A forestry subcontractor was failed by poor risk management from the two businesses above him, both of which have been sentenced for their inaction.
39-year-old Misha Tremel was killed while manually felling trees on a small block at Clevedon in June 2022. The qualified tree feller had been brought in by Turoa Logging Limited, which was harvesting 7,800 tonnes of pine on behalf of the forest managers Pulley Contracting Limited.
The trees being manually cut by Mr Tremel were windthrown, meaning they had been bent and damaged by wind. WorkSafe and the forestry industry strongly recommend that such trees are harvested using machines.
WorkSafe’s investigation found Turoa Logging had not properly reassessed its harvesting plan after nearby trees were cut by machinery and had not ensured safe felling practices were followed. Pulley Contracting did not do enough to identify the ongoing risks to workers and should have been auditing Turoa Logging more thoroughly.
“Businesses must manage their risks and cannot contract their way out of responsibility. Contractors on smaller sites like this are owed the same level of care as those in large-scale operations,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Paul West.
Mr Tremel was a much-loved husband and father who was originally from Ukraine. His death continues to be a shattering loss for his young family to process.
“Businesses must consult, cooperate and coordinate as part of a contracting chain. WorkSafe recommends health and safety is always built into contract management,” says Paul West.
Forestry had the highest fatality rate of any sector in 2024, with 16.58 deaths per 100,000 workers. Under its new strategy, WorkSafe is turning about 15 percent of its targeted frontline activity to the forestry sector because of the high rate of harm, particularly for Maōri.
WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe. When they do not, we will take action.
Turoa Logging Limited and Pulley Contracting Limited were sentenced at Manukau District Court on 4 March 2025.
Both companies were ordered to pay a combined total of $335,680 in fines and reparation
Both companies were charged under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015:
Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury.
The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
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“Regulatory bodies in the health sector are using the Treaty to justify putting ideology ahead of patient wellbeing and validated science,” says ACT Health spokesperson Todd Stephenson.
Pharmacy:
“ACT has been approached by pharmacists alarmed by the Pharmacy Council’s new competence standards which require frontline pharmacists to give effect to Te Tiriti at all levels, prioritise Māori voices, be familiar with Māori health models and be ‘confident to perform waiata tautoko’ (Māori songs).
“All of these unscientific requirements will only serve to distract from the best interests of individual patients, while making it harder for New Zealand to attract and retain talent from overseas.
“The good news is that the Minister responsible for Pharmac is David Seymour. David is now actively recruiting for free-thinking new members of the Pharmacy Council.”
Midwifery:
The Midwifery Council’s competency standards embed ‘the principles of self-determination, equity, and partnership as a foundation of midwifery practice’. Midwives are told to ‘strive to mitigate systemic discrimination and prejudices’. They are told to ‘value diversity of knowledge and perspectives of physiological processes’.
“The responsibility of a midwife should be to the best interests of the mother and their baby – not to Treaty ideology or non-scientific ideas about pregnancy,” says Mr Stephenson. “A Treaty focus in midwifery inevitably detracts from a midwife’s core duties, while also making it harder to attract and train wonderful midwives from overseas.
“I understand Health Minister Simeon Brown has put out a call for nominations for new members of the Midwifery Council. That is good news.”
Psychology:
“Meanwhile in psychology, the New Zealand Psychologists’ Board is introducing a new Code of Ethics to embed Treaty principles and matauranga Māori into psychological practice. Psychologists who’ve tried to have a say on the Code have been sidelined. Psychologists are instructed to challenge colonisation and respond to patients’ colour, race, sexuality, and socio-economic status.
“In other words, the best interests of patients will be sidelined in favour of ideology, and psychologists are told to see patients as members of identity groups, rather than as individuals with complex personal experiences.”
Nursing:
“Nurses have told me they are considering leaving New Zealand in response to new standards of competence, or ‘pou’, requiring nurses to use te reo and tikanga, describe the impact of colonisation, and advocate for cultural and spiritual health.
“Once upon a time, being a nurse was a matter of having the right skills and a kind heart. Now we are asking nurses to have the ‘correct’ views on the Treaty of Waitangi and to make assumptions about patients’ needs based on their ethnicity.”
Chinese medicine:
“In 2021 Labour set up the Chinese Medicine Council to regulate traditional Chinese medicine. The Council requires Chinese practitioners to honour the history of Māori as tangata whenua, challenge the bias of their colleagues, enact the principles of Te Tiriti, and embed ‘bicultural principles’.
“Bicultural principles! It begs the question, which two cultures are recognised under this state-mandated bicultural worldview? How are Chinese acupuncturists and herbalists meant to fit in? It’s absurd.”
Conclusion:
“Kiwis engaging with the health system deserve confidence that they will be treated first and foremost as humans, with individual needs that will be met based on validated science, not ideology.
“ACT is optimistic that in Simeon Brown, we have a Minister with the guts to get the Treaty ideology and wokeism out of the health system and restore focus to the needs of the patient.
“In the meantime, ACT is calling on political parties who share our concerns to support the Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill defines the Treaty principles in line with what was actually written in 1840, including the promise of the same rights and duties for all New Zealanders.”
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested three female youths in relation to an aggravated robbery on Mitchell Street last night.
About 9:30pm, a 101-year-old man was assaulted on his mobility scooter by the three females aged, 14, 15 and 19-years-old. The elderly man was held by the females and they removed his wallet and keys before decamping the area.
The victim suffered lacerations to his arms and was conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital for treatment.
A short time later, police CCTV operators located offenders matching the description provided at a location nearby and members apprehended them.
They are expected to be charged later today.
Detective Senior Sergeant Trent Abbott said “This was a disgraceful attack on a vulnerable member of our society and the actions of these offenders was abhorrent.
“Thankfully the victim is expected to make a full recovery.
“I would also like to commend our vigilant CCTV operators and attending officers for their swift action to respond and apprehend the offenders nearby.”
Detectives from Serious Crime have carriage of the investigation.
If you have any information in relation to the incident, police are urging you to make contact on 131 444 and reference NTP2500023360.
Jefferson City — Today, Governor Kehoe announced judicial appointments to the 21st and 9th Judicial Circuits.
Ellen W. Dunne, of Des Peres, was appointed as the Circuit Judge in the 21st Judicial Circuit.
Judge Dunne currently serves as Associate Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit, a position in which she has held since 2017. She earned her Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Missouri. Prior to her judicial service, she practiced law for over two decades, representing clients in all types of civil matters. In addition to her judicial duties, Judge Dunne is an active member of the Missouri Bar Association, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Lawyers Association of St. Louis, Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis, and St. Louis County Bar Association. Judge Dunne will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Nancy M. Watkins McLaughlin from the circuit bench.
Adam Warren, of Chillicothe, was appointed as the Associate Circuit Judge for Sullivan County in the 9th Judicial Circuit.
Mr. Warren currently serves as the Livingston County prosecuting attorney, a position he has held since 2011. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science in hospitality and restaurant administration from Missouri State University. Mr. Warren built a successful private practice as the owner of Warren Law Office, LLC. He also served in the Missouri Army National Guard from 2004 to 2011 before receiving a honorable discharge. Mr. Warren will fill the vacancy left by the recent passing of Judge Tracey Mason-White.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Diversified Royalty Corp. (TSX: DIV and DIV.DB.A) (the “Corporation” or “DIV”) is pleased to announce that its board of directors has approved a cash dividend of $0.02083 per common share for the period of March 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025, which is equal to $0.25 per common share on an annualized basis. The dividend will be paid on March 31, 2025 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 14, 2025.
Q4 2024 Earnings Release Date
DIV will release earnings results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 following the closing of regular trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on March 24, 2025.
About Diversified Royalty Corp.
DIV is a multi-royalty corporation, engaged in the business of acquiring top-line royalties from well-managed multi-location businesses and franchisors in North America. DIV’s objective is to acquire predictable, growing royalty streams from a diverse group of multi-location businesses and franchisors.
DIV currently owns the Mr. Lube + Tires, AIR MILES®, Sutton, Mr. Mikes, Nurse Next Door, Oxford Learning Centres, Stratus Building Solutions and BarBurrito trademarks. Mr. Lube + Tires is the leading quick lube service business in Canada, with locations across Canada. AIR MILES® is Canada’s largest coalition loyalty program. Sutton is among the leading residential real estate brokerage franchisor businesses in Canada. Mr. Mikes operates casual steakhouse restaurants primarily in western Canadian communities. Nurse Next Door is a home care provider with locations across Canada and the United States as well as in Australia. Oxford Learning Centres is one of Canada’s leading franchisee supplemental education services. Stratus Building Solutions is a leading commercial cleaning service franchise company providing comprehensive janitorial, building cleaning, and office cleaning services primarily in the United States. BarBurrito is the largest quick service Mexican restaurant food chain in Canada.
DIV’s objective is to increase cash flow per share by making accretive royalty purchases and through the growth of purchased royalties. DIV intends to continue to pay a predictable and stable monthly dividend to shareholders and increase the dividend over time, in each case as cash flow per share allows.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The use of any of the words “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “will”, ”project”, “should”, “believe”, “confident”, “plan” and “intends” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. Specifically, forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements made in relation to: the amount and timing of the March 2025 dividend to be paid to DIV’s shareholders; DIV’s objective to continue to pay predictable and stable monthly dividends to shareholders; and DIV’s corporate objectives. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events, performance, or achievements of DIV to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking information. DIV believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this news release are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In particular there can be no assurance that: DIV will be able to make monthly dividend payments to the holders of its common shares; or DIV will achieve any of its corporate objectives. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned that forward-looking information included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance, and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. More information about the risks and uncertainties affecting DIV’s business and the businesses of its royalty partners can be found in the “Risk Factors” section of its Annual Information Form dated March 21, 2024 and in its most recent Management’s Discussion and Analysis, copies of each of which are available under DIV’s profile on SEDAR+ atwww.sedarplus.com.
In formulating the forward-looking information contained herein, management has assumed that, among other things, DIV will generate sufficient cash flows from its royalties to service its debt and pay dividends to shareholders; the business and economic conditions affecting DIV and its royalty partners will continue substantially in the ordinary course, including without limitation with respect to general industry conditions, general levels of economic activity and regulations. These assumptions, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect.
All of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, DIV. The forward-looking information included in this news release is presented as of the date of this news release and DIV assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Additional Information
Additional information relating to the Corporation and other public filings, is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.
Contact: Sean Morrison, President and Chief Executive Officer Diversified Royalty Corp. (236) 521-8470
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3
For Immediate Release: March 04, 2025
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency:
On Monday, the FDA approved the first generics of Xarelto (rivaroxaban), 2.5 mg, tablets to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adult patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and to reduce the risk of major thrombotic vascular events in adult patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), including patients who have recently undergone a lower extremity revascularization procedure due to symptomatic PAD. Anticoagulants (blood thinners) are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S., and Monday’s approval of the first generics of rivaroxaban, 2.5 mg, tablets will make a direct impact on American patients who rely on anticoagulant medications. Approving safe and effective generics to help provide patients more treatment options continues to be a priority for the FDA. On Friday, the FDA informed sponsors of testosterone products of new labeling changes resulting from the results of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Assessment of Long-term Vascular Events and Efficacy Response in Hypogonadal Men (TRAVERSE) clinical trial and the results from required postmarket ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) studies. The labeling changes include a new warning about the risk of increased blood pressure for testosterone products that currently do not contain such labeling information. On Friday, the FDA approved TNKase (tenecteplase) to treat acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in adults. The most common adverse reaction is bleeding. TNKase is for intravenous administration only and recommended dosing is available in the prescribing information.
Related Information
Related Information
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Boilerplate
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products.
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Padilla, Schiff, Colleagues to Trump: Fire Elon Musk, Reinstate Agency Leaders and Federal Watchdogs
Democratic lawmakers demand Trump reinstate fired Senate-confirmed officials and address Musk’s conflicts of interest, cite officials’ investigations and prosecutions of Musk’s companies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined 40 of their Congressional Democratic colleagues in raising concerns about President Donald Trump’s unlawful firings of dozens of independent agency heads and Inspectors General (IGs), and calling attention to how many of these firings appear to benefit Elon Musk. The lawmakers also urged Trump to immediately reinstate the illegally fired individuals and remove Musk from his government role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on which there are still very few details, unless he addresses his conflicts of interest.
