Two fly-tippers were prosecuted last month by St Albans City and District Council and ordered to pay a total of more than £2,000 in fines and costs.
Charlie Bradford, of, Monks Close, St Albans, admitted transporting waste without a licence and illegally dumping it in Woodcock Hill.
He left a trail of multiple fly-tips of house clearance waste along a four-mile stretch of the quiet rural road between Sandridge and Coopers Green Lane.
The Council’s Environmental Enforcement team were alerted to the offence by residents and an investigation showed the waste was linked to a property in Borehamwood.
Further enquiries led to Bradford being interviewed under caution and he admitted dumping the rubbish late at night from a moving van that he had borrowed.
He admitted the two offences at a hearing at St Albans Magistrates Court on Wednesday 15 January.
Magistrates ordered him to pay £1,924 in legal costs incurred by the Council as well as a victim surcharge of £114.
He was also served with a 12-month community order including the requirement to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
In the other case, the Environmental Enforcement team were alerted to a fly-tip of furniture and household waste in Cherry Tree Lane, near Redbourn.
An examination of the material found letters addressed to Leanne Reid, of Leven Way, Hemel Hempstead, who was interviewed under caution.
She was advised that she had failed in her legal duties to check whether the person she had hired to dispose of the waste had a licence and to obtain a receipt.
The Council issued her with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) fine under the Environmental Protection Act. The waste carrier was also traced and issued with an FPN which they paid.
However, after Reid failed to pay her fine, court proceedings were started and she admitted the duty of care fly-tipping offence at St Albans Magistrates Court on Wednesday 29 January.
Magistrates gave her a six-month conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £100 towards the Council’s costs and a victim surcharge of £26.
Councillor Anthony Rowlands, Lead for Waste and Recycling, said after the hearings:
Fly-tipping is an antisocial and inexcusable offence and these prosecutions show we are determined to act against offenders.
Fly-tips are not only unsightly, but they are also a potential health hazard and it costs public agencies like ourselves, farmers and landowners significant sums of money to clear up.
Much fly-tipping, as in these cases, is done on isolated country roads, late at night when there are no eyewitnesses around.
It can be very difficult to trace offenders, so our enforcement team deserve high praise for the way they have tracked down these culprits.
There is also a warning here for people who are clearing a house or a commercial property – they must ensure the firm or person they hire to do so has a proper waste carrier’s licence and they must obtain a receipt. You leave yourself open to a potential fly-tipping offence if you don’t do that.
Photos: top, the Cherry Tree Lane fly-tip; bottom, the Woodcock Hill fly-tips.
Since the inception of PM-DevINE in October 2022, a total of 36 projects worth Rs. 4927.22 crore have been sanctioned up to 31.01.2025. Of these, two projects worth Rs.121.21 crore have already been completed. Status of the projects sanctioned under PM-DevINE is at Annexure.
Projects sanctioned under PM-DevINE include those relating to education, health, tourism, connectivity and livelihood, which directly or indirectly improve basic minimum services to the people.
****
Annexure
“STATUS OF PROJECTS UNDER PMDEVINE SCHEME”
As on 31.01.2025
S.No.
Name of the project
State Govt./Agency
Status
1
Gap funding for Passenger Ropeway System from Pelling to Sanga-Choeling in West Sikkim – at the cost of Rs. 63.39 Crore (58%) of total cost of Rs.108.39 Crore
Sikkim
Work completed
2
Gap funding for Eco-friendly Passenger Ropeway (Cable Car) from Dhapper to Bhaleydhunga in South Sikkim – at the cost of Rs. 57.82 Crore (28%) of total cost of Rs. 209.57 Crore
Sikkim
Work completed
3
Pilot project for the construction of Bamboo Link Roads at different locations in various districts in the State of Mizoram – (i) Tuirial Airfield to North Chaltlang (18 km) at a cost of Rs. 33.58 Crore; and (ii) Lengpui to Saiphal Bamboo Plantation (41 km) at a cost of Rs. 66.42 crore
Mizoram
Work awarded
4
NECTAR Livelihood Improvement Project (Multi-State) – Utilization of Banana Pseudo Stem for Value-Added Products
NECTAR
Work awarded
5
Promoting Scientific Organic Agriculture in North-East India (Multi-State)
NECTAR
Work awarded
6
Livelihood projects relating to Special Development of Eastern Nagaland – (22 Nos.)
Nagaland
Work awarded
7
Transformation of 20 schools as Centre of Excellence in the Kamrup District
Assam
Work awarded
8
Establishment of Dedicated Services for the Management of Paediatric and Adult Haematolymphoid Cancers in North East India, Guwahati
BBCI Guwahati
Work awarded
9
Establishment of Solar Micro Grid for supply of reliable power to Remote Habitations in Tripura by Department of Power, Government of Tripura
Tripura
Work awarded
10
Development of Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor at Guwahati, Assam
Assam
Work awarded
11
Construction of Medical College (100 Admissions) at Sivasagar District, Assam
Assam
Work awarded
12
Construction of IT Park at Tura, West Garo Hills District
Meghalaya
Work awarded
13
Development of Infrastructure for Manipur Technical University (MTU), Imphal West District
Manipur
Work awarded
14
Establishment of 200 bedded MCH (Maternal & Child Health) wing at AGMC & GBP Hospital
Tripura
Work awarded
15
Setting up of Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for drug addicted.
Tripura
Work awarded
16
Upgradation/widening of existing 2 lane road to 4 lane road connecting LGB International Airport – From VIP junction to Dharapur Junction, including (i) 4 lane grade separated junction at Dharapur (ii) 2 lane excess road from SOS junction to existing terminal building and (iii) 2 lane temporary exit from existing terminal building. (PWD)
Assam
Work awarded
17
Establishment of Dental College at Agartala
Tripura
Work awarded
18
Construction of new four-lane road and conversion of existing two-lane road into four-lane with cycling tracks, utility ducts, footpaths, etc. at New Shillong Township
Meghalaya
Work awarded
19
Development of Infrastructure of the Processing Zone of Manipur IT SEZ at Mantripukhri, Imphal
Manipur
Work awarded
20
Construction and Equipping of 60 Bedded State Mental Hospital in Manipur
Manipur
Work awarded
21
Construction of Aizawl By-pass road on Western Side
Mizoram
Work awarded
22
Proposal to set up a Digital Design and 3D Printing Center of Excellence in the Electronic Mfg. Cluster (EMC) in collaboration with other Govt Agencies at Tech City, Guwahati
AMTRON
Work awarded
23
Construction of 220/132 kV (2×100 MVA) & 132/33 kV (2×50 MVA) Sub-station at Tsitrongse-Dimapur with associated lines
Nagaland
Work awarded
24
Skywalk Project at Bhaleydhunga, Yangang in South Sikkim
Sikkim
Work awarded
25
Conversion of Singshore Bridge as a glass skywalk bridge for tourist attraction in West Sikkim
Sikkim
Work awarded
26
Establishment of State Cancer Institute at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Work awarded
27
Infrastructure Development for Dhanamanjuri University (DMU)
Manipur
Work awarded
28
Educational Infrastructure/facility Development in Polytechnics
Nagaland
Work awarded
29
Upgradation of the Radiation Oncology Centre at CIHSR
Nagaland
Work awarded
30
Establishment of a Skill Development Centre at Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati, Assam
BBCI Guwahati
Work awarded
31
Establishment of an Artist’s Village for promotion of world’s most unique Pottery Art form Longpi Black Pottery of Manipur
NEHHDC
Work awarded
32
Infrastructure development for Manipur University of Culture at Wakha, Imphal East.
Manipur
Work not awarded
33
Development of Skywalk and Tourist hub at Mawkdok, Sohra
Meghalaya
Work not awarded
34
Providing super speciality and assured specialty health care in remote and hill districts (Infrastructure & Equipment) in Manipur
Manipur
Work not awarded
35
Gap funding for the Medical College at Sichey, East Sikkim for Annual Intake of 100 Students
Sikkim
Work awarded
36
Gap funding for Passenger Ropeway for at Shillong Peak Ropeway project, Shillong, Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Work not awarded
AMTRON: Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.
BBCI: Dr. Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute.
NECTAR: North East Centre for Technology Application & Reach
NEHHDC: North Eastern Handicrafts & Handlooms Development Corporation Limited
This information was given by the Minister of State, for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Question for written answer E-000212/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Georgios Aftias (PPE)
The problems affecting livestock farming are numerous and long-standing. Farmers are calling for immediate and effective solutions. The primary sector is a key pillar of economic growth. However, the multiple economic, health and energy crises plaguing Europe have dealt an irreparable blow to livestock farmers, with the result being that most are thinking of abandoning crop and livestock farming.
Furthermore, severe extreme weather events (such as fires, hurricanes, flooding caused by Storm Daniel, earthquakes) and unpredictable diseases (plague, bluetongue, smallpox) are problems affecting livestock production and require coordinated, targeted and immediate action.
In view of this, can the Commission say:
1.Will aid to livestock farmers be directly supported through financial tools in order to boost their businesses?
2.Does it guarantee that livestock farmers will be promptly indemnified and compensated following natural disasters, such as fires, floods and earthquakes, so that they do not abandon the profession?
Ryde Library is set to get a fresh new look following a successful application to the Arts Council England’s Libraries Improvement Fund.
The grant will facilitate the refurbishment of the children’s library and the addition of an accessible toilet, with work starting on Monday, 24 February. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March.
During the revamp, the main library will remain open except for a brief closure on Thursday, 20 February, Friday 21 and Saturday, 22 February, to allow staff to relocate books from the affected areas.
From Monday 24 February, the library will operate with slightly reduced hours, closing between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. The revised opening times are as follows:
Monday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
Tuesday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30 pm to 5pm
Wednesday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
Saturday: 9am to 12 noon
The library’s Help Centre, Citizens Advice Bureau, and Information Support Service will continue to operate within these hours. On completion of the works in late March, the library will close briefly to return books to their original locations.
During the refurbishment, children’s books will be relocated within the main library. However, due to space constraints, activities such as Rhyme Time and adult group sessions will be temporarily suspended. Public computers, printing, and photocopying facilities will remain available.
Cowes Library will also benefit from the Libraries Improvement Fund, with work scheduled to begin in mid-March. Further information will be released in due course.
Councillor Julie Jones Evans, Cabinet member responsible for libraries, said: “Although there may be some temporary inconvenience due to construction work, the end result will be worth it.
“Residents will still be able to use all the usual online library services while building works take place. We’d also like to remind and encourage residents to visit the other libraries across the Island, which are open as normal.
“I am deeply grateful for the support from Arts Council England. Their continued investment in the island not only empowers us to bring innovative and inspiring projects to life but also strengthens the cultural fabric of our community.”
(L-R) Rachel Little (Food Development Technologist, SRC); Sarah McKnight (Food Heartland Assistant, ABC Council); Jillian Dougan (The Yellow Door); Councillor Kyle Savage (Deputy Lord Mayor); Sarah Jane McDonald (Enterprise Development Manager, ABC Council); Brenda Kelleghan (SRC Business Support & Innovation Manager) and Tracy Rice (Head of SRC Business Support & Innovation).
Over 60 business leaders, chefs, community representatives and students recently gathered at Southern Regional College in Banbridge for ‘Grow Together: Regenerating Our Borough.’
The event, a collaboration between the Food Heartland and the Southern Regional College (SRC) Business Support and Innovation department, was funded by Connected NI, an initiative promoting knowledge exchange between academia and industry.
Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Kyle Savage officially opened the event, emphasising the importance of collaborative efforts for a sustainable future. He said:
“Strong partnerships, together with a shared focus and commitment will go a long way towards our drive for a more sustainable future. There is a wealth of knowledge, experience and ideas to be shared from our food producers and academia here today that will play a huge role in promoting growth, nourishment and sustainability across the agri-food industry.
“By working together, we can look at the whole picture of the local environment and works towards regenerative sustainability.”
On behalf of SRC, Business Support Manager, Tracy Rice, welcomed everyone to the event and explained the importance of the regeneration to the agri-food industry within the borough and how we all need to work together to achieve positive results.
Following a recent visit to Romania, Lydia Reilly, a food innovation and technology specialist from SRC explained the core principles of regenerative sustainability. Lydia outlined the regeneration pillars, inspiring businesses to embrace a new way of working that may prioritise sustainable practices. Lydia’s presentation focused on key regenerative concepts, emphasising how organisations can move beyond traditional sustainability to their businesses. Her insights aimed to spark a fundamental shift in business thinking, encouraging companies to adopt strategies that actively contribute to a regenerative way of working.
Keynote speaker Jilly Dougan from The Yellow Door delivered an inspiring address, advocating for placing the natural world at the core of our economy. Sharing her personal journey of transforming her garden into a regenerative, biodiverse haven, Jilly demonstrated the potential of working in harmony with nature.
A panel of expert business leaders, representing Kingsbury Wagyu, Ballydown Milk and Grouchos on the Square, shared insights into the sustainable choices that have shaped their businesses. highlighting how impactful change often stems from embracing unconventional approaches.
Liam McNally from International Synergies led an engaging discussion on repurposing surplus materials and encouraged attendees to explore sustainable solutions for excess stock within their own businesses.
The event fostered a vibrant atmosphere of networking and idea-sharing, energised by delicious samples provided by local businesses including Nice Buns, Chala Chai, Jackson Roze, Richmount Health Foods and Apple Tree Farm. Breakfast was generously provided by Quails Fine Foods, with yoghurt from Ballydown Milk.
Attendees had ample opportunity to network, connect and learn from each other, as well as pose questions to the panel of speakers.
Feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive. The Food Heartland Network extends a huge thank you to all attendees and contributors for their participation in this collaborative effort to build a greener future for the borough.
Weeks after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced his support for mandatory minimum jail terms for antisemitic offences, the government has legislated such laws. Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke stated the federal parliament would now be “putting in place the toughest laws against hate speech that Australia has ever had”.
Labor opposes mandatory sentencing. This practice does not reduce crime but does undermine the independence of the judiciary, leads to unjust outcomes, and is often discriminatory in practice.
The evidence shows that Labor’s official policy platform is correct. Mandatory minimum sentencing is unlikely to help solve this issue – or any other issue for that matter. It has a poor track record of reducing crime.
What is mandatory sentencing?
Australian criminal laws usually set a maximum penalty for an offence. It is then the role of the courts (a judge or magistrate) to set the sentence, up to the maximum penalty.
This allows the judiciary to exercise discretion in sentencing. It means the courts can take into account a range of relevant factors when determining an appropriate sentence, guided by the sentencing laws in each jurisdiction.
However, laws that demand a mandatory sentence set a minimum penalty for an offence, thereby significantly reducing the role of judicial discretion.
Sentencing decisions are made by judges in Australian courts. Shutterstock
Let’s imagine two people are appearing in court, to be sentenced for exactly the same offence.
Defendant A (Kate) is 18 years old and has pleaded guilty. It is her first offence. She is Aboriginal, a victim of childhood domestic violence and lives on the streets. She has recently started to get help for her mental health problems.
Defendant B (Jim) is 35. He has a long criminal history, including breaches of bail and parole. He has never been out of prison for more than six months at a time. He has pleaded not guilty and doesn’t think he has done anything wrong.
The maximum penalty for this offence is five years. Under standard sentencing laws, a judge would usually give different sentences to Kate and Jim, based on their personal circumstances and future prospects. Jim would generally get a more severe sentence than Kate.
Now, let’s imagine parliament decides to set a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison. This means the judge has to send both Kate and Jim to prison for at least two years, despite the differences between them, even if a community-based sentence might be more appropriate for Kate.
A study with members of the Victorian public who had served on juries found strong support for sentencing discretion.
This is confirmed by recent research from the Queensland Law Reform Commission. It found general support from the public for individualised responses, not an inflexible approach to sentencing.
Mandatory sentencing yields more consistent outcomes, but denies flexibility in cases where defendants should be treated differently.
The argument that mandatory sentencing reduces crime is also contested.
It is uncontested, however, that certainty of detection (whether you’ll get caught) is the primary deterrent factor, not the severity of the sentence (assuming that the perpetrator is aware of it).
Firstly, it undermines judicial independence, the separation of powers (between the courts and executive government) and the rule of law: a concept based on fairness in the judicial system.
Mandatory sentencing also shifts discretion to other, less transparent, parts of the criminal justice system (for example, police and prosecution services), as they frame the charges that will bring defendants to court in the first place.
Secondly, a guilty plea is a mitigating factor the court considers when sentencing. Mandatory sentencing means there is little incentive for defendants to plead guilty. This increases workloads, delays, costs, and has consequent negative effects for victims.
In addition, juries may be reluctant to convict if they know the minimum sentence will insist upon a prison term. This can lead to inappropriate not guilty verdicts.
Undermining the right to a fair trial
Australia has previously come under fire from the United Nations for its mandatory sentencing laws.
These requirements are found in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which entered into force for Australia in 1980.
Indeed, the Law Council of Australia has suggested mandatory sentencing is inconsistent with the international prohibition against arbitrary detention, and undermines the right to a fair trial, given that such sentences have been somewhat predetermined.
These laws can also lead to injustice. As the example above shows, mandatory sentencing can impact disproportionately on vulnerable people, such as Indigenous people, and women with disabilities.
These cohorts are already far more vulnerable than non-Indigenous men (who account for most people who offend).
Adverse effects on imprisonment rates
The High Court recently stated that the mandatory minimum sentence will have the effect of lifting sentencing levels generally.
But the research shows longer prison sentences are much more expensive and less effective than community-based sentencing options in reducing crime.
achieving a just outcome in the particular circumstances of a case, while maintaining consistency across similar cases and with Australia’s human rights obligations, is […] paramount.
We need effective responses to all forms of racial and religious hatred, including antisemitic hate crimes, but populist, knee-jerk reactions are highly unlikely to make the community safer. Clear-headed thinking will best stand the test of time, not policy developed in anger or fear.
Lorana Bartels is a Director of the Justice Reform Initiative. She is a supporter of the Jewish Council of Australia. She has received research funding from the ACT, Commonwealth, Queensland, Tasmanian and Victorian governments. She recently undertook a project for the Queensland government, which examined the use of mandatory minimum sentences for murder. She is a member of the Tasmanian Sentencing Advisory Council, which recently completed a project on hate crimes.
Rick Sarre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by participating in several events and interviews to promote his bill, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Sen. Tuberville reintroduced his hallmark Title IX legislation—which is cosponsored by 37 of his colleagues—in the Senate last month. Companion legislation passed the House on a bipartisan basis in January.
Sen. Tuberville also praised President Trump for his leadership in signing an Executive Order today to protect women’s sports and restore Title IX protections for women and girls everywhere. While Senator Tuberville is grateful for President Trump’s commonsense leadership, he insists Congress has to pass his bill to ensure Title IX protections are made permanent. Sen. Tuberville discussed this earlier this week on “The Megyn Kelly Show” when he said, “A lot of people don’t realize that an Executive Order […] only lasts as long as that president’s there. So, we got some work to do. […] As you said—we’ve got to get it to the floor. John Thune told me he’s going to get it to the floor. […] If it’s not going to pass, we’ll do it again, but we’ve got to get people on the record because this is something that’s very dear to the heart of all parents across the country—and it’s dead wrong.”
When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this earlier today, she said, “It’s incredibly important that Congress immediately act on this priority. I think the President is really setting the tone—making this an immediate priority for this administration, just as he promised to do on the campaign trail.”
Sen. Tuberville also commemorated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by reintroducing the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to prohibit any governing body recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) from allowing men to participate in any women’s Olympic athletic events.
Tuberville Joins “The Faulkner Focus”
Sen. Tuberville joined Harris Faulkner on “The Faulkner Focus” to discuss the latest with the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, as well as his efforts to protect women’s Olympic sports.
Read an excerpt from the interview below or watch here.
FAULKNER: “This Executive Order that Trump is getting ready to put in play comes as today we recognize National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Also on this day, Senator, you are reintroducing that bill called the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. This is an effort to ensure that Trump’s protections are permanent. Tell us about it, Senator.”
TUBERVILLE: “Exactly, and you know I started coaching 40 years ago—right when Title IX started. And, Harris, let me tell you something. This is the best thing that this place has ever done. It gave young girls and women a different opportunity to build on leadership and have a future. And, so, this past four years—gender has been under attack. Parents have been under attack. Education has been under attack, and it all goes back to trying to not define what a woman is, and they can’t even define that. They’re telling us right now that men can have babies. So, at the end of the day, I’m giving a speech on the floor today. Leader Thune has promised he’s gonna put this bill on the floor sooner or later. This is my third time that I’ve had this up for a vote. The Democrats don’t want anything to do with it, but I gotta feeling a lot of them are gonna change their mind. And then at three o’clock, President Trump’s going to sign the Executive Order. But as you said, if when he goes out of office, if we don’t get a Republican back in there, this will change back into the gender nonsense that these Democrats have been pushing for the last four years. We have to protect women and girls in sports. And we also have to protect women and girls in Olympic sports because we have the Olympics coming here soon. And if we don’t do that, we’re gonna see men boxing against women like we did this past summer.”
Tuberville Speaks on Senate Floor
Senator Tuberville also delivered a floor speech where he called out Democrats’ out-of-touch, woke ideology that says men can get pregnant and boys should compete in women’s sports.
Read excerpts from the speech below or watch the full speech here.
“I’m here to call for a vote on my legislation, S.9, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, that would save Title IX and save women’s sports. Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day—that’s today. To celebrate, President Trump will sign an Executive Order this afternoon in the White House ending Democrats’ intentional destruction of Title IX and saving women’s sports.
I’m very thankful for his leadership on this. President Trump’s Executive Order will make sure women’s sports are protected for at least the next four years. But unfortunately, Executive Orders can be reversed. Congress needs to act on this to make sure the next Democrat administration, whenever it is, can’t take the same steps to destroy Title IX that the Biden administration took. For the past four years, the Biden administration waged an all-out assault on gender. Since the beginning of time, people have agreed that sex is assigned at birth and determined by God. But under the Biden administration, you had people claiming that men can get pregnant. Here on this floor, I heard that. Pure insanity.
But it didn’t stop there. They weren’t content to just erase gender norms that have been accepted for thousands and thousands of years. No. They wanted to allow transgender men to participate against women and girls in sports. This has been happening at schools all across the country. Young women have been forced to compete against men and even share locker rooms and showers. And on top of that, your taxpayer dollars are paying for this nonsense. Over the past several years under the Joe Biden administration, 900 women’s medals have gone to men. 900. That is absolutely wrong.
