plantation in Barbados. Unknown source, Wikimedia Commons
As the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, explained in April 2024, despite the efforts of her government Drax has yet to agree to a settlement, pay reparations or contribute all or part of his family’s Drax Hall plantation to provide affordable housing or become a memorial to those who worked and died in colonial enslavement on the island.
Some other British landed families whose ancestors owned slave plantations in the Caribbean, including the Trevelyans (who owned six slave plantations in Grenada) and the Gladstones (British prime minister William Gladstone’s father owned plantations in Guyana), have made formal apologies and reparations. And while some families have kept the terms of these reparations private, longtime BBC reporter Laura Trevelyan made a US$100,000 (£73,000) donation to a Caribbean development fund.
The largest family estate
Four thousand miles from Barbados, Richard Drax lives in Charborough House, a historic 17th-century mansion in Dorset. He oversees the 23.5-square mile estate, the largest family estate in Dorset with over 120 properties, many of which are rented out.
Charborough was acquired by Drax’s ancestor Walter Erle by marriage in 1549. The family has gradually increased the estate over the centuries. Historically, their income comes from renting land to tenant farmers and cottages to agricultural workers. This, I identified, is where the bulk of their income has come from.
However, profits from sugar produced by slavery also poured into the family coffers over 200 years. Richard Drax’s remote ancestor James Drax (1609-1661) was one of the first settler group to arrive in the then-uninhabited island of Barbados in 1627. In his introduction to my book, TV historian David Olusoga writes that the Drax family were key players – arguably the key players – in the origin story of British slavery:
The Drax Hall plantation, the first estate on which a crop of sugar was commercially grown and processed by any English planter, became one of the laboratories in which early English slavery was developed and finessed.
Built around 1650, the Jacobean plantation house is thought to be the one of the three oldest extant residential buildings in the Americas. From the 17th into the 18th century, the Draxes created and owned the largest acreage in Barbados with the Drax Hall and and Mount plantations – plus a 3,000-acre estate, also called Drax Hall, in Jamaica. The family became enormously wealthy: James Drax was said by a visitor to Drax Hall in the 1640s to “live like a prince”, putting on lavish dinners for friends and guests.
In addition to owning slaves, James Drax shipped African captives to Barbados as a key part of the trade in slaves. Knighted by both Oliver Cromwell and Charles I, by 1660 he was a director and investor in the English East India Company which, in part, traded and exploited enslaved people.
Paul Lashmar’s book, Drax of Drax Hall. Bookshop.com
In her 1930 study, American historian Elizabeth Donnan presented evidence that the Draxes of the 17th century operated “off the books” – buying enslaved people from, and selling them to, “interloper” ships that circumvented the Royal African Company’s monopoly of slave trading to the colonies.
The Drax family married into the Erle family in 1719, combining three fortunes: that of the Erles of Charborough, the Draxes of Yorkshire, Barbados and Jamaica, and the landed-gentry Ernles of Wiltshire.
Despite being deeply involved in the South Sea Bubble scandal, the Drax family flourished. The slave registers in the National Archives show that between 1825 and 1834, the Drax Hall plantation in Barbados produced an average of 163 tonnes of sugar and 4,845 gallons of rum per year. This gave the family an average annual net profit of £3,591 – equivalent to about £600,000 now. Today, the plantation still produces 700 tonnes of sugar a year, earning the family something in the region of £250,000.
Pressure for reparations
In recent years, the value of Drax Hall’s land in Barbados has greatly increased as it is sought after for housing, and could now be worth as much as Bds$150,000 (£60,000) per acre. At the same time, pressure for reparations is growing. In 2023, the African Union threw its weight behind the Caribbean reparations campaign.
David Comissiong, deputy chairman of the Barbados reparations task force, has said: “Other families are involved, though not as prominently as the Draxes. This reparations journey has begun.”
Yet to date, the only reparations paid in the story of the Drax family’s involvement in the slave trade were to the family itself. In 1837, Jane-Frances Erle-Drax, the heiress of Charborough, received £4,293 12s 6d (worth more than £614,000 today) in reparations for freeing 189 slaves from Drax Hall plantation after the abolition of slavery in the colonies.
In the course of researching and writing my book, I approached Richard Drax both directly and through his lawyers and put the claims made here to him. He had no comment to add.
This page contains references to books included for editorial reasons, which may include links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.
Treating lower back pain is enormously expensive. In the UK it’s estimated to cost the NHS around £3.2 billion a year. So, ensuring patients get the right treatment is critical.
However, the guidance issued by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) on how to treat lower back pain was last updated in 2020, meaning many patients may be getting out-of-date advice from their healthcare practitioner.
Fortunately, most people with lower back pain recover quickly without treatment. But a minority don’t, and they can go on to develop long-term disability.
People with lower back pain usually see their GP first. The GP may refer the patient to a physiotherapist, or, in some parts of the UK, patients can refer themselves to one.
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However, Nice recommends using a short questionnaire to identify those least likely to recover, so they can be offered more intensive treatment. Those most likely to recover get an initial assessment and advice only.
This approach was supported by a UK study which found a small benefit compared to offering everyone standard physiotherapy care. But later studies have not confirmed that result. It may not matter if care is targeted at those at highest risk or not.
Nice also recommends self-management. This means giving patients information and leaving them to handle their own recovery. But recent research found that an online support programme was no better than usual care from their GP.
