NEW YORK, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Class Action AttorneyJuan MonteverdewithMonteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) related to its sale to Union Pacific Corporation for 1.0 Union common stock and $88.82 in cash for each share of Norfolk. Is it a fair deal?
NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
Do you file class actions and go to Court?
When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC
Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.
Contact: Juan Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341
Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Class Action AttorneyJuan MonteverdewithMonteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) related to its merger with Pinnacle Financial Partner. Upon the terms of the proposed transaction, the shares of Synovus and Pinnacle shareholders will be converted into shares of a new Pinnacle parent company based on a fixed exchange ratio of 0.5237 Synovus shares per Pinnacle share. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Synovus shareholders will own approximately 48.5% of the combined company. Is it a fair deal?
NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
Do you file class actions and go to Court?
When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC
Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.
Contact: Juan Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341
Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John James (Michigan 10th District)
MICHIGAN — Congressman John James today authored a letter calling on Canadian leaders to take urgent and decisive action to contain the growing wildfire crisis that is poisoning the air and threatening the health of millions across Michigan and the Midwest.
The 2023 wildfire season in Canada was catastrophic, releasing an unprecedented 647 teragrams of carbon — the equivalent of running over 500 million cars for a full year. This toxic smoke has blanketed cities from Detroit to Minneapolis, contributing to increased hospitalizations, respiratory illnesses, and premature deaths, especially among vulnerable populations such as children with asthma, dialysis patients, and seniors.
For three years running, nearly 70 million acres have burned across Canada, the largest cumulative loss on record, turning major U.S. cities into some of the most polluted urban areas in the world.
Despite the clear public health crisis, Canadian officials have shown alarming disregard. Manitoba’s Premier Wab Kinew recently dismissed the health risks to Americans as “trivial” adding that Americans “enjoying their summers” is not a priority for Manitoba. This lack of urgency undermines decades of cross-border cooperation and damages the U.S.—Canada relationship.
“Michigan families deserve clean air and respect. Canada’s failure to control these wildfires is not just an environmental issue, it’s a public health emergency that threatens our communities,” said Congressman James. “Our friendship with Canada is strong, but friendship requires respect. And respect means protecting each other’s health, not dismissing it.”
With over 69 million residents across the Midwest under air quality alerts, and American firefighting teams deployed to help contain Canadian fires, the status quo is no longer acceptable. Congressmen James is urging Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Forest Service to reform outdated forest management policies and invest in modern technologies to prevent future disasters.
Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the Boeing Company’s President and CEO Robert Ortberg urging him to take further action following reports of a chemical leak at a Boeing facility in north St. Louis.
“I write concerning new reports that a Boeing facility in north St. Louis leaked up to a thousand gallons of toxic nitric acid into Coldwater Creek. As you know, nitric acid is a caustic industrial agent that can cause burns and respiratory problems, and in high enough concentrations, death. You must continue to work to remedy this latest spill and ensure it never happens again,” Senator Hawley said.
And this is not the first time Boeing has polluted Coldwater Creek with toxic waste. In June 2023, a Boeing industrial wastewater treatment plant released high levels of hexavalent chromium—a carcinogen—into the creek.
Residents in this region have also suffered from nuclear contamination in the creek bed due to Manhattan Project-related activities. Senator Hawley fought for years to secure financial compensation for the victims of this radiation exposure provided through the passage of his RECA Act.
Senator Hawley continues to fight to protect the residents of this region and is calling on Boeing to answer the following questions by August 15, 2025:
Have Missourians been harmed by the July 25, 2025 toxic spill into Coldwater Creek?
If so, what actions have you taken or will you take to remedy such harms?
What actions have you taken or will you take to ensure that similar leakages of toxic chemicals do not occur in the future?
Read the full letter here or below.
July 31, 2025
Robert K. Ortberg President & CEO The Boeing Company
Jeff Shockey EVP of Government Operations, Global Public Policy, & Corporate Strategy The Boeing Company
Mr. Ortberg:
I write concerning new reports that a Boeing facility in north St. Louis leaked up to a thousand gallons of toxic nitric acid into Coldwater Creek. As you know, nitric acid is a caustic industrial agent that can cause burns and respiratory problems, and in high enough concentrations, death. You must continue to work to remedy this latest spill and ensure it never happens again.
The spill threatens the lives and health of residents in my state. And this is not the first time. In June 2023, a Boeing industrial wastewater treatment plant released high levels of hexavalent chromium—a carcinogen—into Coldwater Creek. As you may know, residents of this region have also suffered for years from the presence of nuclear contamination in the creek bed due to Manhattan Project-related activities. That remediation is still ongoing. It is disappointing that corporate neglect is following government neglect when it comes to the safety of my constituents who live near Coldwater Creek.
Your company has stated that, “the situation was safely resolved.” Missourians deserve to know more. Since this is the second time your company has possibly endangered residents, you must take remedial actions. Please answer the following questions by August 15, 2025:
Have Missourians been harmed by the July 25, 2025 toxic spill into Coldwater Creek?
If so, what actions have you taken or will you take to remedy such harms?
What actions have you taken or will you take to ensure that similar leakages of toxic chemicals do not occur in the future?Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joaquin Castro (20th District of Texas)
July 31, 2025
Bicameral lawmakers warn Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) and UG Solutions (UG) that they have put American veterans at risk of criminal and civil liability for de facto “military operations” in Gaza
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro(TX-20) and Sara Jacobs (CA-51) joined U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in leading an effort to demand answers from U.S.-based security companies, Safe Reach Solutions, LLC (SRS) and UG Solutions, LLC (UG) about their activities in Gaza, which according to press reports, include using lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians at aid distribution sites.
The lawmakers warned SRS and UG that the companies and personnel—many of them American military veterans hired as private security contractors—may be subject to future criminal and civil liability under U.S. laws prohibiting torture, war crimes, and forced deportation. The lawmakers also requested the preservation of all documents and communication related to the security companies’ contracts and work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
“We were horrified by reporting this week on your companies’ deadly security operations in Gaza. Your operations have exposed hundreds of brave American veterans to future criminal and civil liability under U.S. laws criminalizing war crimes, torture, and forced deportation,” wrote the lawmakers. “Reports and firsthand witnesses have indicated to us that your personnel—American veterans hired as private security contractors—were brought into Israel on tourist visas inappropriate for the intended purpose of their travel, sent to Gaza armed for combat, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians. We have also learned that under Israeli orders, your personnel are conducting crowd control at food distribution sites by firing live rounds over the heads of civilians and using stun grenades and pepper spray—all in an active military zone under direct supervision by Israeli military officers.”
The lawmakers continued: “As a result, we are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel—or investors—of the immense legal risks they face for conducting what amounts to military operations on behalf of the Israeli government on land outside of the State of Israel.”
Read and download the letterhereand below:
Mr. Govoni, Mr. Reilly,
We were horrified by reporting this week on your companies’ deadly security operations in Gaza. Your operations have exposed hundreds of brave American veterans to future criminal and civil liability under U.S. laws criminalizing war crimes, torture, and forced deportation.
Reports and firsthand witnesses have indicated to us that your personnel —American veterans hired as private security contractors—were brought into Israel on tourist visas inappropriate for the intended purpose of their travel, sent to Gaza armed for combat, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians. We have also learned that under Israeli orders, your personnel are conducting crowd control at food distribution sites by firing live rounds over the heads of civilians and using stun grenades and pepper spray—all in an active military zone under direct supervision by Israeli military officers.
As a result, we are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel —or investors—of the immense legal risks they face for conducting what amounts to military operations on behalf of the Israeli government on land outside of the State of Israel.