This one is personal for me. My first coaching job was in women’s basketball—years ago. Title IX was just starting to be implemented when I took that first job. I saw firsthand the immediate difference it made. Before Title IX, at a lot of schools, college women’s athletics didn’t really exist. Back then, there were more than 10x as many male athletes in college as female athletes. After Title IX, that quickly changed. For the first time, the young women I coached had equal access to facilities, resources, and competition. I saw these hardworking young women go on to earn college scholarships, start careers, and become leaders of our country. I still keep in touch with many of these young women today, and I’m deeply proud of them.
Looking back on it now, I wonder if they would have had the same opportunities without Title IX. Would they have had the same successes if they had had to compete against males 40 years ago? This really shouldn’t be controversial. It’s just common sense. A recent poll from the New York Times of all publications showed 79% of all Americans believe men should not compete in women’s sports. 79%.
President Trump campaigned largely on this issue. If you remember, his campaign spent nearly $20 million dollars on TV ads about the importance of keeping men out of women’s sports. So, on November 5, 2024 the American people didn’t just elect President Trump. They also decisively rejected this ridiculous notion that men can get pregnant and boys should compete against women in sports. Ridiculous. And they definitely didn’t want their tax dollars funding schools that allow boys to share locker rooms with girls.
My bill would prevent a school from receiving any federal funding if they let boys compete in women’s sports. It also defines gender [as] male and female for this purpose. I was glad to see President Trump sign an Executive Order defining gender during his first few days in office. The President also made it clear in the Executive Order that he wants Congress to take action on this as well because he understands it can go away with the sign [of] an ink pen.
That’s why today I’m also reintroducing a bill to prohibit men from competing in women’s Olympic sports because men competing against women at any level is dangerous. We are all deeply disturbed—all of us were deeply disturbed this past summer to see videos of boys and men boxing against women. You know, when I was growing up, we were taught never to hit a girl, but I guess that’s over now because of the Democrats. One study found out that males can punch up to 162% harder than females. Somebody is going to get killed or seriously injured if we don’t stop this absolute nonsense. It’s unsafe, it’s unfair, and it’s just plain wrong.
The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act will make sure men aren’t allowed to compete against women in any sport, but especially not in a violent sport like boxing. This bill will restore fairness for the American women who train their whole lives to represent our country on the world stage. Their entire lives, they train. I know we’re all looking forward to the United States hosting the Summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. I hope our bill [has] been passed and signed in law long before that so we can all enjoy some healthy, safe women-against-women or men-against-men competition during those Olympics.
But this huge issue goes way beyond politics. I’ve heard from parents, student, teachers, and coaches all over the country about this. These are people who have personally seen the benefits of Title IX and are very concerned about Democrats’ attempts to take these opportunities away from women and girls.
There are countless stories of girls who have benefited from Title IX in my state of Alabama.
This includes athletes like Rachel Argent of Thorsby High School in Chilton County, Alabama. Rachel’s athletic ability and good grades drew the attention of college coaches across Alabama. […] Because of her talent and work ethic, Rachel received basketball scholarships to Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama. After [getting] her degree, she got a softball scholarship at Samford University. That scholarship […] put her on the right direction. […] She didn’t have to worry about landing a full-time job while she went to school and participated in sports. […]
After college, Rachel returned to Thorsby High School as a teacher and a coach. She wanted to give back to the school what she had gotten from Title IX. She taught Health and Physical Education for grades kindergarten to twelve. She coached girls’ softball, basketball, track, and volleyball. She made an impact on hundreds of girls across our state of Alabama. It was all made possible again by Title IX.
Rachel’s daughter, Addie, played softball, tennis, golf, and basketball at Chilton County High School. She got a gold scholarship to the University of Mobile where she graduated with a degree in Nursing. Her athletics scholarship was part of her getting a degree and becoming a nurse. There are countless other young women like Addie and Rachel across Alabama and every other state across the country. More than 50,000 young women in Alabama alone competed in high school sports this past year, 50,000. Every single one of them deserves the full benefit of fair competition.
And I’m grateful that every member of the Senate Republican leadership is a cosponsor of my Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. They’ve been very supportive. Leader Thune is a proud cosponsor of my bill, and I’m glad to have his support. Leader Thune is committed to scheduling a vote on this bill and putting every Democrat on the record on whether or not they support men competing in women’s sports. We brought this bill to the floor for a vote during the last Congress. Really, we brought it twice, and every single Democrat always voted against it. What does that tell you?
Leader Thune has not rescheduled it for a vote yet this congress. Right now, we’ve obviously got a lot of things to do with [confirming] President Trump’s cabinet. Then we get started on the reconciliation process and getting the American economy jumpstarted again. We have a lot to accomplish in the first 100 days of the Trump administration, and I hope this bill is part of that 100 days.
President Trump will sign an Executive Order again today banning men from competing in women’s sports. Let’s lock that commitment in. Let’s lock it in for young girls and women all across this country. Let’s bring this bill to the floor for a vote very soon so the Senate can send it to the President’s desk and make this permanent.
To my Senate colleagues who are on the fence about this, I would ask—do you have daughters? Do you have granddaughters? Do you have nieces? Would you want them competing against men in sports? Would you feel comfortable with them sharing a locker room with a biological male?
I’m excited to welcome my first granddaughter in a couple weeks, Rosie Grace. I would raise hell if she was forced to compete, dress, or use the same showers as men. And American taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for any schools that are allowing this to happen. The days of woke, swamp politicians running our government are over. Common sense has been restored to the White House, and Congress needs to get back to work and let President Trump work on this bill.
This isn’t about politics. This is about right and wrong. The American people have delivered a verdict. They want men out of women’s sports and women’s locker rooms.
President Trump is 100% with us on this. The time to act is now. It’s time to restore Title IX protections and save women’s sports.”
Tuberville Attends White House Executive Order Signing
Sen. Tuberville went to the White House for President Trump’s signing of an Executive Order restoring Title IX protections for women and girls everywhere. During his speech, President Trump shouted out Sen. Tuberville for all of the work he has done to champion women’s sports in Congress and throughout his coaching career.
The President also shouted out 3x Superbowl Champion Patrick Mahomes, whom Coach Tuberville recruited when he was at Texas Tech University.
“And Tommy Tuberville [is here], a great coach,” said President Trump. “You know, his quarterback was named ‘Mahomes.’ He was a great college coach and I said ‘How good was he?’ and he said, ‘You don’t wanna know how good—he made me into a great coach.’”
Tuberville Joins Kudlow from White House
Following the Executive Order signing, Sen. Tuberville joined “Kudlow” on Fox Business live from Pebble Beach at the White House.
Read excerpts from the interview below or watch here.
KUDLOW: “No more biological men in women’s sports. Wow. Big signing today by President Trump. Joining us now to talk about it is Alabama Senator, Tommy Tuberville. Senator Tuberville, good to see you, sir. Tell us about the signing. Tell us what was in the signing, if you would.”
TUBERVILLE: “Well, it’s been too long happening, Larry. It’s just unfortunate—for the last four years we’ve had to put up with this nonsense of biological boys and men participating in women’s sports. Not just in sports here, but also in the Olympics. It was a great day. Had a lot of people there [for the] Executive Order putting a stop to it, but we’ve gotta permanently do it. I’ve got a bill that’s the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act that we’ve got. Hopefully, we get it on the floor soon where we can make it permanent. There’s no reason in the world why men and boys should be able to participate in women’s [sports]. It’s just wrong, it’s dangerous. And, you know, it’s just a great day that we finally got this done.”
KUDLOW: “Senator Tuberville, you mentioned the Olympics. So, good question—how will the Olympic Committee look at this resolution? Will they abide by it? Will they fight it? What do you anticipate, sir?”
TUBERVILLE: “Well, you got to remember, Larry. This is gonna be in L.A. the next time they have it. President Trump mentioned that. The Olympic Committee, two years ago, decided to let each sport decide what they wanted to do and how they wanted to handle it. Unfortunately, boxing let men participate against the women and it was terrible—it really was. Somebody’s gonna get hurt. And so, hopefully, they come to their senses. President Trump will probably get involved in this—with the Olympic Committee, knowing him. And hopefully, we can get all men and boys banned from any kind of [women’s] sports in the Olympics. It’s just not fair.”
KUDLOW: “You know, it’s so ironic to me, Senator, politically. For all these years, going back to, I’m gonna say, Gloria Steinem in the 1970s—over 50 years. The Democratic Party said it was the party to defend women. Okay? But in recent years, as you well know, with the trans movement and so forth and biological men now being allowed to play in women’s sports, etcetera, etcetera. All of a sudden, the Democrats are in favor of that and are wrecking women’s sports and treating women athletes, female athletes incredibly unjustly? I mean, how do you figure that? Do they see the stupidity of this whole story or not?”
TUBERVILLE: “Yeah. They see it. They just won’t admit it. The problem they have, Larry, is they’ve lost the middle class. They have no support anymore. […] They’ve lost their base. They’re not going back. They’ve really gotten so far out there, Larry. You know, even the Democrats [think men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports]. A lot of Democrats voted for President Trump because of this one issue that the Democrats kept pushing.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture
06 February 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Approved arrangements operators who will be required to view and/or update details of their Approved Arrangement via the Approved Arrangement Management Product (AAMP).
All clients required to use the Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) during this planned maintenance period.
All clients required to use the Export / Next Export Documentation (EXDOC/NEXDOC) systems during this planned maintenance period.
Amid growing public understanding we need to reduce sexual violence and teach young people about healthy relationships, consent is now part of the national curriculum until Year 10.
But is this education working?
Our research with teens suggest some young people are not coming away with an adequate understanding of consent or how to use it in their relationships.
What is consent education supposed to involve?
Before 2023, consent was taught at the discretion of each school as part of relationships and sexuality education classes. The Morrison government announced age-appropriate consent lessons in 2022, to start in the first year of school.
The aim is to teach students about the importance of consent, ensuring they understand it is an ongoing agreement between individuals. This means consent needs to be actively sought and freely given.
It is still largely up to individual schools to work out how they teach the material.
Consent education is now a compulsory part of Australia’s National Curriculum. Wendy Wei/Pexels, CC BY
This research is part of a broader study of young people’s perceptions of online sexual content and experiences of relationships and sexuality education.
For our research, we have spoken to 46 Australian teens (aged 11-17) through a mix of interviews and focus groups. The interviews were done between 2021-2023 and the focus groups were held in December 2023.
As part of this, we asked interviewees what they learned about consent at school. The comments in this article were made after consent education became compulsory.
‘Nothing’ about how to speak to peers
While some young people told us their schools had over-emphasised consent – “like they’ve gone through everything” – other interviewees found the lessons difficult to apply in their lives. As one focus group participant (in a group of mixed genders, aged 14-16) explained:
[Young people are] taught in a basic stereotypical movie way like ‘no’, ‘stop that’, but they don’t actually teach, like, real-life situations.
Lauren* (14) added young people were only taught “if you didn’t want to have sex, then just say no”. As she explained, teens need more practical advice on how to respond to potential partners. This includes:
more focus on examples of other people asking for sex and what [to] do if you were asked to have sex with someone [or] on how to say ‘no’.
Another participant (from a focus group of mixed-genders, aged 14-16) noted how saying “no” was more complex than what school lessons suggested and teens could be taught how to advocate for themselves:
Especially for non-confrontational people ‘cause my friend, [a] creepy guy was being really weird to her, and she wouldn’t say anything about it ‘cause she’s so nice and other people had to step up for her because she wouldn’t tell him that she didn’t want it.
Interviewees said they wanted more advice on how to handle real-life situations around consent. ArtHouse Studio/Pexels, CC BY
‘We don’t want to get in trouble’
Interviewees told us how consent is often discussed within the context of unwanted sex and sexual assault, or as Tiffany (15) explained “all the negative things”. This may contribute to fears about sexual activity.
Young people also saw consent as a means to avoid “getting into trouble”, rather than checking the comfort and willingness of their sexual partners.
As Warren (17) told us:
My friend group that I hang out with, we’re very big on consent. That’s because we’ve heard of cases where people might not have got consent, then they’ve got in trouble because of it […] we don’t want to get in trouble for doing the wrong thing […]
I don’t know how I’d go about getting it every time, like, if I just invited a girl over [do] I have to get it in writing or something?
He added he and his friends were thinking about having partners sign a form during their end-of-school celebrations:
if we bring girls back, we want them to sign a consent form or something like that. That’s an idea we had.
There are several issues with teens thinking they need a written form for sex. Not only is it transactional and impractical, it could create an idea someone is not “allowed” to withdraw consent at any time. It also presents consent as a simple box-ticking exercise for “yes” or “no”, when it should be based on mutual respect and care, as part of an evolving discussion.
Going beyond consent
We only interviewed a modest sample of students from Perth. But our study feeds into other research suggesting “consent” in itself may not stop or prevent sexual violence. That is, even if one partner says “yes” it does not mean the sex is free from coercion or is pleasurable.
This suggests young people need more skills and knowledge than simply being told to “seek consent” – a low bar for ethical sex. Consent education also needs to explore communication skills, self-confidence, pleasure, love and relationship dynamics: all topics teens tell us they want to learn about.
This should not be taken as a criticism of passionate, hardworking teachers and schools. But it suggests they need more support and training to provide consent education in ways young people can actually use.
*names have been changed.
Imogen Senior from Body Safety Australia, Gracie Cayley from the Kids Research Institute, Associate Professor Debra Dudek and Dr Harrison W. See from Edith Cowan University contributed to the research on which this article is based.
This study was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Adolescents’ perceptions of harm from accessing online sexual content (DP 190102435). Primary funding was received from the ARC. The focus groups, were part-funded by Edith Cowan University’s School of Arts and Humanities: School research investment fund as part of the Love Studies’ Teenagers, Consent, and Sex Education project. Giselle Woodley is a member of Bloom-Ed, a relationships and sexuality education advocacy group, whose views are not expressed here. Giselle is also an expert advisor for ‘On your terms’ a consent study run by the Australian Human Rights Commission and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education.
Lelia Green is part of the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project funding scheme (project DP190102435). The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Australian government or the ARC.
President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. should “take over” Gaza, displace its current population and turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East” is unsettling – in both a literal and, to Palestinians, a very personal sense.
The remarks, which followed earlier comments in which the president expressed a desire to “clean out” Gaza, have been taken by some Middle East experts as a call to “ethnically cleanse” the strip of its 2.2 million Palestinian inhabitants. They worry that such talk will bolster the hopes of Israel’s far-right settlers and their supporters in government, who want to remove Palestinians from Gaza and build Jewish-only settlements on the enclave’s beachfront property.
Following Trump’s remarks, Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, stated: “Our homeland is our homeland.” He added, “I think that leaders and people should respect the wishes of the Palestinian people.”
As a scholar of modern Palestinian history, I know that calls to remove the Palestinians from Gaza are not new – but neither is Palestinians’ determination to remain in their homeland. For almost 80 years, Palestinians in Gaza have resisted various proposals to displace them from the enclave. In fact, those plans have often spurred resistance to occupation and removal.
A people already uprooted
Most people in Gaza are the product of displacement in the first place.
In 1948, over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes when the state of Israel was established and a war between the new country and its Arab neighbors erupted.
These Palestinians became nationless refugees, placed under the care of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. In the Gaza Strip, the agency set up eight refugee camps to care for over 200,000 Palestinians who had been forced out of over 190 towns and villages.
In December 1948, the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 194 stipulating that “the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date.”
While Israeli leaders initially expressed a willingness to allow some refugees back, they rejected the refugees’ wholesale return. They argued that doing so would undermine Israel’s security and dilute its character as a “Jewish state.”
As such, Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, looked for ways to “motivate the refugees to move eastward” toward Jordan. He hoped that by moving refugees further away from Israel, they would be less likely to return.
At first, the United States called upon Israel to repatriate a substantial number of refugees. But with Israel consistently refusing to do so, leaders in Washington started turning to the idea of resettlement. They hoped that the promise of economic prosperity could induce large numbers of refugees to move to other Arab countries – and give up on the idea of returning home. For example, in 1953, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles drew up plans to resettle Palestinian refugees in Syria as part of a large water management project there.
Likewise in 1961, the recently formed U.S. Agency for International Development began funding an irrigation project in Jordan, bringing in Palestinian refugees to work as farmers. U.S. officials hoped that the refugees would start to identify as Jordanians, rather than as Palestinians, and agree to permanently resettle in Jordan.
But it did not work. A survey taken five years later found that the refugees still identified as Palestinians and wished to return to their homeland.
Rejecting resettlement
A further war between Israel and neighboring countries in 1967 resulted in Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which had been under Jordanian rule, as well as the Gaza Strip, which had been previously administered by Egypt.
It also sparked a renewed sense of Palestinian national identity, especially among younger generations who increasingly took up guerrilla-style tactics in a bid to force Israel, and the international community, to recognize their right to return.
In response, Israel looked to resettlement as a way to reduce the Palestinian population in territories it now occupied. In 1969, the Israeli government drew up secret plans to permanently transfer up to 60,000 Palestinians from Gaza to Paraguay. The scheme came to an abrupt halt when two Palestinians confronted the Israeli ambassador in Asunción about being brought to Paraguay under false pretenses.
Meanwhile, between 1967 and 1979, far-right Israeli Jewish settlers established seven settlements in Gaza. They hoped to see Palestinians removed from the strip so the land could be incorporated into their vision of a “greater Israel.”
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Israeli officials proposed various plans to remove refugees from the camps and resettle them elsewhere. This included a 1983 plan to dismantle refugee camps in the occupied Palestinian territories and resettle their inhabitants in better housing in towns and cities.
But Palestinian refugees firmly rejected the offer because it would have required them to give up their refugee status and relinquish their right of return.
The Oslo negotiations of the 1990s rejected the notion of removing Palestinians from Gaza. In fact, keeping the refugees in Gaza was central to the premise of a two-state solution. At the same time, questions over the right of refugees to return to their original homelands in what is now Israel were shelved.
No money can ‘replace your homeland’
But with hopes of a two-state solution long since faded, resettlement plans have reemerged.
Shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas gunmen in Israel that sparked the widespread bombing and siege of Gaza, the Biden administration asked Congress to fund “the potential needs of Gazans fleeing to neighboring countries.” The news outraged many Palestinians, who saw it as giving Israel a green light to carry out what many viewed as an attempt to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
In October 2024, far-right Jewish settlers gathered on the border of Gaza and called for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza that had been dismantled in 2005. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called upon Israel to “encourage emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza. He proposed telling the Palestinians there: “We’re giving you the option, leave to other countries, the Land of Israel is ours.”
Palestinians have responded with their feet. As soon the ceasefire went into effect on Jan. 19, 2025, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had been displaced to southern Gaza walked for hours to reach their homes in northern Gaza. Hundreds posted videos of cleaning out their damaged homes so they can live there once again.
The road to recovery in Gaza will be long. The U.N. estimates that rebuilding Gaza will cost US$50 billion and take at least 10 years.
I believe Palestinians want help rebuilding, not resettlement. Many of them have already vehemently rejected Trump’s call to move out. As one Palestinian told The Guardian newspaper: “We would rather die here than leave this land.” He insisted, “No amount of money in the world can replace your homeland.”
Resettlement schemes have a long history, yet Palestinians have thwarted them at every turn. There is no reason to think that this time will be any different.
Maha Nassar is affiliated with the Foundation for Middle East Peace.
Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
02.05.25
Cantwell Votes NO On Advancing Trump’s Pick to Lead Commerce Department
Lutnick supports Trump’s tariffs & waffled on his commitment to allocate chips funding & preserve NOAA; In WA state, every 2 in 5 jobs are tied to trade
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, voted against advancing Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of the Department of Commerce, to the full Senate for consideration.
In a committee markup today, Sen. Cantwell expressed her concerns with Lutnick’s support for President Trump’s proposed tariffs. She also pointed to Lutnick’s failure to commit to fully allocating the funds approved by Congress under the Cantwell-led CHIPS & Science Act, as well as his waffling on whether he’d protect NOAA – including NOAA’s crucial missions and functions, and the workforce delivering those services to the American people.
Sen. Cantwell had previously questioned Lutnick on these topics in a committee hearing last week – video of that hearing is HERE.
ON TRADE & TARIFFS
“Tariffs and trade wars are a major problem for my state, where two out of every five jobs are tied to trade-related industries,” Sen. Cantwell said in today’s committee meeting. “The Commerce [nominee] has said he’s advocating for the president’s policy [that] would cost my constituents $5 billion or more. We need a secretary that understands that these products and these issues need coalition building, not throwing down gauntlets that will lose jobs for my farmers.”
Yesterday, Sen. Cantwell delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for the United States to repudiate the trade philosophy of Trump — whose proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariff on goods from China would spark a trade war, drive up costs for American consumers, harm domestic businesses across hundreds of industries, and compromise the United States’ global leadership in the free trade ecosystem. A video of that speech is HERE; a transcript is HERE.
In Washington state, two out of every five jobs are tied to trade and related industries. In 2023, the state imported $19.9 billion of goods from Canada – primarily oil, gas, lumber, and electrical power — making our northern neighbors Washington state’s largest trade partner. Also in 2023, the state imported $1.7 billion in goods from Mexico, including motor vehicles, vehicle parts, and household appliances. More information about how President Trump’s proposed tariffs will impact businesses and consumers in the State of Washington is HERE.
ON CHIPS & SCIENCE FUNDING
“Over the last four years, there has been much investment in infrastructure [for] manufacturing that this committee has supported. Semiconductor expansion — $450 billion right here in the United States, thanks to the CHIPS & Science Act — and Mr. Lutnick, in various answers to various members of the committee, did not give a full commitment to making sure this money continues to go out the door,” Sen. Cantwell said in today’s committee meeting.
Sen. Cantwell was the main architect and key negotiator of the CHIPS & Science Act. In her position as Commerce chair, she was instrumental in securing the science R&D funding authorizations in the 11th hour of negotiations. A key component of the legislation is the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program that was authored by Sen. Cantwell to strengthen U.S. economic and national security with investments in regions across the country. Earlier this month, the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center (AAMMC) in Spokane was awarded $48 million from the program to establish the first-of-its-kind testbed facility in the United States focused on developing advanced thermoplastic materials – new types of lightweight, heat-moldable, and recyclable materials that can replace metal in aircraft parts. The AAMMC will serve as the nation’s hub for creating and testing these innovative materials that are essential for more rapidly building fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.
