Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
LAS VEGAS, NV – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) penned an op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun criticizing President Trump for abandoning his promise to lower costs for Nevada families and reaffirming her support to provide families financial relief. In the piece, she highlighted how President Trump’s reckless tariffs and cuts to essential services are hurting hardworking Nevadans.
Las Vegas Sun: Sen. Rosen: Trump abandoned his promise to lower prices, but I won’t
By Jacky Rosen
Throughout the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump promised to bring down costs for Americans on Day 1. It’s the reason many people in our state voted for him. Unfortunately, he’s broken that promise. As president, he’s abandoned efforts to ease the financial burden so many Nevada families are facing. Instead, he’s focused on giving major tax breaks to ultra-wealthy individuals like Elon Musk.
At the beginning of his term, I stood ready to work with President Trump to bring down costs. But I am not going to support policies or politicians that will hurt families in our state.
A nonpartisan report recently found that Trump’s new taxes will cost the average family nearly $4,000 per year, increase home prices by roughly $20,000, and car prices by $3,000.
Our state’s economy is fueled by travel and tourism, which rely on visitors coming to our city and spending money. If families are squeezed and their disposable incomes are decimated, fewer visitors from around the country will be able to afford a trip to Las Vegas.
Just recently, Republicans rammed through a budget resolution in the middle of the night that puts Medicaid on the chopping block to pay for more tax cuts for billionaires. Medicaid is not just a health care program; it’s a lifeline for Nevadans in need.
There’s a key difference between Trump and me: He may break his promise to lower costs and make things affordable for Nevada families, but I won’t.
I helped pass bipartisan legislation in the Senate to reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
I wrote a letter calling on the administration to reverse its tariffs and sounding the alarm about the impact Trump’s tariffs would have on housing costs in our state and nationwide.
And I’ve spoken out wherever I can — on the Senate floor, in committee hearings and back home in Nevada — to put pressure on this administration to keep its promise and do something to lower costs for our state.
It’s time for Trump and Republicans to stop putting the ultra-wealthy ahead of working families. It’s time for them to put aside their hyper-partisan actions that are raising costs. It’s time to deliver meaningful financial relief for Nevadans. I’m ready to get that done.
Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) continues to make news for his leadership in the cryptocurrency space. Last week, President Trump signed his resolution into law overturning a Biden-era rule that would have undermined American leadership in cryptocurrency. Significantly, this is also the first cryptocurrency bill to ever be signed into law.
Read more about Senator Cruz’s leadership and accomplishments for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency below.
THE DALLAS EXPRESS: Cruz Control: Celebrating Cryptocurrency Win After Trump Signs New Law
“Senator Ted Cruz declared a win for the cryptocurrency community when President Donald Trump signed his Congressional Review Act into law.
Cruz has emerged as one of crypto’s most vocal advocates in the Senate. The senator has introduced a series of bills aimed at boosting the industry, and fending off what he views as federal overreach into digital financial systems.”
CRYPTO IN AMERICA: Trump Makes History Signing First Crypto Bill into Law
“The bill, introduced under the Congressional Review Act by Republican Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to repeal the IRS’s so-called ‘DeFi broker rule,’ passed the Senate on March 26 with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 70–28 vote.
‘This rule would have undermined American leadership on cryptocurrency, and I am grateful to President Trump for signing my resolution into law,’ Cruz, who attended the signing ceremony Thursday afternoon, told Crypto In America. ‘The resolution is a victory for innovation, privacy, and economic freedom.’”
INSIGHTS: The First U.S. Crypto Law is Now in Effect! Trump Has Eliminated DeFi Regulations!
“The rules faced quick backlash. Critics argued they would hinder DeFi development. Republican Senator Ted Cruz pushed to repeal these rules, and now he has Trump’s support. Cruz attended the signing ceremony and stated, ‘This regulation will undermine America’s leadership in crypto. I thank President Trump for signing my resolution into law.’
Cruz added, ‘We are protecting developers building the future of cryptocurrency. We clearly state that America will not cede digital leadership to China. We will preserve the ability for Americans to trade without government interference.’”
DECRYPT: Ted Cruz Introduces FLARE Act to Repurpose Flared Gas for Bitcoin Mining
“U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has introduced a new bill aiming to turn waste energy into electricity for Bitcoin mining.
Cruz specifically pointed to crypto mining as a direct output of this extra energy. In a statement announcing the bill’s introduction, he said that it, ‘takes advantage of Texas’s vast energy potential, reinforces our position as the home of the Bitcoin industry, and is good for the environment.’”
THE STREET ROUNDTABLE: Senator Ted Cruz proposes bill to power Bitcoin mining with wasted gas
“With Bitcoin mining still at the center of the debate over cryptocurrency’s environmental footprint, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation intended to change the narrative — and the power source.
Cruz emphasized the bill’s environmental and economic angles in a statement released when it was announced…Cruz’s measure could be considered part of a larger political drive to keep crypto innovation — and energy consumption — inside U.S. limits with a climate-conscious touch to mining.”
CRYPTO.NEWS: Ted Cruz introduces FLARE Act to incentivize Bitcoin mining with waste gas
“United States Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a new bill that offers tax incentives for cryptocurrency miners using flared natural gas to power mining operations.
By turning stranded gas into usable energy, Cruz and supporters argue the bill would not only cut emissions but also boost energy innovation and grid resilience, especially during periods of peak demand or extreme weather.”
CRYPTOSLATE: Senator Ted Cruz introduces FLARE Act to repurpose flared gas for Bitcoin mining
“Senator Ted Cruz introduced legislation on April 1 to repurpose flared gas and use it to generate ‘value-added products,’ like mining Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets.
According to Cruz, the bill simultaneously addresses two challenges: reducing oil and gas industry emissions and encouraging energy use innovation.”
BACKGROUND
Sen. Cruz introduced the Facilitate Lower Atmospheric Released Emissions (FLARE) Act, incentivizing entrepreneurs and crypto miners to use natural gas that would otherwise be stranded.
Sen. Cruz introduced the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, legislation that prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This bill passed with an overwhelming bipartisan support.
Sen. Cruz passed a joint resolution of disapproval overturning the IRS’s Gross Proceeds Reporting rule for brokers handling digital asset sales.
Sen. Cruz authored the Adopting Cryptocurrency in Congress as an Exchange of Payment for Transactions Resolution, also known as the ACCEPT Resolution.
Sen. Cruz introduced an amendment to repeal a provision from the 2021 infrastructure package that created new reporting requirements for many cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in both the 117th and 118th Congresses.
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Mark R. Warner (both D-VA) sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem demanding information and action on the growing number of Virginia college and university students whose visas or records have been abruptly terminated without due process, a means of seeking recourse, or even notification to the students or their schools.
“We write to you today expressing extreme concern after hearing from institutions of higher education throughout Virginia and the country that the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security are working together to revoke the nonimmigrant (F-1, M-1, or J-1) visas of their students. Such revocations are then used to terminate these students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), potentially affecting their ability to attend school,” wrote the senators. “Worse, State and DHS are taking such actions without providing any notice to the affected students or their schools, with only vague, non-individualized reasons given for terminations in SEVIS.”
“The chaos caused by your actions is not acceptable. We believe in the rule of law and that immigration laws should be enforced. That starts with the Constitution and its guarantees of free speech and due process. These Constitutional protections apply to noncitizens in the United States, including people in nonimmigrant status,” continued the senators. “If there are international students in the United States in violation of our criminal or immigration laws, they should be removed. But summarily revoking these students’ visas and/or terminating their records in SEVIS without any notice to the students or their schools undermines confidence in State and DHS’s judgment and erodes Americans’ trust in the immigration system and the rule of law. Such distrust will be exploited by the very people who want to harm the United States.”
The senators posed the following questions:
Since January 20, 2025, how many F-1, M-1, or J-1 nonimmigrant visas have the State Department revoked for people attending schools in Virginia? For each revoked visa, please provide the justification given for the revocation.
For those whose F-1, M-1, or J-1 visas were revoked in question 1, how many had their records terminated in SEVIS?
Since January 20, 2025, has the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) terminated the SEVIS records of any students attending school in Virginia whose nonimmigrant visas have not been revoked by the State Department? For each such termination, please provide the specific reason why their SEVIS records were terminated, and specify what evidence SEVP reviewed before terminating each record.
How would a Virginia student whose visa has been revoked and/or had their SEVIS record terminated be notified that this has happened? How would their schools be notified that this has happened? If a student or school believes that such revocation and/or termination has been made in error, what are the avenues for review or appeal of the revocation and/or termination? How long would such process take?
Full text of the letter can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Noem:
We write to you today expressing extreme concern after hearing from institutions of higher education throughout Virginia and the country that the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security are working together to revoke the nonimmigrant (F-1, M-1, or J-1) visas of their students. Such revocations are then used to terminate these students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), potentially affecting their ability to attend school. Worse, State and DHS are taking such actions without providing any notice to the affected students or their schools, with only vague, non-individualized reasons given for terminations in SEVIS. Furthermore, there is no clear process for these students to ascertain why their record was terminated in SEVIS, then to challenge the termination if they believe that DHS or State has made an error in their case. To date, over 1,000 international students have had their student visas revoked and/or SEVIS records terminated nationwide, including in the Commonwealth of Virginia.[1]
The chaos caused by your actions is not acceptable. We believe in the rule of law and that immigration laws should be enforced. That starts with the Constitution and its guarantees of free speech and due process. These Constitutional protections apply to noncitizens in the United States, including people in nonimmigrant status.
If there are international students in the United States in violation of our criminal or immigration laws, they should be removed. But summarily revoking these students’ visas and/or terminating their records in SEVIS without any notice to the students or their schools undermines confidence in State and DHS’s judgment and erodes Americans’ trust in the immigration system and the rule of law. Such distrust will be exploited by the very people who want to harm the United States.
Over 1.1 million international students matriculated to U.S. colleges and universities in 2023-2024, contributing over $40 billion into the U.S. economy and supporting 378,175 jobs.[2] Virginia is proud to be home to more than 170 colleges and universities, including community colleges and highly prestigious research universities that enroll international students. These students pay for the privilege and contribute tremendously to the academic intuitions and the communities in which they live.
We want all our students to feel safe, supported, and secure in their studies so they can focus on their education. As such, we are deeply concerned that this administration’s policies surrounding student visas will result in severe consequences to universities and colleges, and their surrounding communities.
To better assist us in understanding the impacts of State and DHS’s action, no later than April 30, 2025, please provide us with the following information:
Since January 20, 2025, how many F-1, M-1, or J-1 nonimmigrant visas have the State Department revoked for people attending schools in Virginia? For each revoked visa, please provide the justification given for the revocation.
For those whose F-1, M-1, or J-1 visas were revoked in question 1, how many had their records terminated in SEVIS?
Since January 20, 2025, has the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) terminated the SEVIS records of any students attending school in Virginia whose nonimmigrant visas have not been revoked by the State Department? For each such termination, please provide the specific reason why their SEVIS records were terminated, and specify what evidence SEVP reviewed before terminating each record.
How would a Virginia student whose visa has been revoked and/or had their SEVIS record terminated be notified that this has happened? How would their schools be notified that this has happened? If a student or school believes that such revocation and/or termination has been made in error, what are the avenues for review or appeal of the revocation and/or termination? How long would such process take?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
[. The creation of the Alberta Recovery Model is a shift in addiction policy, with an approach that focuses on services and investments to lead people down a path of healing. Alberta’s government built this model because with the right care and support, recovery is possible.
Despite the supports for treatment and recovery, there are some individuals who remain likely to cause harm to themselves or others as a result of their addiction or substance use. In response to these concerns, Alberta’s government is delivering on its promise to bring forward the Compassionate Intervention Act to support the health, wellness and recovery of Albertans facing severe addiction challenges and in turn, restore safety for families and communities.
“For those suffering from addiction there are two paths – they can let their addiction destroy and take their life or they can enter recovery. There is no compassion in leaving people to suffer in the throes of addiction and in Alberta we choose recovery. That’s why we’re introducing compassionate intervention – another tool in the Alberta Recovery Model – to help keep our communities safe while ensuring our most vulnerable can access much needed recovery supports.”
“We cannot – and will not – stand by and let addiction destroy our families and communities. The Compassionate Intervention Act will provide life-saving support, ensuring families are no longer forced to watch their loved ones suffer from the deadly disease of addiction and endure the pain it brings.”
If passed, the Compassionate Intervention Act would create a pathway for parents, family members, guardians, health care professionals, and police or peace officers to request a treatment order or care plan for those who, because of their severe addiction, are likely to cause harm to themselves or others. Compassionate intervention is just one tool to help someone pursue recovery, which is why other options should be tried and specific criteria met before someone could be considered eligible.
The eligibility criteria for youth are comparable to the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act (PChAD), which provides mandatory short-term stabilization, detox and assessment. Compassionate intervention would replace and improve PChAD, allowing for longer-term treatment, an easier application process and increased family involvement in a child’s recovery.
“This is an opportunity to bring forward a world-leading program that will restore health to our most vulnerable Albertans, many of whom are facing the most severe addictions. I look forward to working with Recovery Alberta and Alberta’s government to help lead a thoughtful and evidence-informed implementation of compassionate intervention.”
“With evidence-based programming and support, the compassionate intervention program will be a world leader in addressing some of the most complex cases of addiction. Recovery Alberta is well-positioned to deliver this with incredible staff and clinicians, and we look forward to supporting more people in their journey to reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction.”
Premier Danielle Smith and Mental Health and Addiction Minister Dan Williams announce introduction of compassionate intervention legislation
Alberta’s government has built a strong partnership focused on recovery with Indigenous communities across the province. The Compassionate Intervention Act includes the ability for First Nations and Métis to integrate their unique practices and traditions into the compassionate intervention process.