Even before the latest revelations, press had reported on Israeli military actions that include the wanton destruction of civilian homes, the use of human shields, rules of engagement resulting in disproportionate civilian casualties, and blockage of medicine and food. More than 50,000 children have already been killed or injured in Gaza, and as we write, infant boys and girls are starving to death. Prime Minister Netanyahu, in response to a question concerning remaining legitimate targets to strike, is reported to have said “I don’t care about the targets” and ordered military officials to “destroy the homes, bomb everything in Gaza. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is reported to have said, “Gaza will be totally destroyed… They will be totally despairing… and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.” As a result of these actions, U.S. allies have already cut off the supply of offensive weapons to Israel.
We, therefore, ask that you urgently respond to the following questions:
What are the Rules of Engagement currently in effect for your staff in Gaza and what is the nature of their command-and-control relationship with Israeli military officers and government officials?
Did you inform your investors and staff prior to their departure from the United States that they are subject to U.S. criminal law prohibiting torture, war crimes, and forced deportation, including under the War Crimes Act? And further, that they could be held legally responsible for crimes by Israeli forces when those actions were enabled or facilitated by your operations?
Did you inform prospective staff and investors that they could face civil suits upon return to the United States under the Torture Prevention Act by Americans and the families of Americans harmed in Gaza?
Did you inform your staff that the International Criminal Court and third states may exercise jurisdiction over war crimes in Gaza and that they could consider your American staff as combatants for purposes of liability, potentially limiting future freedom of travel to other countries?
How is your organization documenting activities in Gaza and what happens to that data? We request that you preserve all documents and communications related to your contracts and work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
We respectfully request a response withing two weeks.
Sincerely,
CC:
Charles J. Africano (“Chuck”/“Joe”), Safe Reach Solutions (SRS)
Kevin Sullivan, UG Solutions
Jennifer C, UG Solutions
Lou Rassey, Chief Executive Officer, McNally Capital, Chicago IL
Ward McNally, Founder, Co-CEO, and Managing Partner, McNally Capital, Chicago IL
Brian Grogan, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer, McNally Capital, Chicago IL
Ravi Shah, Partner, McNally Capital, Chicago IL
Joel Revill, Chief Executive Officer, Two Ocean Trust, Jackson Hole WY
Albert Forkner, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Two Ocean Trust, Jackson Hole WY
Dustin Sventy, Chief Investment Officer, Two Ocean Trust, Jackson Hole WY
H.R 1663 would establish a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill also would reduce the amount of VA pensions the department pays to certain veterans and survivors who reside in nursing homes. Implementing the bill would increase spending subject to appropriation by $12 million and reduce direct spending by $8 million over the 2025-2035 period, CBO estimates. The budgetary effects of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 550 (health) and 700 (veterans benefits and services).
Spending Subject to Appropriation
Under the bill, the Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer would be responsible for coordinating efforts to protect veterans from frauds and scams. The officer would promote resources for preventing frauds and scams, provide training to department employees, and coordinate with similar efforts of other federal agencies. Using information from VA, CBO estimates the department would require four full-time equivalent employees (the new officer and three support staff) to satisfy the bill’s requirements. Compensation, benefits, and operating expenses would total $1 million in 2026, CBO estimates. Including adjustments for inflation, CBO estimates those costs would total $12 million over the 2025-2035 period. Such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Table 1.
Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1663
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2025-2030
2025-2035
Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Estimated Authorization
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
5
12
Estimated Outlays
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
5
12
Decreases (-) in Direct Spending
Estimated Budget Authority
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-8
0
0
0
0
-8
Estimated Outlays
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-8
0
0
0
0
-8
Direct Spending
Under current law, VA reduces pension payments to veterans and survivors who reside in Medicaid nursing homes to $90 per month. That required reduction expires November 30, 2031. Section 3 of H.R. 1663 would extend that reduction for 61 days, through January 30, 2032. CBO estimates that extending that requirement would reduce VA benefits by $10 million per month. (Those benefits are paid from mandatory appropriations and are therefore considered direct spending.) As a result of that reduction in beneficiaries’ income, Medicaid would pay more of the cost of their care, increasing spending for that program by $6 million per month. Thus, enacting section 3 would reduce net direct spending by $8 million over the 2025-2035 period.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Logan Smith. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services
FY 2026 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Final Rule — CMS-1833-F
On July 31, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that updates Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient and long-term care hospitals under the Medicare hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) final rule for fiscal year (FY) 2026. CMS is publishing this final rule in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services
FY 2026 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System Final Rule (CMS-1827-F)
On July 31, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule for updates to Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities under the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2026. CMS is publishing this final rule in accordance with the statutory requirements to update Medicare payment policies and rates for SNFs on an annual basis. This fact sheet outlines the major provisions of the final rule.
DENVER, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — authID® (Nasdaq: AUID) (“authID”), a leading provider of biometric identity verification and authentication solutions, today announced the Company will report financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, on Thursday, August 14, 2025, after the market close. Following issuance of the earnings release, authID Chief Executive Officer Rhon Daguro and Chief Financial Officer Ed Sellitto will host a webcast at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update.
To participate on the live conference call, please access this registration link and you will be provided with dial-in details. To avoid delays, participants are encouraged to dial into the conference call 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. A live webcast of the call will also be available here and on the “Events & Presentations” page of the Company’s website at investors.authid.ai. Only participants on the live conference call will be able to ask questions.
About authID Inc. authID (Nasdaq: AUID) ensures enterprises “Know Who’s Behind the Device™” for every customer or employee login and transaction through its easy-to-integrate, patented biometric identity platform. authID powers biometric identity proofing in 700ms, biometric authentication in 25ms, and account recovery with a fast, accurate, user-friendly experience. With our ground-breaking PrivacyKey solution, authID provides a 1-to-1-billion false match rate, while storing no biometric data. authID stops fraud at onboarding, blocks deepfakes, prevents account takeover, and eliminates password risks and costs, through the fastest, most frictionless, and most accurate user identity experience demanded by today’s digital ecosystem.
NEW YORK, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Class Action AttorneyJuan MonteverdewithMonteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating Chart Industries, Inc. (NYSE:GTLS) related to its sale to Baker Hughes Co. for $210.00 per share in cash. Is it a fair deal?
NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
Do you file class actions and go to Court?
When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC
Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.
Contact: Juan Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341
Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
AUSTIN, Texas, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ambiq Micro, Inc. (“Ambiq”), a technology leader in ultra-low-power semiconductor solutions for edge AI, today announced the closing of its upsized initial public offering of 4,600,000 shares of its common stock, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 600,000 additional shares, at a public offering price of $24.00 per share. The gross proceeds to Ambiq from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Ambiq, were $110.4 million. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “AMBQ” on July 30, 2025.
BofA Securities and UBS Investment Bank acted as joint lead book-running managers for the offering. Needham & Company and Stifel acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.
A registration statement relating to the offering of securities was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 29, 2025. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting: BofA Securities, NC1-022-02-25, 201 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by email at dg.prospectus_requests@bofa.com or UBS Securities LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, by telephone at (888) 827-7275 or by emailing ol-prospectus-request@ubs.com.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
About Ambiq
Ambiq’s mission is to enable intelligence (artificial intelligence (AI) and beyond) everywhere by delivering the lowest power semiconductor solutions. Ambiq enables its customers to deliver AI compute at the edge where power consumption challenges are the most severe. Ambiq’s technology innovations, built on the patented and proprietary subthreshold power optimized technology (SPOT®), fundamentally deliver a multi-fold improvement in power consumption over traditional semiconductor designs. Ambiq has powered over 270 million devices to date.
Class Action AttorneyJuan MonteverdewithMonteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating DURECT Corporation (NASDAQ:DRRX) related to its sale to Bausch Health Companies Inc. for $1.75 per share in cash. Is it a fair deal?
NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
Do you file class actions and go to Court?
When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC
Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.
Contact: Juan Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341
Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
NEW YORK, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Class Action AttorneyJuan MonteverdewithMonteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CYBR) related to its sale to Palo Alto Networks for $45.00 in cash and 2.2005 shares of Palo Alto common stock for each CyberArk share. Is it a fair deal?
NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
Do you file class actions and go to Court?
When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC
Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.
Contact: Juan Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341
Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Class Action AttorneyJuan MonteverdewithMonteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) related to its merger with Synovus Financial Corp. Upon the terms of the proposed transaction, the shares of Synovus and Pinnacle shareholders will be converted into shares of a new Pinnacle parent company based on a fixed exchange ratio of 0.5237 Synovus shares per Pinnacle share. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Pinnacle shareholders will own approximately 51.5% of the combined company. Is it a fair deal?
NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
Do you file class actions and go to Court?
When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC
Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.
Contact: Juan Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740 New York, NY 10118 United States of America jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com Tel: (212) 971-1341
Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Duncan Caillard, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology
Jason Momoa’s historical epic Chief of War, launching August 1 on Apple TV+, is a triumph of Hawaiians telling their own stories – despite the fact their film and TV production industry now struggles to be viable.
The series stars Momoa (Aquaman, Game of Thrones) as Kaʻaina, an ali’i (chief) who fights for – and later rises against – King Kamehameha I during the bloody reunification of Hawaii.
Already receiving advance praise, the nine-episode first season co-stars New Zealand actors Temeura Morrison, Cliff Curtis and Luciane Buchanan, alongside Hawaiian actors Kaina Makua, Brandon Finn and Moses Goods.
A passion project for Momoa, the Hawaiian star co-created the series with writer Thomas Pa’a Sibbett after years in development. With a reported budget of US$340 million, it is one of the most expensive television series ever produced.
It is also a milestone in Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) representation onscreen. Controversially, however, the production only spent a month in Hawaiʻi, and was mostly shot in New Zealand with non-Hawaiian crews.
Momoa has even expressed an interest in New Zealand citizenship, but the choice of location is more a reflection of the troubled state of the film industry in Hawaiʻi. On the other hand, it is a measure of the success of the New Zealand screen industry, with potential lessons for other countries in the Pacific.
Ea o Moʻolelo – story sovereignty
Set at the turn of the 19th century, Chief of War tells the moʻolelo (story, history) of King Kamehameha I’s conquest of the archipelago.
Hawaiʻi was historically governed by aliʻi nui (high chiefs), and each island was ruled independently. Motivated by the threat of European colonisation and empowered by Western weaponry, Kamehameha established the Hawaiian Kingdom, culminating in full unification in 1810.
The series is an important example of what authors Dean Hamer and Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu have called “Ea o Moʻolelo”, or story sovereignty, which emphasises Indigenous peoples’ right to control their own narrative by respecting the “the inalienable right of a story to its own unique contents, style and purpose”.
Chief of War is also the biggest Hawaiian television series ever produced. Although Hawaiʻi remains a popular setting onscreen, these productions have rarely involved Hawaiians in key decision-making roles.
Sea of troubles
The series hits screens at a time of major disruption in Hollywood, with streaming services upending established business models.
“Linear” network television faces declining viewership and advertising revenue. Movie studios struggle to draw audiences to theatres. The consequences for workers in the the industry have been severe, as the 2023 writers strike showed.
Those changes have had a catastrophic impact on the Hawaiʻi film industry, too.
Long a popular location – Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980, 2010-2020), Magnum P.I. (1980-1988, 2018-2024) and Lost (2004-2010) were all shot on location in Hawaiʻi – it is an expensive place to film.
Actors, crew and production equipment often have to be flown in from the continental United States, and producers compete with tourism for costly accommodation.
Kaina Makua as King Kamehameha and New Zealand actor Luciane Buchanan as Ka’ahumanu in Chief of War. Apple TV+
An industry in transition
These are not uncommon problems in distant locations, and many governments try to attract screen productions through tax incentives and rebates on portions of the production costs.
New Zealand, for example, offers a 20-25% rebate for international productions and 40% for local productions. Hawaiʻi offers a 22-27% rebate.
But this is less than other US states offer, such as Georgia (30%), Louisiana (40%) and New Mexico (40%). Hawaiʻi also has an annual cap of US$50 million on rebates.
To make things even harder, Hawaiʻi offers only limited support for Indigenous filmmakers. Governments in Australia and New Zealand provide targeted funding and support for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori filmmakers.
By contrast, the Hawaiʻi Film Commission doesn’t provide direct grants to local filmmakers or producers (Indigenous or otherwise). Small amounts of government funding have been administered through the Public Broadcasting Service, but this is now in jeopardy after US President Donald Trump recently cut federal funding.
The Hawaiʻi screen industry faces a perfect storm. For the first time since 2004, film and TV production has ground to a halt. Many workers now doubt the long-term sustainability of their careers.
Lessons from Aotearoa NZ
While there are lessons Hawaiʻi legislators and industry leaders could learn from New Zealand’s example, there should also be a measure of caution.
The Hawaiʻi tax credit system is out of date. But despite industry lobbying, legislation to update it failed to reach the floor of the legislature earlier this year. New tax settings would help make local production viable again.
Secondly, decades of investment in Māori cinema have seen it become diverse, engaging and creatively accomplished. Hawaiʻi could benefit from greater direct investment in Hawaiian storytelling, respecting its cultural value even if it doesn’t turn a commercial profit.
On the other hand, New Zealand has a favourable currency exchange rate with the US which can’t be replicated in Hawaiʻi. And New Zealand film production workers have seen their rights to unionise watered down compared to their American peers.
But if Hawaiʻi can get its settings right, a possible second season of Chief of War may yet be filmed there, which could mark a genuine rejuvenation of its own film industry.
Duncan Caillard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
As the cool nights continue, it’s the perfect time to cozy up with a new batch of captivating films and series.
This month’s streaming highlights bring a little bit of everything, from gripping true crime, to thought-provoking political drama, and a nostalgic music documentary on the life and times of piano man Billy Joel.
So grab a blanket (and maybe a snack or two). Your next binge-watch awaits.
One Night in Idaho: The College Murders
Prime Video
I remember seeing the gruesome 2022 murder of four college students in Moscow, Idaho, splashed all over the news in Australia. The world seemed momentarily gripped by the brutality of the killings, which happened in off-campus housing, while two other roommates slept downstairs.
The ensuing investigation was given significantly less attention, though. So when Prime Video dropped this four-episode limited series, well, that was my weekend sorted.
The docuseries features exclusive interviews with the friends and families of the victims, so it doesn’t feel gratuitous. It respectfully recounts the tragedy and explores its continued impact, while honouring the victims. It also builds the kind of tension and disquiet that is so beloved in the true crime genre, but not in a way that makes you feel gross watching it.
Notably, legal proceedings for the case were still underway when One Night in Idaho was released. And the series made it clear there was more to the story which couldn’t be shared with, or by, the producers.
However, the trial has since concluded, with more information now available for anyone wanting to dive deeper into the case. This makes the series an absorbing watch.
– Alexa Scarlata
The Night of the Hunter
Various platforms
In 1955, director Charles Laughton crafted The Night of the Hunter: one of the darkest, strangest fairy tales ever to come out of Hollywood.
Shortly before Ben Harper is hanged for robbing a bank and killing two men, he hides the $10,000 loot in the toy doll of his young daughter Pearl. Only Pearl and her brother John know the secret – until the deranged serial killer-priest Harry Powell hears about the money and sets out to recover it.
Harry marries Willa, Harper’s widow, and then, after killing her, pursues John and Pearl relentlessly across West Virginia.
