The Albanese and Minns Governments have activated disaster assistance to communities in 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Northern NSW in anticipation of the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The NSW Government’s Natural Disaster Declaration applies to the LGAs of: Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Lord Howe Island, MidCoast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Richmond Valley and Tweed.
Support has been made available under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Assistance measures that may be provided to communities include:
Assistance for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation and essential items generally provided from evacuation or recovery centres.
Grants for eligible low-income residents to replace lost essential household items to maintain basic standard of living.
Grants for eligible low-income residents to undertake essential structural repairs to restore their homes to a basic, safe and habitable condition.
Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.
Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers, and non-profit organisations and grants to sporting and recreation clubs to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property.
Freight subsidies for primary producers to help transport livestock and fodder.
Financial support towards counter disaster activity undertaken by emergency service organisations to keep communities safe
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister said it’s a challenging time as communities are already experiencing the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
“We are activating a range of support to assist flood impacted residents begin their recovery as soon as possible,” Minister McAllister said.
“As we understand the full extent of damage from this event, we will move quickly to activate appropriate support for these communities.”
“We are working closely with Premier Minns and his government as we prepare and respond to this event.”
“Our message to community is clear. Know your local risk, have a plan and prepare your home now.”
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said natural disaster declarations are a vital step in unlocking joint assistance so communities can begin the clean-up, rebuilding and recovery process.
“We are rolling out support measures for communities we know are likely to be impacted by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. As the event unfolds and impacts are known, further measures will be considered in response to community need,” Minister Dib said.
“The NSW State Emergency Service and other emergency services along with the NSW Reconstruction Authority are on the ground in Northern NSW, preparing for the impact of the cyclone and working to keep the community safe.
“For a region already in recovery from the devastating 2022 floods, we understand this latest disaster will be difficult for many people, and we are committed to continuing to support this resilient community through these challenges.
“We are thankful for the dedication of our emergency services – including the incredible volunteers from the local area and across the state – who are already working around the clock to support communities in Northern NSW.”
Headline: 5G-Advanced and AI Combine Their Strengths to Take Mobile AI to New Heights
[Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2025] At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2025, Huawei held its Mobile AI Network Summit. In attendance were a broad lineup of partners, including representatives from leading analytics firms Ookla, Omdia, and ABI, AI technology developers like Zhipu AI, and AI device innovators like SHARGE. Together, they discussed a long list of topics of industry-wide interest, from mobile AI industry upgrades to network construction best practices. They proposed the construction of a mobile AI infrastructure to accelerate network evolution to 5G-Advanced and high-level autonomy for the mobile AI era.
Dang Wenshuan, Huawei’s Chief Strategy Architect, speaking at the summit
Huawei Chief Strategic Architect Dang Wenshuan presented insights into the global AI boom. AI is creating business opportunities in many domains, from full-process experience operations to AI New Calling, AI homes, and services and products for SMEs. According to Dang, “to make the most of mobile AI, 5G-Advanced is essential for creating new business value for operators and their vertical partners.” Networks are improving quickly to support 10 times faster uplink speed and 10 dB better coverage with 10 times higher spectral efficiency. This means networks will become a strong foundation for the universal accessibility of AI. Conversely, AI has massive potential for improving networks. AI can make networks more productive by increasing O&M efficiency by 30%, lowering energy consumption by 20%, and enabling the service assurance rate to exceed 90%.
Representatives from Ookla, Omdia, ABI, Zhipu AI, and SHARGE affirmed that the rapid progress of large language models attributes to the boom in mobile AI. The increasing popularity of AI phones, glasses, and many other intelligent devices is making multimodal interaction more available and useful. This amplifies the importance of real-time mobile connections and sets the stage for drastic data traffic increases in networks. For operators, this means new opportunities for business monetization and new tests for their mobile networks in uplink bandwidth, latency, and seamless coverage across indoor and outdoor areas. Networks are becoming increasingly complex as the mobile AI era fast approaches, so mobile operators share a common goal of using large language models, digital twins, and other cutting-edge technologies to develop agents for greater network productivity.
Operator guests shared the success stories of 5G construction and network architecture upgrade. They discussed spectrum convergence, multi-antenna improvement, and SA architecture evolution for rapid implementation of 5G across all bands. These innovations address the user experience requirements of diverse mobile AI services, while enabling lower energy consumption. By making full use of the respective strengths of AI and mobile networks, intelligent networks can achieve deterministic service experience and high-level network autonomy through greater human-machine collaboration. This is conducive to improving user experience and making O&M more efficient.
At this summit, Huawei highlighted two directions for adapting to the mobile AI era. To help operators improve networks to make the most of the AI boom, Huawei offers next-generation GigaGreen, GigaBand, and GigaSpot solutions that feature stronger frequency aggregation. These solutions enable operators to simplify network deployment for flexible network capacity increase and superior ubiquitous connection experiences while realizing green sustainability. To help operators maximize the benefits of AI for stronger networks and quickly advance to AN L4, Huawei has introduced an agentic choreography pipeline to its agent-based digital-person team. The agentic choreography pipeline enables elaborate radio resource orchestration to guarantee differentiated experience, and supports multi-agent orchestration for automated complex task execution. Furthermore, working with the RAN Intelligent Service Engine (RISE), which is an intelligent capability openness platform that is first launched by Huawei, the agentic choreography pipeline provides operators with end-to-end automation for orchestrating customer-oriented provisioning for new services, thereby accelerating their rollout in the market. This enables operators to make networks even more intelligent, flexible, and efficient.
MWC Barcelona 2025 is held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.
In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world.
For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025
Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
Published: 03.05.2025
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reintroduced bipartisan legislation to decrease the United States’ reliance on adversarial nations like China for critical minerals. China is currently the dominant supplier for more than half of America’s critical mineral imports. These minerals are essential for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, military equipment, and other technology crucial to American economic competitiveness and homeland security. The Senators’ bill would address this threat to our manufacturing supply chains by creating an intergovernmental task force to find opportunities for increased domestic production and recycling of critical minerals.
“America’s economic and national security interests are at risk when we depend on foreign adversaries like China for materials that are vital to our manufacturing and defense industries,” said Senator Peters.“This task force will coordinate efforts across federal, state, and local governments to develop a unified approach to producing and recycling critical minerals here at home, creating American jobs while ensuring our manufacturers have reliable access to these important materials.”
The bipartisan Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Taskforce Act requires the President to create a task force and appoint representatives from federal agencies who must consult with state, local, and Tribal governments. The task force will work to determine how to address national security risks associated with America’s critical mineral supply chains and identify new domestic opportunities for mining, processing, refinement, reuse, and recycling of critical minerals. The legislation would also require the task force to publish a report to Congress and publish findings, guidelines, and recommendations to combat the United States’ reliance on China and other foreign nations for critical minerals.
The bill is endorsed by leaders from the Sierra Club, General Motors, Ford, and the American Automotive Policy Council.
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Murray helped author and introduce the PRO Act in the 116th Congress
Murray: “Reintroducing the PRO Act is more important now than ever. This is about making sure we are not just pushing back—but also pushing forward, charting a positive vision for workers, and daring Republicans to make their actions match their words.”
***VIDEO HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to reintroduce the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, comprehensive legislation to protect workers’ right to come together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. Joining Senator Murray at the press conference for the bill reintroduction today were Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D, NY-08), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), HELP Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT), House Education Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D, VA-03), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R, PA-01), and union worker Kieran Cuadras.
Large corporations and the wealthy continue to capture the rewards of a growing economy while working families and middle-class Americans are left behind. From 1979 to 2023, annual wages for the bottom 90 percent of households increased just 44 percent, while average incomes for the wealthiest one percent increased more than 180 percent. Unions are critical to increasing wages and creating a strong economy that rewards hardworking people. Through the power of bargaining, the typical union worker earns 16 percent more than the typical non-union worker. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 70 percent of Americans approve of labor unions—near record highs. But despite growing support for unions, billionaire- and special interest-funded attacks on workers’ unions and labor laws have eroded union density and made it harder for workers to organize. The share of American workers who are union members has fallen from roughly one in three workers in 1956 to a new low of 9.9 percent in 2024. The PRO Act restores fairness to the economy by strengthening the federal law that protects workers’ right to join a union and bargain for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
“Right now, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are attacking workers, including mass firing people by the tens of thousands, left and right, regardless of how important that work is,” said Senator Murray. “Reintroducing the PRO Act is more important now than ever. This is about making sure we are not just pushing back—but also pushing forward: charting a positive vision for workers, and daring Republicans to make their actions match their words. Who do you stand with—the billionaires like Elon Musk and Donald Trump—whose favorite two words are ‘you’re fired?’ Or, do you stand with hard working American women and men. People who just want fair pay, decent treatment, and a government that works to make their lives better, not worse? That should not be too much to ask! I’m going to keep fighting, come hell or high water, to make it easier for workers to join together and fight for the better pay and working conditions they deserve.”
The PRO Act protects the basic right to join a union and:
Holds employers accountable for violating workers’ rights by authorizing meaningful penalties, facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements, and closing loopholes that allow employers to misclassify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors.
Empowers workers to exercise their right to organize by strengthening support for workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights, protecting workers’ right to support secondary boycotts, ensuring workers’ unions can collect “fair share” fees, and authorizing a private right of action for violation of workers’ rights.
Secures free, fair, and safe union elections by preventing employers from interfering in union elections, prohibiting captive audience meetings, and requiring employers to be transparent with their workers.
The PRO Act is supported by: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Musicians (AFM), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), National Nurses United (NNU), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (TWU), United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), and United Steelworkers (USW).
Throughout her career, Senator Murray has championed workers’ rights and fought to protect their right to join and form a union in order to stand together and demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions. Senator Murray first introduced the PRO Act in the 116th Congress and she also leads the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act, comprehensive legislation to put hard-earned wages back in workers’ pockets and crack down on employers who unfairly withhold wages from their employees. Murray also introduced the CHILD Labor Act last Congress, new legislation to protect children from exploitative child labor practices and hold the companies and individuals who take advantage of them accountable. Among many other pieces of pro-worker legislation, Murray also leads the Paycheck Fairness Act to combat wage discrimination and help close the wage gap, and has helped lead the fight for paid family and medical leave since she first joined Congress.
The full text of the PRO Act is HERE.
A fact sheet on the PRO Act is HERE.
A section-by-section summary of the PRO Act is HERE.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered at today’s press conference, are below and video is HERE:
“The difference in values between Democrats and Republicans, the difference in who we are fighting for, could not be more clear, or more stark.
“Right now, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are attacking workers—including mass firing people by tens of thousands, left and right—regardless of how important their work is or the skill and pride with which they are doing it.
“In fact, he fired NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox—leaving workers in limbo simply due to President Trump’s unprecedented and illegal firing!
“Meanwhile, I want you to know, Democrats are fighting for workers—we’re fighting to protect those who are being attacked by Trump and Musk and fighting to empower workers across our country to better advocate for themselves and wield their rights at this pivotal moment.
“That is why reintroducing the PRO Act is more important now than ever. This is about making sure that we are not just pushing back—but also pushing forward, charting a positive vision for workers, and daring Republicans to make their actions match their words.
“Who do you stand with—the billionaires like Elon Musk and Donald Trump—whose favorite two words are ‘You’re fired?’
“Or do you stand with hard working American women and men—people who just want fair pay, decent treatment, and a government that actually works to make their lives better, not worse? That should not be too much to ask!
“I’m very proud to be a leader of this bill, and I want you to know, I will keep fighting—come hell or high water—to make it easier for workers to join together and fight for the better pay and working conditions they deserve. Thank you.”
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the Trump administration’s plans to fire 80,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), seriously risking the medical care and benefits that veterans have earned and deserve.More than 25 percent of VA’s workforce are veterans themselves.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are escalating their full-scale, no-holds-barred assault on veterans–and putting the health care and benefits they have earned in grave danger. It’s infuriating that two billionaires think they can fire tens of thousands of people responsible for administering the services and care that over nine million veterans across the country count on. It’s flat-out immoral and a breach of the sacred commitment we make to our veterans to take care of them when they return home.
“Just yesterday, I spoke with a disabled veteran who worked at the Seattle VA helping homeless veterans. He told me how devastating it was when, without warning, without cause, and without explanation, he was suddenly terminated from a role that meant everything to him and was cast aside by the very system he had fought in combat to defend. Now, there will be thousands more stories like his and millions more veterans who will pay the price. Trump’s own attorney has said that this administration thinks veterans they laid off for NO REASON may not be ‘fit to have a job at this moment’ —it’s an astounding level of contempt for our veterans that’s reflected throughout this administration’s thoughtless mass firings.
“These arbitrary mass layoffs, at the very least, are going to mean longer processing times for disability or education claims veterans are desperately waiting on, and longer wait times for veterans to see a doctor–to say nothing of the serious threat to patient safety or the threat of VA medical centers closing. Make no mistake: this will only empower Elon to privatize VA by breaking it first. The consequences of Trump and Elon’s sheer recklessness will reverberate for generations—in more veterans sick and unable to get their benefits, more veterans out of a job, and fewer men and women willing to sign up to serve a nation that shows it will not keep their promises to them.”
ENDANGERING VETERANS’ ACCESS TO BENEFITS AND CARE—AND PATIENT SAFETY
Firing VA employees will–among much else–likely force veterans to wait longer:
To see health care providers;
To have their disability claims adjudicated;
To have someone to pick up their calls at the Veterans Crisis Line;
To have burial and funeral expense reimbursement requests processed;
And much more.
A number of staff supporting the Veterans Crisis Line–which provides 24/7, confidential crisis support for veterans and their loved ones–were among those fired by Trump and Musk.
In 2022, Congress also passed the PACT Act, the largest expansion of veterans’ benefits in two decades, which requires a significant influx of resources and staff to deliver the benefits and care under the law. Trump and Musk’s firings–and hiring freeze–badly undercut VA’s ability to process claims under the law. The mass firings and the ongoing hiring freeze, which prohibits new disability claims raters from coming on board, will force the backlog of unprocessed claims to grow above 254,000.