ON DISMANTLING NOAA
“[NOAA] makes up more than 60% of the Commerce budget. When asked for the record if NOAA should be dismantled, as called for in [Project 2025], Mr. Lutnick would only say, if confirmed, he would figure it out. Given how central NOAA is for providing accurate weather forecasting, managing our fisheries, protecting our fishermen from Russian and Chinese illegal fishing, I was looking for a stronger commitment,” Sen. Cantwell said today.
Project 2025 calls for NOAA to be “dismantled and many of its functions eliminated,” calling it part of the “climate change alarm industry.” NOAA provides critical services to the Nation including weather forecasts, extreme storm tracking and monitoring, tools to enable communities to adapt to sea level rise and climate change, supporting fisheries management, and conserving marine mammals and other protected species.
Sen. Cantwell is a champion of NOAA and helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA’s ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Commerce committee unanimously today and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks on her Lutnick vote is HERE; audio is HERE; and a transcript is HERE.
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Murray shared many WA stories and concerns she heard following President Trump’s blanket funding freeze
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is helping lead Senate Democrats in holding the Senate floor for a full 30 hours ahead of a final confirmation vote on Russell Vought to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Senator Murray delivered an hour-long floor speech and her remarks below touch specifically on last week’s Monday night OMB budget memo that froze virtually all federal grants and how communities and organizations across America still cannot access funds that are meant to be unfrozen and fully accessible by now.
“The calls just keep coming—even now that OMB reversed course. The chaos has not died down—the questions, the uncertainty, the fear from families and communities that Trump will pull the rug out from under them is still there.
“Because even though—after the intense outcry from the American people—Trump has now admitted this was a colossal mistake by rescinding the guidance, the threat, the chaos, the panic cannot just be wiped away. Especially while some funds are still being blocked!
“No one feels any sense of calm after this. People aren’t feeling lasting relief—they are still wondering ‘how could something like this happen’ and ‘what in the world is going to happen next?’
“The Trump administration—through a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard for the law—caused, and is still causing, real harm and chaos for millions of people over the span of just a mere 48 hours.
“But we did learn something extremely important: when the American people speak out with one voice, when regular people stand up, it makes a real difference. That victory belonged to everyone who raised their voice. But make no mistake, the fight is far from over.
“As I said before, we still have a lot of work to do right now, to make sure all the funding actually does get moving again—this is not like turning on a light switch.
“We just saw through the chaotic roll out—this is complicated stuff. So, I will be watching closely to make sure funds get where they belong ASAP. I already know that in many cases this has not been what is happening at all—so this is a serious concern.”
The full text of Senator Murray’s remarks on the chaos because of Trump’s blanket funding freeze can be found below, and video can be found HERE.
“The chaos Vought and Trump caused last week alone was unlike anything I can recall. M. President, never in my time in the Senate have I seen a President cause as much chaos, panic, and damage in 48 short hours—chaos, panic, and damage which continues even now!
“President Trump inflicted serious harm when he implemented Vought’s reckless vision to brazenly and illegally freeze federal grants across the government and across the country.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook—because unlike billionaires like Trump and Musk, unlike hyper partisans like Vought, the American people actually have a painfully clear sense of how this will hurt our communities. After all, they are the ones who would actually suffer the consequences of a reckless policy like this.
“And, let’s remember, the Trump administration’s first half-hearted attempt to clean up the massive mess they made with a new guidance, essentially boiled down to: ‘We’ll let some funding go, but we’re still going to hold up everything else.’
“And while later, they finally admitted they were disastrously wrong and revoked the entire guidance, they are now, still today, illegally holding up other funds—which I will say more about later.
“And the chaos alone they caused, with their cruelty and incompetence is utterly unacceptable. The explanations the Trump Administration offered throughout that saga—freezing seemingly trillions of dollars that families rely on—created no clarity or certainty for so many panicked families, businesses, nonprofits, towns, and states. And nothing they said changes the basic fact that Trump was—and is still—holding up funding our communities need, funding that is the law.
“But let’s talk about the effect—let’s talk about the chaos and alarm they caused, the damage done to communities and families that all of us represent, and the collision course we were on before Americans spoke out and forced Trump to retreat.
“Because, in terms of chaos, the Trump Administration was trying to say a lot of programs were not affected even when we had firsthand accounts making clear that was not what organizations across the country were experiencing.
“I’ll give you one example: Head Start providers were locked out of their reimbursement portal, meaning folks taking care of our youngest kids were suddenly not sure how they were going to keep their doors open or pay their teachers and staff. And some providers in my state are still locked out, not getting the funding.
“Let’s talk about rental assistance! The payment system for housing providers was down for over a day—with rents that were due at the end of the week!
“Seniors who count on Meals on Wheels were left wondering whether they’d have dinner last week.
“Grant programs to combat the fentanyl crisis, to get families health care, and so much more were—in an instant— put at risk of evaporating into thin air.
“I mean, M. President, the panic and confusion were absolutely widespread. Because there was a long, long, list of programs President Trump tried to put on the chopping block here—programs that, by the way, help red states and blue states alike.
“Funding to address the opioid use epidemic could have been paused. This is a long-standing bipartisan priority and Trump wanted funding frozen for an indefinite period—that would absolutely upend prevention efforts and cut people off from treatment that is helping them beat addiction.
“Or COPS hiring grants which help our states and communities hire career law enforcement officers—Trump was freezing those, too. These investments increase community policing capacity and they prevent crime. Without this money, our streets and neighborhoods would be less safe.
“And let’s not forget about other crucial DOJ grants—funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, for Amber Alerts, and for safe havens that support victims of human trafficking.
“Or, in my state, there are 25 child advocacy centers that were trying to figure out how they would be affected by the freeze. Think about that.
“And funding for firefighters—you know what doesn’t stop when federal funding stops? Fires! And speaking of fires—Trump’s move also threw funding for recovery and relief efforts into uncertainty. In Eastern Washington, my state, $44 million was announced weeks ago to help Spokane County rebuild from wildfires—we were left with big questions about the future of that badly needed funding last week.
“And while it was just two weeks ago that Trump visited communities in both North Carolina and California still reeling from disaster, the very next week, he sent them reeling himself—throwing funds they were counting on into limbo with his initial OMB guidance. Because, for a while there, the system that all of our states use to get disaster relief funding was shut down!
“And let’s not forget grants from the Violence Against Women Act—I heard from organizations in Washington state that support survivors of violence, they were trying to figure out what to do because their federal payments site went down. Without that vital funding, survivors would be left with no way to access the legal aid and services they deserve. Like so many other organizations, they were ringing the alarm bells—because they were not going to be able to pay staff or pay their bills. This illegal freeze left domestic violence centers wondering how long they could keep their doors open and pay their staff.
“And our Tribes were thrown into chaos as well. The Puyallup Tribe was told they couldn’t move forward with a critical road project. And our Tribes in general were all concerned that housing, health care, education, and so much else were getting caught up in this funding freeze. One told me they were left trying to determine if they were going to have to lay off 400 people because of this. Causing layoffs with an illegal funding freeze would be a profound breach of the federal trust responsibility to our Tribes.
“Or here’s another alarming one: one of Trump’s executive orders was set to cut funding used to help detain nearly 10,000 ISIS militants in Syria. That funding was about to be cut off altogether—potentially leading to prison guards leaving the job and risking ISIS militants getting out of jail—until this administration was alerted to how reckless that would be and carved out that funding.
“But trust me when I say: there are many other funding streams that help keep us safe that are still at risk—especially because of the illegal executive orders that are, today, still blocking foreign assistance, and the absolutely lawless effort to dismantle USAID, which does lifesaving relief work around the world.
“I will have a lot more to say on that later. And, by the why, how does undermining health, which will mean diseases run rampant—particularly at a time when Bird Flu is on the uptick and impacting many producers, workers and states—how does that make any sense?
“Because when it comes to health care—this attempted freeze posed a huge threat to our families. Set aside the fact the Medicaid payment portal went down in my state and every state—something that we were told was a coincidence—that doesn’t change the fact all federal health care grant reimbursements stopped.
“It doesn’t change the fact that community health centers were blocked from getting the funds they need to pay staff and continue providing care in our communities—including rural areas where they are often the only option for miles.
“It doesn’t change the fact that Title X providers—who support care like family planning services, cancer screenings, and more—couldn’t draw down their funds.
“I also heard from HopeSparks, a health care provider in my state. They warned that without federal support, kids in the South Puget Sound would lose access to mental health care and crisis services.
“And, biomedical researchers were suddenly left dealing with questions—not about how to save lives, but about grant freezes, and how these vague, broad actions might stop research programs and clinical trials across the country.
“Chaos alone presents a huge risk of derailing crucial studies. Scientists at the University of Washington and Washington State University have told my office they were deeply alarmed—a freeze like Trump ordered would have meant research projects collapsing and staff being furloughed or laid off!
“The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center moved to bridge the gap to keep research from being derailed—but not getting this fixed would have meant putting them in the hole, to the tune of over $1 million a day. That sort of unexpected burden would have had a huge impact on lifesaving cancer research.
“And agricultural research was faced with uncertainty as well! WSU is a national leader in this important work—research to help our farmers grow more crops, grow more resilient crops, and fight challenges like pests, and plant diseases. WSU was deeply concerned funding for that research could be cut off, undermining important work supporting our nation’s farmers.
“And the threats didn’t stop there for those in food and agriculture. One organization, which works alongside local growers, told me losing funding would mean a reduced capacity to grow and distribute fresh, local food to communities. That would hurt both farmers and the families who rely on these programs to help put food on the table!
“Meanwhile, a group in Washington addressing youth homelessness warned it would have to kick kids out if the funding issue was not resolved. Let me repeat that: a homeless youth group was pushed to the brink of having to kick kids onto the streets because of President Trump’s illegal freeze.
“I was also deeply concerned about how the freeze might halt the diaper pilot program. As well as the reports I got from multiple housing providers in my state worried that tens of thousands of people would be at risk of homelessness thanks to this illegal freeze.
“And don’t get me started on infrastructure! These are projects that take years to plan, build, and complete, and do a whole lot of good for our communities. In my state alone, there were big questions about what was going to happen to electrical grid upgrades happening in Okanogan and Pierce County, improvements planned at the Ports of Seattle, Everett, and Whitman County, or SeaTac Airport’s plans to deploy new trucks.
“And some of these questions still remain! Because—as I will detail in a minute—there are still many other ways programs are being put at risk by Trump illegally blocking funds with his executive orders. I will continue fighting for the federal funding Congress already provided to keep all of these projects on track—but that can only get us so far if President Trump illegally blocks it all and our Republican colleagues help let it happen.
“I mean the list goes on, and on, and on. The calls just keep coming—even now that OMB reversed course. The chaos has not died down—the questions, the uncertainty, the fear from families and communities that Trump will pull the rug out from under them is still there.
“Because even though—after the intense outcry from the American people—Trump has now admitted this was a colossal mistake by rescinding the guidance, the threat, the chaos, the panic cannot just be wiped away. Especially while some funds are still being blocked!
“No one feels any sense of calm after this. People aren’t feeling lasting relief—they are still wondering ‘how could something like this happen’ and “what in the world is going to happen next?’
“The Trump administration—through a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard for the law—caused, and is still causing, real harm and chaos for millions of people over the span of just a mere 48 hours.
“But we did learn something extremely important: when the American people speak out with one voice, when regular people stand up, it makes a real difference. That victory belonged to everyone who raised their voice. But make no mistake, the fight is far from over.
“As I said before, we still have a lot of work to do right now, to make sure all the funding actually does get moving again—this is not like turning on a light switch.
“We just saw through the chaotic roll out—this is complicated stuff. So, I want you to know, I will be watching closely to make sure funds get where they belong ASAP. I already know that in many cases this has not been what is happening at all—so this is a serious concern.
“I actually spoke with a constituent last week, Mike from Edmonds–he runs a nonprofit supporting military families and helping servicemembers transition back to civilian life. And even days after the OMB guidance was reversed, they still couldn’t access federal funding. He’s using a personal line of credit to pay staff in the meantime. And if this doesn’t get fixed—his organization won’t be able to help military families or pay its employees.
“The homeless shelter I mentioned at the top—short $5.1 million dollars because of Trump—also still has its funds frozen. It is still looking at reducing beds and facing layoffs.
“And as I mentioned earlier, some Head Start programs are still not able to access their grant funding—so the chaos of this OMB saga is far, far from over.”
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a lifelong family farmer, today discussed the need to secure year-round, nationwide E-15 and boost transparency among poultry producers during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the state of the ag economy. Grassley also highlighted farmers’ ongoing struggle with high input costs and low commodity prices, which were exacerbated by the Biden administration’s overregulation and unambitious approach to trade.
Video and excerpts of Grassley’s questions for Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union, follow.
[embedded content]
VIDEO
E-15 Year-Round, Nationwide:
“I hope you can work hard for E-15 year-round, nationwide, because that’s going to help commodity prices more than a lot of other things we can do here.”
Packers and Stockyards Transparency Initiatives:
“I understand this hearing is focused mostly on crop commodities, but I’d like to take this opportunity to ask both of you about the Poultry Grower Payment System and Capital Improvement Systems rule that was finalized under Secretary Vilsack.
“This rule is meant to provide more transparency for poultry producers under the tournament system and give farmers a fair shake in contracts.
“Mr. Duvall, can you speak to how this rule may positively effect producers’ bottom lines?
“Mr. Larew, can you speak to how changing or removing pieces of this rule may negatively impact poultry producers?
Farm Profitability and New Markets:
“Over the last four years, American crop farmers had a year or two of record high net cash farm income.
“Unfortunately, American farmers have also had to face years of record high inflation under an administration that was largely deaf to farmers’ needs.
“In 2023 and 2024, net cash farm income dropped dramatically. In other words, row crop farmers were losing money.
“The stagnant trade policies, lack of ambition to find new markets for commodities and overregulation of the Biden administration caught up to farmers.
“Many family farmers in Iowa have faced machinery and land payments with high interest rates farmers haven’t seen in decades, while dealing with a steep downturn in commodity prices.
“…[T]his trend will continue until new markets are created for agriculture products.”
Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) welcomed Arkansas farmers to share their perspectives on the agricultural economy during a Senate hearing examining the challenges facing rural communities
Marianna farmer Nathan Reed and Newport farmer Jennifer James detailed the difficulties they are experiencing in the industry.
“The last couple years have been the most difficult of my life. Despite record yields, my operation has endured steep losses due to a sharp increase in input costs and low commodity prices,” Reed told committee members.
Reed and his wife along with their four children grow cotton, rice, corn and soybeans. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Cotton Council and is an executive officer of the Arkansas Ag Council as well as a member of the Arkansas Plant Board.
He expressed appreciation for the natural disaster and market assistance funds provided by Congress late last year but called for an improved farm bill to prevent farms from failing throughout rural America.
James grows rice, corn and soybeans with her husband, father and son. She is an active member of USA Rice in addition to serving on the Farmers Board of Directors and the Farm Policy Task Force. Her many accolades include the 2019 USA Rice Farmer of the Year, the first-ever woman elected to serve on the Riceland Board of Directors, and 2023-24 Outstanding Alumna at the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
“Last year, I completed my 30th full-time crop. I can say without a doubt that it was the most difficult year financially that we have endured so far. This year, I’m even more worried about what is to come. Just last week, my husband, dad, son and I sat down to have one of the hardest business conversations we’ve ever had to have – is it worth it? What scares me is I know we’re one farm family of thousands having these same conversations,” James said in her testimony.
James called on Congress to pass a new, stronger farm bill to help improve the financial outlook for agricultural producers.
In December, Boozman led Senate efforts to secure market assistance for the agriculture community and remains committed to delivering the certainty and predictability farmers, ranchers and producers need in an updated farm bill.
“My highest priority for the next farm bill is to improve the farm safety net, whereby every farmer in every region of the country will have access to modernized risk management tools regardless of the commodity they grow. If we fail to modernize the safety net, agriculture will see further consolidation as farm families leave the business, and the ripple effects to our country will be profound,” Boozman said in his opening statement.
This undated photo shows two cloned Shaziling piglets, delivered via surrogate mother, in Xiangtan, central China’s Hunan Province. [Xiangtan municipal livestock breeding station/Handout via Xinhua] Two cloned piglets born in central China’s Hunan province are expected to promote China’s pork industry and diabetes treatment research while preserving a 4,000-year-old local breed once pushed to the brink by foreign competitors. According to the Xiangtan municipal livestock breeding station, the cloned Shaziling piglets, delivered via surrogate mother on Jan. 24 in Xiangtan County, mark a milestone in China’s decade-long push to preserve indigenous livestock breeds using biotechnology. Once a staple in Hunan’s famed hongshao rou (braised pork), Shaziling pigs, a breed native to Xiangtan, nearly vanished as industrial foreign breeds dominated Chinese farms in previous years. It is considered a precious genetic resource and was added to China’s national animal genetic resource protection list in 2006. To protect the genetic resources of the Shaziling pig, the breeding station initiated the somatic cell cloning experiment with support from a research team led by Yin Yulong, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academician and chief researcher at the Insitute of Subtropical Agriculture under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, starting in June 2024. Researchers utilized frozen ear tissue cells from Shaziling pigs to create fibroblast cells, leading to successful embryo construction, cultivation, and transplantation. On Jan. 24, the surrogate mother pig successfully gave birth. Tan Hong, head of the breeding station, said that the two piglets display characteristic features of the Shaziling pig, such as a short snout, butterfly ears, and cow-like eyes. They are healthy and being cared for by skilled technicians. Yin noted that the research achievement goes far beyond agriculture. He emphasized the anatomical, physiological, immunological, and genomic similarities between pigs and humans. These similarities make pigs ideal models for diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. Their similar organ size and structure enhance their prospects in xenotransplantation research. Wu Maisheng, a researcher at the Xiangtan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, revealed that porcine-human xenotransplantation studies conducted in Hunan since 2005 have found that the Shaziling pig possesses the highest biosafety and is the best donor for such transplants. The success rate for using Shaziling pig islet cells in diabetes treatment reached 95.45 percent. Wu said the birth of the cloned Shaziling pig facilitates long-term preservation and live recovery of genetic resources, providing a valuable experimental model for innovative conservation methods for high-quality local pig breeds. Future research will focus on the cloned pigs’ adaptability to environmental conditions, growth, and reproductive performance, as well as in-depth studies of the progeny’s weight gain, meat quality, and genetic traits. Yin also said that the Shaziling pig presents extensive application prospects as a food source, disease model, and donor for xenotransplantation. It is increasingly significant in modern agriculture, medical research, and clinical treatments. The research team aims to utilize cloning technology to replicate superior Shaziling pigs with high feed conversion rates, meat yield and quality.
Fourth quarter of 2024 sales decreased 10% Q/Q and decreased 6% Y/Y
SSD controller sales: 4Q of 2024 decreased 5% to 10% Q/Q and decreased 5% to 10% Y/Y
eMMC+UFS controller sales: 4Q of 2024 decreased 10% to 15% Q/Q and were flat Y/Y
SSD solutions sales: 4Q of 2024 decreased 35% to 40% Q/Q and decreased 25% to 30% Y/Y
Announced annual cash dividend of $2.00 per American Depositary Share (“ADS”)
Financial Highlights
4Q 2024 GAAP
4Q 2024 Non-GAAP*
• Net sales
$191.2 million (-10% Q/Q, -6% Y/Y)
$191.2 million (-10% Q/Q, -6% Y/Y)
• Gross margin
46.8%
47.0%
• Operating margin
10.3%
16.5%
• Earnings per diluted ADS
$0.68
$0.91
Full Year 2024 GAAP
Full Year 2024 Non-GAAP*
• Net sales
$803.6 million (+26% Y/Y)
$803.6 million (+26% Y/Y)
• Gross margin
46.1%
46.2%
• Operating margin
11.6%
15.3%
• Earnings per diluted ADS
$2.69
$3.43
* Please see supplemental reconciliations of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) to all non-GAAP financial measures mentioned herein towards the end of this news release.
TAIPEI, Taiwan and MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) (“Silicon Motion,” the “Company” or “we”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. For the fourth quarter of 2024, net sales (GAAP) decreased sequentially to $191.2 million from $212.4 million in the third quarter of 2024. Net income (GAAP) increased to $23.0 million, or $0.68 per diluted ADS (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $20.8 million, or $0.62 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the third quarter of 2024.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $30.9 million, or $0.91 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $31.0 million, or $0.92 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the third quarter of 2024.
All financial numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.
Fourth Quarter of 2024 Review
“We continued to execute well in the fourth quarter of 2024 despite the challenging consumer market, delivering revenue within our guided range and further expanding of our gross margin,” said Wallace Kou, President and CEO of Silicon Motion. ”For the full-year 2024, revenue rebounded strongly, growing 26% as compared to full-year 2023 and well above our initial expectations at the start of the year. For the full-year 2024, gross margin (non-GAAP) increased to 46.2% from 43.0% in 2023 despite the overall market weakness in the second half of 2024. We successfully launched our industry-leading PCIE Gen 5 controllers in the second half of 2024, winning four of the six flash makers and multiple module maker customers, which are all anticipated to ramp up throughout 2025. While the consumer market remains challenging in the near-term, we remain focused on delivering strong, sustainable long-term growth by broadening our product portfolio, expanding into new markets and growing our market share in the consumer, enterprise, automotive, industrial and commercial storage markets.”
Key Financial Results
(in millions, except percentages and per ADS amounts)
GAAP
Non-GAAP
4Q 2024
3Q 2024
4Q 2023
4Q 2024
3Q 2024
4Q 2023
Revenue
$191.2
$212.4
$202.4
$191.2
$212.4
$202.4
Gross profit
$89.5
$99.3
$88.5
$89.9
$99.3
$89.3
Percent of revenue
46.8%
46.7%
43.7%
47.0%
46.8%
44.1%
Operating expenses
$69.9
$74.8
$71.0
$58.3
$65.1
$61.5
Operating profit
$19.7
$24.5
$17.6
$31.6
$34.2
$27.8
Percent of revenue
10.3%
11.5%
8.7%
16.5%
16.1%
13.8%
Earnings per diluted ADS
$0.68
$0.62
$0.63
$0.91
$0.92
$0.93
Other Financial Information
(in millions)
4Q 2024
3Q 2024
4Q 2023
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments—end of period
$334.3
$368.6
$369.0
Routine capital expenditures
$7.3
$7.4
$3.5
Dividend payments
$16.8
$16.8
$16.7
During the fourth quarter of 2024, we had $10.8 million of capital expenditures, including $7.3 million for the routine purchases of testing equipment, software, design tools and other items, and $3.5 million for building construction in Hsinchu.