For people with at least three months of lower back pain, Nice recommends “radio frequency denervation” as an option. This is a procedure where a probe is inserted into the back next to the nerve carrying pain signals from the back. Heating the probe can disable the nerves that carry pain signals. The problem is that some studies suggest it may help while others show no benefit.
A more robust study is underway that will hopefully provide us with a more definitive answer. But, for now, we think this treatment should be approached with caution.
Most Nice recommendations for the use of medications align with the current evidence. Nice recommends against the use of opioids for people with short-term back pain. However, the guidance suggests that weak opioids, such as codeine, can be considered if anti-inflammatory drugs are ineffective or “contraindicated” (should be avoided), for example, for people with previous stomach bleeding.
This ambiguous approach is confusing and may result in people being given the wrong care. Also, a study published in 2023 showed that a stronger opioid does not help people with short-term back pain. Nice could adopt a clearer stance, explicitly discouraging opioid use for lower back pain.
The guidance could focus on treatments where there’s strong evidence of benefit. One option is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, which can be effective for treating people with acute and persistent symptoms. If this medication fails, heat therapy, such as hot packs and heat wraps, can be used for short-term lower back pain.
Nice suggests that codeine can be used if the patient is unable to take anti-inflammatory medication, such as ibuprofen. Matthew Nichols1/Shutterstock.com
Treating peristant lower back pain
Exercise programmes can help people with persistent back pain. A recent study found that regular walking can help prevent lower back pain flare-ups.
Approaches, such as cognitive functional therapy, where physiotherapists address both physical and psychological barriers to recovery, also show great promise. A recent study found that it offers lasting benefits when compared to a sham (placebo) intervention.
Mindfulness, a type of meditation, also seems a promising approach for persistent pain. A new study, published in The Lancet Rheumatology showed that it can have meaningful and lasting benefits for these patients.
Guidance from the World Health Organization recommends other treatments, such as manual therapy (spinal manipulation, for instance) and acupuncture, that could help people with persistent symptoms.
It is clear that the Nice guidelines don’t always reflect what we now know works, and sometimes steer care in the wrong direction.
Martin Underwood is chief investigator or co-investigator on multiple previous and current research grants from the UK National Institute for Health Research, and is a co-investigator on grants funded by the Australian NHMRC and Norwegian MRC. He is a director and shareholder of Clinvivo Ltd that provides electronic data collection for health services research. He has accepted honoraria for examining theses, and performing peer review. He receives some salary support from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. He is a co-investigator on two current and one completed NIHR funded studies that have, or have had, additional support from Stryker Ltd. He has accepted travel expenses and accommodation for speaking at academic meetings.
Gustavo Machado has an investigator grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. He also holds research grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund, and HCF Research Foundation.
Crystian Bitencourt Soares de Oliveira does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Police spending will rise by a real-terms 2.3% per year between now and 2028-29, the government announced in its latest spending review, drawn from local council tax. The government says this will help its mission to put 13,000 neighbourhood police on the streets, and “keep communities safe”.
Police say this is far from enough to meet the government’s ambitions, particularly on cutting knife crime and violence against women, and that it is likely to be “swallowed up” by pay rises for police.
The awkward truth, however, is that marginal changes to police funding and hiring make little difference to crime either way. Austerity cuts of around 20% to policing budgets in the 2010s were accompanied by declining crime, including domestic violence and antisocial behaviour.
Widespread security improvements were responsible for the close to 90% reductions in many crime types. For example, engine immobilisers prevent car theft, and secure household doors and windows prevent burglary.
Crime has been declining across developed countries for decades. But those countries vary greatly in policing practices and funding, so it is clear more policing was not the cause.
American policing researcher pioneer David Bayley wrote in 1994:
The police do not prevent crime. This is one of the best kept secrets of modern life. Experts know it, the police know it, but the public does not know it. Yet the police pretend they are society’s best defense against crime and continually argue that if they are given more resources, especially personnel, they will be able to protect communities against crime. This is a myth.
This does not mean we don’t need police – we do. If there were no police, crime rates would soar. The issue here is diminishing marginal returns (we’re at the level where more funding doesn’t have the same effect).
But it means the spending review debate had little to do with crime prevention. Rather, it was about how senior staff in public services routinely seek more for their departments. And following the spending review, police chiefs gave themselves an escape clause by claiming the increase is insufficient.
Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.
In recent years, we’ve learned problem-solving policing can reduce some crimes in some contexts. For example, burglary at construction sites can often be theft of building materials and tools, so the crime problem can be reduced through improved site management (rather than just more arrests).
However, problem-solving is not easy and so is not widely applied. Simply patrolling hotspots does not affect the crime opportunity structure (factors that tempt, facilitate or precipitate a particular cluster of crimes).
Additionally, all types of crime, except homicide, are more likely to recur, and relatively soon, after prior victimisation. And while policing to prevent repeat victimisation can reduce crime, it has fallen by the wayside in recent years.
A recent review by crime scientist Shannon Linning and colleagues examined the effect of more police hiring and more arrests on crime, concluding: “When a sensational crime happens, residents demand action. Often someone will cry for more police and more arrests … neither approach is likely to be helpful.”
Since most people don’t know the limitations of policing, both the government and the police have been able to maintain the illusion that more police means less crime. Academic police researchers will rarely admit it in case it risks their funding, and the media enjoy a perennially newsworthy topic. Taxpayers foot the bill as well as the emotional, financial and other costs of crime.
