EATONTOWN, N.J., April 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Climb Global Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLMB) (“Climb” or the “Company”), a value-added global IT channel company providing unique sales and distribution solutions for innovative technology vendors, today announced that the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) has elected Paul Giovacchini to the Board. With the election of Mr. Giovacchini, Climb’s Board increased to seven total members, six of whom are independent under the Nasdaq listing standards.
Mr. Giovacchini brings over 30 years of experience in private equity, corporate governance, and board leadership across public and private companies. He currently serves as the Lead Independent Director of TPI Composites, Inc. (NASDAQ:TPIC), where he previously served as Chairman and helped lead the company’s transformation into a global public enterprise. Mr. Giovacchini also serves as an independent consulting advisor to Advantage Capital Management, supporting private equity and debt investment strategies. Mr. Giovacchini holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
“Paul brings a wealth of executive leadership, investment expertise, and operational insight to our Board,” said John McCarthy, Chairman of the Board. “His extensive experience across public and private enterprises, coupled with his strong financial background, will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our operational foundation and advance our organic and inorganic growth initiatives.”
Mr. Giovacchini stated, “Climb has built an impressive platform in the global IT channel, distinguished by its strong partnerships and consistent execution. As the Company enters its next chapter of growth, I’m honored to join the Board and contribute to its continued success. I look forward to leveraging my experience in governance, finance, and global expansion to support Climb’s long-term vision both domestically and abroad.”
About Climb Global Solutions
Climb Global Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLMB) is a value-added global IT distribution and solutions company specializing in emerging and innovative technologies. Climb operates across the US, Canada and Europe through multiple business units, including Climb Channel Solutions, Grey Matter and Climb Global Services. The Company provides IT distribution and solutions for companies in the Security, Data Management, Connectivity, Storage & HCI, Virtualization & Cloud, and Software & ALM industries.
The statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to come within the safe harbor protection provided by those sections. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Many of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as ”look forward,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “confident,” “may,” “can,” “potential,” “possible,” “proposed,” “in process,” “under construction,” “in development,” “opportunity,” “target,” “outlook,” “maintain,” “continue,” “goal,” “aim,” “commit,” or similar expressions, or when we discuss our priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations. In this press release, the forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, declaring and reaffirming our strategic goals, future operating results, and the effects and potential benefits of the strategic acquisition on our business. Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements concerning our plans and expectations in connection with the addition to the Board and other plans and expectations. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” contained in Item 1A. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced $4.85 million in grants is being awarded to municipalities across the state to support the installation of electric vehicle chargers as part of the State’s Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Grants program. The funded projects support New York’s ongoing efforts to advance clean transportation, expand publicly available electric vehicle chargers, and help reduce pollution including greenhouse gas emissions for a cleaner and greener environment.
“My Administration is committed to advancing the transition to a cleaner and healthier future for our environment benefitting all New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “Our continued investments in electric vehicle infrastructure encourages more drivers to switch to electric, reducing pollution and emissions across the State and improving the health and well-being of our residents and communities.”
The Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Infrastructure Grant program administered by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) prioritizes clean transportation investments in communities most affected by pollution and climate change. The program includes a variable local match requirement based on the municipality’s median household income (MHI) and whether the ZEV infrastructure is located in a disadvantaged community, based on the disadvantaged communities criteria developed by the State’s Climate Justice Working Group. Of the awards announced today, approximately $885,000 were granted to municipalities located in disadvantaged communities in New York State.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “New York continues advancing the state’s transition to clean transportation with investments in municipal electric vehicle chargers to encourage the switch to plug-in hybrids and EVs. DEC’s Municipal ZEV Infrastructure Grant program is expanding New York’s EV charging station network and supporting municipalities statewide taking climate action, investing in electric transportation, and helping realize the clean energy economy of the future.”
New York State Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Through clean transportation initiatives such as DEC’s Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure program, the State is helping counties, cities, towns, and villages install more public charging stations for zero-emission vehicles across New York. Congratulations to these municipalities for their leadership and making it easier for residents and visitors alike to choose cleaner vehicles with the confidence they’ll be able to charge their cars where and when they need to.”
Assemblymember Didi Barrett said, “This funding will help New York’s smaller municipalities, in the Hudson Valley and beyond, be part of the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure network build out. The four new Level 2 electric charging ports in the Town of Hyde Park will reduce range anxiety for residents and visitors alike.”
State Senator Pete Harckham said, “Encouraging motorists to drive zero-emissions vehicles is the best way to ramp up our fight statewide against the climate crisis and improve public health. These new state infrastructure grant awards announced by Governor Hochul for EV charging stations show New York is committed to a steady and inclusive transition to a clean energy economy that will benefit residents in many ways. The partnership between the governor and the state legislature in making a transition to clean transportation is a strong one and will continue to make New York an environmental leader.”
2024 Municipal ZEV Infrastructure Grant Awards include:
Capital Region
City of Rensselaer – $233,000 for one DCFC pedestal
Finger Lakes
Village of Brockport – $188,825 for 10 Level 2 charging ports and one DCFC pedestal
Village of Dundee – $24,200 for four Level 2 charging ports
Town of Farmington – $225,620 for 24 Level 2 charging ports and one DCFC pedestal
Town of Huron – $43,200 for four Level 2 charging ports
Village of Interlaken – $124,470 for one DCFC pedestal
Village of Le Roy – $20,605 for four Level 2 charging ports
Village of Oakfield – $24,380 for four Level 2 charging ports
County of Ontario – $309,100 for 14 Level 2 charging ports and two DCFC pedestals
Village of Palmyra – $222,250 for two DCFC pedestals
Village of Warsaw – $148,500 for one DCFC pedestal
Village of Waterloo – $238,900 for 12 Level 2 charging ports
Long Island
Town of Huntington – $326,000 for four Level 2 charging ports and six DCFC pedestals
City of Long Beach – $296,080 for four Level 2 charging ports and two DCFC pedestals
Mid-Hudson
Town of Hyde Park – $32,480 for four Level 2 charging ports
Town of Orangetown – $46,352 for four Level 2 charging ports
Town of Putnam Valley – $29,822 for four Level 2 charging ports
Town of Shawangunk – $26,587 for two Level 2 charging ports
Village of South Blooming Grove – $250,000 for three DCFC pedestals
North Country
Town of Colton – $76,318 for four Level 2 charging ports
Village of Constableville – $21,222 for two Level 2 charging ports
Town of Diana – $159,150 for one DCFC pedestal
County of Essex – $55,008 for four Level 2 charging ports
Town of Jay – $206,403 for two Level 2 charging ports and one DCFC pedestal
County of Lewis – $298,728 for two DCFC pedestals
Village of Lowville – $93,312 for 12 Level 2 charging ports
Village of Saranac Lake – $482,164 for 30 Level 2 charging ports
Southern Tier
Town of Danby – $11,400 for two Level 2 charging ports
Western New York
City of Dunkirk – $53,400 for 14 Level 2 charging ports
Village of Springville – $248,000 for one DCFC pedestal
Town of Tonawanda – $285,007 for 16 Level 2 charging ports and one DCFC pedestal
Village of Wilson – $49,648 for two Level 2 charging ports
More information about the DEC Municipal ZEV Infrastructure Grant program, as well as the DEC Municipal ZEV Rebate program, is available on DEC’s website. For questions about the Municipal ZEV program, email [email protected] or call DEC’s Office of Climate Change at 518-402-8448.
New York State’s nearly $3 billion investment in electrifying its transportation sector has supported a range of initiatives aimed to increase access to electric vehicles (EVs) and charging while improving air quality and health outcomes for all New Yorkers. These programs include today’s Municipal ZEV Infrastructure Program grants and many other programs, including EV Make Ready, EVolve NY, Charge Ready NY 2.0, the Drive Clean Rebate, the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program, the New York School Bus Incentive Program, and the Direct Current Fast Charger program. The State invests in charging infrastructure and EVs to benefit all New Yorkers, and its efforts have been successful at increasing the number of EVs and charging stations across all regions of New York – with, over 280,000 EVs on the road statewide and over 17,000 public chargers- more public chargers than any other state except for California. Additionally, there are more than 4,000 semi-public charging stations at workplaces and multifamily buildings across the state.
New York State’s Climate Agenda New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.
Time: 09:00 London | 17:00 Incheon Date: 22 May 2025 (Thursday) Event Language: English
Description
Cities face many critical challenges in accessing financial resources for adaptation and resilience projects, including for disaster response and preparedness. Among these are challenges with the capacity of cities to develop investible adaptation and resilience projects and implement technical solutions to climate hazards.
This one-hour webinar aims to provide attendees with an understanding of the landscape of urban climate finance, introduce the project preparation process, and share examples of successful implementation of adaptation and resilience actions in global cities. The session will also showcase tools available by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) and its members that city and subnational governments can use to enhance their project preparation capacity and develop investible projects to enhance their resilience to climate hazards and disasters.
Hosted by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Global Education and Training Institute (UNDRR GETI), the webinar is open to local government officials and relevant stakeholders, especially those responsible for disaster and climate actions and seeking next steps towards accessing finance for implementation.
CCFLA is the main multi-level and multi-stakeholder coalition aimed at closing the investment gap for urban subnational climate projects and infrastructure worldwide, launched at the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Summit in September 2014 and renewed at the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Summit in September 2019. CCFLA provides a platform to convene and exchange knowledge among all relevant actors dedicated to urban development, climate action, and/or financing.
CCFLA’s 80+ members include public and private finance institutions, national governments, international organizations, NGOs, research groups, UN organizations, and city and regional networks that represent most of the world’s largest cities. CCFLA works across several key thematic areas including tracking urban climate finance, project preparation, urban adaptation and resilience finance, private sector mobilization, and public sector and enabling environments. The CCFLA Secretariat is hosted by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI).
UNDRR Global Education and Training Institute (UNDRR GETI)
UNDRR GETI was established in 2010 to develop a new cadre of professionals in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to build disaster resilient societies. GETI has a global mandate to provide capacity building support to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into sustainable development; convene and support inter-city learning to strengthen resilience (Making Cities Resilient); and to provide capacity building and best practice sharing support to national training institutions working on resilience issues. Based in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, UNDRR GETI is also the global secretariat of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030).
The Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience through advocacy, sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing mutually reinforcing city-to-city learning networks, injecting technical expertise, connecting multiple layers of government and building partnerships. Through delivering a clear 3-stage roadmap to urban resilience, providing tools, access to knowledge, monitoring and reporting tools. MCR2030 will support cities on their journey to reduce risk and build resilience. MCR2030 aims to ensure cities become inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030, contributing directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, and other global frameworks including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda.
Union Minister Shri Jayant Chaudhary launches NSDC-PDEU Centre offering 40 skill courses at Gandhinagar in Gujarat Online and hybrid courses in semiconductors, solar, and smart manufacturing to be offered at NSDC-PDEU Centre
Union Minister emphasizes the need for empowering universities to make them engines of national growth
Posted On: 21 APR 2025 6:45PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship & Minister of State, Ministry of Education Shri Jayant Chaudhary launched a Centre of Excellence (CoE) – jointly set up by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) – at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
“Universities are not merely centres of academic learning—they are transformative bridges connecting young minds to the dynamic realities of the world. By equipping students with both technical expertise and a broad-based liberal education, they cultivate the ability to think critically, innovate fearlessly, and adapt with agility. Gujarat has emerged as a frontrunner in this journey, reshaping its higher education landscape through a strong focus on academic rigor, industry partnerships, and holistic development. And our universities are producing a generation that is not only employable but also imaginative, responsible, and deeply committed to the nation’s progress.”
Shri Jayant Chaudhary further emphasized the need for universities across India to realign with the evolving demands of industry and actively skill students in response. “We must empower our universities to become engines of innovation—not just to serve market needs, but to advance national growth. When universities lead innovation, it is driven by purpose—for the benefit of society and the nation at large.”
The Centre will be equipped with advanced manufacturing capabilities labs to provide specialised training. The centre will offer over 40 online and hybrid courses in sectors such as semiconductors manufacturing, renewable and non-renewables energy, digital edge, smart manufacturing, and more.
A Memorandum of Association (MoA) was signed earlier this month between NSDC and PDEU in this regard. These courses will cater to students from ITI, Diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate programs. The curriculum is designed to equip learners from Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 institutes with hands-on experience in niche manufacturing skill sets across critical sectors, including energy, health, water and food.
Shri Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of NSDC and MD of NSDC International, said, “At NSDC, our core mission is to make youth employable, and this collaboration will strengthen the skilling ecosystem. This collaboration will support the development of training infrastructure in smart manufacturing, along with Centres of Excellence focused on automotive, EV charging, renewable energy, and semiconductors. Training in the semiconductor domain is already underway, paving the way for youth to gain practical exposure in high-demand, future-oriented fields. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the NSDC is placing a strong emphasis on global certification programmes that enable Indian students to access world-class skills and compete confidently in the international job market. We are dedicated to making India’s youth employable, entrepreneurial, and future-ready.