Firing long-time VA researchers also puts clinical trials that veterans are enrolled in at risk and jeopardizes research that could yield critical breakthroughs for veterans.
Ongoing VA research is examining treatment options for PTSD and opioid addiction, as well as for cancer that was caused by veterans’ exposure to toxic chemicals, among much else.
According to VA, in fiscal year 2024, there were 102 active research sites nationwide, with 3,685 active principal investigators who led 7,278 active funded research projects involving teams of researchers. In addition, VA investigators authored or coauthored 11,732 published research articles.
Recent dangerous directives from VA last week, which they have already begun to walk back, cause more harmful chaos and confusion and also have detrimental impacts on the ability of veterans to receive their care and benefits.
VA issued a blanket cancellation last Tuesday of nearly 900 contracts–supporting patient safety efforts like chemical waste disposal and monitoring of hospital air quality, systems providing secure storage of veterans’ private records, clinical recruitment efforts, and more.
VA also implemented a decision to reduce purchase card limits to $1–curbing VA medical centers’ ability to purchase supplies and equipment they need to serve veterans or to provide lodging for transplant patients.
While the Trump administration tries to rehire clinical staff they have already fired and may ultimately walk back the purchase card limits and contract cancellations, it is clear that they are acting before thinking–and the people paying the price are veterans.
BETRAYING VETERANS WITH ZERO JUSTIFICATION
Beyond indiscriminately firing workers who help get veterans the benefits and care they have earned, Trump and Musk have also already indiscriminately fired thousands of veterans who have served our country in uniform. In firing probationary and other federal workers across government, Trump and Musk have fired scores of veterans.
Veterans make up 30% of the federal workforce, and the federal government is the largest single employer of veterans in the country.
Trump and Musk have already fired nearly 6,000 veterans, by one recent estimate.
Federal agencies uniquely work to hire and accommodate veterans with service-related disabilities. Longstanding law requires, for example, that veterans who are disabled or who serve on active duty in the Armed Forces in military campaigns are entitled to preference over others in hiring from a list of eligible, competitive applicants. In 2021, there were 337,000 disabled Veterans serving in the federal government, making up 16% of the federal workforce.
As veterans working at VA in Washington state who were recently laid off through no fault of their own have told Senator Murray:
“I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be abruptly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served. My termination isn’t just a personal tragedy; it’s a stark reminder that our federal government is dismantling essential support systems for veterans and vulnerable communities. When cost-cutting means sacrificing dedicated, disabled service members and committed federal employees, it isn’t about efficiency—it’s about eroding the trust and dignity that our nation owes to those who answer the call to serve.” — Raphael Garcia, former Management Analyst for VA, Seattle
“Working at the VA gave me purpose. I understood the struggles veterans faced, whether physical, mental, or emotional. I took pride in being part of something bigger than myself, in continuing to serve even after taking off the uniform… The next chapter in my service led me to working with unhoused Veterans. Limiting roles like mine, means other VA employees will have to take on more and cutting into valuable clinical time directly serving veterans. That’s why it was so devastating when, without warning, without cause, I was terminated. No explanation, no justification just a cold dismissal from a role that meant everything to me. It felt like a betrayal, not just of my dedication but of the values I thought the VA stood for. I had fought through war, through cancer, and through every challenge life had thrown at me only to be cast aside by the very system I had believed in.” — Scott Olson, former Program Support for VA’s Community Housing Program, Seattle
“In the face of the United States’ unjustified decision to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, Canada’s First Ministers recognize this is a pivotal moment for Canada to take bold and united action. We must increase our economic resilience, reduce dependence on one market, and strengthen our domestic economy for the benefit of Canadian workers and businesses now and in the future. One key step is to make it easier for Canadians to do business with each other from coast to coast to coast.
“At their meeting yesterday, the Prime Minister and Canada’s premiers agreed to build on the foundational work of the Committee on Internal Trade and strengthen Canada’s domestic economy by reducing barriers to internal trade and labour mobility across the country. All First Ministers agreed that now is the time to take meaningful action to further liberalize and support the Canadian market so that goods, services, and workers can move freely.
“First Ministers agreed that certified professionals with credentials in one jurisdiction should be able to work anywhere in Canada. Whether relocating for family reasons or pursuing job opportunities elsewhere, workers should be free to do what they are trained to do and contribute to the Canadian economy. Due to its linguistic specificity among other things, Quebec, while adhering to the overall goal of increasing workforce mobility, intends to implement measures for credentials recognition when it deems it in line with its own objectives.
“The Prime Minister and premiers directed the Committee on Internal Trade to work with the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, to develop a service standard of 30 days or better to get people working faster, and provide a plan for Canada-wide credential recognition, while taking into account jurisdictional specificities such as language provisions, by June 1.
“First Ministers also agreed that now is the time to choose Canada. We must ensure that all Canadians have access to Canadian-made goods, no matter where they are in the country. The Prime Minister and premiers applauded Internal Trade Ministers for undertaking a review of exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement by June 1 in addition to those removed by governments in recent years, and for their efforts to reconcile and reduce regulatory differences between jurisdictions, particularly through the negotiation of mutual recognition requirements in the trucking sector and the movement of consumer goods. Most First Ministers also committed to allowing direct-to-consumer alcohol sales for Canadian products. These efforts will benefit Canadian businesses and citizens by opening new domestic markets, reducing the cost of consumer goods at a time when U.S. tariffs will impact affordability.
“First Ministers recognized that removing these barriers will make it easier for businesses in Canada to access new revenue and market opportunities here at home, while attracting greater foreign investment and trade.
“The Prime Minister and the premiers agreed to continue working together as they implement the shared plan to strengthen internal trade in Canada. Team Canada stands firm, united, resolute, and ready to face this challenge, and any others that come our way.”
Quick Facts
Last year, more than $530 billion worth of goods and services moved across provincial and territorial borders, representing almost 20 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product.
Trade within Canada is an essential driver of the Canadian economy, and eliminating barriers to internal trade will lower prices, increase productivity, and add up to $200 billion to the Canadian economy. Internal trade without barriers means more affordable everyday items and a greater choice for Canadians.
The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) came into force on July 1, 2017, to reduce and eliminate barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services, and investments within Canada and to establish an open, efficient, and stable domestic market.
The Committee on Internal Trade(CIT) consists of all federal, provincial, and territorial ministers responsible for internal trade, and is responsible for supervising the implementation of the CFTA, including providing oversight over a number of CFTA working groups; assisting in the resolution of disputes; approving the annual operating budget of the Internal Trade Secretariat (ITS); and considering any other matter that may affect the operation of the CFTA.
Committee on Internal Trade (CIT): On February 28, 2025, the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Committee on Internal Trade was convened and agreed to the following actions:
Enhancing the commitments under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA): All governments committed to conducting a rapid review of all remaining party-specific exceptions in the CFTA and swiftly conclude negotiations for incorporating the financial services Sector into the Agreement. This will ensure a free and open internal market for Canadian businesses and workers. Building on removals some governments have completed since 2017, to date, a minimum of 40 exceptions have been identified for removal by five governments, with all exception reviews to be completed by June 1, 2025.
Reducing regulatory and administrative burden through mutual recognition: A strong domestic market starts with goods freely moving between provinces and territories. Building on the pilot project on mutual recognition in trucking, all governments have now agreed to immediately launch negotiations for mutual recognition of all consumer goods (excluding food). This would guarantee that a good certified in one province can be bought and sold in any other, without additional red tape. Parties may also pursue a broader mutual recognition agreement covering most or all sectors of the economy through unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral initiatives. The CIT committed to tabling an Action Plan for Mutual Recognition of Consumer Goods by March 31, 2025.
Facilitating labour mobility: Internal trade and labour market ministers will prioritize efforts to further improve transparency and reduce administrative burden for labour mobility applicants to support the timely and seamless mobility of workers to fill jobs wherever they are available, including by adopting a service standard of 30 days or better to process applications.
Launching pan-Canadian direct-to-consumer alcohol sales for Canadian products: The Governments ofBritish Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada have committed to improve the trade of alcohol products between participating jurisdictions by advancing direct-to-consumer sales for Canadian products. Currently, British Columbia allows for direct-to-consumer sales for wine, while Manitoba is already open to direct-to-consumer sales on all alcoholic beverages. The Yukon is exploring options for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales within the territory.
Employing a Team Canada approach to promote the domestic economy: All governments committed to working together to promote growth and resiliency in the domestic market by helping Canadian businesses identify and access new opportunities in other provinces and territories including through domestic trade missions.
DENVER – Today, Governor Polis visited Novel Strand Brewing Co. to highlight Colorado’s microbreweries, and take part in the festivities by pouring a pint.
“Colorado is home to many small business breweries that strengthen our economy, are important community gathering places, and create good jobs. As we celebrate Colorado Pint Day, which spreads Colorado’s love for craft beer, I encourage Coloradans to support our local small businesses,” said Governor Polis.
Today marks the 10th Annual Colorado Pint Day, a time-honored tradition that has reached a high status with beer lovers flocking to participating breweries every year to purchase Colorado Pint Day limited edition glassware. $1 of each pint glass sold is donated to the Colorado Brewers Guild whose mission is to promote, protect and propel independent craft breweries in the State of Colorado. This year also marks the 4th annual Colorado Pint Day art competition, spotlighting local artist and pint designer Leanne Bridie of Denver. Titled, Beer Is For Everyone, Birdies pint design aims to promote and highlight a Colorado for all. Birdie, previously won Cohesion Brewings coaster design contest, and has designed a series of label art for Novel Strand Brewing.
NAB announces assistance for customers and colleagues affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred
Customers encouraged to contact bank when ready to discuss available financial assistance
Temporary closures of select branches to ensure customer and colleague safety
NAB has today announced disaster relief assistance for customers and colleagues affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
NAB encourages affected customers to contact the bank when they’re ready to discuss a range of financial relief measures, including:
Credit card and personal loan relief
Waiving the establishment fee for restructuring business facilities
Concessional loans to customers seeking support to restructure existing facilities to assist in repairs, restocking and re-opening for business
Reducing and moratorium on home and personal loan repayments
Wellbeing support for colleagues and customers
NAB’s Local Personal Banking Executive Tony Story said the measures provide customers with peace of mind, and access to immediate financial support.
“We want our customers and colleagues to know we’re here to help,” Mr Story said.
“The number one priority here is their safety. In the coming days, our teams will be on standby to support impacted customers. We are committed to providing extra care and support during these difficult times.
“Anyone who needs assistance or advice can contact us by calling us or choosing the chat option in the app.
“When it’s safe to reopen our branches, we’ll also be happy to welcome you back for face to face service.”
To access financial assistance please call NAB Assist on:
Agri customers who need help can contact their banker.
For NAB insurance claims (damaged homes, contents, and vehicles), please call Allianz on 1300 555 013
Be aware of Frauds and Scams
During this time, customers are reminded to stay alert to potential scams. Criminals may use events like this natural disaster as an opportunity to impersonate well-known organisations including banks, insurance or telecommuication providers and government agencies. NAB will never send customers links in unexpected text messages, or ask customers for personal information like passwords or pins.
The Guard units are here to train alongside partner nations, showcasing the crucial role of space in modern military operations and highlighting the DoD’s commitment to peace through strength.
“The whole point of this is to show them what the Space Force can do for commanders,” said Lt. Gabrielle Zamojski, 216 EWS, space operator. “When we come out to exercises and show them different space systems, they can see what the electromagnetic warfare spectrum is and what the space link can look like.”
The Guard units brought two systems to Cobra Gold: Honey Badger and Kraken. These systems passively observe and characterize signals in the space domain. “This is the first time my unit has supported this exercise and we’re slowly getting more Space Force integrated into it this and other exercises as well,” said Zamojski. “We’re a new branch, and we’re plugging into more exercises to highlight our strategic value to our allies and partners.”
This training enhances interoperability with ally and partner nations and demonstrates the Space Force’s dedication to working as part of the Joint force.
The countries involved in the space joint multinational component command for the exercise are the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan.
“I am learning a lot about the space environment out here and this exercise is a great learning opportunity for space operators to go out and integrate with different nations while working on different types of missions from what we normally do at our home units,” said Senior Airman Michael Caravalho, 150 EWS, space operator. “Once they see what we can do, I can explain in detail the type of work I am doing and how the systems work together to accomplish the overall mission.”