Budget 2025 provides $180 million over three years to build two 150-bed compassionate intervention centres in Edmonton and Calgary, with construction expected to begin in 2026. These centres, operated by Recovery Alberta, will support intakes and assessment, and delivery of compassionate intervention care for adults. With an immediate need to provide compassionate intervention care, Alberta’s government is also exploring options to have some temporary adult spaces available within existing facilities next year.
For youth capacity, Alberta’s government is planning to transition protective safe houses used for PChAD into spaces for compassionate intervention. Next year, Alberta’s government expects to open the Northern Alberta Youth Recovery Centre, which will more than double addiction treatment capacity for youth and include space for care under the Compassionate Intervention Act.
Every patient who leaves the compassionate intervention system will leave with a discharge plan for ongoing supports and services. This may include continuing treatment in a recovery community or another community bed-based program, day programming, psychiatric care and/or ongoing work with a recovery coach. It may also include help finding housing, employment, skills training and more.
Key facts:
Significant investments have been made to expand treatment capacity since 2019, such as:
Publicly funding more than 10,000 addiction treatment spaces.
Building 11 recovery communities, including four in partnership with First Nations and one with the Métis Nation within Alberta.
Expanding Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP), which provides same-day access to evidence-based addiction treatment medication.
Related information
Compassionate Intervention
Fact sheet – Compassionate Intervention: A path to recovery
Fact sheet – Compassionate Intervention: Based on best practices
Alberta Recovery Model
Bill 53: Compassionate Intervention Act
Related news
Laying the foundation for compassionate intervention (Feb 24, 2025)
Multimedia
Watch the news conference
Listen to the news conference
Listen to Albertans’ stories
Quotes:
“We value our partnership with Alberta’s government as we work to save lives and bring people into recovery. But with new, increasingly deadly drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl, we can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results while people are dying. As Chief of Enoch Cree Nation, I support compassionate intervention and welcome investments that prioritize Indigenous culture and new approaches that truly meet the needs of our people.”
“Tsuut’ina Nation is grateful for our relationship with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction. Compassionate intervention is an important part of addressing the opioid addiction crisis. We are confident that this policy, guided by elders and experts, will provide valuable support for individuals and families in need.”
“We cannot afford to sit back and watch our nation members continue to suffer in their addiction. We must intervene. We would much rather step in with compassionate intervention instead of waiting until we are going to funerals.”
“As Chief of Woodland Cree First Nation, I appreciate Alberta’s commitment to addressing addiction through expanded treatment and recovery supports. With the Compassionate Intervention Act, it’s encouraging to see the government taking steps to work in partnership with First Nations. While we recognize there are complexities with this approach, our shared goal remains the same: to provide our people with the help they need and to stop the devastation that addiction continues to bring to our communities.”
“We have never felt more pain than the day we found out we lost our daughter to addiction. Addiction truly does take over a person’s life, and it is devastating that legal intervention was not available to us. As parents, my husband and I support the Compassionate Intervention Act as an option for families today dealing with the challenges of addiction.”
“My son was discharged from the emergency room into our care, without any addiction resources or support. The new Compassionate Intervention Act is critical for other families in crisis like mine. The opportunity for recovery in Alberta is necessary for the addict who suffers and for those who love them.”
“Alberta is a leader in recovery, and other jurisdictions are taking note of what they are accomplishing. Compassionate intervention is an innovative and encouraging step forward in resolving the most complex cases of addiction. I strongly support approaches like this, which commit to providing high-quality, comprehensive, evidence-based treatment within therapeutic environments.”
“What Alberta is bringing forward for compassionate intervention and the Alberta Recovery Model is a monumental achievement and will provide a roadmap for the rest of North America. Providing options for long-term care with monitoring and accountability, similar to what we know works for doctors and pilots, is going to be a game-changer for those struggling with severe addiction and mental illness. It’s fantastic Alberta has the will to help people suffering from addiction by giving them the tools and support that will get them into recovery.”
“As an addiction psychiatrist, I welcome Alberta’s commitment to treatment and recovery, an example for governments everywhere to follow. Compassionate intervention for those experiencing severe addiction is a policy that will save lives and restore people’s well-being. Especially encouraging is the level of care that will be given to support psychiatric treatment along with long-term recovery.”
“The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE) appreciates Alberta’s willingness to align compassionate intervention with empirically proven practices, such as opioid agonist treatments, to help those with severe illness. As the policy moves forward, CoRE will closely monitor and research the outcomes to ensure it is helping people effectively stabilize and make meaningful progress in their recovery journeys.”
“Internationally and within Canada, attempts at intervention for drug-related problems have often proven ineffective as approaches have lacked a comprehensive plan and don’t account for the co-occurrence of complex illnesses. Alberta’s system-wide, holistic approach to compassionate intervention balances the short-term rights of individuals and the intermediate and long-term health and wellness of those same people. This new legislation definitely adds to the international benchmark status of the Alberta Recovery Model.”
“Addiction is not just a big city issue. Each one of our communities has grappled with different social challenges such as addiction. Alberta’s Mid-sized Cities Mayors’ Caucus is pleased the Government of Alberta is introducing the Compassionate Intervention Act and welcomes the provincial government’s investment in solving the addiction crisis.”
“The Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police supports the Alberta Compassionate Intervention Act as a vital step toward addressing the complex challenges of addiction and recovery-oriented treatment for our communities. This legislation provides law enforcement with a compassionate approach to intervene and connect individuals in crisis with the treatment and support they need. By prioritizing public safety and individual well-being, this act reflects our shared commitment to building healthier and safer communities across Alberta.”
“The Downtown Revitalization Coalition supports a comprehensive and compassionate approach to addressing the complex challenges of addiction and mental health in our communities. We commend the Alberta government for introducing the Compassionate Intervention Act, which recognizes that some individuals are simply not able to seek help or manage recovery on their own. This legislation offers a path forward – one grounded in care, a holistic plan of support and the belief that every person deserves the opportunity to reclaim their future.”
“Native Counselling Services of Alberta is pleased to support the Compassionate Intervention Act. We believe this is an important piece of legislation to support recovery for people who have been entrapped by addiction and are now a danger to themselves or others.”
“It is important to do everything possible to help a young person be lifted out of addiction onto a path of recovery. Hull Services is pleased to support the Compassionate Intervention Act to enhance life-saving services for young Albertans in need.”
“We know the despair and hopelessness parents feel when their child is struggling with addiction to harmful substances. Through compassionate intervention, Wood’s Homes is pleased to support enhanced care options for young Albertans.”
“This commitment to compassionate intervention is ensuring we bring as many people out of addiction as possible. It’s clear Alberta’s government is taking recovery seriously with significant investment into the delivery of compassionate intervention care.”
“Human trafficking often has deep ties to mental health and addiction. Vulnerabilities caused by these issues make individuals more likely to be victimized by traffickers. Consequences of trauma resulting from being trafficked can also lead to new or deepening adverse mental health and addictions impacts. Compassionate intervention has the potential to provide a much-needed tool for prevention and rehabilitation supports for people directly impacted by, or at risk of human trafficking.”
“When we opened Wihchihaw Maskokamik Society (Bear Lodge), it was with the goal to help our people find healing and support, and connect with culture and services to help save their lives. I have seen first-hand the damage that addiction can cause to a person’s life, and I’m hopeful that we now have an opportunity to help people who are most in need to change their lives for the better.”
“We need to ask ourselves if it is better to leave someone to harm themselves or others with ongoing addiction or if we should compassionately intervene. The answer is obviously to intervene and do what we can to save someone’s life.”
“The George Spady Society is a proud partner and contributor of the Alberta Recovery Model. Our organization appreciates the government’s approach to prioritizing the lives of people suffering from addiction through a range of care options and providing opportunities for compassionate intervention when needed.”
“Acknowledging that no single solution will fit all, we support diverse approaches to meet community needs. The Compassionate Intervention Act addresses a critical gap in our systems, and we are encouraged by its potential to bolster the continuum of care for individuals facing severe addiction issues. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate in shaping this effort, ensuring the number of lives lost to addiction is reduced through a dignified, human centered approach.”
“There is nothing more heart-wrenching than families watching a loved one struggle with the illness of addiction. The families supported by PEP Society are glad to see this government’s plan for compassionate intervention, and we look forward to having this resource to rebuild health and wellness across Alberta.”
“CMHA Alberta Division and Centre for Suicide Prevention knows families struggle to access community-based addiction supports and treatment for their loved ones, all while watching their loved ones’ mental health and addiction issues deteriorate to a crisis. A framework to compassionately intervene with the most vulnerable among us can help. We are committed to continuing to build a community-based system of care that includes treatment combined with peer and family support throughout the journey.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke (9th District of New York)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 15, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov
c: 202.913.0126
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) issued the following statement:
“Among the limitless list of Donald Trump’s abuses, illegality, and cruelty, what this disgraceful president has engineered in El Salvador is an atrocity comparable only to America’s most mortal sins. Without convictions and, in many cases, without even trials, his administration expelled hundreds of men innocent in the eyes of the law to a foreign prison 3,000 miles from their families. However, in the eyes of Donald Trump, our laws are secondary to filling up his quota for human suffering. Let’s be clear: this is an existentially dangerous situation for our nation.
“Yesterday, this administration’s vile undertaking culminated in an Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador. There, we watched these two eager, up-and-coming dictators who are obsessed with keeping and accruing power fall abruptly powerless when asked if they’d abide by the United States Supreme Court’s unanimous order to save the life of an innocent man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Rather than admit their error in condemning Mr. Abrego Garcia to rot in El Salvador’s violent mega-prison, CECOT, they lied and maligned him as a ‘terrorist.’ They mocked the reporters who questioned their actions. And they feigned total exasperation that any court would have the authority to give them orders.
“In the same meeting, we also heard President Trump tell the small tyrant to his left that ‘Home-growns are next’ – a reference to his intention to inflict the same fate upon American citizens. What’s more, the president’s promise comes in the aftermath of his Administration’s proposed partnership with the despicable gang of mercenaries and war criminals known as Blackwater, which has volunteered to design their next phase of mass detention. In the context of this administration’s war against due process and the rights of everyone in this country to the presumption of innocence, these developments are deeply, deeply disturbing.
“While this situation is already severely troubling, I am certain it will only continue to deteriorate without Congressional intervention. To my Republican colleagues, I ask you to stand up for justice and against authoritarianism. I ask you to commit yourself to the truth and to what is right. And, when you fail to answer, I ask: what will it take for you to say that innocent men do not have to die just so the president does not have to admit he’s wrong?
“We know the Trump Administration broke the law when it sentenced these men to a gulag in El Salvador. We know it’s breaking the law again by not even trying to overturn the death sentences it has passed. And, while I am haunted by what has transpired from the deliberate actions of this president and his administration, we now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is no longer a Constitutional crisis – it’s an all-out catastrophe. On the orders of this president, our foundational principle of “Innocent until proven guilty” is over. Donald Trump believes every and any American is either guilty today, or guilty tomorrow. Under this administration, it’s only a matter of time until our day comes.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)
Washington, DC – Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the Africa Subcommittee, alongside Representatives Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, and Johnny Olszewski, Democratic Members of the Africa Subcommittee, today issued a joint statement marking the two-year anniversary of the outbreak of war in Sudan:
“It is time to permanently end the brutal violence perpetrated by the warring parties in Sudan and return to a path toward peace and a civilian-led democracy. On this somber day marking two years since the outbreak of the Sudan war, we call on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and allied militias to come to the negotiating table and put a stop to this brutal conflict. They all must ensure unfettered humanitarian access and abide by their repeated commitments to protect civilians, end reprisal killings, and ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes and other atrocities.
“External actors like the UAE must immediately stop fueling the conflict by arming the warring parties and instead work with international partners to apply pressure on the parties to reach an agreement. And all conflict stakeholders must recognize that, in order for any peace agreement to be successful, it must include Sudanese civil society members as full participants and contributors. Additionally, a sustainable peace agreement must provide for an end to military rule, the establishment of a civilian government, and a clear roadmap to democratic elections.
“We call on President Trump and his administration to stop exacerbating the situation in Sudan through unlawful aid cuts and to immediately restore all U.S. foreign assistance for Sudan and its humanitarian crisis. Mutual aid societies like the Emergency Response Rooms are critical lifelines for conflict-affected civilians, and they deserve more international support. This moment demands renewed and consistent attention from the United States government and our partners in order to bring an end to the killing and help the Sudanese people emerge from this national nightmare.”
Additional background: Since the war started, over 150,000 people in Sudan have been killed, more than 12 million displaced from their homes, and 25 million – half of Sudan’s population – currently face acute food insecurity in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The U.S. State Department found the warring parties – the RSF and SAF – have committed war crimes and other atrocities, including mass sexual violence. The State Department also determined the RSF has committed genocide. Over the weekend, the RSF escalated its attacks in El Fasher, targeting civilians, relief workers, and lifesaving services in Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and Naivasha IDP camps.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)
Raja hosted a roundtable with patients, providers, and advocates at Cook County Health to underscore the dangers of Medicaid cuts
CHICAGO, IL – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) met with Cook County Health CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis and leaders from Protect Our Care Illinois for a roundtable discussion with local health care providers, advocates, and patients on the devastating impact of Medicaid cuts proposed by Congressional Republicans. The event followed the House GOP’s passage of a budget resolution that would pave the way for $1.5 trillion in federal spending cuts. According to policy experts, the plan could strip health care coverage from up to 862,774 Illinoisans while jeopardizing access for all 3.4 million Medicaid recipients across the state—including two out of every five infants and two-thirds of nursing home residents.