“Through hybrid-mode training in renewable, non-renewable, and hydrogen energy technologies, India is equipping its youth to lead in the global energy revolution. This initiative ensures nationwide access, bridging gaps and empowering students across the country. It’s more than skill development—it’s nation building. These efforts boost youth employability while positioning India as a future global leader in the energy sector.”
This CoE will serve as a hub for hands-on learning, R&D, and real-time industry engagement in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, embedded systems, and VLSI design, directly addressing the talent needs of these sectors. It will act as a crucible for developing specialised skills aligned with the national priorities of sustainable development and energy security. Students will be trained to become “Energy Ambassadors for the Nation.”
PDEU Director General S Sundar Manoharan said, “Aligning seamlessly with the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his mission to empower youth and advance skill development across India, PDEU is committed to empower countless individuals nationwide, with Centres of Excellence playing a vital role in realizing the goals of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat.”
Underscoring the Gujarat Government’s strategic investments in these centres, he noted their crucial contribution to national missions—particularly in the realm of semiconductors—cementing India’s position as a global innovation hub.
The NSDC will play a key role in the smooth functioning of the CoE and in the seamless delivery of programmes to students. It will periodically monitor project progress to ensure that students receive quality training and are prepared for future job roles.
The PDEU, which has been at the forefront of energy transition and skill development, will leverage its expertise in different verticals, including solar and wind energy, lithium and vanadium energy storage, carbon capture and smart hybrid grids to prepare students for careers in these fields. It will empower students with industry-standard manufacturing lines, including the “45 MW Solar PV Manufacturing Line” and the ATMP Semiconductor Packaging Line.
The partnership between NSDC and PDEU marks a transformative step towards building a future-ready workforce, which is crucial for India’s economic growth and technological leadership. It will play a vital role in Make-in-India Readiness movement and accelerate the progress of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
In its second asteroid encounter, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft obtained a close look at a uniquely shaped fragment of an asteroid that formed about 150 million years ago. The spacecraft has begun returning images that were collected as it flew approximately 600 miles (960 km) from the asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025.
The asteroid was previously observed to have large brightness variations over a 10-day period, so some of Lucy team members’ expectations were confirmed when the first images showed what appeared to be an elongated contact binary (an object formed when two smaller bodies collide). However, the team was surprised by the odd shape of the narrow neck connecting the two lobes, which looks like two nested ice cream cones. “Asteroid Donaldjohanson has strikingly complicated geology,” says Hal Levison, principal investigator for Lucy at Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. “As we study the complex structures in detail, they will reveal important information about the building blocks and collisional processes that formed the planets in our Solar System.” From a preliminary analysis of the first available images collected by the spacecraft’s L’LORRI imager, the asteroid appears to be larger than originally estimated, about 5 miles (8 km) long and 2 miles (3.5 km) wide at the widest point. In this first set of high-resolution images returned from the spacecraft, the full asteroid is not visible as the asteroid is larger than the imager’s field of view. It will take up to a week for the team to downlink the remainder of the encounter data from the spacecraft; this dataset will give a more complete picture of the asteroid’s overall shape. Like Lucy’s first asteroid flyby target, Dinkinesh, Donaldjohanson is not a primary science target of the Lucy mission. As planned, the Dinkinesh flyby was a system’s test for the mission, while this encounter was a full dress rehearsal, in which the team conducted a series of dense observations to maximize data collection. Data collected by Lucy’s other scientific instruments, the L’Ralph color imager and infrared spectrometer and the L’TES thermal infrared spectrometer, will be retrieved and analyzed over the next few weeks. The Lucy spacecraft will spend most of the remainder of 2025 travelling through the main asteroid belt. Lucy will encounter the mission’s first main target, the Jupiter Trojan asteroid Eurybates, in August 2027. “These early images of Donaldjohanson are again showing the tremendous capabilities of the Lucy spacecraft as an engine of discovery,” said Tom Statler, program scientist for the Lucy mission at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The potential to really open a new window into the history of our solar system when Lucy gets to the Trojan asteroids is immense.”
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for Lucy, as well as the designing and building the L’Ralph instrument. Hal Levison of the Boulder, Colorado, office of SwRI is the principal investigator. SwRI is headquartered in San Antonio and also leads the mission’s science team, science observation planning, and data processing. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for Lucy, as well as the L’Ralph instrument. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft, designed the orbital trajectory, and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the Lucy spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, designed and built the L’LORRI (Lucy Long Range Reconnaissance Imager) instrument. Arizona State University designed and built the L’TES (Lucy Thermal Emission Spectrometer). Lucy is the thirteenth mission in NASA’s Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. By Katherine KretkeSouthwest Research Institute Media Contact:Karen Fox / Molly WasserHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov Nancy N. JonesNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Earth planning date: Friday, April 18, 2025 As the APXS operations person today, I was hopeful that we could plan a compositional measurement after brushing one of the bedrock blocks in front of the rover. However, it soon became clear that the rover was not on stable enough ground to safely unstow the arm and place APXS and MAHLI. Silver linings though; by not having any arm movement in this plan, which requires significant energy, we were able to conserve power for what we hope will be a busy week of upcoming science activities as we drive towards our next high priority area of interest – the so-called boxwork formations. These are large resistant ridges identified from orbit, which may be the result of fracturing, fluid flow and alteration within the sulfate unit that we are traversing through. We plan to image them on approach to gain insights into their context. Despite the loss of arm activities, we still have plenty of interesting observations planned for this 3-sol weekend. ChemCam will fire its laser at two separate rock targets, “Santa Ynez” and “Cahuilla”, which will also be captured with Mastcam documentation images. The targets are on two different bedrock blocks with the “Cahuilla” raster focused on a thin resistant layer. ChemCam will also use its remote imaging capabilities to obtain mosaics of the “Texoli” butte and another interesting feature, “Torote Bowl”. Mastcam will capture mosaics of “San Gabriel River” (an apparent angular contact) and of some sand troughs surrounding many of the bedrock blocks in this region. An image will also be acquired of a small, grey float pebble, “Piru Creek.” The environmental science group was also able to plan a number of activities to catch up on their regular cadence, which has been impacted by the recent power constraints. We are acquiring Navcam line of sight observations (x2), suprahorizon movies (x2), a zenith movie and a 360 degree sky survey, as well as a Mastcam sky survey. Coordinated ChemCam passive sky and APXS atmospheric observations are also planned. There is a ~19 m drive planned through this tricky terrain that will hopefully set us up for arm activities (APXS and MAHLI) in our new workspace next week. The plan is completed with standard RAD, DAN and REMS activities, as well as two MARDI images to record the terrain beneath the rover in the current and new workspace.
H.R. 2617 would prohibit schools from using funds authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to teach or advance concepts related to gender ideology as defined in Executive Order 14168, published in January 2025.
CBO expects schools to comply with the requirements in H.R. 2617 and that any federal funds that would have been used for that purpose under current law would be used for other purposes.
Based on the cost of implementing similar prohibitions, CBO estimates that the costs to the Department of Education to implement H.R. 2617 would be insignificant; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Garrett Quenneville. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
H.R. 2616 would require public elementary and secondary schools that receive funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form or their sex-based accommodations, such as locker rooms or bathrooms. The requirements would apply only to students through grade eight.
CBO expects that schools will comply with the new requirements. As a result, CBO estimates enacting the bill would have no effect on federal spending for grants to elementary and secondary schools.
Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that the costs to the Department of Education to implement H.R. 2616 would be insignificant; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Garrett Quenneville. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
Baltimore, Maryland – Owen Jarboe, 19, of Hagerstown, Maryland, has pled guilty to conspiracy, cyberstalking, interstate threatening communications, and threats to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosives.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.
According to the guilty plea, from December 2023 through January 18, 2024, Jarboe along with other co-conspirators, knowingly and unlawfully conspired to place swatting calls to multiple police and emergency departments across the United States. Swatting is a form of criminal harassment that involves deceiving an emergency service into sending a police or emergency service response team to another person’s location.
Jarboe helped create an online group known as “Purgatory.” The group used multiple online social-media platforms, including Telegram and Instagram, to coordinate and plan swatting activities and to announce swats that they had conducted. Jarboe and his co-conspirators often used shared scripts to obscure their phone numbers and identities.
Swatting incidents perpetrated as part of this scheme include threatening to burn down a residential trailer park in Alabama and shoot a teacher and unnamed students at a Delaware high school. Other swatting occurrences include false allegations about multiple homicide events and shooting threats of individuals at a residence in Eastman, Georgia, and bombing and shooting threats of Albany International Airport in New York and an Ohio casino.
“Swatting is a very serious offense – one that can easily become dangerous for law enforcement and the victims involved,” Hayes said. “Emergency personnel work hard every day to ensure that first responders are dispatched to render aid to those who truly need it. Mr. Jarboe and his co-conspirators’ actions showed a complete disregard for law enforcement, the victims, and those who actually needed emergency assistance during these incidents.”
“Jarboe’s crimes are despicable and dangerous. He put our brave first responders and countless innocent lives at risk while creating unnecessary fear in many different communities,” DelBagno said. “Jarboe’s guilty plea shows that the FBI will not tolerate swatting or hoax threats and will make sure anyone committing these crimes is found and charged to the full extent of the law.”
Jarboe is facing a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy, cyberstalking, and interstate threat, and a maximum sentence of 10 years for each charge to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosive.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI for its outstanding work in the investigation. Additionally, Ms. Hayes praised the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Columbus; Ohio Police Department; Newark, Delaware Police Department; Lenoir City, Tennessee Police Department; Albany, New York Police Department; Albany County, New York Sheriff’s Office; Fairburn City, Georgia Police Department; Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Police Department; Giles County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office; Blue Springs, Missouri Police Department; Tarboro, North Carolina Police Department; Boston, Massachusetts Police Department; Dodge County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office; Houston County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office; and the FBI’s Mobile, Richmond, Boston, Charlotte, and Cincinnati Field Offices for their valuable assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert I. Goldaris and Patricia C. McLane who are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) announced Louisiana will receive $21,879,841.94 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in reimbursement for permanent repairs and recovery efforts following Hurricanes Laura and Ida.
“This funding supports schools, hospitals, and airport infrastructure,” said Dr. Cassidy. “These investments help our communities recover and prepare for the next storm.”
Grant Awarded
Recipient
Project Description
$11,270,163.36
Terrebonne Parish School Board
This grant will provide federal funding for the replacement of damaged school property as a direct result of Hurricane Ida.
$1,239,204.18
Ochsner Clinic Foundation
This grant will provide federal funding for permanent repairs to the Kenner Ochsner Medical Office Building damaged by Hurricane Ida.
$7,071,039.26
Calcasieu Parish School Board
This grant will provide federal funding for permanent repairs at Barbe High School campus facilities damaged by Hurricane Laura.
$1,020,440.82
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
This grant will provide federal funding for permanent repairs to buildings damaged by Hurricane Ida.
Starting Thursday night, May 1, at 9 p.m. the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will begin the first of two consecutive extended weekend lane closures on Route 1 at the Route 138 interchange in North Kingstown. RIDOT is using accelerated bridge construction methods to rapidly replace structurally deficient bridges.
During these weekends, lanes and ramps will be temporarily shifted and closed, and detours will be implemented. Route 1 will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Motorists should expect delays and provide additional time for travel. RIDOT strongly recommends the use of alternate routes if possible.
RIDOT has constructed new bridge decks next to the existing bridge and will slide them into place over the weekends. The southbound bridge will be done first, with demolition of the old bridge and installation of the new one taking place from 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 through 5 a.m. on Monday, May 5. The northbound bridge will be replaced during the same hours beginning Thursday night, May 8 and finishing prior to the morning commute on Monday, May 12.
The planned closures and suggested detours for both weekends are as follows:
Lanes/Ramps to be Closed:
� Route 1 � one lane in each direction closed at the bridge
� Ramp from Route 1 South to Route 138 East
� Ramp from Route 138 West to Route 1 South
� Ramps that allow traffic to reverse direction from Route 1 North to Route 1 South, and Route 1 South to Route 1 North
Lanes/Ramps to Remain Open:
� Ramp from Route 1 North to Route 138 East
� Ramp from Route 138 West to Route 1 North
Suggested Detours:
� Route 1 South to Route 138 East to Jamestown/Newport: Remain on Route 1 South and reverse direction to Route 1 North using the turnaround approximately 1 mile south of the intersection with Moorsefield Road and Bridgetown Road. Follow Route 1 North to the ramp to Route 138 East. Note: Trucks will be directed to detour at Bridgetown Road to Boston Neck Road (Route 1A) to Route 138.