How to stop crime
There is, however, some room for optimism. What we have learned from the long-term international crime drop and dozens of small-scale successes against different crime types is that reducing crime opportunities is the best approach. With some strategic adjustment, there is much that police and government can do.
A particular focus for the government and police should be encouraging businesses to take more responsibility for crime. Knife manufacturers and retailers should be involved in introducing a ban on pointed kitchen knives, the most common homicide weapon in England and Wales. The gradual approach over many years that research (in which I was involved) recommended is too long: it should be done within this government’s term.
A lot of other crimes, including computer-enabled crimes, are generated, facilitated or hosted by businesses. Internet service providers and network providers benefit from advertising and payments, including when they are being used for crime (from stalking and sexual victimisation to fraud and terrorism).
Manufacturers benefit from theft of phones and other products that need replacing. Online marketplaces profit from usage and advertising when stolen goods are sold, which inadvertently encourages shoplifting, theft and robbery. Online banking and financial services also host significant amounts of fraud, and are now sometimes required to pay up to £85,000 compensation to victims.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex
Working alongside western democratic allies has not been a natural fit for Donald Trump. The US president left the recently concluded G7 summit in Canada early, with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron assuming this was to work on addressing the most severe escalation between Iran and Israel in decades.
But Trump offered little communication with other G7 members, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, of what his plans were. He said he had to leave the summit “for obvious reasons”, though failed to elaborate on what he meant.
After exiting the summit, he lambasted Macron on social media. Trump wrote: “Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire”. Trump continued by saying his exit was due to something “much bigger than that”, adding: “Emmanuel always gets it wrong.”
This has prompted discussion over whether US forces may join Israel’s strikes on Iran. Despite initially distancing the US from the Israeli attacks, Trump said on June 17: “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”
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He has since demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”, while also issuing a chilling threat to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing him as an “easy target”.
The pressure campaign employed by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to convince Trump that the time is right for a military assault on Iran seems to be working.
Exploiting Trump’s impulsive nature, Netanyahu may soon be able to convince Trump to give Israel what it needs to destroy Iran’s underground uranium enrichment sites: a 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb and a B-2 bomber to carry it.
The US’s western allies have been left scrambling to interpret Trump’s social media posts and figure out the real reason he left the G7 summit early.
This wasn’t the first time that Trump has left a G7 forum early. In 2018, the last time such a meeting was held in Canada, Trump also left early after Macron and the then Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, promised to confront Trump over the imposition of tariffs on US allies.
The latest G7 summit also wasn’t the first time Trump has treated traditional US allies with suspicion. Trump has cast doubt on US willingness to defend Nato allies if they don’t pay more for their own defence. He has repeatedly threatened to leave the alliance and has frequently denigrated it – even calling alliance members “delinquent”.
Trump thinks the US gains an advantage by abandoning relationships with “free riders”. But experts have made clear alienating allies makes the US weaker. While the alliance system has given the US unprecedented influence over the foreign policies of US allies in the past, Trump’s pressure to increase their defence spending will make them more independent from the US in the long-term.
Trump seems to prefer a world guided by short-term self-interest at the expense of long-term collective security. Indeed, with an “America first” agenda, multilateral cooperation is not Trump’s strong suit. With the G7, Trump is yet again making clear that he does not fit in, nor does he want to.
Because the G7 is small and relatively homogenous in membership, meetings between members are supposed to promote collective and decisive decision-making. However, even the task of coming up with a joint statement on the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel proved challenging.
Trump eventually joined other leaders in calling for deescalation in the Middle East, and the G7 was in agreement that Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons. But Trump’s social media activity since then has left US allies in the dark over what role the US might play in the conflict.
Trump also alarmed G7 members with calls for Russia to return to the forum. He claimed that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had Moscow not been ejected from the former G8 grouping in 2014.
Then, on his way out of the summit, Trump bragged to reporters that Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, “doesn’t speak to anybody else” but him. Trump added that Putin was insulted when Russia was thrown out of the G8, “as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be”.
Following weeks of frustration over Russia’s refusal to engage in serious peace talks about ending the war in Ukraine, Trump seems to have returned to being Putin’s most loyal advocate.
Hostility toward multilateralism
During Trump’s first term, he pushed multilateralism to the brink. But he did not completely disengage. The US withdrew from the Paris climate accords, the nuclear deal with Iran, negotiations for a trade deal with Pacific nations, and imposed sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court.
However, when multilateral initiatives served Trump’s short-term objectives, he was willing to get on board. A trade deal struck with Canada and Mexico that Trump described as “the most important” ever agreed by the US. He said the deal would bring thousands of jobs back to North America.
The second Trump administration has been even more hostile to multilateralism. Not only has the trade deal with Canada and Mexico been undermined by Trump’s love of tariffs, his administration has been more antagonistic toward almost all of the US’s traditional allies. In fact, most of Trump’s ire is reserved for democracies not autocracies.
In contrast to the G7, where he clearly felt out of place, Trump was in his element during his May trip to the Middle East. Trump has a more natural connection to the leaders of the Gulf who do not have to adhere to democratic norms and human rights, and where deals can get done immediately.
Trump left the Middle East revelling in all of the billion dollar deals he made, which he exaggerated were worth US$2 trillion (£1.5 trillion). The G7, on the other hand, doesn’t offer much to Trump. He sees it as more of a nuisance.