Musk and his companies have been the subject of at least 20 recent government investigations or prosecutions, including for possible violations of federal safety and labor laws. President Trump and Elon Musk’s removals of agency heads and career civil servants have affected at least 11 federal agencies that are conducting over 32 ongoing investigations, complaints, or enforcement actions against Musk’s companies.
The lawmakers warned that failing to hold Musk accountable hurts American citizens and threatens the democratic system of checks and balances.
“Nearly all of your decisions you made about who to fire appear to benefit Mr. Musk, and many target individuals and agencies that are currently investigating or prosecuting Mr. Musk or his companies for unlawful behavior,” wrote the lawmakers. “Many of these individuals have legal protections dictating why and how they can be removed from office. … Altogether, these firings either directly benefit Mr. Musk and his companies or remove guardrails that would hold them accountable to the rule of law.”
“These firings have removed the exact individuals in our government who would hold Mr. Musk and his companies accountable for following the law and protect everyday Americans from threats to their health, welfare, safety, and economic well-being,” continued the lawmakers.
The lawmakers’ letter lists several agency heads and watchdogs who were improperly fired while involved in oversight surrounding Musk, including but not limited to: National Labor Relations Board Chair Gwynne Wilcox, Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chair Ellen Weintraub, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrow, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General Phyllis Fong.
Several of Trump’s orders contradict legal protections for the relevant officials. For example, federal law requires the president to notify Congress before removing an inspector general, but Trump did not do so before firing over a dozen IGs. Shortly after the terminations, Senators Padilla and Schiff joined a letter to President Trump demanding that the IGs be reinstated. President Trump has violated federal law with respect to numerous other agency officials, including the Office of the Special Counsel, the head of the Merit Service Protection Board, and a member of the National Labor Relations Board. Federal courts have already intervened against many of these presidential actions.
The letter was led by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.-11) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08). In addition to Padilla and Schiff, the letter is also signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), as well as Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.-AL), Donald Beyer (D-Va.-08), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.-09), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.-05), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.-09), Danny Davis (D-Ill.-07), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.-10), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-Ga.-04), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.-02), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17), Summer Lee (D-Pa.-12), Mike Levin (D-Calif.-49), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.-07), LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.-10), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-AL), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.-02), Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.-03), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.-09), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.-01), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.-10), Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai’i-02), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.-20), and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.-43).
Senators Padilla and Schiff have fought against the Trump Administration’s federal workforce cuts and Inspectors General firings. Last month, Padilla, Schiff, and all other Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats demanded answers from Trump Administration nominees and acting officials on the removal or reassignment of career law enforcement officials across the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Padilla condemned Trump’s attempt to unlawfully fire more than a dozen Inspectors General during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. He previously sounded the alarm on concerning reports that DOGE will make wide-ranging, harmful cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) workforce and programs, hampering HUD’s ability to support vulnerable communities and combat the housing and homelessness crises. As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Padilla also denounced the illegal firing of FEC Chair Weintraub and led 10 Democratic Senators to demand President Trump rescind this decision.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear President Trump:
We are concerned that you have engaged in an unlawful firing spree that includes dozens of Senate-confirmed government officials. Many of the individuals you have targeted lead federal agencies and offices that are investigating or prosecuting companies belonging to Elon Musk, one of your top advisors, for violations of a wide swath of federal safety, labor, intelligence, and other rules and laws. The firings of these officials threaten our democratic system of checks and balances and fail to hold Mr. Musk accountable for actions that may have hurt workers, endangered national security and citizens’ and small businesses’ data, ripped off taxpayers, damaged the environment, and broken federal election rules.
You have fired scores of Senate-confirmed government officials over the past three weeks, including many individuals who have legal protections dictating why and how they can be removed from office. For example, federal law requires the president to notify Congress before removing an inspector general (IG) from office, but you did not do so before firing over a dozen IGs during your first week in office. You also failed to set forth the specific and substantive rationale for each IG’s firing. Members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) can be removed “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause,” and you removed an NLRB member with no justification. These and other firings are illegal.
Nearly all of your decisions you made about who to fire appear to benefit Mr. Musk, and many target individuals and agencies that are currently investigating or prosecuting Mr. Musk or his companies for unlawful behavior. The fired individuals directly involved in pending or previous actions related to Mr. Musk and businesses include:
NLRB Chair Gwynne Wilcox. In January 2024, the NLRB charged Mr. Musk’s astronautics company SpaceX with engaging in unfair labor practices; the NLRB also currently has at least a dozen unfair labor practices cases open against Mr. Musk’s automotive company Tesla;
FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub. In 2024, the FEC adjudicated cases that alleged Mr. Musk may have violated campaign finance laws;
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows. In September 2023, the EEOC sued Tesla for racial harassment and retaliation;
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) IG Phyllis Fong. In December 2022, the USDA IG investigated potential animal welfare violations at Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink; and
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) IG Paul Martin. The USAID IG was inspecting the use of Starlink terminals to support Ukraine.
You also fired three other IGs from agencies that were investigating or had punished Mr. Musk’s companies.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) IG Eric Soskin. In January 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an agency under the DOT, opened an investigation into Tesla over safety concerns in its remote and self-driving vehicles, and in September 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration, which is also part of DOT, proposed fining SpaceX $630,000 for failing to follow license requirements during rocket launches;
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) IG Robert Storch. In December 2024, the DoD IG reportedly opened an investigation into repeated failures by Musk and SpaceX to disclose their meetings with foreign leaders; and
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) IG Larry Turner. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration, part of the DOL, “has opened probes into and fined SpaceX, Tesla and Boring Company for worker injuries or unsafe working conditions.”
You have also fired numerous other agency leaders and IGs who would have provided a check on potential wrongdoing by Musk and his companies. These federal watchdogs could have held Musk and his associates accountable for future violations of the law. These individuals include:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) IG Sean O’Donnell. In 2019 and 2022, the EPA settled lawsuits with Tesla over Clean Air Act and hazardous waste law violations;
U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) IG Mark Greenblatt. DOI had reviewed Musk’s rocket launch facility Starbase;
U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director David Huitema. OGE is an independent agency responsive for preventing conflicts of interest among federal officers and employees;
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Member Cathy Harris. MSPB is an independent agency that protects civil servants against partisan political and other prohibited practices;
Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) Chair Susan Tsui Grundmann. FLRA is an independent agency that oversees labor-management relations for federal employees; and
U.S. Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger. OSC is an independent agency that protects whistleblowers and enforces restrictions on partisan political activity by government employees.
Altogether, these firings either directly benefit Mr. Musk and his companies or remove guardrails that would hold them accountable to the rule of law. The firings also hurt everyday Americans. The individuals you have fired served important watchdog roles in our government. IGs “protect taxpayer money by rooting out corruption, fraud, waste and mismanagement.” Minority commissioners on multi-member commissions of independent agencies provide dissenting opinions to the majority and allow for balanced decision-making over significant issues. In addition to removing agency leadership, you and Mr. Musk are removing career civil servants who would conduct investigations and enforcement actions against lawbreakers. The impacts are vast: in total, your removals of agency heads and career civil servants have affected at least eleven federal agencies with more than thirty-two ongoing investigations, complaints, or enforcement actions on Mr. Musk’s companies.
Mr. Musk has failed to address conflicts of interest related to his involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency while serving as CEO of multiple companies that have significant interests before the federal government. Musk is required to comply with federal conflict of interest prohibitions (18 U.S.C. § 208) that prohibit him “from personally and substantially participating in any particular matter that would have a direct and predictable effect on his financial interests,” but the White House has stated that he will be in charge of policing his own compliance with the law, and he has provided no indication of whether he is doing so. Now, these firings have removed the exact individuals in our government who would hold Mr. Musk and his companies accountable for following the law and protect everyday Americans from threats to their health, welfare, safety, and economic well-being. We urge you to immediately reinstate the illegally fired individuals and remove Mr. Musk from his government role unless he addresses his massive and glaring conflicts of interest as required by law.
Sincerely,
Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Highly Rural Transportation Grant (HRTG) Program provides free transportation services to VA-authorized healthcare appointments for veterans living in highly rural areas. Roughly 2.7 million veterans reside in highly rural areas across the country.
U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Angus King (I-ME), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs and Armed Services Committees, introduced the bipartisan Supporting Rural Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act. The legislation would reauthorize the VA HRTG Program for five years and add Tribal Organizations as entities eligible to apply directly for the program.
According to Lonnie Wangen, Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, “The number one reason our veterans have for missing a medical appointment is their lack of transportation. The Highly Rural Transportation Grant has provided hundreds of North Dakota’s highly rural veterans transportation to their VA medical appointments. This program has greatly improved the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable veterans.”
The bill ensures transportation assistance for veterans living in rural areas with less than seven people per square mile. Eligible counties in North Dakota include Adams, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Golden Valley, Grant, Griggs, Hettinger, Kidder, Lamoure, Logan, McHenry, Mcintosh, McKenzie, McLean, Nelson, Oliver, Pierce, Renville, Sargent, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope, Steele, Towner, and Wells Counties.
“North Dakota is home to many veterans who rely on transportation assistance to access their healthcare services,” said Senator Cramer. “Reauthorizing the Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program will ensure veterans can travel to their medical appointments, whether in the community or at a VA facility directly facilitating access to the care they’ve earned.”
“Veterans in rural Maine communities already face challenges when it comes to accessing quality, affordable care because of distance to VA medical facilities and availability of health care workers,” said Senator King. “The bipartisan Supporting Rural Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act would provide rural veterans with travel assistance to appointments, ensuring they can more easily and efficiently access providers and treatments. Where veterans choose to live should not impede their ability to get the care they earned and deserve. I want to thank my Veterans Affairs Committee colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their work to make sure our rural veterans get the support they need — from Maine all the way to Alaska.”
“Living in a small, highly-rural community far from a major metropolitan center does not justify a veteran losing or receiving limited access to the health care they have sacrificed for and earned,” said Senator Sullivan. “Transportation assistance is life-saving for Alaska’s veterans. I am glad to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program with Alaska-specific provisions to ensure our veterans are able to reach their VA appointments without lengthy delays or debilitating costs.”
Several organizations support this legislation, including the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).
“Transportation to VA medical facilities remains a major challenge for the 2.7 million veterans who live in rural areas and are enrolled in VA care,” said Daniel Contreras, DAV National Commander. “DAV is proud to support the Supporting Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act as it would improve rural veterans’ access to VA medical treatment. We applaud Sens. Cramer and King for their leadership in re-introducing this vital bipartisan legislation that will help ensure our nation keeps its promises to America’s veterans.”
“Among the post-9/11 wounded, ill, and injured veterans we serve, just over half report that they have experienced some degree of difficulty accessing health care through VA,” said Jose Ramos, WWP’s Vice President for Government and Community Relations. “The Supporting Rural Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act would help ensure that transportation to appointments is one less barrier for veterans in rural areas to be concerned about. Wounded Warrior Project is pleased to support this legislation, and we thank Senators Cramer, King, and Sullivan for their leadership in supporting better pathways to health for our nation’s veterans.”
Click here for bill text.
Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) in introducing the Supporting All Healthy Options When Purchasing Produce (SHOPP) Act, which would expand access to frozen fruits and vegetables through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“SNAP participants deserve access to healthy alternatives,” said Sen. Tuberville.“RFK Jr. has exposed the scary truth behind much of America’s processed food. Expanding access to frozen fruits and vegetables is a step in the right direction of Making America Healthy Again. It is important we continue to increase options and encourage Americans to make healthy choices.”
“Access to whole, nutrient dense foods are essential to making America healthy again,” said Sen. Cornyn. “The SHOPP Act will help meet this need for Texas families and communities across the country by ensuring SNAP participants are able to put well-balanced meals full of fruits and vegetables on their dinner tables.”
“I am proud to reintroduce the bipartisan SHOPP Act to expand access to fruits and vegetables for families across the country,” said Sen. Luján. “This legislation helps strengthen food security and supports healthier communities in New Mexico and nationwide, especially in rural and Tribal communities where access to fresh produce can be limited. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to move it forward.”
U.S. Congressmen Mark Alford (R-MO-04) and Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) led the effort in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Full text of the bill can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
The Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) and the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) are designed to help low-income families and individuals access the healthy food options they need. However, the GusNIP program currently only include funding for fresh produce, not frozen. The SHOPP Act would give local GusNIP providers the ability to provide frozen fruits and vegetables, which work better for SNAP participants who may live in rural or urban food deserts. Increased access to frozen produce makes eating a variety of fruits and vegetables possible for these families and individuals, and it is also easier to transport to areas that are on the last mile of a delivery route. This comes as March is National Nutrition Month and National Frozen Food Month, which raise awareness of the importance of developing healthy eating habits.