� Route 1 South to Route 1 North: Use same detour as Route 1 South to Route 138.
� Route 138 West to Route 1 South: Use the ramp for Route 1 North. Merge onto Route 4, then turn right onto West Allenton Road. Turn right onto Route 1 South.
� Route 1 North to Route 1 South: Use same detour as Route 138 West to Route 1 South.
In addition to the detours listed above, motorists coming from the University of Rhode Island Kingston campus area heading toward North Kingstown should use Route 2 North to reach Route 4. Anyone heading driving north from the Narragansett area should use Route 1A. Drivers in the Providence area or points north may wish to use I-195 toward Newport County.
By using these extended weekend closures, motorists avoided up to two years of lane closures on Route 1. RIDOT scheduled the bridge replacement weekends to occur prior to Memorial Day and the start of Rhode Island’s busy summer tourism season.
The bridge replacements are part of a larger $35.8 million project that included repaving two long sections of Route 1. The first segment was done last year, from Shermantown Road in North Kingstown to the Stedman Government Center in South Kingstown. The second segment will be done after the bridge installation, from Shermantown Road to the Route 4 interchange.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
The Tower Hill Road Improvements project is made possible by RhodeWorks and the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Improvement Act. RIDOT is committed to bringing Rhode Island’s infrastructure into a state of good repair while respecting the environment and striving to improve it. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) announced Jennifer Schachterle, senior vice president of sales and business development, is scheduled to speak on a panel focused on letters of credit during the 2025 California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA) annual conference on April 24 in Monterey, California.
During the conference attended by local government officials with fiduciary responsibility for public funds, Schachterle will discuss how letters of credit can be a secure and efficient way for municipalities to make sure that deposits are covered over insured limits and serve as a favorable alternative to other forms of credit risk management.
“Municipal letters of credit issued by Federal Home Loan Banks to state and local governments can often be an effective tool to secure public fund deposits in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and National Credit Union Insurance Fund limits,” said Schachterle. “I’m looking forward to connecting with attendees at the CMTA annual conference and joining my fellow panelists to share insights on this fast and efficient alternative form of collateral.”
On the panel, Schachterle will be joined by Denise de Bombelles, senior vice president, global investor relations with the Federal Home Loan Bank Office of Finance and Hubie White, CFA CTP, chief investment officer with the City and County of San Francisco, in a discussion for how municipal letters of credit can help safeguard public unit deposits.
The 2025 CMTA Annual Conference is taking place April 22-25, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa in Monterey, California.
Jennifer Schachterle joined FHLBank San Francisco in June 2023 as SVP of Sales and Business Development. She leads a team dedicated to sales, business development and new member recruitment and oversees relationships with the Bank’s over 330-member financial institutions across its three-state district of Arizona, California, and Nevada. Ms. Schachterle has experience in the areas of sales, credit risk, counterparty approval, policy, and mortgage acquisition. Over the course of her more than 25 years in banking, Schachterle has held positions of increasing seniority in operations, credit, and sales in the banking and mortgage finance industry. Since 2019, she has served on the board of directors for the California Mortgage Bankers Association. She has a degree from the University of Denver and enjoys volunteering to teach children financial literacy.
Visit FHLBank San Francisco for more information about letters of credit and learn which member banks and credit unions are available to issue letters of credit.
About Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is a member-driven cooperative helping local lenders in Arizona, California, and Nevada build strong communities, create opportunity, and change lives for the better. The tools and resources we provide to our member financial institutions — commercial banks, credit unions, industrial loan companies, savings institutions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions — propel homeownership, finance quality affordable housing, drive economic vitality, and revitalize whole neighborhoods. Together with our members and other partners, we are making the communities we serve more vibrant and resilient.
Credit rating agencies like S&P Global and Fitch have an outsized influence on the economic fortunes of developing countries. Their assessments shape investor perceptions, influence borrowing costs, and ultimately shape a country’s development path. With many African countries now issuing bonds in global markets amid falling levels of official development assistance (ODA), their role is coming under increasing scrutiny.
The major credit rating agencies exist to opine on the likelihood that a debtor (say, a country) will repay their creditors on time and in full. They are rated on a sliding scale. Whenever a rating agency believes that a debtor will not meet their obligations, they are obliged to put that debtor into a ‘default’ rating. This means that the debtor can no longer access private financing.
The negative role of rating agencies has been felt in other ways too. For example, threats of downgrades have also led to developing countries steering away from seeking debt relief under a recently introduced G20-initiated debt treatment programme. The reason is that getting help would mean that sovereign debtors have to restructure their debts. But credit rating agencies have warned that doing this will likely lead countries being given a ‘default’ rating.
As a result, no rated country has applied for debt relief through the G20. This has been called a ‘credit rating impasse’.
Change needs to happen on two fronts: the building of credit rating capability in the Global South, combined with shoring up capacity in countries in an effort to rebalance existing relationships with rating agencies.
As a researcher who has looked closely at the working of rating agencies, I would argue that South Africa’s 2024–25 G20 Presidency presents a rare opportunity to push for more equitable reforms. It also provides a platform to spotlight African-led initiatives that are already making progress.
The aim is not to ensure every country receives a top-tier credit rating. Rather, it is to ensure that all countries have the capacity, knowledge, and tools to engage in the rating process on fair terms.
Alternatives
Among the boldest reform efforts so far is the establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency spearheaded by the African Union. The agency aims to deliver fairer, more contextually grounded credit assessments of African sovereigns.
Structured as a specialised agency owned by AU member states and funded through a mix of regional support and service revenue, the agency is a tangible step toward rating independence. Naturally, there are challenges. These include legitimacy, credibility with global investors, generating the necessary capital to appropriately invest in research and credit analysis, and blowback if and when it will have to downgrade.
Its creation is rooted in dissatisfaction with the big three agencies. But it’s also inspired by parallel developments in other regions, such as China’s own domestic rating ecosystem.
Though still in development, the proposed African agency represents the most advanced reform effort in the credit rating space from a Global South perspective.
But building this institutional capacity is only one piece of a larger puzzle. For many countries, support is urgently needed to engage more effectively with the existing system.
Expertise mismatch
The lag in expertise and experience on the part of countries in the global south is understandable: sovereign debt trading has been around since the 19th Century. The first Eurobond was issued in 1963. In contrast, many African nations only began issuing Eurobonds in the late 1990s, with Tunisia being the first in 1997.
At present, that expertise is often provided by ‘credit rating advisory’ teams embedded within the Investment Banks arranging a country’s bond sale – typically offered at no cost. There is a valid perception that this advice is not independent.
One way to close the gap is through independent credit rating-related capacity building. Done well, it can empower developing countries to engage with credit rating agencies on a more equal footing, improve the quality of credit interactions, and make informed decisions in a market that often prioritises investor interests over national development goals.
A few initiatives are well underway.
The African Union’s Africa Peer Review Mechanism , in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, has been offering tailored, hands-on support. This includes technical workshops, advocacy against problematic ratings, and the publication of the ‘Africa Sovereign Credit Rating Review’, a regular report that helps member states track trends and identify areas for improvement.
Building on this, the UNDP Africa and AfriCatalyst recently launched the ‘Credit Ratings Initiative’. This includes an innovative web platform, a panel of former rating analysts known as the ‘Concilium’, and a community of practice to share knowledge.
Early pilots with East African countries have already made an impact, showing how independent, neutral advice can boost sovereigns’ technical understanding and strategic engagement with rating agencies.
These efforts underscore an important lesson: while long-term reform is crucial, short-term, practical tools can have an immediate and meaningful effect.
This is a promising start. But there is room to go further. South Africa could use its leadership role to champion the establishment of a global credit rating capacity building initiative. Such a move would align with its development priorities, position Africa as a leader in financial reform, and create a blueprint for global action.
Crucially, this would not be just another technical fix. It would be a shift in the power dynamics of global finance – from crisis response to structural empowerment. As the U.S. prepares to take over the G20 Presidency next, South Africa’s advocacy could lay the groundwork for a broader coalition committed to fairer financing systems.
Daniel Cash 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.
Credit rating agencies like S&P Global and Fitch have an outsized influence on the economic fortunes of developing countries. Their assessments shape investor perceptions, influence borrowing costs, and ultimately shape a country’s development path. With many African countries now issuing bonds in global markets amid falling levels of official development assistance (ODA), their role is coming under increasing scrutiny.
The major credit rating agencies exist to opine on the likelihood that a debtor (say, a country) will repay their creditors on time and in full. They are rated on a sliding scale. Whenever a rating agency believes that a debtor will not meet their obligations, they are obliged to put that debtor into a ‘default’ rating. This means that the debtor can no longer access private financing.
The negative role of rating agencies has been felt in other ways too. For example, threats of downgrades have also led to developing countries steering away from seeking debt relief under a recently introduced G20-initiated debt treatment programme. The reason is that getting help would mean that sovereign debtors have to restructure their debts. But credit rating agencies have warned that doing this will likely lead countries being given a ‘default’ rating.
As a result, no rated country has applied for debt relief through the G20. This has been called a ‘credit rating impasse’.
Change needs to happen on two fronts: the building of credit rating capability in the Global South, combined with shoring up capacity in countries in an effort to rebalance existing relationships with rating agencies.
As a researcher who has looked closely at the working of rating agencies, I would argue that South Africa’s 2024–25 G20 Presidency presents a rare opportunity to push for more equitable reforms. It also provides a platform to spotlight African-led initiatives that are already making progress.
The aim is not to ensure every country receives a top-tier credit rating. Rather, it is to ensure that all countries have the capacity, knowledge, and tools to engage in the rating process on fair terms.
Alternatives
Among the boldest reform efforts so far is the establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency spearheaded by the African Union. The agency aims to deliver fairer, more contextually grounded credit assessments of African sovereigns.
Structured as a specialised agency owned by AU member states and funded through a mix of regional support and service revenue, the agency is a tangible step toward rating independence. Naturally, there are challenges. These include legitimacy, credibility with global investors, generating the necessary capital to appropriately invest in research and credit analysis, and blowback if and when it will have to downgrade.
Its creation is rooted in dissatisfaction with the big three agencies. But it’s also inspired by parallel developments in other regions, such as China’s own domestic rating ecosystem.
Though still in development, the proposed African agency represents the most advanced reform effort in the credit rating space from a Global South perspective.
But building this institutional capacity is only one piece of a larger puzzle. For many countries, support is urgently needed to engage more effectively with the existing system.
Expertise mismatch
The lag in expertise and experience on the part of countries in the global south is understandable: sovereign debt trading has been around since the 19th Century. The first Eurobond was issued in 1963. In contrast, many African nations only began issuing Eurobonds in the late 1990s, with Tunisia being the first in 1997.
At present, that expertise is often provided by ‘credit rating advisory’ teams embedded within the Investment Banks arranging a country’s bond sale – typically offered at no cost. There is a valid perception that this advice is not independent.
One way to close the gap is through independent credit rating-related capacity building. Done well, it can empower developing countries to engage with credit rating agencies on a more equal footing, improve the quality of credit interactions, and make informed decisions in a market that often prioritises investor interests over national development goals.
A few initiatives are well underway.
The African Union’s Africa Peer Review Mechanism , in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, has been offering tailored, hands-on support. This includes technical workshops, advocacy against problematic ratings, and the publication of the ‘Africa Sovereign Credit Rating Review’, a regular report that helps member states track trends and identify areas for improvement.
Building on this, the UNDP Africa and AfriCatalyst recently launched the ‘Credit Ratings Initiative’. This includes an innovative web platform, a panel of former rating analysts known as the ‘Concilium’, and a community of practice to share knowledge.
Early pilots with East African countries have already made an impact, showing how independent, neutral advice can boost sovereigns’ technical understanding and strategic engagement with rating agencies.
These efforts underscore an important lesson: while long-term reform is crucial, short-term, practical tools can have an immediate and meaningful effect.
This is a promising start. But there is room to go further. South Africa could use its leadership role to champion the establishment of a global credit rating capacity building initiative. Such a move would align with its development priorities, position Africa as a leader in financial reform, and create a blueprint for global action.
Crucially, this would not be just another technical fix. It would be a shift in the power dynamics of global finance – from crisis response to structural empowerment. As the U.S. prepares to take over the G20 Presidency next, South Africa’s advocacy could lay the groundwork for a broader coalition committed to fairer financing systems.