Joint Exercise Cobra Gold demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the region by building interoperability, multilateral cooperative arrangements, advancing common interests, and a commitment to our allies and partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The U.S. DoD’s participation in Cobra Gold showcases the critical role of Joint Force space professionals in supporting global security objectives, demonstrating the value of their unique skills and experience in the space domain.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3
Summary
Company Announcement Date: March 05, 2025 FDA Publish Date: March 05, 2025 Product Type: Animal & VeterinaryFood & BeveragesLivestock Feed Reason for Announcement:
Recall Reason Description Elevated levels or deficient levels of nutrients which may be harmful to cattle
Company Name: ADM Animal Nutrition Brand Name:
Brand Name(s) ADM Animal Nutrition
Product Description:
Product Description Cattle Feed
Company Announcement Specific lots may contain elevated or deficient levels of nutrients which may be harmful to cattle CHICAGO, March 5, 2025 – ADM Animal Nutrition, a division of ADM (NYSE: ADM), is recalling specific pelleted animal feed products because they may contain elevated levels of copper or have levels of zinc below the represented amounts which could be harmful to cattle. Possible impacts of chronic copper toxicity include: gastroenteritis characterized by anorexia, signs of abdominal pain, depression, lethargy, diarrhea, and dehydration. Possible impacts of zinc deficiency include: decreases in feed intake, feed efficiency, and growth. No illnesses or deficiency impacts have been reported to date. There are 33 lot numbers involved in this recall. The pelleted products were distributed between January 16, 2025 and February 27, 2025, and could have been purchased in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, and Ohio. All of the products listed, except for GROFAST32, have elevated levels of copper. GROFAST32 has levels of zinc below the represented amounts. ADM discovered this issue during routine production. The company immediately began investigating and initiated the recall upon receiving confirmation that the pelleted feed had varying levels of copper and zinc that can impact animals. ADM is in the process of notifying customers and distributors involved in this recall, and all affected products are currently being removed from retail shelves. The lot number of ADM products can be found at the bottom of the label. Click here to view an image of the label. Customers who have purchased the recalled pelleted feed should immediately stop using it and return it to their distributor or directly to ADM for a full replacement or refund. Please direct any customer inquiries to 800-217-2007 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Central time Monday through Friday. Below is the list of products included in this recall. Link to Product List About ADMADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life. We’re an essential global agricultural supply chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities. We’re a premier human and animal nutrition provider, offering one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of ingredients and solutions from nature. We’re a trailblazer in health and well-being, with an industry-leading range of products for consumers looking for new ways to live healthier lives. We’re a cutting-edge innovator, guiding the way to a future of new bio-based consumer and industrial solutions. And we’re leading in business-driven sustainability efforts that support a strong agricultural sector, resilient supply chains, and a vast and growing bioeconomy. Around the globe, our expertise and innovation are meeting critical needs from harvest to home. Learn more at www.adm.com. ADM Media RelationsJackie Andersonmedia@adm.com312-634-8484
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Arkan Fadhel, 30, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, was sentenced to serve three years supervised release to include 12 months home incarceration by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. In addition, Fadhel was also ordered to perform 400 hours of community service. Fadhel will also forfeit $781,186.80 and pay restitution totaling $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Franz M. Wright and Mary Clare Kane, who handled the case, stated that Fadhel is the owner of Queen City Transportation, Inc., which has been providing non-emergency Medicaid transportation rides since August 2018. Fadhel and several dozen other individuals drove Queen City beneficiaries to appointments, primarily at methadone clinics. Prior to operating Queen City, Fadhel was a driver for Great Lakes Transportation, another non-emergency Medicaid transportation company. Between August 6, 2018, and December 31, 2020, Fadhel submitted false and fraudulent attestation records to Medical Answering Service, a non-emergency Medicaid transportation management company. The attestation records included claims that rides were provided but never actually took place as well as billing group rides as if the rides had been separate, individual rides. The total loss amount to Medicaid was greater than $250,000.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Western New York Health Care Fraud Task Force, which includes Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the direction of Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto, and Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Naomi Gruchacz.
March 5 2025 – Tariffs are “an act of economic war,” and the latest US tariffs are a direct assault on the global economy, warns the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial and asset management organizations.
The comments from deVere Group’s Nigel Green comes as President Donald Trump’s joint congressional address made it clear: his administration is deploying tariffs as a weapon, not just a policy.
The sweeping 25% duties on Canada and Mexico, an additional 10% on Chinese imports, and threats against the European Union mark an economic confrontation that will redefine global markets.
Beijing wasted no time in firing back, saying they are prepared for a tariff war or “any other type of war,” signaling that the world’s second-largest economy is ready to retaliate with full force.
Investors are now bracing for a prolonged and destabilizing economic war, with market volatility and financial uncertainty taking center stage.
Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, warns: “Tariffs are an act of economic war.
“This aggressive escalation could cause the most severe economic disruption since the global financial crisis, barring the pandemic.
“The fallout will extend far beyond tariffs themselves, with ripple effects threatening corporate profits, inflation levels, and supply chains.
“Trade barriers of this scale are not a pathway to strength. They’re self-inflicted wounds that create higher costs for businesses, dampen consumer spending, and erode economic resilience.
“Tariffs are not a show of power; they are a tax on prosperity.”
Despite Trump’s insistence that tariffs will restore America’s economic dominance, reality is painting a different picture.
Increased costs on imports mean businesses will either absorb the financial hit or pass it along to consumers, leading to inflationary pressures that weaken household purchasing power. The result? A slowing economy disguised as a policy win.
“From manufacturing to tech, industries are now forced to face a storm of rising costs and shrinking global competitiveness,” says Nigel Green.
“This is not a win, it’s reckless brinkmanship with high stakes for the US and global economy.”
Trump’s vow to roll out even more trade penalties by April 2 is triggering concern through global markets.
Washington’s latest trade war salvos are setting off countermeasures from Beijing, Brussels, and beyond.
China’s retaliatory tariffs are expected to hit US exports where it hurts—targeting agriculture, technology, and other key industries with strategic precision. The European Union is weighing its response, while Mexico and Canada have already signaled their intent to push back.
“Trade conflicts don’t happen in isolation. They trigger chain reactions—capital flight, fractured supply chains, and heightened uncertainty for investors,” explains the deVere CEO.
The notion that tariffs will fortify the US economy is fundamentally flawed.
“The cost of this economic war will be borne by households, businesses, and investors worldwide. And unless there’s a change in course, the worst may still be ahead.”
deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients. It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.
Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
Hickenlooper: “If the Trump administration gets its way, it’s clear who the winners will be: loan sharks, shady mortgage companies, junk fee merchants. And the losers will be the rest of America”
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper spoke on the Senate floor against the Trump administration’s effort to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the federal agency responsible for protecting American consumers from financial abuse. Hickenlooper spoke before a Senate vote on a Republican-led resolution to strip the CFPB’s power to supervise popular digital payment apps like Venmo and PayPal in order to prevent harms to consumers.
“Today’s Republican-led resolution weakens the CFPB’s ability to protect consumers. And it’s part of a broader effort by the administration to shut down consumer protections entirely,” said Hickenlooper. “Bottom line: More money in the pocket of fraudsters, scammers, and the unscrupulous. Less for the little guy to save.”
At the beginning of February, the Trump administration shut down the CFPB headquarters and ordered all employees to immediately stop all of the agency’s work. On Monday, a federal judge extended an order pausing mass firings at the CFPB.
Since its founding, the CFPB has recovered $20 billion for Americans who have been taken advantage of by scams, junk fees, and high-cost loans. In Colorado, nearly 67,000 people have sought the help from CFPB, including more than 6,200 service members. Thousands of those complaints led to relief for consumers.
To download a full video of Hickenlooper’s remarks, click HERE. A full transcript of his remarks is available below:
“Mr. President,
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is, at its core, a law enforcement agency.
“Congress established the CFPB 15 years ago to protect Americans from fraud, from getting ripped off by banks, and credit card companies, financial institutions.
“Today’s Republican-led resolution weakens the CFPB’s ability to protect consumers. And it’s part of a broader effort by the administration to shut down consumer protections entirely.
“Let’s take a minute to go back in time to the time before the CFPB existed – right before the 2008 financial meltdown.
“Back then, abusive fees and misleading disclosures meant that Coloradans paid more for mortgages. More for credit cards. More for student loans.
“Fly-by-night lenders made massive profits by targeting vulnerable families with excessively high-cost loans – turning credit from a tool for opportunity into a tool for scams.
“Financial scammers could all too easily slip through the cracks in oversight. There just wasn’t enough oversight. In some case, there was no oversight.
“Our neighbors were getting hit with hidden fees and frauds when they took out a mortgage, when they used a credit card, or if they were just paying for school.
“There was no cop on the beat. The result?
“By 2008, years of this shady, abusive practice helped spark a devastating global financial crisis.
“Six million households lost their homes to foreclosure. A quarter of our families lost 75% of their wealth.
“Americans lost faith in our financial system.
“In 2010, Congress created the CFPB to help make sure that this could never happen again.
“Congress gave it a simple job: to protect Americans from getting ripped off.
“The Bureau cleaned up mortgage markets, debt collection, student loans, and much, much more. It worked to protect veterans and other service members.
“Fast forward to today and the CFPB’s results really speak for themselves. The Bureau has delivered 20 billion dollars – that’s billion dollars with a B – back to Americans through its enforcement actions.
“It’s brought relief to 200 million Americans and small businesses facing scams or abusive practices.
“In Colorado, nearly 67,000 people have sought the help from CFPB, including more than 6,200 service members. Thousands of those complaints led to relief for consumers.
“It really is a remarkable track record.
“That is, until it’s been decided by Republicans that they wanted to eliminate many of these protections – if not all of them.
“This vote today would unwind protections designed for the modern financial system – for the everyday payment apps we all use, like Venmo or PayPal. It would allow some of the largest financial firms in a consumer’s life to stay in the shadows, to operate outside of any oversight.
“That’s exactly the approach to consumer protection we had 20 years ago, before the CFPB, before the 2008 financial crisis.
“This is but the latest attempt to leave consumers vulnerable to scams. In fact, the Trump administration is trying, I think many people believe illegally, to abolish the CFPB entirely.
“They fired dedicated staff who protect consumers. They cancelled the lease on the CFPB’s office. And they literally ordered a total shutdown of the agency – an unprecedented effort to defy Congress.
“The administration believes that CFPB doesn’t deserve to exist. And maybe they think that scammers and fraudsters have finally hung it up and have gone to find honest work.
“But I think the American people know better.
“The administration wants to take our economy back to the time before the financial crisis of [2008] – with weaker protections and no one looking out for consumers.
“If the Trump administration gets its way, it’s clear who the winners will be: loan sharks, shady mortgage companies, junk fee merchants.
“And the losers will be the rest of America – any Coloradan that wants a fair deal on a credit card or a mortgage.
“Bottom line: More money in the pocket of fraudsters, scammers, and the unscrupulous. Less for the little guy to save.
“I urge my colleagues to stand up for American consumers and vote no on this resolution.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
NHS patients receive first home-grown blood plasma treatments
The first NHS patients in a generation have started to receive life saving plasma from the blood of UK donors.
Treatments will help save 17,000 NHS patients’ lives every year
Move will deliver government’s Plan for Change by building domestic medical supply chains, reducing reliance on imports and with savings between £5 million to £10 million a year
The first NHS patients in a generation have started to receive life-saving plasma from the blood of UK donors, thanks to a partnership between NHS Blood and Transplant and NHS England.
Since a longstanding ban on UK plasma was lifted in 2021, the UK has been building its own supply of plasma medicines amid a global shortage. This will reduce reliance on imports, saving the NHS between £5 million to £10 million per year and strengthening the UK as a powerhouse for life sciences under the government’s Plan for Change.
Around 17,000 NHS patients with immune deficiencies and rare diseases rely on vital human-donated plasma to save or improve their lives. It is also used in emergency medicine for childbirth and trauma care.
Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron said:
This is a significant milestone for the NHS as we take a step toward UK self-sufficiency in these vital medicines.
As part of our Plan for Change, we are improving access to life-saving treatments for thousands of NHS patients and strengthening healthcare security.
By sourcing our own medicine, we are building a more resilient and domestic medical supply chain and boosting economic growth.
Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director NHS England, said:
This landmark moment ensures patients relying on crucial plasma-derived medicines will always have access to the treatment they need.
Thanks to NHS efforts, new plasma-derived products, owned from start to finish by the UK, will reduce our reliance on imported stock and boost the fortitude of hospital supplies.
Thousands of people with serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, including immunodeficiencies and neurological conditions rely on these products, and strengthening the supply chain of plasma-derived treatments through UK donations will help NHS clinicians ensure these vital medicines are available for all who need them.
Jill Jones made history by becoming the first patient to be given UK-sourced plasma at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. She has received treatments every three weeks following a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 20 years ago, and described the infusions as “life-changing”.
The initiative will also build UK capacity in the global plasma medicines industry, which was valued at over $30 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $45 billion by 2027. It will help establish the NHS as an engine of economic growth to drive investment in public services and raise living standards for everyone.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has collected 250,000 litres of plasma from donors in England since 2021. From this, two vital medicines are being produced: immunoglobulins, which treat autoimmune conditions, and albumin, which is essential for surgery and treating liver conditions.
The NHS plans to reach 25% self-sufficiency in immunoglobulin by the end of 2025, rising to 30-35% in 2031, and 80% self-sufficiency in albumin by next year.
Global medical supply issues worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2024, a national patient safety alert was issued due to critically low blood stocks, demonstrating the importance of building self-sufficiency in the UK.
Dr Jo Farrar, Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant said:
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, NHS patients are now receiving life-saving medicines made from UK plasma for the first time in a generation.
Plasma makes up 55 per cent of our blood and contains antibodies which strengthen or stabilise the immune system. It is used to save lives during childbirth and trauma and is used to treat thousands of patients with life limiting illnesses such as immune deficiencies.
These lifesaving medicines can only be made from our blood. We need more donors to help save more lives. Please go to blood.co.uk to become a donor.
Jill Jones from Oxford, the first patient to receive UK-sourced plasma medicine, said:
Coming to the Immunology ward is like catching up with friends. The staff are delightful and you get to know staff and patients really well. You have a cup of coffee and chat. Today I was talking about knitting and kittens as I was being transfused!
Infusions have been life-changing for me in keeping me well. Before I started on them, I was regularly in hospital with infections – which just doesn’t happen now. It’s made a huge and positive difference to my life and my family’s life.
I felt really privileged today to be the first patient in the UK to be receiving Immunoglobin that was made from UK plasma for the first time in a very long time.
Previously, the NHS relied solely on imported plasma medicines due to a long-standing ban on using UK plasma.
The ban was introduced in 1998 as a precautionary measure against Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (vCJD), linked to mad cow disease.
In 2021 following rigorous scientific reviews, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed plasma from UK donors is safe, supported by robust safety measures.
Decades of rigorous research showed no confirmed cases of vCJD transmission through plasma-derived medicines.
Plasma comes from blood donations. The plasma in blood contains antibodies that strengthen or stabilise the immune system. The antibodies are separated out and made into immunoglobin medicines that treat people with life-limiting conditions such as immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders, as well as severe burns.
Notes to editors:
Blood donations can be given at one of 27 donor centres across the country.
First UK-sourced plasma medicines will come from English donations, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to follow.
Donors can book an appointment at a dedicated Plasma Donor Centres in Birmingham, Reading or Twickenham. Visit www.blood.co.uk to find out how you can become a donor today.
Plasma is the liquid component of blood that carries vital proteins, antibodies, and clotting factors. It is essential for creating plasma-derived medicines, which treat life-threatening conditions such as immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders, and severe burns. Plasma donation saves thousands of lives each year and is a critical part of modern healthcare.