The G7 forum is supposed to reassure the public that the most powerful countries in the world are united in their commitment to stability. But Trump’s antics are undermining the credibility of that message. It is these antics that risk dragging the west into a dangerous confrontation with Iran.
Natasha Lindstaedt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
GUANGZHOU, June 18 (Xinhua) — As of Wednesday afternoon, continuous heavy rains had affected about 300,000 residents in Huaiji County, Zhaoqing City, south China’s Guangdong Province, including about 70,000 people who had been evacuated to safer areas, local authorities said.
Heavy rains caused by Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of the year, along with the influence of a trough and the monsoon season, have hit the region since June 14. By 7:05 a.m. on Wednesday, the water level at the Huaiji hydrological station had reached 55.22 meters, exceeding the danger mark by 5.22 meters.
The natural disaster affected 19 volosts and villages in the county, where dams, roads and arable lands were damaged. A total of 15 people were injured, but none of them are in life-threatening condition.
Currently, more than 10 thousand rescuers and over 500 units of emergency rescue equipment have been mobilized.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Huaiji’s flood emergency response was raised to Level 1, the highest level. Schools, work, manufacturing, transportation and business activities were suspended across the county. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) — The transformation of east China’s Shanghai into an international financial center befitting China’s comprehensive strength and global influence will be basically completed within the next five to 10 years, according to a newly issued guideline.
As noted in the policy document on supporting Shanghai’s accelerated development into an international financial center issued by the Central Financial Commission, the adaptability, competitiveness and inclusiveness of the city’s modern financial system are expected to be significantly enhanced, and its functions as a hub of financial openness will be greatly strengthened.
The document states that in order to achieve these goals, it is planned to actively develop the Shanghai financial market. The scientific and technological innovation platform on the Shanghai Stock Exchange will play a more significant and inclusive role in promoting “hard technologies”. In addition, support will be provided to the Shanghai Futures Exchange in its transformation into a world-class exchange.
According to the directive, Shanghai will take measures to attract a wide range of legal entities, branches of both Chinese and foreign large financial institutions, as well as licensed specialized organizations. The city will promote the formation and attraction of stable and effectively regulated financial holding companies, and encourage the placement of international financial organizations on its territory.
By forming an advanced international financial infrastructure system, the metropolis will intensify the development of the cross-border payment and settlement system in yuan. Shanghai will consistently expand the institutional openness of the financial sector and achieve full compliance with high-standard international trade and economic rules.
In addition, Shanghai will develop green finance standards in line with international practices and actively participate in international cooperation in this field. According to the directive, efforts will also be made to ensure financial security in an open environment using technologies such as blockchain, big data and artificial intelligence.
To implement the directive, the State Financial Supervision Administration of China and the Shanghai People’s Government have issued an action plan that includes a series of measures to enhance the city’s competitiveness and influence as an international financial center. These measures cover areas such as streamlining financial services, expanding institutional openness, and strengthening financial regulation. –0–
Montreal, Quebec, June 18, 2025 – Scott Shein, 51, a resident of Laval, and John Papadimitriou, 52, a resident of Saint-Eustache, will appear in court on June 19, 2025, at the Laval courthouse to face 17 criminal charges. These charges were laid as part of a criminal investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) into the illegal importation of a prohibited weapon and prohibited devices.
The CBSA investigation followed the interception of packages by Canada Border Services officers in April 2024 at the CBSA International Mail Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. The investigation identified two individuals in Canada involved in importing a prohibited weapon and devices from the United States. Search warrants executed at the residences of the two accused on June 6, 2024, resulted in the seizure of additional evidence, including several weapons.
Scott Shein and John Papadimitriou are both charged with importing prohibited devices under subsection 159(1) of the Customs Act and paragraph 104(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, as well as conspiracy under subsection 465(1) of the Criminal Code.
Scott Shein faces three additional charges related to the importation and possession of prohibited weapons:
one count under subsection 159(1) of the Customs Act for smuggling goods into Canada;
one count under paragraph 104(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, for importing a prohibited weapon into Canada; and
one count under subsection 91(2) of the Criminal Code, for possession of prohibited weapons.
John Papadimitriou faces the following charges:
one count under paragraph 108(1)(b) of the Criminal Code for possessing a restricted firearm with an obliterated serial number;
one count under subsection 99(1) of the Criminal Code for manufacturing a restricted firearm;
three counts under subsection 102.1(1) of the Criminal Code for possessing computer data for the purpose of printing firearms using a 3D printer;
one count under subsection 91(1) of the Criminal Code for being in possession of five restricted or prohibited firearms without authorization;
one count under subsection 86(1) of the Criminal Code for improperly storing 14 firearms;
two counts under subsection 91(2) of the Criminal Code for possessing 15 prohibited weapons and 14 prohibited devices; and
one count under section 155 of the Customs Act for possession of four illegally imported prohibited devices.
A file concerning these offences was referred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, and charges were laid on June 2, 2025. These charges are subject to validation by the court.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)
BOSTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) joined other members of Congress and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Tuesday at Boston Ship Repair to call for the revitalization of America’s shipbuilding industry.
Golden, a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) was joined by fellow committee member Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) at the invitation of Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08). The trio of lawmakers met with management from Boston Ship Repair and Machinists who work at the shipyard.