– Rating agencies don’t treat the Global South fairly: changes South Africa should champion in G20 hot seat – https://theconversation.com/rating-agencies-dont-treat-the-global-south-fairly-changes-south-africa-should-champion-in-g20-hot-seat-254735
Depending on who becomes prime minister, parents now paying $10 a day for child care could continue to do so and many additional parents could access affordable day care in the future due to plans to expand. Or, the cap on child-care fees could be eliminated in a return to market provision of child-care services, in at least some provinces.
Both leaders have said they want to preserve affordable child care but have presented their proposals in significantly different ways.
As an economist with specialization in the economics of child care and early childhood education, I believe looking beneath surface statements reveals major differences that would affect parents, children and their families.
Strengthening the $10-a-day policy
The Liberal Party’s newly released platform highlights the protection and strengthening of the $10-a-day early learning and child care system. The platform promises the building of 100,000 new child-care spaces by 2031, better compensation for child-care educators, the expansion of child care in public institutions and a stronger link between housing development and child care when housing is supported by federal funds.
In the Liberal leadership debate, Carney said we “absolutely have to keep in place the progress that the government has made on crucial things such as child care….” The Liberal platform affirms this, takes credit for introducing the existing system and notes: “In just a few short years, this program has become a core part of Canada’s social infrastructure.”
Since January, among the provinces and territories, all but Alberta and Saskatchewan have approved or tentatively approved five-year extensions to early learning and child-care funding agreements with the federal government.
Those extensions are key, as they represent commitments from 11 provinces and territories to use the federal government’s additional $37 billion to continue building the $10 a day program through 2031.
However, he did discuss ideas and major criticisms in a March 25 campaign stop in Vaughan, Ont.
He said: “We all believe that there should be more affordable child care in this country.” But then he criticized the current system as “bureaucratic” and “top down,” saying that “provinces can decide how to deliver those services on the front line with more flexibility and freedom for parents, provinces, and providers….”
Clearly his “affordable child care” will not look anything like the burgeoning $10-a-day system.
Poilievre’s wording is very similar to that of a new lobby organization of for-profit child care operators.
The group calls for a shift from “federally controlled funding to no-strings-attached childcare funding for the provinces …” It also calls for a “funding-follows-the-family approach” which they believe will encourage parental and operator choice and minimize bureaucratic administrative costs and red tape.
The Poilievre position, then, is an update from former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole’s policy proposals during the 2021 federal election.
It harkens back to the cash-for-care approach Stephen Harper’s Conservative government had in place from 2006 to 2015. Conservatives prefer and encourage the provision of cash, a tax credit or voucher that parents can spend on child care.
Such a Conservative approach is known as demand-side funding rather than supply-side funding — giving parents money to pay some of their child-care costs instead of funding child-care providers to ensure the services are available for families.
Examining Conservative criticisms
The “flexibility and freedom” that come with demand-side funding would mean removing conditions such as a guaranteed parent fee of $10 a day, targets for expansion of licensed child care, growth primarily by public and non-profit provision, and requirements for public financial accountability, from the federal funding agreements with the provinces and territories.
There are substantial problems with Poilievre’s suggestion of overhauling the $10-a-day program. First, his March 25 criticisms are flawed:
He said “120,000 fewer children have daycare spaces than when the program was created,” but Statistics Canada surveys show a growth in attendance at child-care centres of an additional 177,900 children from late 2020 to the first half of 2023.
Poilievre said “child care now is worse than when the Liberals took office.” In fact, the main indicators of availability and affordability of child care are much better. Between 2015, when the Liberals took office, and 2023, the number of child care spaces grew by 426,203 to a total of 1,627,211 total licensed spaces. Child-care affordability is also greatly improved. By 2023, child-care fees had dropped by between 40 per cent and 75 per cent nearly everywhere across Canada, varying by geography and child age. As a proportion of after-tax family income, parents’ average spending on child care in January 2025 was less than one third of what it was before 2021, declining from just under 16 per cent to five per cent.
Poilievre said “most of the money has been consumed by bureaucracy.” In fact, child-care fees have dropped to an average of $10 a day (or less) in
Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland/Labrador, and all the remaining provinces have lowered parent fees substantially.
This would not have been possible if “most of the money was consumed by bureaucracy,” something easily seen in readily available public data on how child-care funds are spent.
Demand-side funding solutions
Demand-side funding solutions with no cap on fees would be a dream for private corporations looking to enter a Canadian child-care market rich with public funds but a nightmare for cash-strapped parents who are desperate for child care.
Australia is the poster child for generous demand-side funding of child care.
In the Australian model, parents spend funds however they like, and there is no restriction on the fees providers can charge and no requirement for financial reporting. Funds are paid directly to child-care providers from the government on behalf of parents and corporate child-care thrives. Under this funding model, Australia has seen a sixfold increase in child-care fees since the early 1990s, twice as much as the increase in consumer prices.
It’s time to redouble efforts to provide affordable, quality child care for all who need it rather than to abandon these major combined efforts of federal, provincial and territorial governments to build a dependable and affordable child-care system.
Gordon Cleveland receives funding for expenses from an SSHRC project “Re-imagining care/work policies/Réinventer les politiques soins/travail”. He is a member of the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care. He volunteers for Building Blocks for Child Care. He is a research associate with L’Équipe de recherche Qualité contextes éducatifs de la petite enfance.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Daniel Horen Greenford, Lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in Ecological Economics and Climate Policy, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University
With a federal election on the horizon, economic policy is once again taking centre stage. Yet missing from the national debate is a serious reckoning with the failures of neoliberalism and the urgent need for alternatives.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, with his experience across banking and global finance, is one figure who could potentially steer that shift. Carney’s career, spanning Morgan Stanley, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England and Brookfield Asset Management, has exemplified his competence within the bounds of economic orthodoxy.
As the Bank of Canada’s governor, Carney pre-emptively cut interest rates to cushion the blow of the 2008 financial crisis. Standard measures like interest rate cuts and quantitative easing are meant to keep economies afloat during downturns. While necessary, these steps remained squarely within the bounds of conventional economic thinking.
Today, however, those old tricks aren’t enough. The twin crises of climate collapse and socioeconomic inequality demand bolder policy and braver leadership from policymakers.
MMT scholars argue that countries that issue their own currency, like Canada, have monetary sovereignty. These governments don’t need to rely on bond markets for funding; instead, they can create money directly through public spending. And, when they do sell debt, there’s never a shortage of demand for it.
From this perspective, the real constraint isn’t money, but productive capacity: materials, energy and labour. Public debt is neither inherently dangerous, nor is it “owed” to anyone.
MMT also argues the “tax and spend” perspective is backwards — taxes are not needed to fund public spending. In its view, governments spend first, then tax to remove money from circulation to keep inflation under control.
Inflation risk stems not from government spending, but from economic over-demand or supply constraints. During periods of low growth, spending is not just safe — it’s essential, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inflation during the pandemic was driven predominantly by supply chain disruptions and gas price spikes, not overspending. Strategic taxation can be used to curb demand and reduce inequality when inflation emerges.
MMT’s job guarantee
The hallmark policy of MMT is a job guarantee — a public option for employment that would employ anyone wanting to work. This would effectively end structural unemployment while improving conditions for those employed in the private sector through competition.
Such an initiative would help unlock productivity needed to revitalize and decarbonize housing, transport, energy and other critical infrastructure.
Yet instead of embracing such ideas, centrist parties like the Canadian Liberal Party and United Kingdom’s Labour Party cling to outdated concerns over “fiscal responsibility,” echoing debates that have been outdated since the end of the gold standard in the 1970s.
The cost of playing it safe
Carney appears to have retreated into political caution and has avoided challenging fiscal conservatism in any substantive way. Immediately upon taking office, he capitulated to misleading narratives promoted by politicians like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and cut the consumer carbon price.
According to the government’s own analysis, only the top 0.13 per cent of Canadians stood to lose from a modest increase in the inclusion rate for taxing unearned income.
During the Liberal leadership race, Carney advocated for using public investment to attract private capital during a CBC News interview. Sidestepping a direct answer about whether he’d balance the overall budget, he instead committed to balancing “operational spending.” When pressed, he said he would run deficits when necessary to “invest [in] and grow Canada’s economy.”
Carney’s approach frames public spending as a way to mobilize private capital, rather than as a driver of public-led economic transformation. True to his background, his language casts the government as a shrewd investor, not a driver of structural change.
Carney also framed public investment as “borrowing,” which MMT clarifies is a misnomer: unlike a household or a business, a currency-issuing government doesn’t need to borrow in the traditional sense and faces no risk of running out of its own currency.
A bolder path forward is needed
Canada needs more than cautious tweaks to the status quo. A climate jobs program, like a Youth Climate Corps, could guarantee well-paid, meaningful work in communities across the country for anyone ready to contribute. Public opinion is already there: more than half of Canadians support a climate corps.
Public-sector competition in industries like housing and renewable energy could keep private firms efficient and accountable. During World War II, engineer and businessman C.D. Howe became Minister of the Department of Munitions and Supply and oversaw the creation of 28 Crown corporations that drove wartime production.
Canada already has a Crown corporation mandated to support affordable housing: the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This agency could be expanded to not only finance, but also tender contracts and build housing. It could be a federal landlord, with long-term goals of community management and ownership.
The more affordable units kept out of an increasingly profit-driven market, the more accessible housing will be. This would stabilize the market and provide a floor (and roof) for affordability.
Some MMT scholars and social movements have even called for a homes guarantee — a federally-funded program to guarantee a place to live for anyone squeezed out of the housing market.
Critics might say bold investment is politically infeasible. But is it? Or could one of Canada’s federal parties champion policies that inspire instead of capitulate? Traditionally, the NDP would pick up this mantle, but they ceded their place as the progressive vanguard after former NDP Leader Tom Mulcair promised to balance the budget in 2015.
The real risk isn’t ambitious reform, but relying on outdated tricks in a world that demands new solutions.
Daniel Horen Greenford receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Canadians watched the two leaders’ debates unfold last week in Montréal. The debates, and this election, occur at a pivotal moment in history. Canadians go to the polls as the future of global democracy and governance, and in fact the very independence of the country, is in the balance.
In crucial ways, the debates failed to meet the moment — and therefore will likely be forgotten as Canadians vote cast their ballots in a week. Unlike a past debate that focused on Canadian sovereignty between John Turner and Brian Mulroney in 1988, this one featured few knockout punches or memorable moments.
Shadows of the past
In the weeks prior to the debates, observers drew comparisons to that momentous English-language leaders’ showdown 37 years ago. That debate laid out a clear question for voters: Are you in favour of entering a free-trade agreement with the United States?
Prime Minister Mulroney was supportive of the agreement, while Liberal Leader Turner was sharply opposed, fearing for the country’s independence.
In the end, both Mulroney and Turner had a point. In the ensuing decades, free trade with the U.S. has brought both prosperity and dependence on the country as the Canadian economy became ever more deeply intertwined with that of the United States.
A hinge point in history
In 2025, we face an even more pivotal moment. The global order is shifting.
Given the gravity of the moment however, we heard comparatively little during the debates about how Canada must respond at this hinge point in history as Canadians adapt to a predictably unpredictable future.
There was some talk during the debate of Canada trying to reach the (Trump-demanded) NATO military target for military spending, but nothing about the fact that the future of the alliance is uncertain. European states are openly questioning the credibility of American support in the event of an attack and European leaders discussing defence strategies without American involvement for the first time since the Second World War.
It’s clear from such silences on the debate stage that Canadian voters, journalists, debate moderators and politicians alike are all still coming to terms with the depth of change in the world around them.
The debate was filled with talk of pipelines, housing strategies and domestic law and order. In fact, neither debate was much different from those of the past 20 years.
That’s not to suggest domestic challenges don’t require substantive discussion and policy proposals. As I and others have argued, the populist anti-incumbent wave that we saw sweeping Canadian and global politics in recent years can be traced to the sense that a portion of the population — younger voters in particular — feel left behind and ignored.
Nonetheless, in focusing so heavily on domestic and not global threats, the debate verged at times on the parochial.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet, for instance, tried to keep provincial jurisdiction and Québec’s interests top of mind. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s message, at its most effective, was that as the country turns to face new challenges, it cannot forget about the marginalized in Canadian society and abroad. Worthy points, but secondary to the larger moment.
Ultimately, the debate was dominated by the other two men on the stage with a real chance to govern the country next week: Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The two appeared united in their passion for the country and pipelines, and share some other priorities, notably facilitating interprovincial economic integration.
Conservative base is divided
In other respects, the two leaders diverged significantly in their views. Of all the leaders, Carney was the most willing to discuss the Trump threat, including when he suggested in his closing English remarks that Trump is “trying to break us so the U.S. can own us.”
For the majority of the debates, however, the Liberal leader focused primarily on the economic threat. He argued that the country must look away from the U.S., and instead build inward with investment in housing and energy at home, and build outward by identifying more reliable markets and allies abroad.