Two types of medicines are being made – immunoglobulins (used to treat autoimmune conditions and week immune systems) and albumin (used in surgery and to treat burns and liver conditions). This puts the NHS on track to supply 25% of its immunoglobulin needs by the end of 2025, with plans to increase this to 30-35% by 2031 and 80% of albumin by next year.
In 1998, the UK imposed a ban on using domestically collected plasma for fractionation, the process of separating plasma into its components. This followed concerns about a potentially increased risk of plasma recipients acquiring the brain disease variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) due to UK plasma donors being exposed to Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, sometimes referred as Mad Cow Disease) prions from infected cattle.
As a result, the UK relied solely on plasma imports, primarily from the United States which increased dependence on international supply chains for plasma-derived medicines.
Rising demand for plasma globally placed additional pressure on supply.
In February 2021, the UK government lifted the ban on using UK-donated plasma for fractionation. This decision followed scientific reviews confirming the safety of plasma collection and manufacturing processes.
Advanced donor screening, pathogen testing, and fractionation techniques now ensure the highest safety standards.
The Bonanno Crime Family Paid Hector Rosario to Protect Their Illegal Gambling Parlors and Shut Down Rival Locations on Long Island Operated by Other Crime Families
Hector Rosario, a former detective with the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), was found guilty today by a federal jury in Brooklyn of making false statements to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents about his work for the Bonanno crime family. The verdict followed a seven-day trial before United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano. Rosario was fired by the NCPD after he was indicted in August 2022. When sentenced, Rosario faces up to five years in prison.
John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Leslie R. Backschies, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Anne T. Donnelly, District Attorney, Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, announced the verdict.
“This corrupt detective chose to prove his loyalty to an organized crime family over the public he was sworn to protect,” stated United States Attorney Durham. “When police officers exploit their positions for personal gain, it erodes public trust in law enforcement. My Office has zero tolerance for corruption by any public officials, and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that it is punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Hector Rosario, a former Nassau County detective, allowed himself to be bought by the mob to blatantly lie during a federal investigation into the Bonanno family’s illegal gambling operations,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Backschies. “Rosario’s lies not only protected an organized criminal enterprise, but also eroded the public’s trust in law enforcement and is a disservice to all who wear the badge honoring their oath to protect and serve. The FBI remains committed to disrupting any corrupt officer who prioritizes personal wealth over integrity to the shield.”
“Hector Rosario cared more about lining his pockets with Bonanno family money and protecting his own interests than his fidelity to the law,” stated Nassau County District Attorney Donnelly. “He disgracefully compromised the investigative work of his fellow detectives by tipping off a target and lied to federal agents as the walls were closing in on him. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will uncover and vigorously prosecute corruption in our law enforcement ranks in Nassau County, because no one is above the law.”
As proven at trial, Rosario was paid by the Bonanno crime family to protect its illegal gambling operations. For over a decade, the Bonanno crime family operated illegal gambling businesses inside various coffee shops and sports clubs throughout Queens and on Long Island. During the same period, the Genovese organized crime family operated illegal gambling businesses out of their own locations in Queens and Long Island, including Sal’s Shoe Repair in Merrick, New York, and the Centro Calcio Italiano Club in West Babylon, New York.
The Bonanno organized crime family paid Rosario to attempt to shut down rival gambling parlors, including by conducting a fake police “raid” on the Genovese-run gambling spot located inside Sal’s Shoe Repair. Rosario also provided a tip about a rival gambling spot to another detective in an attempt to get the location shut down. He warned a Bonanno crime family associate that he was under investigation and not to speak on the phone because law enforcement might be listening, and Rosario also looked up the home address of a possible witness Rosario believed was cooperating against the Bonanno crime family.
In January 2020, during the course of a federal grand jury investigation into the racketeering activities of the Bonanno and Genovese organized crime families, Rosario was interviewed by FBI agents. Rosario falsely stated that he had no information about the Mafia or illegal gambling spots. He denied knowing the identity of the crime family associate he had warned, and he further falsely stated that he was not familiar with the gambling business inside Sal’s Shoe Repair.
Rosario was acquitted by the jury of obstruction of justice.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Anna L. Karamigios, Sophia M. Suarez and Sean M. Sherman are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Eleanor Jaffe-Pachuilo.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging a Mexican national with multiple drug crimes after law enforcement seized illicit drugs, including fentanyl in the District of Utah.
Juana Gabriela Sancion Castaneda, 41, of Salt Lake County, Utah, was charged by complaint on February 19, 2025.
According to court documents, in January 2025, the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF) began conducting a criminal investigation into Castaneda and other members of a drug trafficking organization believed to be distributing large quantities of narcotics in the District of Utah. On February 18, 2025, agents executed a search warrant at Castaneda’s residence in Salt Lake County and seized approximately 867 grams (almost two pounds) of field-tested positive fentanyl, and 794 grams (about 1 and ¾ pounds) of field-tested positive heroin. The fentanyl seized was approximately 8,000 fentanyl pills. Castaneda was subsequently detained.
Castaneda is charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Her initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for March 10, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by the Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF), consisting of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, and the Davis Metro Narcotic Strike Force (DMNSF).
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia
Senator Reverend Warnock Statement on Extreme Tariffs on Everyday Goods, Agriculture
Senator Reverend Warnock is the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
Tariffs will impact cost of produce, canned soda, beer, lumber for housing, aluminum for cars and manufacturing equipment, fertilizer for producers, and more
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), ranking member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, issued the following statement on the newly announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
“When I hear from ordinary Georgians, they tell me the cost of everything from housing to prescription drugs to groceries are too expensive. Georgians feel like their dollar isn’t going far enough, and these tariffs only make the problem worse.”
“These sweeping tariffs and this impending trade war will hurt our farmers, who are now seeing a hike in fertilizer prices going into planting season. With retaliatory tariffs already being implemented, I fear that my years of bipartisan efforts to open up international markets for our farmers will be erased. This will make produce in the grocery stores more expensive and producers losing their farms more likely.”
“I’m not opposed to all tariffs. They can be a useful tool to protect American jobs and coerce bad actors like China to play by the rules. But these chaotic and impulsive tariffs do nothing but punish Georgians who are just trying to balance their checkbook and save for the future. I will continue to speak out against policies that hurt Georgia families and farmers.”
Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, which would allow Americans to use 529 education savings accounts to pay for training programs. By broadening the scope of qualified expenses under 529 savings plans to include postsecondary training and credentialing, the bill would expand tax-advantaged resources to families, students, and workers who are pursuing career growth outside of a traditional four-year degree. This will expand Americans’ access to well-paying jobs that require training and credentialing such as licenses and certifications.
“Workforce training is key to expanding opportunity and strengthening our economy by providing workers with the tools and resources they need to succeed,” said Klobuchar. “By allowing Americans to use their ‘529’ educational savings to pay for training and certification outside of a four-year degree, our bipartisan legislation will enable more people to access these valuable programs and open doors to good-paying jobs.”
“Back home, not a day goes by that I don’t hear about the workforce shortages across the state. We have high-paying jobs at the ready but struggle to find qualified employees. Our bill helps fill these workforce gaps and empowers Kansans to pursue non-traditional educational opportunities more easily,” said Marshall. “Allowing 529 funds to be used beyond a four-year education makes sense. Whether it’s a bachelor’s degree or an apprenticeship opportunity, 529 savings plans need to be flexible to meet the growing demands of our workforce.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA) leads companion legislation in the House. This bill has garnered the support of more than 800 trade associations, professional societies, and businesses.
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON –Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement on Trump administration’s short-sighted plan to slash over 80,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs:
“Our nation’s veterans have served our country valiantly and we owe it to them to take care of them when they come home. The Department of Veterans Affairs serves nearly 10 million veterans nationwideproviding quality health care, disability services, and financial and career counseling. In recent years, with legislation like the PACT Act, we have made significant improvements to delivering quality care to these heroes. This move by the Trump administration would completely erase that progress. Eliminating over 80,000 jobs would not only decimate our workforce, but would hurt the veterans who too often struggle to access the benefits they have earned. To put it simply: our veterans deserve better, and I’m going to fight this move tooth and nail.”
STEVE MARTIN [HOST]: And in our news this morning has been a story about a major funding announcement for the Western Freeway, Western Highway as well. The sections towards Melbourne that will be upgraded, there are bridges in the west which will be subject of some of this. And the area of the Western Highway around Warrenheip is also being talked about. Catherine King is the federal member for Ballarat, but also the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. And Catherine King is our guest this morning. Minister, good morning.
CATHERINE KING [MINISTER, MEMBER FOR BALLARAT]: Good morning, Steve. How are you?
STEVE MARTIN: Very well. $1.1 billion you’re announcing this morning for the Western Freeway and the Western Highway. Can you just explain what the money goes towards?
CATHERINE KING: Yeah, I can. So the first thing is that the Victorian Government and the Federal Labor Government have undertaken a business case along the Western Highway. In particular, the areas that we’ve been concerned about is around where there’s been significant housing development between Melton and Caroline Springs. And you see that really significant bottleneck that’s occurring there. The West Gate Tunnel will help alleviate some of that, but the road really is not in a condition to deal with the volume of traffic there. And we of course know there continue to be problems along the whole corridor. So we’re announcing today $1.1 billion to go into the Western Highway. A billion of that is focused on the Melton and Caroline Springs area to try and alleviate that congestion, 100 million to go towards trying to find a solution for Brewery Tap Road, that Warrenheip area where we know there’s a very dangerous intersection. We’ve had multiple complaints about that, multiple near-misses, and know that needs to be resolved. We continue to do the work. There’s already a billion dollars committed to the west, and so there’s projects right the way along the corridor. But we’re adding in an additional project today around fixing some couple of the bridges around the west, which again, are proving to be bottlenecks. And they are around the Dimboola Bridge, over the Melbourne Adelaide railway line and the Dadswell Bridge over Mount William Creek floodplain. So both of those bridges getting money for upgrades as well.
STEVE MARTIN: Okay, can I just ask, is this money that is allocated and locked in, or is this dependent on an election outcome?
CATHERINE KING: No, we are making this as a decision of government. So we are not in an election campaign yet. We are governing, and so this is a decision of government. So that will appear in the pre-election financial outlook, which is how the- what the state of the books are before the election. So that will appear there. Of course, there are risks that if there is a change of government, that a new government makes a different decision and is obviously- when we’re seeing that they’re looking for cuts, that these sorts of things can get cut. But these are in the budget. They are a decision of government.
STEVE MARTIN: Okay. When you mentioned it could be cut, in a similar manner to what you had to do around November 2023, where you had to cut back- I think it was about $80 billion worth of promises, including ones on the Western Freeway at that stage for- I think it was the M80 Ring Road to Ferris Road.
CATHERINE KING: Yeah. Well, what I had to do is that what we’d seen is a really, to be blunt, pretty appalling management of the infrastructure investment pipeline. What they’ve done is used it, frankly, to stand up and make election announcements without having any idea about how much the cost of projects were going to be, and not doing the planning work alongside the Victorian state government, and really using it to- you know, to pork barrel, to be frank. And so what we’ve had to do is really look at the pipeline, do planning work first, do business cases, get a good understanding of what is needed and also what the costs of projects are. So we didn’t cut $80 billion because that’s in fact almost the entire infrastructure investment program. We cut projects that had no hope of proceeding because they were woefully underfunded and also just hadn’t been done in conjunction with Victorian state government.
So I think there was $50 million that was allocated there, 50 million to the quarter. But no, it had- it sat there on the books for years not having any work done on it. So what we’ve done here is we’ve done the planning work, done the business case, got a fairly good understanding of what’s needed and are now working with the Victorian government, you know, hand-in-glove really to make sure we can actually deliver these projects along the highway.
STEVE MARTIN: When would we see works commence? Because I believe the bridge is different in the far west to some of the other work. And you did mention that for Warrenheip and Brewery Tap Road, that’s a planning process. So when will people start to see works happening, do you think?
CATHERINE KING: Well, there’s some safety works that can happen pretty quickly and they can be around shoulder widening and certainly making sure that we’ve got the- you know, mostly the highways covered by barriers. But, you know, some of the shoulder widening that may be needed, some of the resealing work that can happen fairly quickly. But obviously when you’re talking about things like overpasses or new interchanges, they are significant pieces of work, and they do require some planning to make sure that they can be delivered. So, you know, our view is the money is available, we’ll make the money available the minute the project is ready to go. But again, you have to do these things properly. And we’re in the hands of the Victorian Government when it comes to the delivery.
STEVE MARTIN: I did have a question that came in specifically from our team in western Victoria, just wanting to know a bit more about the bridges in the west. The Dimboola Bridge upgrades, they’re asking specifically when that might be rolled out. But as you just said, there is still some work to be done before this begins. Is that right, Catherine King?
CATHERINE KING: Well, in terms of those two projects. So the total cost of those, it’s a 50/50 project with the state government. So it’s a $12.2 million project. They will match that project. That’s expected to commence in 2025 with an estimated completion date of ‘26. So it’s meant to actually be starting this year in relation to those two projects. They were – have already been in planning for a while, so we know what we want to do there. So those projects should come on train fairly quickly.
STEVE MARTIN: Rightio Catherine King, thanks for your time this morning.
CATHERINE KING: Terrific to be with you, Steve.
STEVE MARTIN: Catherine King is the Federal Member for Ballarat, but also, of course, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.
Headline: Governor Stein Provides Updates on Severe Weather Impacting North Carolina & Issues Safety Guidance
Governor Stein Provides Updates on Severe Weather Impacting North Carolina & Issues Safety Guidance lsaito
Raleigh, NC
Today, Governor Stein and emergency officials provided updates on severe weather impacting the state and are urging all North Carolinians to prepare for severe thunderstorms, heavy downpours, isolated tornadoes, and damaging wind gusts. As the storm continues to move eastward throughout the day, North Carolinians should stay tuned to emergency alerts and have a plan to take cover if necessary.
“Our State Emergency Response Team is in contact with its partners across the state and ready to respond with any tool at its disposal to keep North Carolinians safe through this severe weather,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Please listen to your local weather forecast for updates, enable emergency alerts on your cell phone, and have a plan to take immediate cover if a severe weather warning for tornadoes is issued for your area.”