Robert Mitchum’s depiction of pure evil is one of cinema’s most vivid creations, with LOVE and HATE tattooed on the fingers of each hand.
The film did not align with the mainstream tastes of the era. Audiences and reviewers didn’t know what to make of this abnormal mix of fairy tale logic, nightmarish imagery and biblical allegory.
Successive generations of critics and filmmakers have caught on to its brilliance. Critic Roger Ebert said it was “one of the greatest of all American films”. In 2008, French film magazine Cahiers du cinémavoted it as the second-best film of all time, behind only Citizen Kane (1941).
The Night of the Hunter remains unsettlingly modern, 70 years on.
The highest point in Denmark, Mollehoj, is 171 metres above sea level, so it is plausible to imagine the whole country being overrun by water due to rising sea levels, leading to mass evacuation. This is the basic premise of the Danish series Families Like Ours.
The cleverness of this premise is that it turns comfortable middle-class Danes into refugees, facing hostility, poverty and violence as they seek to resettle. Given Denmark’s hard line on refugees, this makes the series politically powerful, equally so for us in Australia.
The central figure is a young woman, Laura (Amaryllis August), who creates disaster for her family through what she believes is an act of huge empathy. The same is true of Henrik (Magnus Millang), who shoots an innocent man in what he believes is an act of self-defence.
Families Like Ours is not a comfortable series to watch, but it manages to raise central issues of our time, without ever seeming didactic or preachy. It succeeds in combining the personal and the political in a six-part show that is powerful – and leaves enough loose ends for a potential second season.
– Dennis Altman
The Man from Hong Kong
Various platforms
A cinematic firecracker of a film exploded onto international screens 50 years ago, blending martial arts mayhem, Bond-esque set pieces, casual racism – and a distinctly Australian swagger.
From its audacious visual style; to its complex, life-threatening stunts; to its pioneering status as an international co-production, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s The Man from Hong Kong has solidified its place as a cult classic.
A Sydney-based crime lord’s activities come under the scrutiny of a determined Hong Kong detective, Inspector Fang Sing Leng. A fiery East-meets-West martial arts showdown explodes across the Australian landscape, pushing both sides to their limits.
The movie is a playful pastiche that confidently combines martial arts action, police procedurals, spy thrillers, and Westerns, all filtered through a distinctly Australian “crash-zoom” lens.
The film was an influence to Quentin Tarantino and paved the way for films such as Mad Max (1979), particularly in what Trenchard-Smith and his partner in film, stunt legend Grant Page, might call its “cunning stunts”.
The elaborate car chases and explosive stunt setups in The Man from Hong Kong served as prototypes for iconic sequences that would inspire the Mad Max films, among others, a testament to a bygone era of practical effects and thrill seeking audacity.
The Man from Hong Kong remains an exhilarating piece of pure cinema, despite its relatively small budget. It’s an exemplar (and occasional cautionary tale) for filmmakers in terms of international co-production, its cunning stunts, and genre blending.
Based on the book series by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Dept Q is a gripping television adaptation for fans of Nordic noir and British crime drama.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) has returned to work after a shooting which left him physically and psychologically wounded, his colleague partially paralysed, and another colleague dead.
With the dregs of a budget assigned to cold cases, and a team of misfit officers, Morck sets out to solve the four-year-old case of missing Crown prosecutor, Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie).
We follow Merritt’s story across various stages of her life. We see her as a teenager in the lead-up to a devastating crime that left her brother with a traumatic brain injury, as well as later in life, when she loses a major case involving a wealthy man on trial for his wife’s death.
Shortly after the devastating verdict, Merritt went missing on a ferry ride to her childhood home, on the fictionalised island of Mhòr. Returning to the present, we see she has been held captive inside a hyperbaric chamber for the past four years.
The pressure under which Merritt is kept makes Morck’s investigation high stakes from the start, while the movement between past and present highlights the impacts of past traumatic events on both characters.
Dept Q is a fast-paced, breathless thriller which will leave viewers craving its rumoured second season.
– Jessica Gildersleeve
Billy Joel: And So It Goes
HBO Max
Produced by Tom Hanks, this two-part documentary about singer/songwriter Billy Joel covers more than five decades of music. Created very much from Joel’s perspective, who is also the main narrator, the archival content is fascinating, and the music difficult to deny.
Discussion of Joel’s early suicide attempts are a shocking and terrible reminder of how different things might have been. From here, the role of the women in his life – his wives, daughters, and mother (“his champion”) – becomes vital. Beyond the headlines (particularly with his second wife Christie Brinkley), are partners who were muses, business supporters and emotional support pillars – some of whom gave Joel ultimatums when the time came to battle his alcohol addiction.
Brinkley, as well as Joel’s first wife, Elizabeth Weber, are particularly moving interviewees. They would wait at home, or stand nervously backstage as Joel “went to work” to earn, repair and rebuild against the odds. No spoilers, but let’s just say Joel ended up in trouble more than once.
On the other hand, the men in Joel’s life are often distant: Jewish grandparents who escaped Nazi Germany; a father who left when Joel was small; a half-brother discovered later in life. These losses are never really healed.
Billy Joel: And So It Goes is a five-hour epic, a story of survival and ultimately, of peace. It is, of course, also a reminder of an incredible catalogue of music – joyful, ordinary and wonderful – and the extraordinary life behind it.
– Liz Giuffre
If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14
Gardening Australia, season 36
ABC iView
Since it first aired in 1990, Gardening Australia has offered tips and inspiration from every state and territory on a weekly basis. A perennial favourite, the show seems to possess perpetual appeal for world-weary viewers open to slowing down by growing plants.
The no-nonsense host Peter Cundall helmed the series until 2008 (Cundall died in 2021 at the age of 94). The honour of “King of Compost” now rests with the gregarious Costa Georgiadis, and a wider cast of presenters that has expanded to be more diverse and engaging. One stalwart from the start, Jane Edmanson, is still flourishing in season 36: her episode 4 segment titled “Fronds with Benefits” certainly caught my eye.
Topics covered this season range from small-space innovation and passion projects, to Indigenous knowledge and bush foods, through to permaculture and climate change. Episodes 6 and 20 – specials on native plants and NAIDOC Week, respectively – are both worth a watch.
While the series can distance renters, and might not be edgy enough for younger audiences, it has managed to stake out ground in the digital realm – with a blooming online presence for budding green thumbs.
One of the longest-running Australian shows still on air, it doesn’t look as though Gardening Australia will be pulling up roots anytime soon.
– Phoebe Hart
The Buccaneers, season two
Apple TV
Loosen your corsets, The Buccaneers is back for a second season of feminist sisterhood and fabulous gowns.
Adapted from Edith Wharton’s unfinished final novel, the series follows a group of outspoken young American women navigating the marriage market in 1870s Victorian England. Gleefully anachronistic with feisty girl power speeches and a contemporary pop music soundtrack, The Buccaneers is equal parts Bridgerton and Gossip Girl (complete with a character played by Leighton Meester).
Season two picks up where the first left off, with Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) and Guy (Matthew Broome) fleeing the country to escape Jinny’s violent husband Lord James Seadown (Barney Fishwick).
Meanwhile, sister Nan (Kristine Froseth) is busy back home leveraging her position as Duchess of Tintagel to help facilitate Jinny’s return – a campaign that includes wearing a showstopping red gown to a black and white ball. In keeping with the series’ M.O., this might be narrative nonsense, but it looks exquisite.
While trysts and love triangles continue to provide escapist entertainment, Jinny’s abusive marriage dominates later episodes. If season one sought to expose the isolation and entrapment Jinny endured in her marriage, season two foregrounds her resistance in the face of it, intent on highlighting how perpetrators of violence manipulate legal and medical systems to tighten the noose around victims’ necks.
