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
BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) — A mutual visa-free regime between China and Azerbaijan took effect on Wednesday, a move that experts say will greatly boost people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and once again demonstrate China’s determination to expand its external opening-up.
On the same day, Tianshan International Airport in Urumqi /the administrative center of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Northwest China/ welcomed the first batch of Chinese and Azerbaijani citizens who flew on a direct flight from Urumqi to Baku within the framework of the visa-free policy, China Central Television reports.
According to the intergovernmental agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Azerbaijan, a holder of an ordinary Chinese passport and a holder of an ordinary Azerbaijani passport can enter each other’s country without a visa for up to 30 days per visit and stay for no more than 90 days within a six-month period. A visa is still required for long-term stays for the purpose of residence, work and study.
Let us recall that China is experiencing rapid growth in inbound and outbound travel, thanks in particular to the continuous optimization of the visa-free policy. According to the latest data from the State Immigration Administration of the People’s Republic of China, in the first half of 2025, the number of border crossings by foreign citizens in both directions through Chinese checkpoints increased by 30.2 percent year-on-year to 38.05 million person-times, while the number of foreigners who entered China under the visa-free regime reached 13.64 million people, an increase of 53.9 percent.
In its latest round of moves to expand its “visa-free circle of friends,” China signed mutual visa waiver agreements with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan, and introduced unilateral visa-free travel to nine more countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
At present, China has introduced a unilateral visa-free regime for 47 countries and a 240-hour visa-free transit policy for citizens of 55 countries. -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.
Behind every policy and intervention that improves sexual and reproductive health outcomes and access to services, there is research. And behind that research, there must be skilled researchers. With evidence guiding decisions, health systems respond more effectively, services improve and rights are upheld.
The HRP Alliance’s regional hubs have been demonstrating what it means to build sustainable research capacity in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Anchored in the mission to promote health and rights for all, the HRP Alliance, coordinated by the UN’s Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP), brings together seven regional ‘hubs’ that serve as catalysts for knowledge, collaboration and innovation.
Since its establishment in 2017, the HRP Alliance hubs have been empowering local researchers and institutions through training, mentorship, fellowships and institutional support. Moreover, they enable context-specific responses to some of the world’s most pressing SRHR challenges. Seven impact stories document how locally-led research through this initiative has driven global progress.
In Brazil, the hub for the Americas region at the Campinas Reproductive Health Research Center (CEMICAMP) responded to the Venezuelan migration crisis by training researchers across the region to study the SRHR needs of displaced populations. Their findings on access to care, HIV treatment and sexual violence helped close a major data gap which led to a more human-centred understanding of the needs of displaced populations.
In Burkina Faso, the Francophone Africa hub, housed at the Health Science Research Institute (IRSS), is creating a regional data and training centre, with 50 Master’s and PhD graduates now leading research and public health efforts across West and Central Africa. Their studies on postpartum contraception and maternal care are informing health strategies.
In Ghana, the Anglophone Africa hub, housed at the University of Ghana’s School of Public Health, launched a joint master’s programme with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The joint programme has built on years of investment by the HRP Alliance in developing a critical mass of skilled researchers in SRHR. Graduates have gone on to lead national SRHR units and contribute to major studies on adolescent maternal care and quality of services.
In Kenya, the hub at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) developed a training programme to help researchers and health workers reflect on their personal beliefs and how these might affect their work on sensitive issues like abortion, sexuality and HIV. The model, called values clarification and attitude transformation training, is now being adopted across Africa.
In Pakistan, the Eastern Mediterranean hub at Aga Khan University worked directly with hospitals during COVID-19, training researchers and influencing maternal care practices, as well as including the adoption of tools to detect maternal sepsis. Their adaptive, hospital-linked approach is now seen as a model for emergency-responsive research.
In Thailand, the hub for the South-East Asian Region at Khon Kaen University focused its efforts on Myanmar, training a core group of researchers to generate evidence in a fragile setting. Their work on respectful maternity care and cervical cancer screening is now helping to shape maternal health policies, aimed at improving care quality, reducing mistreatment during childbirth and increasing access to lifesaving screening services.
And in Viet Nam, the hub for the Western Pacific Region at Hanoi Medical University created a dedicated SRHR track within its International Master of Public Health programme, equipping researchers with the tools to address issues relating to adolescent health and gender-based violence. Graduates reported strengthened skills in data analysis, literature review and research presentation, and several went on to work in national health institutions, including the Ministry of Health.
The stories capture how each hub has been working in its own way. Some prioritize formal academic pathways; others focus on skills development through short courses, mentorship or practical implementation research. All share a common goal: building lasting, regionally-led research ecosystems that respond to regional needs.
Because when researchers are trained locally, mentored locally and supported to ask the right questions, health systems respond better. SRHR services improve. And people’s rights, choices and dignity are upheld.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – By a vote of 51 to 48 the United States Senate advanced the Rescissions Act of 2025 to rescind $9 billion in unnecessary, wasteful federal funds. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives in June by a vote of 214 to 212, will now return to the House for final consideration.
The Rescissions Act of 2025 formalizes $9 billion in requested cuts made by the Trump administration. The bill contains 20 targeted rescissions of unobligated balances. Under the Impoundment Control Act, Congress must address the administration’s requested cuts within a 45-day window, or the funding remains in federal coffers. The bill must be sent to President Trump’s desk by Friday.
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate DOGE Caucus, issued the following statement after voting in favor of the rescissions package:
“After four years of reckless spending by the Biden administration, President Trump is right to request this cut in wasteful spending and Congress was right to pass it. This bill reclaims taxpayer dollars for hardworking North Dakotans and Americans, but this is only the beginning. Congress and the administration have a lot more work to do to restore accountability and fiscal sanity to Washington.”
This rescissions package cuts funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The Trump administration’s request described the funds as being used to “subsidize a public media system that is politically biased and an unnecessary expense to the taxpayer.”
While the CPB is legally mandated to be nonpolitical and unbiased, it has funded content celebrating irrevocable ‘gender transitions’ in minors, segments framing healthy eating and doorway sizes as forms of “fatphobia,” and children’s programming featuring drag queens. NPR has published stories on “genderqueer dinosaur enthusiasts,” “nonbinary deer,” and “hermaphrodite banana slugs,” while dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop scandal and pushing the discredited Russia-collusion narrative. In April 2024, Cramer led several of his colleagues in a letter to NPR CEO Katherine Maher, highlighting deep concerns regarding the network’s national leadership and calling for the enforcement of journalistic standards Americans deserve.
Importantly, these cuts do not impact emergency broadcast capabilities. North Dakota radio stations continue to provide critical emergency services, and all for-profit broadcasters are required by the FCC to maintain an Emergency Alert System (EAS) and typically employ their own meteorologists. FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS), and the Next Generation Warning System Grant Program (NGWS) also remain fully funded.
These rescissions also eliminate funding in foreign-aid accounts antithetical to American interests and outside the scope of Congressional intent. Taxpayer dollars have been allocated to projects such as promoting veganism in Zambia, funding pride parades in Lesotho, wind farms in Ukraine, DEIA contractors in Belarus, and gender diversity in Mexican street lighting. Other rescinded accounts supported “sedentary migrant” outreach in Colombia, reproductive health climate curricula, and social media mentorship in Eastern Europe—all at the expense of the American taxpayer. At the same time, the Senate bill provides guardrails to protect core Global Health Program funding —PEPFAR, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and nutrition. It also protects the Countering PRC Influence Fund and reaffirms commitment to aid in the Middle East.
The G20 is a global economic forum with the potential to transform lives for women and girls globally. Here’s why South Africa’s leadership in 2025 represents a pivotal moment. We asked UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office Programme Analyst Neo Mofokeng how South Africa’s 2025 presidency could advance gender equality.
What is the G20, and why should women care?
The Group of Twenty (G20) is an international forum for governments and central bank governors from 19 countries, the European Union, and the African Union. It was established in 1999 to bring together the world’s major economies to discuss and promote international financial stability and sustainable economic growth. It brings together the world’s largest economies, representing 67 per cent of the global population and 85 per cent of global GDP. When G20 countries make decisions, they don’t just affect stock markets; they directly impact whether women can access credit to start businesses, find decent jobs, or receive social protection during crises. From climate financing to digital transformation, the G20’s policies ripple through national economies, determining whether women are empowered or excluded from economic opportunities. When these countries and regional entities commit to gender-responsive policies, the effects are systemic, not symbolic.
What makes South Africa’s G20 presidency historic?
South Africa’s G20 presidency in 2025 marks a critical moment as it is the first time an African country has led the forum. This leadership comes just five years before the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), bringing renewed urgency to accelerate progress on SDGs, particularly SDG 5: Gender Equality. Under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”, South Africa’s presidency directly aligns with the global agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is worth noting that South Africa has prioritized debt sustainability for low-income countries – a key gender justice issue, as debt crises often trigger austerity measures that disproportionately affect women and girls by reducing access to healthcare, education, and social protection.
What does gender mainstreaming mean in the G20 context?
While the G20 includes a dedicated Working Group on Women’s Empowerment, true progress requires gender mainstreaming, which is the embedding of gender perspectives across all working groups, not just the one explicitly focused on women’s issues. This means finance ministers considering how monetary policies affect women differently, infrastructure discussions evaluating women’s mobility and safety, and trade negotiations assessing impacts on women entrepreneurs. There is no such thing as gender-neutral economic policy – all decisions have differentiated impacts on women and men.
What are the priorities for gender mainstreaming for this year’s G20?
To carry forward the Global South priorities from the previous G20 presidencies of Indonesia, India, and Brazil, the following priorities were adopted as the focus areas for gender mainstreaming into this G20 presidency. The first priority is to shift policy perspectives on the care economy around paid and unpaid care work and household responsibilities. The second is to promote financial inclusion of and for women, and the third priority is to address gender-based violence and femicide, which threaten the lives and livelihoods of women.
How is progress on gender equality measured in the G20?
Despite the growing recognition of the importance of gender equality, tracking progress remains challenging. The most prominent commitment is the 2014 “25×25 goal”, reducing the gender gap in labour force participation by 25 per cent by 2025. As this deadline approaches, it serves as a critical test case for G20 accountability. However, other dimensions like unpaid care work, gender-based violence, and women’s leadership receive less attention. Gender-related commitments sometimes appear in one year’s declaration but vanish in the next, making long-term progress difficult to track. This is another reason why mainstreaming gender in the G20 is so important.
What makes the G20’s influence on gender equality so significant?
In a world of countless international forums, the G20’s influence is unmatched. When G20 countries commit to closing gender gaps in labour force participation or expanding women’s access to finance, the ripple effects shift global economic patterns and influence international norms far beyond G20 borders. The G20 serves as a strategic lever with the capacity to drive policy coherence by integrating gender equality across economic, climate, and digital agendas, foster shared accountability through joint monitoring, and mobilize financing with intent, ensuring gender equality is resourced, not just referenced.
What is UN Women’s role in the G20 process?
UN Women plays a pivotal role by advocating for gender mainstreaming across all G20 policy areas, providing technical expertise and data to working groups, and engaging with key stakeholders like the Women 20 (W20) engagement group. The organization works to ensure that gender perspectives are systematically mainstreamed into G20 discussions, communiqués, and policy frameworks, with a strong focus on women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and ending violence against women and girls.
How has UN Women supported South Africa’s G20 presidency?
UN Women, through its South Africa Multi-Country Office, has provided comprehensive technical and financial support to the South African Government, made possible by backing from The Ford Foundation, the Government of Ireland, and the UN Women Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office. This support has been crucial in advancing gender equality within South Africa’s G20 agenda.
Youth Engagement: In February 2025, UN Women partnered with the South African Institute of International Affairs youth division to organize the “Bridging the Gap for Global Impact” workshop in Johannesburg, bringing together 150 young leaders aged 18-25. The workshop provided tools for effectively engaging decision-makers and included panel discussions on gender advocacy, enabling participants to develop strategies for promoting gender equality.
Transforming Patriarchal Masculinities: In March 2025, UN Women hosted a dialogue on “Transforming Patriarchal Masculinities for a Gender-Equal World” in Pretoria, bringing together 150 students from universities, technical and vocational education and training institutions, and high schools. This dialogue compiled youth recommendations for the Women’s Empowerment Ministerial Working Group meeting.
Technical Working Group Support: UN Women provided crucial support to all three Empowerment of Women Working Group meetings throughout 2025. The February virtual meeting focused on setting the priorities of the care economy, financial inclusion, and gender-based violence. The May meeting in Sun City emphasized advancing financial inclusion and developing a Guidelines Framework for mainstreaming women’s priorities in global financial systems. The July meeting at Kruger National Park concentrated on the care economy – recognizing, reducing, and redistributing care work.
Private Sector Engagement: UN Women supported a groundbreaking Private Sector Breakfast in May, bringing together corporate leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs to align business practices with G20 gender equality goals. Grounded in the Women’s Empowerment Principles, this initiative moved beyond symbolic participation to actionable commitments.
Disability Inclusion: Additionally, UN Women supported disability inclusion initiatives and the W20 inception meeting, demonstrating comprehensive engagement across all aspects of South Africa’s gender equality agenda.
What does success look like for gender equality in the G20?
Success in 2025 means moving beyond rhetoric to gender-transformative policies with robust accountability mechanisms. It requires recognizing gender as intersectional, addressing the diverse experiences of all women and gender-diverse individuals across lines of race, class, disability, and age. At the current pace, it will take over 123 years to close gender gaps globally. The G20 has the power to change this trajectory, but only if gender equality becomes a lived reality, not just a shared goal.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women – Africa.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Neymar struck late as Santos edged to a 1-0 home win over leaders Flamengo in Brazil’s Serie A championship on Wednesday.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward broke the deadlock in the 84th minute, turning sublimely after receiving Guilherme’s pass and firing into the far corner.
It was the 33-year-old’s first goal of a Serie A campaign disrupted by injury, with only three starts so far.
“I want to play 90 minutes of every game,” Neymar said after the match. “I want to be better physically but that takes time, both in terms of playing and training.”
Neymar admitted he remains some way off recapturing his best form, having suffered a series of leg muscle injuries since returning from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last October.
“My body is still adapting, getting used to everything again,” said Neymar, who spent more than a year on the sidelines after sustaining the injury while playing for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.
“It’s not easy to deal with the injury I had. I’m very happy to be able to contribute in every way, both attacking and defending. I’m not 100%, but I’m getting better all the time,” he added.
Wednesday’s result leaves Santos 13th in the 20-team standings with 14 points, 13 points behind Flamengo, which is ahead of second-placed Cruzeiro on goal difference.
“Flamengo, in my opinion, is the best team in the league,” Neymar said. “Tactically they are very good, they defend and attack very well. They have very high-quality players.
“Today we showed that we can be better than our current league position suggests. It’s a fresh start for us. We had time to work. We showed that we can compete with any team in the competition.”
In other Brazilian Serie A fixtures on Wednesday, Palmeiras drew 1-1 at home to Mirassol, Corinthians won 1-0 at Ceara, Botafogo was held to a goalless home draw by Vitoria and Sao Paulo drew 2-2 at Bragantino.
ProCare welcomes the Medical Council’s decision to recognise overseas-trained doctors from Chile, Croatia, and Luxembourg as part of the “Comparable Health System pathway”. Alongside the fast-track registration for GPs from the USA, Canada, and Singapore, this will deliver a much-needed boost to general practices across Aotearoa who are facing a significant GP shortage.
The decision means ProCare will be better placed to support its primary care network to recruit offshore GPs; further helping to ease workforce pressure and improve access to care for communities.
Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at ProCare, says the organisation is ready to support practices to take full advantage of the change.
“We know our practices are under pressure and this change gives us a practical way to bring in skilled clinicians faster,” says Norwell.
Under the changes, GPs from the United States, Canada and Singapore will have their registration applications processed within two months, while specialists from countries such as the UK, Ireland and Australia will benefit from a fast-tracked 20-day assessment process. Japan and South Korea were added to the list in February 2025.
“At ProCare, we are deeply committed to investing in the primary care workforce. We’ve long advocated for practical solutions that support our network and improve health outcomes for our communities. This announcement aligns with that vision.”
Earlier this month, ProCare became an Immigration NZ Accredited Employer, allowing it to directly support practices with international recruitment and immigration processes.
“We’re actively investing in solutions for primary care that make a difference,” says Norwell. “Our investment includes tailored support for general practice teams, leadership development, and tools to improve retention and resilience. We’re committed to building a strong, sustainable workforce that delivers better health outcomes for all New Zealanders.”
ProCare will continue working closely with its network and partners to ensure overseas-trained doctors are welcomed, supported, and integrated into the communities where they’re needed most.
ProCare is a leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical support services, mental health and wellness services, virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare professionals who provide care to more than 830,000 people across Auckland and Northland. These practices serve the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau. For more information go to www.procare.co.nz
Israel’s disregard for ICJ rulings undermines global governance, says Dangor
Israel’s ongoing disregard for the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) undermines the integrity of the court and weakens the ability of global governance institutions to address impunity, says Zane Dangor, the Director-General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).
Dangor was addressing the Emergency Conference of States, which is aimed at resolving what has been described as the genocide in Gaza. The Emergency Conference, jointly convened by Colombia and South Africa as co-chairs of The Hague Group, seeks to turn international condemnation into coordinated legal and diplomatic action.