Business Outlook “Longer-term, we expect to continue increasing our market share within the mobile and PC markets through greater outsourcing by the NAND flash makers, which should drive greater revenue and profitability for Silicon Motion,” said Mr. Kou. “This year, we expect to benefit from the introduction of several new products, including our 8-channel PCIe Gen 5 controller that started shipping in the second half of 2024, our new UFS 4.1 controller for the mobile market that will begin to ramp-up in the second half of this year, and our new 4-channel mainstream PCIe Gen 5 that we expect to launch late this year. Additionally, we will benefit from our many automotive controllers that are rapidly expanding across multiple applications and our MonTitan suite of enterprise controllers that just started shipping in the second half of 2024 and are expected to increase in the second half of this year. Consumer demand remains weak in the first half of 2025 and is proving more challenging than we initially anticipated; however, we expect a strong rebound in the second half of this year driven from new product introductions and new project wins with our OEM customers, reaching close to a run-rate of $1 billion in annual revenue in 4Q25.”
For the first quarter of 2025, management expects:
(in millions, except percentages)
GAAP
Non-GAAP Adjustment
Non-GAAP
Revenue
$158m to $167m -17.5% to -12.5% Q/Q
—
$158m to $167m -17.5% to -12.5% Q/Q
Gross margin
46.9% to 47.4%
Approximately $0.1m*
47.0% to 47.5%
Operating margin
2.3% to 5.2%
Approximately $7.5m to $8.5m**
7.7% to 9.7%
* Projected gross margin (non-GAAP) excludes $0.1 million of stock-based compensation. ** Projected operating margin (non-GAAP) excludes $7.5 million to $8.5 million of stock-based compensation and dispute related expenses.
Conference Call & Webcast: The Company’s management team will conduct a conference call at 8:00 am Eastern Time on February 6, 2025.
Conference Call Details Participants must register in advance to join the conference call using the link provided below. Conference access information (including dial-in information and a unique access PIN) will be provided in the email received upon registration.
A webcast of the call will be available on the Company’s website at www.siliconmotion.com.
Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the Company’s unaudited selected financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), the Company discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures that exclude stock-based compensation and other items, including gross profit (non-GAAP), gross margin (non-GAAP), operating expenses (non-GAAP), operating profit (non-GAAP), operating margin (non-GAAP), non-operating income (expense) (non-GAAP), net income (non-GAAP), and earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP). These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with or an alternative to GAAP and may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies. We believe that these non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all the amounts associated with the Company’s results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP and that these measures should only be used to evaluate the Company’s results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We compensate for the limitations of our non-GAAP financial measures by relying upon GAAP results to gain a complete picture of our performance.
Our non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the user’s overall understanding of our current financial performance and our prospects for the future. Specifically, we believe the non-GAAP results provide useful information to both management and investors as these non-GAAP results exclude certain expenses, gains and losses that we believe are not indicative of our core operating results and because they are consistent with the financial models and estimates published by many analysts who follow the Company. We use non-GAAP measures to evaluate the operating performance of our business, for comparison with our forecasts, and for benchmarking our performance externally against our competitors. Also, when evaluating potential acquisitions, we exclude the items described below from our consideration of the target’s performance and valuation. Since we find these measures to be useful, we believe that our investors benefit from seeing the results from management’s perspective in addition to seeing our GAAP results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP financials, provide useful information to investors by offering:
the ability to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s on-going operating results;
the ability to better identify trends in the Company’s underlying business and perform related trend analysis;
a better understanding of how management plans and measures the Company’s underlying business; and
an easier way to compare the Company’s operating results against analyst financial models and operating results of our competitors that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures.
The following are explanations of each of the adjustments that we incorporate into our non-GAAP measures, as well as the reasons for excluding each of these individual items in our reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures:
Stock-based compensation expense consists of non-cash charges related to the fair value of restricted stock units awarded to employees. The Company believes that the exclusion of these non-cash charges provides for more accurate comparisons of our operating results to our peer companies due to the varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. In addition, the Company believes it is useful to investors to understand the specific impact of share-based compensation on its operating results.
Restructuring charges relate to the restructuring of our underperforming product lines, principally the write-down of NAND flash, embedded DRAM and SSD inventory valuation and severance payments.
M&A transaction expenses consist of legal, financial advisory and other fees related to the transaction.
Dispute related expenses consist of legal, consultant, other fees and resolution related to the dispute.
Foreign exchange loss (gain) consists of translation gains and/or losses of non-US$ denominated current assets and current liabilities, as well as certain other balance sheet items which result from the appreciation or depreciation of non-US$ currencies against the US$. We do not use financial instruments to manage the impact on our operations from changes in foreign exchange rates, and because our operations are subject to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, we therefore exclude foreign exchange gains and losses when presenting non-GAAP financial measures.
Realized/Unrealized loss (gain) on investments relates to the disposal and net change in fair value of long-term investments.
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Income
(in thousands, except percentages and per ADS data, unaudited)
For Three Months Ended
For the Year Ended
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Dec. 31,
Dec. 31,
Dec. 31,
2023
2024
2024
2023
2024
($)
($)
($)
($)
($)
Net Sales
202,379
212,412
191,160
639,142
803,552
Cost of sales
113,854
113,142
101,635
368,752
432,862
Gross profit
88,525
99,270
89,525
270,390
370,690
Operating expenses
Research & development
56,432
58,486
54,156
174,357
217,822
Sales & marketing
6,205
7,009
7,360
26,920
27,450
General & administrative
7,600
9,315
8,350
27,923
31,354
Loss from settlement of litigation
720
–
–
1,312
1,250
Operating income
17,568
24,460
19,659
39,878
92,814
Non-operating income (expense)
Interest income, net
4,221
3,518
3,768
12,246
14,528
Foreign exchange gain (loss), net
(1,117
)
(488
)
1,046
914
1,391
Realized/Unrealized gain(loss) on investments
(51
)
(602
)
956
8,002
601
Others, net
8
–
–
8
–
Subtotal
3,061
2,428
5,770
21,170
16,520
Income before income tax
20,629
26,888
25,429
61,048
109,334
Income tax expense (benefit)
(464
)
6,045
2,389
8,175
18,614
Net income
21,093
20,843
23,040
52,873
90,720
Earnings per basic ADS
0.63
0.62
0.68
1.59
2.70
Earnings per diluted ADS
0.63
0.62
0.68
1.58
2.69
Margin Analysis:
Gross margin
43.7%
46.7%
46.8%
42.3%
46.1%
Operating margin
8.7%
11.5%
10.3%
6.2%
11.6%
Net margin
10.4%
9.8%
12.1%
8.3%
11.3%
Additional Data:
Weighted avg. ADS equivalents
33,416
33,687
33,690
33,353
33,642
Diluted ADS equivalents
33,587
33,700
33,814
33,470
33,722
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Results
(in thousands, except percentages and per ADS data, unaudited)
For Three Months Ended
For the Year Ended
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Dec. 31,
Dec. 31,
Dec. 31,
2023
2024
2024
2023
2024
($)
($)
($)
($)
($)
Gross profit (GAAP)
88,525
99,270
89,525
270,390
370,690
Gross margin (GAAP)
43.7%
46.7%
46.8%
42.3%
46.1%
Stock-based compensation (A)
106
63
162
406
311
Restructuring charges
648
–
164
3,996
209
Gross profit (non-GAAP)
89,279
99,333
89,851
274,792
371,210
Gross margin (non-GAAP)
44.1%
46.8%
47.0%
43.0%
46.2%
Operating expenses (GAAP)
70,957
74,810
69,866
230,512
277,876
Stock-based compensation (A)
(5,680
)
(3,595
)
(9,585
)
(17,141
)
(16,645
)
M&A transaction expenses
288
–
–
(2,606
)
–
Dispute related expenses
(3,477
)
(6,076
)
(1,999
)
(6,973
)
(13,135
)
Restructuring charges
(638
)
–
–
(5,217
)
–
Operating expenses (non-GAAP)
61,450
65,139
58,282
198,575
248,096
Operating profit (GAAP)
17,568
24,460
19,659
39,878
92,814
Operating margin (GAAP)
8.7%
11.5%
10.3%
6.2%
11.6%
Total adjustments to operating profit
10,261
9,734
11,910
36,339
30,300
Operating profit (non-GAAP)
27,829
34,194
31,569
76,217
123,114
Operating margin (non-GAAP)
13.8%
16.1%
16.5%
11.9%
15.3%
Non-operating income (expense) (GAAP)
3,061
2,428
5,770
21,170
16,520
Foreign exchange loss (gain), net
1,117
488
(1,046
)
(914
)
(1,391
)
Realized/Unrealized holding loss (gain) on investments
51
602
(956
)
(8,002
)
(601
)
Non-operating income (expense) (non-GAAP)
4,229
3,518
3,768
12,254
14,528
Net income (GAAP)
21,093
20,843
23,040
52,873
90,720
Total pre-tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments
11,429
10,824
9,908
27,423
28,308
Income tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments
(1,202
)
(649
)
(2,049
)
(4,169
)
(3,064
)
Net income (non-GAAP)
31,320
31,018
30,899
76,127
115,964
Earnings per diluted ADS (GAAP)
$0.63
$0.62
$0.68
$1.58
$2.69
Earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP)
$0.93
$0.92
$0.91
$2.27
$3.43
Shares used in computing earnings per diluted ADS (GAAP)
33,587
33,700
33,814
33,470
33,722
Non-GAAP adjustments
110
109
181
129
84
Shares used in computing earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP)
33,697
33,809
33,995
33,599
33,806
(A) Excludes stock-based compensation as follows:
Cost of sales
106
63
162
406
311
Research & development
4,103
2,377
6,670
11,709
11,284
Sales & marketing
361
455
978
1,858
1,954
General & administrative
1,216
763
1,937
3,574
3,407
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet
(In thousands, unaudited)
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Dec. 31,
2023
2024
2024
($)
($)
($)
Cash and cash equivalents
314,302
313,924
276,068
Accounts receivable (net)
194,701
202,726
233,744
Inventories
216,950
214,574
201,154
Refundable deposits – current
49,656
51,102
54,645
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
e17,636
38,246
31,187
Total current assets
793,245
820,572
796,798
Long-term investments
17,116
16,878
17,326
Property and equipment (net)
167,417
181,983
188,398
Other assets
30,183
29,304
30,354
Total assets
1,007,961
1,048,737
1,032,876
Accounts payable
55,586
30,888
17,773
Income tax payable
7,544
14,444
13,176
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
149,680
131,143
168,624
Total current liabilities
212,810
176,475
199,573
Other liabilities
60,455
62,673
59,548
Total liabilities
273,265
239,148
259,121
Shareholders’ equity
734,696
809,589
773,755
Total liabilities & shareholders’ equity
1,007,961
1,048,737
1,032,876
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands, unaudited)
For Three Months Ended
For the Year Ended
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Dec. 31,
Dec. 31,
Dec. 31,
2023
2024
2024
2023
2024
($)
($)
($)
($)
($)
Net income
21,093
20,843
23,040
52,873
90,720
Depreciation & amortization
5,356
6,664
7,256
21,810
25,331
Stock-based compensation
5,786
3,658
9,747
17,547
16,956
Investment losses (gain) & disposals
(432
)
602
(956
)
(8,217
)
(601
)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
11,582
22,280
(45,245
)
65,070
(55,213
)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
43,385
54,047
(6,158
)
149,083
77,193
Purchase of property & equipment
(10,758
)
(12,436
)
(10,836
)
(50,313
)
(44,449
)
Proceeds from disposal of properties
1,228
–
3
1,228
3
Purchase of long-term investments
–
–
(4,173
)
–
(4,173
)
Disposal of long-term investments
–
–
4,432
–
4,432
Net cash used in investing activities
(9,530
)
(12,436
)
(10,574
)
(49,085
)
(44,187
)
Dividend payments
(16,676
)
(16,812
)
(16,814
)
(16,690
)
(67,254
)
Net cash used in financing activities
(16,676
)
(16,812
)
(16,814
)
(16,690
)
(67,254
)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash
17,179
24,799
(33,546
)
83,308
(34,248
)
Effect of foreign exchange changes
1,508
186
(717
)
(1,373
)
(409
)
Cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash—beginning of period
350,303
343,611
368,596
287,055
368,990
Cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash—end of period
368,990
368,596
334,333
368,990
334,333
Shareholder Litigation: On August 31, 2023, a Silicon Motion ADS holder (the “Plaintiff”) filed a putative class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, captioned Water Island Event-Driven Fund v. MaxLinear, Inc., No. 23-cv-01607 (S.D. Cal.), asserting claims against MaxLinear, Inc. (“MaxLinear”) and two of its officers (the “MaxLinear Defendants”) for alleged violations of (i) Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder and (ii) Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act, in connection with alleged false and misleading statements made by the MaxLinear Defendants between June 6, 2023 and July 26, 2023 concerning MaxLinear’s intent to consummate the merger agreement it had entered into with Silicon Motion. On August 28, 2024, the Court dismissed the complaint against the MaxLinear Defendants without prejudice for lack of standing. On September 18, 2024, the Plaintiff filed an amended complaint against the MaxLinear Defendants, and also added Silicon Motion and two of its officers (the “Silicon Motion Defendants”), asserting substantially similar claims under the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks compensatory damages, including interest, costs and expenses, and such other equitable or injunctive relief that the court deems appropriate. The motion to dismiss the amended complaint is fully briefed. The Silicon Motion Defendants believe that the claims asserted against them are without merit and intend to defend themselves vigorously.
About Silicon Motion: We are the global leader in supplying NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices. We supply more SSD controllers than any other company in the world for servers, PCs and other client devices and are the leading merchant supplier of eMMC and UFS embedded storage controllers used in smartphones, IoT devices and other applications. We also supply customized high-performance hyperscale data center and specialized industrial and automotive SSD solutions. Our customers include most of the NAND flash vendors, storage device module makers and leading OEMs. For further information on Silicon Motion, visit us at www.siliconmotion.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the unpredictable volume and timing of customer orders, which are not fixed by contract but vary on a purchase order basis; the loss of one or more key customers or the significant reduction, postponement, rescheduling or cancellation of orders from one or more customers; general economic conditions or conditions in the semiconductor or consumer electronics markets; the impact of inflation on our business and customer’s businesses and any effect this has on economic activity in the markets in which we operate; the functionalities and performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers, suppliers, partners and providers of third-party licensed technology; the effects on our business and our customer’s business taking into account the ongoing U.S.-China tariffs and trade disputes; the uncertainties associated with any future global or regional pandemic; the continuing tensions between Taiwan and China including enhanced military activities; decreases in the overall average selling prices of our products; changes in the relative sales mix of our products; changes in our cost of finished goods; supply chain disruptions that have affected us and our industry as well as other industries on a global basis; the payment, or non-payment, of cash dividends in the future at the discretion of our board of directors and any announced planned increases in such dividends; changes in our cost of finished goods; the availability, pricing, and timeliness of delivery of other components and raw materials used in the products we sell given the current raw material supply shortages being experienced in our industry; our customers’ sales outlook, purchasing patterns, and inventory adjustments based on consumer demands and general economic conditions; any potential impairment charges that may be incurred related to businesses previously acquired or divested in the future; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2024. Other than as required under the securities laws, we do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release.
Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott
Senator Scott: “As HUD Secretary, Scott will make himself known. He will create access to quality, affordability housing…he will work to reverse decades of failed housing policies and make targeted reforms across all segments of the U.S. housing market.”
WASHINGTON — Today, the Senate voted to confirm Scott Turner as President Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by a vote of 55-44. Following the vote, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, spoke on the Senate floor to highlight Secretary Turner’s life story, qualifications to lead HUD, and their share goal of addressing the housing crisis and increasing access to quality, affordable housing opportunities for Americans across the country.
During Secretary Turner’s hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Scott highlighted Mr. Turner’s record and leadership directing investments in Opportunity Zones, Senator Scott’s initiative under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to increase development in economically distressed communities. Senator Scott noted he looks forward to working with Secretary Turner to cut bureaucratic red tape, advance commonsense housing solutions, and put more Americans on the path to homeownership.
Click here to watch Senator Scott’s remarks.
Senator Scott’s full remarks as delivered:
Thank you, Mr. President.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mission is to create strong, sustainable communities and support affordable homes.
Yet, under President Biden and his administration, the department failed to serve our nation’s most vulnerable.
Here is the truth: we are facing a homelessness crisis in America.
The latest homelessness survey found an 18 percent increase in homelessness year-over-year, increasing the number of homelessness in our country to nearly 772,000 Americans not able to find a place to lay their head.
This is unacceptable!
On top of that, we are facing an affordability crisis in our country as well.
During President Biden’s tenure, mortgage rates ballooned 150 percent, and rents 20 percent.
Over the last four years, far-left housing policies and burdensome regulations have put the American Dream out of reach for millions and millions of hardworking, dedicated patriots throughout our nation.
It’s no secret that HUD is in serious need of new leadership.
Fortunately, there is good news: help is right over there. And it’s on its way.
My good friend Scott Turner has a remarkable life story – tremendous life story.
Scott is a native Texan who has had an exceptional journey from professional athlete to public servant.
Scott came from humble beginnings, but he never let those circumstances define who he is. Actually, Scott in high school – I believe it was – worked at a barbecue shop. What I love about Scott is he has an affection for the truth – he told me himself – he conceded that South Carolina barbecue is better than Texas. I’m glad he has no microphone to say anything right now I’m just you that is a man I can appreciate.
He went on and had a successful career in the NFL, nine seasons as a cornerback, playing for the Denver Broncos, the San Diego Chargers, and yes, the Washington Redskins. And I note that he did not play for America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys.
Everybody, nobody, can be perfect.
After hanging up his cleats, Scott served two terms in the Texas State Legislature and then went to work in the Trump administration.
As the Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, Scott helped implement the Opportunity Zones initiative I that created, directing over $50 billion in private sector capital into hard-hit, typically majority minority communities – breathing hope and opportunity not only into the neighborhoods of the people desperately, passionately praying for hope. And with less than a 5 percent gentrification rate. That’s what I call success.
His story and his perspective are essential tools that he will bring to the table to fight the increase of homelessness, to fight the 150 percent ballooning of our mortgages, and to fight back against a 20 percent increase in rents.
As HUD Secretary, Scott will make himself known. He will create access to quality, affordability housing…he will work to reverse decades of failed housing policies and make targeted reforms across all segments of the U.S. housing market.
It’s time to make America’s economy work working class Americans.
It is time for a blue-collar comeback. And I’m so thankful that we have a man prepared to put in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, if necessary, so more people – not 772,000 Americans but more Americans will have a place to lay their head because they’re no longer homeless. More Americans will be able to afford a home because interest rates will come down, the housing supply will increase, and we will thank God Almighty that we live in a land where opportunity is more available because the right person, at the right time, in the right place, says yes.
Mr. President, I’m very thankful that Scott Turner is the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. But I’m more thankful that we have a president making good decisions to put America back on the right track.
Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
02.05.25
WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) introduced bipartisan legislation to help prevent future infant formula shortages. The senators’ bill comes in response to bacterial contamination at an infant formula manufacturing plant in Michigan that caused the deaths of 9 infants and infant formula recalls that triggered a nationwide shortage in 2022. The legislation would strengthen U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of infant formula manufacturing to improve the security of U.S. infant formula supply and ensure American families have access to safe formula.
“Access to safe infant formula is essential for families across the U.S., and as shortages in recent years have demonstrated, improvements are needed to ensure our nation continues to have a secure supply of this important product,” said Senator Hoeven. “Our legislation would build greater resiliency into the infant formula market, helping to protect against contamination and bolstering supplies to prevent future shortages.”
“As a father and grandfather, I was devastated for the parents who lost their children. Parents deserve to know with complete confidence that the formula they are giving their babies is safe. I’m working to make sure something like that never, ever happens again,” said Senator Peters. “This commonsense bill would help intercept contaminated formula from reaching the shelves in the first place by allowing the FDA to have a hand in testing for dangerous bacteria. Doing so will help protect our children, but also prevent families from facing another nationwide shortage where folks were struggling to both find and afford infant formula.”
The Protect Infant Formula from Contamination Act (PIFCA) would take a three-pronged approach to reduce the risk of infant formula contamination. Specifically, the bill would:
Strengthen safety reporting and ensure timely corrective action.
The bill requires infant formula manufacturers to conduct testing for Cronobacter or Salmonella in infant formula marketed for consumption.
The legislation also requires manufacturers to notify FDA within one business day of detecting contamination, while setting timelines for investigation and corrective action.
This improves upon current law, under which manufacturers are only required to notify the FDA if the product has left the company’s control.
Enhance market resiliency.
The FDA would be required to monitor and quarterly report on the in-stock rates of infant formula, as well as work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies to ensure markets can meet demand over the long term.
Increase accountability and consultation.
The FDA would be required to issue a progress report to Congress on implementation of the long-term national strategy that it developed after the 2022 recall and shortage.
The bill would also require FDA to consult with industry on contamination mitigation best practices and ways to maximize infant formula supply.
LOS ANGELES – A multi-agency law enforcement operation has resulted in the arrest of five illegal aliens who allegedly used information from “skimmed” electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to “clone” counterfeit cards and steal funds that had been disbursed to low-income individuals by the State of California, the Justice Department announced today.
Three of the defendants have been ordered detained without bond, and two of the five defendants arrested on Sunday are expected to make their initial appearances in United States District Court today.
During the operation on Sunday, approximately 70 law enforcement officers began monitoring ATM locations across the Los Angeles area to identify individuals who were making multiple cash withdrawals with cards encoded with information that had been stolen from cards used by the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide CalFresh and CalWORKs benefits to qualified recipients.
Authorities made arrests after determining that the suspects making withdrawals at the ATMs were not entitled to access funds that had been deposited into accounts belonging to legitimate EBT beneficiaries.
“These defendants who are illegally in the United States targeted and stole from some of the poorest members of our community,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “This fraudulent activity has contributed to significant financial losses, undermining an essential lifeline for struggling families. The U.S. Attorney’s office, in close collaboration with our law enforcement counterparts, will continue to root out this criminal conduct and protect our most vulnerable citizens from further exploitation.”