Poilievre’s messaging was more nuanced, moving in different directions to suit different audiences. No doubt this is because the country’s Conservative voting base is itself deeply divided between mainstream conservatives who share their fellow Canadians’ concerns about Trump and a populist faction that tends to identify with the MAGA movement in numerous ways.
In attempting to square that circle, Poilievre has signalled strong opposition to Trump and his tariffs — a point he repeatedly discussed during the debate — and called for measures to enhance Canadian productivity, notably in the energy sector.
At the same time, however, he endorsed other policies that evoke aspects of Trump’s own political agenda, something he largely avoided mentioning during the debates. Notable among are Poilievre’s promised war on “woke” culture. While not discussed in detail during the debates, disruptive questions from right-wing media outlets following the French debate illustrated just how close to the surface such issues remain.
The ‘new abnormal’
In the absence of a significant gaffe, knockout blow or other dramatic twist, the debates are unlikely to change many minds, and seem likely to soon fade from memory.
Initial post-debate polling suggests as much. Anyone leaning one way or another heard enough to affirm their views as they tuned into the debates, and nothing to make them question their choice.
Answers to larger questions about how Canada should move forward in this emergent new global order, amid daunting new threats to peace and democracy, remain only hinted at. Whoever wins the election, those questions will continue to be asked with increased urgency in the coming years.
Stewart Prest does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Chris Coons, John Cornyn, and Todd Young introduced the bipartisan Finding Opportunities for Resource Exploration (Finding ORE) Act to strengthen U.S. mineral security and reduce strategic vulnerabilities. The bill leverages the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) mapping of critical mineral reserves to help responsibly develop global mineral resources around the world.
“We can’t solve climate change or strengthen national security without harnessing the power of critical minerals,” said Hickenlooper. “Better and more accurate maps will help us and our allies safely and ethically explore untapped critical mineral deposits.”
“From the technology that powers the cell phones in our pockets to the systems that keep us safe, Americans depend on critical minerals for our economic strength and national security,” said Coons. “The Finding ORE Act makes sure that our nation will have access to the essential materials we need to keep innovating, growing our economy, and deterring our enemies. I’m grateful for the bipartisan and industry support this bill has received and look forward to pushing for its enactment.”
“Access to a reliable supply chain of critical minerals is essential to meet our nation’s defense, manufacturing, and energy needs,” said Cornyn. “By shoring up alliances with trusted allies and promoting geological mapping of critical mineral reserves, this legislation would ensure America has the resources needed to keep up with global demand and bolster both our mineral security and national security in the years ahead.”
“Many countries are unmapped or reliant on outdated geological surveys. Our bill would create opportunities for collaboration between the United States and these countries to update geological mapping with the goal of locating critical mineral deposits. These partnerships would be mutually beneficial and provide the United States access to more critical minerals, reducing our dependence on China,” said Young.
The Finding ORE Act would authorize the Director of USGS to enter into memoranda of understanding (MOU) with foreign partner countries related to mapping of critical minerals. The bill identifies four objectives for these MOU:
Committing USGS to assist the partner country with a range of critical mineral mapping activities
Committing the partner country to offer a right of first refusal to private companies based in the United States or an allied country in the further development of mapped critical minerals
Facilitating investment in the development of critical minerals in the partner country, including by leveraging financing from the U.S. Development Finance Corporation and Export-Import Bank
Ensuring that mapping data created through partnership with USGS is not disclosed to governmental or private entities in non-allied countries
The bill requires USGS to collaborate with both the State Department and the private sector in identifying which countries to prioritize for negotiation of an MOU and would involve the State Department in the negotiation and implementation process.
“Colorado School of Mines commends Senators Coons, Young, Hickenlooper, and Cornyn and Reps. Wittman and Castor for their bipartisan efforts to leverage U.S. expertise in mineral mapping to support safe, secure, and responsible mineral supply chains,” said Dr. John Bradford, Vice President for Global Initiatives at Colorado School of Mines. “When called upon to contribute, institutions with strong partnerships with USGS, like Colorado School of Mines, seek to support America’s government and industry partners to advance the technology, knowledge, and workforce required to responsibly identify, assess, and produce mineral resources in the U.S. and around the world.”
“The United States has too often watched from the sidelines as our adversaries explored, invested in, and secured the world’s most promising mineral deposits,” said Abigail Hunter, Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy. “This bill changes that. It positions the United States—our geological experts and industry—to help identify and potentially develop the next generation of great deposits. It ensures we show up in resource-rich nations, rather than leaving them to deepen their ties with China.”
“The American Critical Minerals Association welcomes the bipartisan, bicameral introduction of the Finding ORE Act by Senators Coons, Young, Hickenlooper, and Cornyn and Representatives Wittman and Castor,” said Sarah Venuto, Executive Director of ACMA. “Expanding our knowledge base of global minerals resources and growing partnerships with our allies will ensure the United States is a leading force in resourcing critical minerals in a responsible way. ACMA looks forward to working with Senator Coons and his colleagues to advance the Finding ORE Act.”
“BPC Action applauds the bipartisan introduction of the Finding ORE Act. The bill will strengthen U.S. supply chain security by enhancing coordination with allies on critical mineral development, helping secure new critical minerals sources free from adversary control,” said Michele Stockwell, president of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action).
“Terra AI celebrates this forward-thinking, bi-partisan critical minerals exploration legislation introduced by Senators Coons, Young, Hickenlooper, and Cornyn and Reps. Wittman and Castor,” said John Mern, CEO of Terra AI. “The Finding ORE Act would empower America’s agencies and private firms to explore and claim the next major deposits of critical minerals which will supply our industries for decades to come; supporting manufacturing, aerospace, energy, and artificial intelligence. We support this act’s unique approach to winning the critical minerals race by leveraging America and Her Allies’ relative advantages — strong diplomatic relations, world-leading technology, and entrepreneurial spirit. This act is the essential early stage first step to establishing US global mineral dominance and winning this generational opportunity. As a mineral exploration AI company, we see huge value in collaboration between the private sector and our nation’s diplomatic, geologic and financial agencies abroad. It is a winning playbook, and we look forward to seeing more legislation in this area.”
A companion bill is led by Representatives Rob Wittman and Kathy Castor in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In the 119th Congress, Hickenlooper has led and co-sponsored multiple other critical minerals related legislation, including:
The bipartisan STRATEGIC Minerals Act to foster critical minerals trade with our international allies, led by Senator Young.
His bipartisan Unearth Innovation Act to establish a DOE program for sustainable critical mineral research innovation and recycling.
His bipartisan Critical Materials Future Act to establish a pilot program for the Department of Energy to financially support domestic critical material processing projects.
The bipartisan Critical Minerals Security Act to help secure U.S. critical mineral supply chains and counter China’s dominance in the industry.
A one-pager on the bill is available HERE.
The full text of the bill is available HERE.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2
Media Advisory Monday, April 21, 2025
Overall death rates from cancer declined steadily among both men and women from 2001 through 2022.
What Overall death rates from cancer declined steadily among both men and women from 2001 through 2022, even during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 2024 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. Among men, overall cancer incidence, measured as the rate of new cancer diagnoses, decreased from 2001 through 2013 and then stabilized through 2021. Among women, overall cancer incidence increased slightly every year from 2003 through 2021, with the exception of 2020. The report appeared April 21, 2025, in Cancer. Progress in reducing cancer deaths overall is largely the result of declines in both incidence and death rates for lung cancer and several other smoking-related cancers, the researchers noted. New diagnoses and deaths from lung cancer, for example, have declined in both men and women over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the incidence of cancers associated with obesity has been rising. These include female breast, uterus, colon and rectum, pancreas, kidney, and liver cancers. The report also shows that new diagnoses of breast cancer gradually increased over the study period, but the overall breast cancer death rate decreased. Cancer death rates in children declined steadily over the study period; those for adolescents and young adults also declined until recently, when the decline slowed and stabilized. From 2018 to 2022, cancer deaths decreased for each major racial and ethnic population group. From 2017 to 2021 (excluding 2020), cancer incidence was stable among men in each major racial and ethnic population group but increased among women in each major racial and ethnic population group. During the same time period, among men, incidence was highest in non-Hispanic Black men, whereas among women, incidence was highest in American Indian and Alaska Native women. The report also included an analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on observed cancer incidence in individual states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for the first two years of the pandemic. Cancer incidence declined sharply in 2020, likely due to pandemic-related disruptions in health care, but returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. The magnitude of the 2020 decline was similar across states, despite variations in COVID-19 policy restrictions. The researchers noted that these findings underscore the importance of providing access to health care, even during public health emergencies, to ensure the timely diagnosis of cancer. The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer is a collaborative effort among the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the American Cancer Society (ACS); and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).The report provides annual updates on cancer trends in the United States. The report is based on cancer incidence data from population-based cancer registries, funded by CDC and NCI and compiled by NAACCR, and on cancer death data from the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Vital Statistics System. For more about the report, see: https://seer.cancer.gov/report_to_nation/. Who
NAACCR: Recinda L. Sherman, Ph.D., M.P.H. ACS: Ahmedin Jemal, D.V.M., Ph.D. CDC: Jane Henley, M.S.P.H., and Lisa C. Richardson, M.D., M.P.H. NIH: Serban Negoita, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Kathleen A. Cronin, Ph.D., M.P.H.
The Study “Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, Featuring State-Level Statistics after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic” appears April 21, 2025, in Cancer. About the National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIH’s efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at cancer.gov or call NCI’s contact center, the Cancer Information Service, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). About the American Cancer Society (ACS): The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society has been the preeminent cancer-fighting organization in the United States through research, education, advocacy, and patient services. We have helped lead the evolution in the way the world prevents, detects, treats, and thinks about cancer. For more information go to www.cancer.org. About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC’s world-leading experts protect lives and livelihoods, national security and the U.S. economy by providing timely, commonsense information, and rapidly identifying and responding to diseases, including outbreaks and illnesses. CDC drives science, public health research, and data innovation in communities across the country by investing in local initiatives to protect everyone’s health. For more information, see www.cdc.gov. About the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR): The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Inc., is a professional organization that develops and promotes uniform data standards for cancer registration; provides education and training; certifies population-based registries; aggregates and publishes data from central cancer registries; and promotes the use of cancer surveillance data and systems for cancer control and epidemiologic research, public health programs, and patient care to reduce the burden of cancer in North America. For more, see naaccr.org. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health® ###
Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
April 18, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) announced three upcoming town hall events next week across Nebraska. Senator Ricketts will give an update on his work in Washington, D.C. Then, he will answer questions directly from Nebraskans.
The town hall events are open to the public, but Nebraskans attending are encouraged to RSVP to Events@ricketts.senate.gov. All times below are local.
Thursday, April 24th, 2025
Kearney Town Hall
Younes Conference Center South
Crystal Ballroom
416 Talmadge Street
Kearney, NE 68845
11-12pm CT
Friday, April 25th, 2025
Valentine Town Hall
Valentine Sale Barn
126 N. Government Street
Valentine NE 69201
10-11am CT
Scottsbluff Town Hall
UNL Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center
4502 Avenue I
Scottsbluff, NE 69361
2-3pm MT
Sara Oyler-McCance’s selection for this award reflects recognition of her decades’ long contributions to the wildlife profession, including her distinguished career with USGS and leadership role at the Fort Collins Science Center, and her sustained and significant contributions to the field of conservation genetics and management of western wildlife.
Sara has set an exceptional example of how earning a wildlife degree from the University of Maine can empower students to go on to great professional and personal achievement.
The MEL provides essential science for the management of natural resources, supporting efforts to monitor, restore, and understand wildlife populations. With this, they have published hundreds of papers on the genetics and genomics of iconic wildlife like American bison, sage-grouse, wild horses, honeybees, Burmese pythons, and others pictured below.
Discoveries include identification and characterization of new species, like the Gunnison sage-grouse, novel technologies, like the use of eDNA for studying cryptic invasive species, and innovative solutions, like the use of genomic data mining to understand local adaptation in wildlife.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Bronagh Ann McShane, Research Fellow, VOICES, School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin
Pope Francis appointed more women to leadership roles in the Vatican than any pope before him. He challenged entrenched traditions within the Roman Catholic church to bring women into positions once deemed categorically off limits by an institution historically dominated by men.
A prime example is Sister Raffaella Petrini, who became the first woman to serve as secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State – the executive of Vatican City State. This is the highest ranking role ever held by a woman in the Catholic church.