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.
UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday that the continued closure of key border crossings into Gaza is putting civilian lives at risk, just as they begin to recover from months of war, deprivation and hunger.
Speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the Kerem Shalom, Zikim and Erez crossings had remained closed for cargo for the third consecutive day, severely restricting the flow of humanitarian supplies into the devastated enclave.
“The Israeli authorities have rejected our attempts to collect humanitarian supplies that crossed the Kerem Shalom border crossing before its closure,” he said, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“Given the huge needs in Gaza, keeping the crossings closed will have devastating consequences,” he added, underscoring that Member States and those with influence must use all available means to ensure the ceasefire holds.
Aid should not be used as ‘a weapon’: UNRWA chief
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), warned on Tuesday that Israel’s decision to halt aid should be reversed.
“Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we have seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began. This brought respite and relief to people in need,” he said in a post on the platform X.
He noted that the vast majority of the people in Gaza rely on aid for their “sheer survival”, adding that water, medical care and electricity were essential to complement basic food assistance.
“Aid and these basic services are non-negotiable. They must never be used as weapons of war,” Mr. Lazzarini stated.
Services continue
Despite the restrictions, UN agencies and humanitarian partners on the ground are working to sustain aid operations across the Gaza Strip, Mr. Dujarric said.
On Monday, the dialysis unit at Al Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza City resumed services on Tuesday, alongside a 25-bed in-patient unit. Paediatric services also resumed at the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 29 child patients, along with 43 companions, were evacuated from Gaza to Jordan via Israel for specialized medical treatment. This marked the first WHO-supported medical evacuation to Jordan since the ceasefire began in January.
Inside Gaza, WHO has also provided hygiene and sanitation supplies to thousands of women and girls, warning that the lack of access to clean water and sanitation could worsen mental health conditions for those who have been displaced.
Escalation in the West Bank
In the West Bank, Israeli military operations in Jenin have escalated, leading to more displacement and destruction, Mr. Dujarric reported.
Israeli forces ordered residents in one part of Jenin city to evacuate their homes, displacing about 30 families “including at least three, who had been displaced previously,” he said.
He added that Israeli forces used bulldozers, damaging infrastructure and causing power outages, while intensified access and movement restrictions to and from the city were also observed.
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that on March 3, 2025, Rebecca Jean Workman, 48 years old, of Hickory Grove, S.C. pleaded guilty in Lancaster County on Chester County indictments to one count of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-85(D)}, one count of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent Value more than $2,000 but less than $5,000 {16-13-0230(A)}, and one count of Financial Transaction Card Fraud value more than $500 in six months. The Honorable Grace G. Knie presided over the hearing. Workman was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended to the service of three years active time in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, followed by five years of probation. Workman is also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,418.97, and she is to have no contact with the victims. The sentences are to run concurrently.
A Vulnerable Adult and Medicaid Provider Fraud (VAMPF) investigation revealed that on or about October 3, 2023, Workman, while employed at Palmetto Village, was entrusted with the victim’s funds and fraudulently converted those funds through multiple ATM withdrawals and debit card transactions for her own use. During the time of the alleged misconduct, the victim, a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law, resided at Palmetto Village in Chester County. The facility reported the activity to VAMPF.
Pursuant to federal regulations, the VAMPF has authority over Medicaid provider fraud and the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals residing in assisted living facilities or nursing homes.
The South Carolina Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, dba VAMPF, receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,889,252 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $963,084 for FFY 2025, is funded by South Carolina.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Definitive Healthcare (Nasdaq: DH), an industry leader in healthcare commercial intelligence, today announced that in connection with the hiring of two senior leaders, the Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of Definitive Healthcare’s Board of Directors granted inducement awards. The Committee granted Kate Hastings, Definitive Healthcare’s new Chief Customer Officer an inducement award consisting of 172,414 time-based restricted stock units (“RSUs”) effective March 3, 2025 and granted Benjamin Graboske, Definitive Healthcare’s new EVP, Technology, Engineering and Chief Data Officer an inducement award consisting of 1,018,330 time-based RSUs, effective March 3, 2025. Each of these awards was individually negotiated and was granted as an inducement material to Ms. Hastings’ and Mr. Graboske’s respective commencement of employment with Definitive Healthcare in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
Each of the awards is subject to the terms and conditions of Definitive Healthcare’s 2023 Inducement Plan (the “Plan”) and the terms and conditions of an applicable award agreement covering the grant.
Ms. Hastings’ RSUs will vest as follows, subject to Ms. Hastings’ continued employment through each such date: (i) 25% will vest on February 1, 2026; (ii) the remainder will vest in quarterly installments equal to 6.25% of the total RSUs over the subsequent 3 years, until fully vested.
Mr. Graboske’s RSUs will vest as follows, subject to Mr. Graboske’s continued employment through each such date: (i) 25% will vest on April 1, 2026; (ii) the remainder will vest in quarterly installments equal to 6.25% of the total RSUs over the subsequent 3 years, until fully vested.
About Definitive Healthcare
At Definitive Healthcare, our passion is to transform data, analytics, and expertise into healthcare commercial intelligence. We help clients uncover the right markets, opportunities, and people, so they can shape tomorrow’s healthcare industry. Our SaaS platform creates new paths to commercial success in the healthcare market, so companies can identify where to go next. Learn more at definitivehc.com.
Investor Contact: Brian Denyeau ICR for Definitive Healthcare brian.denyeau@icrinc.com 646-277-1251
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says funding from the Mental Health Innovation Fund will support an additional 560 young people in Rotorua to get mental health and addiction support and help provide a range of courses and workshops focused on upskilling people in the community to better support youth. “Mental health and wellbeing is a prominent issue for many young people across the country, and we’re committed to helping young Kiwis get the support, they need, when they need it,’ Mr Doocey says. “I’m pleased that this new funding for the Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust will enable them to expand their team and scale up the valuable work it does to support young people and help them reach their full potential. “The Trust provides free, youth-centred primary health, mental health, and social services to young people. “The Trust is the sixth successful recipient of the first round of the Fund, with Youthline, the Sir John Kirwan Foundation, MATES in Construction, the Mental Health Foundation and Wellington City Mission already announced, I intend to announce other successful providers in the coming weeks. “The Mental Health Innovation Fund was set up to provide $10 million over two years to support non-government organisations (NGOs) and community providers with extra funding to scale-up existing time-limited projects or initiatives that aim to improve mental health and addiction outcomes in New Zealand. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in grassroots initiatives through non-governmental and community organisations that deliver mental health and addiction support. “I expect the next round of funding for the Innovation Fund will open in about the middle of this year, which will be another opportunity for organisations to seek additional funding,” Mr Doocey says.
Question for written answer E-000811/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Dario Nardella (S&D), Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Camilla Laureti (S&D), Giorgio Gori (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Pierfrancesco Maran (S&D), Pina Picierno (S&D), Sandro Ruotolo (S&D), Annalisa Corrado (S&D), Irene Tinagli (S&D), Cecilia Strada (S&D), Raffaele Topo (S&D)
On 11 February 2025, Tuscany became the first region in Italy to approve a bill regulating the right to die, establishing that the regional health service must, subject to specific conditions and time frames, grant patients the freedom to choose to end their life.
Tuscany was acting on a motion for a citizens’ initiative bill and in a persistent legislative vacuum, as highlighted by the Constitutional Court which, in judgment No 242 of 2019, decriminalised assisted suicide and laid down the prerequisites for patient access to the procedure. Some European countries have already regulated assisted dying, while others have not enshrined the right to choose, making for an extremely fragmented landscape in which the people are the ones to suffer from the stark differences.
In light of the above:
1.Does the Commission believe that, on this point, the Member States are in violation of the principles laid down in Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘Health care’)?
2.Will it take steps to limit the regulatory fragmentation and ensure legal uniformity in the recognition and protection of the right to die for EU citizens?
As part of a 12 university network launched by the UNESCO in 1957, the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences at Quito (FLACSO) is a postgraduate institution dedicated to research and teaching at Masters and Doctoral levels.
FLACSO currently offers around 20 careers throughout 11 departments, including a Doctor Degree in Economics and in Political Studies.
Boosting our nursing workforce will deliver immediate benefits to people seeking care, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Kiwis will get better access to primary healthcare under our Government’s plan to empower more nurses to deliver timely, quality services in local communities.“Strengthening this important workforce is vital to ensuring New Zealanders get the care they need, when they need it.“Cabinet has agreed to:
Increase the number of training places for nurse practitioners specialising in primary care to 120 a year. Support advanced education for up to 120 primary care registered nurses.
“New Zealand nurses already have the expertise to provide high-quality care in local communities. By increasing their skills and qualifications, more patients can be seen sooner, and pressure on doctors is eased.“Nurse practitioners are highly skilled professionals who can diagnose conditions, prescribe medicines and develop treatment plans. They often manage more complex healthcare needs, giving New Zealanders greater choice and better access to health services.“The Government will invest $34.2 million over five years to fund 120 nurse practitioner training places in primary care each year from 2026. “An additional $21.6 million over four years will accelerate advanced tertiary education for up to 120 primary care registered nurses annually, bringing healthcare closer to home.“Registered nurses who obtain advanced qualifications can become registered nurse prescribers and may choose to continue their training to become nurse practitioners.“This allows more Kiwis to get ongoing care, including prescriptions, without needing a doctor’s appointment.“A stronger health workforce that we can retain is critical. We know that making primary care an attractive place to work for doctors and nurses keeps healthcare local for patients. “These initiatives build on our plan to attract and recruit up to 400 graduate registered nurses a year into primary care roles, and train and hire more doctors,” Mr Brown says.
by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific What Are Messier Objects? During the 18th century, astronomer and comet hunter Charles Messier wanted to distinguish the ‘faint fuzzies’ he observed from any potential new comets. As a result, Messier cataloged 110 objects in the night sky, ranging from star clusters to galaxies to nebulae. These items are designated by the letter ‘M’ and a number. For example, the Orion Nebula is Messier 42 or M42, and the Pleiades are Messier 45 or M45. These are among the brightest ‘faint fuzzies’ we can see with modest backyard telescopes and some even with our eyes. Stargazers can catalog these items on evenings closest to the new moon. Some even go as far as having “Messier Marathons,” setting up their telescopes and binoculars in the darkest skies available to them, from sundown to sunrise, to catch as many as possible. Here are some items to look for this season:
Messier 44 in Cancer: The Beehive Cluster, also known as Praesepe, is an open star cluster in the heart of the Cancer constellation. Use Pollux in Gemini and Regulus in Leo as guide stars. A pair of binoculars is enough to view this and other open star clusters. If you have a telescope handy, pay a visit two of the three galaxies that form the Leo Triplet – M65 and M66. These items can be seen one hour after sunset in dark skies.
Messier 3 Canes Venatici: M3 is a globular cluster of 500,000 stars. Through a telescope, this object looks like a fuzzy sparkly ball. You can resolve this cluster in an 8-inch telescope in moderate dark skies. You can find this star cluster by using the star Arcturus in the Boötes constellation as a guide. Messier 87 in Virgo: Located just outside of Markarian’s Chain, M87 is an elliptical galaxy that can be spotted during the late evening hours. While it is not possible to view the supermassive black hole at the core of this galaxy, you can see M87 and several other Messier-labeled galaxies in the Virgo Cluster using a medium-sized telescope.
Plan Ahead When gearing up for a long stargazing session, there are several things to remember, such as equipment, location, and provisions:
Do you have enough layers to be outdoors for several hours? You would be surprised how cold it can get when sitting or standing still behind a telescope! Are your batteries fully charged? If your telescope runs on power, be sure to charge everything before you leave home and pack any additional batteries for your cell phone. Most people use their mobile devices for astronomy apps, so their batteries may deplete faster. Cold weather can also impact battery life. Determine the apparent magnitude of what you are trying to see and the limiting magnitude of your night sky. You can learn more about apparent and limiting magnitudes with our Check Your Sky Quality with Orion article. When choosing a location to observe from, select an area you are familiar with and bring some friends! You can also connect with your local astronomy club to see if they are hosting any Messier Marathons. It’s always great to share the stars!
You can see all 110 items and their locations with NASA’s Explore the Night Sky interactive map and the Hubble Messier Catalog, objects that have been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The National Society of Professional Engineers recently named Debbie Korth, Orion deputy program manager at Johnson Space Center, as NASA’s 2025 Engineer of the Year. Korth was recognized during an award ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 21, alongside honorees from 17 other federal agencies. The annual awards program honors the impactful contributions of federal engineers and their commitment to public service.