The meeting in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, took place one year after the General Assembly passed a resolution affirming the ICJ advisory opinion that deemed Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories “unlawful.“
“As the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, we are witnessing continued and urgent calls from United Nations (UN) Member States and the international community for a ceasefire in Gaza. For too long, Israel has blatantly ignored orders from the ICJ in violation of international law.
“Despite this, the impunity continues unabated,” Dangor said on Tuesday.
Dangor stressed that Israel continues with its violence against Palestinians, with forced evacuations and targeted attacks on schools and medical facilities being the order of the day.
To stop the bloodshed, the DG called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations towards a just peace.
“A just peace requires justice, and this requires that international law must be respected.”
Dangor said the international community cannot claim that the importance of international law, including the UN Charter, applies in some circumstances but not in others.
“We should not pick and choose which binding orders of the ICJ to abide by and which to set aside or simply ignore.”
Dangor argued that allowing Israel to disregard court decisions and UN resolutions without repercussions undermines the integrity of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as the organisations responsible for its enforcement.
“This is unacceptable, and we should not be complicit in Israel’s endeavours to irreparably harm the institutions that were established to hold all of us accountable to the goals of a more peaceful and just world.”
Israel’s unlawful actions, Dangor said, are enabled when some seek to rationalise their actions.
“The crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of apartheid are not complex; they are unlawful.
“It is time to end the institutional impunity that Israel has enjoyed for over five decades.”
Dangor said the carnage seen in Palestine today is a testament to the “folly” of Israel’s grand exceptionalism from accountability to international law and norms.
“As responsible Member States of the United Nations, it is our duty to ensure that the bloodshed and genocide in Gaza are stopped… now as we do not have the luxury of time.
“The government of Israel must immediately halt the forced displacement of civilians in Gaza, which is causing untold suffering and trauma.”
Dangor is of the view that the Israeli government, as the occupying power, must uphold its obligations under international law and guarantee unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance, including healthcare and other essential services in the West Bank and Gaza.
According to the DG, humanitarian support provided by Member States is regularly obstructed and destroyed by Israeli authorities or is being allowed to be destroyed by right-wing and extreme elements.
“We hope that today, we begin a journey wherein states from all regions, including those that were part of the Madrid meeting, join hands to end the ongoing genocide in Palestine and fora more just world.” – SAnews.gov.za
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Climate Power’s Executive Director Lori Lodes held a press call on Climate Power’s new report, which details the catastrophic economic and budgetary impacts of the Trump Administration’s plan to transfer national park units to state control.
The report, “The High Cost of a Park Giveaway: Trump’s Plan to Offload National Parks,” highlights how this radical proposal would devastate local economies, overwhelm state budgets, and dismantle the systems that keep public lands running. According to Climate Power’s New Mexicoreport,New Mexico stands to lose at least $177 million in economic output with the Trump Administration’s plan to transfer national park units to states.
“By transferring ‘sort of small-p parks’ to the states, the Trump Administration and its supporters aren’t giving states more power or saving taxpayer money,” said Heinrich, blasting the Trump Administration for plans to offload national park units to states. “They’ll be cutting off your access to public lands and devastating state economies in the process, overwhelming state budgets and dismantling the systems that keep public lands running.”
Heinrich continued, “We’re here today to continue to fight, and to let you know that President Trump and Mike Lee’s latest plan of reallocating national park units to state control will not help our states. It will hurt them. It will not increase your access to national parks. It will restrict it. And it proves once again that Donald Trump and his cronies are willing to take away access to national park sites, devastate local economies, threaten your families’ safety, and kill public service jobs, all to enrich their billionaire friends. Two weeks ago, we came together, across the political spectrum, to stop the sale of our public lands. And we’re here to say: Not one acre and not on our watch.”
A video of the press call is here.
A transcript of his remarks as delivered is below.
Thank you for that introduction and good afternoon, everyone. Thanks to all of you for being here today to continue the fight to save our public lands.
Two weeks ago, we had a huge win when Senator Mike Lee was forced to remove public lands sales from the Big, Bad Bill.
And while an incredibly wide coalition of folks across the aisle came together to make sure the land sales were not included in the reconciliation bill, we know that this fight is far, far from over.
The Trump Administration has made it clear that it’s determined to sell off our public lands, lands that are your birthright as an American, all to fund tax cuts for their billionaire friends and donors.
So now, the Trump Administration is working to defund the National Parks Service — and shrink the national park system by about 75 percent.
The Administration says it’s proposing to keep the “crown jewels.” But the public lands the Administration considers less important are incredibly important to the economic health of rural communities and to protecting our shared heritage.
By transferring “sort of small-p parks” to the states, the Trump Administration and its supporters aren’t giving states more power or saving taxpayer money.
They’ll be cutting off your access to public lands – and devastating state economies in the process, overwhelming state budgets, and dismantling the systems that keep public lands running.
We know that national park system units are powerful economic drivers of our local and state economies.
In New Mexico, for example, people visited national park sites 2.3 million times in 2023 alone.
Visitors spent almost $150 million that year, driving economic activity that supported over 1,800 New Mexican jobs and provided $55 million in labor income for our state.
And these numbers were made possible by an adequately staffed National Parks Service that could properly maintain our parks, keeping lands safe, people safe, and lands accessible.
But when national park units are transferred to states, all of that is put at risk.
States have smaller budgets, so entrance fees would have to be higher.
When fees are higher, visitor numbers go down and people don’t visit those places that aren’t theirs.
When visitorship declines, fee revenue actually declines, and funding for park maintenance as a result declines.
Poorly maintained parks can’t handle as many visitors, and the cycle continues.
Small businesses would lose customers, and profit losses would mean less rural jobs.
Now, you might ask: “Why can’t the states maintain the parks?”
And the truth is, it’s expensive for states to maintain the national park system. That’s why we have a national park system.
For the federal government, the National Park Service represents less than one-fifteenth of one percent of the total budget.
Meanwhile, the $230 million backlog in national park maintenance in my state alone would represent over 2 percent of our state budget – and that doesn’t count the additional costs that my state would have to incur to fully run the sites ourselves.
And this isn’t just a New Mexico problem – it will be everywhere, as you’ll hear from Climate Power in a few minutes.
So we’re here today to continue to fight, and to let you know that President Trump and Mike Lee’s latest plan of reallocating national park units to state control will not help our states.
It will hurt them.
It will not increase your access to national parks.
It will restrict it.
And it proves once again that Donald Trump and his cronies are willing to take away access to national park sites, devastate local economies, threaten your families’ safety, and kill public service jobs, all to enrich their billionaire friends.
Two weeks ago, we came together, across the political spectrum, to stop the sale of our public lands.
And today we’re here to say: Not one acre and not on our watch.
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement on the 80thanniversary of the Trinity Test:
“For far too many New Mexicans, including Navajo uranium miners and families, today’s anniversary of the Trinity Test is a day marked by suffering, pain, and injustice. It serves as a solemn reminder of our government’s failure, for eight long decades, to recognize and support the families who lived downwind of that first nuclear explosion and who have borne its devastating consequences every day since.
“For my entire time in Congress, I’ve been honored to fight alongside Trinity Downwinders and uranium workers to finally include all the New Mexicans exposed to radiation from the bomb’s detonation in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. This year, we delivered long-overdue justice by expanding this legislation to cover downwinders across the entire state of New Mexico, increase benefits, and finally expand eligibility for uranium workers to include core drillers.”
Background:
Heinrich has reintroduced legislation to extend and expand RECA since his first Senate term, starting in 2013.
This month, Heinrich and the N.M. Delegation secured RECA reauthorization and expanded the legislation to include all downwinders having worked at any site in the entire state of New Mexico. Notably, the law now allows for combined work histories for uranium workers who previously did not meet eligibility requirements based on their work in only one category of uranium work. Now, employment history across multiple positions–uranium miner, uranium miller, core driller, and ore transporter–all qualify to be combined when determining eligibility. Additionally, the benefit for downwinders increased from $50,000 to $100,000 and for onsite participants from $75,000 to $100,000.
Last month, Heinrich marked one-year since RECA expired and demanded Congress to reauthorize and expand RECA.
In January, Heinrich joined U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), along with U.S. Senators Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to reintroduce their Radiation Exposure Compensation (RECA) Reauthorization Act to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by government nuclear programs.
Despite the Senate passing this bill last Congress, the House of Representatives failed to pass RECA reauthorization before its expiration deadline in June 2024.
Last fall, Heinrich joined Luján and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), and advocates and survivors who traveled all the way across the country from New Mexico for a press conference calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on aSenate-passed bill that would strengthen RECA.
Heinrich also pressed Speaker Mike Johnson to immediately take up the Senate-passed and fully comprehensive RECA extension in a bipartisan, bicameral letter.
In March 2024, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to reauthorize and expand RECA. Later that day, Heinrich secured Senate passage of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and expand RECA to compensate individuals exposed to radiation while working in uranium mines or living downwind from atomic weapons tests.
Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today joined President Donald Trump at the White House for the signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act. The legislation, which Senator Capito co-sponsored, makes permanent the temporary classification of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs as Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The legislation also removes barriers that impede the ability of researchers to conduct studies on these substances and allows for exemptions if such research provides evidence that it would be beneficial for specific analogs to be classified differently than Schedule I, such as for medical purposes.
“West Virginia has been disproportionately impacted by the drug crisis, with fentanyl being one of the deadliest drugs that has made the crisis exponentially worse. The HALT Fentanyl Act will help equip law enforcement with the resources needed to crack down on traffickers and keep these deadly substances off the streets once and for all. I was proud to stand alongside President Trump—and join some of our fellow West Virginians—to watch him sign this important legislation into law, which marks another critical step forward in our ongoing efforts to combat the crisis and protect West Virginians from the scourge of illicit fentanyl,” Senator Capito said.
BACKGROUND:
Drug overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl, are the leading cause of death among young adults 18 to 45 years old. Synthetic opioids like Fentanyl account for 66% of the total U.S. overdose deaths.
Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics indicate there were an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2024. West Virginia so far has confirmed 787 deaths between January 2024 and January 2025.
Nearly 70% of those deaths across the country were attributed to opioids, including illegal fentanyl, which are largely manufactured in Mexico from raw materials supplied by China. In 2024, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 60 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 8,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. The 2024 seizures are equivalent to more than 380 million lethal doses of fentanyl.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Wounded, yet never tamed, China’s former world champion boxer Xu Can, aka “The Monster”, is back on the prowl, more bloodthirsty than ever, as he targets another title shot in a heavier division.
Following a career setback that saw him lose his belt in 2021, China’s former WBA featherweight world champion Xu Can (right) is ready to punch his way back into title contention in the super featherweight class and become China’s first two-division champion. XINHUA
The former World Boxing Association featherweight (126 pound, 57kg) belt holder will have his mettle for the title in the 130-pound class seriously tested on Aug 15, when he defends his International Boxing Organization international title in the super featherweight division against French challenger Jaouad Belmehdi on home soil in Beijing.
The fight was announced on Tuesday as the main event of the “Kzmall’s Night”, a multi-bout boxing show, organized by Beijing-based Max Power Promotions and sanctioned by the IBO, which will be staged at the National Convention Center in the Chinese capital’s Olympic park.
Xu, China’s first featherweight world champion under a major sanctioning body, is embracing his defense of the intercontinental belt as a statement of his lofty ambition to become the first Chinese man to win world titles across two weight classes.
“My goal since coming back (from two straight defeats) is to become China’s first two-division world champion,” said Xu, who claimed his first world title by beating Puerto Rico’s Jesus Rojas via a unanimous decision in January 2019 in Houston to snatch up the WBA featherweight strap.
“And to do so, I need to climb the rankings all over again by taking on some legitimate opponents. I am ready for it, I am serious about my mission and I will let my punches do the talking.”
After wresting the title from Rojas, Xu kept his momentum rolling with two successful defenses against Japan’s Shun Kubo and Manny Robles III of the United States in the same year. It cemented his status as China’s most internationally recognized pro boxer, which was underlined by a five-star rating on BoxRec in 2019, while drawing another wave of mainstream attention to the sport following retired Olympian Zou Shiming’s back-to-back light flyweight gold medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The pandemic, unfortunately, hit at the worst possible time for Xu’s career ascent, severely disrupting his preparations for a third title defense against then British champ Leigh Wood in a bout that later proved to be a Waterloo for the Chinese star, and pushed him almost to the brink of quitting the sport.
“It was a huge blow for me, psychologically and emotionally, that made me want to give up boxing,” said Xu, who was knocked out by Wood with a 12th-round right hook in July 2021 in England, losing his WBA title.
Xu’s attempt at an immediate riposte was denied by a split-decision loss to Mexico’s Brandon “Leoncito” Benitez in October 2022, dragging him abruptly out of the sport’s spotlight.
However, the resilient fighter — known for his slogan: “I am Can, I can!” — refuses to hang up his gloves just yet, having rekindled his fire for a comeback after a yearlong break, accompanied by family and friends, during a healing process that “helped restore his love” for the brutally competitive sport.
“Looking back at the setbacks, I feel like it was just part of the process of my growth as a pro,” said Xu, a 31-year-old native of Fuzhou, East China’s Jiangxi province.
“Perhaps, I’ve had too smooth of an early career to be true, progressing on a flat path all the way until losing the belt. Now, I have just started the uphill climb. I am taking steps slower than before, but I am making solid progress — one step at a time,” said Xu, who beat Panama’s Jhonatan Arenas via TKO in his most recent fight in December, claiming the vacant IBO 130-pound international title.
Standing 1.75 meters tall with impressive range, Xu has built a reputation for high-volume punching and superior endurance during his featherweight reign. However, learning from his defeats, he realizes that striking power, timing and finesse are the keys for success in the super featherweight realm, should he make a convincing run for a world title in the heavier, and more competitive, division.
Supported by his agency Max Power at Beijing gym M23, Xu, who keeps a 20-4-0 win-loss-draw record, has been focusing on his strength conditioning, footwork and combination diversity to prepare for the fight against Belmehdi (23-1-3), a knockout specialist known as “The Moroccan Bomber “and who is currently rated at three stars on BoxRec.
“Can is a very good boxer, but I am very confident of my skill. See you on August 15 for an explosive fight,” said the 27-year-old Belmehdi, who’s chalked up 11 KO wins.
Justin Kennedy, vice-president of IBO, said the winner between Xu and Belmehdi will move closer to a shot at the division’s ultimate prize.
“This is going to be a great event in the heart of Beijing, in a country that is moving forward rapidly in world boxing with a lot of really world-class fighters coming through,” Kennedy said in a video message played at the news conference launching the event on Tuesday.
“The fight between these two highly skilled fighters will be a great display of boxing. Please tune in and turn up for what will be an amazing night.”
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China lost to France in four sets 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17 in the final week of the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League preliminary phase in Gdansk, Poland on Wednesday.
Opposite Theo Faure was the gamen’s top scorer with 20 points, while outside hitters Trevor Clevenot and Yacine Louati contributed 15 points each for France. Wen Zihua scored 13 points for China, including 11 kills, one block, and one ace. Middle blocker Rao Shuhan and outside hitter Wang Bin added seven points each.
France, the Olympic champion, aimed to start the third and final week of the preliminary phase with a victory. However, China surprised the favorite in the opening set, as Andrea Giani’s team struggled to establish an advantage but then China shifted the pace.
Two effective spikes by veteran Ji Daoshuai put China ahead 22-20. Shortly after, Wang Bin delivered an ace to extend China’s lead. France fought until the end but couldn’t turn the set in their favor. A key center attack by Li Yongzhen secured China’s set win.
France opened the second set with several powerful serves from Louati, took an early 6-1 lead and controlled the set throughout, with Clevenot scoring six points in the latter part of the set. Wen Zihua’s effective block helped China close the gap to 22-24, but Faure’s attack sealed it a 25-22 set win for France.
In the third set, Francois Huetz replaced Nicolas Le Goff and made a significant impact for France, earning seven points during his service to help France take a 12-9 lead. Despite nine service errors committed in this set, France ended it 25-23 with Faure’s powerful spike.
Giani’s team demonstrated their quality in the fourth set, claiming a 25-17 set win and sealing the match victory.
Also on the day, Cuba edged Bulgaria in a five-set thriller 23-25, 25-16, 23-25, 27-25, 15-13. Outside hitter Marlon Yant Herrera scored 23 points for Cuba, equaling Aleksandar Nikolov’s tally for Bulgaria.
Later, host Poland defeated Iran in five sets 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-8. Outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk scored 21 points for Poland, while opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad contributed 19 for Iran.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Youth representatives pose for a group photo before the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Youth Development Forum in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu province, July 15, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Young business leaders and representatives from around the world on Wednesday gathered in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu rovince, joining United Nations officials to call for youth-driven solutions in promoting green consumption.
This thematic forum on green consumption and sustainable development is part of the ongoing 2025 World Youth Development Forum, which opened on Tuesday under the theme, “Unleash Youth Potential for Global Development.” The event has drawn participants from over 100 countries and regions, as well as 17 international organizations.
“We are witnessing a surge in youth-led initiatives centered on global climate governance and green development,” said Xu Xiao, president of the All-China Youth Federation, which is one of the forum’s organizers.
“Young innovators are driving emissions reduction through technological breakthroughs, and contributing to the sustainable growth of the global economy,” Xu said.