Christianity’s early years tell a more complex story about women’s roles than one might expect. Women within early Christian communities held leadership positions. They were deacons, prophets and patrons of religious communities. However, as the church became more institutionalised, male leadership solidified its authority, marginalising women. By the medieval period, women wielded spiritual influence as mystics, abbesses, and theologians, but their power was largely confined to religious devotion rather than governance. This division reinforced the patriarchal structures of the church. Women could influence faith but not church administration or doctrine.
By the early modern period, the exclusion of women from church leadership became even more pronounced. The counter-reformation reinforced clerical patriarchy, centralising power in male clergy. Once powerful abbesses saw their authority curtailed as the Vatican tightened control. During the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, women were active in education, missionary work, and social justice efforts but were systematically excluded from shaping church policies or theological debates.
The second Vatican council (1962–1965) acknowledged the importance of women in the church and expanded their roles in lay ministries. Yet, despite recognising their contributions, the council stopped short of granting women real authority. They remained on the margins of power in the church despite the broader social changes of the time. While secular institutions responded to calls for reform in response to second-wave feminism, the Catholic church remained largely resistant.
Pope Francis’s reforms
Against this historical backdrop, Francis’s reforms were both a step forward and a reminder of the church’s persistent structural barriers. His first major initiative to explore greater female inclusion came in 2016, when he established a commission to study the historical role of female deacons and the possibility of reinstating the role of deacon for women. However, the commission faced internal divisions and, in 2019, Francis acknowledged it had been unable to reach a consensus.
A new commission was established in 2020 with a broader international and theological representation. Although the issue remains under consideration, and the Vatican announced in 2024 that the commission would resume its work, Francis repeatedly reaffirmed that priestly ordination is “reserved for men”.
Francis did, however, expand opportunities for women’s participation in church governance in other ways. In 2021, he issued Spiritus Domini, formally changing canon law to allow women to serve as lectors and acolytes (liturgical roles traditionally reserved for men). While this did not grant them clerical status, it acknowledged women’s long-standing contributions in these roles.
Francis also increased women’s visibility in Vatican leadership. In an unprecedented move, he appointed Sister Nathalie Becquart as an under-secretary of the Synod of Bishops, making her the first woman to hold voting rights in the Synod. Similarly, in 2022, he named several women to the Dicastery for Bishops, granting them a role in selecting new bishops. This is traditionally an exclusively male domain.
Before his death, Francis made further appointments demonstrating his commitment to integrating women into Church governance. In January 2025, he appointed Sister Simona Brambilla as the prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. She is the first woman to lead a major Vatican department.
This was followed by Sister Raffaella Petrini’s appointment as the highest-ranking woman in Vatican administration. As governor, she oversees the city’s infrastructure, institutions, and daily operations, a role traditionally held by male clergy. These appointments, once unthinkable, signal a cautious but notable shift in the church’s approach to female leadership.
Progress or symbolism?
While these reforms represent progress, the church’s core patriarchal structure is still intact and the issue of women’s ordination remains off the table. No matter how influential individual women become, they are still excluded from the highest echelons of clerical authority. The papacy, the College of Cardinals, and the priesthood remain exclusively male domains.
Pope Francis’s reforms followed a well-established pattern of slow, incremental change in the church’s approach to women’s leadership. The struggle over power, patriarchy, and women’s place in the Catholic church is far from over.
Francis led a period of reform, gradually opening doors once believed to be firmly shut. But following his death, the lasting impact of these changes is uncertain. It’s possible that his work marked the beginning of a transformative era. However, it’s also possible that his death concludes a chapter in church history that supported women’s leadership. It is up to Francis’s predecessor to decide which is true.
Bronagh Ann McShane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A study published in Nature Climate Change assesses temperature-related deaths in urban heat islands.
Dr Chloe Brimicombe, Climate Scientist and Extreme Heat Impact Researcher, University of London, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said:
“The paper shows how urban greening (maintaining parks and planting trees) and cool roofs, painting roofs white are intervention which reduces the rise in heat in cities and are associated with reduced heat related mortality.
“In the paper all the results are related to a general U-shaped relationship this is where we see more deaths when it’s cold and hot in comparison to when it’s just warm. This is a global trend but there are actually local differences so sometimes we see a J shape where there’s a point at which heat related mortality rises faster than cold related mortality. It’s also different for age, cause of death and for socio-economic factors like wealth, type of housing and ethnicity.
“Also, there is what we call a lagged effect, someone could take up to a month to die from cold, whereas it is 3 days to a week with heat – when we consider our body, they affect us differently – you shiver when cold and sweat when hot.
“In addition, this paper does not take into account humid heat which is more deadly than dry heat. And we have seen in other recent studies that urban greening may be affecting this and therefore heat during the night-time and mortality.
“This is a problem in UK towns and cities, there has been local research showing that green roofs are associated with reduced heat-mortality in London. We see a rise in cold and heat related mortality in UK cities, we all remember how unbearable UK urban areas were in the July 2022 heatwave. This paper gives evidence that more funding should be set aside so that local towns and cities can increase adaptation strategies including maintaining parks, planting trees and vegetation, increasing coverage of cool roofs and reflective roofing which may reduce the burden of heat related mortality.
“With all this in mind the paper demonstrates really how we need to take into account local contexts and there is a lot that local cities are doing, and we should celebrate these efforts, but adaptation alone is not enough we need to urgently prioritise transitions to net zero and beyond.”
Dr Clare Heaviside, Associate Professor (Cities, Climate and Health), University College London (UCL), said:
“Urban adaptations influence local temperatures year-round, impacting human health. These complex effects vary across populations, cities and geographic and climatic zones. Therefore, maximising benefits and minimising negative impacts in specific settings requires location-specific modelling and data (health and meteorology), rather than relying on generalised results that extrapolate sparse data to different settings.
“That is why our (and many other) modelling studies use locally derived temperature-mortality relationships, daily mortality data and detailed regional urban climate modelling to best assess the impacts of adaptations like greening and cool roofs. For example, we modelled the health impacts of the UHI in summer and winter in the West Midlands, and found a protective effect of the UHI on winter mortality as well as a (larger) negative impact of the UHI in summer.
“Cool roofs reduced summer mortality and had a negligible effect in winter, so even with cool roofs present all year round, the reduced solar radiation in winter meant that the cool roofs did not diminish the beneficial impact of the UHI during cold weather. Therefore we found an annual net positive health impact of cool roofs, due to the larger benefits in summer. Of course this is highly context specific and will not necessarily be the case everywhere, so we would need similar data and modelling in other locations to test similar impacts of adaptations.”
Dr Madeleine Thomson, Head of Climate Impacts and Adaptation at Wellcome, said:
“While the study’s modelling provides valuable insights into global trends, it assumes adaptation strategies have the same impact across seasons around the world.
“Local context matters. Effective climate adaptation must be tailored to the place — and the people — it’s meant to protect. Many cities are already doing this with evidence-based approaches that consider the impact year-round.
“Copenhagen, for example, planted deciduous trees that offer shade in summer to reduce urban heat, while shedding their leaves in winter to let sunlight in—helping to cool the city in summer without intensifying winter cold. This seasonal adaptability makes them an effective tool against the urban heat island effect.”
“Extreme heat is a rising global threat due to climate change, putting vulnerable groups — including older adults, children, and pregnant women — at serious health risks. Cities must act with urgency, using local evidence to protect lives now and into the future.”
‘Dual impact of global urban overheating on mortality’ by Shasha Wang et al. was published in Nature Climate Change at 16:00 UK time Monday 21 April 2025, which is when the embargo will lift.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A study published in Nature Medicine looks at blood pressure control for dementia.
Dr Julia Dudley, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“This large trial of over 33,000 people in rural China provides further evidence that addressing high blood pressure could be one way to reduce dementia risk. This is consistent with a landmark report published in The Lancet last year, which highlighted untreated high blood pressure as one of 14 risk factors that account for almost half of global dementia cases. Existing medicines and lifestyle changes to reduce blood pressure could present a more accessible way to lower dementia risk for those with high blood pressure.
“While the results from this trial are reassuring, further studies are needed to understand how other risk factors like genetics interact with factors like high blood pressure to influence dementia risk. It will also be interesting to see whether interventions trialed in this study can work in other populations across the world.
“Looking after our heart and blood vessel health is something we can all do to improve our overall wellbeing and reduce our risk of dementia. With no current treatments available on the NHS to slow or stop the diseases that cause dementia, there has never been a more pressing need to promote good brain health and to gain a deeper understanding of how we can reduce our risk of developing dementia.
“The government also has a vital role to play in tackling the health and lifestyle factors that influence dementia risk – including cardiovascular health. This could mean introducing policies to reduce salt, sugar, and calories in processed foods, and lowering the NHS Health Check eligibility age in England from 40 to 30, so more people can start managing their blood pressure earlier in life.
“If you’re worried about your blood pressure, or haven’t had it checked for a while, speak to your GP or your local pharmacy may offer this service. If you’re over 40, you should ideally have your blood pressure checked at least every five years.”
Prof James Leiper, Director of Research, British Heart Foundation, said:
“There has been evidence for a long time that people who have high blood pressure have a higher risk of developing dementia, especially vascular dementia. The findings of this large trial, involving high blood pressure treatments that are already widespread, offer strong evidence that enhanced treatment of high blood pressure could in turn reduce the heightened dementia risk that comes with it.
“It will be important to see whether this reduced risk continues for longer than the four-year follow up period in the study, and whether similar effects are seen in other populations that receive the same treatment. If so, wider use of high blood pressure treatment in people with the condition could be recommended to fight the growing impact of dementia.”
Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. The condition is progressive and although no single behaviour is guaranteed to prevent dementia, we know that what’s good for your heart is often also good for your head.
“This study is one of the first big trials to test whether treating high blood pressure, supported by health coaching can reduce dementia risk, and the results appear to be promising.
“It is encouraging that the intervention worked in real-world, rural settings using non-physician healthcare workers, which may have implications for delivering care in areas with limited resources in the future. However, this four-year study cannot tell us whether the benefits will last in the long-term so we will continue to follow this trial.
“Research will one day beat dementia. This study takes another step forwards and we will be keen to see further studies provide more information about the impact of blood pressure control over the longer term and in other populations.”
Prof Sir Mark Caulfield, Vice Principal for Health for Queen Mary’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, said:
“the findings reported in Nature Medicine show that optimizing blood pressure control convincingly reduces risk of dementia. There have been prior studies suggesting correlation of blood pressure level and dementia risk -especially vascular dementia – but this is a very emphatic outcome of a trial. The trial is in a Chinese population so some people might say it isn’t generalisable, but we know from other research that the correlation of blood pressure level with adverse outcomes is consistent across populations. This is a really major advance in dementia prevention and will transform global blood pressure guidance and prevention strategies.”
Prof Ian Maidment, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Aston University, said:
“There is already good evidence that we should control hypertension to reduce the potential risk of dementia.
“The study here showed that the intervention reduced the risk of dementia (as expected). However, the intervention would require significant modification. It was delivered by “village doctors” in rural villages in China. It would require significant changes for the UK and other similar healthcare systems; although potentially community pharmacists could deliver a similar programme.
“There are also a number of further limitations to consider before we should consider changing UK practice. The cohort were relatively young at baseline (62/ 63 years old) and only followed up for 48 months. In part due to these two factors, very few dementia cases actually arose during the trial: 4.59% (n=668) intervention vs 5.40% (n=734) in control. This represents 66 excess cases (734 minus 668; although the denominator is different. There were 17,407 people in the intervention group vs 16,588 in the control group). There was also no health economic data for the intervention delivered across 163 villages for 48 months.”
Prof Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology, University of Oxford, said:
“This is a landmark study with a very large sample size and a robust effect. It’s a wake-up call to treat high blood pressure intensively, not just to protect the heart but also the brain.”
“Remarkably, within just four years, there was a significant reduction in the incidence of dementia by aggressively treating raised blood pressure. Although many patients and their GPs understand how important it is to treat blood pressure, they might not appreciate what a risk it poses for developing dementia. In my clinic, I recommend keeping BP consistently below 140/80.”
Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, and President of the British Neuroscience Association said:
“This paper by He and team based at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center tested whether treatment for high blood pressure was associated with a reduction in risk of developing dementia. The team randomly assigned 163 villages in rural China to treat people with high blood pressure with medication and coaching to help them manage blood pressure and in 163 similar villages, people received standard care. The team observed that the people in the group receiving treatment for two years had a 15% reduced risk of developing dementia to the control group . This randomized, controlled trial provides further strong evidence supporting the importance of managing blood pressure and other cardiovascular risks to protect the brain during ageing. It is important to note that treating high blood pressure was not a fool-proof guarantee as some people receiving treatment still developed dementia. Although lifestyle modification is not a guarantee of avoiding dementia, strong evidence suggests there are things we can all do to keep our brains healthy and reduce dementia risk as we age including keeping mentally, physically, and socially active, treating conditions like hearing loss and high blood pressure, and avoiding things like head injury, too much alcohol, and smoking.”