“America needs strong shipyards. On the defense front, we are lagging in the production of American warships necessary to meet current and future force needs. We also lack the commercial vessels we need to compete in the global economy,” Rep. Golden said. “The reality is simple: If we aren’t giving work to the men and women who power America’s shipyards, they will find new jobs and we will fall further behind. Congress needs to keep up demand for warships to sustain the world’s greatest Navy and we need to pass theSHIPS Actto strengthen our shipyards, our commercial fleet and our supply chains. Our future demands it.”
Currently, about 80 U.S.-flagged ships are engaged in international commerce compared to over 5,500 China-flagged vessels. China recently overtook the U.S. in Navy fleet size.
During HASC hearings last week, Goldenquestioned the Secretary of the Navyand the Secretary of Defense (video) about the potential lapse in destroyer procurement in the FY26 Presidential budget request, and the risk it posed to Bath Iron Works, Maine’s shipbuilders, and the national defense.
The group hasbacked the U.S. Trade Representative penaltieson Chinese ships and steps to incentivize the production and purchase of U.S.-built vessels. They are also championing the bipartisanSHIPS for America Act, which would rebuild the U.S. shipyard base and invest in recruitment and training of shipyard workers and mariners. The coalition is highlighting the need to efficiently utilize and grow domestic shipbuilding and repair capacity to increase the workforce at Boston Ship Repair and across the country.
“Our shipbuilding and ship-repair industries have a tremendous impact on our national security and our ability to maintain freedom of navigation for all nations,” said Rep. Lynch. “Today we are facing a critical shortage among our U.S. shipbuilding and repair capacity, and we are falling behind in production and upkeep of both our commercial and naval vessels. We must continue to make substantial federal investments in our shipyards and ship-repair facilities in order to maintain our position in the world. I am grateful to my congressional colleagues, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney and Jared Golden for traveling to Boston Ship Repair in South Boston today to join me to show support for our shipbuilding and ship-repair industry. My thanks as well to International Machinists Union VP David Sullivan, BSR owner Jon Cronin, CEO Ed Snyder, and IAM Local President Andre Lavertue and all the union members of the IAM for their continued support of our regional ship-repair industry.”
“Revitalizing American shipbuilding is critical to our national and economic security. It’s a bipartisan goal in Washington, and we need to use all of our available shipyard capacity to get the job done if we’re going to deliver on it,” said Rep. Courtney. “We must provide American shipyards and shipbuilders, like Boston Ship Repair, with the demand they need to make investments in their future and the future of our domestic shipbuilding industry.”
“American national and economic security depends on urgent and long overdue investments in our shipbuilding and repair industry,” said IAM Union Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “That’s why the IAM Union has led the way toward tougher trade rules on China, much-needed investments in U.S. shipyard workers, and a strong call for the efficient use of our existing shipyards, like Boston Ship Repair. We’re incredibly grateful for our champions in this fight, including Congressmen Lynch, Courtney and Golden.”
“We’ve invested in Boston Ship Repair because we believe in its potential—not just as a business, but as a critical national asset,” said Boston Ship Repair Owner Jon Cronin. “With a highly skilled union workforce, proven infrastructure, and the experience to deliver, BSR stands ready to be part of the solution to America’s shipyard capacity crisis. But we can’t do it alone. Without consistent work and federal investment, this vital facility — and the hundreds of jobs it sustains — are at risk. We’re calling on Congress and the Navy to recognize BSR not just as a shipyard, but as a strategic pillar of the defense industrial base. With immediate support, we can expand our capacity, modernize our infrastructure, and begin reducing the Navy’s repair backlog today — while preserving American maritime strength for generations to come.”
Boston Ship Repair is one of the largest docks on the Eastern and Gulf Coasts and can handle vessels up to 1,000 feet with a 105-foot beam. It provides vessel maintenance, repair, overhaul and conversion services for domestic, international and government customers.
The safety of New Zealanders in the Middle East is a pressing priority for the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.
“We do not want New Zealanders in harm’s way,” Mr Peters says.
“While we face very serious practical constraints of a conflict zone and closed airspace, we will continue to do all we can to help,” Mr Peters says.
“The New Zealand Government’s long-standing advice for New Zealanders has been ‘do not travel’ to Iran and the events we’re facing there now are exactly why that advice has been in place.
“We continue to urge New Zealanders in Israel and Iran to leave if they can safely do so, and to shelter in place if they cannot,” Mr Peters says.
“The New Zealand Government is exploring options for evacuating New Zealanders once it is safe to do so. But the fact remains, though, that air space reopening could be weeks away and so New Zealanders should be doing everything they can to leave now if they can find a safe route.
“We know consular partners are considering evacuation flights once air space opens again. As is always the case, we are in close coordination with Australia, and in discussions with them and others about their plans and how we can assist each other.
“MFAT has also approached airlines in the region to seek information on possible commercial options once air space reopens.
“In the meantime, MFAT has provided advice to registered New Zealanders on overland border exits and will continue to do so in the coming days.”
Overnight, New Zealand’s Embassy in Tehran was temporarily closed, with two staff and their family members evacuated by land to Azerbaijan.
“An opportunity arose overnight to get our Embassy staff out of Iran, as part of a convoy alongside government officials from other countries,” Mr Peters says.
“The New Zealand Government has a duty of care to its staff posted overseas, so we did the responsible thing to get them out of harm’s way.