“Let’s be clear: House Republicans’ plans to cut Medicaid would be draconian and extreme,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “We’re not talking about abstract numbers—we’re talking about real people who will lose their health care, their peace of mind, and, in some cases, their lives. I grew up relying on programs like SNAP and public housing. These programs gave me a shot at the American Dream, and I won’t stop fighting to protect them for the next generation.”
Congressman Krishnamoorthi voted against the Republican budget resolution last week and pledged to continue fighting it in the House. He also called out Republican leadership for pursuing drastic cuts to safety-net programs like Medicaid and SNAP to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
“Every Medicaid proposal being discussed or debated at the federal level will negatively impact our communities. Whether it is eliminating ACA expansion or provider taxes or implementing work requirements or per capita caps, these changes will result in eligible residents in need losing access to health care,” Dr. Erik Mikaitis, Cook County Health CEO, said. “Medicaid is one of the most effective public investments we can make in the health of Americans, and I am grateful to Congressman Krishnamoorthi and our Illinois delegation for their commitment to protecting this essential program.”
“Republicans in Congress are rushing massive cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax breaks that only benefit the wealthy and big corporations,” Kathy Waligora, EverThrive Illinois and founding member of Protect Our Care Illinois, said. “If they are successful, health insurance will be terminated for many of the 3.4 million Illinoisans enrolled in Medicaid, including half of our kids and pregnant people. There is only one path forward for the health of our people and our communities, and Protect Our Care Illinois is standing with people across our state to send a message to Congress: Hands off of our Medicaid.”
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright delivered remarks at a press conference in Riyadh on Sunday and announced the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a later date to advance cooperation across key areas of energy. The non-binding agreement outlines a framework for collaboration in both traditional and emerging energy sectors, reinforcing shared strategic priorities without financial or legal commitments.
Secretary Wright’s full remarks from the press conference are below:
I want to start by thanking my fabulous hosts, the Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. They’ve been so welcoming for myself and our delegation from the United States to come talk about our nations, our road to cooperation, our road for mutual beneficial progress going forward. We’ve made very wide-ranging dialogs for a day and a half now, and they’re going to continue.
We’ve talked about energy and all aspects of energy. We’ve talked about mining critical materials. We’ve talked about processing and industry. We’ve talked about climate change. We’ve talked about human lives and what drives their improvement and how best to achieve those ends.
We’ve talked about some of the obstacles that both of our countries have struggled with in the last several years, particularly on energy. You know, we’ve had a growing global movement, including in my country, the United States, that stood in opposition to energy development—somehow thought the road to a better world was less energy, less empowerment of individuals, and therefore less economic prosperity and less freedom.
So, our broader objectives, which we share, are prosperity at home and peace abroad. We’ve also talked about geo-politics. Peace abroad is every bit as critical as prosperity at home, but they’re linked together. They’re linked together.
Our newly elected President Trump was elected very much on a platform of removing barriers in the United States to the prosperity of our citizens. And by making America stronger and our people more prosperous, our relationships with our allies stronger, we can achieve peace abroad.
As the broader agenda— we discussed, we came at the end to an agreement. We’re coming together on a memorandum that’s broad, and I will announce that right now. We will sign it at a later date, but we’ve developed a broad memorandum of so many areas that the two countries will work together in cooperation to better develop energy resources, energy infrastructure, both in the United States and here in the Kingdom—mining cooperation, civilian nuclear technology and energy production.
We’re going to work on that as well. There’s simply so many aligned interests of our two nations. So, I will announce the agreement of a memorandum. There’ll be a separate date where we’ll sign that memorandum and announce more of the specific efforts that are going to be launched based on that.
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Synaptics® Incorporated (Nasdaq: SYNA) today announced that it will report financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 on Thursday, May 8, 2025, after the market closes. The Company will host a corresponding conference call for analysts and investors at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET), to discuss the results.
Registrants will receive dial-in information and a unique passcode to access the call. We encourage participants to dial-in into the call ten minutes ahead of scheduled time.
A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be accessible from the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website at https://investor.synaptics.com.
About Synaptics Incorporated: Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA) is leading the charge in AI at the Edge, bringing AI closer to end users and transforming how we engage with intelligent connected devices, whether at home, at work, or on the move. As a go-to partner for the world’s most forward-thinking product innovators, Synaptics powers the future with its cutting-edge Synaptics Astra™ AI-Native embedded compute, VerosTM wireless connectivity, and multimodal sensing solutions. We’re making the digital experience smarter, faster, more intuitive, secure, and seamless. From touch, display, and biometrics to AI-driven wireless connectivity, video, vision, audio, speech, and security processing, Synaptics is the force behind the next generation of technology enhancing how we live, work, and play.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
April 15, 2025
Democrats mark “Save Social Security Day of Action”
Trump, Musk, DOGE continue to fire staff, close offices, cut vital services
Washington, D.C. – On the “Save Social Security Day of Action,” Senate Democrats are highlighting how Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) takeover of the Social Security Administration is hurting Americans.
Read these stories from communities across the country:
New York Times: ‘Just a Mess’: Staff Cuts, Rushed Changes and Anxiety at Social Security: “‘I didn’t know he was going to pull this,’ said Teresa Boswell, whose vote for Mr. Trump in November helped flip Arizona, but who found herself fuming outside the Social Security office in Glendale last week, unable to sign up for $1,200 in monthly benefits after she retired from her job processing legal papers. ‘This is a joke.’
Virender Kanwal, a biology professor in New Jersey, applied for retirement benefits online at the end of February, a few months before her 70th birthday. She said she knew she would have to provide proof of her citizenship to complete the process but did not want to risk mailing in her passport, so she planned to visit a field office. To do so, she needed an appointment, and those need to be secured over the phone. Ms. Kanwal said she called daily for weeks but never got through…She began calling every few minutes, and said she was eventually placed on hold for six and a half hours before an agent finally answered just before midnight and gave her an appointment. “This is not what we expect from our country,” Ms. Kanwal said.
In Poughkeepsie, N.Y., a 90-year-old man using a walker came to a field office because he thought he had to prove he was still alive. In Clinton, S.C., a woman with one leg fell down in the parking lot after coming into the office to show her identification.
In Southern California, older people with disabilities are spending hours taking public buses to get to Social Security offices only to be turned away, nonprofit groups said.
‘People just don’t know what’s going to happen,’ said Bob Kelley, founder of the San Diego Seniors Foundation. ‘Everything is up in the air, so it’s just confusion right now.’
Bonnie Baum, 68, a resident of the sprawling 55-and-older community Sun City West, decided to stick it out in the hopes of talking to someone. She said her application for $1,800 in monthly retirement benefits had been rejected because she did not file the paperwork on time. She had been unable to reach anyone on the phone, and said she had enough difficulty navigating her smartphone, much less Social Security’s online system. ‘It’s just a mess,” she said.”
Washington Post: Social Security website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff: “The [Social Security] website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to almost a day, according to six current and former officials with knowledge of the issues. Even when the site is back online, many customers have not been able to sign in to their accounts — or have logged in only to find information missing. For others, access to the system has been slow, requiring repeated tries to get in.
In Upland, California, 72-year-old Kathy Stecher began trying to apply for retirement benefits more than a week ago. One of her first steps was to visit the Social Security website to book a required appointment at her local field office, because she believed she had to authenticate her identity in person first. But over several days stretching from last month through Wednesday, the website wouldn’t let Stecher schedule a visit…When she finally reached someone on the phone, the website’s booking tool wasn’t working, she said. The employee sighed and told her that similar problems have become routine, forcing customers to wait on hold for hours.
In recent weeks, Robert Raniolo, 67, a retired financial analyst in New York, found himself stuck when he tried to update his emergency contact by designating his niece instead of his wife, who has dementia. Since he began receiving retirement benefits five years ago, Raniolo has never missed a payment or had trouble getting online, he said. But this time he got an error message — and kept getting them. ‘Bad Request,’ read one notification, according to a screenshot he provided to The Washington Post. ‘There has been an unexpected system error,’ read another. He was directed to try again during ‘regular service hours’ on the East Coast. So Raniolo kept trying…Nothing worked.’
CBS: Social Security wrongly told disabled people and some seniors their benefits ended, causing alarm: “Chris Hubbard, whose 37-year-old disabled adult son relies on the program to pay for his group home, told CBS MoneyWatch she became aware of the problem on March 31, when people in a Facebook group for mothers of autistic children flagged the problem.
Hubbard, who lives with her husband in Westborough, Massachusetts, said she checked her son’s account and was alarmed to find a similar message, leading her to stay up through the night to keep refreshing the page. She fell asleep at 5 a.m. without seeing a change, she said.
‘I was continuing to be worried because the message was still on the site, saying this beneficiary doesn’t receive payments,’ Hubbard said.
The next morning, however, the correct information was on her son’s page, and the money was deposited on April 1, as scheduled. But she and her husband say they received no outreach from Social Security about the problem, or an explanation of the error. They opted against calling the agency because of the long waits now often required to get someone on the phone.
The Hubbards said they’re worried the glitch could signal more problems with the service, pointing to the potential impact of cuts to SSA’s workforce.”
Washington Post: Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down: “The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing.
The recording that 66-year-old Kathy Martinez heard when she called the toll-free number two weeks ago from the San Francisco Bay Area said her hold time would be more than three hours — she was calling to ask what her retirement benefits would come to if she filed for them now or waited until she turned 70. She hung up and tried again last week at 7 a.m. Pacific time. The wait was more than 120 minutes, but she was offered a callback option, and in two hours she spoke with a ‘phenomenally kind person who called me,’ she said. Martinez said she wants to wait to file for benefits to maximize her check. But ‘I’m kind of thinking, I wonder if I should take it now. When I apply, I will do it over the phone. But will there still be a phone system?’
In one office in central Indiana, the phone lines are jammed by 9 a.m. with hundreds of retirees, further taxing a staff of less than a dozen that is responsible for nearly 70,000 claimants across the state, according to one employee. That worker, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said the questions have become predictable: What is the U.S. DOGE Service doing to Social Security? Will the office close? Will my benefits continue?
In one Philadelphia office, the federal government’s return-to-office edict has left 1,200 staffers competing for about 300 parking spots, according to an employee. Staffers wake up as early as 4:30 a.m. to try to snag a space, and some are buying backup spots for $200 a month nearby. As morale has cratered, some employees have stopped wearing business clothes and now come to work in jeans and a T-shirt because, as they tell colleagues, they no longer take pride in their work, the employee said.
In Baltimore, an employee who works on critical payment systems said nearly a quarter of his team is already gone or will soon be out the door as a result of resignations and retirements. Talented software developers and analysts were quick to secure high-paying jobs in the private sector, he said — and the reduction in highly skilled staff is already having consequences. His office is supposed to complete several software updates and modernization processes required by law within the next few weeks and months, he said. But with the departures, it seems increasingly likely that it will miss those deadlines.”
Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) published an op-ed in Fox News arguing that Trump and Musk gutting Social Security isn’t “efficiency” — it’s a broken promise to the American people.
Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
Headline: Governor Josh Stein Awards 17 Counties, 11,816 Households & Businesses with High-Speed Internet
Governor Josh Stein Awards 17 Counties, 11,816 Households & Businesses with High-Speed Internet lsaito
Raleigh, NC
Today, Governor Josh Stein announced more than $41 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects to connect 11,816 households and businesses in 17 counties to high-speed internet.
“Connecting North Carolinians online helps strengthen our state,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Broadband plays a crucial role in our development, and I look forward to seeing how these funds expand economic opportunities for people in every corner of North Carolina.”
“Internet access is a necessity in today’s world. These grants will fund projects to provide that crucial access to residents in communities across the state,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Teena Piccione. “We will continue to partner with counties and internet service providers to make more awards this month as we work to expand high-speed internet to every North Carolinian.”
These projects will be funded by more than $29 million from the federal American Rescue Plan awarded by NCDIT and nearly $12.5 million from the selected broadband providers:
Anson County:Windstream North Carolina, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 945 homes and businesses (35% of the county’s 2,714 eligible locations).
Caldwell County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 203 homes and businesses (12.91% of the county’s 1,572 eligible locations).
Carteret County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 164 homes and businesses (46.2% of the county’s 355 eligible locations).
Caswell County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 565 homes and businesses (65.16% of the county’s 867 eligible locations).
Davidson County: Windstream This award will provide high-speed internet access to 436 homes and businesses (38.6% of the county’s 1,127 eligible locations).
Edgecombe County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1681 homes and businesses (85.55% of the county’s 1,965 eligible locations).
Greene County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 637 homes and businesses (94.37% of the county’s 675 eligible locations).
Lincoln County:Spectrum Southeast, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 271 homes and businesses (10.35% of the county’s 2,619 eligible locations).
McDowell County: Skyrunner This award will provide high-speed internet access to 704 homes and businesses (32.8% of the county’s 2,142 eligible locations).
Mitchell County:French Broad Electric Membership Corp This award will provide high-speed internet access to 432 homes and businesses (51.86% of the county’s 833 eligible locations).
Onslow County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 626 homes and businesses (60.71% of the county’s 1,031 eligible locations).
Pitt County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 534 homes and businesses (92.55% of the county’s 577 eligible locations).
Sampson County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1605 homes and businesses (73.59% of the county’s 2,181 eligible locations).
Tyrrell County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 237 homes and businesses (73.37% of the county’s 323 eligible locations).
Vance County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1327 homes and businesses (50.65% of the county’s 2,620 eligible locations).
Wilkes County:Wilkes Telephone Membership Corporation (RiverStreet Networks) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 658 homes and businesses (94.13% of the county’s 699 eligible locations).
Wilson County:Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 791 homes and businesses (64.26% of the county’s 1,231 eligible locations).