“This successful operation targeted transnational criminal organizations that have been stealing from our less fortunate neighbors and the taxpayers,” said HSI Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco. “HSI Los Angeles and our partners will work day and night to ensure that this help continues to be available to those who need it most, and not in the pockets of greedy criminals.”
Late Monday, federal prosecutors filed three criminal complaints charging the five defendants with the use of unauthorized access devices (the cards with stolen EBT account numbers and PINs used to make the cash withdrawals). The defendants arrested Sunday allegedly made unauthorized withdrawals, obtaining as much as $25,480. The defendants named across three criminal complaints are:
Marcel Musat, 53, of Romania, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and allegedly had approximately 45 cloned cards on his person when he was arrested. Musat admitted to investigators he had overstayed his visa and therefore is illegally in the United States. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Musat was ordered held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 11.
Ionut Calciu, 31, of Romania, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and allegedly possessed 10 counterfeit EBT cards when he was arrested. According to court documents, Calciu previously was convicted of aggravated robbery in Romania. Calciu, who is an illegal alien, is scheduled to appear in court today.
Florian Serban, 51, of Romania, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and he allegedly possessed 58 re-encoded California EBT cards. Serban is due to appear in court today.
Wesley David Adrian Dimoua-Moua, 36, of France, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized devices and allegedly had 11 counterfeit EBT cards when he was arrested. Dimoua-Moua is a visa overstay illegally present in the United States. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Dimoua-Moua was ordered held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on February 24.
Hichem Mohamed El Mabrouk, 35, of France, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and allegedly was in possession of 37 re-encoded California EBT cards when he was arrested. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, El Mabrouk was ordered held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 11.
DSS detected more than $126.8 million stolen from victim EBT cards in 2024, according to court documents. This fraud has targeted CalWORKs and CalFresh (previously known as “food stamps”), both of which are intended to help low-income beneficiaries purchase food and provide for basic needs.
The investigation has revealed that the fraudulent withdrawal of these benefits is done with “cloned” cards, which are debit cards, gift cards or other devices with magnetic strips that have been encoded with information from legitimate EBT cards. Court documents allege that at least some of those involved in the fraudulent withdrawals also possessed “skimming” devices that could be used to record personal identification information from victims.
Criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Homeland Security Investigation’s El Camino Real Task Force, which includes special agents with HSI and the United States Secret Service, as well as officers with the Los Angeles Police Department, is conducting the investigations in this matter.
A number of law enforcement agencies provided significant support during Sunday’s operation, including the California Department of Social Services, the United States Marshals Service, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Hermosa Beach Police Department, the Baldwin Park Police Department, the Culver City Police Department, the El Monte Police Department, the Inglewood Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorneys Diane Roldán, Alexander H. Tran and Sophia Carrillo of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting these cases.
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Vermont Congressional Delegation, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Representative Becca Balint (VT-At-Large) today reintroduced the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Establishment Act Amendments Act, legislation to extend the boundary of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park to include the neighboring King Farm, which is currently owned by the Vermont Land Trust.
“The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is a treasure for Vermont and our nation,” said Senator Sanders. “Vermont’s forests and working farms have always been vital to our economy and critical to our character as a state. I’m pleased this bill will continue Vermont’s conservation legacy by expanding this park and helping to conserve land for agriculture, forestry, and educational purposes for future generations.”
“The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is a unique example of how decades of conservation and stewardship have shaped our landscape with Vermont Values. As Vermont’s first and only national park, it plays an important role in conservation and educating folks about our state’s rich agricultural heritage,” said Senator Welch. “By expanding the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park to include the King Farm, our bill will create new enrichment opportunities and ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy and appreciate this historical treasure.”
“In Vermont, we care deeply about the preservation, stewardship, and the future of our parks and lands,” said Rep. Balint. “I’m proud to take action to strengthen this partnership and ensure that King Farm has the resources it needs for trail maintenance, conservation, and land management. I’m grateful to work with Senator Welch and Sanders and our shared commitment to our state’s outdoor recreation.”
Located in Woodstock, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park preserves a significant historical, agricultural, and natural landscape. The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park became Vermont’s first and only national park when it opened its doors to the public in 1998. The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park commemorates the historical contributions of its namesakes—George Perkins Marsh, Frederick Billings, and Mary French Rockefeller—preserves Vermont’s proud agricultural heritage, and conserves native forestland ecosystems. It also provides countless educational opportunities for visitors, protects archaeological sites, and showcases historic architecture.
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Establishment Act Amendments Act would also codify the National Park Service Stewardship Institute housed at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park to support educational programing, research, community engagement, and conservation efforts throughout the National Park System. Additionally, the bill would authorize the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park to acquire the King Farm from willing property owners in the future, without requiring its sale.
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Establishment Act Amendments Act is endorsed by the Vermont Land Trust and the National Parks Conservation Association and has the support of the Town of Woodstock:
“The Town of Woodstock is happy with this legislation as we have an outstanding and cooperative relationship with the National Park Service and our residents enjoy all the activities and services they currently offer,” said Eric Duffy, Municipal Manager, Town of Woodstock. “The Park is a massive tourist draw and a vital part of our community.”
“We welcome the opportunity to partner more closely with NPS in enhancing access to land and programming at King Farm. The timing aligns perfectly with our efforts to raise funds and invest in King Farm as a place-based educational resource for learners of all ages, alongside community partners,” said Tracy Zschau, President and CEO, Vermont Land Trust.
“Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is one of the first places to champion conservation in America,” said Todd Martin, Northeast Senior Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “You can’t tell the story of Vermont without farming, and expanding the park boundary will help us do that by including the historic King Farm within the park boundary. One of the oldest working farms in Vermont, this expanded landscape will enhance public access and better connect trails to the town of Woodstock. We’re grateful to Senators Welch, Sanders and Congresswoman Balint for their leadership and unwavering support for Vermont’s beloved national park.”
Learn more about the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Establishment Act Amendments Act.
Read the full text of the bill.
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) in introducing a resolution recognizing the great American achievement of creating the Panama Canal, the vital importance of the Canal in America’s trade, national security, and geopolitical interests, and the necessity to ensure the neutrality of the Canal from interference by global adversaries like China.
“The Panama Canal would not exist without America,” said Sen. Tuberville. “Connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is integral to our global supply chain and national security interests. Now, more than ever, we cannot let our foreign adversaries, like China, have a foot in the door here. I’m glad Congress and the White House are putting America’s interests first when it comes to the Panama Canal.”
Joining U.S. Senators Tuberville and Lee in cosponsoring the resolution are U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rick Scott (R-FL).
Full text of the resolution can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
Sen. Tuberville has sounded the alarm of the growing Chinese influence in Panama since his visit in 2023. Over the last two years, he has led multiple trips to the country and met with a plethora of Panamanian officials as well as questioned DOD officials on American involvement in the country.
MORE:
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1819 News: Tuberville Warns of ISIS Fighters Crossing Southern Border—‘They’re Coming by the Droves’
Tuberville Questions Top Defense Nominees on Recruiting and Readiness
Tuberville Discusses Panama Visit, Growing Threat from China During Senate Armed Services Hearing
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) to reintroduce the Fair Access to Banking Act, which protects fair access to financial services and ensures banks operate in a safe and sound manner. The legislation requires that lending and services decisions must be based on impartial, risk-based analysis, not political or reputational favoritism.
In recent years, prominent American banks have engaged in a discriminatory practice, referred to as debanking. Banks and financial institutions use their economic standing to categorically exclude law-abiding, legal industries by refusing to lend or provide services to them. This includes industries such as firearms, ammunition, crypto, federal prison contractors, as well as energy producers.
“Banks should make lending decisions based solely on economic factors – not woke political concerns,” said Sen. Tuberville. “Big banks are bowing to pressure from woke activists who oppose loans being given to businesses that don’t fall in line with the left’s agenda. No financial institution should be pressured to cut off lending to a legitimate business. Financial discrimination is un-American and unacceptable. I’m proud to support the Fair Access to Banking Act to push back against attempts to weaponize the banking sector for political reasons.”
“When progressives failed at banning these entire industries, what they did instead is they turned to weaponizing banks as sort of a backdoor to carry out their activist goals,” said Sen. Cramer. “Financial institutions are backed by taxpayers, for crying out loud! They should be obligated to provide services in an unbiased, risk-based manner. The Fair Access to Banking Act ensures that banks provide fair access to services and enacts strict penalties for categorically discriminating against legal industries and individuals.”
The Fair Access to Banking Act is endorsed by several organizations, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle Association, North Dakota Petroleum Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, The Digital Chamber, Blockchain Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Online Lenders Alliance, Day 1 Alliance, GEO Group, the Lignite Energy Council, and National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.
Joining U.S. Senators Tuberville and Cramer in cosponsoring this bill are U.S. Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jim Justice (R-WV), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
U.S. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives.
Click here for bill text.
BACKGROUND:
Specifically, this legislation penalizes banks and credit unions with over $10 billion in total consolidated assets, or their subsidiaries, if they refuse to do business with any legally compliant, credit-worthy person. It also prevents payment card networks from discriminating against any qualified person because of political or reputational considerations. The bill requires qualified banks to provide written justification for why they are denying a person financial services. Further, the Fair Access to Banking Act would penalize providers who fail to comply with the law by disqualifying institutions from using discount window lending programs, terminating status as an insured depository institution or credit union, or imposing a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.
The bill is based on President Trump’s Fair Access Rule, which was introduced during his first administration and required financial institutions to make individual risk assessments rather than broad decisions regarding entire industries or categories of customers. The Biden administration paused the rule’s implementation in early 2021.
The Senators’ legislation is a response to United States banks and financial institutions increasingly using their economic standing to categorically discriminate against legal industries and conservatives. For example, Citigroup instituted a policy in 2018 to withhold project-related financing for coal plants, and in 2020, five of the country’s largest banks announced they would not provide loans or credit to support oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite explicit congressional authorization. Such exclusionary practices also extend to industries protected by the Second Amendment, with Capital One, among other banks, previously including “ammunitions, firearms, or firearm parts” in the prohibited payments section of its corporate policy manual, and payment services like Apple Pay and PayPal denying their services for transactions involving firearms or ammunition. First Lady Melania Trump and technology companies alike allege banks have debanked them or refused to do business. During his address to the World Economic Forum in January, President Trump highlighted big banks and their discriminatory practices of targeting conservatives.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) reintroduced the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to prohibit any governing body recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) from allowing men to participate in any athletic event intended for females. The bill modifies eligibility requirements for amateur sports governing organizations. Senator Tuberville re-introduced the legislation on National Girls and Women in Sports Day and as part of his continuing fight to protect Title IX and save women’s sports.
Representative Greg Steube (R-FL-17) introduced the House version of this bill.
“Men should not be competing in women’s sports at any level,” said Senator Tuberville. “We were all deeply disturbed last summer to see videos of men boxing against women in the Olympics. This is not only dangerous, but it is incredibly unfair to the young women who have trained their whole lives to compete. Whether in little league or the Olympics, it’s unsafe, it’s unfair, and it’s just plain wrong. I am proud to introduce this bill and hope to see it signed into law long before the United States hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics so we can all enjoy watching safe, fair competition.”
“From the swimming pool to the boxing ring, far-left activists have hijacked the rulebook to push their extremist agenda onto sports governing bodies. Not only is this antithetical to the principles of fair competition, but it constitutes a direct assault on the future of women’s sports altogether,” said Rep. Steube. “It is more important than ever that we stand up for common sense by prohibiting biological males from competing in female athletics. That is why I have reintroduced The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to protect the integrity of women’s sports from woke ideologues.”
The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act boasts the support of a broad coalition of organizations, key stakeholders, and women’s groups.
“As an athlete who has experienced the injustice of competing against a male firsthand, I’m grateful for the leadership of Representative Steube and Senator Tuberville. They have made it clear that they will fight for fairness, privacy, and safety for girls and women in sports,” said Riley Gaines, 12x NCAA All American Swimmer and Independent Women’s Forum Ambassador.
“Women and girls deserve the opportunity to compete in sports on a level playing field, free from unfair competition with male athletes in their own categories. With no national governing body of Olympic sports currently barring all males from women’s categories, this glaring inequity undermines opportunities for female athletes and the integrity of women’s sports. Congressman Steube’s Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act is a vital step to ensure fairness, empower women, and preserve the future of women’s athletics.” —Independent Council on Women’s Sports
“It’s obvious that men do not belong in women’s sports. Yet despite the overwhelming support for this position among the American people, too many sports bodies still allow men who claim to be women to compete against female athletes. This is incredibly unfair to women, and it needs to end. APP is grateful to Congressman Steube and Senator Tuberville for their long-standing leadership in defense of women’s sports, and we are proud to once again support this legislation.” —Terry Schilling, President of American Principles Project
“On numerous occasions, women have been sidelined and victimized due to extreme transgender ideology. It’s time to keep men out of women’s sports. We applaud Representative Steube for his leadership on this issue and urge all members of Congress—regardless of party—to vote for The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.” —Kris Ullman, President of Eagle Forum
“Women’s Liberation Front applauds Rep. Steube’s legislation aimed at preserving women’s sports for women and girls. The world witnessed the travesty carried out in Women’s Olympic Boxing in 2024 when the International Olympic Committee allowed men to box women. The men of course won, robbing real women of medals and titles they trained for years to win. We appreciate this legislation as a return to sanity and a decisive move to protect women’s sports.” —Women’s Liberation Front
“Women and girls should never be reduced to spectators in their own sports. Allowing men to deprive women of medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete is unfair and unacceptable. Our laws must acknowledge the clear biological differences between men and women in order to preserve equal athletic opportunities for female athletes. Women and girls deserve a fair and level playing field. We applaud Rep. Steube for his leadership on this bill,” said Matt Sharp, Director of the Center for Public Policy and senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom
“I appreciate Senator Tuberville and Representative Steube for their leadership on protecting women and girls in athletics. Allowing even a single female athlete to be displaced by a male is discriminatory, risky, and unfair. And it must be stopped. That is precisely what lifelong sports advocate Senator Ted Stevens would want — equality in sports, preserving the safety, fairness and equal opportunity for female athletes. This bill will do just that,” said Paula Scanlan, Independent Women’s Voice Ambassador.
“As a former athlete who was forced to compete against a male, resulting in a life-altering injury, it’s crucial to recognize that allowing men’s participation in women’s sports not only deprives women of opportunities but also exposes them to significant danger. I deeply admire Representative Steube and Senator Tuberville for their leadership in addressing this issue and standing up for fairness and safety, especially for women,” said Payton McNabb, Independent Women’s Voice Ambassador.
Read the bill here.
BACKGROUND:
USA Boxing updated their National Rule Book to add a Transgender definition and link to a new Transgender Policy, effective on January 1, 2024. The policy states: “a boxer who transitions from male to female is eligible to compete in the female category” with certain conditions.
Under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, Congress chartered the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and allowed the organization to recognize governing bodies for individual sports. USA Boxing has been recognized by the USOC as the official governing body for boxing. The Act sets out a variety of requirements that must be followed by these individual governing bodies in order to be certified by USOC.
In February 2024, Senator Tuberville originally introduced the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act during the 118th Congress. Representative Greg Steube introduced the House version.
Fighting for Women’s Sports:
As a former educator, mentor, and coach for more than 40 years, Senator Tuberville is concerned about the future of girls’ and women’s sports. He began his career coaching high school girls’ basketball shortly after the enactment of Title IX and witnessed the law’s positive impacts firsthand. Senator Tuberville has been a vocal advocate of preserving Title IX and urged Joe Biden’s Department of Education officials to keep the protections in place.
In January 2025, Senator Tuberville led 36 Republican colleagues in re-introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 to preserve Title IX protections for female athletes and ensure fair, safe competition in women’s sports across the country. Senator Tuberville’s bill passed the House in January 2025.
MORE:
ICYMI: Tuberville Joins “The Megyn Kelly Show” to Advocate for Senate Leadership to Schedule Title IX Legislation for a Vote
ICYMI: Tuberville in OutKick: Senate to Consider My Bill, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act
Tuberville Introduces Hallmark Legislation to Preserve Title IX, Protect Women’s Sports
ICYMI: Tuberville Joins Harris Faulkner on Fox News to Discuss Title IX, Save Women’s Sports
Tuberville Leads Colleagues in Fight to Save Title IX, Women’s Sports
Tuberville, Blackburn Urge NCAA President to Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports
The Globalist-Left’s Assault on Female Athletics
Tuberville Sponsors Resolution to Overturn Biden’s Attack on Title IX, Save Women’s Sports
Tuberville Takes Action to Recognize October 10th as ‘American Girls in Sports Day’
Tuberville Demands Answers on Biden Administration’s Radical Rewrite of Title IX
ICYMI: Tuberville Joins Lou Holtz: There’s an Attack on Title IX
ICYMI: Tuberville on Newsmax: Democrats are Trying to Destroy Women’s Sports, Title IX
Tuberville Leads Roundtable on Protecting Title IX and Saving Women’s Sports
ICYMI: Tuberville Hosts Roundtable About Saving Women’s Sports
What Democrats’ Vote Against Women Reveals About the Future of Sports
Tuberville Forces Senate Vote to Protect Women’s Sports
Tuberville Demands Answers from NCAA, Dept of Ed on Title IX
Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Prohibit Men from Competing in Women’s Olympic Sports
Senator Tuberville joins Fox and Friends to discuss the 50th Anniversary of Inflation and Title IX
Tuberville Calls for Fairness in Women’s Sports
Ahead of 50th Anniversary of Title IX, Senator Tuberville Warns Biden Admin is Hacking Away at Women’s Progress
Senator Tuberville: Biden Title IX Modifications Will Destroy ‘Opportunities For Generations Of Women And Girls’
Biden executive order will ruin women’s sports and erode Title IX
Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Tuberville Break Down Why They Think Trans Athletes Shouldn’t Compete In Women’s Sports
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville says Biden administration pushing women to the sidelines
Tuberville on Biden Administration’s Upcoming Title IX Proposed Rule: ‘It would take a wrecking ball to the five decades of Title IX success and tilt what was a level playing field to the far left’
Tuberville Presses Under Secretary of Education Nominee on Title IX, Free Speech on Campus
Tuberville: The Real March Madness
Tuberville Warns Secretary Cardona Against Weakening Title IX Protections
Tuberville Emphasizes Importance of Title IX Protections
Tuberville Offers Amendment Protecting Women’s Title IX Rights
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
ALBUQUERQUE – A Sanostee man was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter for a fatal drunk-driving crash that occurred on the Navajo Nation.
According to court documents, at approximately 6:30 a.m. on August 12, 2023, Leonardo Robbie Duncan, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving while intoxicated on Navajo Route 36 near Upper Fruitland, New Mexico, when he crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a vehicle occupied by Jane and John Doe.
Duncan fled the scene on foot without checking on or assisting the victims. An off-duty Southern Ute Tribal police officer attempted to stop Duncan from leaving but was unsuccessful. John Doe died at the scene; Jane Doe passed away en route to the hospital. Both victims were enrolled members of the Navajo Nation.
Duncan turned himself in to Navajo Nation Police six hours after the crash. At the time of surrender, his blood-alcohol content was 0.08. At the time of the incident, Duncan was on state probation for Battery on a Household Member and had recently violated this probation with an open-container offense. He also had a prior State conviction for Driving While Intoxicated from 2018.
Upon his release from prison, Duncan will be subject to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations.
OKLAHOMA CITY – AARON D. JOHNSON, 42, of Oklahoma City, has pleaded guilty to defrauding Farmers Bank, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On January 3, 2025, Johnson was charged by Information with bank fraud. Between September 2017 and November 6, 2018, Johnson was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Farmers Bank (the Bank), with branches in Carnegie and Oklahoma City, and had access to the Bank’s operating account credit card. According to the Information, between September 2017 and July 30, 2018, Johnson used the Bank’s card to pay his personal expenses, causing an overdraft in the Bank’s operating account of approximately $200,000. On July 30, 2018, Johnson approved a modification to a loan, without approval from the Bank’s board of directors, that renewed the loan in an increased amount. The Information further alleges that Johnson caused a $200,000 advance on the loan, wired the money into an account he controlled, and used the $200,000 to repay the overdraft that he caused.
On February 4, 2024, Johnson pleaded guilty, and admitted he knowingly executed a scheme to obtain money from the Bank by means of false or fraudulent pretenses. At sentencing, Johnson faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry is prosecuting the case.
HOUSTON, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SKWD) (“Skyward Specialty” or the “Company”) today announced that it commuted the Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development and Retrocession Agreement (“LPT”) with R&Q Re (Bermuda) Ltd. (“R&Q”) related to accident years 2018 and prior. The Company received $11.7 million in cash. Additionally, at December 31, 2024 the Company strengthened LPT loss reserves by $25.3 million and recognized approximately $9.8 million, net of tax, of uncollectible reinsurance recoverable from R&Q.
Skyward Specialty also announced the following fourth quarter 2024 preliminary results and provided 2025 guidance:
Highlights for the fourth quarter included:
Gross written premiums of $388.4 million, an increase of $66.8 million, or 20.8%, when compared to 2023;
Adjusted combined ratio(1) of 91.6%, including catastrophe losses of 2.2 points;
Net investment income of $20.7 million;
Net income of $14.4 million; and,
Adjusted operating income(1) of $33.2 million.
Guidance for the year ending 2025:
Net income between $138.0 million and $150.0 million; and,
Combined ratio between 91.0% and 92.0%, inclusive of 2.0 to 2.5 points of catastrophe losses.
(1)See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures”
Lastly, the Company has reviewed its exposure to the January California wildfires and expects total losses and loss adjustment expenses to be less than $10.0 million, net of reinsurance.
Skyward Specialty Chairman and CEO Andrew Robinson commented, “We are pleased to have completed the commutation of the LPT and remove future reinsurance recoverable credit risk related to this portfolio. We believe our reserve charge represents a conservative view of the ultimate losses at December 31, 2024.”
“With respect to our fourth quarter, our preliminary results are simply outstanding with growth over 20% driven by the intentional investments we have been making in our surety, global agriculture, accident & health, transactional E&S, and mortgage and credit divisions and lines of business. Our adjusted combined ratio for the fourth quarter is a continuation of the excellent underwriting results that we have delivered every quarter since our IPO. With respect to our outlook for 2025, we believe we are positioned to produce another strong year of financial results. While competitive dynamics can change our outlook as we progress through the year, we would expect growth in gross written premiums to be in the low to mid-teens. Our guidance of a combined ratio between 91% and 92% and net income between $138.0 million and $150.0 million reinforces our strong conviction in the outlook of our business, and our sustained delivery of top quartile results while continuing to strategically invest in our business.”