Korth said she was shocked to receive the award. “At NASA there are so many brilliant, talented engineers who I get to work with every day who are so specialized and know so much about a certain area,” she said. “It was very surprising, but very appreciated.” Korth has dedicated more than 30 years of her career to NASA, supporting human spaceflight development, integration, and operations across the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Orion Programs. Her earliest roles involved extravehicular and mission operations planning, as well as managing spaceflight hardware for shuttle missions and space station crews. Working on hardware such as the Crew Health Care System in the early days of space station planning and development was a unique experience for Korth. After spending significant time in Russia collaborating with Russian counterparts to integrate equipment such as a treadmill, cycle ergometer, and blood pressure monitor into their module, Korth recalled, “When we finally got that all delivered and integrated, it was a huge step because we had to have all of that on board before we could put crew members on the station for the first time. I remember feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and happiness that we were able to work through this international partnership and forge those relationships to get that hardware integrated.” Korth transitioned to the Orion Program in 2008 and has since served in a variety of leadership roles. In her current role, Korth assists the program manager in the design, development, testing, verification, and certification of Orion, NASA’s next-generation, human-rated spacecraft for Artemis missions. The spacecraft’s first flight test around the Moon during the Artemis I mission was a standout experience for Korth and a major accomplishment for the Orion team. “It was a long mission and every day we were learning more and more about the spacecraft and pushing boundaries,” she said. “We really wrung out some of the core systems – systems that were developed individually and for the first time we got to see them work together.” Korth said that understanding how different systems interact with each other is what she loves most about engineering. “In systems engineering, you really look at how changes to and the performance of one system affects everything else,” she said. “I like looking across the entire spacecraft and saying, if I have to strengthen this structure to take some additional landing loads, that’s going to add mass to the vehicle, which means I have to look at my parachutes and the thermal protection system to make sure they can handle that increased load.” The Orion team is working to achieve two major milestones in 2025 – delivery of the Artemis II Orion spacecraft to the Exploration Ground Systems team that will fuel and integrate Orion with its launch abort system at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and the spacecraft’s integration with the Space Launch System rocket, which is currently being stacked. These milestones will support the launch of the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration, with liftoff targeted no earlier than April 2026. “It’s going to be a big year,” said Korth.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Tracy Smith-Carrier, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Royal Roads University
To eradicate poverty, we need policy actions that address the root of financial hardship. A basic income does just that.(Shutterstock)
Over half of Canadians feel “financially paralyzed” by the cost-of-living crisis, according to a recent poll. As life becomes more unaffordable for more people, we need governments to create policies that will improve public health and well-being.
One such policy is a basic income guarantee: an unconditional cash transfer from government to ensure people can meet their basic needs and live with dignity.
A basic income guarantee differs from the universal basic income (UBI) model often discussed. While a UBI is set at the same amount and made available to everyone, a basic income guarantee is targeted to those need it, through a benefit that rises as income declines.
Our recently published research looks into one basic income program, the Ontario Basic Income Pilot that was launched in 2017 but abruptly ended the following year. We conducted a study to understand how Ontario’s pilot impacted the lives of those who participated in it.
We interviewed 46 participants across four cities included in the pilot. We asked about their experiences before the pilot, during their participation in it and after its abrupt end.
In 2017, the Ontario government, under then-premier Kathleen Wynne, launched the Ontario Basic Income Pilot to test the efficacy of an unconditional cash transfer. A total of 4,000 people were enrolled, and the pilot was slated to run in Hamilton, Lindsay, Brantford and Thunder Bay over a three-year period.
Set at 75 per cent of the low-income measure (one of Statistics Canada’s three poverty lines), the pilot provided $1,415 monthly for single people and an additional $500 for people with disabilities (up to $1,915 monthly), with every dollar earned subject to a 50 per cent claw-back.
Despite a campaign promise to complete the pilot, incoming premier Doug Ford abandoned it in 2018. Participants weren’t forewarned but learned of its cancellation like everyone else — on the news or through social media.
The pilot’s guiding principles, written by the late-Senator Hugh Segal, affirmed that “no individual will be made worse off during or after the pilot, as a result of participation in the pilot.” Our study, however, indicates that the mental health of many participants was demonstrably worsened in the pilot’s demise.
With a three-year promise of stable income, participants told us of being able to plan better for their futures. Some pursued higher education, others found better paying and more stable jobs or started their own businesses. Some moved into better housing, leaving behind mold-infested or poorly maintained dwellings, only to plead with their landlords to break their new leases after the pilot was cancelled.
We found that increased income security improved participants’ mental health, reduced their stress and allowed them to improve diets with healthier food options. Some spoke of no longer having to rely on food charity as they could go the grocery store like everyone else.
Interviewees described what life is like in poverty: not being able to go out for a cup of coffee with friends or buy gifts for your children on their birthdays, not being able to entertain family over the holidays or go out and socialize.
Some had not disclosed their financial situation to family or friends because their sense of shame was so profound. Yet, feeling unable to discuss their situation essentially cut them off from valuable sources of social support.
Structural violence
Ontario’s premature cancellation of the pilot was an act of structural violence — a policy decision that caused needless and avoidable harm and suffering. Anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes explains that structural violence refers to “the invisible social machinery of inequality that reproduces social relations of exclusion and marginalization.”
Structural violence upholds the poverty, racism, sexism and other social inequities that lead to higher rates of illness, suffering and premature death. It is often invisible and can result from policy omissions, but the termination of the pilot was a public, deliberate decision.
By throwing participants’ lives and carefully laid plans into chaos, and thrusting them back into poverty, our research shows the Ontario government’s policy decision caused significant harm.
The cost of mental illness in Canada already amounts to over $50 billion annually (in direct health-care costs and lost productivity) but without intervention could increase to $291 billion by 2041.
Poverty is not caused by personal failings. It is the social environment people live in that has the greatest impact on life trajectories.
To eradicate poverty, we need policies that address the root of financial hardship. A basic income does just that. The Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada recently released estimates that show a basic income, using parameters similar to the Ontario pilot’s, could cut poverty by up to 40 per cent. This is an affordable option with the potential for broad positive effects.
We already have the Canada Child Benefit for families and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for older adults that provide forms of a basic income guarantee, although these benefits must be enlarged to be truly adequate. What we need now is a program that provides a robust income floor beneath which no one can fall.
Whatever their ideological leanings, politicians have a duty to advance policies that bolster public health and well-being. Improving mental health through a basic income is a wise investment, one that will prevent the needless suffering of generations to come.
Tracy Smith-Carrier has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from the Canada Research Chairs program.
Elaine Power has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Eunyoung Choi, Postdoctoral Associate in Gerontology, University of Southern California
Extreme heat increases the risk of a number of diseases, including kidney and heart conditions.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
What if extreme heat not only leaves you feeling exhausted but actually makes you age faster?
Scientists already know that extreme heat increases the risk of heat stroke, cardiovascular disease, kidney dysfunction and even death. I see these effects often in my work as a researcher studying how environmental stressors influence the aging process. But until now, little research has explored how heat affects biological aging: the gradual deterioration of cells and tissues that increases the risk of age-related diseases.
New research my team and I published in the journal Science Advances suggests that long-term exposure to extreme heat may speed up biological aging at the molecular level, raising concerns about the long-term health risks posed by a warming climate.
My colleagues and I examined blood samples from over 3,600 older adults across the United States. We measured their biological age using epigenetic clocks, which capture DNA modification patterns – methylation – that change with age.
DNA methylation refers to chemical modifications to DNA that act like switches to turn genes on and off. Environmental factors can influence these switches and change how genes function, affecting aging and disease risk over time. Measuring these changes through epigenetic clocks can strongly predict age-related disease risk and lifespan.
Research in animal models has shown that extreme heat can trigger what’s known as a maladaptive epigenetic memory, or lasting changes in DNA methylation patterns. Studies indicate that a single episode of extreme heat stress can cause long-term shifts in DNA methylation across different tissue types in mice. To test the effects of heat stress on people, we linked epigenetic clock data to climate records to assess whether people living in hotter environments exhibited faster biological aging.
We found that older adults residing in areas with frequent very hot days showed significantly faster epigenetic aging compared with those living in cooler regions. For example, participants living in locations with at least 140 extreme heat days per year – classified as days when the heat index exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.33 degrees Celcius) – experienced up to 14 months of additional biological aging compared with those in areas with fewer than 10 such days annually.
This link between biological age and extreme heat remained even after accounting for a wide range of individual and community factors such as physical activity levels and socioeconomic status. This means that even among people with similar lifestyles, those living in hotter environments may still be aging faster at the biological level.
Even more surprising was the magnitude of the effect – extreme heat has a comparable impact on speeding up aging as smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. This suggests that heat exposure may be silently accelerating aging, at a level on par with other major known environmental and lifestyle stressors.
Long-term public health consequences
While our study sheds light on the connection between heat and biological aging, many unanswered questions remain. It’s important to clarify that our findings don’t mean every additional year in extreme heat translates directly to 14 extra months of biological aging. Instead, our research reflects population-level differences between groups based on their local heat exposure. In other words, we took a snapshot of whole populations at a moment in time; it wasn’t designed to look at effects on individual people.
Our study also doesn’t fully capture all the wayspeople mightprotect themselves from extreme heat. Factors such as access to air conditioning, time spent outdoors and occupational exposure all play a role in shaping personal heat exposure and its effects. Some individuals may be more resilient, while others may face greater risks due to preexisting health conditions or socioeconomic barriers. This is an area where more research is needed.
What is clear, however, is that extreme heat is more than just an immediate health hazard – it may be silently accelerating the aging process, with long-term consequences for public health.
Large swaths of the U.S. population are experiencing long stretches of extreme heat, as this map of cumulative heat days from 2010 to 2016 shows. Eunyoung Choi, CC BY-ND
Older adults are especially vulnerable because aging reduces the body’s ability to regulate temperature effectively. Many older individuals also take medications such as beta-blockers and diuretics that can impair their heat tolerance, making it even harder for their bodies to cope with high temperatures. So even moderately hot days, such as those reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.67 degrees Celcius), can pose health risks for older adults.
As the U.S. population rapidly ages and climate change intensifies heat waves worldwide, I believe simply telling people to move to cooler regions isn’t realistic. Developing age-appropriate solutions that allow older adults to safely remain in their communities and protect the most vulnerable populations could help address the hidden yet significant effects of extreme heat.
Eunyoung Choi receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Aging.
HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH) is inviting Hawaiʻi residents who keep backyard flocks or are involved in bird rescue, to participate in a new survey aimed at gathering important data on bird flu awareness and preparedness.
The survey will collect critical information on the understanding of bird flu, as well as the practices and needs of those who keep poultry or care for rescued birds.
“We want to better understand the potential exposures that backyard flock owners and bird rescuers face when it comes to avian influenza, so we can help prevent future human bird flu infections in partnership with the community,” said Dr. Sarah Kemble, Hawaiʻi state epidemiologist. “By reaching out through both digital and in-person methods, we hope to get wide participation and honest feedback.”
The survey will be anonymous and accessible online through the following link: https://redcap.link/birdflusurvey
Only Hawaiʻi residents who keep at least one poultry bird at home, those involved in bird rescue activities, or those having direct contact with birds in the past year for other reasons are requested to participate at this time. Residents are encouraged to complete the survey as soon as possible to help the DOH collect valuable insights.
The outreach strategy for this survey includes posting the survey link in various Facebook groups dedicated to Hawaiʻi backyard flock owners and bird rescuers. Additionally, flyers with QR codes linking to the survey will be distributed in poultry feed stores and other animal care venues across the state.
Questions about the survey or bird flu may be directed to the DOH Disease Reporting Line at 808-586-4586 or [email protected]. If you have symptoms and a known exposure within the past 10 days, please contact your primary care provider for evaluation and testing, as well as the DOH Disease Reporting Line for further guidance.
More information on bird flu can be found on the DOH website: https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/disease_listing/avian-influenza/
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Media Contact:
Claudette Springer Information Specialist Hawai‘i State Department of Health Phone: 808-586-4445 Email: [email protected]
Tampering with a Monitoring Device/Clean Air Act, Conspiracy
Trials
United States v. Jason Lee Wagner
No. 3:22-CR-01754(Western District of Texas)
ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Todd Gleason
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris
On February 7, 2025, a jury convicted Jason Lee Wagner of conspiracy and 12 smuggling violations (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545, 2). Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.