The CAB program’s procurement process creates a partnership between counties and NCDIT to identify areas that need access, solicit proposals from prequalified internet service providers, and quickly make awards. Awardees must agree to provide high-speed service that reliably meets or exceeds speeds of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.
This CAB program award will be added to NCDIT’s dashboard that shows details and progress on programs funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, as part of Governor Stein’s initiative to close the state’s digital divide. The award adds to the more than $547 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants and previous CAB projects that will connect more than 200,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet.
For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity, visit ncbroadband.gov.
Today, the federal tax filing deadline, the Justice Department’s Tax Division acknowledges the majority of taxpayers and tax return preparers who voluntarily meet their yearly filing obligations. The Tax Division also cautions taxpayers to choose their return preparers carefully and to look out for unscrupulous preparers who make promises of tax reductions not based on legitimate positions and who include errors or false information on tax returns that could leave a taxpayer subject to liability for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest.
Over the last year, the Tax Division has worked with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country to bring civil and criminal actions against dishonest tax preparers. These actions include criminal indictments and prison sentences when appropriate as well as civil injunctions to stop ongoing fraud, civil penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten proceeds when appropriate. The Justice Department’s message has been clear: those who prepare fraudulent returns will face serious and lasting consequences.
Examples of civil injunctions obtained by the Tax Division over the last and current filing seasons include:
On Oct. 28, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Indiana permanently enjoined Juan Santiago and his tax preparation business, Madison Solutions LLC, from preparing tax returns for others or employing any person acting as a federal tax return preparer. The government’s complaint alleged that Santiago and his business engaged in fraudulent filing schemes by improperly claiming Head of Household filing status, the Child Tax Credit, and business deductions to which their clients were not entitled. The government estimated that these false returns cost the government over $1 million each filing season.
On Oct. 3, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Florida entered a permanent injunction against George and Luis Brito and their business, Brito and Brito Accounting USA Inc. The injunction prohibits them from preparing tax returns for others. The government’s complaint alleged that since 2019, the Britos had prepared thousands of tax returns annually, and that they prepared returns that understated their clients’ income by claiming false or inflated business expenses and fabricating residential energy credits.
On March 29, 2024, following a 12-day trial, a federal district court in the Eastern District of Michigan permanently enjoined Annetta Powell and seven of her businesses from preparing tax returns for others. The court found that Powell and her businesses prepared returns that reported fake Schedule C businesses and business expenses, claimed household help income they knew the customers did not qualify for, and claimed head of household filing status without doing the required due diligence. The court also ordered Powell to disgorge $697,797 in ill-gotten profits.
The Tax Division has also sought to strip fraudulent preparers of ill-gotten gains and to hold in contempt those who attempt to flout court-ordered restraints on further fraudulent activity. Over the last year, the division has brought these cases to court, including:
On Oct. 24, 2024, a federal district court in the Northern District of Texas held that Jennifer Murley violated a previous injunction against returning tax returns for others. The IRS had suspended Murley’s Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN), but she and her tax preparation firm misappropriated EFINs assigned to others. The court ordered Murley to disgorge over $700,000 in ill-gotten gains she received for preparing returns in violation of the previous court order.
On Oct. 23, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Florida found Gerald Vito and James Eleby in contempt for violating a previous injunction from 2021 that enjoined them from preparing tax returns for others. Vito and Eleby worked with Kwame Thomas to continue to file returns after being barred from doing so, and the court ordered them to disgorge a total of $988,789.56 in ill-gotten and to notify their clients of the injunction or face possible incarceration.
Criminal indictments and convictions against fraudulent preparers obtained by the Tax Division since the 2024 filing season include the following :
Thierry Musese, who ran a return preparation business from his barbershop located in Auburn, Maine, was charged with preparing false returns and generating fraudulent refunds for clients by including bogus business losses, fuel and residential energy credits. Musese also allegedly defrauded his clients by diverting a portion of their tax refund to himself without their permission. If convicted Musese faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of preparing a false tax return and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud.
John Borgela, a Florida return preparer, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to file hundreds of false tax returns for clients from his business, Empire Tax services. Borgela typically inflated tax withholdings and reported fictitious itemized deductions to reduce his clients’ tax liability or to generate refunds. He concealed his involvement in the fraud by not including his name as the person who prepared the return on his clients’ tax returns.
Vervia Watts, a return preparer in Illinois, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for preparing and filing false returns for clients. Watts prepared over 900 fraudulent income tax returns for her clients, reporting false education expenses and business income to obtain larger refunds from the IRS. She caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $1.3 million.
On April 17, 2024, Jonathan Barefoot, a Mississippi return preparer, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for clients. Barefoot conspired with others to claim inflated tax refunds for clients by reporting false education credits, itemized deductions, and business losses. He and his co-conspirators caused a loss to the United States of approximately $3.5 million.
The Tax Division reminds taxpayers that the IRS has information, tips, and reminders on its site for choosing a tax preparer carefully (Choosing a Tax Professional and How to Choose a Tax Return Preparer) and has launched a free directory of credentialed federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers taxpayers tips to protect their identities and wallets when filing their taxes.
In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $79,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronic federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free. The IRS has tips on how seniors and individuals with low to moderate income can get other help or guidance on tax return preparation, too.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained civil injunctions and criminal convictions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey returned a six-count indictment against a San Antonio, Texas woman for fraudulently creating and selling over $17 million worth of counterfeit retail coupons used at various retail stores across the United States for the purchase of household items, United States Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Janet Bernal, 48, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. According to the Indictment:
From June 2020 through August 2024, Bernal orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to produce and sell fraudulent, counterfeit coupons for use by purchasers at retail stores throughout the United States, including large pharmacies and grocery stores. In furtherance of her scheme, Bernal offered counterfeit coupons through a monthly fee-based subscription group that was available on a commonly used Internet cloud-based messaging application. Members subscribed to the group, paid the monthly fee, and then had unlimited access to numerous types of counterfeit coupons that Bernal posted for download.
Members paid the monthly fee via mobile cash accounts that Bernal directly controlled. Over the span of the scheme, members downloaded thousands of counterfeit coupons and redeemed them at retail stores throughout New Jersey and elsewhere in the United States. In total, the loss to the retail stores and to the manufacturers whose products were covered by the counterfeit coupons was in excess of $17 million.
The conspiracy and wire fraud counts carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, per count.
United States Attorney Alina Habba credited postal inspectors of the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, in Newark, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
Defense counsel:
Carol Dominguez, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Barry Moore
Washington D.C. – This week, U.S. Representative Barry Moore (AL-01) introduced the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has clearly been weaponized against the American people and their latest abuse is the use of taxpayer dollars to purchase firearms for agents. This legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Mary Miller (R-IL), and Clay Higgins (R-LA).
Since the start of 2020, the IRS has spent $10 million on weapons, ammo, and combat gear.
This legislation:
Prohibits the IRS from purchasing, receiving, or storing firearms and ammo.
Requires the IRS to transfer to the General Services Administration (GSA) any firearms or ammunition under IRS control.
Compels GSA to initiate the sell and auction of the firearms to licensed dealers and the ammunition to the general public.
Transfers the IRS Criminal Investigations Division to be folded into the Department of Justice’s jurisdiction.
“The IRS has consistently been weaponized against American citizens, targeted religious organizations, journalists, gun owners, and everyday Americans,” said Moore. “Arming these agents does not make the American public safer. My legislation, the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act, would disarm these agents, auction off their guns to Federal Firearms License Owners, and sell their ammunition to the public. The only thing IRS agents should be armed with are calculators.”
“It is a shocking fact that the Biden administration spent over $10 million on firearms and ammunitions for IRS employees. This is especially troubling in light of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s investigation into the IRS which exposed patterns of political targeting and harassment by agents. I am proud to support Congressman Moore’s bill which rightly strips the IRS of its arsenal and transfers the Criminal Investigations Division to the Department of Justice. The Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act will ensure the agency sticks to its mission of collecting revenue rather than moonlighting as a paramilitary law enforcement agency susceptible to politicization.” said Congresswoman Hageman.
“There is absolutely zero justification for wasting taxpayer dollars to arm a federal agency that was never meant to act as an enforcement arm of the government,” said Congresswoman Mary Miller. “The IRS doesn’t need a stockpile of guns and ammunition — it needs proper transparency, oversight, and accountability. I fully support Rep. Moore’s bill to disarm the IRS and end this dangerous power grab once and for all.”
“The weaponization of the IRS against working Americans is a threat to our Constitutional freedoms,” said Congressman Higgins. “IRS agents should not hit homes and businesses like SWAT teams, and they should not terrorize American families. This legislation disarms the IRS. I thank my colleague Congressman Moore for introducing this important legislation.”
Today, the federal tax filing deadline, the Justice Department’s Tax Division acknowledges the majority of taxpayers and tax return preparers who voluntarily meet their yearly filing obligations. The Tax Division also cautions taxpayers to choose their return preparers carefully and to look out for unscrupulous preparers who make promises of tax reductions not based on legitimate positions and who include errors or false information on tax returns that could leave a taxpayer subject to liability for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest.
Over the last year, the Tax Division has worked with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country to bring civil and criminal actions against dishonest tax preparers. These actions include criminal indictments and prison sentences when appropriate as well as civil injunctions to stop ongoing fraud, civil penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten proceeds when appropriate. The Justice Department’s message has been clear: those who prepare fraudulent returns will face serious and lasting consequences.
Examples of civil injunctions obtained by the Tax Division over the last and current filing seasons include:
On Oct. 28, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Indiana permanently enjoined Juan Santiago and his tax preparation business, Madison Solutions LLC, from preparing tax returns for others or employing any person acting as a federal tax return preparer. The government’s complaint alleged that Santiago and his business engaged in fraudulent filing schemes by improperly claiming Head of Household filing status, the Child Tax Credit, and business deductions to which their clients were not entitled. The government estimated that these false returns cost the government over $1 million each filing season.
On Oct. 3, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Florida entered a permanent injunction against George and Luis Brito and their business, Brito and Brito Accounting USA Inc. The injunction prohibits them from preparing tax returns for others. The government’s complaint alleged that since 2019, the Britos had prepared thousands of tax returns annually, and that they prepared returns that understated their clients’ income by claiming false or inflated business expenses and fabricating residential energy credits.
On March 29, 2024, following a 12-day trial, a federal district court in the Eastern District of Michigan permanently enjoined Annetta Powell and seven of her businesses from preparing tax returns for others. The court found that Powell and her businesses prepared returns that reported fake Schedule C businesses and business expenses, claimed household help income they knew the customers did not qualify for, and claimed head of household filing status without doing the required due diligence. The court also ordered Powell to disgorge $697,797 in ill-gotten profits.
The Tax Division has also sought to strip fraudulent preparers of ill-gotten gains and to hold in contempt those who attempt to flout court-ordered restraints on further fraudulent activity. Over the last year, the division has brought these cases to court, including:
On Oct. 24, 2024, a federal district court in the Northern District of Texas held that Jennifer Murley violated a previous injunction against returning tax returns for others. The IRS had suspended Murley’s Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN), but she and her tax preparation firm misappropriated EFINs assigned to others. The court ordered Murley to disgorge over $700,000 in ill-gotten gains she received for preparing returns in violation of the previous court order.
On Oct. 23, 2024, a federal district court in the Southern District of Florida found Gerald Vito and James Eleby in contempt for violating a previous injunction from 2021 that enjoined them from preparing tax returns for others. Vito and Eleby worked with Kwame Thomas to continue to file returns after being barred from doing so, and the court ordered them to disgorge a total of $988,789.56 in ill-gotten and to notify their clients of the injunction or face possible incarceration.
Criminal indictments and convictions against fraudulent preparers obtained by the Tax Division since the 2024 filing season include the following :
Thierry Musese, who ran a return preparation business from his barbershop located in Auburn, Maine, was charged with preparing false returns and generating fraudulent refunds for clients by including bogus business losses, fuel and residential energy credits. Musese also allegedly defrauded his clients by diverting a portion of their tax refund to himself without their permission. If convicted Musese faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of preparing a false tax return and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud.
John Borgela, a Florida return preparer, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to file hundreds of false tax returns for clients from his business, Empire Tax services. Borgela typically inflated tax withholdings and reported fictitious itemized deductions to reduce his clients’ tax liability or to generate refunds. He concealed his involvement in the fraud by not including his name as the person who prepared the return on his clients’ tax returns.
Vervia Watts, a return preparer in Illinois, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for preparing and filing false returns for clients. Watts prepared over 900 fraudulent income tax returns for her clients, reporting false education expenses and business income to obtain larger refunds from the IRS. She caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $1.3 million.
On April 17, 2024, Jonathan Barefoot, a Mississippi return preparer, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for clients. Barefoot conspired with others to claim inflated tax refunds for clients by reporting false education credits, itemized deductions, and business losses. He and his co-conspirators caused a loss to the United States of approximately $3.5 million.
The Tax Division reminds taxpayers that the IRS has information, tips, and reminders on its site for choosing a tax preparer carefully (Choosing a Tax Professional and How to Choose a Tax Return Preparer) and has launched a free directory of credentialed federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers taxpayers tips to protect their identities and wallets when filing their taxes.
In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $79,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronic federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free. The IRS has tips on how seniors and individuals with low to moderate income can get other help or guidance on tax return preparation, too.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained civil injunctions and criminal convictions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
BOISE – Jordan L. Davis, 34, of Nampa, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for carjacking and unlawful possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced.
According to court records, on July 31, 2024, Davis and another individual entered the victim’s home in Nampa, Idaho. Once inside, Davis entered the victim’s bedroom, drew a firearm, pointed it at the victim’s head, and threatened to kill him if he did not comply with Davis’ demands. Davis stole several of the victim’s personal belongings and his vehicle.