Green consumption, participants noted, is quickly becoming a dominant force in global markets. “Today’s younger consumers are increasingly conscious of environmental values and the social responsibility behind the brands they support,” said Gao Dekang, president of Bosideng Group.
“Young consumers are deeply engaged with pop culture. Through recyclable materials, low-carbon initiatives and biodiversity awareness campaigns, we’re turning collectibles into ambassadors of green living,” said Chen Xiaoyun, vice president of Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, whose designer toy brand has a presence in more than 90 countries and regions.
“Now a big topic of conversation among youth is obviously climate change and the shift to renewable energy,” said John Hayden, a university student from the United States, adding that young people are eager to find meaningful careers that allow them to make a positive impact on the planet.
Qin Jing, vice president of Trip.com Group, highlighted rising global awareness of sustainable travel. “Today, nearly 90 percent of young travelers are open to eco-friendly journeys,” she said. “We are calling on youth around the world to embrace green mobility and help make tourism more sustainable.”
“China is taking the lead in green energy consumption, particularly in the field of new energy vehicles,” said Huang Wandi, a young employee of State Grid Suzhou Power Supply Company. “We, the younger generations, are also actively contributing through technological innovation.”
Huang and her team have developed a mobile charging robot that allows electric vehicles to recharge without being restricted to designated parking spots. “With such innovations, we hope to do our part in advancing sustainable development,” she said.
Young people are an indispensable force in achieving sustainable development, said Jessy Santos, deputy secretary of the National Youth Secretariat of Brazil. “Brazil and many other nations are mobilizing youth to play a greater role in addressing climate change.”
“It is vital that young people, especially those on the front lines, are included in climate education and decision-making, blending traditional knowledge with ecological stewardship,” she added.
“Building a sustainable future for our planet may be the most pressing challenge of our time,” said James George, deputy resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in China. “It is inspiring to see so many young people across the globe rising to meet this challenge with conviction and creativity.”
Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today joined President Trump at the White House for the signing of his HALT Fentanyl Act, which gives law enforcement another tool by permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. FRS have been temporarily scheduled since 2018, but Cassidy’s bill now gives law enforcement the certainty they need to stop fentanyl dealers.
“President Trump and I are committed to stopping fentanyl overdoses and overdose related deaths,” said Dr. Cassidy. “My HALT Fentanyl Act, which he signed today, gives law enforcement one more tool to attack this problem.”
Background
The U.S. Senate passed Cassidy’s bill in March. In February, Cassidy spoke on the U.S. Senate floor amid Senate Democrats’ attempt to undermine his HALT Fentanyl Act.
Drug overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl, are the leading cause of death among young adults 18 to 45 years old. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl account for 68 percent of the total U.S. overdose deaths. In the last two fiscal years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized record amounts of fentanyl—nearly 50,000 pounds—enough to produce more than 2 billion lethal doses. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2023 there were an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths—74,702 of which were attributed to fentanyl. This was primarily fueled by synthetic opioids, including illegal fentanyl, which are largely manufactured in Mexico from raw materials supplied by China. In 2022, there were over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), more than doubling the amount seized in 2021.
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s illegal withholding of $140 million in federal funding passed by Congress to support fentanyl overdose response efforts:
“I’m relieved that thanks to steps we took during the Biden Administration—including the passage of my Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act—that fentanyl overdose deaths in Virginia have declined significantly. But one overdose death is too many, and it’s inexplicable that the Trump Administration is illegally withholding $140 million in federal funding to build on our progress and better protect communities from fentanyl. The fact that this news is being reported immediately after President Trump signed into law massive tax cuts for billionaires—paid for with cuts to programs working families rely on—makes it crystal clear who this Administration values. I’ll be doing all that I can to encourage my Republican colleagues to join me in raising hell about this decision to hamstring our efforts to address the fentanyl crisis.”
Kaine has long advocated for more resources to combat the fentanyl crisis. Kaine introduced and Congress passed the bipartisan Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act to direct increased federal attention to fentanyl trafficking by declaring fentanyl trafficking a national security threat, utilizing Pentagon resources like counter-drug intelligence, and involving Mexico as an active partner to combat the crisis. Kaine also helped pass a supplemental national security funding package that included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Kaine, to require the President to sanction drug rings involved in international drug trafficking. In July 2024, Kaine traveled to Brownsville and McAllen, Texas to discuss fentanyl interdiction at the southern border with various law enforcement agencies and international partners from Mexico. In March 2024, Kaine also introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Tracking Of Poisonous Tranq Requiring Analyzed National Quantification Act, or the STOP TRANQ Act to require the State Department to include reporting on xylazine, or “tranq,” in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). In February, Kaine introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which would list xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance while protecting the drug’s legal use by veterinarians, farmers, and ranchers.
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
What happens when a Pacoima kid turned MIT-trained engineer brings a wonk’s brain — and a line cook’s work ethic — into the halls of power?
Listen to the full podcast here
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) recently sat down for the inaugural episode of the LA Times’ Making LA Podcast to discuss his journey from growing up in Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley as the proud son of immigrants from Mexico to rising through Los Angeles and California politics to become the state’s senior U.S. Senator. The interview took place at the Discovery Cube in the San Fernando Valley, a hands-on children’s science museum Senator Padilla helped found.
Padilla walked through his family’s history, sharing that his dad spent 40 years as a short order cook while his mom cleaned houses to provide for their family. His parents emphasized the importance of a good education, and he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Padilla discussed his political rise beginning with serving as former Representative Tony Cárdenas’ campaign manager for his longshot State Assembly campaign in 1996, then becoming a member of the Los Angeles City Council in 1999, and serving as the youngest person ever elected as City Council President just two years later. As City Council President, Padilla was acting Mayor of Los Angeles during the September 11, 2001 attacks, reassuring the city as residents feared Los Angeles could be targeted next. Padilla also detailed his work in the State Senate — including successful bills to require restaurant chains to display nutrition and caloric information for their menu items and to transform the transfer process from community colleges to four-year universities — as well as expanding voting access and resisting Republicans’ attacks on the right to vote during his tenure as California’s Secretary of State.
Now serving as California’s senior U.S. Senator, Padilla reflected on being sworn in just two weeks after the January 6 insurrection. He emphasized that he continues to fight on behalf of his 40 million constituents and is working to convince others to join him to fight for climate resilience, voting rights, infrastructure investments, wildfire prevention and response, and comprehensive immigration reform. Padilla shared that behind closed doors, his Republican colleagues agree on the need to reform our outdated immigration system, and committed to keep fighting to pass his Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, his first bill introduced in Congress.
San Juan, PR – The U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, working a collateral lead from the USMS Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force, today arrested in Jamestown, New York, one of Puerto Rico’s 10 most wanted fugitives.
Bryan José Rivera-Montañez, 26, of Guayama, is wanted by the Puerto Rico Police Bureau on a state arrest warrant issued by the Ponce Court for first-degree murder and multiple violations of weapons law after he allegedly killed with a firearm an individual in Santa Isabel March 7, 2024. His bail had been set at $2,500,000.
In late June the USMS Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force sent a collateral lead to the USMS New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force requesting assistance in locating and apprehending Rivera-Montañez, who was arrested without incident at an apartment in the 60 block of Water Street in Jamestown.
“This arrest exemplifies our agency’s fight against violent crime and demonstrates our unwavering commitment to the safety of our communities,” said Wilmer Ocasio-Ibarra, U.S. Marshal for the District of Puerto Rico. “I want to express my sincere appreciation for and recognize the great contribution of the members of the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force and their coordination with the Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force in capturing this violent fugitive.”
The New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force began operations in April 2002 and was the first regional fugitive task force to become fully operational following the Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000. The NY/NJRFTF was the flagship that allowed seven other regional fugitive task forces to be created across the country. With partnership agreements with over 90 federal, state, or local agencies and 13 fully operational offices, the NY/NJRFTF has successfully apprehended more than 100,000 fugitives since inception.
The USMS District of Puerto Rico encourages the community to continue to collaborate with our deputies on tips that help find the whereabouts of a fugitive by contacting our local office at (787) 766-6297, calling the U.S. Marshals Service Communication Center at 1 (800) 336-0102, or submitting tips using the USMS Tips App.
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – In response to questioning from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) at a hearing today, witnesses urged congressional action to address the nationwide scourge of organized retail crime and endorsed the Grassley-led, bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act.
The witnesses discussed the dangers of organized retail crime, including its ties to international criminal and terrorist syndicates. Grassley’s Combating Organized Retail Crime Act was cited as a “game changer,” given the legislation’s proposal to zero-in on criminal enterprises through commonsense penalties and multi-agency coordination.
The witnesses included:
The Honorable Summer Stephan, President of the National District Attorneys Association and District Attorney for San Diego County;
The Honorable David J. Glawe, President and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau;
Scott McBride, Chief Global Asset Protection Officer for American Eagle Outfitters Inc.; and
Donna Lemm, Chief Strategy Officer for IMC Logistics, testifying on behalf of the American Trucking Associations.
Grassley’s opening statement is available HERE.
Video and excerpts of Grassley’s exchanges with the witnesses follow.
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VIDEO
On the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act:
Grassley: “Ms. Stephan, you’re a strong supporter of my bill, [the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act] … How would this legislation improve the ability of both law enforcement and prosecutors like you to tackle organized retail crime?”
Stephan: “I believe that the [Combating Organized Retail Crime Act] would be a game-changer. [Despite] the 218 organized crime cases that our office has [prosecuted] in San Diego, we have not been able to break through to what is going on nationally. We know these groups are operating nationally and internationally … but the investigations stop at the local level.
“[Organized retail crime] is a national problem that’s draining economic resources from hardworking Americans. But, it’s also draining the heart and soul, and security of human beings. We have to be able to bring national solutions.”
On Transnational Criminal Organizations and Organized Retail Crime:
Grassley: “We know from Department of Homeland Security reports that cartels, terrorists and human traffickers either facilitate organized retail and supply chain crime or use its proceeds to finance other crimes. How are transnational criminal organizations using organized retail and supply chain crime to further their criminal activities?”
Glawe: “We have seen goods moving overseas. In Mexico, we [found] over 2,000 vehicles that ended up south of the border. We know that these stolen goods are going to West Africa and the Middle East … We know that the supply chains are interdicted with Lebanese Hezbollah. We’ve seen that with Hamas, and we know the Mexican drug cartels are involved with the goods going south of the border.
“A coordination center … to coordinate intelligence … and coordinate operations is critical. This committee is well aware of … the Counter Terrorism Center and Counter Proliferation Center. These centers provide a hub for informational and operational sharing and sharing and coordinating resources, as well as tactical level response. We know the successful model, and this bill would get us there.”
On Combating Organized Retail Crime through Aggregation:
Grassley: “Ms. Stephan, title 18 makes it a federal crime to transport stolen property with a value of $5,000 or more in interstate or foreign commerce. Supreme Court case law allows prosecutors to aggregate the value of stolen goods in a common scheme to reach that threshold. Why is aggregation of theft amounts important?”
Stephan: “Aggregation is critical because it distinguishes between somebody who is drug addicted who goes in to steal something like food … [and] separates them from the habitual organized criminals. It allows [prosecutors] to see the activity in totality and to be able to see the repeat offenses that form the structure of organized, habitual criminals. In California, we recently … made a change in Proposition 36 that allowed us to aggregate, and it’s already making a difference. [California] used to have criminals come in with a calculator to [steal] right under $950, thus leaving them at a citation misdemeanor level. That’s what caused all our products to become locked up, except the criminals that were committing the crimes.”
Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
WASHINGTON – As the U.S. Senate considers a rescissions package to codify $9 billion dollars in cuts to foreign assistance and public broadcasting, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke out against the Trump administration’s illegal dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the catastrophic consequences the elimination of aid has had on vulnerable people around the world. Schatz, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations which oversees foreign assistance, noted that over 360,000 people had already died as a result of not having food and medication in the wake of the funding cuts. Schatz also noted that the none of the programs that Republicans have objected to are currently active, and that the funding being rescinded is valid through the end of the next fiscal year and can be reprogrammed by the Trump administration to reflect its priorities.
“Presidents can save lives. They can also cost lives. And while almost every president has chosen to do the former, Donald Trump, aided by a band of loyalists and ideologues, has chosen instead to inflict death and disease and starvation on the world’s most vulnerable,” said Senator Schatz. “We used to be the indispensable nation that people around the world counted on for help. People would see the American flag, whether on the side of a truck or a sticker on a food parcel, and think, ‘The good guys are here. Help is coming,’ But not anymore. We are causing death now. We are spreading disease now. We are deepening starvation now.”
Senator Schatz continued, “We are not going to prevent every death – we know that. We’re not going to be able to feed every child – we understand that. We cannot feasibly help every community that needs help – we accept that. But this is something different altogether. This is knowingly and willingly and needlessly inflicting horrific suffering on millions and millions of the most vulnerable people live anywhere on the planet. And for what? To save money? The idea that any of this is about finding savings, while at the same time, Republicans are exploding the national debt by $4 trillion to cut taxes for billionaires just doesn’t pass the smell test. And to top it all off, the administration is about to incinerate – is about to light on fire – 500 metric tons of food aid because they let it expire while sitting in a warehouse for months.”
“There were a bunch of controversial programs that precipitated this effort to cut USAID. All of those programs were discontinued. This is a budget that was enacted in March. This is Trump’s budget. This is Trump’s State Department. This is economic support funds. This is global public health. This is humanitarian assistance. This is helping our friends in Jordan and elsewhere to maintain the basic stability so that there is not a conflagration in a region. That is what’s being rescinded from this package,” Senator Schatz added.
A transcript of Senator Schatz’s remarks is below. Video is available here.
It all started with the stroke of a pen. Within hours of taking office in January, the president signed what can only be called a death sentence to millions of people all over the world. Executive Order 14 169 simply read, “It is the policy of the United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the president of the United States.” The order directed a 90 day pause in payments while foreign assistance was reviewed. But it became clear that this was not a process for reviewing or reforming programs. It was the beginning of the end, a wholesale destruction of the enterprise from top to bottom, in defiance of the law and of logic.
Presidents can save lives. They can also cost lives. And while almost every president has chosen to do the former, Donald Trump, aided by a band of loyalists and ideologues, has chosen instead to inflict death and disease and starvation on the world’s most vulnerable. We used to be the indispensable nation that people around the world counted on for help. People would see the American flag, whether on the side of a truck or a sticker on a food parcel, and think, the good guys are here. Help is coming.
But not anymore. We are causing death now. We are spreading disease now. We are deepening starvation now. And it’s not because it’s saving us huge sums of money, or because saving lives somehow stopped being in our national interest. All of this suffering and misery is because a few people were hellbent on ransacking the government and tearing down whatever it is that they didn’t like or they didn’t understand, to hell with the consequences. To them, the lives lost or just the cost of doing business. Move fast and break things is the ethos of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. But when you move fast and you break things in the United States Agency for International Development, tens of thousands of people perish.
So let’s start with how we got here. Following Trump’s executive order, Secretary Rubio and Peter Marocco, the new director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance, issued a stop work order on all 6,200 grants and contracts worldwide. They also ordered an immediate pause on new foreign assistance spending. That meant that partners who had already completed work were not getting paid. Contracts that had already been signed couldn’t be executed. Days later, Marocco, along with a bunch of DOGE staffers, including a 19-year-old and a 23-year-old, physically barged into U.S. aid and forced dozens of senior career officials to be put on leave over so-called insubordination. These people were just doing their jobs. His issue seemingly was with payments that had been approved before the executive order and were then making their way through the USAID payment system. Nevertheless, the career civil servants were escorted out of the building and locked out of their emails.
Anyone who dared to push back or speak up was sidelined, including the acting administrator, who was pushed out to make way for Marocco to become deputy administrator. As he and his team looked for not just savings or efficiencies, but what they called “viral abuse” that would be easy to mock out of context, Fox Mews stepped into the breach to help for days on end. Their chyrons blared: “Viper’s Nest: USAID Accused of Corruption Long Before Trump Administration Took Aim.” “More Ridiculous USAID Spending Revealed.” “Elon Purged DC’s Slush Fund.”
As the smear campaign kicked into overdrive. DOGE locked out all of the agency’s employees, including those working in conflict zones, from their phones and emails. And in early February, Musk tweeted, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” Days later, after carrying out the destruction, he wrote, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the woodchipper.”
And just like that, one of the United States’ primary instruments of soft power over the last 60 years, which has done everything from curing diseases to thwarting terrorism, was decapitated overnight. USAID’s success in moral, political, economic, and security terms was made possible by scores of public servants who felt a responsibility to alleviate suffering, even if that meant putting themselves in harm’s way. But in the end, it was torn down by a bunch of crazed ideologues who saw foreign assistance as an easy target to test drive their project of crippling the government.
Perhaps abolishing the health department or the VA in the first few weeks was a bridge too far. But here was money going to help people in, as Madeleine Albright used to say, faraway places with hard to pronounce names. And no matter how much good it was doing for the people whose lives were saved and communities were built, but also for our national security – none of that mattered when all you had to do was make up some lies to justify the vandalism.