Between March 2015 and December 2019, Wagner and others bought and sold endangered reptiles from individuals in Mexico. Wagner and other co-conspirator suppliers and middlemen used social media to offer reptiles for sale and to negotiate the terms of the sale and delivery with customers in the United States and Mexico. His co-conspirators also used international money transfers to provide for “crossing fees,” sales and purchases, and other expenses. They then packaged and re-packaged the reptiles for illegal crossings using USPS and other courier services to transport them between Mexico and the United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Indictments
United States v. Roy Ladell Weaver, et al.
No. 1:25-CR-00048 (Middle District of Pennsylvania)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA David Williams
RCEC Patricia Miller
On February 19, 2025, a grand jury indicted Roy Ladell Weaver and his company, Pro Diesel Werks, LLC, with conspiring to impede the lawful functions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), and substantive CAA violations (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Pro Diesel Werks provided vehicle repair and maintenance and performance enhancement services, including services on diesel engines and vehicle emission systems. The indictment alleges that between 2013 and March 2024, Weaver and the company, along with co-conspirators, disabled the hardware emissions control systems on the diesel vehicles of Pro Diesel Werks’ customers (a practice referred to as a “delete” or “deleting”), defeating the systems’ ability to reduce pollutant gases and particulate matter released to the atmosphere. The defendants are also alleged to have tampered with the monitoring device and method required under the CAA, that is they disabled the onboard diagnostic system on vehicles preventing the system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware deletes (a practice referred to as a “tune” or “tuning”).
The defendants charged customers between approximately $2,000 and $4,000 per vehicle to remove and disable the emission control systems on motor vehicles with diesel engines.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On February 7, 2025, Corey Potter pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting crab from Alaska (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2025. Kyle Potter, his son, was previously sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. A third defendant, Justin Welch, was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.
Corey Potter owns two crab catching vessels; Kyle Potter and Welch worked as vessel captains. In February and March 2024, the vessels harvested more than 7,000 pounds of Tanner and Golden king crab in Southeast Alaska. Corey Potter directed Welch and Kyle Potter to land the crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it at a higher price than they would have in Alaska. Neither captain landed the harvested crab at a port in Alaska, and they never recorded the harvest on a fish ticket, as required under state law.
A large portion of the king crab that arrived in Seattle from Alaska had died and was unmarketable. Corey Potter knew that some of the crab aboard was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease fatal to crustaceans. Officials were forced to destroy more than 4,000 additional pounds of Tanner crab due to the risk of BCS infection. If the defendants had properly landed the crab in Alaska, authorities could have inspected the harvest and removed the infected crab before leaving Alaska.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker
No. 5:25-CR-00002 (Eastern District of Kentucky)
AUSA Emily Greenfield
On February 7, 2025, Kendall Glenn Hacker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between November 2021 and June 2022, Hacker sent money through online payment applications, such as PayPal and Venmo, to Michael Macartney, an online chat group administrator. The members and participants of these groups funded, created, obtained, received, exchanged and/or distributed animal crush videos.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Chamness Dirt Works, et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00430 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Bryan Chinwuba
RCEC Karla Perrin
On February 7, 2025, property management company Horseshoe Grove, LLC, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for asbestos work practice standards (42 U.S.C. §§ 7412(h),7413(c)(1)). Horseshoe Grove’s owner and operator Ryan Richter pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Construction and demolition company Chamness Dirt Works, Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the CAA NESHAP for asbestos, and company owner and president, Ronald Chamness, pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2025.
In November 2022, Horseshoe Grove acquired a property in The Dalles, Oregon, which included a mobile home park and two dilapidated apartment buildings. The previous owner provided the new buyers with an asbestos survey from December 2021, which identified more than 5,000 square feet of friable chrysotile asbestos within the two deteriorating buildings, with levels ranging from 2% to 25%. The survey also noted non-friable asbestos in various building materials, including siding and flooring, throughout the apartments. Despite these findings, Horseshoe Grove failed to implement the necessary precautions for asbestos removal.
In March 2023, Chamness Dirt Works began demolishing the two asbestos-laden structures without following proper removal procedures. Chamness did not engage a certified asbestos abatement contractor, did not wet the asbestos-containing debris, and dumped the material in a regular landfill.
Horseshoe Grove paid Chamness Dirt Works a total of $49,330 for the demolition, which did not meet the required safety standards.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Nos.4:25-CR-00018, 4:24-CR-00006, 00084 (District of Montana)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
AUSA Jeff Starnes
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies
On February 10, 2025, Hollis G. Hale pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G), 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2025.
Hale conspired with Jack Schubarth to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting. Schubarth smuggled Marco Polo argali sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan into the United States. This protected species of sheep, native to high elevations in the Pamir region of Central Asia, is deemed the largest in the world.
In 2013, Schubarth provided genetic material to a third-party cloning facility, and, in 2016, received successfully cloned pure Marco Polo argali embryos. Schubarth raised a pure male argali clone that he named “Montana Mountain King.” In 2018, Schubarth began breeding Montana Mountain King with other species and selling the offspring throughout the U.S. To evade detection, Schubarth falsely labeled the offspring on Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and other official forms.
In June and July 2020, Hale facilitated the purchase and interstate transport of twelve hybrid Marco Polo argali sheep from Schubarth and falsely identified 43 species of sheep on a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. Hale falsified these documents knowing these sheep are prohibited in Montana. Schubarth was sentenced in September 2024 to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks conducted the investigation.
United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield
No. 5:25-CR-00011 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
AUSA Joseph Ravelo
On February 12, 2025, Zachary Brandon Barfield pleaded guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1372(a)(2)(A), 1375(b); 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(G), 136l(b)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Barfield is a charter and commercial fishing captain operating out of Panama City, Florida. In the summer of 2022, Barfield became frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of charter fishing clients. Between June and August 2022, Barfield and others placed a commercial methomyl insecticide inside bait fish to feed to and poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.
While captaining another fishing trip in December 2022, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from fishing lines. This time, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill a dolphin that surfaced near his vessel. In the summer of 2023, while on a charter fishing trip, Barfield used the same shotgun to shoot a dolphin that surfaced near the lines of clients.
The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
United States v. James H. Spencer
No. 23-CR-00015 (Western District of Virginia)
AUSA Michael Baudinet
On February 21, 2025, James Howard Spencer, the Mayor of Glen Lyn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(2)(A)). Spencer admitted to directing employees of the Town of Glen Lyn to illegally discharge raw sewage and other pollutants into the East River, a tributary of the New River, on three occasions- in the summer of 2019, December 2020, and June 2021.
The discharges occurred at a pump station located behind the Glen Lyn Post Office, which was not an authorized discharge point of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Glen Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The East River, a perennial stream and a tributary of the New River, is a protected waterway under the CWA.
Spencer knowingly violated multiple conditions of the NPDES permit, including discharges from unauthorized locations and failing to report the discharges to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.
United States v. Liza Hash
No. 1:25-CR-20007 (Southern District of Florida)
AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald
On February 25, 2025, Liza Hash pleaded guilty to discharging oil into United States and contiguous zone waters, violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2), 1321(b)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Hash was the owner and operator of the S/V Juliet, a sailing vessel used for multi-day scuba diving trips between Miami and the Bahamas. Over the course of approximately six years, Hash’s vessel carried up to 12 passengers per trip, along with the crew, between the U.S. and the Bahamas.
On June 16, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded the Juliet following its return from the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.
During the inspection, they noted oily water in the bilge, and a pump connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, to facilitate illegal overboard discharges. Hash had used the vessel’s grey water tank (which is intended to hold liquid waste from the boat’s washer, dryer, sinks, and showers) to store oil-contaminated bilge water and discharge overboard.
Investigators estimate that Hash discharged approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water during the five-year period.
The United States Coast Guard conducted the investigation.
United States v. Old Dutch Mustard Company, Inc., d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company, et al.
No. 1:25-CR-00002 (District of New Hampshire)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA Matthew Hunter
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies
On February 24, 2025, The Old Dutch Mustard Company, d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company (Old Dutch), and company owner and president Charles Santich, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319(c)(2)(A)).
Old Dutch manufactured vinegar and mustard products, generating acidic wastewater during the process. Much of this wastewater consisted of spilled or leaked vinegar, or discarded vinegar that did not meet specifications. Old Dutch did not have a permit to discharge process wastewater. Instead, it stored the process wastewater in tanks and a trucking company hauled one or two truckloads of the wastewater off-site daily to the Rochester Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Old Dutch paid the trucking company for transporting each load. A second wastewater stream consisted of stormwater that became acidic after flowing through areas of the facility (especially the tank farm) where vinegar spilled. Old Dutch also paid the trucking company to haul the acidic stormwater to the POTW.
Santich decided to reduce costs by ordering workers to discharge some of the wastewater to a manmade ditch formed by an abandoned railroad bed at the top of a hill behind the facility, from which the wastewater would flow into the Souhegan River. In May 2017, Santich hired an excavation company to extend an underground pipe to the top of the hill behind the facility. He then directed an employee to repeatedly pump wastewater through the underground pipe to the abandoned railroad bed. Once the process wastewater or contaminated stormwater discharged at the top of the hill, it flowed to the river. Old Dutch did not have an NPDES or any other permit to discharge pollutants into the river.
In March 2021, Santich directed the same excavation company to install a sump at the corner of the tank farm area to collect the acidic stormwater and pump it directly up the hill through the buried pipe. Similarly, during the Fall of 2022, Santich hired the excavation company to clean out the undergrowth in the manmade ditch at the top of the hill and line it with riprap to create a better drainage ditch and facilitate the flow of wastewater to the river.
On August 2, 2023, EPA agents executed a search warrant at the Old Dutch facility and witnessed this illegal activity. Agents observed liquid that smelled like vinegar discharging from the end of the underground pipe into the riprap-lined ditch. The wastewater discharge had a pH of 3.6. The agents then conducted a dye test starting at the sump outside the corner of the tank farm area. The dye discharged from the underground pipe at the top of the hill and flowed along the riprap-lined drainage ditch and down to the river.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
On February 26, 2025, Fabcon Precast LLC (Fabcon) pleaded guilty to willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation (29 U.S.C. § 666(e)). The criminal charge is related to an incident where an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head.
Fabcon operates several facilities in the United States, including one in Grove City, Ohio, that manufactures precast concrete panels. At Fabcon, employees known as batch operators were responsible for the operation and cleaning of the facility’s only concrete mixer. Concrete was discharged from the bottom of the mixer through a pneumatic door. By design, the mixer had an exhaust valve that released the pneumatic energy powering the discharge door, rendering it inoperable. Some months prior to June 6, 2020, the handle that operated the valve broke off and was not replaced.
On June 6, 2020, Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator since January 2020, was on duty when the discharge door failed to close after releasing a batch of concrete. Because the valve was broken, Ledbetter could not perform the proper procedure to make the door safe to work around. When he attempted to free the door it closed on his head, trapping him. Eventually, Ledbetter was freed and transported to a hospital where he died five days later.
The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
No. 3:24-CR-00618 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Vyacheslav I. Piglitsin to time served and to pay $4,355 in restitution. On March 2, 2024, Piglitsin drove over the border from Mexico with Mexican pesticides that he failed to present for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433 and 1436). Inspectors found seventy-two 1-liter bottles of “Bovitraz” in his vehicle.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Sentencings
United States v. Michael Hart
No. 3:24-CR-00383 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
Former AUSA Melanie Pierson
AUSA Mark Pletcher
On February 3, 2025, a court sentenced Michael Hart to time served followed by one year of supervised release. Hart also will pay $1,500 in restitution. Hart pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally import hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Mexico and sell them in violation of law (18 U.S.C. § 371). In addition, Hart admitted to conspiring to illegally import hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), namely HCFC 22, which is banned under the Clean Air Act.
Between June and December 2022, Hart purchased refrigerants in Mexico and smuggled them into the United States in his vehicle, concealed under a tarp and tools. Hart posted the refrigerants for sale on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and other sites, and sold them for a profit.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Thalia Zambrano
No. 3:24-CR-01552 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
On February 6, 2025, a court sentenced Thalia Zambrano to time served, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371).
On June 28, 2024, authorities apprehended Zambrano when she drove into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 18 bottles of undeclared “Taktic” (Amitraz) concealed beneath a blanket on the back seat her car. Regulators in the United States canceled this pesticide due to the high concentration of amitraz.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Andrew Laughlin
No. 2:24-CR-00104 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Kathryn Lydon
On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Andrew Laughlin to pay a $5,000 fine, complete a two-year term of probation, and pay $4,209 in restitution into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Laughlin pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling reptiles into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545).