Fourth Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call
Skyward Specialty expects to issue its fourth quarter 2024 earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. At 9:30 a.m. eastern time on February 26, Skyward Specialty management will hold a conference call to discuss quarterly results with insurance industry analysts. Interested parties may listen to the discussion at investors.skywardinsurance.com under Events & Presentations. Additionally, investors can access the earnings call via conference call by registering via the conference link. Users will receive dial-in information and a unique PIN to join the call upon registering.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This release contains certain financial measures and ratios that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). We refer to these measures as “non-GAAP financial measures.” We use these non-GAAP financial measures when planning, monitoring, and evaluating our performance.
We have chosen to exclude the net impact of the Loss Portfolio Transfer (“LPT”), all development on reserves fully or partially covered by the LPT and amortization of deferred gains associated with recoveries of prior LPT reserve strengthening in certain non-GAAP metrics, where noted, as the business subject to the LPT is not representative of our continuing business strategy. The business subject to the LPT is primarily related to policy years 2017 and prior, was generated and managed under prior leadership, and has either been exited or substantially repositioned during the reevaluation of our portfolio. We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for our management and investors to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating our business, this information should be considered supplemental in nature and is not meant to be a substitute for revenue or net income, in each case as recognized in accordance with GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate such measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures. For more information regarding these non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of such measures to comparable GAAP financial measures, see the section entitled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
About Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc.
Skyward Specialty is a rapidly growing and innovative specialty insurance company, delivering commercial property and casualty products and solutions on a non-admitted and admitted basis. The Company operates through eight underwriting divisions – Accident & Health, Captives, Global Property & Agriculture, Industry Solutions, Professional Lines, Programs, Surety and Transactional E&S. SKWD stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, which represents the top fourth of all Nasdaq listed companies.
Skyward Specialty’s subsidiary insurance companies consist of Houston Specialty Insurance Company, Imperium Insurance Company, Great Midwest Insurance Company, and Oklahoma Specialty Insurance Company. These insurance companies are rated A (Excellent) with stable outlook by A.M. Best Company. Additional information about Skyward Specialty can be found on our website at www.skywardinsurance.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified through use of the words “believe,” “expect,” “enable,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “intends,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “predict,” “probable,” “potential,” “possible,” “should,” “continue,” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Skyward Specialty’s Form 10-K, and include (but are not limited to) legislative changes at both the state and federal level, state and federal regulatory rule making promulgations and adjudications, class action litigation involving the insurance industry and judicial decisions affecting claims, policy coverages and the general costs of doing business, the potential loss of key members of our management team or key employees and our ability to attract and retain personnel, the impact of competition on products and pricing, inflation in the costs of the products and services insurance pays for, product development, geographic spread of risk, weather and weather-related events, other types of catastrophic events, our ability to obtain reinsurance coverage at prices and on terms that allow us to transfer risk and adequately protect our company against financial loss, and losses resulting from reinsurance counterparties failing to pay us on reinsurance claims. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.
Media contact: Haley Doughty hdoughty@skywardinsurance.com 713-935-4944
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted operating income – We define adjusted operating income as net income excluding the impact of certain items that may not be indicative of underlying business trends, operating results, or future outlook, net of tax impact. We use adjusted operating income as an internal performance measure in the management of our operations because we believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted operating income should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and other companies may define adjusted operating income differently.
($ in thousands)
Three months ended December 31,
(unaudited)
2024
Pre-tax
After-tax
Income
$
18,554
$
14,406
Less (add):
Net investment losses
(10,409
)
(8,223
)
Net impact of loss portfolio transfer
(12,398
)
(9,794
)
Other income
35
28
Other expenses
(1,042
)
(823
)
Adjusted operating income
$
42,368
$
33,218
Adjusted Loss Ratio / Adjusted Combined Ratio – We define adjusted loss ratio and adjusted combined ratio as the corresponding ratio (calculated in accordance with GAAP), excluding losses and LAE related to the LPT and all development on reserves fully or partially covered by the LPT and amortization of deferred gains associated with recoveries of prior LPT reserve strengthening. We use these adjusted ratios as internal performance measures in the management of our operations because we believe they give our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Our adjusted loss ratio and adjusted combined ratio should not be viewed as substitutes for our loss ratio and combined ratio, respectively.
Headline: How real-world businesses are transforming with AI – with 50 new stories
Updated February 5, 2025: The post contains 50 new customer stories, which appear at the beginning of each section of customer lists. The post will be updated regularly with new stories.
One of the highlights of my career has always been connecting with customers and partners across industries to learn how they are using technology to drive their businesses forward. In the past 30 years, we’ve seen four major platform shifts, from client server to internet and the web to mobile and cloud to now — the next major platform shift to AI.
As today’s platform shift to AI continues to gain momentum, Microsoft is working to understand just how organizations can drive lasting business value. We recently commissioned a study with IDC,The Business Opportunity of AI, to uncover new insights around business value and help guide organizations on their journey of AI transformation.The study foundthat for every $1 organizations invest in generative AI, they’re realizing an average of $3.70 in return — and uncovered insights about the future potential of AI to reshape business processes and drive change across industries.
Check out the top 5 AI trends to watch from IDC and Microsoft
Today,more than 85% of the Fortune 500are using Microsoft AI solutions to shape their future. In working with organizations large and small, across every industry and geography, we’ve seen that most transformation initiatives are designed to achieve one of four business outcomes:
Enriching employee experiences: Using AI to streamline or automate repetitive, mundane tasks can allow your employees to dive into more complex, creative and ultimately more valuable work.
Reinventing customer engagement: AI can create more personalized, tailored customer experiences, delighting your target audiences while lightening the load for employees.
Reshaping business processes: Virtually any business process can be reimagined with AI, from marketing to supply chain operations to finance, and AI is even allowing organizations to go beyond process optimization and discover exciting new growth opportunities.
Bending the curve on innovation: AI is revolutionizing innovation by speeding up creative processes and product development, reducing the time to market and allowing companies to differentiate in an often crowded field.
In this blog, we’ve collected more than 300 of our favorite real-life examples of how organizations are embracing Microsoft’s proven AI capabilities to drive impact and shape today’s platform shift to AI. Today, we’ve added new stories of customers using our AI capabilities at the beginning of each section. We’ll regularly update this story with more. We hope you find an example or two that can inspire your own transformation journey.
Enriching employee experiences
Generative AI is truly transforming employee productivity and wellbeing. Our customers tell us that by automating repetitive, mundane tasks, employees are freed up to dive into more complex and creative work. This shift not only makes the work environment more stimulating but also boosts job satisfaction. It sparks innovation, provides actionable insights for better decision-making and supports personalized training and development opportunities, all contributing to a better work-life balance. Customers around the world have reported significant improvements in employee productivity with these AI solutions:
New Stories:
Acentra Health created MedScribe using Azure OpenAI Service. The solution has saved 11,000 nursing hours and nearly $800,000. It also helped each nurse process 20 to 30 letters daily, while achieving a 99% approval rate for MedScribe-generated letters.
Brisbane Catholic Education provides Microsoft 365 Copilot to 12,500 educators, and uses Microsoft Copilot Studio to create a generative AI tool to help educators integrate Catholic traditions and values into the classroom.
Crediclub saves 96% per month in auditing expenses and analyzes 150 meetings per hour with Azure AI, freeing up time for 800 sales advisors and 150 branch managers to interact directly with customers.
eClinicalWorks developed a tool using Azure AI services and Azure AI Document Intelligence to help healthcare workers scan, sort and match thousands of faxes each year to match the faxed data with current patient files.
Education Authority of Northern Ireland (EANI) introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce admin work, allowing teachers to focus on students. The Microsoft partnership ensures secure and ethical AI use, while teacher training focuses on prompt writing and effective tool adoption.
Ma’aden uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity, saving up to 2,200 hours monthly. Tasks like drafting emails, creating documents and data analysis have become more efficient, helping Ma’aden achieve its growth goals.
Marketing org mci group uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance the use of AI and other technological advances to boost employee efficiency.
Michelin deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot and a generative AI in-house chatbot based on Azure OpenAI Service called “Aurora” designed to help employees optimize work and team performance, boosting productivity tenfold.
Raiffeisen Bank International built its own ChatGPT using Azure OpenAI Service to automate repetitive tasks like documenting intelligence and more rapidly summarize legal, regulation and banking documents.
Sanabil Investments deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot to help employees reduce the time spent on manual everyday tasks that diverted focus from more strategic and valuable work. Within two months, approximately 70% of employees regularly used Copilot.
Sensei rolled out Microsoft 365 to reduce the number of internal apps and better connect systems for easier collaboration, and is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to increase efficiency.
Sikshana Foundation is working with Microsoft Research India to introduce an AI copilot for teachers that shortens preparation time for lessons from an hour or more to just minutes.
The University of Hong Kong adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity by automating administrative tasks and providing intelligent assistance, allowing faculty to focus more on teaching.
Accenture and Avanade launched a Copilot business transformation practice, supported by Microsoft, and co-invested in new capabilities, solutions and training to help organizations securely and responsibly reinvent their business functions with generative and agentic AI and Copilot technologies.
Access Holdings Plc adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, integrating generative AI into daily tools and, as a result, writing code now takes two hours instead of eight, chatbots launch in 10 days instead of three months and presentations are prepared in 45 minutes instead of six hours.
Adobe is connecting Adobe Experience Cloud workflows and insights with Microsoft 365 Copilot to deliver generative-AI powered capabilities that enable marketers to increase collaboration, efficiency and creativity.
Amadeus empowers its teams to focus their time and skills on value-added tasks with Microsoft 365 Copilot, by summarizing email threads, chat or transcripts and summing up information from diverse sources.
ANZ has invested in Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot and Copilot in Microsoft Edge to boost productivity and innovation across its workforce.
Asahi Europe & International (AEI) has adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, saving employees potentially 15% of time previously spent on administrative tasks.
AXA developed AXA Secure GPT, a platform powered by Azure OpenAI Service that empowers employees to leverage the power of generative AI while targeting the highest level of data safety and responsible use of the tool.
Axon Enterprise developed a new AI tool with Azure OpenAI Service called Draft One, resulting in an 82% decrease in time spent on reports, which freed up officers to engage more with their community.
Aztec Group enhanced productivity and client experience by trialing Microsoft 365 Copilot with 300 staff, uncovering “unlimited” use cases and plans for a wider rollout.
Bader Sultan & Bros. Co. W.L.L. implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance employee productivity and speed up customer response times.
Bancolombia is using GitHub Copilot to empower its technical team, achieving a 30% increase in code generation, boosting automated application changes to an average of 18,000 per year, with a rate of 42 productive daily deployments.
Bank of Queensland Group is using Microsoft 365 Copilot, with 70% of users saving two-and-a-half to five hours per week.
BaptistCare Community Services is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to save employees time as they navigate workforce shortage challenges allowing them to focus more on the people they care for.
Barnsley Council was recognized as “Double Council of the Year in 2023” for its implementation of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which modernized operations and reduced administrative tasks, leading to improved job satisfaction and increased creativity.
BlackRock purchased more than 24,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses spanning all employees, functions and locations, helping improve the Copilot experience, including codeveloping new features and functions.
British Heart Foundation is testing Microsoft 365 Copilot and in its initial test, users estimate that Microsoft 365 Copilot could save them up to 30 minutes per day.
Buckinghamshire Council deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot with staff reporting productivity improvements, quality enhancements and time savings which are enabling the different teams to do more with less.
Campari Group adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to help employees integrate it into their workflow, resulting in time savings of about two hours a week from the support of routine activities such as email management, meeting preparation, content creation and skill acquisition.
Canadian Tire Corporation moved its data from on-premises systems to Microsoft Azure and built digital assistants using Azure OpenAI Service, and now more than 3,000 corporate employees save 30 to 60 minutes a day using its ChatCTC digital assistant.
Capita is using GitHub Copilot for productivity improvements as well as improvements in developer satisfaction, recruitment and retention.
Cathay leverages Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meetings and manage information more effectively, reducing time-consuming tasks and fostering creativity.
CDW used Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve work quality for 88% of users, enabling 77% to complete tasks faster, and increasing productivity for 85% of users.
Chi Mei Medical Center is lightening workloads for doctors, nurses and pharmacists with a generative AI assistant built on Azure OpenAI Service.
Clifford Chance adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline tasks, automate processes and enhance collaboration. Lawyers use it to draft and manage emails and ensure compliance, allowing them to focus on complex legal work and improve productivity.
DLA Piper chose Microsoft 365 Copilot to boost productivity for operational and administrative teams, saving up to 36 hours weekly on content generation and data analysis.
Eaton adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate the creation of 1,000 standard operating procedures to streamline customer service operations and improve data access across teams, cutting creation time from one hour to 10 minutes.
E.ON is focused on Germany’s energy transition, leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot to manage the complex grid in real-time, increasing productivity and efficiency for its workforce.
Enerijisa Uretim has adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meeting summaries, reformat documents and compile reports, enabling employees to concentrate on more strategic and fulfilling activities instead of spending six hours in meetings.
EPAM is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to consolidate information and generate content and documents.
Farm Credit Canada implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot which resulted in time savings on routine tasks for 78% of users, with 30% saving 30 to 60 minutes per week and 35% saving over an hour per week, allowing employees to focus on more value-added tasks.
Finastra used Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate tasks, enhance content creation, improve analytics and personalize customer interactions, with employees citing a 20%-50% time savings.
Four Agency Worldwide increased employee productivity using Microsoft 365 Copilot to generate ideas for creative work and support administrative-heavy processes, data analysis and report generation, allowing staff to focus on outreach and less time doing paperwork.
Goodwill of Orange County developed an AI-powered app using Azure AI capabilities to help more people, including those with developmental, intellectual and physical disabilities, work in unfilled e-commerce positions.
Harvey uses Azure OpenAI to simplify routine tasks across hundreds of law firms and legal teams, with one corporate lawyer saying he saved 10 hours of work per week.
Honeywell employees are saving 92 minutes per week — that’s 74 hours a year! Disclaimer: Statistics are from an internal Honeywell survey of 5,000 employees where 611 employees responded.
Insight employees using Copilot are seeing four hours of productivity gained per week from data summarization and content creation.
Joos uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to grow its brand with worldwide collaboration by streamlining meetings, optimizing presentations and improving communications.
Kantar is harnessing the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot by reducing costly, time-consuming IT processes and boosting productivity for employees.
KMS Lighthouse enhanced its knowledge management platform with Microsoft Teams and Dynamics 365 integration, enabling users to leverage KMS Lighthouse without having to switch applications. And with Azure OpenAI Service, companies can create relevant content more quickly within the KMS Lighthouse application.
KPMG Australia is using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search and Microsoft Copilot 365 to perform advanced text analysis of dozens of client source documents to identify full or partial compliance, or noncompliance, in a fraction of the time required for manual assessments.
LGT is launching Microsoft Copilot LGT to improve efficiency, showing users save an average of an hour a week even in the pilot phase.
Localiza&Co, a leader in the mobility industry in Latin America, implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate processes and improve efficiency, and reduced 8.3 working hours per employee per month.
Lotte Hotels & Resorts has been creating a new work culture that allows employees to work more efficiently and focus on the nature of the work by adopting Microsoft Power Platform for automation.
MAIRE is leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate routine tasks, saving over 800 working hours per month, freeing up engineers and professionals for strategic activities while supporting MAIRE’s green energy transition by reducing their carbon footprint.
McDonald’s China chose Microsoft Azure AI, GitHub Copilot and Azure AI Search to transform its operations, resulting in a significant increase in AI adoption, consumption and retention from 2,000 to 30,000 employee transactions monthly.
McKnight Foundation adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot for all staff, saving time, increasing productivity and freeing space to focus on strategic priorities.
Medigold Health uses Azure OpenAI Service to significantly reduce the time that clinicians spend writing reports during their consultation and administrative time.
Morula Health is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity, streamline medical writing tasks and ensure data security, ultimately improving efficiency and client satisfaction.
Motor Oil Group is achieving remarkable efficiency gains by integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot into its workflows, with staff spending minutes on tasks that used to take weeks.
Nagel-Group uses Azure OpenAI Service to help employees quickly access information which saves time, creates efficiency and transparency and leads to higher-quality answers overall.
National Australia Bank is leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot for daily productivity and data analysis and insights and Microsoft Copilot for Security to quickly analyze millions of security event logs and allow engineers to focus on more important areas.
NFL Players Association integrated Azure AI Services and Azure App Service into their video review process, reducing review time by up to 73%, significantly increasing efficiency and enhancing player safety through consistent rule enforcement.
O2 Czech Republic boosts productivity and streamlines meetings with Microsoft 365 Copilot, revolutionizing how information is shared and making automation a part of daily work.
Onepoint developed a secure conversational agent based on Azure OpenAI which delivers productivity gains of between 10% and 15% across all business lines.
Orange Group has over 40 use cases with Azure OpenAI Service and GitHub Copilot across business functions to support employees in their day-to-day tasks, enabling them to concentrate on higher value-added activities.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve staff report productivity by saving one to two hours a week, or simple formatting tasks down to a matter of seconds, enabling more resources to deliver frontline services.
PA Consulting transformed its sales operations with Microsoft 365 Copilot, so its people can invest more time on the activities that have the biggest impact for clients and maximize the strategic value they provide.
Petrobras used Azure OpenAI Service to create ChatPetrobras, which is streamlining workflows, reducing manual tasks and summarizing reports for its 110,000 employees.
Petrochemical Industries Company automates work processes to save time with Microsoft 365 Copilot from weeks to days, hours to seconds.
PIMCO built ChatGWM with Azure AI Studio, a comprehensive platform that provides the ability to ask questions, receive responses and verify answers all in one place, so teams can spend more time engaging clients and having deeper conversations.
PKSHA Technology is optimizing their time on critical work by increasing efficiency in meeting preparations, data analytics and ideation with the help of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Providence has collaborated with Nuance and Microsoft to accelerate development and adoption of generative AI-powered applications, helping improve care quality and access, and reduce physician’s administrative workloads.
RTI International adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to gain productivity wherever possible, allowing staff to focus on their areas of expertise, delivering even better science-backed solutions for clients.
SACE, an Italian finance and insurance firm, is using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Viva to boost productivity and unlock employee potential while enhancing overall well-being — and productivity improvement data from the first nine months of implementation shows a 23% increase.
Sandvik Coromant is using Microsoft Copilot for Sales to drive efficiency and accuracy, shaving at least one minute off each transaction, allowing sellers and account managers to focus their expertise on responding to customers’ needs with analysis, creativity and adaptability.
Sasfin Bank built a solution on Microsoft Azure that centralized 20,000 documents to analyze contract clauses and provide real-time snapshots, moving guesswork into data-driven decision-making.
Scottish Water implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot reducing mundane tasks to a minimum, and thus freeing up time for employees to work on the more meaningful tasks.
Shriners Children’s developed an AI platform allowing clinicians to easily and securely navigate patient data in a singular location, enhancing patient care, and improving the efficiency of their healthcare services.
Siemens is leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to improve efficiency, cut downtime and address labor shortages.
Softchoice employees are experiencing firsthand how Microsoft 365 Copilot can transform daily workflows, realizing productivity gains of 97% reduction in time spent summarizing technical meetings and up to 70% less time spent on content creation.
Syensqo utilized Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to develop a custom AI chatbot in three months, which improved their internal data management, decision-making and overall efficiency.
Teladoc Health uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to revolutionize its telehealth operations, automating routine tasks, boosting efficiency and increasing productivity.
Telstra developed two cutting-edge generative AI tools based on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service: 90% of employees are using the One Sentence Summary tool which resulted in 20% less follow-up customer contact and 84% of customer service agents using the Ask Telstra solution.
Topsoe achieved 85% AI adoption among office employees in seven months, significantly enhancing productivity and business processes.
Torfaen County Borough Council utilized Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline back-office processes, resulting in significant time savings and enhanced productivity for both business and children’s services teams, with further rollouts planned.
Trace3 leveraged Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline and enhance processes across the business and with clients, such as reducing the time it takes HR recruiting managers to respond to applicants within a couple of days instead of several weeks.
Unilever is reinventing their marketing process with Copilot, saving time on briefing tasks, automatically pulling in relevant market data, content and insights to accelerate campaign launches.
Uniper SE implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce time spent on manual and repetitive tasks, and help workers focus on more pressing work, such as developing enhanced solutions to speed up the energy transition.
Unum Group built a custom AI application to search 1.3 terabytes of data with 95% accuracy using Azure OpenAI Service.
Virgin Atlantic adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot and is seeing real business benefits, including productivity improvements, enabling new ways of working.
Visier built a generative AI assistant that leverages Azure AI and Azure OpenAI Services to deliver workforce analytics and actionable insights for more than 50,000 customers.
Virtual Dental Care developed an AI application Smart Scan that leverages Microsoft Azure to reduce paperwork for mobile dental clinics in schools by 75% and frees dentists to devote more time to patient care.
Zakladni Skola As Hlavkova adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot and saw a 60% improvement in handling administrative documents, decreased lesson preparation from hours to few minutes, increased inclusivity and enhanced communication with students and parents.
Reinventing customer engagement
We’ve seen great examples of how generative AI can automate content creation, ensuring there’s fresh and engaging materials ready to go. It personalizes customer experiences by crunching the numbers, boosting conversion rates. It makes operations smoother, helping teams launch campaigns faster. Plus, it drives innovation, crafting experiences that delight customers while lightening the load for staff. Embracing generative AI is key for organizations wanting to reinvent customer engagements, stay ahead of the game and drive both innovation and efficiency.
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Aditya Birla Capital built the SimpliFi chatbot on Microsoft Azure to simplify financial services information and offers through intelligent search and proactive nudging with minimum latency and high scalability.
AIA is using Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service to allow customer service representatives to handle more cases in less time by automating time-consuming tasks like drafting customer emails and summarizing lengthy chats and case histories.
Aydem Energy and Microsoft partner Softtech used Azure OpenAI Service to create an AI assistant for WhatsApp, providing customers with real-time updates and handling meter readings, bill checks and claims.