Season two’s veering between frothy excess and melodrama arguably results in some tonal patchiness. Nonetheless, it should be commended for its careful treatment of the corrosive impacts and dangers of coercive control. This – more than the downloadable soundtrack and dazzling costumes – makes it good viewing.
– Rachel Williamson
Dangerous Animals
Prime Video
Dangerous Animals is perhaps the most original and entertaining shark horror film we have seen since Jaws – incorporating traditional elements of the shark thriller genre, while challenging them at the same time.
The film starts with the primal fear of being eaten alive by monstrous sharks, with gruesome shock-thrill scenes of tourists being torn apart in a blood red ocean.
But later, the narrative reminds us it is the boat captain, not the great white, who is the real sadistic killer. Predictably, we see a young bikini-clad woman who gets horribly dismembered (just like the first unforgettable victim in Jaws).
However, it is also a fearless bikini-clad woman, Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) who turns the tables on the boat captain, outwits him, rescues her boyfriend and even makes friends with the shark.
Dangerous Animals includes some interesting subtext and commentary, such as when it compares women to fish – creatures hunted for sport – and when it highlights the inherent cruelty of fishing, and the hook that impales the prey.
The film delivers sophisticated special effects and gruesome eco-horror entertainment. It is a fun, self-aware and postmodern watch that will leave you thinking.
The Australian influence is delightfully evident in the irreverent humour. And for anyone who has been to the Gold Coast, there is much pleasure in seeing the film play out across its iconic locations.
This film will trigger your childhood fear of Jaws – but with a twist.
– Susan Hopkins
Shark Whisperer
Netflix
In Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer.
However the star of the documentary is not so much the shark, but the model and marine conservationist Ocean Ramsey (yes, that’s her real name).
The film centres on Ramsey’s self-growth journey, with the shark co-starring as a quasi-spiritual medium for finding meaning and purpose (not to mention celebrity status).
Whisperer and the Ocean Ramsey website tap into the collective fascination with dangerous sharks fuelled by popular culture. Many online images show Ramsey in a bikini or touching sharks – she’s small, and vulnerable in the face of great whites. As with forms of celebrity humanitarianism, what I have dubbed “sexy conservationism” leaves itself open to criticism about its methods – even if its intentions are good.
Globally at least 80 million sharks are killed every year. Thanks in part to the hashtag activism of Ocean Ramsey and her millions of fans and followers, Hawaii was the first state in the United States to outlaw shark fishing.
So, Ramsey may be right to argue her ends justify the means.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Late in the evening, the Antarctic sky flushes pink. The male leopard seal wakes and slips from the ice into the water. There, he’ll spend the night singing underwater amongst the floating ice floes.
For the next two months he sings every night. He will sing so loudly, the ice around him vibrates. Each song is a sequence of trills and hoots, performed in a particular pattern.
In a world first, we analysed leopard seal songs and found the predictability of their patterns was remarkably similar to the nursery rhymes humans sing.
We think this is a deliberate strategy. While leopard seals are solitary animals, the males need their call to carry clearly across vast stretches of icy ocean, to woo a mate.
Solitary leopard seals want their call to carry. Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Leopard seals are especially vocal during breeding season, which lasts from late October to early January. A female leopard seal sings for a few hours on the days she is in heat. But the males are the real showstoppers.
Each night, the males perform underwater solos for up to 13 hours. They dive into the sea, singing underwater for about two minutes before returning to the water’s surface to breathe and rest. This demanding routine continues for weeks.
Within a leopard seal population, the sounds themselves don’t vary much in pitch or duration. But the order and pattern in which the sounds are produced varies considerably between individuals.
Our research examined these individual songs. We compared them to that of other vocal animals, and to human music.
Listening to songs from the sea
The data used in the study was collected by one author of this article, Tracey Rogers, in the 1990s.
Rogers rode her quad bike across the Antarctic ice to the edge of the sea and marked 26 individual male seals with dye as they slept. Then she returned to record their songs at night.
The new research involved analysing these recordings, to better understand their structure and patterns. We did this by measuring the “entropy” of their sequences. Entropy measures how predictable or random a sequence is.
What stood out was the similarity between the predictability of human nursery rhymes and leopard seal calls. Nursery rhymes are simple, repetitive and easy to remember — and that’s what we heard in the leopard seal songs.
The range of “entropy” was similar to the 39 nursery rhymes from the Golden Song Book, a collection of words and sheet music for classic children’s songs, which was first published in 1945. It includes classics such:
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Frère Jacques
Ring Around a Rosy
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Humpty Dumpty
Three Blind Mice
Rockabye Baby.
For humans, the predictable structure of a nursery rhyme melody helps make it simple enough for a child to learn. For a leopard seal, this predictability may enable the individual to learn its song and keep singing it over multiple days. This consistency is important, because changes in pitch or frequency can create miscommunication.
Like sperm whales, leopard seals may also use song to set themselves apart from others and signal their fitness to reproduce. The greater structure in the songs helps ensure listeners accurately receive the message and identify who is singing.
Male leopard seals produce high-pitched cricket-like trills.
An evolving song?
Leopard seals sound very different to humans. But our research shows the complexity and structure of their songs is remarkably similar to our own nursery rhymes.
Communication through song is a very common animal behaviour. However, structure and predictability in mammal song has only been studied in a handful of species. We know very little about what drives it.
Understanding animal communication is important. It can improve conservation efforts and animal welfare, and provide important information about animal cognition and evolution.
Technology has advanced rapidly since our recordings were made in the 1990s. In future, we hope to revisit Antarctica to record and study further, to better understand if new call types have emerged, and if patterns of leopard seal song evolve from generation to generation.
Tracey Rogers receives funding from ARC.
Lucinda Chambers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlee Bower, Senior Research Fellow, Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney
Without even realising it, your world sometimes gradually gets smaller: less walking, fewer days in the office, cancelling on friends. Watching plans disintegrate on the chat as friends struggle to settle on a date or place for a catch-up.
You might start to feel a bit flat or disconnected. Subtle changes in habit and mood take hold. Could you be … lonely?
It’s not a label many of us identify with easily, especially if you know you’ve got friends, or are in a happy relationship.
But loneliness can happen to us all from time to time – and identifying it is the first step to fixing it.
So, what is loneliness?
Loneliness is the distress we feel when our relationships don’t meet our needs – in quality or quantity.
It’s not the same as being objectively alone (otherwise known as “social isolation”).
You can feel deeply lonely even while surrounded by friends, or totally content on your own.
Loneliness is subjective; many people don’t realise they’re lonely until the feeling becomes persistent.
What are some of the signs to look for?
You may feel a physicalcoldness, emptiness or hollowness (I’ve heard it described as feeling like you are missing an organ). Some research shows social pain is experienced similarly in the brain to physical pain.
In the past, being separated from your tribe meant danger and risk from predators, so our brains developed a way to push us back towards connection.
The pain of loneliness is designed to keep us connected and safe.
Why is it often hard to recognise loneliness?
Sadly, there’s still a lot of stigma around admitting loneliness, especially for men.
Many people resist identifying as lonely, or feel this marks them as a “loser”.
But this silence can make the problem worse.
When no one talks about it, it becomes harder to break the cycle of loneliness, and the stigma remains.
While passing loneliness is normal, chronic or persistent loneliness can hurt our health.
Research shows chronic loneliness is associated with:
depression
anxiety
weakened immunity
heart disease
earlier death.
Loneliness can also become self-reinforcing. When loneliness feels normal, it can start to shape how you see the world: you expect rejection, withdraw more and the cycle deepens.
The earlier you notice you’re lonely, the easier it is to break.