Preparedness Tips:
During periods of severe weather, it is important to go inside a sturdy structure and to the middle of the building, away from windows.
You should secure all outdoor items at your house that could become airborne in gusty winds.
Make sure your cell phone is charged and that you have enabled emergency alerts so you can be informed by local emergency management and by the National Weather Service.
Have a plan to take cover if a severe weather warning is issued for your area.
As a reminder, a watch is a reminder that weather conditions may support severe weather conditions. A warning means that hazardous weather conditions are expected and imminent.
Visit www.readync.gov for more information on how you and your family can be prepared.
A tornado watch has been issued for 24 counties across the Triangle and surrounding counties to the coastal plain until 1:00 pm. Counties impacted by warnings and watches will be updated here. Structural damages from winds have been reported in Union County and state emergency management officials remain in contact with local emergency management to assist as needed.
A Wind Advisory is now in effect for much of North Carolina through Wednesday evening. The Wind Advisory across much of the Outer Banks remains in effect through 10:00 p.m. Wednesday. A High Wind Warning remains in effect for higher elevations across portions of the mountains through early Wednesday afternoon where wind gusts up to 70mph are expected.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has expanded the Enhanced Risk (level 3 of 5) for severe storms slightly westward to include western portions of central North Carolina and remains in place for the eastern half of the state with a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) in place across the foothills. The primary impacts will be damaging wind gusts (up to 75mph) and tornadoes where some tornadoes may become strong, especially across eastern North Carolina. While severe storms are possible across much of North Carolina today, the strongest severe storms are most likely along and east of the US-1 corridor Wednesday afternoon and evening. While any additional development is not expected to become as severe, storms may redevelop late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening across portions of the Piedmont. Risk levels vary across the state; North Carolinians should pay attention to local forecasts and make plans that are appropriate for the risk level in their area.
A Coastal Flood Advisory is now in effect through 1:00 a.m. Thursday for Ocracoke & Hatteras Islands as well as the northern Outer Banks where minor soundside coastal flooding near shorelines and tidal waterways is expected. Minor ocean overwash is also possible along portions of the North Carolina coast, especially areas vulnerable to southerly winds.
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Germany’s important election last week struggled to make the news cycle, even on Germany’s own Deutsche Welle(DW), Germany’s equivalent of Britain’s BBC. Especially (but not only) in the international media, most of the focus was on a single party (AFD, Alliance for Germany) that was never going to have the most votes and was (almost) never going to become part of the resulting government.
Germany is the world’s third largest national economy, and traditionally dominates the politics of the European Union; an important example of this dominance was the Eurozone financial crisis of the first-half of the 2010s; a crisis that was (unsatisfactorily) resolved, thanks to a problematic and controversial program of fiscal austerity.
At present, Germany, like New Zealand, is experiencing an economic recession. (Provisional annual economic growthwas -0.2% in 2024 and -0.3% in 2023.) The cause is similar, too, in both countries: the same ‘balance the Budget’ mentality that gave the world the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Election Result
The ‘winner’ of the German election was the CDU/CSU Alliance (see Wikipedia for a better presentation of the results), which works a bit like the Liberal/National Coalition in Australia. (The Christian Social Union functions in Bavaria much like Australia’s National Party functions in rural Queensland.) CDU/CSU (like National in New Zealand) comfortably prevailed with 28.5 percent of the vote, entitling that alliance to 33 percent of the seats in the Bundestag (Parliament).
The new Chancellor (equivalent to Prime Minister) will be Friedrich Merz; a 69-year-old version of our own Christopher Luxon, as far as I can tell. He is strongly anti-Putin and pro-Israel. He has come to power well and truly under the international media radar; and will be in a strong position to exert near-absolute power, given that he will always be able to turn to the AFD (who got more votes than the Social Democrats; 20.8%) for support in the Bundestag for any measure that is not palatable to Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats. In the new Parliament, the Greens and the Left merely make up the numbers.
Merz’s Christian Democrats will form a coalition government with the losing SPD (Social Democratic Party, like Labour in New Zealand) who came third with 16.4 percent of the vote; 19 percent of the seats. Together these two parties of the establishment centre hold 52% of the new parliament, despite having less than 45% of the vote. (The outgoing minority government was a centrist coalition of the SPD and the Greens; the election was held early because the ACT-like Liberal Party – the FPD, Free Democrats – withdrew from the coalition. The FPD vote shrunk from 11.4 percent in 2021 to just 4.3 percent of the vote this time.)
The result in Germany proved to be very much like that of the United Kingdom in 2024: a slide in support for the two major parties (‘the establishment centre’), a consolidation of power to the self-same establishment centre, and a shift of that establishment centre to the right. (See my chart in Germany’s stale (and still pale) political mainstream, Evening Report 27 February 2025, for a timeline of decline.) While both countries technically underwent a change of government, in both countries the establishment has entrenched its power, and in both countries the political assumptions of the power centre have shifted to the right.
Clearly this is problematic for democracy, because historically disastrous popular support for the ‘broad church’ parties of the establishment centre has coincided with increased power to those parties, as well as policy convergence between them. Further, based on legislative electoral requirements, neither Germany nor the United Kingdom (nor the United States for that matter) will have a new government until 2029. At a time when a week is a long time in international politics, 208 weeks is an eternity. World War Three, a distinct possibility, may be in its second or third year by then.
Voting System
Germany represents the prototype upon which New Zealand’s MMP voting system is based. There are some differences though, and some recent changes.
Germany calls its all-important ‘party vote’ the ‘second vote’, disguising its importance. It is possible that many German voters do not fully appreciate its significance. The electorate vote is called ‘first vote’, and winners (by a plurality, not necessarily a majority) are elected ‘directly’. The second (party) vote is understood as a top-up vote to ensure proportionality.
Party lists are regional in Germany. And ‘ethnic parties’ may get special privileges.
In one respect the German version is more proportional than the New Zealand version of MMP, in that it no longer allows overhang MPs. (However, the most recent result is not proportional in the important sense that two parties together with less than 45% of the vote have 52% of the seats.) In MMP, one can easily imagine an overhang situation being frequent if the ‘major’ parties, which win most electorates, only get between 16% and 29% of the party vote.
In 2013, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court decided that overhang seats were too big a threat to proportionality. So, they introduced ‘levelling seats’. In effect, it meant that if one party gets an overhang, then all parties get an overhang. The result was, in 2013, that a parliament that should have had 598 members (Deputies) ended up with 631, an effective overhang of 33. In 2017 that effective overhang grew to 111, and to 137 in 2021.
For 2025, they decided to abandon overhang representation altogether, by not guaranteeing direct election through the first vote. And they fixed the size of the Bundestag to 630 Deputies, up from a base-size of 598.
If the new German system was in place in New Zealand in 2023, then two of the Te Pati Māori electorate seats from 2023 would have been forfeit, going instead to second placed candidates; proportionality in 2023 entitled Te Pati Māori to four seats, not the six which they have. However, we should note that, if New Zealand was using the present German version of MMP, there would be no special Māori electorates, but the Māori Party would be exempt the five percent party threshold. Ethnic-privileged parties in Germany are incentivised to focus on the party vote, not the electorate vote. In Germany there is a Danish ethnic party (South Schleswig Voters’ Association) which is exempt the threshold. Its leader, Stefan Seidler, did not win his electorate. But his party got 0.15% of the nationwide vote, meaning it qualified for 0.15% of the 630 places in the Bundestag; one seat, for him.
New Zealand voters seem to have more tactical and strategic political nous than do German voters. Thus, it has been very rare for a party in New Zealand to miss out qualifying for Parliament because of getting between 4% and 5% of the party votes (noting that both countries operate a 5% disqualification threshold). In Germany, party-vote percentages just below 5% are not uncommon. In New Zealand, voters, conscious that they want to play a role in coalition-building, actively help parties near the threshold to get over the line. (Indeed, I voted New Zealand First in 2023, because I was 99.9% sure that the only post-election coalition options would be National/ACT or National/ACT/NZF; I favoured the three-party alternative, so I used my vote strategically to help block a National/ACT government.)
Indeed the latest German result was a bit like the latest New Zealand result, but with a party resembling New Zealand First (BSW) getting 4.972% of the vote, so getting no seats at all. BSW getting just a few more votes would have meant a substantial erosion of the two-party power result which eventuated. It is extremely difficult for new non-ethnic parties to get elected in Germany.
In 2025, two parties scored just under five percent of the vote. As well as the BSW, the (ACT-like) Free Democrats who had been part of the previous government, and who had indeed precipitated the early election, scored 4.3%. Indeed, fifteen percent of the votes were ‘wasted’ – that is, cast for ultimately unsuccessful parties. In New Zealand the wasted vote is typically around four percent. Indeed, this high wasted vote turns out to be a more serious challenge to proportionality in German than uncompensated overhang seats.
Both Germany and New Zealand have the contentious (in New Zealand) ‘electorate MP’ rule; the rule that’s misleadingly dubbed in New Zealand as the ‘coat-tail’ rule. (Misleading, because most MPs come in on the coat-tails of their party leadership, and always have.) In Germany the rule is stricter than in New Zealand. In order to avoid disqualification by getting less than 5% of the party vote, New Zealand requires that the party get one electorate MP. In Germany the rule (initially the same as New Zealand), since 1957 has been a requirement for three electorate MPs. In Germany in 2021, the Left Party got 4.87% of the vote and three electorate MPs; they just squeezed in, on both criteria!
Overall, United States’ Vice-President JD Vance’s pre-election comments about democracy in Germany were valid. German politics continues to exclude the non-establishment parties of both the right and the left, despite support for these parties having been increasing for a while, and now representing the majority of German voters.
Media Framing
German television electoral coverage, if DW is anything to go by, is superficial; indeed, is quite insensitive to the national and local dramas taking place. I watched the coverage live. In the hour before the Exit Poll results were announced, the discussion barely mentioned the potential dramas taking place, despite both the BSW and FDP parties pre-polling only just under the five percent threshold. The state of the economy was mentioned in a perfunctory way; clearly it was not a big issue for the political class on display.
At 6 o’clock exactly, the exit-poll results were read out, as if they were the election result. As indeed they turned out to be, more-or-less; the same as the pre-election polls. The subsequent uninterested attitude towards the actual counting of the votes was disappointing. There had been a bit of this in the 2024 UK election as well; as if the exit poll was the election result. In the UK case, Labour’s actual result (for the popular vote) was well under the exit poll result, while the Conservatives did significantly better than their exit poll tally; those facts, though, were for the nerds and psephologists.
In my observation, early votes and exit polls favour the parties supported by the political class; election day votes much less so. So, in New Zealand in 2023 it was initially looking like there would be a two-party coalition of the right. But, to the attentive, as the night wore on, the National Party percentage fell from 41% to 38%, meaning that NZF would have to be included in any resulting coalition.
I suspected something quite similar would happen in Germany, and I was only partially wrong. The exit poll results, and the subsequent counts, were presented to just one decimal place; indeed, the presentation of the numbers was very poor throughout. So, it was hard to see to what extent BSW was improving as the votes were counted.
In the exit poll, two parties – FPD and BSW – were shown as being on 4.7%, and the AFD was on 19.5%. So, the two 4.7% parties were largely written out of the subsequent discussion. We did see an early concession by the FPD, who – representing a segment of the political class – understood the polling dynamics rather well. And we did see the AFD’s Alice Weidel being asked if she was disappointed to get under 20%. Ms Weidel put on a brave face, but she did seem disappointed. When the votes were actually counted, her party got 20.8% exactly on Weidel’s prior expectations.
BSW was completely ignored. There was simply no interest in the possibility that they might reach the 5% threshold, even when the vote count had them upto 4.9%. In the end BSW reached 4.972%; so close! Out of sight, out of mind! In the official results the BSW were lumped with ‘Other Parties’. The DW election panel were too unaware to make any comments about the party itself, its philosophies, or how its possible success might influence the process of forming a coalition government. (Of particular importance was that, with just a few more votes, BSW might have given Eastern Germany a voice in a three-way coalition government.)
For DW, their perennial concern is the place of Germany within Europe and the World; they had little time to give the outside world a glimpse into the domestic lives and politics of ordinary Germans. And we heard nothing about the ‘ethnic vote’, the privileged Denmark Party notwithstanding. I suspect that many if not most of the recent immigrants who do much of the work in Germany either could not vote or did not vote. The election was about them, not for them; denizens, not citizens.
However, DW did invite on a gentleman who mildly focussed the attention of the discussants by suggesting that one of the priorities of the new Chancellor – Friedrich Merz – would be to acquire nuclear weapons! I don’t think the rest of the world had any prior insights into that; ordinary Germans were probably equally in the dark.
Who is Friedrich Merz? Who knows? It turns out that he dropped out of politics for a while, to play a leading role in BlackRock, the international acquisitions company which until recently owned New Zealand’s SolarZero (refer Update on SolarZero Liquidation by BlackRock, Scoop, 29 January 2025). Our media told us that the election was all about the “far-right” AFD Party; that is, the far non-establishment-right. We in New Zealand heard nothing about the far establishment-right; the shadowy man (or his party). Some now fear Merz will be an out-and-out warmonger. Even Al Jazeera, which can be relied upon to cover many stories about places New Zealand’s media barely touches (and in a bit more depth), had the portraits of Olaf Scholz and Alice Weidel on the screen, on 22 February, the day before the election, despite the certainty that Merz world become the new Chancellor.
In that vein, I heard a German woman interviewed in Christchurch, on RNZ on 25 February. She, disappointed with the election result, spent her whole edited four minutes railing about the AFD, as if the AFD had won. There was no useful commentary, by her or RNZ, of the actual result of Germany’s election.
Are we so shallow that we don’t care; that some of us with the loudest voices only want to rail against a non-establishment party, and to see the democratic support for alternative parties as being somehow anti-democratic?