In 2017, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents identified Laughlin as part of a nationwide investigation into the smuggling of turtles from the United States to an individual in Hong Kong (Individual A). Individual A met and maintained contact with certain wildlife-smuggling associates via Facebook. Investigators identified Laughlin as a suspect in the wildlife smuggling ring from Individual A’s Facebook contacts and communications with covert agents. In addition to corresponding on Facebook, Laughlin also sent text messages to Individual A and co-conspirators.
Between March and April 2018, Laughlin acted as a “middleman” in an international amphibian smuggling ring. During a conversation with an undercover agent, Laughlin said that he participated in the ring in order to acquire hard-to-find newts. He shipped or received at least four packages of amphibians, including packages to or from individuals located in Hong Kong and Sweden. The packages were falsely labeled as items including a “toy car,” “rubber toys,” or “a ceramic art piece.” The boxes actually contained live animals, including eastern box turtles, spotted turtles, and a variety of newt species.
A search warrant executed at the defendant’s residence uncovered 80 live newts of various species. Some of them tested positive for a virulent fungus which originated in Asia and has spread throughout the illegal pet trade. The restitution covered expenses incurred to store and test the animals.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Photo of newts seized from Laughlin’s residence; photo included in case press release at time of guilty plea
Nos. 1:22-CR-00131, 00132 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Karen Escobar
On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez to 24 months incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Beltran-Chaidez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin in this multi-defendant case involving drugs and animal welfare violations (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)).
Between March and April 2021, Jorge Calderon-Campos (who calls himself “Americano”) supplied 26 pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendants Mark Garcia and Alberto Gomez-Santiago, and an additional 60 pounds to Francisco Javier Torres Mora. Between January and April 2022, Calderon-Campos also possessed roosters he used to participate in an animal fighting venture.
During a search of his residence on April 26, 2022, law enforcement officers found numerous hens and roosters, various cockfighting implements (including razors and spurs) and six cockfighting trophies, including several with plates inscribed with “Team Amkno” (shorthand for “Team Americano”). At Calderon-Campos’s “stash house,” law enforcement officers found 14 hens and 77 roosters, cockfighting leashes, a cockfighting trophy, and a variety of syringes and pill bottles containing substances related to cockfighting supplements.
Jorge Calderon-Campos was sentenced in November 2024 to eight years and one month of incarceration. Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and to violating the Animal Welfare Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)); 7 U.S.C. § 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)).
On August 26, 2024, a court sentenced Antonio Beltran-Chaidez to 46 months’ incarceration, followed by 24 months’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)).
In January 2024, co-defendant Gomez-Santiago was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration, followed by 60 months supervised release. Mora was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration. Horacio Ortega-Martinez, another associate of Calderon-Campos, was sentenced in April 2023 to 18 months incarceration, followed by 36 months supervised release, after pleading guilty to possessing gamecocks for an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C § 2156 (b)).
Co-defendant Garcia pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 3, 2025, to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Byron Adilio Alfaro-Sandoval is scheduled for status conference June 18, 2025.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department.
On February 11, 2025, a court sentenced Christopher Lee Carroll to serve nine years of incarceration and to pay $3 million in restitution. A jury convicted Carroll in August 2024 of three counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), 13 violations of the CAA, and two counts of threatening a witness (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 2, 1014, 1512 (b)(3), 1344; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Carroll and his business partner, George Reed, owned a time share exit company called Square One Group LLC. In April of 2020, they submitted a false and fraudulent application for a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. The loan application falsely stated that the spouses of Reed and Carroll owned the company to conceal Carroll’s status as a paroled felon, which would have precluded his company from receiving PPP funds. Carroll also used his wife’s name to avoid any potential liability for the fraud.
The PPP loan was supposed to help save businesses and jobs, but Carroll did not use the money to pay dozens of employees who were out of work or keep paying for health insurance for 17 of those employees. Instead, he used it to start a trucking company, Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair LLC. Carroll and Reed then applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that they’d spent the money on payroll and other permitted expenses. Additionally, Reed and Carroll later sought a second loan of more than $1.6 million, taking a total of $660,000 in “owner draws” from the company after the loan was approved.
From May 2020 through December 2021, Carroll and Whiskey Dix violated the CAA by unlawfully removing the emissions control systems from more than 30 diesel-fueled trucks. In January 2022, Carroll tried to pressure two employees to take responsibility for the emissions tampering. When one of the employees said he was going to talk to federal investigators, Carroll threatened to stop paying for the employee’s attorney.
The court sentenced Whiskey Dix to complete a three-year term of probation after the jury convicted the company on 16 CAA violations. Reed pleaded guilty to bank fraud in September of 2022 and was sentenced January 23, 2025, to time served, and five years of supervised release. Reed was held jointly liable for $3 million in restitution.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On February 13, 2025, a court sentenced Jeffrey Radtke to 21 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Radtke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C.§§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between June 2021 and August 2022, Radtke sent more than 40 payments (ranging from $1 through $300) he received from co-conspirators to pay videographers in Indonesia and other locations outside of the United States to create videos depicting the torture and deaths of juvenile macaque monkeys.
During the execution of a search warrant in April 2023, law enforcement found more than 2,600 videos and 2,700 images depicting animal crushing on Radtke’s computer.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Jonathan Achtemeier
No. 3:24-CR-05072 (Western District of Washington)
AUSA Seth Wilkinson
AUSA Lauren Staniar
SAUSA Karla Perrin
On February 14, 2025, a court sentenced Jonathan Achtemeier to pay a $25,000 fine and serve four months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Achtemeier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) for his role in tampering with required monitoring devices on diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371).
Between 2019 and 2022, Achtemeier modified the software on hundreds of trucks nationwide to prevent the monitoring devices from detecting the removal of emissions controls. Achtemeier conspired with mechanics and truck fleet operators, instructing them on how to remove or disable anti-pollution hardware on diesel trucks, a process known as “deleting.” Achtemeier tampered with the monitoring device on his clients’ trucks by connecting laptops to the trucks’ onboard computers and remotely “tuning” the vehicles’ computers, which rendered required monitoring devices inaccurate. This allowed the trucks to run without functioning emissions control systems and resulted in the trucks emitting significantly more pollution than legally allowed.
Achtemeier charged as much at $4,500 per truck for work that often took him two hours or less. He advertised his services on social media nationwide, doing business as Voided Warranty Tuning or Optimized Ag. Between 2019 and 2022 his company took in more than $4.3 million in gross profits.
The Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Assistance from ECS Senior Counsel Elinor Colbourn
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Andres Alejandro Sanchez to complete a three-year term of probation to include six months’ home detention. Sanchez pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally importing a spider monkey into the United States (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).
On October 7, 2024, Sanchez travelled from Mexico to Laredo, Texas, and failed to declare a spider monkey he had in his vehicle to Customs and Border Protection officers as he attempted to cross the border.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Case photo of baby spider monkey rescued by authorities
United State v. Jose Carrillo
No. 8:23-CR-00222 (Middle District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Matt Morris
AUSA Erin Favorit
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Carrillo to 84 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Carrillo pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and knowingly possessing a firearm after a felony conviction (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)(1) and 924(d)).
On June 7, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Carrillo’s residence, seizing a total of 10 pit bull-type dogs. Several of the dogs exhibited scarring consistent with dogfighting. Authorities also discovered a .22 caliber rifle, a bloodstained wooden dogfighting “pit,” syringes, veterinary medications, a skin stapler, break sticks used to separate fighting dogs, and other suspected dogfighting paraphernalia.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with assistance from the following agencies: Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshal Service; and the Pasco County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.
Photo of dogs from Carillo’s home included in press release, link below.
Nos. 2:23-CR-00600, 2:24-CR-00890 (District of Arizona)
AUSA Glenn McCormick
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Eric T. Scionti to 47 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Scionti pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and Animal Crushing in two separate cases (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(8), 48(a)(1)).
In December 2022, federal authorities received an anonymous tip that Scionti, a convicted felon, possessed a number of handguns, as well as grenades and bullet-proof body armor. On January 18, 2023, agents executed a search warrant, seizing six firearms and 1,826 rounds of ammunition from areas of a residence controlled by the defendant. Scionti has multiple Arizona state felony convictions and was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
While researching the defendant’s online activities, agents found video evidence depicting Scionti torturing pigeons. Agents executed a subsequent search warrant on September 29, 2023, for records and information associated with Scionti’s email account. During that search, agents seized approximately 168 videos and 89 digital photographs depicting Scionti torturing and mutilating live pigeons.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigations in these cases.
On February 19, 2025, a court sentenced Manuel Domingos Pita to 48 months’ incarceration and to pay more than $55 million in restitution. Also, Pita will forfeit real estate and cash/bank accounts. Pita pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act for causing the death of an employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343; 29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).
Pita created and operated several shell construction companies, including one named Domingos 54 Construction, Inc. Pita used Domingos 54 to provide workers, including undocumented aliens, with construction jobs. However, Pita failed to secure the required workers compensation insurance coverage for these employees by falsifying the number of workers for which he sought coverage in worker’s compensation insurance applications. In addition, Pita failed to pay any federal employment taxes on the wages that these workers earned during the course of the scheme between 2018 and 2022.
Pita failed to disclose the number of workers he had. Had he properly disclosed the number of workers, he would have paid an additional $22.7 million+ in premiums. Additionally, Pita failed to pay to the IRS over $33.7 million in federal employment taxes on those workers’ wages.
Between February and July 2019, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued six citations to Domingos 54 for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Even after being cited for these violations, Pita continued to ignore OSHA requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home in windy conditions without providing the required fall-protection gear or ensuring its use. As a result, one of the workers was blown off the roof and died from his injuries.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
Nos. 3:24-CR-00101, 00116 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Deputy Chief Joe Poux
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman
On February 20, 2025, a court sentenced Fernando Cruz Rubio to time served. Rubio pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) for failing to maintain an oil record book (ORB) (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)).
Rubio worked as a chief engineer on the M/V Suhar, a Panamanian-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier that routinely hauled cement from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola, Florida. The ship was managed by Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V., which was responsible for the ship’s day-to-day operations, including hiring all crew, and ensuring compliance with all environmental and international regulations.
The Coast Guard inspected the ship when it arrived in Pensacola on August 25, 2023. Inspectors determined that the vessel’s crew regularly discharged untreated oily bilge water overboard, bypassing onboard pollution control equipment, and falsified the ship’s ORB to conceal these discharges. On various trips, between March 2021 through August 25, 2023, Rubio, as the Suhar’s chief engineer, failed to accurately maintain the ORB and did not record overboard bilge water discharges.
Gremex was sentenced in October 2024 to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance plan. The shipping corporation also pleaded guilty to violating APPS.
The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service conducted the investigation.
United States v. Clancy Logistics, Inc., et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00344 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Andrew Ho
RCEC Gwendolyn Russell
On February 25, 2025, a court sentenced to Clancy Logistics, Inc., and owner Timothy C. Clancy, to each complete three-year terms of probation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of $101,510.00, jointly and severally. The defendants pleaded guilty to a felony count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Between October 2019 and July 2023, Timothy C. Clancy tampered with the onboard diagnostic systems (OBDs) and caused others to tamper with the OBDs, of at least 13 Class 8 diesel semi-trailer trucks owned or operated by his companies, Clancy Transport, Inc., and Clancy Logistics, Inc. The defendants’ actions prevented the OBDs from detecting malfunctions caused by the deletion of the vehicles’ emission control systems, in violation of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
As part of this process, Clancy directed his employees to disable and remove the emissions hardware from his companies’ vehicles. This involved removing exhaust systems and their corresponding emissions control components from the vehicles, hollowing out the functioning portion of the devices so that only the casing remained, and re-installing the casing to create the appearance that the emissions controls were intact. The vehicles’ OBDs were then tuned so that they could no longer detect the removal of the control equipment.
Clancy and his companies tampered with the OBDs on their diesel semi-trailer trucks so that they could operate the vehicles with real or perceived increased performance and fuel efficiency and reduce or eliminate the cost and burden associated with maintaining the vehicles. As a result, a greater volume of pollutants was emitted from the vehicles.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
No. 5:24-CR-00028 (Western District of North Carolina)
AUSA Katherine T. Armstrong
On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Robert G. Gambill to pay a $9,500 fine and to forfeit a rifle, scope, and ammunition for killing a bald eagle in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 668(a)). As required under provisions of the Act, $2,500 of the fine will be apportioned equally between two witnesses who reported the shooting.