After the victim called 911, law enforcement found Davis driving the stolen vehicle on the freeway. Davis ignored law enforcement’s attempts to stop him and led officers on a high-speed chase, that at times exceeded 100 mph. Law enforcement eventually stopped Davis after performing a PIT maneuver. When officers approached Davis, they saw him holding a firearm. Davis refused to comply with officers’ repeated commands to drop the firearm and get out of the car. After a nearly 20-minute standoff involving multiple law enforcement agencies, Davis eventually surrendered.
“Thanks to the heroic efforts of the Nampa Police Department, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho State Police, no one was injured during this dangerous incident.” Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott stated. “This sentence appropriately reflects the serious nature of the crimes and ensures that a violent felon is no longer free to victimize members of our community.”
“This case is a stark reminder of how quickly violent crime can escalate and put lives at risk,” added Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue. “I’m proud of the courage and professionalism our deputies showed that day, working alongside our law enforcement partners to bring this dangerous individual into custody without anyone being harmed. I appreciate the work of Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott and his team for their work in prosecuting this case and putting this dangerous individual behind bars.”
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Davis to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay over $37,000.00 in restitution.
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the work of the Nampa Police Department, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho State Police, which led to Davis’ arrest and subsequent charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Morse prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
RIVERSIDE, Calif., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Provident Financial Holdings, Inc., NASDAQ GS: PROV, the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B. (“Provident Bank”) has donated over $931,000 to local non-profits with their Community Partnership Program (“Program”) since the Program’s inception in 2006. For the calendar year 2024, Provident Bank donated more than $39,000 to local non-profit organizations such as service groups, parent teacher associations, homeowner’s associations, booster clubs, foundations, church groups, and societies, among others in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
“The Bank realizes the importance of giving back to local, non-profit organizations that improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. By empowering our customers to help direct the Bank’s charitable campaigns, we assist in fulfilling the goals of these admirable organizations,” stated Gwen Wertz, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking.
Provident Bank’s Community Partnership Program allows participating non-profit organizations to receive annual donations by simply linking their unique ID number to their members who are customers of Provident Bank. Organizations can earn more as more of their members link their accounts to their unique ID. Of course, some restrictions apply and interested groups are encouraged to contact Provident Bank for more information about the Program. You can reach Provident Bank at (800) 745-2217 to ask about the Community Partnership Program or by visiting www.myprovident.com.
With approximately $1.3 billion in total assets, Provident Bank is the largest independent community bank headquartered in Riverside County, California, and has been serving the financial needs of its customers since 1956.
Safe-Harbor Statement
Certain matters in this News Release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may relate to, among others, expectations of the business environment in which the Company operates, projections of future performance, perceived opportunities in the market, potential future credit experience, and statements regarding the Company’s mission and vision. These forward-looking statements are based upon current management expectations, and may, therefore, involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from those suggested, expressed, or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of a wide range of factors including, but not limited to, the general business environment, interest rates, the California real estate market, competitive conditions between banks and non-bank financial services providers, regulatory changes, and other risks detailed in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.
Contacts:
Donavon P. Ternes President and Chief Executive Officer
SAN BERNARDINO, CA (April 15, 2025)—As part of the ongoing “Dirty Dems” campaign, Greenpeace USA, in collaboration with the California Working Families Party and Courage California, continues to hold California State legislators accountable for their damaging connections to the oil and gas industry and their failure to support critical climate, economic justice, and progressive priorities.
This week, the spotlight is on Assemblymember Jamos Ramos of the 45th District – spanning portions of Southern California’s Inland Empire and San Bernardino. Elected in 2018, he has already directly accepted more than $89,600 in oil and gas industry money, including $19,000 in the last session. Chevron alone has directly given Ramos over $31,000.
Amy Moas, Ph.D., Greenpeace USA Senior Climate Campaigner, said: “Assemblymember Ramos is failing his constituents left and right. Despite being the first Native American elected to the California State Legislator, and the fact that he represents a diverse, working class district with a significant Democratic voter advantage, Ramos has failed to establish himself as a principled voice for all his constituents, especially those most disadvantaged. He has one of the worst records on environmental justice, workers rights, economic justice, and other progressive priorities among the Democratic Caucus in the California State Legislature, and he consistently sides with corporations over his communities.”
Assembly Member Ramos has received a failing grade every single year in office from California Environmental Voters, and from the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA). In 2023, his score from CEJA was an atrocious 28%. Assembly Member Ramos has never received higher than a C grade from both the California Labor Federation and from the Sierra Club. Courage California has him on their Dishonorable Mention list, as he’s received an F every year he has been in office. Initiate Justice has also given him a failing F grade since their scorecard began in 2023.
Other lowlights of his time in office include voting no on a bill to lower pollution near homes in his very district to reduce health and safety impacts (AB 2840). He also skipped a vote aimed at reducing pollution in other parts of the state too – a bill aimed at fenceline monitoring of noxious pollutants that have been linked to asthma and cancer (AB 674). Assembly Member Ramos repeatedly voted with big corporations on a bill aimed at moderately reducing single use plastic packaging (SB 54), and skipped a vote to reduce toxins in packaging (AB 2761). He even voted against common sense reforms aimed at making children safer by requiring firearms be properly and safely stored (SB 53), and skipped voting on a top labor priority to establish a council to determine minimum wages, working hours, and health and safety standards for fast food workers (AB 257).
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a lifelong family farmer, joined Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), along with Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Mark Alford (R-Mo.), in a letter urging the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission to use sound science and risk-based analysis in its policy decisions, particularly on crop protection tools and food-grade ingredients.
The letter was sent to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin.
“We write to express our strong appreciation for your leadership and interest in working with each of you to ensure America has the healthiest people in the world. In recent decades, chronic illness rates have risen. This warrants our careful scrutiny to support better health outcomes. It is essential that policies supported by sound science and risk-based analyses are used to accomplish this goal,” the lawmakers wrote.
“We have concerns that environmentalists are advancing harmful health, economic, or food security policies under the guise of human health. Despite insinuations to the contrary, regular testing by FDA and USDA finds that more than 99% of all pesticide residues meet extremely conservative limits established by EPA according to the best available science,” they continued.
In the Senate, additional signers include Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
In the House, additional signers include Reps. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.), James Comer (R-Ky.), Troy Downing (R-Mont.), Jake Ellzey (R-Texas), Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), Mike Ezell (R-Miss.), Vince Fong (R-Calif.), Michael Guest (R-Miss.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Tracy Mann (R-Kan.), Mark Messmer (R-Ind.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Derek Schmidt (R-Kan.), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Jefferson Shreve (R-Ind.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.).
Text of the letter follows:
Dear Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Rollins, and Administrator Zeldin:
We write to express our strong appreciation for your leadership and interest in working with each of you to ensure America has the healthiest people in the world. In recent decades, chronic illness rates have risen. This warrants our careful scrutiny and to support better health outcomes. It is essential that policies supported by sound science and risk-based analyses are used to accomplish this goal.
We also urge you to safeguard the work of the Make America Healthy Again Commission (Commission) from activist groups promoting misguided and sometimes even malicious policies masquerading as health solutions. The influence of these groups in the Commission would result in shoddy science; a less abundant, less affordable food supply; greater reliance on foreign adversaries for our food; diminished U.S. agricultural production and manufacturing; and, ultimately, poorer health outcomes.
President Trump recently stated environmental activists were holding the economic prosperity of our country hostage. We now have concerns that they are seeking to influence the work of the Commission to advance their agenda. For decades activist groups have tried to ban safe, well-regulated agricultural inputs by any means necessary. Without these products, yields and quality are negatively impacted by otherwise avoidable insects, fungus, weeds, and other pest pressures. This drives up food prices for American consumers and forces reliance of food imports.
The same groups have seized upon the Commission’s work as an opportunity to misrepresent the science on common food and feed categories or ingredients, such as plant-based oils. These inputs are subject to a robust, risk-based regulatory system which focuses on protecting human health. Unfounded accusations harm the U.S. farmers who grow our food, upend food and feed supply chains, and significantly increase grocery food prices – all without public health benefit.
We have concerns that environmentalists are advancing harmful health, economic, or food security policies under the guise of human health. Despite insinuations to the contrary, regular testing by FDA and USDA finds that more than 99% of all pesticide residues meet extremely conservative limits established by EPA according to the best available science.
We applaud the Commission’s desire to improve the health and well-being of Americans. We implore you to ensure policy decisions are grounded in sound science and risk-based analyses. With unity, we can protect American agricultural producers from environmental activists’ attacks on proven-safe inputs critical to their profitability and long-term viability while promoting positive health outcomes.
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
Grassley, with Ernst’s support, leads on biodiesel
Tom Brooks
April 14, 2025
As General Manager of Western Dubuque Biodiesel, I want to thank Sen. Grassley forleading a bipartisan Senate efforturging the Environmental Protection Agency to increase volumes of biomass-based diesel, like biodiesel, under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). His leadership is critical, but now the EPA must act.
Our plant currently sits idle. We made the difficult decision in December, in large part due to weak RFS volumes that do not reflect our industry’s production capacity. We are committed to our employees and to keeping jobs in rural Iowa, but without action the future of biodiesel production — and the economic stability of our community — is at serious risk.
Biodiesel is a proven, homegrown fuel that enhances American energy security and strengthens markets for our farmers. The EPA should set volume levels that support domestic energy production, not hinder it. For 2026, our industry is asking EPA to set the biomass-based diesel volumes at 5.25 billion gallons. We need certainty and strong commitments to prevent further plant shutdowns and job losses.
Sen. Joni Ernst also signed onto the bipartisan letter to EPA urging action on the RFS, and we thank her, too. The message from the Senate is clear: Increase volumes to match production and demand, and provide the long-term stability needed for investment in rural America. I urge the EPA to listen and act before it’s too late.
Philadelphia, PA – Members of the U.S. Marshals Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force arrested in Philadelphia today a man wanted by the Philadelphia Police Department on charges of homicide by vehicle in relation to a deadly hit and run on Dec. 28, 2022, in the 3700 block of Fairmount Ave in Philadelphia.
Jovan Lowe, 21, was taken into custody at a residence in the 4600 block of Hawthorne Street where Marshals Service investigators learned Lowe was presently hiding. Investigators from the fugitive task force apprehended Lowe after Lowe attempted to jump out a second story window but was quickly forced back into the home.
“Our persistence in pursuing those who commit such senseless crimes is never diminished by time, and hope Jovan Lowe’s arrest will bring some closure to Julia Abraham’s family,” said Eric Gartner, United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force is a team of law enforcement officers led by U.S. Marshals in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest violent crime fugitives. Membership agencies include the Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania State Parole Officers, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Attorney General Agents, Immigration Customs Enforcement, Chester Police Department, Bucks County Sheriffs, and Delaware County Sheriffs.
CHICAGO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNZA) (“LanzaTech” or the “Company”), a carbon management solutions company, today filed its annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”).
Key Takeaways:
Reported total revenue of $12.0 million for fourth-quarter 2024 as compared to $20.5 million for fourth-quarter 2023. The decrease was driven primarily by fourth-quarter 2023 benefiting from engineering services performed across several projects which were subsequently completed. Fourth-quarter 2024 revenue was within the forecasted range of potential outcomes previously provided, albeit at the low end of the range due to continued timing delays with several large biorefining projects that remain underway.
Reported revenue of $49.6 million for full-year 2024 as compared to $62.6 million for full-year 2023. The year-over-year decrease was primarily driven by 2023 results benefiting from projects that have since reached the completion of their current development phase, coupled with timing delays related to several large biorefining projects experienced throughout 2024.
Shifting the Company’s core operational focus from research and development to global deployment LanzaTech’s commercially proven technology is underway, with actions being taken to sharpen the business focus and improve the Company’s cost structure.
Evaluating liquidity enhancing initiatives, including capital raising, partnership or asset-related opportunities, and other strategic options. Management has concluded that these initiatives and cost reduction plans do not alleviate substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, per applicable GAAP requirements.
Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results
The table below outlines key reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results ($ millions, unless noted):
Three Months Ended December 31,
Years Ended December 31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue
$
12.0
$
20.5
$
49.6
$
62.6
Cost of revenue
5.6
12.0
26.0
45.0
Gross Profit
6.5
8.5
23.6
17.7
Operating expenses
33.5
27.1
132.6
124.0
Net loss
(27.0
)
(18.7
)
(137.7
)
(134.1
)
Adjusted EBITDA loss (1)
$
(21.2
)
$
(19.6
)
$
(88.2
)
$
(80.1
)
(1) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliations of GAAP Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA” sections herein for an explanation and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures used throughout this release.
Revenue
Reported total revenue of $12.0 million and $49.6 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2024, respectively, as compared to total revenue of $20.5 million and $62.6 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. The decrease during both periods was driven primarily by 2023 results benefiting from engineering and other services contracts with existing customers and government entities whose projects have since reached completion of their current development phase. Additionally, several large projects experienced timing delays during 2024, which impacted their transferring to the phase where revenue is recognized. Fourth-quarter 2024 revenues were within the forecasted range of potential outcomes previously provided, albeit at the low end of the range due to the aforementioned project delays. Two key projects that did not transfer to a third party, the phase in which revenues are recognized for these projects, were Project Drake in the European Union, and LanzaTech’s site under development in Norway. In addition, LanzaTech continues to expect additional LanzaJet shares to be issued with sublicensing events of LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology. These projects remain underway during 2025. Fourth-quarter 2024 results include revenue attributable to Project SECURE, which, in December of 2024, was awarded Department of Energy funding for the initiation of phase one of the project. Project SECURE is led by Technip Energies, in partnership with LanzaTech.