“If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency.
“Any New Zealanders still in Iran should leave overland as soon as possible if they consider it safe to do so.”
Those in need of urgent consular assistance should contact MFAT’s 24/7 Consular Emergency Call Centre (+64 99 20 20 20). The Ministry is continuing to provide support through the New Zealand Embassy in Ankara, Türkiye and the temporary deployment of a consular team to Azerbaijan.
A decision on the future of the New Zealand Embassy in Iran will be made at a later date.
LAKE CHARLES, La. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Louisiana State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI arrested approximately 84 illegal aliens June 17 during a worksite enforcement operation at the Delta Downs Racetrack in Calcasieu Parish, near Vinton, Louisiana.
The operation focused on the businesses that own and race thoroughbred and quarter horses out of the stables at the racetrack and the employees who work for them and take care of the horses.
All of the aliens taken into custody during the operation were processed for administrative immigration violations and transported to the Lake Charles Border Patrol Station in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
An investigation into potential criminal conduct related to the hiring of the illegal aliens remains ongoing and an assessment of whether any civil penalties are appropriate is being conducted.
Authorities continue to process the aliens, but at least two criminal aliens have been identified. ICE arrested Enrique Gonzalez Moreno, a 36-year-old criminal alien from Mexico who has illegally entered the U.S. four times. While in the U.S. illegally, Gonzalez has been convicted twice for driving under the influence, and once for cocaine possession and illegal reentry. ICE also arrested a 40-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who has been arrested for criminal conspiracy, aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon, sexual battery, and video voyeurism. ICE is working to verify the disposition of those criminal charges and will provide additional details once in-processing is complete.
“ICE Homeland Security Investigations is working closely with our federal and state partners to review each case of unauthorized employment at the racetrack to identify any other criminal activities that were taking place in addition labor exploitation and immigration violations,” said ICE HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune. “Oftentimes, when we’re conducting these worksite enforcement operations, we uncover other forms of criminal conduct such as document and benefit fraud, money laundering and human trafficking. As a result, we’re able to bolster public safety in the local community by eliminating that criminal activity and removing any dangerous criminal aliens, transnational gang members or other egregious immigration offenders who illegally entered the country and are working at the business without authorization.”
The operation was conducted after authorities received intelligence indicating that the businesses operating out of the stables at the racetrack were employing unauthorized workers. Those suspicions were further confirmed during a subsequent site visit.
“These enforcement operations aim to disrupt illegal employment networks that threaten the integrity of our labor systems, put American jobs at risk and create pathways for exploitation within critical sectors of our economy,” said U.S. Custom and Border Protection Director of Field Operations New Orleans Steven Stavinoha. “CBP New Orleans is assisting ICE with multiple operations across the country to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability. Along the Gulf Coast, CBP remains committed to facilitating legitimate trade and travel while maintaining a strong enforcement environment.”
“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our local, state, and federal partners in operations like this one with the common goal to remove criminal threats from every community across the State of Louisiana,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 requires employers to verify the identity and work eligibility of all individuals they hire and sets forth criminal and civil sanctions for employment-related violations. Employers are required to document information on those that they hire using the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. ICE HSI uses a comprehensive inspection program to promote compliance with the law and deter illegal employment and illegal immigration.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and Lake Charles Police Department also assisted with the operation.
For more news and information on how ICE HSI combats illegal immigration and other transnational criminal activity in Louisiana follow us on X at @HSINewOrleans.
The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives announces bills that will be considered under suspension of the rules in that chamber. Under suspension, floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, points of order against the bill are waived, and final passage requires a two-thirds majority vote.
At the request of the Majority Leader and the House Committee on the Budget, CBO estimates the effects of those bills on direct spending and revenues. CBO has limited time to review the legislation before consideration. Although it is possible in most cases to determine whether the legislation would affect direct spending or revenues, time may be insufficient to estimate the magnitude of those effects. If CBO has prepared estimates for similar or identical legislation, a more detailed assessment of budgetary effects, including effects on spending subject to appropriation, may be included.
CBO’s estimates of the bills that have been posted for possible consideration under suspension of the rules during the week of June 23, 2025, include:
H.R. 260, No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act, as amended
H.R. 910, Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 1082, Shandra Eisenga Human Cell and Tissue Product Safety Act
H.R. 1190, Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act, as amended
H.R. 1520, Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act
H.R. 1664, Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 1679, Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2025
H.R. 1713, Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 1737, To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria
H.R. 1767, Awning Safety Act of 2025
H.R. 1998, Sanction Sea Pirates Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 2225, Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act, as amended
H.R. 2269, WIPPES Act
H.R. 2481, Romance Scam Prevention Act
H.R. 2808, Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, as amended
H.R. 3301, ELEVATE Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 3352, HALOS Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 3381, Encouraging Public Offerings Act of 2025, as amended
H.R. 3394, Fair Investment Opportunities for Professional Experts Act, as amended
H.R. 3422, Promoting Opportunities for Non-Traditional Capital Formation Act, as amended
H. Res. __, Condemning the attacks on Minnesota lawmakers in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and calling for unity and the rejection of political violence in Minnesota and across the United States
A Colorado dentist was sentenced yesterday to 41 months in prison for tax evasion related to his use of an illegal tax shelter.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: since 2014, Ryan Ulibarri owned and operated Ulibarri Family Dentistry in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2016, Ulibarri purchased an abusive-trust tax shelter for $50,000. The tax shelter involved concealing income and creating false tax deductions through the use of a so-called business trust, family trust, charitable trust and a private family foundation, all of which Ulibarri created and controlled. From 2016 through 2023, Ulibarri used this tax shelter to conceal from the IRS over $5 million in income he earned from his dental practice and evade more than $1.6 million in federal and state income taxes owed on that income.