But I’m in a relationship, have loads of friends and a rewarding job
Yes, but you can still be lonely.
Most of us need different kinds of relationships to thrive. It’s not about how many people you know, but whether you feel connected and have a meaningful role in these relationships.
You may feel lonely even with strong friendships if you are lacking deeper connection, shared identity or a sense of community.
This doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful, or a bad friend.
It just means you need more or different kinds of connection.
OK, I’ve realised I am lonely. Now what?
Start by asking yourself: what kind of connection am I missing?
Is it one-to-one friendships? A partner? Casual social interactions? A shared purpose or community?
Then reflect on what’s helped you feel more connected in the past. For some, it’s joining a choir, a book club or a sports group. For others, it may be volunteering or just saying “yes” to small social moments, like chatting with your local barista or learning the name of the local butcher.
If you’re still struggling, a psychologist can help with tailored strategies for building connection.
The structural causes of loneliness
It’s also important to remember loneliness is often not because of personal failings or overall mental health.
We are also learning more about how climate change can disrupt social connection and worsen loneliness due to, for example, higher temperatures or bushfires.
Loneliness is normal, common, human and completely solvable.
Start by noticing it in yourself and reach out if you can.
Let’s start talking about it more, so others can feel less alone too.
Marlee Bower receives funding from the Henry Halloran Urban and Regional Research Initiative, the BHP Foundation, AHURI and NHMRC. She is affiliated with the University of Sydney Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use and Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank.
Imagine an area larger than the Australian Capital Territory, nearly twice the size of London and four times that of New York City covered in coca plantations.
Colombia produces an estimated 2,664 metric tonnes of cocaine annually. That is enough to fill 20 Boeing 747 cargo planes per year.
Not even during the darkest days of Pablo Escobar’s infamous empire did Colombia cultivate as much coca or produce as much cocaine as it does today.
In the past year alone, coca crops expanded by 10% and production capacity soared more than 50%.
So how did it come to this?
A worrying mix
Colombia did not arrive at this point overnight, nor by chance. A complex mix of radical and failed policy shifts, scientific innovation and global demand, among other factors, has shaped this trajectory.
For example, in 2015, Colombia’s Constitutional Court suspended aerial fumigation and banned the use of glyphosate. Despite the herbicide’s effectiveness in killing coca plants, the court cited concerns over its health risks and environmental impact.
Aerial spraying had allowed the government to reduce the risk that manual eradication brigades were exposed to over large areas.
In 2016, then-president Juan Manuel Santos introduced a scheme to substitute coca with non-illicit plants. Incentives were offered to farmers. However, it ended up encouraging many peasants who had never grown coca before to begin cultivating it, simply to qualify for the new subsidies.
It is no surprise that during Santos’ second term (2014–18), Colombia’s coca crops nearly doubled, from 96,000 hectares to more than 170,000.
More recently, in 2022, President Gustavo Petro announced his Paz Total (Total Peace) policy. This was designed to bring trafficking organisations – including Colombia’s second largest narco-terrorist group, the National Liberation Army (ELN) – to the negotiation table.
What happens in Colombia matters to Australia because criminal innovation is fuelling greater cocaine volumes and higher purity. This means more is flowing towards Australian shores.
Colombia’s coca production is being reshaped by enhanced cultivation techniques, more secure and autonomous smuggling methods, and an increasingly fragmented criminal landscape.
Production is now more efficient and profitable than ever. Growers are planting improved coca leaf varieties and achieve more harvest cycles per year with higher alkaloid yields per kilo.
Some networks are also transitioning from manned to unmanned operations.
Also, the growing presence and operational influence of Mexican cartels in Colombia has amplified the scope and scale of alliances between transnational organised crime groups across Europe, Asia and Oceania. International police investigations are even more complex.
Despite record-high seizure numbers and total volumes intercepted, Australia is still among the most attractive destination markets for drug trafficking organisations because of the high price users pay for the drugs.
Unless something radically changes in Colombia, Australia continues to face growing risks from maritime trafficking routes. There is also an increased threat of being used as a transit and money laundering hub in the global drug economy.
Some possible solutions
Even if conditions in Colombia were to change swiftly and drastically, supply-focused strategies alone are insufficient to mitigate the risks facing Australia.
After all, Colombia cannot simply fumigate its way out of this cocaine crisis, just as Australia cannot arrest its way out of it.
However, continued collaboration between the Australian Federal Police and the National Police of Colombia remains essential to keep drugs at bay.
The appointment of Colombia’s first police attaché to Australia will be a welcome and meaningful step forward. (While not yet formally announced, the Colombian embassy in Australia has informed me and several other experts the country is appointing the attaché.)
Both countries must deepen this relationship and collectively engage meaningfully and frequently to help solve the problem.
Cesar Alvarez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In 2024, the problem of deepfakes became a crisis in South Korea: more than 500 schools and universities were targeted in a coordinated wave of deepfake sexual abuse.
AI-generated sexualised images of students — mostly girls — were circulated in encrypted Telegram groups. The perpetrators were often classmates of the victims.
A new report from global child-protection group ECPAT with funding from the UK-based Churchill Fellowship takes a close look at what happened in Korea, so other countries can understand and avoid similar crises. Here’s what Australia can learn.
A glimpse into our future?
The events in South Korea were not just about deepfake technology. They were about how the technology was used.
Perpetrators created groups on the Telegram messaging platform to identify mutual acquaintances in local schools or universities. They then formed “Humiliation Rooms” to gather victims’ photos and personal information so they could create deepfake sexual images.
Rooms for more than 500 schools and universities have been identified, often with thousands of members. The rooms were filled with deepfake imagery, created from photos on social media and the school yearbook.
Bots within the app allowed users to generate AI nudes in seconds. One such bot had more than 220,000 subscribers. The bot gave users two deepfake images for free, with additional images available for the equivalent of one Australian dollar.
Telegram screenshots show an automated deepfake bot that charges users to produce images. Telegram
This wasn’t the dark web. It was happening on a mainstream platform, used by millions.
And it wasn’t just adult predators. More than 80% of those arrested were teenagers. Many were described as “normal boys” by their teachers — students who had never shown signs of violent behaviour before.
The abuse was gamified. Users earned rewards for inviting friends, sharing images, and escalating the harm. It was social, yet anonymous.
Could this happen in Australia?
We have already seen smaller, less organised deepfake incidents in Australian schools. However, the huge scale and ease of use of the Korean abuse system should be cause for alarm.
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation recorded 58,503 reports of pictures and videos of online child abuse in the 2023–24 financial year. This is an average of 160 reports per day (4,875 reports a month), a 45% increase from the previous year.
This increase is likely to continue. In response to these risks, the Australian government, through the eSafety Commissioner, is applying the existing Basic Online Safety Expectations to generative AI services. This creates a clear expectation these services must work proactively to prevent the creation of harmful deepfake content.
Internationally, the European Union’s AI Act has set a precedent for regulating high-risk AI applications, including those that affect children. In the United States, the proposed Take It Down Act aims to criminalise the publication of non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes.
These are a start, but a lot more work remains to be done to provide a safe online environment for young people. The Korean experience shows how easily things can escalate when these tools are used at scale, especially in peer-to-peer abuse among adolescents.
5 lessons from Korea
The South Korean crisis holds several lessons for Australia.
1. Prevention must start early. Korea’s crisis involved children as young as 12 (and even younger in some primary schools targeted). We need comprehensive digital ethics and consent education in primary schools, not just in high schools.
2. Law enforcement needs AI tools of their own to keep up. Just as offenders are using AI to scale up abuse, police must be equipped with AI to detect and investigate it. This may include facial recognition, content detection, and automated triage systems, all governed by strict privacy protocols.