On June 5, 2024, Gambill set his firearm on a fencepost and targeted, shot, and killed a bald eagle that was perched in a tree near a bridge in Sparta, North Carolina. After killing the eagle, Gambill drove away from the scene, abandoning the carcass on the bank of the New River. Two witnesses recovered the carcass and turned it over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The U.S. FWS forensic laboratory determined that injuries suffered by the bald eagle were consistent with a gunshot wound from a high-powered rifle.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office.
On February 28, 2025, a court sentenced Willie Russell to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 371). Russell is the fourteenth and final defendant to plead guilty in this federal dog fighting case. The other co-defendants are: Tamichael Elijah; Marvin Pulley, III; Brandon Baker; Christopher Travis Beaumont; Herman Buggs, Jr.; Terrance Davis; Timothy Freeman; Terelle Ganzy; Gary Hopkins; Cornelious Johnson; Rodrecus Kimble; Donnametric Miller; Willie Russell; and, Fredricus White.
On April 24, 2022, the defendants converged on a property in Donalsonville, Georgia, where they held a large-scale dog fighting event. They brought a total of 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend. Law enforcement personnel who disrupted the event found numerous dogs inside crates in cars on the property.
The participants used their cars to store dogs who had already fought, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Some dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued a total of 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later perished from its injuries. Dogs in the cars also bore recent injuries and scars.
All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Defendants Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting (i.e., handling) a dog in a dog fight. Defendants Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog for purposes of using the dog in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Defendants Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General; and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bay County, Florda, Sheriff’s Office.
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for a 37-bedded patient care cabin facility block to be developed within the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) premises in Dibrugarh, today. The cabins will be spaced out across four floors with advanced medical care for patients. The fully furnished four storied facility will be developed with an investment of ₹8.89 crore. The Oil India Limited will support the cost as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Under PM Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership, the healthcare system in India has undergone a tremendous transformation which has made it effective for people from all sections of the society. The Ayushman Arogya Bharat is transforming India’s healthcare landscape—affordable, accessible, and world-class. A Viksit Bharat begins with a healthy Bharat, and we are steering the nation towards excellence in healthcare for every citizen. Healthcare excellence is key to achieve the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s Viksit Bharat.”
Highlighting the role that AMCH has played, Shri Sonowal said, “AMCH Dibrugarh, Northeast India’s pioneering medical college, has long been the backbone of healthcare in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and beyond. As demand surges for affordable, high-quality treatment, a new facility in Assamemerges—not just as an expansion, but as a promise to redefine specialised care for the region. I am confident that the capacity expansion at AMCH will further bolster the commitment of Narendra Modi government to reshape and strengthen country’s healthcare system—accessible, affordable, and built to last—boosting the region’s medical backbone with vision and resolve.”
The Union Minister advised students of AMCH who gathered on the auspicious occasion, that, “Good health is a way of life. Through yoga, balanced nutrition, and mindful living, we build strength, resilience, and inner harmony. A healthy lifestyle isn’t just about adding years to life—it’s about adding life to years. Breathe, move, and thrive—your wellness journey is equally crucial for an efficient healthcare delivery system in the country. As the future caregivers of humanity, you hold the power to heal and transform lives. We wish you the best health and a sound mind, for with these strengths, your contribution to nation-building and improving lives will be even more meaningful.”
Rituparna Baruah, Chairman, Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), Government of Assam; Akhim Hazarika, Chairman, District Development Authority (DDA), alongside senior officials from OIL and AMCH were present on the occasion.
“Obesity is a multifactorial challenge and needs multifactorial preventive strategies”. Obesity Needs Multifactorial Effort with Collective Endeavour: Dr. Jitendra Singh
India’s Growing Obesity Challenge: Minister Urges Unified Response from Govt, Industry & Medical Fraternity
Tackling Obesity Needs Policy, Awareness, and Industry Support: Minister at CII Summit
Posted On: 04 MAR 2025 5:47PM by PIB Delhi
“Obesity is a multifactorial challenge and needs multifactorial preventive strategies”.
This was stated here today by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, who is also a Professor of Medicine and a renowned Diabetologist, while underscoring the urgent need for a multifaceted and collective approach to combat the growing obesity crisis in India.
Addressing the ‘National Obesity Summit”, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the occasion of “World Obesity Day”, the Minister emphasised that obesity is not just a lifestyle issue but a major public health challenge that requires coordinated efforts from the government, industry, the medical fraternity and also the society.
Citing alarming statistics, Dr. Jitendra Singh pointed out that India ranks second globally in childhood obesity, with over 1.4 crore children affected. “We often take pride in having chubby babies, but this comes at a cost. Central obesity, particularly among Indians, is an independent and a serious health risk factor,” he said. He further elaborated that obesity significantly contributes to non-communicable diseases such as type-2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, and fatty liver disease, making it imperative to take preventive action.
The Union Minister acknowledged the Indian phenotype’s unique vulnerability to central obesity, citing studies that show even lean-looking Indians carry a higher percentage of visceral fat compared to their Western counterparts. “Our traditional attire may mask central obesity, but that does not eliminate the associated health risks,” he remarked.
Highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advocacy for healthier lifestyles, Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled how the Prime Minister has frequently addressed obesity in his Mann Ki Baat broadcasts and public interactions, even urging citizens to reduce their food intake by 10%. “PM Modi has a remarkable ability to transform messages into mass movements, as seen in campaigns like Swachh Bharat and the COVID-19 response. A similar approach is needed to tackle obesity,” he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed concern over the rising prevalence of obesity despite widespread awareness campaigns and medical advancements. “On one hand, we talk about fitness and wellness, but on the other, obesity rates continue to surge. This paradox must be addressed with scientific rigor and societal commitment,” he noted. He also highlighted the economic burden obesity places on families, with many patients struggling to afford long-term treatment for metabolic disorders.
Emphasizing the need for a strategic response, Dr. Jitendra Singh called for an industry-government partnership to develop cost-effective, universal screening models for obesity and metabolic diseases. “We cannot leave this fight solely to diabetologists or obesity specialists. It requires a national commitment involving policymakers, medical experts, and industry leaders,” he asserted. He suggested a public-private model where routine health screenings include obesity markers, particularly in hospital settings, to facilitate early diagnosis and intervention.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also cautioned against new quick-fix solutions, such as weight-loss injections and fad diets, stressing the importance of sustainable lifestyle changes. “The real solution lies in self-discipline—understanding our body, regulating our diet, and adopting a balanced approach to health,” he said. He humorously pointed out how dietary habits have evolved, with intermittent fasting and exotic diet plans becoming fashionable trends. “Our grandmothers would have been amused by the concept of ‘5 PM eating schedules’ and calorie counting apps,” he quipped.
Concluding his address, Dr. Jitendra Singh called upon all stakeholders to take immediate action rather than waiting for annual summits to reiterate the same concerns. “Obesity is not just a personal concern; it is a national responsibility. As we envision India in 2047, we must ensure that our young population remains healthy, productive, and free from preventable lifestyle diseases,” he asserted.
The summit saw participation from leading medical experts, policymakers, and industry representatives, all of whom echoed the need for collective action to address obesity at a systemic level.
Union Health Minister Shri JP Nadda chairs 9th meeting of Mission Steering Group for National Health Mission There is a need for enhancing the capacity- building of medical officers to achieve required results of healthcare schemes at the grassroot level: Shri Nadda
National Health Policy target of Maternal Mortality Rate of 100 deaths per 1 lakh live births achieved; 83% decline in MMR achieved between1990 to 2020, much higher than the Global MMR decline
Annual footfall of 121.03 crores at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs; 1.54 crore wellness sessions conducted for Primary Healthcare increased in 2023-24
The no. of NCD screenings increased from 10.94 crores in 2019-20 to 109.55 crores in 2023-24
The no. of Tele-consultations increased from 0.26 crores in 2019-20 to 11.83 crores in 2023-24
Posted On: 04 MAR 2025 5:31PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda chaired the ninth meeting of Mission Steering Group (MSG) of National Health Mission (NHM), today at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Union Ministers of State for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav and Smt. Anupriya Patel, Shri Suman K. Bery, Vice chairman, NITI Aayog, Shri V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog were also present.
The Mission Steering Group is the highest policy-making and steering institution under the NHM, providing broad policy direction and governance for the health sector. Secretaries of Ministries of Government of India including MoHFW, AYUSH, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Punchayati Raj, Development of North Eastern Region along with officials from Women and Child Development, Social Justice & Empowerment, Education, Housing and Urban Affairs, Department of Expenditure, NHSRC and Secretaries from various central ministries, Health Secretaries from high-focus states including Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura and senior officials from NITI Aayog and MoHFW also attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Shri Nadda commended NHM for its achievements and thanked the MSG for its role in ensuring the outputs of different initiatives and schemes. He stressed on the need “to ensure the translation of agendas and objectives of different health schemes” for which he underlined the importance of the roles of officers like the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) at the ground level. Citing the administrative hindrances, he stressed on “enhancing and strengthening the capacities of Chief Medical Officers” and suggested the “need for training and capacity- building exercises so that their capacities can be utilized in the best way possible that will pave way for achieving required results of healthcare schemes at the grassroot level”.
Shri Nadda also commended the role of ASHA workers, “grassroot foot soldiers”, in the healthcare system and stressed on the need for their further empowerment and welfare through revised incentives for routine activities, and providing enhanced honorariums.
While commending the developments made in strengthening the health infrastructure through new technological advances and additions, he also stressed on the need to ensure quality of the latest additions like the BHISHM cubes (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri).
The MSG was apprised about the achievements made under NHM during the past few years while marking the future targets for different missions. For the first time, Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) was also included in the MSG. Presentations on achievements and future targets of NHM and PM-ABHIM were also made that covered the developments made under the Mission, its components and agenda for the future.
The achievements highlighted in the meeting include:
India has achieved the National Health Policy (NHP) target of MMR 100 deaths per 1 lakh live births. Between 1990 to 2020, MMR in India declined 83% which is much higher than the Global MMR decline
69% decline was observed in Infant Mortality Rate in India during this period, while the Global IMR decline was 55%
75% decline in Under 5 Mortality Rate while the global decline rate was 58%. As per SRS 2020, 11 states/ UT have attained the SDGs target
Reduction in Total Fertility Rate from 3.4 in 199293 to 2.0 in 2019-21. 31 states have achieved replacement level of fertility as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21
Out of Pocket Expenditure has declined from 69.4 of the Total health expenditure (THE) in 200405 to 39.4 in 2021-22 of THE while the Government Health Expenditure has increased from 22.5% of the TFR in 2004-05 to 48% of THE in 2021-22
Increase in Health Human Resources Augmentation (HRH) under NHM, increased from 23 thousand in 200607 to 5.23 lakhs in 2023-24
On 15.05.2015, WHO certified India for eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus
On 8th October 2024, WHO declared that Government of India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem
As of 28th February 2025, Expanded Package of Services is available at 85% of total operational Ayushman Arogya Mandirs
More than 1.76 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are operational in the country today
In the last 5 years, annual footfall at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs has increased from 13.49 crores in 201920 to 121.03 crores in 2023-24
The no. of wellness sessions conducted for Primary Healthcare have increased from 0.11 crores in 201920 to 1.54 crores in 2023-24
The no. of NCD screenings increased from 10.94 crores in 201920 to 109.55 crores in 2023-24
The no. Teleconsultations increased from 0.26 crores in 2019-20 to 11.83 crores in 2023-24
Under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program, 18% reduction was observed in incidence of TB during 201523 which is more than double the global reduction; while 21% reduction in mortality was observed
Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Program, all the states & UTs and 748 districts have been covered. 26.97 lakh patients have been covered and a total of 3.27 Crore sessions have been held
As of 28th February 2025, Under the Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, more than 5 crore people have been screened, out of which 1.84 lakh patients have been diagnosed and 2.24 crore sickle cell cards have been distributed
Under the Malaria Elimination Mission, 79.3% reduction in Malaria cases was observed in 2023 as compared to 2014; while the number of deaths due to Malaria reduced 85.2% in 2023 compared to 2014
India achieved the Kalaazar elimination target in 2023 i.e. to reduce the annual incidence of Kala- azar cases to less than one case per ten thousand population at block level, ahead of the SDG target
ODK tool kit launched for selfassessment of health facilities in June 2024 and 95% of total health facilities have been assessed
The attendees commended the progress achieved under the National Health Mission (NHM) through targeted programs and the support extended to states over the years. They proposed several key suggestions, including emphasizing on the need to increase internet connectivity in the Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs that is necessary to ensure tele-consultations. To address the issue of obesity in the country, AYUSH interventions along with screening and management through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs was emphasized upon.