Prof Atticus Hainsworth, Professor of Cerebrovascular Disease, St George’s, University of London (SGUL), said:
“It is encouraging to see further support for the concept that intensive blood pressure control reduces dementia risk. Jiang He and colleagues report a large clinical study, sampling older people from over 300 Chinese villages (almost 34,000 participants). Blood pressure was treated with cheap, readily-available drugs, managed by community healthcare workers who were not specialist doctors. They found a significant reduction in dementia risk among those villages where blood pressure was treated intensively. The implication is clear. We have an intervention that moves the needle on dementia risk, that can be delivered to large numbers of people in their communities, at modest cost.
“There are parallels with a previous large clinical trial of intensive blood pressure lowering in older North Americans (the SPRINT-MIND study). The reduction in risk was similar – about 15%. In both studies, the beneficial effect did not depend on using specific drug type to lower blood pressure. And in both, an effect of treatment was apparent after 12-18 months (though both studies continued for a longer duration).
“Replicating experimental findings doesn’t always happen. Here we are looking at similar findings from two big trials in different settings – rural China and (largely urban, primarily white) North America. These concordant findings may prompt changes in healthcare policy guidelines.”
Prof Toby Richards, Department of Allied and Public Health, School Of Health, Sport And Bioscience at the University of East London, said:
“Dementia is a rising problem in society today.
“In this large community based clinical trial in 34,000 people, the authors have shown two important findings. Firstly, that non-medical staff can provide medical information and deliver primary care protocols effectively in a community setting. And secondly that effectively lowering blood pressure to
“The data reinforce recent European Society of Cardiology 2024 guidelines aiming for a lower blood pressure and a structured algorithm of treatment.
“This has important ramifications for individuals. Blood Pressure can be relatively easy to measure at home enabling individuals to take control and autonomy for their health and these data show benefit in reducing the risk for developing dementia.
“In a resource strapped NHS these data also show that an algorithm of Treatment based on the European Society guidelines can be implemented by non-health care professionals, potentially at pharmacy level.
“In summary these data support treating blood pressure to
‘Blood pressure reduction and all-cause dementia in people with uncontrolled hypertension: an open-label, blinded-endpoint, cluster-randomized trial’ by Jiang He et al. was published in Nature Medicine at 16:00 UK time on Monday 21st Monday.
Prof James Leiper: No conflicts of interest to declare.
Prof Sir Mark Caulfield: Mark Caulfield was President of the British and Irish Hypertension Society between 2009-11 and served on the European Society of Hypertension Council.
Between 2013-21 he was Chief Scientist for Genomics England, a Department of Health and Social Care Company
Prof Ian Maidment: No declarations of interest.
Prof Masud Husain: I don’t have any conflicts of interest.
Prof Tara Spires-Jones: I have no conflicts with this study but have received payments for consulting, scientific talks, or collaborative research over the past 10 years from AbbVie, Sanofi, Merck, Scottish Brain Sciences, Jay Therapeutics, Cognition Therapeutics, Ono, and Eisai. I am also Charity trustee for the British Neuroscience Association and the Guarantors of Brain and serve as scientific advisor to several other charities and non-profit institutions.
Prof Atticus Hainsworth: I have co-authored a publication with one of the authors, Dr Jeff Williamson, on a related topic. I lead the Vascular Experimental Medicine group in DementiasPlatformUK. I serve on a scientific panel for AriBio Ltd.
Prof Toby Richards: Professor Richards has declared no conflicts of interest.
For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
The team of the Department of Youth Policy and Educational Work of the State University of Management took part in organizing the forum “School of Information and Spiritual Security”.
The goal of the forum is to develop a methodology for creating popular media content in the area of preserving traditional spiritual and moral values, fostering religious culture, patriotism and all-Russian civic identity, taking into account the experience of young people.
Speakers at the Forum included the Chairman of the All-Russian Interethnic Union of Youth, Director of the Scientific, Methodological and Project Center for Strengthening Interethnic Friendship and Citizenship of the State University of Management Kantemir Khurtayev, expert of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation Alexey Vaits, expert of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities Anna Bakaeva, head of the Department of Educational and Cultural Work of the Department of Youth Policy and Educational Work of the State University of Management Alexandra Kobylyanskaya and others.
The event was attended by 50 people: opinion leaders, activists of youth national communities and regional associations, as well as interethnic student associations of Moscow universities, representatives of the Central Asian republics and the republics of the North Caucasus Federal District, bloggers and residents of the Center for New Media.
Participants had the opportunity to analyze effective methods and tools for preserving traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, get acquainted with the key principles of forming religious culture, and improve their skills in creating popular content based on modern methods of conveying values. The leisure part included a screening and discussion of the film “Paradise Under the Feet of Mothers” and a house concert.
The organizers were the All-Russian public movement for promoting friendship and harmony among young people “All-Russian Interethnic Union of Youth”, the Centralized religious organization “International Islamic Mission” and the Scientific, Methodological and Project Center for Strengthening Interethnic Friendship and Citizenship of the State University of Management under the Coordination Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia with the assistance of the Fund for the Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 21.04.2025
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal grand jury in Lafayette, Louisiana has returned an indictment charging a Lafayette man and his two daughters with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Child and Adult Care Food Program (“the Program”), a federal program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.
The indictment charges Brian Desormeaux, 64, and his two daughters, Amy Desormeaux Hernandez, 38, and Lenzi Desormeaux Babineaux, 34, each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. According to the indictment, Regional Nutrition Assistance, Inc. (“RNA”) was a Louisiana non-profit corporation located in Scott, Louisiana and was owned and operated by Brian Desormeaux and he served as its Executive Director. Amy Desoremaux Hernandez served as its Assistant Director and Lenzi Desormeaux Babineaux served as its Senior Program Manager.
RNA was a “Sponsoring Organization” for the Program and was responsible for administering it in certain locations, including “Day Care Homes,” which are organized childcare programs for children enrolled in a private home. The Program authorizes assistance to states through grants-in-aid and other means to assist non-profit food service programs for children and adult participants in non-residential institutions that provide care. It is intended to provide aid to the participants and family or group day care homes to provide nutritious foods for the health and wellness of young children, older adults, and chronically impaired persons.
The indictment alleges that the defendants had access to KidKare/Minute Menu HX, the online portal used by Sponsoring Organizations to administer the Program. It is alleged that it was part of the conspiracy that defendant Amy Hernandez would access the online portal at the beginning of the month to change Day Care Home Providers to “inactive” status to avoid monitoring and oversight by the Louisiana Department of Education (“LDOE”). Then at the end of the month, she would change those “inactive” Day Care Home providers back to “active” status so that claims could be submitted to LDOE for reimbursement by USDA.
Allegations in the indictment state that all three defendants submitted or caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to LDOE for reimbursement from USDA, to include claims that children were being cared for and fed at Day Care Home providers when in fact, they were not. In fact, it is alleged that some of those Day Care Home providers were deceased at the time claims were made on their behalf.
The indictment also alleges that Lenzi Desormeaux Babineaux submitted false and fraudulent state fire marshal inspection reports for Day Care Home providers so that they would be in compliance with LDOE’s requirements for inclusion in the Program, which was necessary for reimbursements. The indictment further alleges that these three defendants submitted false and fraudulent claims seeking reimbursement they were not entitled to, causing LDOE and USDA to pay at least $400,000 in fraudulent claims.
If convicted, each defendant faces not more than 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, on each count.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Louisiana State Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren L. Gardner.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
MIAMI and NEW YORK and LONDON, April 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cyber A.I. Group, Inc. (“CyberAI” or the “Company”), an emerging growth Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence and IT services company engaged in the development of next-generation Cybersecurity technology, announced today the appointment of industry leading expert and adjunct professor at NYU, Dr. Peter J. Morales as the Company’s Chief Technology Officer.
Dr. Morales brings over 30 years of pioneering experience across finance, education, enterprise technology and the defense sectors, with a long-standing commitment to ethical innovation, advanced systems architecture, and AI expertise. As CTO at CyberAI, Dr. Morales is expected to play a pivotal role in accelerating the CyberAI’s strategy and scaling AI-powered solutions by driving the launch of the Company’s next-generation AI-driven cybersecurity IP through its CyberAI Sentinel 2.0™ initiatives.
CyberAI Sentinel 2.0™ represents a paradigm shift in Cybersecurity, committed to monetizing proprietary technology and providing clients with a holistic solution to cybersecurity threats by safeguarding digital assets. CyberAI intends to become a cost-effective solution to comprehensive Cybersecurity services for middle market companies on a global basis. This is in addition to CyberAI’s short-term objective of acquiring, consolidating and transforming IT services companies aggregating $100 million in revenues within the next 12 to 18 months with an anticipated listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
“We are honored to announce the appointment of Dr. Morales as our new Chief Technology Officer,” stated Walter Hughes, CEO of CyberAI. “His proven track record of building secure, scalable systems across both public and private sectors—including developing technology infrastructure at the NYSE and leading cloud initiatives at NYU— makes Dr. Morales uniquely qualified to guide our global technology initiatives, including CyberAI Sentinel 2.0, as we acquire and evolve top-performing IT service companies toward our stated objective of achieving $100 million in revenue.”
Over the years, Dr. Morales has held executive and academic leadership roles that bridge advanced technology with strategic innovation. At the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), he served as VP, CIO, and CISO, leading programs in cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, and enterprise systems. In addition, over 10 years at NYU, Dr. Morales led a global peer-to-peer collaboration platform initiative, launched a PMO, oversaw the university’s first AWS cloud migration, and cultivated a research partnership with NASA Langley, resulting in a Space Act Agreement.
His early career included developing mission-critical systems for the U.S. Navy’s F-18 aircraft and building high-performance trading infrastructure for the American and New York Stock Exchanges. Dr. Morales also led the creation of a pioneering diagnostic platform for pediatric neurological research at North Shore University Hospital.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been drawn to challenges where complex systems, human ingenuity, and mission-critical outcomes intersect, and that’s exactly what CyberAI represents,” said Dr. Morales. “CyberAI’s model—rooted in acquiring established, high-performing companies and enhancing their value through practical, responsible A.I. adoption—is exactly the kind of approach that intrigues me. With its visionary strategy and strong momentum, CyberAI is positioned to transform the IT services landscape and I look forward to helping integrate and elevate their CyberAI Sentinel 2.0 initiatives through secure, intelligent systems that drive real-world impact.”
Dr. Morales holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Engineering Management from NYU Tandon School of Engineering, as well as a Doctorate in Computer Science with a specialization in computational econometric modeling. He has been a PMP-certified project manager for more than 20 years and is Scrum Master certified.
In addition, Dr. Morales continues to teach in NYU’s M.S. programs in Project and Systems Management, and he serves on the boards of the EPIC Education Foundation and NABU, a UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) NGO. He has also delivered project management training across numerous New York City agencies and taught advanced tech and leadership courses at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
“Dr. Morales brings the kind of visionary yet grounded leadership that is essential to CyberAI’s long-term success,” said Alfonso J. Cervantes, Jr., Executive Chairman of CyberAI. “As we execute on our global acquisition strategy, we are not simply aggregating companies—we are transforming them into next-generation technology enterprises. His leadership ensures we can generate our own proprietary technology into industry leading AI innovation, operational efficiency, and cyber resilience.”
Through AI innovation, CyberAI Sentinel 2.0 is designed to empower enterprises with intelligent, adaptive, and proactive protection, while also leveraging CyberAI’s expanding customer base as the Company continues to grow through its M&A initiatives.
About Cyber A.I. Group
Cyber A.I. Group, Inc. (“CyberAI”) is an international company engaged in the acquisition and management of worldwide Cybersecurity and IT services firms. CyberAI is pursuing a highly proactive “Buy & Build” strategy to rapidly expand operations internationally by acquiring a broad spectrum of IT services companies and repositioning them to address fast-growing market needs for Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence markets. The Company has developed an active pipeline of 300+ perspective acquisitions which are in various stages of analysis. The Company’s initial target is to acquire multiple companies representing aggregate revenues annualizing $100 million within the next 12 to 18 months with an anticipated listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). CyberAI’s business model is focused on the acquisition and consolidation of IT services worldwide with proven ability in broad conventional technology services with strong cash flow and enhance performance through A.I.-driven Cybersecurity initiatives. This emphasis on conventional companies with strong revenues and EBITDA distinguishes CyberAI from the explosion of A.I. startups that may be pinning their future on a single technological breakthrough which may never materialize. This “Buy & Build” strategy provides CyberAI with the maximum flexibility for diversification and risk management for moving into new fields and addressing fast moving market opportunities. For additional information, please visit: cyberaigroup.io.