East Germany
People of a certain age in New Zealand will remember the former East Germany; the DDR, German ‘Democratic’ Republic. Most people in Germany itself will have had knowledge of it, including the Berlin-based political staff of DW who were mostly in their thirties, forties and fifties. But the ongoing issues of Eastern Germany were barely in their mindframes.
In Eastern Germany – the former DDR – (especially outside of Berlin), support for the AFD was close to 40%, for BSW over 10%, and the Left much higher than in Western Germany. In the former East Berlin (which I visited in 1974), the Left seems to have been the most popular party. Support in the East for the establishment parties combined was between 25% and 30%, and with a lower turnout.
BSW, it turns out, is Left on economic policy and Right on social policy. And, in the German discourse, is categorised by the political class as ‘pro-Putin’. If BSW had got 5% of the vote, Merz could have tried to bring them into his government; or Merz might have turned to the Green Party instead of a ‘pro-Putin’ party. But I cannot see even the German Greens being able to govern as a junior partner to a belligerent establishment-right CDU-led government. BSW’s failure to get 5% of the vote may turn out to be one of the great ‘might-have-beens’ of Germany’s future history.
As JD Vance stated, this Eastern German situation poses a danger for democracy in Germany and in Europe. Eastern Germany is where the German state is at its most vulnerable. The majority of voters there have voted for ‘pro-Putin’ parties; and, significantly, parties prioritising the problems of economic failure over the big-politics of extranational power-plays.
The new German government, it would seem, is set to aggravate (or, at best, ignore) the problems of Germany’s ‘near-East’, while setting out to inflame the problems of Europe’s ‘far-East’.
The Debt Brake
This is Germany’s equivalent of Ruth Richardson’s 1994 ‘Fiscal Responsibility Act’ (now entrenched in New Zealand law and lore). This is the major single reason why New Zealand has had so many infrastructure problems this century, and why so many young men and families emigrated to Australia in the 1990s, with some of these emigrants coming back to New Zealand in recent years as ‘501s’.
The Merkel debt-brake is the self-inflicted single major reason why many European economies are in such a mess today; and Germany in particular. Germany is congenitally deeply committed to all kinds of financial austerity, with government financial austerity being the most ingrained. Rather than circulating as it should, money is concentrating. The debt-brake is “a German constitutional rule introduced [in 2009] during the Global Financial crisis to enforce budget discipline and reduce [public] debt loads in the country” (see Berlin Briefing, below).
Germany still has a parliamentary session under the old Parliament, before the new parliament convenes. Michaela Küfner (see Berlin Briefing, below) suggests the possibility that the old “lame duck” Parliament could remove the debt-brake from the German constitution, because she sees the make-up of the new more right-wing parliament as being less amenable to address this ‘elephant in the room’. Seems democratically dodgy to me, even talking about pushing dramatic constitutional legislation through a ‘lame duck’ parliament; like Robert Muldoon, pushing through a two-year parliamentary term for New Zealand in the week after the 1984 election!
(Two-year parliamentary terms are not unknown, by the way; the United States has a two-year term for its Congress. This is almost never mentioned when we discuss the parliamentary term in New Zealand. In the United States at present, there will be many people for whom the 2026 election cannot come fast enough; an opportunity to reign-in Donald Trump.)
Future German relations with the United States
On 27 February (28 Feb, New Zealand time) – before the fiasco in the White House on 28 February – I watched Berlin Briefing on DW. This programme is a regular panel discussion of the political editorship of Deutsche Welle.
The context here is that Friedrich Merz made an important speech the evening after the election; a speech that had the Berlin beltway – “people behind the scenes here in Berlin” – all agog. Merz said: “For me the absolute priority will be strengthening Germany so much so that we can achieve [defence] independence from the United States.”
The discussion proceeded as follows:
“How important is this anchoring in Nato of the idea of the United States as ‘The Great Protector’?” Nina Haase, DW political correspondent: “I don’t think there’s a word, ‘massive’ is not enough; people behind the scenes here in Berlin … they talk about are we going to part with the United States amicably or are we going to become enemies [my emphasis] … Europe has relied on the US so much since the Second World War is completely new thinking; just to prepare for a scenario with, if you will, would-be enemies on two sides; in the East with Russia launching a hybrid attack and then [an enemy] in the West as well.” They go on to talk about the possible need for conscription in Germany.
The political correspondents were talking like bourgeois brat adult children who had expected that they should be able to enjoy a power-lifestyle underwritten by ‘big daddy’ always there as a financial and security backstop; and just realising that the rug of entitlement might be being pulled from under them. Michaela Küfner (Chief Political Editor of DW) goes on to talk about an “existential threat from the United States”, meaning the withdrawal (and potential enmity) of the great protector. “Like your Rich Uncle from across the ocean turning against you”, she said.
Nina Haase: “Pacifism, the very word, needs to be redefined in Germany … Germans are only now able to understand that you have to have weapons in order not to use them.” She was referring to earlier generations of pacifists (like me) who saw weapons as the problem, not the solution.
Ulrike Franke: “Everything needs to change for everything to stay the same”, basically saying Germany itself may have to pursue domestic Rich Uncle policies to maintain the lifestyles of the (entitled) ten percenters.
Michaela Küfner, towards the end of the discussion: “The AFD is framing [the supporters of] the parties which will make up the coming coalition as the political class who we will challenge”. And she noted, but only at the very end of the long discussion, that the effectively disenfranchised people in Eastern Germany are “a lot more Russia-friendly”.
Maybe Merz has a plan to build employment-rich munitions factories in Eastern Germany, to address both his security concerns and the obvious political discontent arising from unemployment and fast-eroding living standards? But Merz will have to abandon his innate fiscal conservatism before he can even contemplate that; can he do a Hoover to Hitler transition? Rearmament was Hitler’s game; his means to full employment after the Depression.
Implications for Democracy
I sense that Friedrich Merz will become the face of coming German politics, just as Angela Merkel once was, and as Trump and Starmer are very much the faces of government in their countries; becoming – albeit through democratic means – similar to the autocrats that, in Eastern and Middle-Eastern countries, they [maybe not Trump] rail against.
We might note that if we look carefully at World War One and World War Two, the core conflict was Germany versus Russia. Will World War Three be the same? And which side will ‘we’ (or ‘US’) be on? In WW1 and WW2, we were on Russia’s side. (Hopefully, in the future, we can be neutral with respect to other countries’ conflicts.)
Democracy is under strain worldwide. The diminishing establishment-centre – the political and economic elites and the people with secure employment and housing who still vote for familiar major parties – is clinging on to power, and for the time-being remains more powerful than ever in Europe.
In the Europe of the early 1930s, it was the Great Depression as a period of abject political failure that resulted in the suspension of democracy. All the signs are that the same failures of democratic leadership – worldwide from the 1920s – will bring about similar consequences.
For democracies to save themselves, they should bring non-establishment voices to the table. In 2025. Germany will be another important test case, already sowing the seeds of political failure. We should be wary of demonising the far non-establishment-right while lionising the far establishment-right.
*******
Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Building activity down 4.4 percent in December 2024 quarter – 6 March 2025 – The seasonally adjusted volume of building work in New Zealand was $7.4 billion in the December 2024 quarter, down 4.4 percent compared with the September 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
“There has been a downward trend in building activity volume since the most recent peak in the September 2022 quarter,” economic indicators spokesperson Michael Heslop said.
Residential building work fell 4.9 percent to $4.5 billion and non-residential building work fell 3.1 percent to $2.8 billion (seasonally adjusted) in the final quarter of 2024.
“Residential building activity volume reached its lowest level in over four years, in seasonally adjusted terms,” Heslop said.
Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) met yesterday with leaders from the City of Del Rio including Mayor Al Arreola and City Manager Shawna Burkhart, to discuss increasing legitimate trade and travel, easing congestion at ports of entry, improving safety, and expediting presidential permits for key bridge expansion projects in the region, specifically for the Del Rio-Acuña International Bridge. See photo below.
This image is in the public domain, but those wishing to do so may credit the Office of U.S. Senator John Cornyn.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, and Budget Committees.
Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) reintroduced their bipartisan and bicameralSea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, legislation to establish funding at the Department of Commerce for the rescue, recovery and research of sea turtles in Texas and across the United States. Text of the bill can be found, here.
“Sea turtle strandings are rising at an alarming rate along the Texas Gulf Coast,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This bill would help identify the causes of these strandings and invest in rescue and recovery efforts to better protect Texas’ endangered and storied sea turtle population.” “Sea turtles are the canaries in the coal mine. Right now, every known species of sea turtles found in US waters is either threatened or endangered and faces extinction and environmental wipeout due to the human-caused climate crisis. We have the responsibility to act,” said Sen. Markey. “I am reintroducing the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act to financially support ongoing rescue and rehabilitation efforts of our shelled friends.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Cory Booker (D-NJ, and Tom Tillis (R-NC). In January, Representative Bill Keating (MA-09) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
Background:
In 2000, fewer than 50 sea turtles were found stranded on the beaches of Cape Cod; by 2022, that number had skyrocketed to 866. During the 2021 cold snap in Texas, more than 12,100 turtles were cold-stunned, and rescue organizations were able to save and return only 4,000 of the stranded turtles to the wild. Rescue efforts are predominantly volunteer led and underfunded despite sea turtles facing increasing environmental and human-caused threats that make strandings more likely, including rapid temperature changes, red tide events, and entanglement in marine debris. This bill would provide stability and support to efforts that rehabilitate and aid in the recovery of sea turtles along the coastal US. Specifically, theSea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act would create a new grant program to fund rescue, recovery, and research of sea turtles in the U.S., and authorize $5 million annually for awarding of grants to further that purpose from 2025 through 2030.
TheSea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act is endorsed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the New England Aquarium, the National Aquarium, ABQ BioPark, Acadia Institute of Oceanography, Adventure Aquarium, Allied Whale – College of the Atlantic, Assateague Coastal Trust, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Aquarium of the Pacific, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Audubon Nature Institute, Bird River Beach Community Association, Blank Park Zoo, Brevard Zoo / East Coast Zoological Park, Brookfield Zoo Chicago, Buttonwood Park Zoo, Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, Conservation Council For Hawaii, El Paso Zoo and Botanical Garden, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Georgia Aquarium, Georgia Sea Turtle Center / Jekyll Island Authority, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Gladys Porter Zoo, Gulf World Marine Institute, Healthy Ocean Coalition, Houston Zoo, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Jenkinson’s Aquarium, John Ball Zoo, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Kansas City Zoo, Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center, Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, Marine Education – Research & Rehabilitation Institute, Inc. (MERR), Marine Conservation Institute, Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket, Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Mass Audubon, Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, National Marine Life Center, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Newport Aquarium, New York Marine Rescue Center, North Carolina Aquariums, North Carolina Wildlife Federation, OdySea Aquarium, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, Racine Zoo, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo, SEA LIFE Aquariums, Sea Turtle Recovery, Inc., Seattle Aquarium, Seatuck Environmental Association, SeaWorld Parks, Sociedad Ornitologica Puertorriquena Inc., South Carolina Aquarium, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Sunset Zoo, Surfrider Foundation, Texas Conservation Alliance, Texas Sealife Center, Texas State Aquarium, The Florida Aquarium, The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, The Ocean Project, The Turtle Hospital, Upwell Turtles, Vancouver Aquarium, Virgin Islands Conservation Society, Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience at University of Florida, WIDECAST: Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, Wildlife Restoration Foundation, and Woodland Park Zoo.
“We are grateful for Sen. Markey’s continued partnership as he reintroduces the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025 in the U.S. Senate. Each year, the New England Aquarium rescues and rehabilitates hundreds of cold-stunned sea turtles that wash onto the beaches of Cape Cod Bay. This bill would help fill a critical gap in sea turtle conservation efforts by providing much-needed financial support to organizations across the country like ours that help return these endangered animals to the ocean,” said Vikki N. Spruill, President and CEO of the New England Aquarium.
“The National Aquarium applauds the reintroduction of the bicameral, bipartisan Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act. We are proud to be part of the nationwide network of organizations engaged in sea turtle conservation and in educating the public on the challenges facing these threatened and endangered species. Sea turtle strandings are on the rise, as are the expenses related to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing them back to their ocean home. The level of voluntary contribution from stranding network partners is not sustainable. We thank the champions in the House and Senate for their leadership in creating a much-needed federal grant program to support this important work,” said John Racanelli, President & CEO of the National Aquarium.
“Each year, aquariums, zoos and other organizations selflessly rescue and rehabilitate thousands of stranded and injured sea turtles with little to no federal support. They do it because it is the right thing to do,” said Dan Ashe, President and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “This bipartisan Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act would help to fill a critical gap in support for these federally protected sea turtles.”
Building activity down 4.4 percent in December 2024 quarter–6 March 2025 –The seasonally adjusted volume of building work in New Zealand was $7.4 billion in the December 2024 quarter, down 4.4 percent compared with the September 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
“There has been a downward trend in building activity volume since the most recent peak in the September 2022 quarter,” economic indicators spokesperson Michael Heslop said.
Residential building work fell 4.9 percent to $4.5 billion and non-residential building work fell 3.1 percent to $2.8 billion (seasonally adjusted) in the final quarter of 2024.
“Residential building activity volume reached its lowest level in over four years, in seasonally adjusted terms,” Heslop said.
Headline: Precautionary school closures in Northern NSW as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches
Published: 5 March 2025
Released by: Minister for Education and Early Learning, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education
Schools across the North Coast of NSW will be non-operational for the next two days to safeguard students and staff as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches.
Due to potential impacts of the cyclone, including a heightened risk of flooding, more than 230 public schools, 29 Catholic schools, five independent schools and 16 TAFE campuses, along with two additional TAFE campuses being used as evacuation centres, are closed. The closures are expected to impact schools from Wednesday 5 March, through to Friday 7 March 2025.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to cross the coastline north of Brisbane as a Category 2 cyclone late on Thursday or early Friday.
Substantial flooding is expected with up to a metre of rain forecast to fall in southern Queensland and north-eastern NSW over several days.
Because of these risks, families have been asked to not send children to school for the next two days.
At this stage schools are expected to resume operations on Monday 10 March 2025.