It’s been only a few months and already the loss of USAID and its critical work around the world has been catastrophic. More than 360,000 people have died as a result of the cuts. 360,000 deaths. And so I will be damned if I let a pundit, or Democratic strategist, or Republican strategist tell me that the American people signed up for allowing 360,000 people to die. On purpose. For what? Deficit reduction? And to Patty Murray’s point, two weeks ago, they just blew up the deficit by trillions of dollars. The amount of money that it takes to save a starving child, or to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child, is minuscule. And we do this because we’re the good guys. And we do this because it’s cheap. And we do this because when we need something from a friend in a foreign land, they think of us well, because we’re always on the scene to be helpful.
These are not hypothetical or distant outcomes. We are no longer arguing about what might happen in the future. We are talking about what is happening across the planet right now. People are dying right now, not in spite of us, but because of us. We are causing death. We have gone from being the good guys – flaws, mistakes and all – to being a conduit for death and sickness and hunger.
A ten-year-old boy named Peter in South Sudan contracted HIV from his mother at birth. His parents died while he was young, but medication through PEPFAR kept him alive. That was until February, when, without access to medication, Peter fell severely sick and later died. The health outreach worker who had cared for him said simply, “If USAID would be here, Peter would not have died.”
A pregnant woman in a Liberian village hemorrhaged and began to bleed heavily while in labor. But without gas, because of funding cuts, USAID ambulances stood idle, unable to help. And despite her neighbors’ best efforts to carry her ten miles on foot through the jungle to the nearest hospital, she died mid-journey, along with her unborn son.
Dorcas, a ten-year-old in Zambia, had gotten so used to her routine of taking HIV medication every night with her mom that she was confused when it ran out a few months ago. Her mom recounted: “In the past week, she’ll open up the tin and find that it’s empty. So she’ll run down to the clinic and go check if she can collect her medication, and she’ll come back and say, oh, you’re right, the clinic is closed. They’re not there anymore.”
In Sudan, which has been ravaged by war and gripped by famine, a mother watched two of her children under the age of three wither from malnutrition and die after a soup kitchen that had been supported by USAID closed overnight. Days before he died, the older of the two children had asked for porridge. “I told him, we don’t have any wheat to make that,” his mother recalled, adding that the soup kitchen’s daily meal – which the family was shared – was a godsend.
A mother in Nigeria worried about how she would keep her infant alive, having just lost the other twin to malnutrition in the wake of funding cuts. A peanut paste supplement that had been paid for by American foreign assistance had been used to treat her newborns for malnutrition. She wondered about how she’d feed her child. And she said, “I don’t want to bury another child.”
There are thousands and thousands of gut-wrenching stories just like these – from every corner of the planet; with newborns and children and families and communities. And this is only what’s happened in the last few months. Just imagine what’s going to happen if we codify these cuts.
We are not going to prevent every death – we know that. We’re not going to be able to feed every child – we understand that. We cannot feasibly help every community that needs help – we accept that. But this is something different altogether. This is knowingly and willingly and needlessly inflicting horrific suffering on millions and millions of the most vulnerable people live anywhere on the planet. And for what? To save money? The idea that any of this is about finding savings, while at the same time, Republicans are exploding the national debt by $4 trillion to cut taxes for billionaires just doesn’t pass the smell test. And to top it all off, the administration is about to incinerate – is about to light on fire – 500 metric tons of food aid because they let it expire while sitting in a warehouse for months.
They are lighting food on fire. Food grown in the United States, manufactured in the United States, to be sent out to the most vulnerable people on the planet with a sticker with the United States emblem on it. And Making America Great Again, apparently, is doing all of that and then letting it rot in a warehouse and then incinerating it. What the hell are we doing here? You want to have a conversation about debt and deficits? You want to have a conversation about aligning our foreign policy better? You want to have a conversation about whether or not the State Department – not the USAID agency – should have been funding operas and cultural enterprises in foreign countries. Fine. We can have that conversation. But I dare you to justify lighting food on fire.
It wasn’t so long ago that a Republican senator stood on this very floor, talking about those in his party who claimed that cutting foreign aid was an easy way to save money. “A lot of times people will say, well, ‘Cut foreign aid.’ But foreign aid is less than 1% of our budget. Foreign aid can make a difference when properly used. And if you ever have a chance to travel to the African continent, you will meet people who are alive today because the American taxpayer funded antiviral HIV medications that kept them alive. It is not easy to radicalize people who are alive because of the American taxpayer.” That was Secretary Rubio as Senator Rubio.
Why is this happening at all? I worry that there is a very specific and rather dark view about what the United States is capable of. It’s a view of our military. It’s a view of our economic power. It’s a view of our cultural power. And it’s a view of our moral authority. Which is the best path forward, as we decline, is to lock it down, is to not engage with the world, is to not project power militarily, culturally, economically, morally.
We are going from the indispensable nation. And by the way, this is a real thing. If you ever do foreign policy trips, people hang on the words of United States senators who sit on the Foreign Relations Committee. First among equals. People want to know, what’s the United States doing? What’s the United States doing? It doesn’t matter what the issue is. It could be it could be fighting malnutrition. It could be economics and trade. It could be military strategy. Everyone wants to know: what’s the United States doing? You know what has changed in the last six months? They’re moving on from us. They’re not waiting to hear what the United States is doing. They’ve seen what the United States is doing. In Trump 1.0, we could basically be reassuring and say, ‘We’ll be back, don’t worry. We’re going through a rocky time.’
Now, China is in the breech. China has stepped up. It’s not just that America’s retreat is bad for us. It is really good for China. It is great for Russia. It’s great if you’re Hungary. The Kremlin was nearly instantaneous with its praise calling the dismantling of the foreign aid enterprise a smart move. Autocrats in Hungary and El Salvador also celebrated USAID’s demise. Now there’s a basic principle in political campaigns, which is if you are doing something that your opponent loves, you may want to reconsider whether it’s a good strategy. The moment we did this, all the bad guys were like, ‘Very smart. Good job. We’re very happy for you. Excellent.’ China has seized this opportunity with a little more specificity because they have the opportunity to step into this role. They are working on child nutrition and landmine clearing in Cambodia. Health and education in Nepal. Disaster response in Myanmar. Climate resilience in Mongolia. And it doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to understand what this will look like in a few years’ time. China will become the partner of choice for countries, big and small, all around the world. It will have increased its funding to global bodies like the World Health Organization, enabling it to win leadership posts and rewrite the rules in its favor. And we will have facilitated that process.
So that’s the background. Now let’s talk about the specifics of what’s in this package. And this point I want to make really clear. And I made this point in the Appropriations Committee. There were a bunch of controversial programs that precipitated this effort to cut USAID. Two points to be made. One, the total dollar amount of all the controversial programs was like in the $100-200 million range. That’s number one.
Number two is all of those programs were discontinued. This is a budget that was enacted in March. This is Trump’s budget. This is Trump’s State Department. This is Trump’s USAID. And so there is not a single thing that was on that Fox chyron that Marco Rubio is continuing to do. So this rescissions package doesn’t have any of that stuff. And by the way, some of my Republican colleagues who understandably weren’t super engrossed in the details, I had to send them a line-by-line of what these rescissions do. And they’re sitting there going, ‘Where’s the opera in Ecuador? Where’s the cultural exchange program or the parade in South Africa? Where’s all the goofy sounding stuff?’
And the answer is a lot of that stuff was made up in the first place. But even if you stipulate to the idea that there was inappropriate spending, it’s literally not in this package. What’s in this package is stuff that 90 out of 100 of us have asked for. And what do I mean by that? I mean, as the ranking member of the State and Foreign Ops Subcommittee – basically as a chair or ranking member of any of the subcommittees – you get a bunch of letters from your colleagues saying: ‘This program is important to me. Could you please take care of it in the coming appropriation cycle?’ And these letters are private and I will protect the confidentiality of these interactions. But suffice it to say, a lot of the people voting for the rescissions are also privately asking for me to fund the thing that they are defunding. So this is all about the momentum that came from DOGE and Trump and some tweets and some animus – real animus – to the foreign aid enterprise.
So let’s go through what’s in it. $4.15 billion for economic support and development assistance. Our economic and development assistance is not charity. It is for countering the influence of the People’s Republic of China or promoting regional stability. This work is in our economic and security interests. If this administration disagrees with some of the projects pursued by the previous administration, the good news is they have pretty broad authority to reprogram the money. Like if we’re doing a program, I don’t want to name a country because it’ll have foreign policy implications. If we’re doing a program in a country and this administration says, you know, that’s not as important. They don’t have to rescind the money. They can reprogram it to China or Russia or Ukraine or whatever it is. They have that flexibility. What they are saying is they want less money to counter foreign influence.
$563 million for treaty dues. Now we’re members of organizations with whom we disagree. That’s kind of the deal, right? Because if we want to be in an international forum, even arguing for our interests, even arguing against other countries, or being frustrated with the body with which we’re interacting, we have two choices. We can either participate. Or if we don’t pay our dues, we relegate ourselves to something called observer status, which basically means we’re on the outside looking in. In order to get in the room, you got to pay your dues to the relevant organization. And that is what we’re doing here. We’re rescinding all the funds for all of the payments to all these international organizations.
Why? Not because it’s in our foreign policy interests. It’s actually not, but because a bunch of ideologues don’t actually understand how foreign policy works. And that’s the thing here. You can have a different view under whatever it is to have an America First foreign policy. But this isn’t that. This is just vandalism, right? I’m not having a disagreement with Jim Risch about how hawkish to be or how much to prioritize global health versus something else. We’re just literally cutting off our nose to spite our face, because what they want is vandalism to the enterprise. And the tools of foreign policy are being shredded. So this isn’t about policy unless you think the policy is: I wish my State Department were weaker. I wish the tools in our toolkit were more limited. I wish our ability to prevent war and keep nations stable were less well funded. I wish that the only tool in our toolkit was military might.
And it is not a small thing that many former Secretaries of Defense have said something along the lines of if you defund foreign aid, I’m going to need more ammunition because this is the cheapest way to prevent war.
$500 million from global health programs. Now, the new Republican proposal protects some of those programs funded by this account, but it leaves out pandemic prevention, family planning, and work on a wide range of issues.
$1.3 billion for migration and refugee assistance and international disaster assistance. This funding supports our efforts to help refugees and other displaced people in conflict zones around the world. You know, most of us at some point out of the 100 of us do some sort of CODEL, some sort of foreign travel, and this is the kind of stuff we visit. And this is the stuff on a bipartisan basis that we all nod approvingly about. It’s great that we’re doing this. It’s great that we’re providing this kind of assistance. And $1.3 billion for refugee assistance is being cut.
And I’ll tell you why. It’s because it’s got the word refugee in it. I mean, that’s how they figured out what they wanted to cut, right? They ran word searches. They’re pretending it’s sophisticated. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But all they were doing was looking for words like gender. Or looking for words like climate. Looking for words like equity. Looking for words like refugee. And if the program was named in such a way that it mentioned it, just use those words. It was out. Just totally preposterous.
Our contributions to and participate to participation in organizations like UNICEF is being cut. I mean, good luck explaining why you cut UNICEF. I’m pretty good at like imagining what my political competitors on the other side of the aisle would say. But why did you cut UNICEF? Like, are you trying to pretend that some number of hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent starvation among children is like going to do the trick in terms of getting debt and deficits under control? Nobody actually believes that. Why are you cutting UNICEF? If this is about tightening our belts? Why would you cut UNICEF?
$460 million for the assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia. This account funds a whole bunch of bipartisan foreign policy priorities, including energy security in Ukraine, that will be cut completely if this recession is enacted. If there were programs under the previous administration that the current administration disagrees with, good news: they literally have the authority to reprogram those dollars. This is two-year money. It doesn’t actually have to be spent by the end of the federal fiscal year. They have pretty good authority to reprogram it, but they don’t want to reprogram it to something that they consider important. They want to shred the enterprise.
$125 million for the U.S. Agency for International Development operating expenses. Now, this administration is illegally dismantling USAID and functionally merging it under the State Department. Here’s the problem with the $125 million. And yes, it’s admin expenses. I’ve been in the nonprofit sector and I’ve been in the grant giving side, and nobody loves the idea of paying for administrative expenses. But I know for a fact the State Department didn’t want this in the rescissions package. Because now that they have merged USAID under the State Department, they literally don’t have the money, and they’ve got to absorb $125 million hit.
$100 million for the Transition Initiatives in the Complex Crisis Fund. This is flexible funding and contingency accounts that didn’t expire, and the administration can program it in any way they want.
$83 million for the Democracy Fund. $83 million. Promoting democratic values is directly in our interest and supporting resistance to dictators – resistance to dictators. We’re cutting resistance to dictators. Good for us. Make America Great Again. Ronald Reagan would be proud. The party of Cold Warriors, the party that vanquished the Soviet Union, the party that claims a hawkish mantle is now saying, you know what? This thing which is probably 0.00 whatever of the entire federal spend and an even tinier amount of the debt and deficit of the United States. Let’s defund that, because it’s not our business if dictators maintain power. It’s a real change in policy here.
$27 million for the Inter-American Foundation. This provides small, cost effective grants and technical support for locally led development projects. Strengthening stability and self-reliance in partner countries is in our interest. And this is another one that I get a lot of letters from these guys saying, ‘Please fund it. Dear Ranking Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Schatz, this program is super important. And would you please fund it in the next appropriations cycle?’ That’s the private letter that we get. The public action is to rescind the money.
$22 million for the African Development Foundation. The administration says the African Development Foundation’s work is duplicative of the State Department’s work. But the kind of grants and technical support that the African Development Foundation provides is not available through the State Department.
15 million bucks for the United States Institute of Peace. A creature of statute. A creature of one of the first senators from the great state of Hawai‘i. Mr. Spark Matsunaga.
The through line between all of this is that there’s no correlation between the rationale provided by the administration for these cuts, and what’s actually in the package. And I’ve talked to Eric Schmidt, with whom I have a reasonable, functional working relationship. But we’re like talking past each other. Because every time I talk about what’s actually in this package, he pivots back to what’s actually not in this package and starts naming line items on things that are not in the eight-page rescissions bill. This is not the BBB which took 11.5 hours to read. This thing is eight pages. You can go and see there is no line item for $1.8 billion for operas and festivals and underwater basket weaving and whatever else nonsense people wanted to characterize as the U.S. foreign aid enterprise. This is economic support funds. This is global public health. This is humanitarian assistance. This is helping our friends in Jordan and elsewhere to maintain the basic stability so that there is not a conflagration in a region. That’s what’s in this package. That is what’s being rescinded from this package.
I understand that there is some obligation as a party member to oblige the requests of this party’s president. I get it. But we are still a system with separate, co-equal, independent branches of government. The problem is, if you don’t assert your authority, you don’t functionally have it. So it’s true that we hold the purse strings. It’s true that we’re the Article One branch. It’s true that we’re in charge of whether a bill passes or not. But I will tell you, the thing that is most alarming to me is not the bad policy outcomes – and there are terrible policy outcomes. The thing that is most alarming to me is that I have not yet seen in the last six months, in this final term of Donald Trump, what I saw in the first term of Donald Trump. Which is quietly, not rudely, not provocatively, but occasionally, this branch of government, on a bipartisan basis, stood up for itself and said – and those guys would say – ‘Look, we love you, Mr. Trump. We love you, Mr. President. But on this one, I can’t be with you.’
And on BBB, I understand, like it’s very hard to reject the president’s signature policy accomplishment. But this seemed like one where we could have gotten four no votes. This really did, to me, seem like one where it would be a good opportunity to stand up to the president and just say, like, we’re going to do the appropriating over here. Like, let me show you what Article One says and what Article Two says, and we’re going to defer to you on lots of matters, but not 100% of matters.
And so my question is if they’re going to have the votes to enact this rescission package. When is it that Republicans are going to stand up for their own prerogatives? And why would you run for office? Would you put your family through all of that? Would you go through the difficulty of a campaign? Would you go through the difficulty of being a public figure and subject to scrutiny and criticism, and all of the late nights and the kind of uncomfortable interactions and all that? It really is a sacrifice. It’s certainly an honor, but it’s also a sacrifice. Why would you do that if you don’t get to make up your own mind?
I don’t pretend to be able to get into the mind or the position of a Republican colleague of mine. I’m from Hawaii. It’s different. But I do think that there’s a point at which it’s just not worth it to give this guy every single thing that he wants. And it would be important, and it will age well, and your family will be happy and your staff will be secretly happy, at least some of them, if at some point you establish that there are some limits to the executive branch’s power.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Resolution Text (PDF)
Washington (July 16, 2025) – On the 80th anniversary of the Trinity test, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) today introduced a Senate companion to H.Res.317, urging the United States to lead the world to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race. Introduced in the House by Representative Jim McGovern (MA-02), the resolution calls on the President to work with Russia and China to reduce nuclear arsenals; to renounce the first use of nuclear weapons; to limit the President’s sole authority to start nuclear war; to end the production of new nuclear weapons; and to maintain the global moratorium on nuclear testing.
Sens. Markey and Merkley, along with Reps. John Garamendi (CA-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08), who have cosponsored the House bill, are the co-chairs of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group.
“Eighty years after the Trinity test, much progress has been made to reduce nuclear dangers, but much work remains to be done,” said Senator Markey. “The United States, Russia, and China must work together to reduce their arsenals. In particular, Washington and Moscow must work to replace the New START Treaty before it expires next year. If they do not, we may be on the cusp of a new and more dangerous nuclear arms race. When it comes to reducing the risk of nuclear war, we cannot afford to go backward.”