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Speech by Irina Chechik
As part of the III National (All-Russian) scientific and practical conference with international participation “Current issues of economics and management in construction”, the Department of Intercultural Communication of SPbGASU organized and held a section “Language training of future professionals” on April 17.
In her welcoming speech, the head of the Department of Intercultural Communication Elena Selezneva emphasized the importance of including the section in the work of the university conference, since knowledge of foreign languages, understanding of cultural characteristics, and the ability to effectively interact with representatives of other cultures are becoming key competencies for specialists in any field. A separate greeting was addressed to young scientists participating in the section: students, postgraduates.
Professor of the Department of Intercultural Communication Elena Chirkova shared her thoughts on the importance of live communication: “In a world where digital technologies are rapidly changing the usual forms of communication, it is live communication that remains the foundation on which true understanding and deep mutual perception are built.” The professor is confident that live communication is not just an exchange of information. It is an exchange of emotions, cultural characteristics and unique experience that cannot be fully conveyed through screens and virtual platforms. This is especially true for learning foreign languages – a process that requires not only knowledge, but also live interaction, immersion in the cultural context and direct dialogue with teachers or native speakers. With the availability of online courses and programs for additional practice, it is live language learning, including dialogues, discussions, exchange of experience and cultural characteristics, that forms real language competence.
Participants from St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Tyumen, Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and others discussed the improvement of language training strategies, improving the quality of teaching foreign languages, including Russian as a foreign language. Particular attention was paid to the introduction of new technologies, primarily artificial intelligence, to solve current problems of language education.
Associate Professor of the Department of Intercultural Communication Irina Chechik and Senior Lecturer of the Department Natalia Savelyeva prepared a report “Study of the language of the specialty by foreign students-architects based on local history texts (initial stage of training)”. In her speech Irina Chechik noted the enthusiasm with which students-architects perceive local history texts containing information about the architectural monuments of St. Petersburg. Irina Vladimirovna gave examples of such texts from a new teaching aid developed by teachers of Russian as a foreign language of the Department of Intercultural Communication.
In this textbook, the authors chose popular science texts. Grammar is given through constructions (models), which are practiced in exercises. Each text contains information about the history of the object, archival photographs. Students are asked to compare different architectural monuments, which gives additional opportunities to include speech activity.
Senior Lecturer of the Department of Intercultural Communication Valeria Ryabkova presented a report on “The Role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Language Training of University Students”. Valeria Valeryevna noted the explosive growth of interest in this topic. Artificial intelligence in education opens up many new opportunities: it allows developing and implementing teaching methods for specific disciplines, simulating speech and thinking activity, implementing automated control and providing feedback. Valeria Ryabkova reviewed specialized and universal generative chatbots and gave an example of a task from her textbook on English for forensic experts using artificial intelligence. According to the speaker, specific pedagogical technologies for the use of generative artificial intelligence are not yet available, and we are at the stage of analyzing the accumulated experience.
“Artificial intelligence has a certain didactic potential, but requires careful control from teachers. First of all, we ourselves must learn to use it and teach our students to use it,” Valeria Ryabkova summed up.
We thank all section participants for their fruitful work and exchange of valuable experience!
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
HOUSTON – A Houston federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against the former chief operating officer of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and an HISD contractor, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX).
The jury deliberated for only six hours before convicting Brian Busby and Anthony Hutchison following a four-week trial. Both were convicted of conspiracy, bribery, filing false tax returns and witness tampering. Hutchison was also convicted of seven counts of wire fraud.
Over the course of the trial, the jury heard testimony from over 50 witnesses regarding the 33 charged counts involving bribery, false invoicing schemes, witness tampering and tax violations. Five former HISD officials testified, all of whom received bribe payments – Rhonda Skillern-Jones, former HISD Board of Education president; Derrick Sanders, officer of construction services; Alfred Hoskins, general manager of facilities, maintenance and operations; Gerron Hall, area manager for maintenance – south; and Luis Tovar, area manager for maintenance – north.
They described the pressure Busby put on them to provide Hutchison’s companies more work with HISD as well as larger projects following Hurricane Harvey. They recounted how they received tens of thousands of dollars over the course of 2017 and 2018 or longer.
Skillern-Jones testified Busby told her she should use Hutchison’s company on school projects with the funds remaining from the school bond passed in 2012. They agreed that if the contract was given to Hutchison, then they could make some money off the projects. Following completion of the Holland Middle School and Pleasantville Elementary School projects, Busby met with Skillern-Jones outside of a Walmart parking lot to give her $12,000 in cash from Hutchison as the bribery payment for allocating her district’s portion of bond funds for projects Hutchison performed.
Sanders, who also socialized with Busby and Hutchison, described taking trips to Las Vegas with them where he would be paid bribes and recounted their lavish purchases. On one occasion when Hutchison paid him, he exclaimed “next,” signaling Busby to come into the room for his payment.
Hoskins testified his maintenance team did not want to use Just Construction because it was often more expensive than other vendors, but Busby pressured him to give Hutchison’s company more work. Testimony further revealed they would bypass the rotation or bid process in selecting vendors and just provide work directly to Hutchison’s companies.
The jury also saw a handwritten ledger seized from Hutchison’s residence which contained detailed notes of all HISD projects awarded to Just Construction. It included entries for bribe payments and locations where they were made.
Detailed evidence also revealed the extensive invoicing fraud scheme Hutchison perpetrated through his company Southwest Wholesale. Since 2015, Southwest Wholesale had been the exclusive mowing and landscape contractor for HISD. The jury heard testimony demonstrating how Hutchison continuously overbilled for years for the approximately 150 schools he was contracted to mow. He also similarly charged HISD over twice the cost of what he paid for the supplies and marked that inflated charge up 20%. He consistently overbilled HISD over the course of years for a loss in excess of $6 million.
Busby also made excessive cash deposits to over 18 bank accounts which was far more than his legitimate income. He attempted to explain it based on other sources of income, but the jury was not convinced it accounted for the close to $3 million cash deposits made over the course of five years that were not declared in his income tax returns for 2015-2019.
Hutchison similarly filed false tax returns in 2017 and 2018 wherein he deducted improper business expenses. Specifically, Hutchison obtained cash he used to pay bribes to HISD officials by writing company checks to vendors, who cashed the checks and provided the cash to him. He falsely stated on the memo line that they were in payment for work performed on HISD properties. He then caused the checks to be improperly deducted on corporate tax returns as business expenses. In reality, they were cashed to pay extensive gambling debts and cash bribe payments.
Hoskins also testified about the steps Busby and Hutchison took to interfere with the investigation. Specifically, Busby called Hoskins and told him to tell investigators Busby had nothing to do with the award of the maintenance contract to Hutchison and his company. Hoskins also described how Hutchison advised him that police had a handwritten ledger with numbers on it and that Hoskins should say it was for gambling.
“HISD is the largest school district in the state, and the people of Houston trusted that district officials would spend their tax dollars wisely and carefully. Instead, Busby and Hutchinson defrauded the school district and the taxpayers of millions of dollars, doing so to line their own pockets,” said Ganjei. “People need to have faith in their public institutions, and they can become understandably cynical when they hear of public servants stealing from school kids by taking bribes and over-billing. SDTX aimed to restore that public trust by bringing this multi-year investigation to trial, which lasted over four weeks and involved over 50 witnesses. I’m proud of the trial team for delivering justice here, and I thank our incredible law enforcement partners. Most of all, I’d like to thank the jury for devoting their precious time and attention over the past month. This case demonstrates that theft from schools won’t be tolerated and that the public can have confidence in their institutions.”
“For years, Busby and Hutchison defrauded the largest public school system in Texas out of millions of dollars – money that was intended to benefit the students of HISD,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office. “In turn, Busby and Hutchison also defrauded the taxpayers whose hard-earned dollars were fraudulently diverted for their greed and personal gain. Public corruption cases like this one are challenging to investigate and prove and erode the trust we place on our public servants. At the end of the day, we want to make sure corrupt individuals like Busby and Hutchison are brought to justice. Today’s guilty verdict is a step towards that justice. I’m proud of FBI Houston’s public corruption squad for the results of its years-long investigation and thank them, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, for their commitment to this case and to its thousands of victims.”
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen presided over the trial and has set sentencing for July 28. At that time, Busby and Hutchison face up to five, 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the conspiracy, bribery and witness tampering charges. Hutchison also faces up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud. All charges also carry a $250,000 maximum possible fine.
Skillern-Jones, 39, Houston; Sanders, 50, Hoskins, 58, Hall, 48, all of Missouri City; and Tovar, 39, Huffman have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charges. They face up to five years in prison.
Busby and Hutchison were permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.
The FBI and IRS – Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Johnson and Heather R. Winter are prosecuting the case.
The Liberals want to cement policies implemented by Justin Trudeau’s government, particularly the ban on assault-style weapons.
The Conservative Party of Canada, on the other hand, seems intent on avoiding the gun control issue, although Leader Pierre Poilievre has suggested he might weaken Canada’s firearm laws.
Since 2015, the Liberal Party has substantially strengthened Canada’s gun control laws.
In 2019, the Liberals passed Bill C-71, which enhanced background checks for purchasers. It also required retailers to keep records of firearm transactions. Following the April 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, the federal government prohibited several models of assault-style firearms.
Bill C-21, passed in 2024, codified a freeze on the sale and transfer of handguns. In addition, it increased penalties for firearms smuggling and trafficking, and added offences concerning what are known as “ghost guns,” untraceable firearms assembled with components purchased either as a kit or as separate pieces. Bill C-21 also included new measures aimed at reducing intimate partner violence.
The Liberal Party’s 2025 platform does not propose introducing significant new gun control measures. Rather, the party pledges to defend and cement existing firearm laws. Carney accuses Poilievre of wanting to “import irresponsible, American-style gun laws” into Canada.
The Liberal platform promises “to keep assault-style firearms out of our communities,” while “respecting the longstanding traditions of hunting, including among Indigenous Peoples, and sport shooting.”
The Liberals will implement “an efficient gun buyback program for assault-style firearms.” They also promise that new models of firearms entering the Canadian market are classified “by the RCMP and not the gun industry.”
In addition, the Liberals promise to automatically revoke gun licences “for individuals convicted of violent offences, particularly those convicted of intimate partner violence offences, and those subject to protection orders.”
Other Liberal commitments include toughening oversight of the firearms licensing system and strongly enforcing measures aimed at reducing intimate partner violence.
Opposition party positions
The NDP says nothing about firearms in its platform, while the Bloc Québécois vaguely commits to continuing to demand better control of illegal and prohibited firearms.
The Conservative Party also largely avoids mentioning gun control. For example, on April 9, the party announced part of its criminal justice policy. It urges the adoption of a “three-strikes-and-you’re out” law. There was, however, no mention of the Conservatives’ proposed gun control platform.
The lack of a clear position seems designed to avoid entangling Poilievre in the thorny gun control issue. The Conservatives learned the dangers of promising to repeal popular gun control measures in the 2021 election. Erin O’Toole had secured the Conservative Party leadership by appealing to gun owners, and the party’s 2021 election platform promised to repeal the Liberal ban on assault-style firearms.
The Liberals drew attention to O’Toole’s promise, badly knocking the Conservatives off message for several days. O’Toole was forced to retreat from his commitment to repeal the ban. He instead promised the Conservatives would retain the ban until an independent “classification review” of firearms was completed.
Opponents of gun control responded by expressing a sense of betrayal.
In his review of the 2021 election, Canadian political scientist Faron Ellis found that O’Toole “compounded the damage when he had no definitive answers, appearing evasive or even deceitful, as the Liberals would repeatedly charge through to the end of the campaign.”
Liberals believe that the controversy over O’Toole’s gun control position helped them turn the tide and win the 2021 election. For Conservatives, the lesson of the 2021 election seems to be that they should avoid making clear promises about firearm policy.
Poilievre’s agenda
Poilievre has not been completely silent on the gun control issue. Prior to the election, he told a prominent gun control critic that he will repeal Liberal gun laws.
However, he has been less explicit during the election campaign. He has mentioned gun control at his rallies, but does not detail what a Conservative government would do. For example, at an event in Woolwich, Ont., on April 10, he promised to “reverse the wasteful multi-billion dollar gun grab that targets our hunters and our sports shooters.”
It is unclear what exactly Poilievre means by his promise to “reverse the wasteful multi-billion dollar gun grab.” Would the Conservatives again allow the purchase and transfer handguns? Would they eliminate the ban on assault-style rifles, thereby making firearms like the AR-15 widely available?
Being frank about his position would help avoid suggestions that Poilievre has an agenda to substantially alter Canada’s gun control laws.
R. Blake Brown 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.