To set up the tax shelter, Ulibarri signed trust instruments that named him as trustee of the three trusts and foundation, and he opened bank accounts in the name of each entity. He further recruited friends to falsely sign his trust instruments as the purported creators of the trusts to make it seem as if Ulibarri himself was not the real creator. Ulibarri then transferred majority ownership of his dental practice to his business trust. He did this despite having been warned by attorneys and CPAs that, in Colorado, a trust could not own a dental practice.
Ulibarri then transferred over $5 million in income he earned from his dental practice into the bank accounts of the various trusts and foundation to create the illusion that the funds belonged to those entities, not him. In reality, Ulibarri retained complete control over those funds and used the funds to pay for personal expenses including his home mortgage, credit card bills, boats, luxury vacations, and professional baseball season tickets. Ulibarri also filed false tax returns for himself, his dental practice, the trusts, and his foundation that falsely reported the income he earned from his dental practice as income of the trusts. On those tax returns, Ulibarri also claimed fraudulent deductions for his personal living expenses which he disguised as trust expenses and charitable donations.
In total, Ulibarri caused a tax loss to the United States of $1.6 million.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang ordered Ulibarri to serve 3 years of supervised release, to pay a $150,000 fine and to pay $1,449,121 in restitution to the IRS and $166,966 in restitution to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Special Agent in Charge Amanda Prestegard of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Denver Field Office made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Amanda R. Scott and Lauren K. Pope and Assistant Chief Andrew J. Kameros of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
June 17, 2025
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representatives Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.-34) and Donald Beyer (D-Va.-08) in leading a group of bicameral colleagues in reintroducing the?Choose Medicare Act. This revolutionary proposal opens Medicare to all Americans with a new ‘Part E’ and builds on the system we have today by allowing Medicare to compete with private health insurance.
“Instead of shielding big insurance companies from competition, we should give Americans the option to choose Medicare’s high-quality, low-cost coverage if it’s right for them and their families,” said Murphy. “While Republicans spike the cost of living and cut health care for millions of Americans, we’ll keep fighting to expand access and affordability.”
“I’m proud to support the Choose Medicare Act which expands access to Medicare, making quality and affordable health care more attainable for all Americans,” said Blumenthal. “Every day, Americans across the country must choose between critical health care and other basic necessities. Our health care system needs updating and upgrading so that it works for everyone – not just giant private health insurers.”
“In the richest country in the world, no person should have to worry about whether they’ll be able to afford care if they become sick or get into an accident.?At a time when?proposed cuts?from Republicans?threaten the health and financial security of millions, it’s more important than ever to expand access to high-quality, affordable?health?care,”?said Merkley.?“The?Choose Medicare Act?does just that by allowing every American to buy into Medicare, protecting and expanding this effective, popular system, and?putting consumers and businesses in the driver’s seat on the road to universal health care.”
“I got pneumonia when I was seven years old, and my family almost went bankrupt because we were uninsured. Today too many families are still one medical emergency away from financial crisis,” said Gomez. “Our bicameral legislation lets every American opt into Medicare — which is affordable, effective, and trusted — and we’re going to keep fighting until everyone has access to the care they need.
The Choose Medicare Act is co-sponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL). The bill is supported by Families USA, MoveOn, American Federation of Teachers, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, and the Center for Health and Democracy.
“Now, more than ever, millions of people are grappling with skyrocketing health care costs and rising concerns that they won’t be able to access affordable health insurance and the care they need to keep their families healthy. Lawmakers should be doing all they can to ensure people across the country have more options for affordable health care, not less. The Choose Medicare Act is an important effort that creates a new pathway to make Medicare accessible to more consumers and employers, and makes important improvements to the current program like coverage of all reproductive health and essential health benefits,” said Jane Sheehan, Deputy Senior Director of Government Relations for Families USA.
“The Choose Medicare Act would improve the existing Medicare program by creating a critically needed out-of-pocket cap in traditional Medicare,” said David Lipschutz, Co-Director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. “The bill would also enable people currently not yet eligible for Medicare to enjoy the benefits of traditional Medicare, without the restrictions of limited provider networks found in many Medicare Advantage plans.”
“Big Insurance’s monopoly control over health care in this country has led to higher health care costs and a growing medical debt crisis, all while making health care unaffordable and inaccessible to a majority of Americans. It is a system designed to put profits over patients. This bill is a vital step towards breaking Big Insurance’s strangle hold over health care in this country and will open up the most successful health care program in our country’s history, Medicare, to even more people. I applaud Senator Merkley for introducing it,” said Wendell Potter, President, Center for Health and Democracy.
Medicare ‘Part E’ aims to be self-sustaining and fully paid for by premiums. Plans would be offered on all state and federal exchanges, giving people the ability to use existing Affordable Care Act?subsidies to help cover their premiums. Additionally, employers could choose to select Medicare ‘Part E’ rather than private insurance to provide affordable and reliable health care to their employees.
The?Choose Medicare Act
Increases Access, Competition, and Choice ?