“The Trinity Test marked the beginning of the Atomic Age, dramatically changing the world as we knew it. Although eighty years have passed since the first nuclear test, the threat of a new nuclear arms race is looming with the imminent expiration of the New START Treaty. We can’t afford to cede any ground in limiting nuclear proliferation in the decades since Trinity. Negotiating a successor to New START must be an immediate priority,” said Senator Welch. “This resolution reaffirms our firm commitment to pursue a world free of nuclear weapons.”
“The Trinity test began the nuclear age, and from that moment onward we have been forced to confront the prospect that we created a weapon that could lead to the end of humanity. Today, 80 years since the day of that test, we should take stock of the slow progress we have made on nuclear nonproliferation and recommit ourselves to reversing the arms race and preventing a nuclear war. We must continue to pursue effective arms control treaties, including the renewal of existing agreements, such as NEW START, that both maintain our national security and the responsible development of nuclear capabilities,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“While the world has changed significantly since I was a nuclear weapons policy analyst at the Pentagon and Congressional Budget Office, the dangers of nuclear weapons have not,” said Senator Merkley. “The ‘Doomsday Clock’ is now 89 seconds to midnight—the closest to global disaster we have ever been. American leadership is critical to reversing course and fostering a more secure future, free of nuclear weapons.”
The United States conducted the first nuclear test 80 years ago today at the Trinity Site in New Mexico. This first test was soon followed by the first and only use of nuclear weapons when the United States dropped two bombs on Japan at the end of World War II. The United States went on to conduct more than 1,000 nuclear tests and produce more than 30,000 nuclear weapons.
Today, thanks to arms control agreements and related actions, the United States and all other nuclear armed states (except North Korea) have ended nuclear testing, helping to stop the spread of the bomb and the harmful environmental and health effects of testing. The United States and Russia have reduced their nuclear arsenals to about 5,000 warheads each, but there is more work to do to reduce the danger of nuclear war.
The House resolution is cosponsored by Representatives Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Greg Casar (TX-35), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Mark Pocan (WI-02), John Garamendi (CA-08), Judy Chu (CA-28), John Larson (CT-01), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Don Beyer (VA-08) and Chuy Garcia (IL-04).
Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today released the following statement after the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 passed out of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:
“The U.S. Intelligence Community and congressional intelligence committees play vital roles in keeping Texans safe and secure in an increasingly complex threat environment at home and around the globe,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation will ensure our intelligence agencies are equipped with the tools to confront foreign espionage, enhance counternarcotics efforts, and bolster our cybersecurity all while prioritizing transparency and efficiency, and I was glad to support it.”
Sen. Cornyn’s Legislation Included in the Bill:
Intelligence Community Technology Bridge Act:Would enable the Intelligence Community (IC) to streamline acquisition processes and prioritize small business and nontraditional defense contractor solutions.
Counternarcotics Enhancement Act: Would direct the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to submit to the congressional intelligence committees an action plan to enhance counternarcotics collaboration, coordination, and cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico.
Strengthening Prosecution Integrity for Espionage Statutes (SPIES) Act: Would help hold foreign spies who commit espionage crimes against the U.S. accountable by removing the statute of limitations for certain offenses such as gathering or delivering classified information to aid foreign governments.
Other Key Provisions Include:
Requiring the DNI to assess the counterintelligence vulnerabilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA);
Requiring the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assess and share the counterintelligence risks to commercial spaceports;
Reforming and improving efficiencies and effectiveness within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the broader IC;
Requiring that visas be denied to certain nationals applying to work at the United Nations if they are known or suspected of being foreign intelligence officers or committing intelligence or espionage activities;
Prohibiting the IC from contracting with Chinese military companies engaged in biotechnology research, development, or manufacturing;
Codifying tour and travel restrictions for Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean diplomats in the United States;
Enhancing protections for, and congressional oversight of, IC whistleblowers;
Prohibiting IC contractors from collecting or selling IC personnel location data;
And promoting transparency by requiring the DNI to conduct a declassification review and publish intelligence relating to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osnabrueck / Bogotá, July 16, 2025. Hellmann Worldwide Logistics today announced the opening of its new fully-owned subsidiary in Colombia. The launch represents a strategic milestone in the company’s network expansion across the Americas and underscores its commitment to sustainable, long-term growth.
Hellmann has been active in Colombia for almost 30 years through local partner companies, establishing a strong market presence, in-depth local expertise, and a reliable network. Earlier this year Hellmann acquired its perishables partner HPL Apollo, including the HPL entity in Colombia. Following this acquisition, the company has further strengthened its footprint in the country by formally establishing its own subsidiary specializing in end-to-end logistics for general cargo and other verticals including airfreight, seafreight, customs brokerage, and contract logistics supported by an experienced team of supply chain professionals. Customers and partners can leverage Colombia as a new strategic hub for both inbound and outbound flows, enhancing connectivity to North and South American markets as well as global trade lanes supported by the extensive Hellmann network.
“Following the takeover of HPL Apollo in the United States and the inclusion of its Colombian operations, establishing a fully integrated own country organization in Colombia marks another milestone in our global expansion strategy. The Americas is a key market for us, and this development strengthens our presence and enhances our ability to serve customers across this strategically important region,” says Jens Drewes, CEO Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.
“After seven successful years of collaboration with our local partner ABC Cargo Logistics S.A.S., we are proud to take the next step by establishing our own Hellmann operations in Colombia,” said Peter Huwel, Regional Chief Executive Officer, Americas. “This launch strengthens our ability to deliver the high-quality, integrated logistics solutions our customers expect from Hellmann, while positioning us to drive continued growth across the region.”
The Colombian opening further consolidates Hellmann’s presence in Latin America and aligns with the company’s ambition to connect the Americas’ markets, people, and opportunities with efficiency, innovation, and commitment.
Über Hellmann Hellmann Worldwide Logistics ist ein globaler Logistikdienstleister mit einem umfassenden Dienstleistungsportfolio, das Luft- und Seefracht, Straßen- und Schienentransport sowie Kontraktlogistik umfasst. Mit einem Jahresumsatz von EUR 3,8 Mrd. und rund 12.000 Mitarbeiter*innen in 61 Ländern bewegt Hellmann jährlich über 20 Mio. Sendungen. Auf Basis dieser breiten Produktpalette und langjährigen Erfahrung bietet Hellmann innovative Logistiklösungen für die komplexen Anforderungen jedes einzelnen Kunden und setzt auf visionäre technische Produkte, um maximale Kundentransparenz zu gewährleisten und gleichzeitig eine effizientere Lieferkette zu schaffen.
About Hellmann Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is a global logistics service provider with a comprehensive service portfolio that includes air- and seafreight, road and rail transport, and contract logistics. With annual sales of EUR 3.8 bn and around 12,000 employees in 61 countries, Hellmann moves over 20 mio shipments annually. Based on this broad product range and many years of experience, Hellmann offers innovative logistics solutions for the complex requirements of each individual customer and relies on visionary technical products to ensure maximum customer transparency while creating a more efficient supply chain.
July 16, 2025Boston, MA, United StatesChild Exploitation
BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations New England has administratively arrested El Salvadorian national Victor Vasquez Cordova, a Level 1 registered sex offender with a past conviction for possession of child sexual abuse material.
ICE HSI personnel, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Cordova, 54, on July 10 at his residence in Everett, Massachusetts, for immigration violations.
Cordova entered the United States on Dec. 18, 1983, as a lawful permanent resident.
He was convicted on March 31, 2022, of possession of child pornography. Cordova was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
He will be held in ICE custody pending a hearing before an immigration judge.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor detailing the need for the U.S. Senate to pass the $9 billion rescissions package to eliminate wasteful government spending.
Click here to download Senator Blackburn’s remarks on the Senate floor.
REMARKS AS PREPARED
America’s Current Fiscal Path Is Unsustainable, and President Trump Has a Mandate to Rein in Wasteful Spending
Mister President, when I talk to Tennesseans, one of the biggest concerns they have for our nation’s future is our national debt.
After four years of reckless, far-left spending under the Biden administration, it now sits at $37 trillion.
That’s $108,000 for every American citizen.
Today, we are spending more on interest payments on the debt than what we spend to fund our entire military.
Tennesseans and the American people know that this path is unsustainable.
That’s why they returned President Trump to the Oval Office with a mandate to rein in wasteful spending.
And that’s exactly what he has done.
Congress Must Permanently Eliminate Wasteful Spending
Since Inauguration Day, this administration has identified more than $190 billion in potential savings across the federal government—on everything from unused office space to far-left DEI programming.
This is a victory for the American people.
But while President Trump can stop these funds from going out the door, it is Congress’s responsibility to claw them back and make these savings permanent.
Otherwise, a future Democrat President could open the floodgates of wasteful spending once again.
That’s why Republicans are moving forward with a rescissions package this week that will save American taxpayers $9 billion.
With our national debt at unsustainable levels, we must be careful stewards of taxpayer dollars. That means eliminating obvious waste that serves no benefit for the American people.
Rescissions Package Will Eliminate Reckless Spending on Biased Public Media
That’s exactly what this bill accomplishes, and this is only the beginning of the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate reckless spending.
It eliminates $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This is the organization that funds NPR and PBS—which have pushed left-wing ideology on the taxpayers’ dime for years.
NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher, has called President Trump a “fascist” and “deranged racist.”
Ahead of the 2020 election, her outlet refused to cover the revelations about Hunter Biden’s laptop and overseas business deals—which turned out to be entirely true.
As NPR’s leadership put it at the time: “We don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.”
Rescissions Package Will Cut Billions in Foreign Spending That Undermines American Values
The rescissions package also cuts billions in foreign spending that does absolutely nothing to promote American values and interests abroad:
$4 million for “sedentary migrants” in Colombia;
$3 million for an Iraqi version of Sesame Street;
$1 million for voter ID efforts in Haiti;
$500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda;
$6 million for “Net Zero Cities” in Mexico;
$2.1 million for “climate resilience” in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
And on and on.
At the same time, the package eliminates $1 billion in funding for international organizations that work against American interests, including:
$135 million for the corrupt World Health Organization, which covered for Communist China throughout the COVID pandemic;
And $8 million for the UN Human Rights Council, which supports dictators and repressive regimes while demonizing our ally, Israel.
Americans Support Fiscal Responsibility
All in all, these savings are just common sense.
The American people support these cuts. They want fiscal responsibility. They want a future where their children and grandchildren do not have to bear the burden of crippling debt. And this rescissions package is an incredible first step in taking on this problem.
Ongoing violence is compounding the country’s food crisis, disrupting local food production in critical areas such as the commune of Kenscoff and the Artibonite department, often considered the breadbaskets of Haiti.
While the UN and its partners are responding “wherever and whenever possible,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said this Wednesday that humanitarians have only been able to reach 38 per cent of the population they aim to support.
Multiple roadblocks
“This is due to ongoing violence and insecurity, severe underfunding of the response, and the obvious access challenges,” he said.
Over halfway through the year, Haiti is the least-funded of the many humanitarian appeals that the UN coordinates – despite shortfalls for food security in the country being at extreme levels – with just over two per cent of the $425 million needed this year received to date.
Myanmar: Intensifying conflict impedes humanitarian aid
Almost four months after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, the UN is deeply concerned over the plight of civilians caught up in the country’s devastating and continuing conflict between the military regime and opposition armed groups.
As fighting intensifies, civilians are particularly vulnerable, with increasing attacks on infrastructure.
According to reports, an air strike hit a monastery in Sagan Township in Sagaing Region on 11 July, killing 22 people and injuring at least 50 others. The monastery had been providing shelter to displaced people who had fled nearby villages.
A displacement camp in North Shan State was also reportedly hit by an airstrike over the weekend.
‘Broader pattern’
“These incidents are part of a broader pattern of attacks affecting people across Myanmar,” said Mr. Dujarric, with frequent reports of people being killed, injured or displaced by violence.
Such insecurity also impacts the ability of humanitarian teams to reach people in need: with one in three people now facing acute hunger, and the current monsoon season having caused flooding, “the UN urgently calls on all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law,” he said.
Belarus: Rights experts urge probe into deaths in custody of opposition activists
Top independent human rights experts called on Belarus on Wednesday to launch urgent investigations into the deaths of several people jailed for political dissent.
The experts – who are known as Special Rapporteurs – highlighted the case of 61-year-old businessman Valiantsin Shtermer. He died in May 2025 while serving his sentence in a so-called “Correctional Colony” in Šklou.
Mr. Shtermer had been jailed for making critical remarks about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite his serious medical condition, he was allegedly denied adequate care in prison.
Fifty-year-old opposition activist Vitold Ashurak meanwhile, also died shortly after being placed in an isolation in the same prison.
According to the Special Rapporteurs, Mr. Ashurak was a member of the Belarusian National Front who was jailed for violating public order during protests related to the disputed 2020 presidential elections.
We must not ignore these deaths
“These deaths must not be ignored,” said the experts, who added that there were strong grounds to believe that they resulted from abuse or neglect linked to the exercise of fundamental rights.
“It is of the utmost importance to thoroughly investigate the alleged instances of ill-treatment and neglect that resulted in the deaths of Shtermer, Ashurak, Puškin and other persons designated as political prisoners by human rights defenders,” the Human Rights Council appointed experts underscored.
“There are strong reasons to believe that these individuals lost their lives in retaliation for exercising their civil and political rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
The independent experts voiced concern that some opposition figures had been stigmatised and labelled as “extremists” or even “terrorists”.
Special Rapporteurs report regularly to the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich announced that his Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I drugs, under the Controlled Substances Act, has been signed into law. Heinrich introduced the HALT Fentanyl Act in January with U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Heinrich announced passage of his bill in the U.S. Senate in March and the U.S. House of Representatives in June.
This permanent scheduling will give law enforcement added tools to help get extremely lethal and dangerous drugs off our streets, dismantle organized criminal trafficking operations, and keep New Mexicans safe.
“I’m very pleased that my HALT Fentanyl Act is now law. This bill will help our law enforcement crack down on illegal trafficking and keep our communities safe, and allow prosecutors to build stronger, longer-term criminal cases,” said Heinrich, the bill’s lead Democratic sponsor. “I will never stop fighting to deliver the resources to get deadly fentanyl out of our communities and save lives.”
The HALT Fentanyl Act is endorsed by the Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, the National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Directors Association, the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, and the National District Attorneys Association, as well as state and local law enforcement across New Mexico.
“Fentanyl has negatively impacted the city of Las Cruces in significant ways. In the past five years, we have experienced a substantial increase in crime, homelessness, and quality of life issues. I firmly believe fentanyl has been the biggest driver of these issues. It is time to take meaningful action to reverse the harm caused by this illicit substance,” said Jeremy Story, Chief of the Las Cruces Police Department.
“Like any illegal substance, whether it be opioids or fentanyl use, there are no easy or quick solutions and often combatting their abuse requires a multi-layered approach. The HALT Fentanyl Act is just that, which is why I fully support it. We may be inclined to not concern ourselves with research, for example, but those trafficking in this market do concern themselves with research. Let us endorse this bigger picture approach to help combat fentanyl use in our country,” said Kim Stewart, Doña Ana County Sheriff.
“The HALT Fentanyl Act is another tool to go after transnational gangs and help make our community safer. Legislation is key for law enforcement to do their job,” said John Allen, Bernalillo County Sheriff.
Background:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there were 107,543 overdose deaths in the United States in 2023. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances accounted for nearly 75,000 of those deaths. Since 1999, the overdose crisis has increasingly been characterized by deaths involving these illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl-related substances (FRS), which are commonly sold through illicit drug markets for their fentanyl-like effect, and are often mixed with heroin or other drugs, such as cocaine, or pressed in to counterfeit prescription pills. During this same period, overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) increased 103-fold. By comparison, overdose deaths involving heroin and prescription opioids increased 2.5-fold and 4.1-fold, respectively.
Traffickers are continually altering the chemical structure of fentanyl to evade regulation and prosecution, sometimes with tragic results. Since 2013, China has been the principal source of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and the precursor chemicals from which they are produced. Chinese product is commonly shipped to Mexico and smuggled into the United States’ illicit drug market via U.S. citizens. Traffickers have favored fentanyl-related substances to skirt around committing the crime of trafficking fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized nearly 12,000 pounds of illicit fentanyl, including fentanyl powder and more than 78 million pills laced with illicit fentanyl. The 2023 seizures were equivalent to more than 388.8 million lethal doses of fentanyl.
In 2018, as an initial response to this unprecedented crisis, the DEA issued a temporary scheduling order that placed FRS in Schedule I, under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), after classifying it as an imminent hazard to public safety. Previously, Congress has only closed this loophole temporarily by designating fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. Congress has extended the FRS temporary scheduling order several times, most recently on March 15, 2025, with a measure that would have expired on September 30, 2025.
Heinrich’s HALT Fentanyl Act will finally make permanent the scheduling of illicitly produced fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs and streamline the regulatory process for scientists seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to research Schedule I substances.
Clear and Enforceable Criminal Penalties for Fentanyl Trafficking:
A permanent scheduling of FRS is necessary to make penalties for criminals clear and enforceable under the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), reducing the supply and availability of illicitly manufactured FRS. The HALT Fentanyl Act places controls and penalties on FRS that have no accepted medical use and a high abuse potential.