Joint Development Agreement (“JDA”) & Contract Research revenue for fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 was $1.7 million and $10.6 million, respectively, as compared to $4.2 million and $14.6 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. The year-over-year decline in both cases was attributable to certain government projects being completed, compounded by a period of downtime prior to new projects commencing, primarily during the second half of 2024.
CarbonSmart™ revenue for fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 was $3.9 million and $7.9 million, respectively, as compared to $2.1 million and $5.3 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. Fourth-quarter 2024 revenues increased by 88 percent as compared to fourth-quarter 2023 due to incremental direct fuel sales as a result of establishing licensing arrangements, partners, and supply chain infrastructure during third-quarter 2024.
Cost of Revenue
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 cost of revenue was $5.6 million and $26.0 million, respectively, as compared to $12.0 million and $45.0 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. Cost of revenue for fourth-quarter 2024 was largely comprised of the cost of the CarbonSmart product sold and headcount allocations related to the delivery of biorefining services and JDA work. Gross margin for fourth-quarter 2024 was 54 percent largely as a function of revenue mix, including additional lower-margin CarbonSmart sales.
Operating Expenses
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 operating expenses were $33.5 million and $132.6 million, respectively, as compared to $27.1 million and $124.0 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023. The increase year-over-year was driven primarily by project-related expenses, like those incurred for Project Drake and LanzaTech’s project in Norway, that are expected to be recovered once the projects advance to Final Investment Decision (“FID”).
Net Loss
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 net losses were $27.0 million and $137.7 million, respectively, as compared to fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 net losses of $18.7 million and $134.1 million, respectively. The increase was attributable to a non-cash expense on financial instruments, as well as the same factors that drove the reduction in revenue as compared to prior periods.
Adjusted EBITDA Loss
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA losses were $21.2 million and $88.2 million, respectively, as compared to adjusted EBITDA losses of $19.6 million and $80.1 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. The increases in losses year-over-year are mainly attributable to the same factors that drove the reduction in revenue for the comparative periods.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of December 31, 2024, LanzaTech had $58.1 million in total cash, restricted cash, and investments, compared to total cash of $89.1 million at the end of third-quarter 2024.
About LanzaTech
LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNZA) is the carbon recycling company transforming waste carbon into sustainable fuels, chemicals, materials, and protein. Using its biorecycling technology, LanzaTech captures carbon generated by energy-intensive industries at the source, preventing it from being emitted into the air. LanzaTech then gives that captured carbon a new life as a clean replacement for virgin fossil carbon in everything from household cleaners and clothing fibers to packaging and fuels. For more information about LanzaTech, please visit https://lanzatech.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial, of LanzaTech. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of LanzaTech’s management. Although LanzaTech believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, LanzaTech cannot assure you that it will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates,” “intends” or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are based on projections prepared by, and are the responsibility of, LanzaTech’s management. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside LanzaTech’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, including the Company’s ability to continue to operate as a going concern. LanzaTech may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described under the header “Risk Factors” in its Form 10-K and in future SEC filings. New risk factors that may affect actual results or outcomes emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all such risk factors, nor can LanzaTech assess the impact of all such risk factors on its business, or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. You should not put undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements attributable to LanzaTech or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. LanzaTech undertakes no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our financial statements presented in accordance with US GAAP and to provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have presented adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by US GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.
We define adjusted EBITDA as our net loss, excluding the impact of depreciation, interest income, net, stock-based compensation, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, change in fair value of SAFE liabilities, change in fair value of the FPA Put Option liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration, change in fair value of our outstanding convertible note, transaction costs on issuance of Forward Purchase Agreement, (loss) gain from equity method investees and other one-time costs related to the Business Combination and securities registration on Form S-4 and our registration statement on Form S-1. We monitor adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and Board of Directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, to establish budgets, and to develop operational goals for managing our business. We believe adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of certain expenses that we include in net loss. Accordingly, we believe adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors, analysts, and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results and enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects.
Adjusted EBITDA is not prepared in accordance with US GAAP and should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with US GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of adjusted EBITDA rather than net loss, which is the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with US GAAP. For example, adjusted EBITDA: (i) excludes stock-based compensation expense because it is a significant non-cash expense that is not directly related to our operating performance; (ii) excludes depreciation expense and, although this is a non-cash expense, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future; (iii) excludes gain or losses on equity method investee; and (iv) excludes certain income or expense items that do not provide a comparable measure of our business performance. In addition, the expenses and other items that we exclude in our calculations of adjusted EBITDA may differ from the expenses and other items, if any, that other companies may exclude from adjusted EBITDA when they report their operating results. In addition, other companies may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison.
LANZATECH GLOBAL INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands, except share and per share data)
December 31,
2024
2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
43,499
$
75,585
Held-to-maturity investment securities
12,374
45,159
Trade and other receivables, net of allowance
9,456
11,157
Contract assets
18,975
28,238
Other current assets
15,030
12,561
Total current assets
99,334
172,700
Property, plant and equipment, net
22,333
22,823
Right-of-use assets
26,790
18,309
Equity method investment
4,363
7,066
Equity security investment
14,990
14,990
Other non-current assets
6,873
5,736
Total assets
$
174,683
$
241,624
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$
5,289
$
4,060
Other accrued liabilities
8,876
7,316
Warrants
3,531
7,614
Fixed Maturity Consideration and current FPA Put Option liability
4,123
—
Contract liabilities
6,168
3,198
Accrued salaries and wages
2,302
5,468
Current lease liabilities
158
126
Total current liabilities
30,447
27,782
Non-current lease liabilities
30,619
19,816
Non-current contract liabilities
5,233
8,233
Fixed Maturity Consideration
—
7,228
FPA Put Option liability
30,015
37,523
Brookfield SAFE liability
13,223
25,150
Convertible Note
51,112
—
Other long-term liabilities
587
1,421
Total liabilities
161,236
127,153
Shareholders’ Equity
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 600,000,000 and 400,000,000 shares authorized; 194,915,711 and 196,642,451 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
19
19
Additional paid-in capital
981,638
943,960
Accumulated other comprehensive income
1,393
2,364
Accumulated deficit
(969,603
)
(831,872
)
Total shareholders’ equity
$
13,447
$
114,471
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
174,683
$
241,624
LANZATECH GLOBAL INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (In thousands, except share and per share data)
Three Months Ended December 31,
Years Ended December 31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenues:
Contracts with customers and grants
$
5,311
$
13,834
$
22,995
$
45,953
CarbonSmart product sales
3,933
2,072
7,943
5,337
Collaborative arrangements
1,104
2,413
5,573
5,529
Related party transactions
1,682
2,144
13,081
5,812
Total revenues
12,030
20,463
49,592
62,631
Costs and operating expenses:
Contracts with customers and grants(1)
985
8,818
15,341
37,653
CarbonSmart product sales(1)
3,894
2,390
7,543
4,889
Collaborative arrangements(1)
532
761
2,566
2,265
Related party transactions(1)
157
22
520
172
Research and development expense
16,459
16,303
77,007
68,142
Depreciation expense
1,278
1,471
5,567
5,452
Selling, general and administrative expense
15,745
9,343
49,981
50,438
Total cost and operating expenses
39,050
39,108
158,525
169,011
Loss from operations
(27,020
)
(18,645
)
(108,933
)
(106,380
)
Other income (expense):
Interest income, net
710
1,408
3,162
4,572
Other expense, net
5,616
524
(17,726
)
(29,388
)
Total other expense, net
6,326
1,932
(14,564
)
(24,816
)
Loss before income taxes
(20,694
)
(16,713
)
(123,497
)
(131,196
)
Income tax expense
—
—
—
—
Loss from equity method investees, net
(6,299
)
(1,961
)
(14,234
)
(2,902
)
Net loss
$
(26,993
)
$
(18,674
)
$
(137,731
)
$
(134,098
)
Other comprehensive loss:
Changes in credit risk of fair value instruments
(1,096
)
—
(1,096
)
—
Foreign currency translation adjustments
322
578
124
(376
)
Comprehensive loss
$
(27,767
)
$
(18,096
)
$
(138,703
)
$
(134,474
)
Unpaid cumulative dividends on preferred stock
—
—
—
(4,117
)
Net loss allocated to common shareholders
$
(26,993
)
$
(18,674
)
$
(137,731
)
$
(138,215
)
Net loss per common share – basic and diluted
$
(0.14
)
$
(0.10
)
$
(0.70
)
$
(0.79
)
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted
197,789,128
196,227,601
197,579,945
176,023,219
(1) exclusive of depreciation
LANZATECH GLOBAL INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (In thousands)
Years Ended December 31,
2024
2023
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net loss
$
(137,731
)
$
(134,098
)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Share-based compensation expense
13,208
15,199
Gain on change in fair value of SAFE and warrant liabilities
(17,887
)
(14,471
)
Loss on change in fair value of the FPA Put Option and the Fixed Maturity Consideration liabilities
23,510
44,300
Loss on change in fair value of Convertible Note
11,894
—
Provisions for losses on trade and other receivables, net of recoveries
961
700
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
5,592
5,452
Amortization of discount on debt security investment
(854
)
(1,301
)
Non-cash lease expense
1,713
1,526
Non-cash recognition of licensing revenue
(11,532
)
(1,805
)
Loss from equity method investees, net
14,234
2,902
Gain from disposal of PPE
(25
)
—
Unrealized (Gain)/loss on net foreign exchange
(284
)
182
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net
557
104
Contract assets
9,162
(10,049
)
Accrued interest on debt investment
183
(266
)
Other assets
(2,066
)
(2,658
)
Accounts payable and accrued salaries and wages
(1,790
)
(4,991
)
Contract liabilities
311
95
Operating lease liabilities
641
(337
)
Other liabilities
1,143
2,220
Net cash used in operating activities
(89,060
)
(97,296
)
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
(5,312
)
(8,553
)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment
25
—
Purchase of debt securities
(27,083
)
(93,858
)
Proceeds from maturity of debt securities
60,722
50,000
Purchase of additional interest in equity method investment
—
(288
)
Origination of related party loan
—
(5,212
)
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities
28,352
(57,911
)
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:
Proceeds from the Business Combination and PIPE, net of transaction expenses (Note 3)
—
213,381
FPA prepayment
—
(60,096
)
Proceeds from exercise of options
300
2,550
Repurchase of equity instruments of the Company
(48
)
(7,650
)
Settlement of FPA
(10,039
)
—
Proceeds from issuance of Convertible Note, net
40,000
—
Net cash provided by financing activities
30,213
148,185
Effects of currency translation on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
(52
)
(404
)
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
(30,547
)
(7,426
)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period
76,284
83,710
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period
$
45,737
$
76,284
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment under accounts payable
$
132
$
279
Right-of-use asset additions
10,194
12,866
Non-cash partial reversal of FPA upon settlement
24,084
—
Third-party issuance costs for the Convertible Note
3,169
—
Reclassification of capitalized costs related to the business combination to equity
—
1,514
Cashless conversion of warrants on preferred shares
—
5,890
Recognition of public and private warrant liabilities in the Business Combination
—
4,624
Reclassification of AM SAFE warrant to equity
—
1,800
Conversion of AM SAFE liability into common stock
—
29,730
Conversion of Legacy LanzaTech NZ, Inc. preferred stock and in-kind dividend into common stock
—
722,160
Reclassification of FPA Warrants to equity
$
—
$
3,063
Reconciliation of GAAP Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA (In thousands) Unaudited
Three Months Ended December 31,
Years Ended December 31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net Loss
$
(26,993
)
$
(18,674
)
$
(137,731
)
$
(134,098
)
Depreciation
1,278
(1,471
)
5,567
5,452
Interest income, net
(710
)
(1,408
)
(3,162
)
(4,572
)
Stock-based compensation expense and change in fair value of SAFE and warrant liabilities (1)
6,191
—
(4,679
)
728
Change in fair value of the FPA Put Option and Fixed Maturity Consideration liabilities (net of interest accretion reversal)
—
—
23,283
44,300
Change in fair value of Convertible Note and related transaction costs
(7,296
)
—
14,276
—
Transaction costs on issuance of FPA
—
—
—
451
Loss from equity method investees, net
6,299
1,961
14,234
2,902
One-time costs related to the Business Combination, initial securities registration and non-recurring regulatory matters(2)
—
—
—
4,693
Adjusted EBITDA
$
(21,231
)
$
(19,592
)
$
(88,212
)
$
(80,144
)
(1
)
Stock-based compensation expense represents expense related to equity compensation plans.
(2
)
Represents costs incurred related to the Business Combination that do not meet the direct and incremental criteria per SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5.A to be charged against the gross proceeds of the transaction, but are not expected to recur in the future, as well as costs incurred subsequent to deal close related to our securities registration on Form S-4 and our registration statement on Form S-1. Regulatory matters includes fees related to non-recurring items during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Headline: Fort Dobbs State Historic Site Prepares to Start Construction on New Visitor Center
Fort Dobbs State Historic Site Prepares to Start Construction on New Visitor Center jejohnson6
STATESVILLE
Fort Dobbs State Historic Site will start construction on a new $2 million visitor center on Monday, April 28. This will be the first major improvement at the site since the opening of the reconstructed fort in 2019.
At nearly 3,700 square feet, the new facility will be more than five times larger than the current visitor center. In addition to a contemporary exhibit gallery, modern restrooms, and paved parking, the new building will have an expanded gift shop, lobby, and office spaces for staff. The Friends of Fort Dobbs, the site’s non-profit support group, will oversee the project. Construction is expected to take 6-8 months with the grand opening anticipated by early 2026.