The City of Buenos Aires developed Boti with ChatGPT using Azure OpenAI Service to manage multiple service channels and personalize key services for residents and tourists. The chatbot centralizes data, enables natural language interactions and scales to handle high demands, managing 2 million queries per month without human intervention, alleviating the operational burden by 50%, improving the citizen experience and increasing efficiency.
de Alliantie built a generative AI chatbot using Azure OpenAI to digest information in their online knowledge base so staff can get accurate answers in seconds. Another Azure AI-based solution transcribes and summarizes calls, then categorizes them by theme.
Haceb created a virtual technical support assistant with generative AI, helping on-the-ground technicians troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve product issues faster and more efficiently.
Lloyds Banking Group developed the Branch Translation App using Microsoft Power Apps and Azure AI services with a goal to improve communication with non-English speaking customers and the innovation enhanced service delivery, receiving positive feedback from employees and customers alike.
Staffbase provides its clients with Staffbase Companion, which helps it enhance internal communication with quick content generation, summarization, translation and future capabilities — and remain confident in data protection.
Tekion built Automative Retail Cloud, a unified, cloud-native platform that uses generative AI to analyze communications, extract insights and provide customer-specific recommendations for sales agents.
Welcome Account created a banking application with a conversational agent based on Azure OpenAI Service, in order to help people manage their finances and administrative procedures. This multilingual agent already assists no less than a thousand refugees on a daily basis.
UBS is using Azure AI solutions, including Azure AI Search and Azure OpenAI Service, to power “Smart Assistants” that streamline content access and provide real-time information to Client Advisors, boosting efficiency and client engagement.
Virbe enables businesses to interact with customers through AI-powered avatars, and with Azure AI services like Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search, Virbe enhanced its AI avatars and simplified engagement with enterprise customers — and customers are seeing up to a 10x increase in leads.
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Absa has adopted Microsoft Copilot to streamline various business processes, saving several hours on administrative tasks each day.
Adobe leverages Microsoft Azure to streamline the customer experience, harnessing the power of the connected cloud services and creating a synergy that drives AI transformation across industries.
Acentra Health developed Medscribe, a web application that uses Azure OpenAI Service to generate draft letters in a secure, HIPPA-compliant enclave that responds to customer appeals for healthcare services within 24 hours, reducing the time spent on each appeal letter by 50%.
Air India leveraged Azure OpenAI Service to develop a virtual assistant that has handled nearly 4 million customer queries with full automation, significantly enhancing customer experience and avoiding millions of dollars in customer support costs.
Alaska Airlines is using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Defender, and GitHub to ensure its passengers have a seamless journey from ticket purchase to baggage pickup and started leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to unlock more business value for its customer care and contact centers.
Ally Financial is using Azure OpenAI Service to reduce manual tasks for its customer service associates, freeing up time for them to engage with customers.
BMW Group optimizes the customer experience connecting 13 million active users to their vehicles with the MyBMW app on Azure, which supports 450 million daily requests and 3.2TB data processing.
Boyner has tripled its e-commerce performance using Microsoft Azure, seeing a rise in customer satisfaction, engagement, conversion rate and revenue.
Bradesco Bank integrated Microsoft Azure to its virtual assistant, BIA, resulting in reduced response time from days to hours, improving operational efficiency and client satisfaction.
Capgemini Mexico integrated GitHub Copilot to support scalable AI implementations which has led to improved customer experiences and increased efficiency.
Capitec Bank uses Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling their AI-powered chatbot to assist customer service consultants in accessing product information more efficiently, saving significant time for employees each week.
Cdiscount is leveraging GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service to enhance developer efficiency, optimize product sheet categorization and improve customer satisfaction.
Cemex used Azure OpenAI Service to launch Technical Xpert, an AI tool used by sales agents to provide instant access to comprehensive product and customer solution information, significantly reducing search time by 80%.
Chanel elevated their client experience and improved employee efficiency by leveraging Microsoft Fabric and Azure OpenAI Service for real-time translations and quality monitoring.
City of Burlington created two AI-powered solutions: MyFiles system using Microsoft Power Platform for building permits, and CoBy, a 24/7 customer support assistant using Microsoft Copilot Studio.
City of Madrid created an AI virtual assistant with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service offering tourists accurate, real-time information and personalized responses in 95-plus languages.
Cognizant is making performance management more effective and meaningful with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning to help clients across industries envision, build, and run innovative digital enterprises.
Coles Group has leveraged Microsoft Azure to enhance its digital presence and improve customer engagement, rolling out new applications to its stores six times faster without disrupting workloads.
Commercial Bank of Dubai used Microsoft Azure to upgrade its application infrastructure, improving transaction security and speed so individual customers can now open an account and start banking in about two minutes.
Cradle Fund, dedicated to nurturing startups in Malaysia, introduced an AI-driven chatbot to boost user interaction and increase public engagement. User engagement quadrupled while resolution time was reduced from two days to a few clicks. Cradle also decreased customer service costs by 35%, increased international interactions by 40% and increased daily average visits 10-fold.
Doctolib, a leading eHealth company in France, leverages Microsoft technology to develop an AI-powered medical assistant, integrating both Azure OpenAI Service and Mistral Large on Azure.
Docusign used Azure AI to develop its Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform, which supports millions of workflows, reducing contract processing times and enhancing customer satisfaction with advanced AI-powered analytics.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has significantly improved productivity and customer satisfaction by integrating multiple Microsoft AI solutions, reducing task completion time from days to hours and achieving a 98% customer happiness rate.
Elcome uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve the customer experience, reducing response times from 24 hours to eight hours.
elunic developed shopfloor.GPT based on Azure OpenAI leading to increased productivity for customers saving 15 minutes per request.
Estée Lauder Companies is leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to create closer consumer connections and increase speed to market with local relevancy.
First National Bank (FNB) is using Microsoft Copilot for Sales to help bankers create professional, thoughtful emails in 13 native South African languages, to enhance customer interactions, streamline communications and reinforce its commitment to innovation and customer service.
Flora Food Group migrated to Microsoft Fabric to offer more detailed and timely insights to its customers, enhancing service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Groupama deployed a virtual assistant using Azure OpenAI Service that delivers reliable, verified and verifiable information, and boasts an 80% success rate.
Holland America Line developed a virtual agent using Microsoft Copilot Studio that acts as a digital concierge on their website to support new and existing customers and travel advisors, which has achieved a strong resolution rate and is currently handling thousands of conversations per week.
International University of Applied Sciences (IU) adopted Azure OpenAI Service to revolutionize learning with a personalized study assistant that can interact with each student just like a human would.
Investec is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales to enhance the bank’s client relationships, estimating saving approximately 200 hours annually ultimately boosting sales productivity and delivering personalized, seamless customer experience.
Jato Dynamics used Azure OpenAI Service to automate content generation, helping dealerships save approximately 32 hours each month.
Kenya Red Cross worked with Pathways Technologies to develop a mental health chatbot in Azure AI.
LALIGA is delivering a seamless fan experience and AI insights with Azure Arc, using AI in Azure for optimizing match scheduling and other key operations.
Legrand used Azure OpenAI Service to reduce the time to generate product data by 60% and improve customer support interactions with fast, accurate information.
Linum is using Microsoft Azure to train their text-to-video models faster and more efficiently without losing performance or wasting resources.
Lumen Technologies is redefining customer success and sales processes through the strategic use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, enhancing productivity, sales and customer service in the global communications sector.
Mars Science & Diagnostics used the Azure AI catalog to build generative AI apps to enhance accuracy and extract data insights quickly, helping pets with critical, undiagnosed conditions receive the care they require faster.
McKinsey & Company is creating an agent to reduce client onboarding process by reducing lead time by 90% and administrative work by 30%.
Meesho leveraged Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service and GitHub Copilot to enhance customer service and software development, resulting in a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores and 40% more traffic on customer service queries.
Milpark Education integrated Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio and in just four months, improved efficiency and accuracy of student support, decreasing the average resolution time by 50% and escalation time by more than 30%.
National Basketball Association is using Azure OpenAI Service to speed up the time to market, helping fans connect with the league with personalized, localized insights to enhance the fan experience.
NC Fusion chose a comprehensive Microsoft solution to make marketing engagement activities easier and accurately target the best audience segments.
Medgate, a telehealth subsidiary of Otto Group developed a medical Copilot powered by Azure OpenAI which summarizes consultations, supports triage and provides real-time translations.
Orbital Witness embraced the use of large language models (LLMs) in Azure OpenAI to build its innovative AI Agent application, Orbital Copilot, which can save legal teams 70 percent of the time it takes to conduct property diligence work.
Pacific Gas & Electric built a chatbot using Microsoft Copilot Studio that saves $1.1 million annually on helpdesk support.
Parloa took a “voice-first” approach and created an enterprise-grade AI Agent Management platform to automate customer interactions across phone, chat and messaging apps.
Pockyt is using GitHub Copilot and anticipates a 500% increase in productivity in the medium to long term as they continue adapting AI and fine-tuning their software development life cycle.
South Australia Department for Education launched an AI-powered educational chatbot to help safeguard students from harmful content while introducing responsible AI to the classrooms.
Sync Labs is using Microsoft Azure to create AI-driven solutions that have led to a remarkable 30x increase in revenue and a 100x expansion of their customer base.
Syndigo is using Azure to accelerate digital commerce for its customers by more than 40% and expand its customer base.
Telkomsel created a virtual assistant with Azure OpenAI Service, resulting in a leap in customer self-service interactions from 19% to 45%, and call volume dropped from 8,000 calls to 1,000 calls a day.
Torrens University chose to use Azure OpenAI to uplift its online learning experience, saving 20,000 hours and $2.4 million in time and resources.
Trusting Social integrated Microsoft Azure services to launch AI-driven agents that are changing how banks function and transforming their customer’s banking experience.
University of California, Berkeley used Azure OpenAI Service to deploy a custom AI chatbot that supports student learning and helps students with complex coursework.
University of Sydney created a self-serve AI platform powered by Azure OpenAI Service, to enable faculty to build custom chatbots for enhancing student onboarding, feedback, career simulation and more.
Van Lanschot Kempen is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce the time needed for daily tasks, freeing up time to invest in that crucial personal connection.
Virgin Money built an award-winning virtual assistant using Copilot Studio to help build customers’ confidence in their digital products and services.
VOCALLS automates over 50 million interactions per year, resulting in a 78% reduction in average handling time aside from a 120% increase in answered calls.
Vodafone Group is leveraging Microsoft’s AI solutions, including Azure AI Studio, OpenAI Service, Copilot and AI Search, to achieve a 70% resolution rate for customer inquiries through digital channels and reduce call times by at least one minute.
Walmart is using Azure OpenAI Service to deliver a helpful and intuitive browsing experience for customers designed to serve up a curated list of the personalized items a shopper is looking for.
Weights & Biases created a platform which runs on Microsoft Azure that allows developers to keep records, log successes and failures and automate manual tasks.
World2Meet is providing better customer service and operations with a new virtual assistant powered by Microsoft Azure.
Xavier College is modernizing its student information systems on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Azure to unlock powerful insights, fostering innovation and data-driven decision making.
Zavarovalnica Triglav implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure OpenAI Service to streamline its operations with automated responses and smart rerouting of customer enquiries.
ZurichInsurance Group used Azure OpenAI Service to develop advanced AI applications that led to more accurate and efficient risk assessment evaluations, accelerating the underwriting process, reducing turnaround times and increasing customer satisfaction.
Reshaping business process
Transforming operations is another way generative AI is encouraging innovation and improving efficiency across various business functions. In marketing, it can create personalized content to truly engage different audiences. For supply chain management, it can predict market trends so companies can optimize their inventory levels. Human resources departments can speed up the hiring process, while financial services can use it for fraud detection and risk assessments. With generative AI, companies are not just refining their current processes, they’re also discovering exciting new growth opportunities.
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Bank of Queensland is modernizing its operations with Azure, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot, using AI to optimize business processes such as creating marketing content, building reports and plans and drafting HR content.
Document360 created an AI-powered knowledge base and service platform for companies to create, manage and publish online documentation, including product manuals, SOPs and wikis.
Eduvos is simplifying the student enrollment experience with Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365, reducing the time from 90 days to nearly instantaneous and associated costs by 90%.
Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) uses Azure Local to support its digital manufacturing platform, including support for safety-critical applications that use AI. Through its hybrid Azure environment, EGA has achieved 10 to 13 times faster AI response time and 86% cost savings for AI image and video use cases.
Hellenic Cadastre built a system that reads and categorizes property contracts, applies legal rules and provides assessments for approval using Azure OpenAI Service. Today, property transaction assessments take less than 10 minutes instead of hours, reducing costs from 15 euros to 0.11 euros per assessment. The system also enhanced property owners’ legal security and boosted the Greek economy by enabling transactions to be completed sooner.
Startup legal-i is using AI to analyze unstructured data and help expensive insurance specialists make better decisions faster — speeding up healthcare and insurance processes and improving the accuracy of outcomes.
Publishing company SHUEISHA Inc. is using Microsoft Security Copilot to enable faster incident response, boosting the confidence and effectiveness of cybersecurity personnel.
thyssencrupp is using the Siemens Industrial Copilot, built on Azure OpenAI Service, to address a skilled labor gap while revolutionizing how it programs and operates machinery.
U.S. AutoForce implemented Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management to centralize warehouse data, connect processes and improve operational efficiency while using Microsoft Copilot for Finance to automate monthly reconciliations.
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ABB Group integrated Azure OpenAI Service into their Genix Copilot platform enabling customers to achieve up to 30% savings in operations and maintenance, 20% improvement in energy and emission optimization and an 80% reduction in service calls.
Accelleron used Microsoft Power Platform to support numerous business applications and simplify processes for service agents and employees, resulting in the onboard of new agents in 30 minutes, compared to two days for other solutions.
Accenture developed an AI-powered financial advisor that leverages RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure to enhance their infrastructure and integrate financial data.
Atomicwork leverages Azure OpenAI to bring together three power capabilities: a conversational assistant, a modern service management system and a workflow automation platform.
Blink Ops fully embraced generative AI to build the world’s first Security Automation Copilot with more than 8,000 automated workflows to help any Security/IT task through prompts.
Chalhoub Group is using Microsoft Fabric to modernize its data analytics and streamline its data sources into one platform, increasing agility, enhancing analytics and accelerating processes.
Cineplex is developing innovative automation solutions for finance, guest services and other departments, saving the company over 30,000 hours a year in manual processing time.
ClearBank moved its services to Microsoft Azure to gain scalability and efficiency, pushing out 183% more monthly system releases, gaining both scalability and efficiency.
Danske Statsbaner increases productivity up to 30% with help from Microsoft AI solutions.
Dentsu implemented Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and Azure OpenAI Service to build a predictive analytics copilot that supports media insights, cutting analysis time by 80% and overall time to insight by 90%, reducing analysis costs.
Dow implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to empower teams with AI-driven insights and streamline essential workflows by automating tasks across departments, saving millions of dollars on shipping operations in the first year.
Eastmanimplemented Microsoft Copilot for Security realizing the benefits of accelerated upskilling, step-by-step guidance for response and faster threat remediation.
Fast Shop migrated to Microsoft Azure creating a self-service culture of access to data, eliminating delays, reducing costs and increasing leadership satisfaction with data while providing more agility in reporting.
Florida Crystals adopted a value-added solution across Microsoft products including Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce telecom expenses and automate industrial process controls.
GHD is reinventing the RFP process in construction and engineering with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
GovDash is a SaaS platform that leverages artificial intelligence to streamline the entire business development life cycle for government contracting companies using Azure OpenAI.
Grupo Bimbo is deploying Microsoft’s industrial AI technologies to modernize its manufacturing processes, optimizing production and reducing downtime, driving significant cost savings, and empowering global innovation.
Insight Canada implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline business operations, with 93% of users realizing productivity gains in functions including sales, finance and human resources.
Intesa Sanpaolo Group enhanced its cybersecurity with AI-enabled Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Copilot for Security, resulting in faster threat detection, increased productivity and reduced storage costs.
Kaya deployed a custom implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power BI to modernize its supply chain, leading to enhanced visibility, improved planning and streamlined inter-department operations.
Lenovo leveraged Dynamics 365 Customer Service to rapidly manage customer inquiries by streamlining repetitive tasks, boosted agent productivity by 15%, reduced handling time by 20% and reached record-high customer satisfaction.
Lionbridge Technologies, LLC is using Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI Service to accelerate its delivery times and improve quality, reducing project turnaround times by up to 30%.
LTIMindtree integrated Microsoft Copilot for Security, offering automated incident response, integrated threat intelligence and advanced threat analysis.
Mania de Churrasco used Microsoft Azure, Power Platform and Microsoft 365 to achieve high efficiency, security and scalability in its operations, in addition to improving its data intelligence, which indirectly participated in a 20% increase in sales year on year.
National Bank of Greece built an Azure-powered Document AI solution to transform its document processing, improving the bank’s accuracy to 90%.
Nest Bank has revolutionized its operations by integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service, resulting in doubled sales and increased daily transactions from 60,000 to 80,000, showcasing the transformative impact of generative AI in the financial sector.
Network Rail modernized their data analytics solution with Microsoft Azure, helping engineers understand data 50% faster than before and improve efficiency, passenger experiences and safety — all while saving costs.
Nsuredeveloped an AI-powered agent that uses Copilot Studio and Power Automate to reduce manual processing time by 60% while also reducing associated costs by 50%.
Oncoclínicas implemented Microsoft Azure to transform its entire data ecosystem with a web portal and mobile application that performs all image processing and storage.
Operation Smile used Azure OpenAI Service, Fabric and Power Apps to eliminate manual data entry, resulting in reduced translation errors by about 90% and the time required for completing reports from four to five hours to just 15 to 20 minutes.
Pacifico Seguros has adopted Microsoft Copilot for Security to optimize its security operations and anticipate and neutralize threats more efficiently and effectively.
Parexel adopted Azure Databricks and Microsoft Power BI, achieving an 85% reduction in data engineering tooling costs, a 30% increase in staff efficiency and a 70% reduction in time to market for data product delivery.
Paysafe used Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meetings, information management and document creation, addressing language barriers, eliminating time-consuming tasks and boosting creativity along the way.
Planted is integrating Azure OpenAI to manage everyday tasks more efficiently and facilitate the search for information for innovative process development.
Presidio realized dramatic productivity gains saving 1,200 hours per month on average for the employees using Microsoft 365 Copilot and created 70 new business opportunities.
Qatar Charity used Copilot Studio to increase its call center efficiency, reducing average handle time by 30%, increased customer satisfaction by 25%, and achieved a 40% reduction in IT maintenance costs.
Saphyre uses Microsoft Azure and AI to provide an intelligent cloud-based solution that automates and streamlines financial trading workflows around client and counterparty life cycle management, reducing manual efforts by 75%.
StarKist Foods used Azure to effectively unite production and demand processes with finance, reducing the planning cycle from 16 hours to less than one.
Swiss International Air Lines migrated and modernized with Microsoft Azure, achieving up to 30% cost savings, a remarkable boost in platform stability along with enhanced security visibility.
ZEISS Group uses Microsoft Fabric to create a secure and trusted data supply chain that can be shared effortlessly across a range of business units.
ZF Group builds manufacturing efficiency with over 25,000 apps and 37,000 unique active users on Power Platform.
Bending the curve on innovation
Generative AI is revolutionizing innovation by speeding up creative processes and product development. It’s helping companies come up with new ideas, design prototypes, and iterate quickly, cutting down the time it takes to get to market. In the automotive industry, it’s designing more efficient vehicles, while in pharmaceuticals, it’s crafting new drug molecules, slashing years off R&D times. In education, it transforms how students learn and achieve their goals. Here are more examples of how companies are embracing generative AI to shape the future of innovation.
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Agricultural Development Trust (ADT) of Baramati is analyzing water, weather, nutrient, pH data and more with AI to increase crop yields in India.
DrumBeat.AI is using Microsoft AI services to predict, identify and treat ear diseases in communities that are both rural and remote, helping to prevent hearing loss among Indigenous communities in Australia.
Dynamic Health Systems created its VitruCare365® platform on the Microsoft Cloud for healthcare technologies to enable motivational care planning. Built on Microsoft Azure, FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) and Dynamics 365, it provides personalized apps powered by Azure OpenAI Service to each patient and is deployed as an extension to the Microsoft 365 tools clinicians use every day.
Cities can use Esri’s ArcGIS geospatial platform to create environmental digital twins that simulate heavy rainfall and apply hot spot analysis to highlight flooding. Adding Azure AI to the geospatial digital twin will reveal insights in impossible amounts of data.
Digital employment agency Gojob developed Aglae, a virtual assistant based on Azure OpenAI Service, to pre-qualify candidates within 15 minutes, enabling recruiters to achieve record employment placement rates.
Institut Curie and Microsoft partner Witivio developed Copilot for Researcher, an agent that can help researchers with some of the administrative tasks in their jobs so they have more time to spend on actual new ideas in the fight against cancer.
NASA created Earth Copilot to transform how people interact with Earth’s data.
Parity is helping women athletes use data and AI to help improve their well-being, performance and careers.
Petbarn created “PetAI” using Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search and Azure App Service to provide Australian pet owners highly personalized advice and product recommendations.
Project Guacamaya is using daily satellite images and various AI models tailored to the Amazon ecosystem to help prevent its deforestation, allowing for quicker action to be taken in at-risk areas.
Properstar developed a solution to simplify the analysis of unstructured real estate data and create a dynamic, AI-powered filtering system that provides more nuanced search results.
RadarFit is using generative AI and a unique gamification strategy to encourage healthy habits in Brazil, with a comprehensive health and wellness program aimed at helping companies reduce chronic disease rates.
SEDUC is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for administrative tasks — such as generating legal documents and handling administrative inquiries — and has expanded to include AI usage with students and teachers, including personalized learning to cater to individual student needs and help them recover from learning losses during the pandemic.
Indonesia’s Universitas Terbuka used Microsoft Azure OpenAI services and Azure AI Foundry to build an AI tutor that delivers accurate, curriculum-aligned responses and streamlines student assessment. The tutor currently supports 500 classes and some 100,000 students.
World Traveler is using AI including Microsoft Reading Progress and Microsoft Immersive Reader to help teachers reach its globally and educationally diverse students with personalized learning experiences.
South Korean startup Wrtn Technologies brings ATI close to people, with a “superapp” that compiles an array of AI use cases and services, but localized for Korean users to integrate AI into their everyday lives.