Specifically, the HALT Fentanyl Act will permanently impose the following quantity-based federal trafficking penalties on FRS:
Mandatory minimum penalties: 5 years for 10 grams or more (10 years for second offense); and 10 years for 100 grams or more (20 years for second offense).
Discretionary maximum penalties: 40 years for 10 grams or more (life for second offense); and life for 100 grams or more.
Expanded Scientific and Medical Research:
More closely aligning the research and registration process for Schedule I substances, including FRS, with Schedule II substances will facilitate increased FRS research. By accommodating more medical research into fentanyl-related substances, the bill will establish a new, streamlined registration process for research funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or under an Investigative New Drug (IND) exemption from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Specifically, the HALT Fentanyl Act will enhance our understanding of these illicitly manufactured substances by:
Allowing researchers in the same institution to participate in multiple scientific studies.
Permitting researchers with ongoing studies to examine newly added Schedule I substances.
Allowing researchers to manufacture small quantities of FRS without a separate registration.
The text of the HALT Fentanyl Act ishere.
A section-by-section summary of the HALT Fentanyl Act ishere.
Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) Introduces the Kayla Hamilton Act to Protect American Communities from Dangerous UAC Placements
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) introduced the Kayla Hamilton Act, critical legislation designed to close dangerous loopholes in the federal government’s handling of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and to prevent tragedies like the murder of Kayla Hamilton, an autistic 20-year-old woman from Maryland. Congressmen Troy Nehls (TX-22) and Barry Moore (AL-01) are original cosponsors of this legislation.
Kayla was brutally murdered by Walter Javier Martinez, a UAC who was released to a sponsor—an individual responsible for housing and supervising the UAC—by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) before any background checks were completed. Because the Biden-Harris administration did not complete background checks prior to a UAC’s release, authorities were unaware that Martinez was in fact an El Salvadorian with a criminal history and affiliation with the MS-13 gang. Once authorities then took him into custody, Martinez also admitted to having committed four murders, two rapes, and other crimes.
To prevent such tragedies from happening again, the Kayla Hamilton Act mandates that the HHS Secretary consider whether the UAC poses a danger to themselves or the community when determining potential placements for them.
Additional reforms in the Kayla Hamilton Act include:
Requires HHS to contact the consulate or embassy of a UAC’s home country to determine any criminal history or gang affiliation for UACs aged 12 and older.
Mandates that HHS screen for gang tattoos during standard medical assessments and requires UACs with such indicators to be placed in secure facilities.
UACs with known gang ties or tattoos must be housed in secure HHS facilities, not released into communities.
Prohibits UAC placement with sponsors who are in the United States illegally.
Requires HHS to collect and share background information on all potential sponsors and their adult household members—including immigration status and results of FBI fingerprint checks—with the Department of Homeland Security.
Removes discretionary authority that previously allowed HHS to ignore risk factors such as gang activity or criminal history during placement decisions.
“The tragic murder of Kayla Hamilton was preventable,” said Congressman Fry. “The Biden Administration’s policies opened the door to criminal exploitation of our immigration system—and the Kayla Hamilton Act ensures that no future administration can make those same reckless decisions. It’s time we put public safety, accountability, and the protection of American citizens first. This bill makes clear that the integrity of our immigration system can no longer be an afterthought.”
“No one else should ever again have to suffer the way my daughter Kayla did,” said Tammy Nobles, Kayla Hamilton’s mother. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s policies prioritized the comfort of illegal aliens, like Kayla’s killer, over the safety of innocent Americans. The Kayla Hamilton Act is necessary to ensure background checks of unaccompanied alien children occur before they are released. If that had happened in the case of Kayla’s killer, authorities would have known he was an MS-13 gang member.”
“The Biden Administration’s failed policies regarding unaccompanied alien children put the American people at risk and resulted in one of the largest state-sponsored child trafficking operations in human history,” said Congressman Nehls. “The failure to conduct criminal background checks on the UACs cost the life of Kayla Hamilton, and the failure to vet UAC sponsors resulted in thousands of children likely being trafficked for labor or sex. I’m proud to cosponsor Congressman Fry’s Kayla Hamilton Act to prevent any future administration from releasing UAC gang members into our communities or failing to vet UAC sponsors, putting the safety of the American people first.”
“The tragic murder of Kayla Hamilton should have never happened,” said Congressman Moore. “This heartbreaking case is a direct result of reckless catch and release policies seen under the Biden Administration and the failure of Democrats in Congress to put the safety of American citizens first. We must ensure unaccompanied minors aren’t placed with dangerous individuals or illegal aliens without proper vetting. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of Rep. Fry’s bill, The Kayla Hamilton Act, which gives us the opportunity to close threatening loopholes, stop the flow of gang members like MS-13 into our communities, and restore common sense and accountability to our immigration system.”
Congressman Fry serves on both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. To stay up to date with Congressman Fry and his work for the Seventh District, follow his official Facebook, Instagram, and X pages and visit his website at fry.house.gov.
TABER, ALBERTA, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE-AMERICAN: FSI), is the developer and manufacturer of biodegradable polymers for oil extraction, detergent ingredients and water treatment as well as crop nutrient availability chemistry. Flexible Solutions also manufactures biodegradable and environmentally safe water and energy conservation technologies. In addition, FSI is increasing its presense in the food and nutrition supplement manufacturing markets. Today the Company announces second quarter (Q2), 2025 revenue.
Sales were up in Q2, 2025 compared to Q2, 2024. Flexible Solutions’ top line revenue increased to $11.212 million (Q2, 2025) from $10.529 million (Q2, 2024) to), up approximately 6.5% year over year.
Mr. Dan O’Brien, CEO, comments, “The $2.5 million payment for food grade product development moved our Q2 revenue from poor to good. We saw weakness from several historic customers in the quarter most likely related to general business conditions, tariff uncertainty and inventory reduction.” Mr. O’Brien continues, “Volatility in our base business reinforces our decision to emphasize food grade operations but, it does not change our opinion that the second half of 2025 will see growth unless economic conditions decay further.”
Complete financial results will be available after market close on Thursday, August 14, 2025, concurrent with the Company’s SEC second quarter filings. A conference call will be scheduled for 8:00 am Pacific Time, 11:00 am Eastern Time, the following business day, Friday, August 15, 2025. See the FSI August 14, 2025 financials news release for the dial in numbers.
About Flexible Solutions International
Flexible Solutions International, Inc. (www.flexiblesolutions.com), based in Taber, Alberta, is an environmental technology company. The Company’s NanoChem Solutions Inc. subsidiary specializes in biodegradable, water-soluble products utilizing thermal polyaspartate (TPA) biopolymers. TPA beta-proteins are manufactured from the common biological amino acid, L-aspartic and have wide usage including scale inhibitors, detergent ingredients, water treatment and crop enhancement. Along with TPA, this division started producing other crop enhancement products as well. In 2022, the Company entered the food and nutrition markets by obtaining FDA food grade approval for the Peru IL plant. The other divisions manufacture energy and water conservation products for drinking water, agriculture, industrial markets and swimming pools throughout the world.
Safe Harbor Provision
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “Safe Harbor” for forward-looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts, are forward looking statement with respect to events, the occurrence of which involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Flexible Solutions International 6001 54thAve, Taber, Alberta, CANADA T1G 1X4 Company Contacts
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Two papers published in NEJM look at the use of mitochondrial donation an preimplantation genetic testing for mitochondrial disease.
Dr David J Clancy, Lecturer in Biogerontology, Lancaster University, said:
“This comment is to discuss Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT) in terms of costs and benefits in light of what we now know.
Benefits
“Mitochondrial replacement therapy allows women with pathogenic mitochondrial DNA to have a baby which bears her own chromosomes, while reducing or replacing the pathogenic mtDNA. If the primary purpose is to avoid mitochondrial disease, then women could also have IVF by donor sperm or donor egg (or donor embryo), or they might choose adoption if IVF technologies don’t suit them for clinical or personal reasons.
“In chromosomal dominant diseases like Huntington’s disease, affected people are offered pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) and they are also offered IVF using donor eggs or embryos if the patient is a woman. For these sorts of genetic disease there is currently no alternative. In these cases a woman cannot have a child bearing her own chromosomes.
“When having a family there are two ways to break genetic lineages – inheritance down generations: one is to adopt and another is to have IVF by donor sperm or donor egg (or donor embryo). It is difficult to value genetic lineage. It will be more valuable to some, less to others. While maternity is never in doubt, paternity often is. Perhaps we should then value maternal genetic lineage more than paternal. Mitochondrial replacement therapy allows unbroken maternal lineage.
I cannot determine whether the Mitochondrial Reproductive Advice Clinic suggests IVF by donor egg or embryo (or adoption). The paper says “Patients with heteroplasmy (part pathogenic mitochondrial DNA, part healthy) were offered PGT, and patients with homoplasmy or elevated heteroplasmy (all or mostly pathogenic mitochondrial DNA) were offered pronuclear transfer.”
Costs
“The money cost is presumably significant. The work was funded by Wellcome and NHS England and carried out by Newcastle University, UK and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Presumably they could give an idea of the cost. This might be considered important, in an environment of limited resources for national healthcare.
Possible harms
“Because these babies would not exist without the MRT intervention, we want to know about possible problems; in medicine the saying is “First, do no harm”, though in current healthcare, harm is often inevitable. While the babies so far seem probably unaffected, assessing the potential for future harm as they develop by looking at the degree of heteroplasmy in the infants is a large part of the reason for the publications.
“Measurements were on white blood cells so we don’t know about tissue mosaicism, which is where you can have high heteroplasmy in some tissues and low in others, and is common in many mitochondrial diseases. In tissues demanding high energy production (e.g. neurons), lower levels of heteroplasmy can still be symptomatic. In a mouse model, a proportion of >20% energy-deficient neurons in the brain was necessary for observable symptoms.
“Three of eight newborns from MRT had heteroplasmy levels of 5%, 12%, and 16% (the other five were
“All of these things were mostly known before these publications, so apparently the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), who approved it, is happy with the cost-benefit ratio. It also appears that other countries also approve, because the technique is spreading; there is a clinic in North Cyprus, and Prof Mary Herbert, the study’s lead, has moved to a pioneer institution in IVF, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, partly to introduce a mitochondrial replacement program.”
Prof Joanna Poulton, Professor and Honorary Consultant in Mitochondrial Genetics, Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, said:
“From this study, it isn’t clear that MD (mitochondrial donation) has any advantage over PGT (pre-implantation genetic testing, an alternative strategy) for heteroplasmic mtDNA disorders (where patients have mixtures of normal and mutant mtDNA and severity depends on the “dose” of mutant). The “take home baby” rate and the reduction in mutant load is similar (if anything less good for MD).
“MD has a clear theoretical advantage for homoplasmic disorders (where the mother’s mtDNA is 100% mutant), because while PGT while can be used to reduce risk, it cannot be used to reduce the load of mutant mtDNA. Over half of the MD children were from Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) families, where the chance of male offspring going blind in adolescence is around 20% but only 4% for females. The risk of blindness can be reduced 5 fold using PGT to select female embryos, but they risk transmitting it to their children. Happily, male identical twins were born by MD with undetectable mutant mtDNA, they will be very low risk for blindness and as males, they will not transmit the problem to their children (because LHON is a maternally transmitted disorder). Slightly worryingly, one baby from a m.4300A>G family, where the mother has a heart disorder (cardiomyopathy) for which she may ultimately need a heart transplant, has an unspecified heart defect: they conclude it is probably unrelated to m.4300A>G but this remains uncertain. Another from a m.3260A>G family had a mutant load of 16% in blood. While this probably means the risk of symptoms is low, one symptomatic m.3260A>G woman had a blood level that was lower than this (11% with 81% in muscle). Happily, male identical twins were born by MD with undetectable mutant mtDNA, they will be very low risk for blindness and as males, they will not transmit the problem to their children because LHON is a maternally transmitted disorder.
“A great deal of research funding has been channelled into the centre that has developed MD. While this has generated fascinating scientific data and this treatment option is now available on the NHS, it hasn’t yet resulted in a dramatic clinical advance. Time will tell.”
Prof Dusko Ilic, Professor of Stem Cell Science, King’s College London, said:
“A remarkable accomplishment! State-of-the-art technology. Kudos to the team!”
Prof Dagan Wells,Professor of Reproductive Genetics, University of Oxford, and Director, Juno Genetics, Oxford, said:
“This is an important study which has been eagerly anticipated ever since the first license to carry out mitochondrial replacement therapy to avoid mitochondrial disease was granted eight years ago.
“The results indicate that established methods for avoiding mitochondrial DNA diseases, such as preimplantation genetic testing, perform well and will be suitable for most women at risk of having an affected child.
“A minority of patients are unable to produce any embryos free of mitochondrial disease, and for those women the study provides hope that they may be able to have healthy children in the future.
“The treatment has succeeded in producing 8 babies, and although mitochondrial DNA mutations can be detected in the cells of most of the children, the great majority of their mitochondria are functional, and consequently they do not have mitochondrial disease.
“The published results are very valuable, but some scientists will be a little disappointed that so much time and effort has, so far, only led to the birth of 8 children.
“Larger studies will be needed to truly understand the value of mitochondrial replacement therapy, and to understand whether there are any risks associated with the treatment.
“Three of the eight children born have some evidence of ‘reversal’, a phenomenon where the therapy initially succeeds in producing an embryo with very few defective mitochondria, but by the time the child is born the proportion of abnormal mitochondria in its cells has significantly increased.
“It is not understood why reversal sometimes occurs. Taking data from the new study as well as previous research, it seems that it may affect as many as one-third of embryos produced using mitochondrial replacement therapy. Importantly, all the children in the study have low levels of abnormal mitochondria in their cells, including those where a degree of reversal has occurred. However, the fact that reversal can happen suggests there is a chance that mitochondrial replacement therapy might occasionally fail, and consequently the procedure should be seen as a way of reducing the risk of mitochondrial disease inheritance, not guaranteeing it.”
Dr Andy Greenfield, Honorary Fellow at the Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, said:
“Mitochondria are the energy-producing organelles of the body’s cells. They contain DNA (mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA) and as such are prone to changes to that DNA (mutations) that can disrupt mitochondrial function and cause disease. The paper by Hyslop et al describes the first clinical use in the UK of a technique – mitochondrial donation (MD) – aimed at reducing the risk of transmitting a class of mitochondrial diseases (mtDNA diseases) from mother to offspring. This is an often devastating and life-limiting group of diseases for which no curative treatments exist. The specific technique described, based on IVF, is pronuclear transfer (PNT), one of the two MD techniques made lawful in the UK in 2015. The last preclinical review of the safety and effectiveness of MD, commissioned by the HFEA and published in 2016, recommended its clinical use as a risk reduction strategy – to be used only in those women for whom preimplantation genetic testing (PGT, an established procedure that is used to detect genetic abnormalities, including the amount of disease-causing (pathogenic) mtDNA, in an embryo) followed by selection of an embryo with low levels of pathogenic mtDNA for transfer was unlikely to be a successful strategy i.e. only in those women with high levels of pathogenic mtDNA (elevated heteroplasmy) in all eggs or with exclusively pathogenic mtDNA in their eggs (homoplasmy). This cautious approach is at the heart of this new report, which, along with an accompanying paper by McFarland et al, assesses MD alongside PGT in an integrated programme performed at Newcastle Fertility Centre, UK, under the regulatory framework developed by the HFEA.
“Whilst PGT for mtDNA is an established procedure that acts as a useful comparator, the attention here will be rightly focused on the MD clinical data: 22 women at high risk of transmitting mitochondrial disease to their offspring were treated using PNT, resulting in 8 live births and one ongoing pregnancy. Firstly, this headline result alone is highly significant: PNT is compatible with embryo viability in humans. Secondly, levels of pathogenic mtDNA (in blood) from the infants varied from 0% to 16%. Whilst the last figure hints at a degree of reversion to the maternal mtDNA type, it is also sufficiently low to conclude that the procedure has successfully reduced the risk of mtDNA in all children born. The amount of maternal mtDNA could, however, vary from tissue to tissue and so follow-up of these children is vitally important. McFarland et al report that none of the children has any health condition that could be straightforwardly attributed to the presence of mtDNA disease. As the authors note, there are reasons to be optimistic about the outcome of this first MD treatment in the UK.
“The data in the last paragraph, whilst summarised very briefly, are the culmination of decades of work: from the earliest investigations in mice aimed at understanding the impacts of nuclear transfer, through to targeted experiments in human embryos to provide preclinical evidence of safety and effectiveness. But this is to focus only on some of the scientific/technical challenges that have been overcome. There were parallel activities over a similar time frame concerning ethical inquiry, public and patient engagement, law-making, drafting of regulations and execution of those regulations by committees. And last but not least: the careful establishment of a clinical pathway by which the health of the mothers and infants born could be monitored and they could be cared for (detailed in McFarland et al). This all represents a vast amount of work by a large number of people over a long period.