The current visitor center is housed in a log cabin built by the Fort Dobbs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as a meeting house in 1941. Though important to the site’s preservation story, the cabin is ill-equipped to serve the site’s thousands of visitors and school children each year.
“Thanks to the tireless advocacy of the Friends of Fort Dobbs, there will be a purpose-built visitor center at this historic site for the first time,” said Site Manager Scott Douglas. “I am thrilled to have more space and a proper museum gallery in which to tell the larger story of North Carolina in the French and Indian War!”
The site will continue to serve the public while work is underway. However, there will be periods of closure and times when tours are limited or unavailable. Visitors are encouraged to monitor Fort Dobbs’ website and social media accounts for operations updates and pay attention to directional signage at the site, as access routes and parking areas will shift for construction. The site will not be able to accommodate large groups traveling by bus once work begins.
About Fort Dobbs Situated in the Piedmont region of North Carolina near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Fort Dobbs interprets the French and Indian War (1754-1763) or Seven Years War. As the only state historic site associated with the period, it represents the state’s link with a global war for empire that crossed five continents, lasted nearly a decade, and sowed the seeds for independence. The site is located at 438 Fort Dobbs Rd, Statesville, NC and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Special events and living history weekends are offered throughout the year. It is part of the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
Headline: ‘Two Lights for Tomorrow’ Will Shine in Communities Across North Carolina Friday, April 18
‘Two Lights for Tomorrow’ Will Shine in Communities Across North Carolina Friday, April 18 jejohnson6
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, America 250 NC invites all North Carolinians to participate in a powerful national moment of reflection and unity: “Two Lights for Tomorrow.” Communities across the United States will unite this Friday, April 18, 2025, to honor the spirit of cooperation and courage that helped ignite the American Revolution.
On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes rode out from Boston to alert their fellow patriots of the movement of the British regulars. A prearranged signal — two lanterns in the tower of Christ Church — warned that the British troops were traveling via the Charles River. Other riders joined Revere and Dawes, creating a network across the Massachusetts countryside. These midnight rides preceded the battles at Lexington and Concord, the start of the American Revolution.
Two hundred and fifty years later, “Two Lights for Tomorrow” commemorates Revere’s famous ride and uses the imagery of two shining lights to honor the beginning of the American Revolution.
Overnight on Friday, April 18, 2025, two lights will shine forth from statehouses across the nation, including North Carolina’s State Capitol in Raleigh. Communities across North Carolina have been invited to participate by shining two lights on their own significant buildings. North Carolina residents are encouraged to display two lights in their homes as well.
Participants in the campaign include the Battleship North Carolina, Museum of the Albemarle, N.C. Transportation Museum, Historic Bethabara Park, Historic Halifax, Historic Camden County Courthouse, Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society in Mt. Pleasant and House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site. Communities across the state, including New Bern, Topsail Beach, Waxahaw, Pinehurst, Harrells, Roanoke Rapids, High Shoals, Currituck County, Camden County and McDowell County are participating with proclamations and events. Local chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution are also participating, along with many other organizations and individuals.
The nationwide initiative is part of the upcoming America 250 semiquincentennial observance in 2026. In North Carolina, the event is led by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ America 250 NC initiative.
For more information, please visit https://www.america250.nc.gov/events/two-lights-tomorrow.
About America 250 NC America 250 NC is North Carolina’s commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary and is led by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. For more information about America 250 NC, visit america250.nc.gov.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
DALLAS, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBI), the parent company of Texas Capital, today announced that President & Chief Executive Officer Rob C. Holmes was confirmed as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the conclusion of TCBI’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Holmes, who has served as President & Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Board since 2021, was unanimously elected to this position by the Board of Directors in January 2025.
Bob Stallings, who served as Chairman since 2023, has officially transitioned into the role of Lead Independent Director.
“I want to thank outgoing Chairman Bob Stallings for his dedication and significant contributions to Texas Capital over the past two years,” said Holmes. “I do not take the responsibilities of this position lightly; it is a distinct honor to serve in this capacity for Texas Capital, and I look forward to building on the firm’s many successes along with our employees. With our highly differentiated platform, industry-leading capital and liquidity, and a clear vision for the future, Texas Capital is well-positioned to serve our clients through all economic conditions and to deliver on our objectives for 2025 and beyond.”
About Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ®: TCBI), a member of the Russell 2000® Index and the S&P MidCap 400®, is the parent company of Texas Capital Bank (“TCB”). Texas Capital is the collective brand name for TCB and its separate, non-bank affiliates and wholly owned subsidiaries. Texas Capital is a full-service financial services firm that delivers customized solutions to businesses, entrepreneurs and individual customers. Founded in 1998, the institution is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth, and has built a network of clients across the country. With the ability to service clients through their entire lifecycles, Texas Capital has established commercial banking, consumer banking, investment banking and wealth management capabilities. All services are subject to applicable laws, regulations, and service terms. Deposit and lending products and services are offered by TCB. For deposit products, member FDIC. For more information, please visit www.texascapital.com.
Forward Looking Statements This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of and pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, TCBI’s financial condition, results of operations, business plans and future performance. These statements are not historical in nature and may often be identified by the use of words such as “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” “may,” “estimates,” “should,” “plans,” “targets,” “intends” “could,” “would,” “anticipates,” “potential,” “confident,” “optimistic” or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, objectives, estimates, trends, guidance, expectations and future plans.
Because forward-looking statements relate to future results and occurrences, they are subject to inherent and various uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, may change over time, are based on management’s expectations and assumptions at the time the statements are made and are not guarantees of future results. Numerous risks and other factors, many of which are beyond management’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. While there can be no assurance that any list of risks is complete, important risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: economic or business conditions in Texas, the United States or globally that impact TCBI or its customers; negative credit quality developments arising from the foregoing or other factors; increased or expanded competition from banks and other financial service providers in TCBI’s markets; TCBI’s ability to effectively manage its liquidity and maintain adequate regulatory capital to support its businesses; TCBI’s ability to pursue and execute upon growth plans, whether as a function of capital, liquidity or other limitations; TCBI’s ability to successfully execute its business strategy, including its strategic plan and developing and executing new lines of business and new products and services and potential strategic acquisitions; the extensive regulations to which TCBI is subject and its ability to comply with applicable governmental regulations, including legislative and regulatory changes; TCBI’s ability to effectively manage information technology systems, including third party vendors, cyber or data privacy incidents or other failures, disruptions or security breaches; TCBI’s ability to use technology to provide products and services to its customers; risks related to the development and use of artificial intelligence; changes in interest rates, including the impact of interest rates on TCBI’s securities portfolio and funding costs, as well as related balance sheet implications stemming from the fair value of our assets and liabilities; the effectiveness of TCBI’s risk management processes strategies and monitoring; fluctuations in commercial and residential real estate values, especially as they relate to the value of collateral supporting TCBI’s loans; the failure to identify, attract and retain key personnel and other employees; adverse developments in the banking industry and the potential impact of such developments on customer confidence, liquidity and regulatory responses to these developments, including in the context of regulatory examinations and related findings and actions; negative press and social media attention with respect to the banking industry or TCBI, in particular; claims, litigation or regulatory investigations and actions that TCBI may become subject to; severe weather, natural disasters, climate change, acts of war, terrorism, global conflict (including those already reported by the media, as well as others that may arise), or other external events, as well as related legislative and regulatory initiatives; and the risks and factors more fully described in TCBI’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents and filings with the SEC. The information contained in this communication speaks only as of its date. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, we disclaim any obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.
The colossal squid was first described in 1925 based on specimens from the stomach of a commercially hunted sperm whale. A century later, an international voyage captured the first confirmed video of this species in its natural habitat – a 30-centimetre juvenile, at a depth of 600 metres near the South Sandwich Islands.
Colossal squid can grow up to seven metres and weigh as much as 500 kilograms, making them the heaviest invertebrate on the planet. But little is known about their life cycle.
The footage of a young colossal squid in the water column was a serendipitous sighting, as many deep-sea squid observations are.
It was seen during the live “divestream” feed of a remotely operated vehicle during the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Ocean Census partner expedition searching for new deep-sea species and habitats in the far south Atlantic, mostly focusing on the seafloor.
Those tuned into the stream had the remarkable experience of seeing a live colossal squid in its deep-sea home, although its identity was not confirmed until the high-definition footage could be reviewed later.
Predators such as whales and seabirds are still one of our best sources of information about the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) because they are much better at finding it than we are.
This partially explains why we have only just filmed this species in its natural habitat. Not only do these animals live in an enormous, dark and three-dimensional environment, they are also probably actively avoiding us.
Most of our deep-sea exploration equipment is large, noisy and uses bright lights if we are trying to film animals. But the colossal squid can detect and avoid diving sperm whales, which probably produce a strong light signal as they swim down and disturb bioluminescent animals.
The squid best able to avoid such predators have been passing on their genes for millions of years. This leaves us with a current population of visually acute, likely light-avoiding animals, well capable of detecting a light signal from many metres away.
Delicate beauty of deep-sea animals
The colossal squid is part of the “glass” squid family (Cranchiidae). Three known glass squid species are found in the Antarctic ocean, but it can be difficult to distinguish them on camera.
Researchers from the organisation Kolossal, aiming to film the colossal squid, observed a similarly sized glass squid during their fourth Antarctic mission in 2023. But since the characteristic features needed to identify a colossal squid – hooks on the ends of the two long tentacles and in the middle of each of the eight shorter arms – weren’t clearly visible, its exact identity remains unconfirmed.
In the Schmidt Ocean Institute footage, the mid-arm hooks are visible. And for this young individual, the resemblance to other glass squids is also clear. With age and size, colossal squid likely lose their transparent appearance and become much more of an anomaly within the family.
While many will be amused by the idea of a “small colossal” squid, this footage showcases a beauty shared by many deep-sea animals, in contrast to the monster hype and “stuff of nightmares” click-bait titles we see all too often.
This colossal squid looks like a delicate glass sculpture, with fins of such fine musculature they are barely visible. It has shining iridescent eyes and graceful arms fanned out from the head.
At full size, the colossal squid may be a formidable predator, with its stout arms and array of sharp hooks, able to tackle two-metre-long toothfish. But in our first confirmed view of it at home in the deep sea, we can marvel at the elegance of this animal, thriving in an environment where humans require so much technology even to visit remotely.
Stranger than science fiction
Until recently, few people were able to take part in deep-sea exploration. But now, anyone with an internet connection can be “in the room” while we explore these habitats and observe animals for the first time.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the deep sea. It holds hundreds of thousands of undiscovered species, it is probably where life on Earth started, and it makes up 95% of the available living space on our planet.
It has animals more splendid and strange than our most creative science fiction imaginings. This includes squids that start life looking like small light bulbs and then grow into true giants; colonies of individuals living together with each contributing to the group’s success; animals where males (often parasitic) are orders of magnitude smaller than females.
This first confirmed sighting of a colossal squid inspires and reminds us how much we have left to learn.
The expedition that captured the footage of the colossal squid was a collaboration between the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the Nippon Foundation-NEKTON Ocean Census, and GoSouth (a joint project between the University of Plymouth, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research and the British Antarctic Survey).
Kat Bolstad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anam Bilgrami, Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University
On his campaign trail, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged A$200 million to upgrade St John of God Midland Public Hospital in Perth. He promised more beds and operating theatres, and a redesigned obstetrics and neonatal unit.
New and expanded health facilities are welcome in fast-growing communities. But are hospital funding pledges in election campaigns based on health-care or political needs?
Does pork-barrelling drive health funding decisions?
Pork-barrelling means using public funds to target specific electorates to win votes, rather than allocating resources based on need. Four in five Australians consider pork-barrelling to be corrupt.
Former New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian suggested pork-barrelling was “business as usual” in her government.
The National Health Reform Agreement makes states and territories responsible for managing public hospitals. States and territories contribute around 58% of hospital funding. They also oversee planning and infrastructure.
Local hospital networks help plan and implement capital projects such as new hospitals and facility upgrades.
Under the National Health Reform Agreement, the Commonwealth government also contributes public hospital funding through:
activity-based funding. This is tied to the number and type of patients treated
block funding for smaller regional and rural hospitals
public health funding for initiatives such as vaccination programs.
The reform agreement outlines the Commonwealth’s responsibility for supporting public hospital services. But it doesn’t restrict the Commonwealth from making hospital infrastructure promises.
The Commonwealth often pledges direct hospital funding through supplementary agreements or ad hoc initiatives. Earlier this year, it announced an additional one-off $1.7 billion payment to ease pressure on public hospitals.
State planning vs federal politics: who decides?
States use formal planning frameworks to plan and prioritise health infrastructure projects. NSW Health, for example, applies a structured Facility Planning Process for projects over $10 million. This considers local population needs, health and community benefits, costs and workforce capacity.
These types of frameworks help ensure health capital investment decisions are transparent and evidence-based.
What is less transparent is how the Commonwealth decides which specific hospitals to pledge money to, particularly during election campaigns.
While some federal funding announcements may align with state priorities, picking one hospital over another comes with an “opportunity cost”. For every community that benefits from a new or upgraded hospital, another potentially higher-need community may miss out.
To prevent Commonwealth funding decisions being swayed by political priorities, more transparent processes for setting priorities and making decisions are needed.
What would a better system look like?
The way funds are allocated to medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) provides the federal government with an exemplary approach to good health-care investment decisions.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) provides independent advice to the Minister for Health on whether the government should allocate millions to new medicines. The PBAC uses rigorous, transparent processes to make listing recommendations based on patient need and cost-effectiveness.
Prioritising evidence and having transparent decision-making guidelines would mean funding is more likely to be allocated based on the greatest population need rather than electoral considerations.