3. Platforms must also be held accountable. Telegram only began cooperating with South Korean authorities after immense public pressure. Australia must enforce safety-by-design principles and ensure encrypted platforms are not safe havens for abuse.
4. Support services must be scaled up. Korea’s crisis caused trauma for entire communities. Victims often had to continuing going to school with perpetrators in the same classrooms. Australia must invest in trauma-informed support systems that can respond to both individual and collective harm.
5. We must listen to victims and survivors. Policy must be shaped by those who have experienced digital abuse. Their insights are crucial to designing effective and compassionate responses.
Joel Scanlan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Tbilisi, July 31 (Xinhua) — Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has officially nominated Kakha Kaladze as the mayor of Tbilisi in the upcoming local elections. The official presentation of the candidate took place in the capital’s Mtatsminda Park on Thursday.
“Running for the post of Tbilisi mayor for the third time in a row is a huge responsibility. For me, this is another great opportunity to serve our beautiful Tbilisi and the people of Tbilisi. I want to thank our political team for the trust they have shown me,” said K. Kaladze.
K. Kaladze has held this post since 2017. Since 2013, he has also been the Secretary General of the Georgian Dream party. From 2012 to 2017, he held the posts of Minister of Energy and Vice Prime Minister of Georgia. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Tbilisi, July 31 (Xinhua) — Georgia and Turkey have confirmed their readiness for a full-scale launch of cargo transportation on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development reported on Thursday after a meeting in Tbilisi between Minister of Economy Mariam Kvrivishvili and Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu.
The parties discussed the development of regional transport infrastructure, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, the East-West highway, the Anaklia deep-water port and the new international airport in Tbilisi.
The importance of the Middle Corridor as a strategic direction for cargo transit was emphasized, as well as the need to attract additional volumes of transportation. Attention was also paid to cooperation in the areas of logistics, transport, tourism and civil aviation.
In 2024, the modernization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway section in Georgia was completed, as a result of which the line’s capacity increased from 1 million to 5 million tons of cargo per year. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
GENEVA, July 31 (Xinhua) — Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, called for jointly promoting the high-level development of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership. He made the call during an official goodwill visit to Switzerland from July 28 to 31.
As Zhao Leji noted during talks with Maja Riniker, President of the National Council of the Federal Assembly (lower house of parliament) of Switzerland, and Andrea Caroni, President of the Council of States of the Federal Assembly (upper house of parliament) of Switzerland, Switzerland became one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
According to the NPC Standing Committee chairman, in the 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have jointly nurtured a spirit of cooperation characterized by “equality, innovation and win-win”, creating a model of cooperation between countries with different social systems, stages of development and territorial sizes.
Zhao Leji pointed out that China is willing to work with Switzerland to implement the important agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries and promote the high-level development of the China-Swiss innovative strategic partnership.
Noting that mutual respect and mutual trust are important foundations for the long-term and sustainable development of bilateral relations, he said China hopes to maintain the positive momentum of high-level exchanges with Switzerland and welcomes more Swiss leaders and parliamentarians to visit the country so that they can experience the real, multifaceted and diverse China.
Respecting each other’s core interests and major concerns is a valuable experience and the right path for China-Switzerland relations, Zhao Leji stressed, adding that the Chinese side highly values Switzerland’s commitment to expanding cooperation with China and hopes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to accumulate more positive energy for the development of bilateral relations.
The Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee pointed out that Switzerland was the first country in continental Europe to sign a free trade agreement with China, and noted the rapid development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation since the document came into effect. He expressed hope for joint advancement of negotiations on updating the free trade agreement and high-quality financial cooperation, and welcomed the expansion of Swiss capital investment in China.
Zhao Leji called for expanding cooperation in the arts, sports, education and at the local level to consolidate the foundation of public and popular support for China-Swiss friendship.
He expressed the hope that China and Switzerland, as two important peace-loving and multilateralist forces, will continue to strengthen coordination in multilateral forums, jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, safeguard international trade rules and the world economic order, and promote fairer and more reasonable global governance.
Zhao Leji noted that the NPC and the Swiss Federal Assembly have maintained long-standing friendly ties and made positive contributions to the development of China-Swiss relations and practical cooperation.
As the chairman of the NPC Standing Committee noted, the two sides should continue to enhance friendly exchanges between their legislative organs, carry out mutual exchanges of experience in lawmaking and supervision, promptly formulate, revise and approve legal documents that promote bilateral cooperation, and strengthen communication and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
M. Riniker, for her part, pointed out that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries. Based on mutual respect, openness and goodwill, Swiss-Chinese relations are developing steadily and yielding fruitful results, she emphasized.
According to M. Riniker, the National Council intends to strengthen cooperation with the NPC to play an active role in promoting the renewal of the free trade agreement between the two countries and promoting their sustainable development.
A. Caroni noted that both countries firmly adhere to the goals and principles of the UN Charter and resolutely defend multilateralism.
Strengthening cooperation with China is of strategic importance for Switzerland, stressed A. Caroni, adding that the Council of States hopes to further increase exchanges and dialogue with the Chinese side to improve mutual understanding and promote joint development. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
RESTORING HEALTH AND FITNESS FOR AMERICA’S YOUTH: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order revitalizing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, and reestablishing the Presidential Fitness Test.
The Order reestablishes the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition to develop bold and innovative fitness goals for young Americans with the aim of fostering a new generation of healthy, active citizens.
The Order directs the Council to create school-based programs that reward excellence in physical education and develop criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award.
The Order reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test, which shall be administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
This Order ensures American youth will have opportunities at the global, national, State, and local levels that emphasize the importance of an active lifestyle, good nutrition, American sports, and military readiness.
The Order instructs the Council to partner with professional athletes, sports organizations, and influential figures.
MAINTAINING A STRONG AND VITAL AMERICA: President Trump is addressing the widespread epidemic of declining health and physical fitness with a time-tested approach celebrating the exceptionalism of America’s sports and fitness traditions.
Rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity, and poor nutrition are at crisis levels, particularly among our children.
These trends weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance, and national morale.
President Eisenhower recognized this issue when he created the President’s Council on Youth Fitness in response to reports on the poor state of youth fitness in America.
President Trump is creating a national culture of strength, vitality, and excellence for the next generation by promoting the physical, mental, and civic benefits of exercise and good nutrition.
MAKING AMERICA ACTIVE AGAIN: President Trump is taking action to end the nationwide health crisis and restore urgency in improving the health of all Americans.
In 2018, President Trump originally revitalized the Council, renaming it the “President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.”
In 2019, The Trump Administration launched the National Youth Sports Strategy to unify U.S. youth sports culture around a shared vision that one day all youth will have the opportunity, motivation, and access to play sports.
In May 2025, President Trump proclaimed May 2025 as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.
Over the next three years, America will host the Ryder Cup, the President’s Cup, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympic Games –- the world’s premiere sporting competitions.
In 2026, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our great Nation, honor the 70th anniversary of the original President’s Council on Youth Fitness, and showcase America’s continued global dominance in sports.
On July 27 at 11:47 a.m., an individual in Lac La Biche called the RCMP for assistance. Three officers from the Lac La Biche RCMP responded to the residence a short time later and spoke with residents, who indicated the man they called about had left the residence prior to police arrival.
A short time later officers located the man, who had two knives, in a nearby field. Officers spoke to the man and told him to drop the knives. One officer used a conducted energy weapon on the man. A physical altercation occurred, and the man attacked the officer with a knife. A second officer then shot and struck the man.
The man was declared deceased on scene by EMS.
ASIRT’s investigation will examine the use of force. No additional information will be released.