The meeting also covered crucial discussions on policy frameworks, operational strategies, and financial norms aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery and achieving the NHM’s objectives. The focus remained on ensuring universal access to equitable, affordable, and quality healthcare, reducing child and maternal mortality, stabilizing population growth, and maintaining gender and demographic balance.
Shri Nadda observed that the decisions made during the MSG meeting will enhance the delivery of healthcare services and bring about results at the grassroots level. He added that the feedback and suggestions from the meeting will be taken into consideration to build the roadmap for future interventions.
Background: The Mission Steering Group is the highest policy-making and steering institution under the NHM, providing broad policy direction and governance for the health sector. The MSG plays a critical role in shaping policies and strategies that drive the nation’s healthcare initiatives. It is fully empowered to approve financial norms for all schemes and components under the NHM and advises the Empowered Programme Committee (EPC) in policy formulation and operation.
Since its inception in 2005 under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which was later subsumed into the NHM, the MSG has convened 8 meetings under the NHM and 9 meetings under the NRHM. The last meeting of the MSG was held on January 11, 2023, under the chairpersonship of the then Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare. These meetings have historically provided a platform for critical decision-making and alignment of policies to strengthen healthcare services across the country.
The Mission Steering Group has been instrumental in guiding initiatives that strengthen healthcare infrastructure, improve service delivery, and respond effectively to public health challenges. The meeting was held with an objective of contributing significantly to the ongoing efforts towards building a resilient and responsive health system in India.
The MSG has been instrumental in guiding initiatives that strengthen healthcare infrastructure, improve service delivery, and respond effectively to public health challenges. The meeting was held with an objective of contributing significantly to the ongoing efforts towards building a resilient and responsive health system in India.
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MV/AKS
HFW/HFM 9th Meeting of Mission Steering Group of NHM/04March2025/1
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) hosted the Women’s Health & Tech Forum 2025 today (March 4), bringing together distinguished speakers from the Government, academia, and the private sector to explore the intersection of technology and women’s health. The forum featured comprehensive sessions and media opportunities covering policy initiatives, clinical research translation, and ecosystem development, attracting key stakeholders from Hong Kong’s rapidly evolving health sector. Government’s strategic vision for advancing women’s health The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has positioned health innovation as a key driver of new quality productive forces in Hong Kong, with a clear vision to develop the city into an international health and medical innovation hub. Through comprehensive reforms in drug and medical device approval mechanisms, enhanced clinical trial capabilities, and accelerated research translation, the Government is creating a robust foundation for innovation in crucial sectors including women’s health. The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, stated, “The HKSAR Government is committed to complementing technological innovation with institutional innovation, developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. As we move forward, we must continue to prioritise health and well-being of people in our innovation agenda. This requires collaboration across sectors – Government, academia, healthcare providers, and the private sector – all working together to address unmet needs and create sustainable and scalable solutions. Together, we can harness technology to improve health outcomes, empower women, and build a healthier society for all.” InvestHK’s pivotal role in fostering innovation Hong Kong’s growing prominence in health technology is supported by InvestHK’s strategic initiatives to attract and facilitate innovative companies. The agency’s comprehensive approach combines with Hong Kong’s world-class infrastructure development, talent pool, and comprehensive ecosystem, developing Hong Kong as a leading health tech hub. The Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau, commented, “As a global innovation and technology hub, Hong Kong is leveraging cutting-edge technologies and world-class expertise to advance women’s healthcare. With the global femtech market expected to grow substantially, InvestHK is dedicated to attracting pioneering solutions to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem in Hong Kong and across Asia.” Advancing women’s health through academic-government collaboration Primary healthcare has become the backbone of Hong Kong’s public health initiatives. A significant development announced at the forum was the collaboration between the District Health Centre and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to introduce post-natal health services within the primary healthcare framework, showcasing how academic-government partnerships can effectively serve the unmet needs in local communities. The Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, emphasised, “Primary healthcare has become the foundation of our public health initiatives, bringing essential services closer to the community through the District Health Centre Scheme. The Government has launched the Life Course Preventive Care plan. Based on the core principles of prevention-oriented and whole-person care, a personalised preventive care plan will be formulated according to the latest evidence to establish healthy lifestyle patterns and raise self-health management awareness among citizens of different age groups, thereby improving the overall health of the population, providing accessible and coherent healthcare network services, and establishing a sustainable healthcare system.” The Chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the CUHK, Prof Liona Poon, highlighted, “This collaboration helps address the unmet needs in post-natal health, which represents a significant step forward in women’s healthcare delivery. This partnership combines the CUHK’s pioneering clinical expertise with the Government’s community outreach capabilities. Through this integrated approach, we can better support women’s health needs at the community level.” Driving innovation in women’s health tech Hong Kong’s health tech ecosystem continues to attract and nurture innovative companies addressing critical women’s healthcare needs. WomenX Biotech Limited, a Hong Kong-based start-up inventing non-invasive HPV test using menstrual blood, and EveryBaby, an Irish health tech company specialising in preterm birth prevention through cervical tissue analysis, exemplify how both local and international companies are leveraging the city’s advantages to advance women’s health technologies. The Founder of WomenX Biotech Limited, Dr Choi Pui-wah, shared, “The city’s research capabilities and clinical resources have been crucial in developing our technology for early disease detection. Hong Kong’s supportive ecosystem has enabled us to transform monthly menstrual blood collection into a powerful tool for women’s health monitoring.” The CEO of EveryBaby, Mr Dabriel Choi, added, “We chose Hong Kong as our Asian headquarters because of its strong healthcare foundation and strategic position for entering the Mainland China market. The ecosystem here facilitates meaningful partnerships between start-ups, researchers, and healthcare providers, which is essential for developing and validating our innovative preterm birth prevention technology.”A hub for women’s health innovation The Women Health & Tech Forum 2025 has effectively demonstrated Hong Kong’s commitment to advancing women’s health through technology. By fostering collaboration between the Government, academia, and the private sector, and by leveraging the city’s strengths in life and health science, Hong Kong is establishing itself as a leading hub for women’s health innovation. This commitment to combining technological and institutional innovation aligns with the Government’s broader vision of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, creating impact both locally and across the region.
Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats Initiative to be Launched at National Convention on 5th March 2025, in New Delhi Union Ministers of State Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel and Smt. Anupriya Patel to grace the occasion
Nationwide Mahila Gram Sabhas to be Organized Pan India on International Women’s Day
Posted On: 04 MAR 2025 3:44PM by PIB Delhi
In a significant move to advance gender-sensitive governance at the grassroots level, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj will launch its transformative initiative to develop Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats (MWFGP) at a National Convention on 5th March 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The event is part of the Ministry’s International Women’s Day 2025 celebrations and is poised to have a lasting impact on rural governance, ensuring safety, inclusivity, and gender equality for women and girls in Gram Panchayats across the country. The Convention will be graced by Union Minister of State, Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel, Ministry of Panchayati Raj & Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Union Minister of State, Smt. Anupriya Patel, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The event will also be attended by Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and representatives from various Ministries, Departments, State Institutes of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (SIRD&PRs), and international organizations such as United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Approximately 350 participants, primarily Elected Representatives and officials from selected Gram Panchayats, will attend the Convention either physically or virtually. Participants will include elected heads and officials from at least one Gram Panchayat in each District from across the country.
The primary objective of this initiative is to establish at least one Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat in each district, serving as a beacon for gender-sensitive and girl-friendly governance practices. These model panchayats will exemplify the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of creating safer, more inclusive, and socially just Gram Panchayats, contributing to the larger goal of achieving a Viksit Bharat through Viksit Panchayats.
Key Highlights of the National Convention:
Virtual Inauguration of training for Elected Representatives and officials of identified Gram Panchayats set to be developed as Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats.
Launch of a Monitoring Dashboard to track the progress of Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats.
Presentations on the concept of Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats, showcasing the best practices and key elements for transformation.
Screening of Informational Videos highlighting successful women-friendly initiatives in Panchayats across the country.
Following the National Convention, the Ministry will also organize nationwide Mahila Gram Sabhas on 8th March 2025, marking the grassroots-level launch of the Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats initiative, coinciding with International Women’s Day.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Cluster of Candida auris cases found in Princess Margaret Hospital ******************************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesperson for Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) made the following announcement today (March 4): A 90-year-old male patient in a medicine and geriatrics ward was found to be a carrier of Candida auris through screening on March 1 without signs of infection. In accordance with the prevailing guidelines, PMH conducted contact tracing and found six more male patients in the same ward carrying Candida auris (aged 56 to 86) without signs of infection. One patient has been discharged. One patient is in serious condition due to his underlying disease. The remaining four patients are now being treated in isolation. One of them was transferred to North Lantau Hospital for treatment earlier, and all of them are in stable condition. The ward concerned has adopted the following enhanced infection control measures:
Enhanced patient and environmental screening procedures; Applied stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene for staff and patients; and Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the ward concerned.
The hospital will continue the enhanced infection control measures and closely monitor the situation of the ward. The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow up.
The Commission welcomes the ceasefire and urges all parties to ensure its full implementation, hoping that it will lead to a substantial and sustained increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The humanitarian situation remains dire, and the Commission is mobilising all available humanitarian instruments, providing EUR 450 million in aid through trusted humanitarian partners on the ground, including United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organisations, to address life-saving needs such as shelter, including the distribution of non-food items, food, health, water and sanitation.
The Commission has also deployed ReliefEU[1] to operate humanitarian air bridge flights, transporting for example over 4 000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies on behalf of Member States and humanitarian partners to meet the urgent needs of displaced families in Gaza.
In addition, t he European Union Civil Protection Mechanism[2] (UCPM) supported seven EU Member States in the delivery of shelter items to Gaza and continues to support the World Health Organisation in the evacuation of critically ill patients requiring specialised medical care outside the region.
Working closely with its trusted humanitarian partners, the Commission continues to monitor the situation on the ground to respond to the enormous needs of the population of Gaza.
[1] ReliefEU Capacities: The objective of ReliefEU Capacities is to support humanitarian partners with services and operational capabilities, facilitating the quick delivery of humanitarian assistance, while ensuring greater effectiveness. New capacities will be developed throughout the year, with specific allocation rounds to be announced, calling on partners and Member States to submit proposals.
[2] In October 2001, the European Commission established the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Mechanism aims to strengthen civil protection cooperation between the EU countries and 10 additional participating states to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to disasters. Any country hit by a disaster, in Europe and beyond, can request emergency assistance through the Mechanism. The Commission plays a key role in coordinating the disaster response and contributing to the transport and/or operational costs of deployments.
‘Improving care and respite for families’ is one of The Highland Council Administration’s investment proposals to be considered by councillors when they meet to decide the budget on Thursday 6 March.
Council will consider a recurring £0.250m investment to employ six family support workers to improve care and respite arrangements for families with the greatest needs.
Chair of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Cllr David Fraser commented: “We said we would improve outcomes for all children and young people across Highland with a particular focus on our most vulnerable.
“This proposed investment aims to provide a greater availability of service provision for those who need it most and with a greater degree of inclusion. If approved, it will help support a future respite model, adding to the existing funding for short breaks, which will provide a greater degree of wrap around support for families.”
Cllr Fraser added: “In addition there is a proposed £1.048m investment Additional Support Needs (ASN) and an another of £0.200m to add to the Community and Family Wellbeing Fund. Taken together, these investments represent a significant commitment by the Administration to support children, young people and families across the Highlands.”
The proposal is based on the outcome of a review previously undertaken into respite services in the area, which has considered the needs and concerns of families of children with additional support needs.
If approved, the future model for respite will provide support across three centres located in north, west and south Highland – but available to families across the whole Highland area as part of a wider plan for children and families. By providing appropriate levels of respite and support, young people are more likely to be able to remain within their families and communities which has wide reaching financial and non-financial benefits.
Other benefits of the proposed future model are that it should help to ensure that families’ needs are met more effectively while ensuring the GIRFEC processes (Getting it Right for Every Child) work effectively on their behalf. In addition to respite care, the new service would also aim to provide positive support to families by providing more advice, assistance and guidance.
The budget report and proposals are available on the Council’s website and the Special Meeting of the Council starts at 09:30 on Thursday 6 March which will be webcast.