Other ways to improve federal government hospital funding decisions may include:
incorporating nationally agreed principles for hospital capital funding in future National Health Reform Agreements
increasing transparency. This could be achieved through a national public register of hospital development proposals, ranked by urgency and need
strengthening safeguards on election-period pledges. This could improve disclosures and ensure hospital funding decisions align with independent needs assessments.
More hospitals or better prevention?
Former St Vincent’s Health CEO Toby Hall put it bluntly:
If Australia is to make the most of its healthcare future, it will likely need fewer hospitals, not more.
He pointed to Denmark, which cut its number of hospitals by 67% over 1999–2019. This was achieved by shifting as many services as possible from hospitals to other types of health care including primary care, health centres and outpatient clinics.
While more hospitals in Australia may be inevitable as the population ages, health policy should also focus on keeping people out of hospital in the first place. That means investing in prevention, early intervention and technology to support care at home.
Australia lags behind other wealthy nations in this space, ranking 20th out of 33 OECD countries in per capita spending on prevention. It ranks 27th when measured as a share of total health expenditure.
Some local health districts are showing what’s possible. This includes using home monitoring to help people manage chronic conditions. These kinds of innovations can improve health and reduce pressure on hospital infrastructure.
While new hospitals and wards make for compelling election promises, a better health system will come not just from “bricks and mortar”. It will come from smarter investments in prevention, early intervention and innovative care that keeps people healthier and out of hospital.
Henry Cutler was a member of an Expert Advisory Panel where he received remuneration from the Department of Health and Aged Care for this role. Henry has also previously received funding from NT Health.
Anam Bilgrami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney
More than two weeks in, we know one thing for sure. This time, the election campaign does matter.
In decades past, when voters were more loyally rusted on to the major parties, news cycles more sedate, policy platforms fixed and “safe” seats truly safe, it was arguable that election outcomes were largely determined before the campaigns began.
But in 2025, the campaign period has witnessed a dramatic shift in voting intentions, as measured by public opinion polls.
Before the campaign, Labor trailed. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seemed flat-footed, burdened by a poor track record in the 2022 elections and the 2023 Voice referendum.
But even as Cyclone Alfred blew itself out, parliament returned, and the budget was brought down, Labor’s poll numbers were improving. This trend continued through the first weeks of the campaign, such that Labor now seems the likely winner, either in minority or perhaps majority.
Why? Election campaigns can reveal how leaders and their teams behave under pressure. They also require trust and lock-step coordination between the leader and the party’s team of campaign professionals.
Unflashy incrementalism
Albanese has performed solidly and been relentlessly on-message and on-brand. His campaign has rolled out a well-prepared procession of announcements on Medicare urgent care clinics, pharmaceuticals, childcare and TAFE, each with local funding attached.
Albanese does not campaign with Hawke-like charisma, Keating-like oratory or Whitlam-like policy. His one truly visionary change commitment – the Voice – collapsed in a heap.
Instead, as he has shown over the last two weeks, his true identity is as a (Chifley-like?) incrementalist. He boasts a strong grasp of systems – health, roads, renewables – and his campaign is all about fixing, improving and expanding those systems within practical fiscal constraints.
His vision of the future is the present that just works better for more people.
Fattening the policy pig
By contrast, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton seemed ready to shoot the lights out, as an uncompromising conviction politician exploiting voter grievances about cost-of-living issues.
But he wasted a large part of his first week recovering from an off-strategy indulgence about living in Kirribilli House (“we love the harbour”), and much of the second week explaining his backflip on public service working conditions.
The first was a campaign blunder, pure and simple. But the second spoke to a deeper malaise within the Coalition about policy development. The Coalition appeared unprepared for the cut and thrust of the campaign.
Combined with blithe me-tooing of Labor promises on health and roads, and incomplete announcements on cutting foreign student numbers and reserving natural gas for domestic use, the backflip suggested Coalition policy-making has become a bit random: a series of tactical choices, not a strategic plan for government.
Contrary to long-standing Liberal Party campaign wisdom that “you can’t fatten a pig on market day”, this time the Liberals are trying to force-feed their policy pig en route to the market.
Dutton has been much more effective pitching his fuel excise promise. The decision to eschew Labor’s budgeted tax cuts for an immediate reduction at the bowser was bold, instinctive and entirely consistent with the Coalition’s outer-metropolitan electoral strategy.
It took until the second week, but the daily scenes of Dutton pumping petrol into cars – “and utes” as he always adds – is steadily reinforcing his message, however wearying it has become for the travelling press party.
The comfort of incumbents
The first leaders’ debate highlighted this difference. Both leaders remained poised and polished (especially creditable by Dutton given he learned of his father’s heart attack immediately beforehand).
But Albanese simply had more to talk about, more first-term achievements and more commitments on his future shopping list. Dutton articulated grievances without providing many policy solutions.
The contest on the economy was a draw: Dutton conjures up Albanese’s non-delivered pledge on power prices, while Albanese points to high employment and downward trends on inflation and interest rates.
All this has played out against the backdrop of the Donald Trump tariff wars. Like previous mid-campaign crises – Tampa in 2001 and, for those with very long memories, the Kennedy assassination in 1963 – global uncertainty reinforces an Australian incumbent. Albanese’s measured response struck the right note.
Dutton has repeatedly tried to insert himself into the tariff story – difficult for an opposition – but had to take risks to do so. His assertion that AUKUS and ANZUS should be somehow involved was left hanging once Liberal icon John Howard made clear he disagreed.
With policy speeches delivered, and rival policies on housing finally released, the campaign is in its final week, interrupted by Easter, before early voting starts.
The challenge for Albanese will be to maintain his momentum, in all his unflashy, incrementalist style. Labor is likely to ramp up its Dutton-Trump comparison. Dutton will need to put further flesh on the bones of putting Australia “back on track”.
Stephen Mills was a staff member (1986-91) for Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke and since 2015 has volunteered for local Labor election campaigns.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne
Worrying signs are emerging about aspects of Australia’s health system, which will require the attention of whoever wins the May election.
Despite big money pledged for Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), only limited attention has been paid by the major parties to key reform priorities.
Any fresh reform agenda will be starting from a position of relative strength. Australia has a good health system that consistently ranks well compared with other wealthy nations, including on life expectancy, which is on the high side.
Medicare remains the right infrastructure for funding primary care. But it is now more than 40 years old and needs to be updated and improved.
Policy action is necessary on five fronts:
financial barriers to care
managing chronic conditions
mental health and dental care
public hospitals
workforce
Priced out of care
Despite Medicare’s promise of universality, around one in ten people defer seeing a doctor because of the cost.
And despite the provision of subsidised drugs via the PBS, people also report missing out on filling prescriptions.
Health Minister Mark Butler has said that Medicare is in its ‘worst shape’ in its 40 year history. Robyn Mackenzie/Shutterstock
Labor has announced big-ticket measures to improve bulk-billing rates and cap PBS prices at A$25 a prescription. Given cost-of-living pressures are central to the election, it’s unsurprising the Coalition has pledged to match both policies.
But, critically, neither party has announced anything to improve access to other medical specialists. The gap continues to grow between what specialists charge and what Medicare will cover. This means some patients are delaying or avoiding necessary care altogether.
Complex chronic conditions
The health system has not adapted to the rising prevalence of chronic disease in the Australian community. In 2023–24, 18% of the population saw three or more health professionals. But for 28% of those people, no single provider coordinated their care.
Medicare was designed in a different age and needs to be refurbished to respond to this new reality of more patients who are suffering multiple health conditions.
Work needs to continue in this direction, regardless of who forms the next government.
Forgotten care
Dental and mental health are largely the forgotten sectors of health care. The number of people delaying access to oral health services because of affordability issues is more than twice the 10% who are missing out in other areas of the health system.
Seeing a dentist is very much dependant on income. More than a quarter of Australians living in the most disadvantaged areas defer getting their teeth fixed because of the cost involved. Uncapped access to dental care, as proposed by the Greens, is not the answer. What is needed is a more sophisticated route towards universal access.
By contrast, the pattern for mental health care is different, with people in both poor and rich areas facing access problems.
The Coalition has promised to restore the maximum number of Medicare-subsidised fee-for-service mental health sessions to 20, despite it being regarded as an inequitable policy.
More fee-for-service mental health care is not the right approach. By contrast, Labor is making a $1 billion commitment to expanding services which are free to the consumer. This includes Medicare Mental Health Services and headspace clinics, which generally employ salaried professionals.
Both parties should support another initiative already underway: the universal program for people with low-to-moderate mental health needs, which doesn’t require either a referral or a co-payment. Labor announced the plan in the last budget, scheduled to start in January 2026.
Inadequate hospital funding
The Commonwealth share of public hospital funding has been trending down for the last few years, reversing the growth in its share over much of the last decade.
A deal has been reached to lift the Commonwealth share of hospital funding to 45%. Rose Marinelli/Shutterstock
Some states have fared worse than others, which means some hospitals have become squeezed and waiting times have blown out.
In late 2023, National Cabinet reached a new funding deal which would lift the Commonwealth share to 45% by 2035–36.
But subsequent negotiations have become bogged down in a quagmire of claims and counter-claims. The Albanese government has responded with an interim one-year funding down payment. But both major parties need to address this issue and commit to implementing the full 45% in the agreed time frame.
No doctor in the house
In 2014, the Abbott government abolished Health Workforce Australia, the national agency responsible for health workforce planning. Ten years later, it’s no surprise we are in the middle of a critical shortage of doctors and nurses.
The Albanese government has implemented changes to speed up the recruitment of internationally trained health professionals. It is also offering incentives to encourage more clinicians to work in rural and remote Australia.
But these are just more of the same, similar to the plethora of policies which have left us in the mess we are in. Ensuring we have the right workforce mix to address rural health needs requires a fresh approach. That includes revised funding models – as proposed in the GP incentives review – and allowing all health professionals to work to their full scope of practice.
Reform hard slog
Although health often ranks in the top three issues people say are important to them in elections, cost of living is the main focus of media and political commentary.
The promise to increase bulk billing will help lower primary care costs.
But genuine health care reform does not attract much media attention, which means it doesn’t get the profile necessary to prompt the right political promises.
The hard slog of change takes years, and involves much more than a few carrots thrown to voters in an election. It takes careful negotiation with stakeholders and getting the infrastructure right.
Given the initiatives listed above, Health Minister Mark Butler has done well on reform this term. Unfortunately, voters don’t see that, and appear not to value systematic and coherent reform strategies.
It is hoped that whoever is health minister after the election will continue on the reform path to a more sustainable and affordable health system.
This is the eighth article in our special series, Australia’s Policy Challenges. You can read the other articles here.
Stephen Duckett was a member of the Strengthening Medicare Task Force, the Review of General Prcatice Incentives, the Mental Health Reform Advisory Group, and the Expert Panel on the National Early Intervention Service
The global trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month shows no signs of ending anytime soon. In recent days, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals that are vital ingredients in everything from electric cars and drones to the semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
All of this is happening at the same time the US is forging ahead with a US$500 billion (A$784 billion) project known as “Stargate” to accelerate the development of AI in the country.
But the escalating trade war does not square with America’s ambitious AI plans. In fact, Trump’s tariffs (which, in the case of China, now total 145%) are set to undermine these plans by increasing the cost of AI development and disrupting supply chains for AI goods.
In turn, this will hinder the pace of AI innovation and adoption in the US – and potentially elsewhere.
US tariffs will directly inflate the prices of these essential components. One analysis estimates tariffs could increase the material costs of data centre building by around 20%, with IT hardware components potentially rising by 25%.
This is a major concern for AI industry leaders such as OpenAI, which operates ChatGPT. For example, the company’s chief executive, Sam Altman, recently said his team is “working around-the-clock” to determine how the trade war would affect the cost of running their AI models.
But the increased cost on AI development caused by the trade war will also mean tech startups in the US will have higher barriers to entry and fewer opportunities to test AI capabilities. In turn, this will harm AI innovation.
In theory, tariffs might support the reshoring of chip production in the US through initiatives such as the CHIPS and Science Act, which promotes domestic US semiconductor production. But it would take years for such efforts to fully bear fruit. And Trump has also recently taken steps to walk away from the CHIPS and Science Act.
Aggressive AI nationalism
The trade war also creates risks for the international development of AI.
For example, the cost increases that flow from tariffs could create a reluctance to invest in AI infrastructure – particularly data centres. Other tech companies might also cancel or delay plans to build data centres in the US partly because of higher equipment prices.
In addition, tariffs could push countries into further fortifying their AI efforts, creating a kind of aggressive AI nationalism. They could also encourage domestic AI development to promote national interests. This could lead to isolationism and put another nail in the coffin of the open-source culture that once fuelled AI innovation.
Tariffs are supposed to promote domestic industries. But high costs and a fracturing of the cooperation that is indispensable to the continuation of the AI landscape might well be the outcome.
One analysis estimates US tariffs could increase the material costs of data centre building by around 20%. IM Imagery/Shutterstock
Knock-on effects for Australia
Australia is not the direct target of most US tariffs. But the tariffs on advanced technologies and critical components pose risks to its ability to develop AI.
Although Australia aims to bolster its domestic AI capabilities, it currently relies heavily on imported hardware for AI development. Tariffs will likely make it more expensive for Australian companies and research institutions to acquire the necessary infrastructure, such as semiconductors, GPUs, and cloud computing equipment. In turn, this will potentially hinder their technological progress.
As the US clamps down on trade and technologies, Australia may find itself locked out of international research projects, perhaps those involving US companies or technologies.
Such limits on data sharing, international cross-border AI talent, and cloud infrastructure risk slowing the rate of innovation.