“The Hyslop et al paper itself is a treasure trove of data, which will likely to be the starting points of new avenues of research and opportunities for refinement. What is the explanation for the somewhat elevated maternal mtDNA levels (still beneath the clinical threshold for disease) detected in two babies born following PNT? Further studies of mitochondrial DNA replication, segregation and interaction with the nuclear DNA may provide clues. The reduction in normally fertilized eggs in the PNT group also requires explanation and may indicate that some mtDNA pathogenic variants can compromise fertilisation of the egg, which is an energy-demanding process. This observation opens up a whole area of research concerning the role of played by mitochondria in fertility. Of course, numbers analysed here are still low and a larger and more diverse cohort will be required to draw firm conclusions about efficacy and safety of MD at a population level. We can look forward to future assessments of maternal spindle transfer (the other lawful MD technique in the UK) and even, possibly, the use of targeted, enzymatic degradation of pathogenic mtDNA to eliminate the risk of carry-over and reversion.
“How do we summarise what this all means? It is a triumph of scientific innovation in the IVF clinic – a world-first that shows that the UK is an excellent environment in which to push boundaries in IVF; a tour de force by the embryologists who painstakingly developed and optimised the micromanipulation methods; an example of the value of clinical expertise, developed over decades of working with children and adults suffering from these devastating diseases, being used to support a new intervention and subsequent follow-up, potentially for many years. And it is so much more, depending on whether one’s perspective is that of an historian, sociologist, ethicist or philosopher. It is tempting to suggest that this report marks the end of a process – but it is actually the beginning, of a new era in which technologies that change how we think about human reproduction are introduced into a tightly regulated environment – the only way in which they should be introduced.
“In time, there will no doubt be retrospective studies and assessments of how all this was done – some critical – and there will be much to learn. It is hoped that other papers will follow, detailing different aspects of the process by which these first UK children were born, because this whole exercise has been a steep learning curve for all involved and future progress relies on such learning being shared. Safety assessment should be at the heart of all these and future reports. Some may wonder about the time taken for these current reports to see the light of day – but that would be to underestimate what is required to transition from preclinical research activities in an academic setting to offering a bona fide clinical service on the NHS (with the spanner of COVID-19 thrown into the works for good measure). Others will wonder whether supporting the desire to have biological children merits all this time and effort, when ‘unmet clinical need’ is the focus and budgetary constraints are the norm. But this evaluation unnecessarily attempts to marginalise a human activity – ‘having children’ – that is actually central to the health and wellbeing of a significant proportion of the population. And those ordinary resemblances that parents and children often share also matter to them. Of course, the results of clinical follow-up of the children born using PNT will be a major determinant of the future prospects for mitochondrial donation in the IVF clinic, as this report acknowledges.
“There will be many responses to this work, but I see these reports, despite their matter-of-fact understatement, as an extraordinary reminder of what well intentioned science, collaborating with medicine, can do to improve the lives of human beings.”
Mr Stuart Lavery, Divisional Clinical Director Women’s Health and Consultant in Reproductive Medicine/Honorary Associate Professor, University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“The concept of nuclear transfer has attracted much commentary and occasionally concern and anxiety.
“The Newcastle team have demonstrated that it can be used in a clinically effective and ethically acceptable way to prevent disease and suffering.
“The HFEA has shown that regulation need not always be restrictive, and that permissive regulation can lead to innovation at the highest level, allowing scientists to push boundaries, patients to be successfully treated and the public to be reassured.
“This truly represents the very best of British science and regulation.”
Prof Bert Smeets, Professor in Clinical Genomics with focus on Mitochondrial Diseases, said:
“These are papers, the scientific community has waited for, for a long time, as they describe the experience of the Newcastle team on pronuclear transfer to prevent the transmission of mtDNA disease, for which they got approval in 2017. The papers describe the current experience in PNT and PGT for preventing the transmission of mtDNA disease. It is good to present a reproductive care pathway, although it is not fully complete and some of the criteria might be reevaluated based on the presented data. The care pathway starts with carriers of mtDNA mutations. I would also include women who have affected children with de novo mtDNA mutations. This concerns about 25% of the mtDNA patients. The recurrence risk is low and generally prenatal diagnosis is offered for reassurance. Furthermore, women with a very low mtDNA mutation load, with skewing mtDNA mutations or large scale deletions could also opt for prenatal diagnosis. For a reproductive care pathway for mtDNA disease, these groups should be included as well. It is clear that for the remainder according to the HFEA guidelines PNT should only be offered if PGT is unsuitable. It is great that the PNT as an addition to the reproductive choices for mtDNA disease seems to deliver as 8 children without the mtDNA condition were born. However, there are still concerns, as 2 PNT children had a higher mutation load than the carry-over, which means that reversal can occur and could be a risk for having affected children in future treatments. Also, two children had rare medical complications, which according to the authors were not related to the treatment, as this would then be expected for all of them. I do not think that is true as technical variation occurs and donors will be different. It is good to carefully monitor this, as one of the aims of HFEA guided clinical application is to find-out if PNT by itself is safe, not only to prevent mtDNA disease. The discussion on this is not very strong. Finally, a key unanswered question is why it took so long to come out with these results. Eight births with no mtDNA disease in 7 years deviates largely from the expected150 yearly births, as described by the same group in NEJM in 2015, if all women would opt for this procedure. It seems that the children born are quite recent (only one >18 months), so one wonders if there is a learning curve, change in procedure or whatsoever, explaining the increasing success rate. It would be fair to discuss this in more detail as it would make it much clearer and more realistic which women of the target group will benefit from MD. And that is still a positive message.”
Comments on the broader story:
Kevin McEleny, Chair, British Fertility Society, said:
“These landmark papers provide compelling evidence that mitochondrial donation through pronuclear transfer can massively reduce the transmission of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA variants and are a terrific example of how a regulatory framework can be adapted to permit world-leading scientific discovery. Although the number of babies conceived through this novel treatment is small and their long-term follow-up will be required, the study provides hope to people affected by mitochondrial DNA disease and their loved ones.”
Sarah Norcross, Director of the Progress Educational Trust (PET), said:
“We could not be more delighted by the news that eight babies with donated mitochondria have been born in the UK, and that all of these children have made normal developmental progress.
“Our charity spent many years campaigning for UK law to be changed, to permit the use of mitochondrial donation in treatment. We salute the patients who had the courage to attempt these novel treatments, and we thank the team at Newcastle for justifying patients’ confidence in them.
“Mitochondrial donation will not necessarily be appropriate for every patient who carries disease-causing mitochondrial DNA mutations – rather, its appropriateness depends on various factors that are explored in detail in the new studies. Importantly, the studies place mitochondrial donation within the context of a broader NHS care pathway, that offers a variety of options for people carrying mitochondrial DNA mutations who wish to have children.
“Nonetheless, the studies demonstrate that mitochondrial donation is a feasible option – indeed, a positive reproductive choice – for some patients. An important consideration is that women considering mitochondrial donation are advised to start their fact-finding early, because of the decline of egg quality with age.
“The medical and scientific work at Newcastle, and the policy and legal work that preceded it, have set a high standard for introducing new reproductive technology in a careful and scrupulously regulated way. We are pleased to see that Australia is following a similarly responsible path, having recently introduced its own law that permits the use of mitochondrial donation for the purpose of avoiding mitochondrial disease.
“The work at Newcastle will no doubt inform – and in future, will perhaps also be informed by – the mitoHOPE pilot programme for mitochondrial donation in Australia.”
Nick Meade, Chief Executive Genetic Alliance,said:
“Most rare conditions do not yet have a cure or treatment, so for families affected, reproductive choice techniques are the only opportunities to take control of the impact of the condition. For serious conditions caused by nuclear DNA, these opportunities have existed for many years (through preimplantation genetic testing), with today’s news, we know more families have that opportunity now. These techniques have the potential to work for hundreds of conditions caused by mitochondrial DNA, and they are an example of how innovative research can be applied to take steps forward for multiple rare conditions in parallel. With more than 7,000 rare conditions affecting people in the UK, we need this kind of progress.”
Beth Thompson, Executive Director for Policy & Partnerships at Wellcome, said:
“This is a remarkable scientific achievement, which has been years in the making and we are overjoyed for the families of the eight children born so far.
“The pioneering work behind mitochondrial donation is a powerful example of how discovery research can change lives. The UK has led the way and has demonstrated the importance of science grounded in close and careful co-ordination between researchers, funders and regulators – and, very importantly, working closely with families affected.
“Wellcome has proudly supported this work since the earliest days, including advocating for legislation and licensing. As the science progresses, we will continue championing brave investment in science and for policy and regulation to keep pace. The success of this research should inspire us move forward on other updates, opening the way for further innovation. The groundwork for review of Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, for example, has been done, it now needs to move forward. We must ensure the UK stays a world leader in life sciences.”
Danielle Hamm, Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, said:
“Today we have seen the first evidence that for a small number of UK families the use of pronuclear transfer (PNT) to prevent the transfer of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA disorders has resulted in what everyone hoped it would: children who are thriving and appear free of the devastating symptoms of mitochondrial disease.
“The Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ landmark ethical review of techniques for the prevention of maternally inherited mitochondrial disorders has been instrumental in creating the right regulatory environment to allow this innovative treatment to reach the clinic and change lives for the better.
“The HFEA’s licensing conditions followed our recommendation and ensured that PNT is only available through a specialist centre. The establishment of the NHS Highly Specialised Mitochondrial Reproductive Care Pathway has ensured that families referred to the service are fully supported and have access to appropriate information, and that long term follow up of participants has been secured.
“We welcome this great progress, but continued follow-up is crucially important to inform our understanding of the long-term efficacy of the treatment.”
Peter Thompson, Chief Executive of the HFEA, said:
“Ten years ago, the UK was the first country in the world to licence mitochondrial donation treatment to avoid passing the condition to children. For the first time, families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness have the possibility of a healthy child. Although it’s still early days, it is wonderful news that mitochondrial donation treatment has led to eight babies being born.
“Only people who are at a very high risk of passing a serious mitochondrial disease onto their children are eligible for this treatment in the UK, and every application for mitochondrial donation treatment is individually assessed in accordance with the law. These robust but flexible regulatory processes allow the technique to be used safely for the purposes that Parliament agreed in 2015.”
Prof Frances Flinter, Chair of the HFEA’s Statutory Approvals Committee, said:
“We are pleased to see the peer-reviewed papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine that explain what has happened to those patients who the HFEA authorised to have mitochondrial donation treatment at the Newcastle Centre at Life. These are patients for whom there was no other option to have a healthy baby who is genetically related to them, and we are delighted for those families.
“The HFEA will continue to oversee the safe use of mitochondrial donation treatment and assess each application as families come through the programme. These results are testimony to how the UK continues to be a world leader in the use of new medical techniques to change lives.”
Comment from the editor of the journal the papers are published in (so NOT third party):
Eric Rubin, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, The New England Journal of Medicine, said:
“These studies unite scientific rigor, clinical innovation, and deep ethical reflection to illustrate the full research continuum from bench to bedside. At the New England Journal of Medicine, we chose to publish this work in its full context, not only to highlight the outcomes, but also to surface the critical questions it raises about translating breakthroughs into patient care. Where allowed by government regulations, this research has the potential to prevent serious inherited disease and gives parents truly meaningful new options for their children. Its publication also reminds us that preserving the infrastructure and integrity of biomedical research in the U.S. and around the world is essential if we are to continue delivering such transformative treatments to patients.”
Comments via colleagues at other international SMCs:
Prof. Dr. Marcus Deschauer, Head of the Working Group on Rare Hereditary Neurological Diseases and Senior Physician at the Clinic and Polyclinic for Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich (TUM), said:
“To my knowledge, this is the first publication of a larger cohort of families/mothers with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disorders who have given birth to children after pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or mitochondrial donation. The work is therefore very important for assessing the effectiveness and risks of these methods in practice.”
“Per se, the study includes well-studied families with reliable data, but it was not possible to prevent the transmission of the disease-causing mtDNA variants in all families.””A certain carry-over of mtDNA with a disease-causing variant occurs during pre-cell nucleus transfer. It cannot be ruled out that the proportion of mutated mtDNA will continue to increase over the course of a lifetime after carry-over. However, this is unlikely: for example, in patients with the m.3243A>G variant, the degree of heteroplasmy in the blood decreases over the course of life.“
”The follow-up periods are not yet sufficient to assess the risks of later disease. Manifestation of an mtDNA disease at a later stage is conceivable in children.””A pathological mtDNA variant is identified in women who can pass it on by means of molecular genetic testing if the woman has symptoms of a mitochondriopathy. There are also cases in which molecular genetic diagnostics are performed for another indication – such as the search for another genetic disease – and a pathological mtDNA is detected. However, according to the ACMG recommendations, this should not be disclosed by genetic laboratories.“
”Until now, the lack of data has made it difficult to advise women with mitochondrial diseases on their desire to have children. The DGN guideline ‘Mitochondrial Diseases’ states: ‘Human genetic counselling is particularly complex when it comes to the desire to have children. Prenatal diagnosis can be routinely performed for nuclear mutations, but is more limited for mutations of mitochondrial DNA. The data on preimplantation diagnosis as a means of preventing or reducing the risk of inheritance of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA mutations is extremely limited, and the method is subject to the Preimplantation Diagnosis Ordinance in Germany. These two studies from Newcastle are helpful for counselling.“
”Whether a woman with mtDNA disease can expect an uncomplicated pregnancy also depends on the manifestation/severity of the woman’s disease. In cases of significant muscle weakness (including respiratory muscle weakness), this may increase during pregnancy. Natural childbirth may be difficult, making a caesarean section necessary.”
“If the mitochondrial donation procedure were also permitted in Germany, this would be an option for selected women with an mtDNA disease to significantly reduce the risk of passing on a disease-causing mtDNA variant with a heteroplasmy level above a disease-causing threshold. This would increase the chances of healthy children for families.”
“However, the data from Newcastle do not suggest that the methods used can guarantee that the disease will not be passed on. In some mtDNA variants, the severity of the disease clearly depends on the degree of heteroplasmy in the blood, so that a reduction in the degree of heteroplasmy in such cases could lead to a milder form of the disease in children.”
“In the short term, there are no good therapeutic methods for treating mtDNA diseases, so preventing the transmission of mtDNA diseases is the better option. I also consider it difficult to successfully treat children who have inherited an mtDNA variant in the medium term, as gene therapy must reach the DNA in the mitochondria. There is the example of 5q-associated spinal muscular atrophy, in which infants diagnosed in newborn screening can be treated very successfully. Unfortunately, this is not expected to be the case for mtDNA diseases in the near future.””I consider it unlikely that the two children who were symptomatic have a maternally inherited mitochondriopathy. In the case of the child with epilepsy, I would even classify this as very unlikely. I consider the authors’ assessment that the reproductive technology procedure itself or pregnancy complications or metabolic disorders in the mother may be responsible for the symptoms of the two children to be plausible.”
Nuno Costa-Borges, researcher and embryologist, scientific director and CEO of Embryotools, Barcelona Science Park, says:
“As a pioneering center in mitochondrial replacement therapies (MRT), Embryotools welcomes the recent publication by Hyslop et al. in The New England Journal of Medicine, reporting outcomes from pronuclear transfer (PNT) to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disease. The study reports the birth of eight babies—four girls and four boys, including one set of identical twins—born to seven women at high risk of transmitting severe mtDNA disorders. Importantly, all infants are healthy and show no signs of mitochondrial disease. However, the detection of low-level postnatal mtDNA heteroplasmy (“reversal”) in 3 of the 8 infants (5%–16%) deserves particular discussion.
“Due to UK regulations that prohibit testing for heteroplasmy in embryos, the timing of this reversal could not be pinpointed. Their analysis relied on arrested embryos and blood samples from newborns, which limits interpretation. In contrast, our recent pilot trial using maternal spindle transfer (MST)—a form of MRT where mitochondrial replacement occurs in the oocyte before fertilization—in infertile patients led to seven live births, two of which also showed reversal, a comparable frequency. However, our approach included direct assessment of heteroplasmy in blastocysts and, longitudinally, in multiple tissues including amniotic fluid. This allowed us to accurately define that reversal occurred between the blastocyst stage and mid-gestation (~15 weeks), reinforcing the importance of prenatal testing to detect reversal early and guide clinical decision-making. In our study, all infants are also healthy and have been followed up showing no adverse events.
“This phenomenon—mtDNA ‘reversal’—has previously been described in human cells in vitro but not in MRT-derived children. Minimal levels of maternal mtDNA carryover can expand substantially, potentially compromising the efficacy of MRTs to prevent mitochondrial disease. The biological mechanisms underlying this selective amplification remain unclear but appear to occur early in development, and instances may therefore be detectable using prenatal testing. It is worth noting that the impact of mtDNA reversal in infertility treatments is likely less concerning, as maternal mtDNA in these cases does not carry pathogenic mutations. Moreover, with appropriate matching of mtDNA haplotypes between the mother and donor, the biological consequences of low-level heteroplasmy could be further minimized or even rendered clinically irrelevant.
“Currently, only the UK and Australia have regulated the use of MRT to prevent transmission of mtDNA mutations. We believe that other countries should adopt similar regulatory models. In particular, MRT should also be contemplated for infertility treatment. Infertility is a disease recognized by the WHO, and MRT can offer a genetic link to the mother for patients who would otherwise rely on egg donation. This justification aligns with the ethical principles underpinning MRT for disease prevention. As a pioneer group in this technology, Spain should lead in regulating these applications to ensure patient safety and prevent reproductive tourism to countries where such techniques may be offered without appropriate oversight.
“In light of these findings, we reaffirm the urgent need to continue performing well-regulated, larger, long-term studies to fully evaluate the safety, efficacy, and clinical implications of MRTs. Ongoing research under appropriate oversight is essential to ensure the responsible development of these technologies, improve genetic counseling, and support informed decision-making by patients and clinicians alike.