The department has a stock of essential products ready to be dispatched to support our school communities, including gloves, paper towels, pump soap, tissues, toilet paper, bottled water and personal insect repellents. Additional blow-drying units and air purifiers are also available.
The Department of Education also requires all early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to operate safely, including during extreme weather events, and is contacting services in affected regions.
The Department urges services to assess the risk of severe weather in their community and if necessary, activate their emergency plans and procedures. We encourage services to follow the advice of local authorities and the SES.
The SES has asked families to prepare their homes for strong winds, by putting away loose items around their home, trimming trees away from properties and not parking vehicles under trees or powerlines.
Never drive, walk, ride through, play or swim in flood water, and any avoid unnecessary travel. Download the Hazards Near Me App to stay across the latest warnings and information.
Call the NSW SES on 132 500 if you need emergency assistance in floods and storms. In a life-threatening emergency, call Triple Zero (000) or visit www.ses.nsw.gov.au
Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“As our communities prioritise their safety and prepare for the arrival of Cyclone Alfred, we are ensuring teachers, students and school staff are not unnecessary placed in harm’s way by attending school.
“Keeping our students and families safe must always be our top priority.
“While we usually do not advocate for the closure of schools and places of learning, in these circumstances, an abundance of caution can be what keeps our community safe.”
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:
“It is important that at this critical time we plan ahead, and we are asking the community to keep their children home from school.
“Please follow the advice of emergency services and continue to check the NSW State Emergency Service website for the latest information and, if you haven’t already, download the Hazards Near Me App which includes the latest warnings and information.
“The NSW Government is doing all we can to prepare ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred crossing the coast later this week and we are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that they are prepared.”
Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said:
“Our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff, students and their families.
“We are incredibly grateful to our team of dedicated TAFE NSW staff who have a wonderful track record of supporting their communities by ensuring campuses can be turned into evacuation centres during natural disaster events.”
Deputy Secretary of Public Schools Deborah Summerhayes said:
“The department is taking a safety-first approach. We know a lot of our North Coast communities have been through difficult periods in recent years – with the 2022 floods still fresh in their memories.
“That’s why we are planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
“We want to do everything we can to ensure our school communities are well supported and our staff and students are safe.”
Europe is warmed by heat from ocean currents, which move water from the warm tropics to the colder North Atlantic. Once the warm, salty water from the tropics reach the polar region, they cool enough to sink to the depths and flow back towards the Southern Ocean.
This enormous system of currents is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Climate scientists are increasingly worried about the AMOC, which appears to be slowing down.
While there’s still debate over whether the AMOC has weakened over the last decades, climate models consistently show the AMOC will significantly weaken over the coming century due to the increase in heat-trapping atmospheric greenhouse gases. As more heat stays in the system, the ocean heats up and ice melts, adding fresh water to polar oceans. The overall effect is to slow these currents. The AMOC could weaken 30% by 2060.
A weaker AMOC would mean big changes in Europe, which benefits directly from the warmer waters it brings. But it would also change the climate in the Southern Hemisphere. Our new research shows a weakening of the AMOC would lead to a large change in rainfall patterns, leading to wetter summers in northern Australia and a drier New Zealand year-round. Indonesia and northern Papua New Guinea would also become drier.
Running AMOC?
In the Earth’s long history, the AMOC has gone through many periods of weakening. These were most common during ice ages, when glaciers expanded, but they also occurred during periods as warm as today.
To reconstruct past climates, researchers use data from ice cores, marine sediment cores and speleothems (mineral deposits in caves such as flowstone and stalagmites), as well as simulations performed with climate models. These data show a weaker AMOC strongly affected the climate in the Northern Hemisphere. When flows of warmer water faltered, sea ice expanded in the North Atlantic, while Europe endured colder, drier conditions and the northern tropics became drier.
If the AMOC weakens significantly, it will mean major change for Northern Hemisphere nations. Average temperatures could actually drop 3°C in Western Europe.
At present, the AMOC’s flows of warmer water give European nations more pleasant climates and keeps ports ice free, while the Canadian side of the North Atlantic has a much more severe climate.
What does it mean for the Southern Hemisphere?
Data from ice cores and marine sediment cores also showed Antarctica and the Southern Ocean became warmer during these past AMOC weakening events. Until now, we haven’t understood what an AMOC weakening would mean for rainfall in the Australasian region.
To find out, we ran climate model simulations with the Australian Earth system model, ACCESS-ESM1.5. Our modelling reveals a complex and regionally varied response, primarily shaped by large-scale atmospheric changes.
As the AMOC weakens, it sets off a chain reaction in the oceans and atmosphere which alter rainfall and temperatures across Australasia.
A weaker AMOC would affect ocean temperatures, cooling surface waters in the northern hemisphere and warming waters in the southern hemisphere. This would push the Intertropical Convergence Zone – a belt of heavy rain near the equator – further south.
This means areas such as northern Papua New Guinea and Indonesia will get less rain, while northern Australia will cop wetter summers.
Next, a warmer south equatorial Atlantic triggers atmospheric waves – large-scale movements of air that travel across the globe. These waves lower air pressure over northern Australia, pulling in more moisture and making summer rainfall even heavier.
At the same time, a weaker AMOC disrupts the usual tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean dynamics, altering wind patterns and pressure systems in the Southern Hemisphere. High pressure systems shift southward, affecting storm tracks. The overall effect is fewer storms reaching southern Australia and New Zealand, leading to drier winters.
Last, as the Atlantic currents peter out, heat builds up in Southern Hemisphere oceans rather than being carried to the poles. This results in hotter summers, particularly in southern Australia and New Zealand.
Deluges and droughts
It’s likely we will see these important currents weaken this century, bringing major change to both hemispheres.
Those in Australia and New Zealand are likely to see a magnification of some existing climate shifts, such as a drier south and wetter north.
Policymakers and resource managers need to prepare for a future where water becomes an increasingly uncertain resource.
In the north, more rain over summer could mean a greater reliance on water storage and flood mitigation. In the south, drier conditions may force increased water use efficiency and drought planning.
In New Zealand, a year-round drying trend could challenge farm productivity and hydropower generation. Long-term water management will be critical.
What happens in the North Atlantic doesn’t stay there. It ripples through the atmosphere and oceans, with far-reaching consequences.
Himadri Saini receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
Laurie Menviel receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
The Government is demonstrating its commitment to prioritising treaty settlements with the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passing third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is a privilege to conclude eight years of negotiations between the Crown and the three central North Island iwi who comprise Te Korowai o Wainuiārua: Tamahaki, Tamakana and Uenuku ki Manganui-o-te-Ao, nā Tūkaihoro. “The settlement addresses the historical grievances endured by the three iwi, which include 19th century warfare and land purchased or taken for public works. “The settlement includes an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgements of its historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and a Crown apology. Te Korowai o Wainuiārua will receive financial and commercial redress of $21.7 million, a cultural revitalisation fund of $6.85 million and cultural redress, including the return of 19 sites of cultural significance. “The settlement will contribute towards supporting the aspirations of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua. The redress will help the iwi to grow their economic base, provide housing for their whānau, develop their culture and enhance the natural environment. “The historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua with the Crown relate to 19th century warfare and land purchased or taken for public works. That land was then used for the North Island Main Trunk railway, power generation projects and it was included in two National Parks. “This led to Te Korowai o Wainuiārua becoming virtually landless. “It is my hope that this settlement can form the basis of a positive future for the people of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua, and a renewed relationship with the Crown. “I want to acknowledge Te Korowai o Wainuiārua for working so tirelessly during the negotiations process to reach this significant milestone.” Copies of the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Deed of Settlement are available at Te Tari Whakatau – Central Whanganui (Te Korowai o Wainuiārua)
The Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill can be found at: Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill 286-2 (2023), Government Bill – New Zealand Legislation
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is pushing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide clear and accessible information on inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) to better support patients and their families. While CMS has supported web-based tools to find and compare providers, the agency lacks a tool for comparing IPFs so that families can make fully-informed decisions.
“This is the kind of information that patients and their families care about…In all states, patients and their families deserve to have access to all IPF inspection/survey reports through a user-accessible website, no matter whether the survey was performed by a state or local survey agency, CMS, or an accrediting organization,” Grassley wrote.
Grassley is an outspoken advocate for improved oversight and transparency at health care facilities that care for vulnerable Americans, such as nursing homes and IPFs. His past work revealed that inspection reports are completely inaccessible to consumers in most states. Grassley has previously called for improving the quality of information available to the public about nursing homes. He’s also pushed for greater transparency of financial relationships between drug makers and providers and of the misuse of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes and foster youth.
“Currently, a search for an IPF on the Care Compare website yields little to no information that would allow a consumer to determine the safety of the facility…There is no information regarding assaults, abuses, suicides, and [unauthorized departures], particularly information regarding facilities that have had repeated and/or potentially preventable events. There is no information regarding Medicare Conditions of Participation violations, citations, penalties, or enforcement actions,” Grassley continued.
Grassley requested the agency provide details on plans to improve public access to IPF data and any possible barriers to CMS’s progress.
Text of the letter to Acting CMS Administrator Carlton follows:
February 28, 2025
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Stephanie Carlton
Acting Administrator
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Dear Acting Administrator Carlton:
I have long advocated for improved oversight and transparency at health care facilities that care for vulnerable Americans, such as nursing homes and inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs).[1] My oversight has resulted in improvements to the Nursing Home Care Compare website, which has been found to help consumers find their way to higher quality nursing homes and encourage providers to improve quality.[2] Yet, after more than twenty-five years of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) supporting web-based tools for consumers to find and compare providers, the mechanism for comparing IPFs is still lacking. [3] Like nursing home residents, psychiatric inpatients are at high risk for abuse, neglect, and harm, and the public deserves to be able to readily access information regarding quality, safety, and regulatory citations at IPFs in all states.[4]
According to a recent report, it took weeks to compile information regarding safety and regulatory issues at two IPFs because there is no place to readily access that information.[5] The report noted that, “the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a robust database of hospital inspections, quality of care and staff ratings. However, when you try to search many inpatient mental health hospitals, every category says information is not available.”[6] In response to questions about the lack of information, the prior administration stated that “although CMS doesn’t give star ratings for psychiatric hospitals, consumers can still find valuable quality information by using [other] CMS resources.”[7] However, a review of those resources found them to be insufficient.[8]
Currently, a search for an IPF on the Care Compare website yields little to no information that would allow a consumer to determine the safety of the facility. After searching for an IPF on Care Compare, the website launches a webpage showing that the facility’s “Overall Star Rating” and “Patient Survey Rating” are not available.[9] Under a drop down, Care Compare primarily presents process measures, including COVID-19 vaccinations for providers, influenza vaccinations and body mass index screenings for patients.[10] While there is information regarding potentially harmful mechanical restraints and seclusions, there is no data regarding physical holds and chemical restraints, which surveyors have also found to be used inappropriately and with incorrect technique.[11] There is no information regarding assaults, abuses, suicides, and elopements (unauthorized departures), particularly information regarding facilities that have had repeated and/or potentially preventable events. [12] There is no information regarding Medicare Conditions of Participation violations, citations, penalties, or enforcement actions.[13] This is the kind of information that patients and their families care about.
While Care Compare provides access to inspection reports for nursing homes, this capability is missing from the hospital section of the website.[14] In all states, patients and their families deserve to have access to all IPF inspection/survey reports through a user-accessible website, no matter whether the survey was performed by a state or local survey agency, CMS, or an accrediting organization, such as The Joint Commission. While some hospital inspection reports may be accessible through the CMS 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file, this is not a consumer-facing or readily accessible resource.[15] Additionally, my past oversight work revealed that inspection reports from accrediting organizations are completely inaccessible to consumers in most states.[16] Despite my advocacy on the issue, in 2017, CMS reversed course on a proposal to require accrediting organizations to post provider survey reports on their public-facing websites, but noted that, “CMS is committed to ensuring that patients have the ability to review the findings used to determine that a facility meets the health and safety standards required for Medicare participation.”[17] Seven years later, it still doesn’t appear that patients, or even CMS, have the ability to readily conduct that review.[18] There also still appears to be incongruity between safety violations and accreditation.[19]
For Congress to understand CMS’s current actions to increase the relevance of information regarding IPFs on the Care Compare website as well as any barriers impeding CMS’s progress, please provide answers to the following questions no later than March 14, 2025.
Does CMS plan to take steps to improve how information regarding IPF quality, safety, and regulatory issues are displayed on Care Compare? If not, why not? If so, please describe.
Are there any barriers to displaying information regarding patient harm, including abuses, assaults, suicides, and elopements with harm, for IPFs on Care Compare?
Are there any barriers to displaying citations, safety violations, licensure suspensions or limitations, immediate jeopardy findings, Medicare program terminations, monetary penalties, enforcement actions, or any other remediation actions for IPFs on Care Compare?
Are there any barriers to integrating the CMS 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file in a user-accessible way on Care Compare?
What surveys are included in the CMS 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file and which surveys are excluded? For example, does the data file contain surveys conducted by all state and local survey agencies? Are there any circumstances in which the file would contain surveys conducted by accrediting organizations?
Why are the findings from the following surveys/inspections not included in the 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file posted on the CMS Hospital website?[20] What are the barriers to making the following reports accessible on Care Compare?
The survey that corresponds with the nine patient rapes at Options Behavioral Health Hospital.[21]
The February 2022 survey with immediate jeopardy findings for Brynn Marr Hospital.[22]
The survey that corresponds with the sexual assault at Psychiatric Institute of Washington.[23]
The survey conducted at Holly Hill Hospital after the escape of five children in March 2024.[24]
The survey that corresponds with Aurora Vista Del Mar’s loss of permission to admit involuntary patients.[25]
The survey that corresponds with the suicide at Morton Plant North Bay Hospital Recovery Center.[26]
How does CMS assess the usability and relevance of the information regarding IPFs on the Care Compare website from the perspective of patients and their families?