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Air India has incorporated Microsoft 365 Copilot into multiple departments, unlocking a new realm of operational insights that not only provides critical data on flight punctuality and operational hurdles, but also empowers proactive, collaborative decision making.
Agnostic Intelligencedeployed Azure OpenAI Service to eliminate time-consuming tasks, saving users up to 80% of their time, and enabling IT managers to focus on innovation and quality assurance.
Albert Heijn is using Azure OpenAI for everything from customer personalization to demand forecast and food waste projects, making it easier for its customers to change their lifestyle.
Amgen is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to boost productivity and has the potential to speed up drug development and support advancements in their business processes.
APEC leverages Microsoft Azure and deep neural network algorithms to develop an app that enables healthcare providers to capture retinal images, increasing the accuracy to identify Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP) to 90%.
ASOS is using Azure AI Studio to help customers discover new looks with genuine shopping insights, personalized conversations, naturalism and even humor to enliven the shopping journey.
Auburn University is incorporating Microsoft Copilot to promote AI literacy, accessibility and collaboration, with the aim to expand educational and economic opportunities for its entire academic community with AI-centric tools.
B3 launched an AI assistant using Azure OpenAI Service that aids 10,000 users a day to answer Brazilians’ questions about how to start investing.
Basecamp Research aims to build the world’s largest database of national biodiversity and apply AI and machine learning to advance bioscience.
Bayer is using Microsoft Copilot to contribute to feeding a growing global population and helping people lead healthier, disease-free lives.
BMW AG implemented Azure AI to develop a mobile data recorder copilot for faster data management helping engineers reduce the lead time for insights from days to hours or sometimes minutes.
Brembo leveraged Azure OpenAI to develop ALCHEMIX, a solution to generate innovative compounds for its brake pads, drastically reducing the development time of new compounds from days to mere minutes.
Canary Speech can now train new vocal models in as little as two months and handle millions of transactions per month with Microsoft Azure.
CapitaLand simplified internal processes increasing efficiency to more than 10,000 man-days saved per year and deployed Azure OpenAI Service to build the first AI hospitality chatbot for its lodging business.
Cassidy is using Azure OpenAI Service to enhance efficiency across various industries, supporting over 10,000 companies.
Coca-Cola is implementing Azure OpenAI Service to develop innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions, including testing how Microsoft 365 Copilot could help improve workplace productivity.
Denso is developing “human-like” robots using Azure OpenAI Service as the brain to help robots and humans work together through dialogue.
eFishery is using Azure OpenAI for farmers to get the data and insights on fish and shrimp farming, including more precise feeding and water quality monitoring.
EY developed an application that automatically matches and clears incoming payments in SAP, resulting in an increase from 30% to 80% in automatically cleared payments and 95% matched payments, with estimated annual time savings of 230,000 hours globally.
EY worked with Microsoft to make Azure AI Foundry more inclusive for all, serving the 20% of the global workforce identifying as neurodivergent.
FIDO is using Azure OpenAI Service to develop an AI tool that uses sound to pinpoint leaky pipes, saving precious drinking water.
Georgia Tech is using Azure OpenAI Service to enhance the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, achieving rapid data classification and predictive modeling, highlighting the reliability of networked chargers over non-networked ones.
GigXR developed a solution to create the intelligence for specific AI patients using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and other Azure services.
GoTo Group is significantly enhancing productivity and code quality across its engineering teams by adopting GitHub Copilot, saving over seven hours per week and achieved a 30% code acceptance rate.
GovTech used Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to create LaunchPad, sparking more than 400 ideas and 20 prototypes, laying the foundation for the government to harness the power of generative AI.
H&R Block is using Azure AI Studio and Azure OpenAI Service to build a new solution that provides real-time, reliable tax filing assistance.
Haut.AI provides skin care companies and retailers with customizable, AI-based skin diagnostic tools developed with the help of Microsoft AI.
Helfie is building a solution that caters to healthcare providers who can arm their patients with an application to more quickly and accurately access the care they need.
Hitachi will implement Azure Open AI Service, Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot to create innovative solutions for the energy, mobility and other industries.
Icertis is providing AI-based tools that will recognize contract language and then build algorithms to automatically choose the right approach based on the content of the contract.
Iconem leveraged AI-generated imagery to process and analyze a vast amount of photogrammetry data used to create the 3D digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica, allowing visitors to explore every intricate detail from anywhere in the world.
ITOCHU is using Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Studio to evolve its data analytics dashboard into a service that provides immediate recommendations by automatically creating evidence-based product proposals.
IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is using the power of Azure OpenAI Service to develop Syntea, an AI avatar integrated into Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot, making learning more personalized, autonomous and flexible.
Khan Academy has partnered with Microsoft to bring time-saving and lesson-enhancing AI tools to millions of educators.
Lufthansa Group developed an animated 3D avatar called Digital Hangar to help guide passengers from initial travel inspiration to flight booking through an exchange with an Avatar in natural language.
Mia Labs implemented Azure OpenAI to produce and protect its conversational AI virtual assistant Mia that provides fast support from investors, along with the sophisticated security posture and threat protection capabilities for AI workloads.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is using Azure OpenAI Service to help accelerate digital innovation in power plants.
Molslinjen has created an AI analytics toolbox that has reduced fuel emissions, improved customer satisfaction and brought in millions of additional revenue.
New Sun Road implemented AI into a local controller for energy systems to balance the supply, storage and use requirements. This optimized loads to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy for local clean power for communities.
Novo Nordisk recently published initial results with predictive AI models for advanced risk detection in cardiovascular diseases, including an algorithm that can predict patients’ cardiovascular risk better than the best clinical standards.
Ontada implemented Azure AI and Azure OpenAI Service to target nearly 100 critical oncology data elements across 39 cancer types and now accesses an estimated 70% of previously unanalyzed or unused information, accelerating its life science product development, speeding up time to market from months to just one week.
Paige.AI is using AI and Microsoft Azure to accelerate cancer diagnoses with data from millions of images.
Pets at Home created an agent to help its retail fraud detection team investigate suspicious transactions.
Plan Heal is using Microsoft AI to create solutions that enable patients to monitor and report health metrics so care providers can better serve them.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is testing a new battery material that was found in a matter of weeks, not years, as part of a collaboration with Microsoft.
Rijksmuseum is harnessing the power of Copilot to make art accessible at scale by joining forces with Microsoft to improve and expand the art experience for blind and low-vision community members.
Royal National Institute of Blind People is using Azure AI services to develop an AI-based solution that quickly and accurately converts letters to braille, audio, and large print formats.
Schneider Electric provides productivity-enhancing and energy efficiency solutions and is using a whole suite of AI tools to hasten its own innovation and that of its customers.
SPAR ICS created an award-winning, AI-enabled demand forecasting system achieving 90% inventory prediction accuracy.
SustainCERT deployed GenAI and machine learning for automated data verification, extraction from documents and to accelerate auditing processes to enable verifying the impacts and credibility of carbon credits.
Suzuki Motor Corporation is adopting Azure OpenAI Service for data security, driving company-wide use with five multipurpose apps.
Tecnológico de Monterrey created a generative AI-powered ecosystem built on Azure OpenAI Service with the goal to personalize education based on the students’ needs, improve the learning process, boost teachers’ creativity and save time on tedious tasks.
TomTom is using Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Kubernetes Service to revolutionize the driver experience.
Toyota is deploying AI agents to harness the collective wisdom of engineers and innovate faster in a system named “O-Beya,” or “big room” in Japanese. The “O-Beya” system currently has nine AI agents — from a Vibration Agent to a Fuel Consumption Agent.
Unilever is partnering with Microsoft to identify new digital capabilities to drive product innovation forward, from unlocking the secrets of our skin’s microbiome to reducing the carbon footprint of a multibillion-dollar business.
Unity used Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to build Muse Chat, an AI assistant that can guide creators through common questions and help troubleshoot issues to make game development easier.
University of South Florida is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to alleviate the burden of repetitive, time-consuming tasks so faculty and staff can spend this time creatively solving problems, conducting critical research, establishing stronger relationships with peers and students and using their expertise to forge new, innovative paths.
Utilidata built the first distributive AI and accelerated computing platform for the electric grid allowing flexible transformation and dynamic infrastructure to increase electrification and decarbonization.
Visma has developed new code with GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Azure DevOps and Microsoft Visual Studio as much as 50 percent faster, contributing to increased customer retention, faster time to market and increased revenue.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen is implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot and using Microsoft Viva to drive sustainable adoption, streamlining processes, empowering better decision making and cultivating a culture of innovation and inclusion.
Wipro is committed to delivering value to customers faster and improving the outcomes across the business by investing $1 billion in AI and training 200,000 employees on generative AI principles with Microsoft Copilot.
Read more:
IDC InfoBrief: sponsored by Microsoft, 2024 Business Opportunity of AI, IDC# US52699124, November 2024
Tags: AI, AI Azure, Azure OpenAI Service, Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365 Copilot
Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and 39 Republican colleagues reintroduced the Fair Access to Banking Act, which protects fair access to financial services and ensures banks operate in a safe and sound manner. The legislation requires that lending and services decisions must be based on impartial, risk-based analysis, not political or reputational favoritism.
“It’s wrong for banks to single out individuals or industries for political and social reasons,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This legislation guarantees fairness for essential employers in Louisiana, such as oil and gas development.”
“When progressives failed at banning these entire industries, what they did instead is they turned to weaponizing banks as sort of a backdoor to carry out their activist goals,” said Senator Cramer. “Financial institutions are backed by taxpayers, for crying out loud! They should be obligated to provide services in an unbiased, risk-based manner. The Fair Access to Banking Act ensures that banks provide fair access to services and enacts strict penalties for categorically discriminating against legal industries and individuals.”
In recent years, prominent American banks have engaged in a discriminatory practice, referred to as debanking. Banks and financial institutions use their economic standing to categorically exclude law-abiding, legal industries by refusing to lend or provide services to them. This includes industries such as firearms, ammunition, crypto, federal prison contractors, as well as energy producers.
Specifically, this legislation penalizes banks and credit unions with over $10 billion in total consolidated assets, or their subsidiaries, if they refuse to do business with any legally compliant, credit-worthy person. It also prevents payment card networks from discriminating against any qualified person because of political or reputational considerations. The bill requires qualified banks to provide written justification for why they are denying a person financial services. Further, the Fair Access to Banking Act would penalize providers who fail to comply with the law by disqualifying institutions from using discount window lending programs, terminating status as an insured depository institution or credit union, or imposing a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.
The bill is based on President Trump’s Fair Access Rule, which was introduced during his first administration and required financial institutions to make individual risk assessments rather than broad decisions regarding entire industries or categories of customers. The Fair Access to Banking Act codifies these protections. The Biden administration paused the rule’s implementation in early 2021.
The legislation is a response to United States banks and financial institutions increasingly using their economic standing to categorically discriminate against legal industries and conservatives. For example, Citigroup instituted a policy in 2018 to withhold project-related financing for coal plants, and in 2020, five of the country’s largest banks announced they would not provide loans or credit to support oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite explicit congressional authorization. Such exclusionary practices also extend to industries protected by the Second Amendment, with Capital One, among other banks, previously including “ammunitions, firearms, or firearm parts” in the prohibited payments section of its corporate policy manual, and payment services like Apple Pay and PayPal denying their services for transactions involving firearms or ammunition. First Lady Melania Trump and technology companies alike allege banks have debanked them or refused to do business. During his address to the World Economic Forum in January, President Trump highlighted big banks and their discriminatory practices of targeting conservatives.
Cassidy and Cramer were joined by U.S. Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jim Justice (R-WV), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) in cosponsoring the legislation. U.S. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY-06) introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Support for the Fair Access to Banking Act has grown every Congress. At the state level, Florida and Tennessee passed Fair Access laws and similar legislation was introduced in Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and South Dakota. Banks have dropped membership in discriminatory groups which were aimed at starving specific industries.
The Fair Access to Banking Act is endorsed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, The Digital Chamber, Blockchain Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Online Lenders Alliance, Day 1 Alliance, GEO Group, Lignite Energy Council, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, and National Mining Association.
To support the Ukrainian economy following Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU liberalised all imports from Ukraine for which the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine[1] limited trade concessions to tariff-rate quotas, by Regulation (EU) 2022/870[2] of 30 May 2022. The measures were prolonged twice[3] and the current iteration will expire on 5 June 2025.
These measures concern agricultural products and processed agricultural products. Under their last iteration from mid-2024, and in order to protect European farmers from growing import levels, automatic safeguards were introduced to limit duty-free imports for the most sensitive sectors, namely sugar, poultry, eggs, maize, honey, oats and groats.
The Commission estimates that the value of Ukrainian agricultural products and processed agricultural products not subject to duties thanks to the measures[4] was around EUR 2.1 billion in 2023 out of the total of Ukraine’s agricultural exports to the EU, which amounted about EUR 12 billion.
In 2024, the value of Ukrainian duty-free exports of agricultural products and processed agricultural products not subject to duties thanks to the measures is estimated at EUR 1.8 billion, a reduction due to the activation of automatic safeguards.
Specifically for eggs and egg products , the value of Ukrainian duty-free exports to the EU in 2023 and 2024 is estimated at EUR 74 million and EUR 38 million, respectively.
[1] Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014A0529%2801%29-20231201
[3] Regulation (EU) 2023/1077 of 31 May 2023; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1077/oj and Regulation (EU) 2024/1392 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1392/oj
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Members responsible: Martin Häusling, Biljana Borzan, Anja Hazekamp
B10‑0061/2025
European Parliament resolution on the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize DP910521 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (D102174/03 – (2024/3010(RSP))
The European Parliament,
–having regard to the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize DP910521 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (D102174/03),
–having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed[1], and in particular Article 7(3) and Article 19(3) thereof,
–having regard to the vote of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed referred to in Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, on 22 November 2024, at which no opinion was delivered, and the vote of the Appeal Committee on 17 December 2024, at which again noopinion was delivered,
–having regard to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers[2],
–having regard to the opinion adopted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on 19 June 2024, and published on 1 August 2024[3],
–having regard to its previous resolutions objecting to the authorisation of genetically modified organisms (‘GMOs’)[4],
–having regard to Rule 115(2) and (3) of its Rules of Procedure,
–having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety,
A.whereas on 27 June 2022, Corteva Agriscience Belgium B.V., based in Belgium, on behalf of Corteva Agriscience LLC, based in the United States, submitted an application to the national competent authority of the Netherlands for the placing on the market of foods, food ingredients and feed containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize DP910521 (the ‘GM maize’);
B.whereas the GM maize produces the Cry1B.34 toxin and is resistant to the herbicide glufosinate;
C.whereas glufosinate is classified as toxic to reproduction 1B and therefore meets the ‘cut-off criteria’ set out in Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council[5]; whereas the approval of glufosinate for use in the Union expired on 31 July 2018;
D.whereas Cry1B.34 is a synthetic fusion protein combining Cry1B, Cry1Ca1 and Cry9Db1, engineered for insect resistance against lepidopteran pests, without demonstrated specificity to target species;
E.whereas the genetic modification includes a two-step process using CRISPR/Cas9 to insert a ‘landing pad’, followed by microprojectile bombardment for gene expression cassette insertion;
Lack of assessment of the complementary herbicide
F.whereas Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2013[6]requires an assessment of whether the expected agricultural practices influence the outcome of the studied endpoints; whereas, according to that Implementing Regulation, this is especially relevant for herbicide-tolerant plants;
G.whereas the vast majority of GM crops have been genetically modified so that they are tolerant to one or more ‘complementary’ herbicides which can be used throughout the cultivation of the GM crop, without the crop dying, as would be the case for a non-herbicide tolerant crop; whereas a number of studies show that herbicide-tolerant GM crops result in a higher use of complementary herbicides, in large part because of the emergence of herbicide-tolerant weeds[7];
H.whereas herbicide-tolerant GM crops lock farmers into a weed management system that is largely or wholly dependent on herbicides, and does so by charging a premium for GM seeds that can be justified only if farmers purchasing such seeds also spray the complementary herbicides; whereas heightened reliance on complementary herbicides on farms planting the GM crops accelerates the emergence and spread of weeds resistant to those herbicides, thereby triggering the need for even more herbicide use, a vicious circle known as ‘the herbicide treadmill’;
I.whereas the adverse impacts stemming from excessive reliance on herbicides will worsen as regards soil health, water quality, and above and below ground biodiversity, and lead to increased human and animal exposure, potentially also via increased herbicide residues on food and feed;
J.whereas assessment of herbicide residues and metabolites found on GM plants is considered outside the remit of the EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (‘EFSA GMO Panel’) and is therefore not undertaken as part of the authorisation process for GMOs;
Outstanding questions concerning Bt toxins
K.whereas a number of studies show that side effects have been observed that may affect the immune system following exposure to Bt toxins and that some Bt toxins may have adjuvant properties[8], meaning that they can increase the allergenicity of other proteins with which they come into contact;
L.whereas a scientific study found that the toxicity of Bt toxins may also be increased through interaction with residues from spraying with herbicides, and that further studies are needed on the combinatorial effects of ‘stacked’ events (GM crops which have been modified to be herbicide-tolerant and to produce insecticides in the form of Bt toxins)[9]; whereas assessment of the potential interaction of herbicide residues and their metabolites with Bt toxins is, however, considered to be outside the remit of the EFSA GMO Panel and is, therefore, not undertaken as part of the risk assessment;
Bt crops: effects on non-target organisms
M.whereas, unlike the use of insecticides, where exposure is at the time of spraying and for a limited period afterwards, the use of Bt GM crops leads to continuous exposure of the target and non-target organisms to Bt toxins;
N.whereas the assumption that Bt toxins exhibit a single target-specific mode of action can no longer be considered correct and effects on non-target organisms cannot be excluded; whereas an increasing number of non-target organisms are reported to be affected in many ways;
Member State and stakeholder comments
O.whereas Member States submitted many critical comments to EFSA during the three-month consultation period[10], including that the list of relevant studies, identified in the literature review of the applicant, did not include studies on the fate of Bt proteins in the environment or on potential effects of Btcrop residues on non-target organisms even though such studies exist;
P.whereas field trials conducted for compositional and phenotypic analysis of the GM maize failed to consider diverse environmental conditions and genetic backgrounds relevant to its cultivation, particularly in countries like Brazil;
Q.whereas the toxicity assessment of Cry1B.34 does not account for combinatorial effects with plant constituents or residues from herbicide applications;
R.whereas glufosinate, the complementary herbicide, is associated with significant risks to biodiversity, soil and water quality, and long-term ecosystem health;
S.whereas the risk of gene flow to wild relatives such as teosinte, reported in Spain and France, raises concerns about transgene persistence and environmental impacts;
T.whereas the monitoring requirements under Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2013 are inadequately addressed, with no independent verification of data provided;
Ensuring a global level playing field and upholding the Union’s international obligations
U.whereas the conclusions of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture[11]call on the Commission to reassess its approach on market access for agri-food imports and exports, given the challenge of diverging standards of the Union and its trading partners; whereas fairer trade relations, on a global level, coherent with goals for a healthy environment, were one of the main demands of farmers during the demonstrations of 2023 and 2024;
V.whereas a 2017 report by the United Nations’ (UN) Special Rapporteur on the right to food found that, particularly in developing countries, hazardous pesticides have catastrophic impacts on health[12]; whereas the UN Sustainable Development Goal (‘UN SDG’) Target 3.9 aims by 2030 to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination[13];
W.whereas the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed at the COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (‘UN CBD’) in December 2022, includes a global target to reduce the risk of pesticides by at least 50 % by 2030[14];
X.whereas Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 states that GM food or feed must not have adverse effects on human health, animal health or the environment, and requires the Commission to take into account any relevant provisions of Union law and other legitimate factors relevant to the matter under consideration when drafting its decision; whereas such legitimate factors should include the Union’s obligations under the UN SDGs and the UN CBD;
Reducing dependency on imported feed
Y.whereas one of the lessons from the COVID-19 crisis and the still ongoing war in Ukraine is the need for the Union to end the dependencies on some critical materials; whereas in the mission letter to Commissioner Christophe Hansen, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asks him to look at ways to reduce imports of critical commodities[15];
Undemocratic decision-making
Z.whereas, in its eighth term, Parliament adopted a total of 36 resolutions objecting to the placing on the market of GMOs for food and feed (33 resolutions) and to the cultivation of GMOs in the Union (three resolutions); whereas, in its ninth term, Parliament adopted 38 resolutions objecting to placing GMOs on the market and has adopted another 8 resolutions objecting to placing GMOs on the market already in the current 10th term ;
AA.whereas despite its own acknowledgement of the democratic shortcomings, the lack of support from Member States and the objections of Parliament, the Commission continues to authorise GMOs;
AB.whereas no change of law is required for the Commission to be able not to authorise GMOs when there is no qualified majority of Member States in favour in the Appeal Committee[16];
AC.whereas the vote on 22 November 2024 of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed referred to in Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 delivered no opinion, meaning that the authorisation was not supported by a qualified majority of Member States; whereas the vote on 17 December 2024 of the Appeal Committee again delivered no opinion;
1.Considers that the draft Commission implementing decision exceeds the implementing powers provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003;
2.Considers that the draft Commission implementing decision is not consistent with Union law, in that it is not compatible with the aim of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, which is, in accordance with the general principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council[17], to provide the basis for ensuring a high level of protection of human life and health, animal health and welfare, and environmental and consumer interests, in relation to GM food and feed, while ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market;
3.Calls on the Commission to withdraw its draft implementing decision and to submit a new draft to the committee;
4.Calls on the Commission to ensure convergence of standards between the Union and its partners in free trade agreement negotiations, in order to meet Union safety standards;
5.Calls on the Commission not to authorise the GM maize due to the increased risks to biodiversity, food safety and workers’ health in line with the One Health approach;
6.Expects the Commission, as matter of urgency, to deliver on its commitment[18]to come forward with a proposal to ensure that hazardous chemicals banned in the Union are not produced for export;
7.Welcomes the fact that the Commission finally recognised, in a letter of 11 September 2020 to Members, the need to take sustainability into account when it comes to authorisation decisions on GMOs[19]; expresses its deep disappointment, however, that, since then the Commission has continued to authorise GMOs for import into the Union, despite ongoing objections by Parliament and a majority of Member States voting against;
8.Urges the Commission, again, to take into account the Union’s obligations under international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN CBD and the UN SDGs; reiterates its call for draft implementing acts to be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum explaining how they uphold the principle of ‘do no harm’[20];
9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