1. Opens Medicare to employers of all sizes and allows them to purchase high-quality, affordable health care for their employees without requiring replacement of employment-based health insurance.?
2. Addresses the discrepancy between consumer protections in the individual and group markets by extending the ACA’s rating requirements to all markets, to end discrimination based on pre-existing conditions once and for all.?
?
Provides Comprehensive Coverage
1. Includes the ACA’s 10 essential health benefits and all items and services covered by Medicare.
2. Provides high-quality, gold-level coverage and cost-sharing.??
3. Ensures coverage for a wide range of reproductive services, including abortion.
?
Improves Affordability
1. Establishes an out-of-pocket maximum in traditional Medicare.
2. Increases the generosity of premium tax credits and extends eligibility to all earners.??
3. Directs Medicare to negotiate fair prices for prescription drugs by incorporating in the program the drug price negotiation section of the Inflation Reduction Act.?
4. Drives down private insurance premiums through competition from Medicare by allowing the HHS Secretary to block excessive private insurance rates.?
5. Extends traditional Medicare protections on balance billing or surprise bills to ‘Part E’ plans.
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
June 18, 2025
WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), both members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Tuesday hosted “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While The Mega Rich Profit,” a spotlight forum to highlight how President Donald Trump and Republicans’ tax bill would make major spending cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital programs that families across the country rely on in order to pay for a massive tax cut for the ultra-wealthy. The forum featured individuals who could be affected by the tax bill’s massive cuts to government programs and subject-matter experts.
Murphy emphasized the Republican tax bill will disproportionately harm working class Americans, while directly benefiting the top 1%: “Why this bill feels like a betrayal is because, as written, it makes life infinitely harder for the very people that we are supposed to be fighting hardest for: the people who are working every day, playing by the rules, often dealing with traumas and difficult life circumstances… Upwards of 40% of all American households, if this bill is implemented, will be poorer – poorer – because of it, while the very rich and the very affluent will be much richer. The very richest families in this country will get an average $270,000 tax cut because of this bill.”
Murphy stressedthattens of thousands of Americans will die due totheRepublican tax bill’s cuts to Medicaid: “When you’re talking about almost $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, when you’re talking about throwing upwards of 16 million people off of their health care, you are talking about life and death stakes. This isn’t just about impacting the quality of someone’s life. This is about ending people’s lives. One research estimate is that 42,000 lives could be lost each year because of the disenrollments in [Medicaid] and the marketplace coverage.”
Murphy additionally highlighted that rural communities will be among those hardest hit by the Republican tax bill: “Up to 340 rural hospitals could close. 33 hospitals in Louisiana could close, 35 hospitals in Kentucky could close, 40% of the rural hospital capacity in Alaska could disappear if this bill is passed. So even if you keep your coverage, even if you are lucky enough not to be one of the people that are thrown off their care, your life could be impacted because your ability to get your loved one to an emergency room when you need it could disappear.”
Murphy concluded: “This is bad policy, but it’s fundamentally immoral. It’s a moral abomination. And what we know is that we have power, that this bill has not passed, it has not been signed by the president. And until it has passed and until it is on the way to the White House, then we need to use every bit of leverage that we have to try to stop something that is this deeply unethical and immoral, contrary to the very best traditions of this country, from becoming law.”
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA extends condolences following plane accident in India
Date：2025-06-12
Data Source：Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
June 12, 2025 No. 205
On June 12, Air India flight 171 crashed shortly after taking off from the airport in Ahmedabad in western India. On behalf of the people and government of Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) promptly conveyed condolences to the India-Taipei Association and instructed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India to also express sympathies to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
In addition, TECC in India and TECC in Mumbai, after contacting relevant Indian agencies, have so far determined that no Taiwanese nationals were on the accident flight. MOFA and its missions in India will continue to closely follow developments, maintain contact with Indian agencies, and provide necessary assistance in a timely manner.
Taiwanese nationals visiting India who require emergency assistance may call the hotlines of TECC in India (+91-9810642658), TECC in Mumbai (+91-8850842243), or TECC in Chennai (+91-9600099511). They may also ask friends or family in Taiwan to call the MOFA emergency hotline (0800-085-095). (E)
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to joint statement by leaders of Japan and Finland emphasizing importance of Taiwan Strait peace and stability
Date：2025-06-12
Data Source：Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
June 12, 2025
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Finnish President Alexander Stubb met in Tokyo on June 11. In a joint statement, they said that Japan and Finland strongly opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the South and East China Seas by force or coercion, emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in the security and prosperity of the international community, and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.
This is the first time that the leaders of Japan and Finland have expressed their high concern for Taiwan Strait peace in a joint statement. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung welcomes this concrete action by Japan and Finland to support peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and appreciates Japan and other like-minded nations continuing to call the international community’s attention to the Taiwan Strait situation during international gatherings, including the US-Japan leaders’ summit in February, the meeting between Prime Minister Ishiba and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in April, and Japan’s summit meetings with Latvia and Guatemala in May. This shows the high degree of consensus and common interest that the international community has for maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hopes that democracies around the world will continue to take preventative action and countermeasures to stop the expansion of authoritarianism from posing a threat to regional peace and stability and challenging the rules-based global democratic order. Taiwan will uphold the ideals of integrated diplomacy as it continues to deepen cooperation with friends and allies, jointly advancing peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific region and around the globe.