How does CMS validate the data currently contained in Care Compare for IPFs? For example, what was CMS’s process for validating Harborview Medical Center’s 2022 restraint rate of 22.44 hours per 1000 patient care hours, when the national average was 0.32, and the 2022 seclusion rate of 81.73, when the national average was 0.36?[27]
How does the data currently contained in Care Compare for IPFs inform the survey/inspection process? For example, have surveyors examined the restraint and seclusion practices at Harborview Medical Center?[28]
How does CMS “ensur[e] that patients have the ability to review the findings used to determine that a facility meets the health and safety standards required for Medicare participation,” including when those findings come from accrediting organizations?[29]
What role does CMS play in the accreditation process for IPFs? How do the deficiencies listed in the CMS 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file factor into accreditation?
How does CMS partner with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting (IPFQR) program and ensure consistency between the IPFs listed on the Care Compare website and the IPFs listed on the FindTreatment.gov website?[30] How does CMS use data collected through the National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS)?[31]
Thank you for your prompt review and response. If you have any questions, please contact my Judiciary Committee staff at (202) 224-5225.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
[1] Press Release, Warren, Grassley Lead the Call for Greater Transparency in Nursing Home Ownership, Off. of Senator Charles E. Grassley (May 19, 2023), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/warren-grassley-lead-the-call-for-greater-transparency-in-nursing-home-ownership; Press Release, After Year-Long Push for Transparency In Nursing Homes, Grassley Urges Improvements to CMS’s Care Compare, Off. of Senator Charles E. Grassley (June 21, 2023), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/after-years-long-push-for-transparency-in-nursing-homes-grassley-urges-improvements-to-cmss-care-compare; Press Release, Grassley Welcomes CMS Action Following His Decades-Long Push to Increase Nursing Home Transparency, Off. of Senator Charles E. Grassley (Nov. 15, 2023), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-welcomes-cms-action-following-his-decades-long-push-to-increase-nursing-home-transparency; Press Release, Grassley: Alarming Pattern of Conduct Reported at UHS Facilities, Off. of Senator Charles E. Grassley (Dec. 18, 2017), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-alarming-pattern-conduct-reported-uhs-facilities.
[2] R. Tamara Konetzka, Kevin Yan, and Rachel Werner, Two Decades of Nursing Home Compare: What Have We Learned?, Medical Care Research and Review (June 13, 2020), https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077558720931652?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed.
[3] Report, Nursing Homes: CMS Offers Useful Information on Website and Is Considering Additional Steps to Assess Underlying Data, Government Accountability Office, GAO-23-105312, (May 2023), https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105312.pdf.
[4] Morgan Shields, Maureen Stewart, and Kathleen Delaney, Patient Safety in Inpatient Psychiatry: A Remaining Frontier for Health Policy, Health Affairs (Nov. 18, 2018), https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0718; Hospital Surveys with 2567 Statement of Deficiencies through 2024 Q3 data file, Hospital webpage, Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Services (accessed Feb. 3, 2025), https://www.cms.gov/files/document/hospital-surveys-2567-statement-deficiencies-through-2024-q3.xlsx, (Surveyors described findings of abuse, neglect, or harm during numerous surveys listed in the 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file, such as 6G7O11/October 16, 2023, 52U911/March 4, 2024, VN4211/June 13, 2024, QD1O11/January 6, 2021, ZX8G11/April 8, 2022, YMU211/June 7, 2021, SSIO11/February 23, 2023, 00IG11/June 10, 2022, P33211/April 10, 2024, RKRS11/October 5, 2022, and CYVY11/September 23, 2022).
[5] Randall Kerr, WRAL Investigates why the truth about mental health hospitals remains hidden, WRAL News (May 7, 2024), https://www.wral.com/story/wral-investigates-why-the-truth-about-mental-health-hospitals-remains-hidden/21418636/.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id, (As described by WRAL, “those resources included with the statement were a spreadsheet you could download, but can’t even decipher considering all of the categories, acronyms and codes that don’t necessarily reflect the actual quality of care. The other resource was the same online database that again has no information about the hospital’s performance.”).
[9] Care Compare entry for Aurora Vista Del Mar, Care Compare, Medicare.gov (accessed Feb. 3, 2025), available at https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/details/hospital/054077?id=a96bf388-2fd6-460f-bca4-d70b1eeb862d&city=Ventura&state=CA&zipcode=.
[10] Psychiatric unit services drop-down for Aurora Vista Del Mar, Care Compare, Medicare.gov (accessed Feb. 3, 2025), https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/details/hospital/054077?id=a96bf388-2fd6-460f-bca4-d70b1eeb862d&city=Ventura&state=CA&zipcode=&measure=hospital-psychiatric-surveys.
[11] Surveys ZF7G11/June 4, 2024 and D0SD11/July 11, 2024, 2567 data file, supra note 4, (For example, during an inspection of Destiny Springs Healthcare in June 2024, surveyors found that “the Hospital failed to ensure staff did not utilize a chemical restraint as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation for one (1) patient.” One month later, surveyors found that “the hospital failed to ensure restraints were conducted safely, resulting in Patient #1 suffering a fractured humerus.”).
[12] Ross Jones, Congressman, local leaders want answers over Detroit hospital patient abuse, suicide, ABC WXYZ Detroit (Oct. 10, 2024), https://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news/investigations/congressman-local-leaders-want-answers-over-detroit-hospital-patient-abuse-suicide; Surveys 366M11/June 6, 2024 and 31M611/July 3, 2024, 2567 data file, supra note 4, (In 2024, at Detroit Receiving Hospital, in the span of 73 days, two different female patients were sexually assaulted by two different male patients while sedated and confined to four-point restraints, which is a time when patients should be continuously monitored by staff, and another patient died by suicide in her room in the setting of missed safety checks.); Maddie Kirth, ‘Were they not trained?’ Family of missing Hammond Alzheimer’s patient demands hospital reform, Fox 8 (June 23, 2023), https://www.fox8live.com/2023/06/24/were-they-not-trained-family-missing-hammond-alzheimers-patient-demands-hospital-reform/; Survey 1UQQ11/June 21, 2023, 2567 data file, supra note 4, (In 2023, a patient with severe dementia was able to walk out of a locked unit at Oceans Behavioral Hospital of Hammond in Louisiana and was found dead in a field one day later. It took nearly an hour for staff to realize that the patient was gone and another ninety minutes to call 911.).
[13] Heather Catallo, ‘He didn’t deserve this.’ Patient dies after being restrained in psych ward, family speaks out, WXYZ (Dec. 19, 2024), https://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news/investigations/he-didnt-deserve-this-patient-dies-after-being-restrained-in-psych-ward-family-speaks-out; Medicare notice to the public regarding termination of Pontiac General Hospital effective November 24, 2024 (Nov. 8, 2024), https://www.cms.gov/files/document/michigan-pontiac-general-hospital-11/08/2024.pdf, (There is no information regarding Michigan’s Pontiac General Hospital’s termination from the Medicare program on November 24, 2024, after a patient died in the setting of improper restraint technique and a delayed and disorganized resuscitation effort.); Surveys R5UY11/March 22, 2024, 24E111/April 3, 2024, M4B411/June 6, 2024, QORQ11/July 31, 2024, and NB8H11/August 15, 2024, 2567 data file, supra note 4 (There is no information regarding the 30 deficiencies, including three condition-level deficiencies and two immediate jeopardy findings, listed in the CMS 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file for Oceans Behavioral Hospital of Hammond in Louisiana during the first three quarters of 2024.); Alex Lubben, State gives troubled Mandeville psychiatric hospital one last chance to stay open, NOLA (Apr. 19, 2024), https://www.nola.com/news/northshore/what-is-the-future-of-northlake-behavioral-health-system/article_e5218958-f90a-11ee-ab91-072e26520f37.html, (There is no information regarding Northlake Behavioral Health System’s reported agreement with the Louisiana Department of Health to “pay an $18,000 fine, hire a consultant, cover the cost of all future LDH inspections, and suffer additional penalties for any repeat deficiencies found in the course of those inspections” in order to maintain a provisional license.).
[14] GAO-23-105312, supra note 3.
[15] 2567 data file, supra note 4.
[16] Press Release, Grassley Presses Agency On Statutory Changes Needed to Make Hospital Inspection Reports Public, Off. of Senator Charles E. Grassley (Sep. 20, 2017), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-presses-agency-statutory-changes-needed-make-hospital-inspection-reports.
[17] Charles Ornstein, Secret Hospital Inspections May Become Public At Last, ProPublica (April 18, 2017), https://www.propublica.org/article/secret-hospital-inspections-may-become-public-at-last; Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System Final Rule(CMS-1677-F), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Aug. 2, 2017), https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fiscal-year-fy-2018-medicare-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-system-ipps-and-long-term-acute-0; Charles Ornstein, Accreditors Can Keep Their Hospital Inspection Reports Secret, Feds Decide, ProPublica (Aug. 3, 2017), https://www.propublica.org/article/accreditors-can-keep-their-hospital-inspection-reports-secret-feds-decide; Letter from Senator Charles E. Grassley to Administrator Seema Verma, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Sep. 18, 2017), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017-09-18%20CEG%20to%20CMS%20(Joint%20Commission).pdf.
[18] Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Proposed Rule, Medicare Program; Strengthening Oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AOs) and Preventing AO Conflict of Interest, and Related Provisions, Section G, Federal Register (Feb. 15, 2024), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/02/15/2024-02137/medicare-program-strengthening-oversight-of-accrediting-organizations-aos-and-preventing-ao-conflict#footnote-4-p12000.
[19] Press Release, Grassley, Stark hold officials accountable for improper approval of specialty hospital in West Texas, U.S. Comm. on Finance (Mar. 6, 2007), https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/grassley-stark-hold-officials-accountable-for-improper-approval-of-specialty-hospital-in-west-texas; Letter from Senator Charles E. Grassley to Mr. Mark Chassin, The Joint Commission (Apr. 14, 2017), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017-04-14%20CEG%20to%20Joint%20Commission%20(UHS).pdf; Stephanie Armour, Hospital Watchdog Gives Seal of Approval, Even After Problems Emerge, The Wall Street Journal (Sep. 8, 2017), https://www.wsj.com/articles/watchdog-awards-hospitals-seal-of-approval-even-after-problems-emerge-1504889146; Surveys 2DCB11/March 5, 2024, S6IC11/June 13, 2024, WKNI11/July 12, 2024, 7VB511/April 11, 2024, DICQ11/July 12, 2024, ZF7G11/June 4, 2024, and D0SD11/July 11, 2024, 2567 data file, supra note 4; Search for Mesa Springs, Crestwyn Behavioral Health, Del Amo Hospital, and Destiny Springs Healthcare on The Joint Commission’s “Find Accredited Organizations” webpage, The Joint Commission (accessed Feb. 11, 2025), https://www.jointcommission.org/who-we-are/who-we-work-with/find-accredited-organizations/#q=mesa%20springs&numberOfResults=25, https://www.jointcommission.org/who-we-are/who-we-work-with/find-accredited-organizations/#q=Crestwyn%20Behavioral%20Health%20&numberOfResults=25, https://www.jointcommission.org/who-we-are/who-we-work-with/find-accredited-organizations/#q=Del%20Amo%20Hospital&numberOfResults=25, https://www.jointcommission.org/who-we-are/who-we-work-with/find-accredited-organizations/#q=Destiny%20Springs%20Healthcare&numberOfResults=25, (For example, Mesa Springs in Texas is currently shown as having a gold seal on The Joint Commission website, while the hospital had 14 condition-level deficiencies across three surveys listed in the CMS 2567 Statement of Deficiencies data file for the first three quarters of 2024. Crestwyn Behavioral Health in Tennessee with four condition-level citations in the first three quarters of 2024, Del Amo Hospital in California with three condition-level citations, and Destiny Springs Healthcare in Arizona with three condition-level citations are also currently shown as having Joint Commission accreditation.).
[20] 2567 data file, supra note 4.
[21] Joe Ulery, Whistleblower exposes dangers at Indiana facility, Public News Service (Dec. 18, 2024), https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-12-18/mental-health/whistleblower-exposes-dangers-at-indiana-facility/a94122-1.
[22] Letter from the Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid to Universal Health Services regarding notification of possible termination from the Medicare program (Mar. 27, 2023), https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Brynn-Marr-Hospital-CCN-344016-90-day-3-27-2023.signed-002-3.pdf; Taylor Knopf, NC psych hospital failed to provide ‘safe and therapeutic’ environment, feds say, NC Health News (May 10, 2023), https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2023/05/10/nc-psych-hospital-failed-to-provide-safe-and-therapeutic-environment-feds-say/.
[23] Peter Herman, Psychiatric health aide in D.C. charged with sexual abuse of a patient, The Washington Post (Dec. 21, 2023), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/21/sexual-assault-dc-psychiatric/.
[24] Heidi Kirk, WRAL Investigates: Holly Hill violated standards of care that could’ve prevented patient escapes, inspection says, WRAL News (July 15, 2024), available at https://www.wral.com/story/wral-investigates-holly-hill-violated-standards-of-care-that-could-ve-prevented-patient-escapes-inspection-says/21526230/.
[25] Nick Welsh, Santa Barbara County’s Psych-Bed Pinch Tightens as Key Mental-Health Safety Valve Shuts Down, Santa Barbara Independent (Nov. 1, 2023), https://www.independent.com/2023/11/01/santa-barbara-countys-psych-bed-pinch-tightens-as-key-mental-health-safety-valve-shuts-down/.
[26] Adam Walser, Florida grandmother outraged after 13-year-old dies by suicide inside mental hospital, ABC Action News (July 11, 2023), https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/lutz-grandmother-outraged-after-13-year-old-commits-suicide-inside-mental-hospital.
[27] “Inpatient psychiatric facility quality measure data – by facility” data set, Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Oct. 30, 2024), https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/q9vs-r7wp; “Inpatient psychiatric facility quality measure data – national” data set, Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Oct. 30, 2024), https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/s5xg-sys6.
[28] Id.
[29] Fact sheet, supra note 17.
[30] Mental health and substance use treatment locator website, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin. (accessed Feb. 11, 2025), https://findtreatment.gov/locator.
[31] National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin. (accessed Feb. 11, 2025), https://info.nsumhss.samhsa.gov/.