As part of its ongoing investigation, ASIRT is continuing efforts to identify people who may have witnessed aspects of the confrontation between the man and police. ASIRT is asking anyone who may have been in the area and may have witnessed these events and/or may have video to contact investigators at 780-644-1483.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
This release is distributed by the Government of Alberta on behalf of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.
Ensuring municipalities can plan for the growth of their communities, the Ministry of Government Relations is aligning the regulations of The Planning and Development Act, 2007, to the standard of a one-in-200-year flood event.
This change will bring the province into alignment with the Federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program. A one-in-200-year flood risk is a 0.5 per cent chance of flooding occurring in a given year.
“Keeping our communities safe while supporting development is key to a growing province,” Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz said. “This move confirms our commitment to growing communities, making room for economic development opportunities in this province. Our government will continue to examine how we can harmonize standards across Canada, including for community planning and building.”
“The Water Security Agency (WSA) is committed to helping municipalities build and grow in a sustainable way,” Minister Responsible for the WSA Daryl Harrison said. “WSA has been engaging with communities across Saskatchewan about flood mapping and helping them balance development and flood mapping.”
“The RM of Corman Park welcomes the Government of Saskatchewan’s move to adopt the one-in-200-year flood elevation standard,” R.M. of Corman Park Reeve Joe Hargrave said. “This legislative change not only prioritizes public safety but also strengthens our ability to plan and build with confidence in a changing climate within the flood fringe areas. We appreciate the province’s effort to align with federal guidelines, and we look forward to further guidance and potential provincial support to help municipalities like ours adapt zoning bylaws and building policies in a way that balances safety and local development needs. These new guidelines will help form our upcoming discussions with valley residents who live within the flood plain.”
“Ensuring alignment between provincial and municipal efforts is key to maximizing the growth of the province, especially when it comes to critical information tied to safety and real estate development,” Saskatchewan Realtors Association President and CEO Chris Guérette said. “We are pleased to see this kind of alignment in regard to flood protection so property owners, neighbourhoods and municipalities can work together to maximize their growth potential.”
For communities interested in more information and details on this change, visit: saskatchewan.ca.
Today, the Government of Saskatchewan provided an update about more than $53 million of highway investments this year in the southwest and area that keep Saskatchewan’s export-based economy moving.
“These projects are a snapshot of our provincial government’s ongoing commitment and investment to maintain, improve and upgrade our highways,” Education Minister and Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley said on behalf of Highways Minister David Marit. “Our road network is a key link in getting Saskatchewan goods and products throughout the province, across Canada and around the world to support our economy to maintain our quality of life. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all motorists during road construction. Drivers are reminded to be cautious, alert and obey all signage and flag persons when approaching work zones as highway crews and contractors do this important work. We want everyone to get home safely.”
Provincial highway work includes paving, culvert replacements, grading and various maintenance.
“The Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce sincerely appreciates the provincial government’s investment in highways and related infrastructure in the southwest,” Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Corla Rokochy said. “Continued investment in our transportation network helps local businesses grow, supports tourism and ensures that communities across southwest Saskatchewan remain connected. We value the Government of Saskatchewan’s ongoing commitment to building and maintaining the infrastructure that drives economic opportunity in our region.”
“Infrastructure investments like those being made in southwest Saskatchewan are vital to the success of our industry,” Saskatchewan Trucking Association Executive Director Susan Ewart said. “Enhancing key trade routes, such as the Trans-Canada Highway, strengthens supply chains, supports innovation through modern vehicle configurations and ensures goods move safely and efficiently. The Saskatchewan Trucking Association welcomes these improvements and the continued commitment to growing our province’s economic backbone.”
Some of the projects in the southwest in the Swift Current and Kindersley areas include:
An estimated $12.2 million toward Trans-Canada Highway 1 east of Swift Current to pave about 25 km and to upgrade five culverts. The culverts are under Highway 1 eastbound between Waldeck and 7 km west. The paving portions are in the westbound lanes of Highway 1 from west of the Herbert Access Road to about 3 km east of its junction with Highway 4. Work began in April and was completed in July.
About $4.5 million to micro-surface more than 95 km of Highway 1 west of Swift Current. Work is expected to begin around mid-August and be completed this fall.
An estimated $14 million for daily routine maintenance from spring to fall this year in the southwest. Examples of that maintenance work, which can occur over a day or two include: shoulder work on Highway 37 from its junction with Highway 18 north to Shaunavon and spot sealing west of Cadillac on Highway 13 earlier this year.
An estimated $15.9 million to grade and replace culverts toward upgrading work on more than 24 km of Highway 51 west of Biggar. Work began in July and is expected to be finished by late 2026. Paving for the project has yet to be tendered.
An estimated $3.4 million toward improving the driving surface of about a 4.5 km segment of Highway 44 between Glidden and Eston. Work began in May and will be completed this summer.
About $3.5 million for surface mixing and paving on approximately 10 km of Highway 13 west of Cadillac. The work is anticipated to start in summer of 2025.
The start and completion dates of all projects are subject to weather.
Motorists are reminded to check the Highway Hotline before heading out. Saskatchewan’s provincial road information service provides details about construction zones, ferry crossings, closures and incidents related to wildfires.
Since 2008, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $13.8 billion in transportation infrastructure, improving over 21,800 kilometres of highways across the province.
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For more information, contact:
Dan Palmer Highways Regina Phone: 306-787-3179 Email: dan.palmer@gov.sk.ca
As of 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 31, there are 57 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Of those active fires, two are categorized as contained, 13 are not contained, 27 are ongoing assessments and 15 are listed as protecting values.
12 communities are currently under an evacuation order: Resort Subdivision of Lac La Plonge; La Plonge Reserve; Northern Village of Beauval; Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay; Resort Subdivision of Ramsey Bay; Patuanak/English River First Nation; Northern Village of Pinehouse; Canoe Lake Cree First Nation/Canoe Narrows; Île-à-la-Crosse; Resort Subdivision of Cole Bay; and Resort Subdivision of Little Amyot Lake. Clearwater River Dene Nation has issued an evacuation order as of this afternoon.
A full list of evacuated communities can be found on the Active Evacuations webpage.
Any evacuees should register through the Sask Evac Web Application and then call 1-855-559-5502 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to have their needs assessed for additional assistance. Individuals who need help registering through the application can call the 855 Line for assistance.
Evacuees supported by the Canadian Red Cross should call 1-800-863-6582.
As a reminder, there is a fire ban that is still in place due to the extreme fire risk. The fire ban encompasses the area north of the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River. The fire ban prohibits any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks in the designated boundary. This includes provincial parks, provincial recreation sites and the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District within those boundaries.
A map with fire ban boundaries can be found in the interactive fire ban map.
CFTC Staff Issues No-Action Letter Regarding Swap Data Error Correction Notification Requirements | CFTC
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July 31, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight today has taken a no-action position with respect to reporting counterparties that fail to submit a swap data error correction notification with respect to an error if, at the time the reporting counterparty initially discovers and assesses the impact of an error; the reporting counterparty makes a reasonable determination that the number of reportable trades affected by the error does not exceed five percent of the reporting counterparty’s open swaps for the relevant asset class in swaps for which it was the reporting counterparty.
Source: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union
WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts in his party’s favor:
“Greg Abbott and the anti-worker extremists in Texas’ congressional delegation know they can’t face voters after gutting health care, abandoning rural hospitals and schools, and driving up the cost of grocery and utility bills. That’s why they’re trying to rig the rules and shut working people out of the democratic process, especially working people of color, whose voices have been sidelined for far too long. Instead of being accountable to the people, they answer to billionaire donors who see our freedoms as a threat to their profits. But we won’t back down. AFSCME members, and the entire labor movement, are standing together to defend our democracy and ensure every voice is heard in the process — not just the wealthiest among us.”