“We also advocate for thoughtful regulatory evolution that upholds patient autonomy, scientific excellence, and the principle of reproductive justice.”
Dr. Dunja M. Baston-Büst, Deputy Head of the IVF Laboratory, UniCareD Cryobank, and UniKiD Research, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Germany, said:
“Since there are currently no curative therapies for mitochondrial diseases, advances in assisted reproductive technology open up new possibilities for reducing the transmission of such variants. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, which is commonly used to detect defects in nuclear DNA, can also be used to identify embryos with a low proportion of maternal pathogenic mitochondrial DNA variants, thereby reducing the risk of disease.
“The replacement of the donor’s zygote pronuclei with the patient’s pronuclei was successful in 127 of 160 cases (79.4 per cent). Of the 127 embryos resulting from this, 122 (96.1 per cent) were still intact on the following day (day 1). The number of intact zygotes per pre-nuclear transfer performed (33 procedures in total) ranged from zero to seven.
“In 37 of the 39 patients (95 per cent) in the preimplantation diagnosis group, the embryos were assessed on the third day after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). For preimplantation diagnosis, a blastomere was biopsied on day three of embryonic development and transfer was usually performed in the fresh cycle after analysis of the mitochondrial DNA from the blastomere.
“Implementation in Germany is not possible under the current legal requirements (Embryo Protection Act), as egg donation is prohibited.
“The earlier and more severe a mitochondrial disease occurs, the earlier patients can be identified. Patients in Germany receive comprehensive human genetic or interdisciplinary counselling in accordance with the current S1 guideline ‘Mitochondrial Diseases’. A decision regarding the options for reproductive measures and possible preimplantation diagnosis is made in consultation with the patients and depending on the degree of heteroplasmy. Pre-implantation genetic screening is not possible in Germany due to the ban on egg donation. The alternatives are egg donation abroad or adoption.
“A patient registry for mitochondrial diseases was established in Germany in 2009. It would be beneficial for reproductive medicine if reproductive outcomes were also collected there, or analysis results if preimplantation diagnosis was performed. Unfortunately, there is no cross-linking between the registries. “Furthermore, the search for biomarkers is generally supported in Germany in order to increase the diagnostic accuracy for mitochondrial diseases.
“For reproductive medicine, I currently see no application of the technology presented in the study in Germany without a comprehensive revision of the Embryo Protection Act and the legalization of egg donation.
“The new EU SOHO Regulation will come into force in the next few years. Its main purpose is to provide greater protection for the genetic background of children born from egg and sperm donation (in addition to the amendments to the sperm donation register), so that many questions will still arise in the case of three-parent constellations.
“In mitochondrial donation using pre-nucleation transfer, the nuclear genome is transferred from a fertilized egg cell of the affected woman to an enucleated, fertilized egg cell from a healthy donor. The pronuclei are removed individually from the patients’ zygotes and, after brief treatment with a fusion agent (haemagglutinating virus from the Japanese shell), are placed together under the zona pellucida (protective shell around the egg cell; editor’s note) of the enucleated donor egg cell. Based on findings from preclinical studies, it is standard practice to freeze (vitrify) the eggs of patients for whom pre-nuclear transfer is planned, as donor eggs are not always available at the same time and in sufficient quantities.
“Pathological variants of mitochondrial DNA can be either homoplasmic (present in all mitochondrial DNA copies) or heteroplasmic (present in only some of the copies). Homoplasmic variants are passed on completely to all offspring, but their expression (penetrance) can vary from individual to individual.
“Clinical pregnancies were confirmed in eight of 22 patients (36 per cent) who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as part of preimplantation genetic testing, and in 16 of 39 patients (41 per cent) who underwent ICSI as part of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Pronuclear transfer resulted in eight live births and one ongoing pregnancy. PGD resulted in 18 live births.
“Heteroplasmy levels in the blood of the eight infants after pronuclear transfer ranged from undetectable to 16 per cent. Compared to the enucleated zygotes, the proportion of diseased maternal mitochondrial DNA was reduced by 95 to 100 percent in six newborns and by 77 to 88 per cent in two newborns. Heteroplasmy data were also available for ten of the 18 infants after preimplantation genetic diagnosis, with values ranging from undetectable to seven percent.
“For reasons that are still unclear, the small amount of transferred maternal mitochondrial DNA can rise to homoplasmic levels in about 20 per cent of embryonic stem cell lines derived from embryos after mitochondrial donation. In addition, one in six infants born after maternal spindle transfer for the treatment of infertility had elevated heteroplasmy levels (40 to 60 per cent) of maternal mtDNA. These observations raise the question of whether mitochondrial donation can reliably prevent the transmission of diseased mitochondrial DNA in all cases, especially in homoplasmic variants.
“Approximately one in 5,000 people develop a mitochondrial disease, making it one of the most common hereditary diseases, although the symptoms can often vary greatly. The symptoms of mitochondrial diseases are very diverse and can affect various organs, for example the muscles with muscle weakness and pain, the nervous system with encephalopathy, epilepsy and neurological disorders, the heart with heart muscle disease, the eyes with blindness and visual impairment, the ears with hearing loss and the endocrine system with diabetes mellitus.
“Other examples of mitochondriopathies with named syndromes include: autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA) with slowly progressive, usually bilateral, central vision loss; Kearns-Sayre syndrome with cardiac conduction disorders, degenerative changes in the retina, and external ophthalmoplegia; chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, which is an incomplete form of Kearns-Sayre syndrome and is characterized by external ophthalmoplegia; MERRF syndrome with cerebellar ataxia, myoclonus, generalized seizures, short stature, and dementia; MELAS syndrome with seizures, dementia, and headaches.
“In addition to the disease entities listed here, there are a number of other, sometimes very rare syndromes that can be classified as mitochondriopathies but have often been little researched or not yet described.”
Dr Holger Prokisch, Head of the Mitochondrial Genetics Research Group, Helmholtz Centre Munich – German Research Centre for Health and Environment, Munich, said:“The field of mitochondrial medicine has been eagerly awaiting the results of this study. The robust data describe a real breakthrough for women with a (nearly) homoplasmic pathogenic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variant in terms of their ability to probably have healthy genetically related children. The risk of the children to develop the disease after preimplantation genetic testing is minimal. All gene variants tested require very high heteroplasmy for the disease to manifest, or are typically homoplasmic.“”There is an observation in the literature that in a few cases, the mother’s mutated DNA is revised. Interestingly, this also involves an LHON mutation (Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy) [3][4], which is almost always homoplasmic in the population and, according to recent data, has a low penetrance of less than five percent for LHON disease [5](only five percent of gene carriers also develop the disease; editor’s note). In this respect, the selection of mutation carriers for this study with four LHON mutations is not entirely fortunate. The homoplasmy of the LHON variants suggests that they may offer a selective advantage [6]. Since mitochondrial transfer does not eliminate the mutation, there is a risk that the mutation will be passed on to the next generation. This often leads to significant shifts in heteroplasmy, sometimes to the detriment of patients. However, disease-causing variants tend to have a selection pressure [6].“Human studies show no risk of incompatibility between the donor mtDNA and the parents’ nuclear DNA.””There is no newborn screening for mitochondrial DNA mutations. Women are identified as mutation carriers when they or one of their children develop the disease. Prediction or risk assessment for the next generation is difficult for mtDNA mutations in the mother. Many centers for mitochondrial diseases work with the group in Newcastle to provide information about the options available there or to offer preimplantation genetic diagnosis.”[3] Hudson G et al. (2019): Reversion after replacement of mitochondrial DNA. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1623-3. [4] Kang E et al. (2016): Mitochondrial replacement in human oocytes carrying pathogenic mitochondrial DNA mutations. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature20592. [5] Mackey DA et al. (2022): Is the disease risk and penetrance in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy actually low?. The American Journal of Human Genetics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.11.014. [6] Kotrys AV et al. (2024): Single-cell analysis reveals context-dependent, cell-level selection of mtDNA. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07332-0.
Prof. Dr. Nils-Göran Larsson, Group Leader “Maintenance and expression of mtDNA in disease and ageing”, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska-Institut, Stockholm, Schweden, said: “The study in NEJM is very important and represents a breakthrough in mitochondrial medicine. It should be remembered mitochondrial diseases can be devastating and cause substantial suffering in affected children, sometimes leading to an early death. Families are profoundly affected and the paper in NEJM describe how birth of affected children can be prevented by mitochondrial donation.
“This advanced procedure is not a disease-treatment but rather an intervention that minimizes the transmission of mutated mtDNA from mother to child. For affected families this is a very important reproductive option. The paper describes a relatively small series of 8 babies born after mitochondrial donation by pronuclear transfer. The paper is carefully done and of very high quality but as always in science the results need to be confirmed by independent studies. Also, long-term clinical follow-up studies of born babies will give additional information about the safety and efficacy of mitochondrial donation.”
“Before this procedure was applied to human reproduction there was a very long development and evaluation process. There has been a lot of constructive discussion in the scientific community, and the UK Parliament approved legislation allowing mitochondrial donation in 2015.”
“Mitochondrial donation by the pronuclear transfer procedure always leads to carry-over of some mitochondria from the mother and mutant mtDNA can be transferred. The data presented in the NEJM paper shows that mutant mtDNA was not detected in blood of 5 of the born children. However, in three children, low levels of mutant mtDNA were detected in blood. These low levels of mutant mtDNA are unlikely to cause mitochondrial disease but additional follow-up studies are needed. As pointed out by the authors, the mitochondrial donation by pronuclear transfer should be regarded as a risk-reduction strategy. As always, when it comes to new medical procedures there is a need for validation by independent studies. Also, additional long-term follow-up studies of children born after mitochondrial donation will be needed.”
“The authors report that the transferred mtDNA has no mutations and the donor mtDNA is therefore unlikely to cause disease or impact ageing. During normal ageing, mtDNA acquires mutations (somatic mutations), e.g., during the massive cell division when the embryo is formed and develops. These mutations are typically present at low levels but accumulate to high levels in a subset of cells in many different ageing tissues. The mitochondrial donation involves transfer of mtDNA without mutations and there is no reason to believe that the donor mtDNA will additionally impact the ageing process.”
“When it comes disease-causing mtDNA mutations that are present in all copies (i.e., homoplasmic mtDNA mutations) there is currently no alternative to mitochondrial donation to prevent transmission of mutated mtDNA from mother to child. It is possible that alternate methods will be available in the future, e.g., correction of mutant mtDNA by gene editing techniques. There are currently a few promising pharmacological therapies for mitochondrial disease, e.g., nucleoside therapy for mtDNA depletion disorders. It is likely that more treatments will be available in the near future because this field is rapidly developing.”
Prof. Dr. Heidi Mertes, Associate Professor in Medical Ethics, Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University, Belgien, said:
“I am happy to see that the first results from the Newcastle University group are now finally published, after being granted a license by the HFEA in 2017, and that the eight resulting children are in good health. However, while the results show that the technique is feasible and can lead to a substantial reduction of the mutation load in the resulting children, it also shows that we need to tread very carefully.”
“In line with previous research by the group of Nuno Costa-Borges [1], this research confirms the possibility of reversal (meaning that although there is only a small fraction of the intended mother’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the embryo, this fraction sometimes increases substantially as the foetus develops), which could still result in mitochondrial diseases in the resulting children. Fortunately, preliminary research does indicate that while the mutation loads appear to increase between the embryonic phase and birth, they appear to remain stable after birth.”
“These are very important results as there was a lot of uncertainty over the safety of MRT. Using PGT when possible and reserving MRT for those cases in which PGT cannot offer a solution was a prudent approach given the experimental nature of MRT. It will be interesting to see more data in the future on whether reversal is more frequent in MRT or PGT, so that the safest procedure can be selected.”
“Although the heteroplasmy-levels are limited in this study, it does show that reversal is a real danger for the offspring, which can have serious health implications. At least three things follow from this.”
“First, people entering into this and future clinical trials will need to be extensively counselled that this is not a risk-elimination treatment, but a risk-reduction treatment.” “Second, we need more research into the mechanisms that trigger reversal, so that it can be prevented before this technique is implemented in routine care + We need follow-up research in the children born after MRT.”
“Third, it is important to keep in mind that by framing this as a risk-reduction strategy, we are ignoring the possibility of conceiving through a traditional egg donation procedure. While genetic parenthood is evidently important to many people, the trade-off that we are making here is that between a genetically related child with a high risk of mitochondrial disease (natural conception), a genetically related child with a reduced risk of mitochondrial disease (PGT or MRT) and a non-genetically related child with the near-absence of a risk of mitochondrial disease (through donor conception). If people who would have chosen for donor conception now opt for MRT, this is actually a risk-increasing technology, rather than a risk-reducing one.”
“This strategy lowers the risk of mitochondrial disorders in the children when the point of comparison is natural reproduction by the parents, but the safest option is still donor conception, which eliminates the risk of passing on the mitochondrial condition, rather than reducing it.”
“While the donor plays an essential role in the birth of the child, attributing them a parenthood-status based on a small genetic contribution appears unwarranted. At the same time it would be correct to call them a ‘genetic progenitor’ or ‘genetic contributor’.”
“While the group of Nuno Costa-Borges ([1] [2]) received a lot of backlash for performing their MRT clinical trial in people with repeated IVF failure, rather than people with mitochondrial diseases, we must acknowledge in hindsight that given the phenomenon of reversal, their approach might have been the more prudent one. In their study they observed reversal in one infant going from
Prof David Thorburn, co-Group Leader of Brain & Mitochondrial Research at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne, said:
“Mitochondrial donation was legalised in the UK in 2015 and in Australia in 2022. It was clearly a complex process in the UK to develop the approvals processes, the clinical and lab pathways, cope with delays from COVID and accumulate sufficient outcomes to publish them without impinging on the privacy of the families involved.So it is very exciting to see the first publications describing results for the first 8 babies born in the UK program. The initial results demonstrate that the approach is effective in reducing the risk of having a child with mitochondrial DNA disease for women who are at high risk. For about three quarters of couples participating in the pronuclear transfer method, at least one suitable embryo was generated. About 40% of these couples had a baby and all were healthy and had undetectable or low levels of the abnormal mitochondrial DNA. Three babies had short-term symptoms that resolved and did not appear to relate to mitochondrial disease. All babies are developing normally to date, with the oldest 5 years of age.The studies emphasise that longer-term followup needs to be performed, and the efficiency of the method could be further improved to achieve higher pregnancy rates. They demonstrate the value of offering the program in conjunction with other reproductive options, such as pre-implantation genetic testing, which can be effective in women with lower risk. I regard these results as very encouraging and supporting the ongoing development and use of mitochondrial donation in the UK and Australia.
Dr Santiago Restrepo Castillo, biomedical engineer and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin (USA), said:
“Mitochondrial diseases are a group of chronic metabolic disorders that can be fatal. These diseases are caused by mutations in the human genome, which consists of nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA. In particular, metabolic disorders caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA, which affect one in five thousand people, are maternally inherited and currently incurable. In recent years, there have been major advancements in the development of strategies for the treatment or prevention of genetic disorders caused by mutations in nuclear DNA. In contrast, similar strategies for diseases caused by alterations in mitochondrial DNA have remained largely understudied. Aiming to establish a preventive strategy for metabolic diseases caused by mitochondrial DNA mutations, the authors of this pair of studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine developed an integrated program of preimplantation genetic testing and pronuclear transfer (PGT and PNT, respectively). In this program, female patients carrying mitochondrial mutations underwent PGT to identify embryos with low levels of mitochondrial DNA mutations. In cases where an embryo with these characteristics was identified, the embryo was implanted in the patient and the course of the pregnancy was monitored. In addition, in cases where it was not possible to identify embryos with low levels of genetic alterations, the patients underwent PNT, a procedure in which mitochondrial DNA without mutations is obtained from a donor. Encouragingly, through this integrated PGT and PNT program, at the time of publication, the authors have already demonstrated a significant reduction in the maternal transmission of mitochondrial mutations in eight cases. Furthermore, the children born from these cases have shown normal development. In conclusion, this study represents a major advancement in the field of medical genetics and genomics. Understanding the current limitations of mitochondrial gene editing, which would allow genetic alterations to be corrected in different contexts, the authors chose to explore a procedure that cuts the problem off at the root by preventing the transmission of the mutated genetic material. Furthermore, this pair of studies demonstrates clinical benefits in children who, without the integrated PGT and PNT program, would likely have been born with debilitating or fatal genetic mutations. It will be exciting to see if the benefits are maintained over time, and it will be critical to further develop this integrated process to increase its success rates”.
Prof Lluís Montoliu, Research Professor at the National Biotechnology Centre (CNB-CSIC) and at the CIBERER-ISCIII, Spain, says:
“In 2016, John Zhang, a specialist doctor at an assisted reproduction clinic in New York called the New Hope Fertility Center, crossed the border into Mexico to perform a procedure that was banned in the US and not yet regulated in Mexico. A couple from Jordan had come to this clinic hoping to have viable offspring. The couple had already had two children who had died from Leigh syndrome, one of several mitochondrial diseases that are often devastating and untreatable. Mitochondria (our energy factories) are usually inherited from the mother, from the egg. The mother had approximately 25% of her mitochondria affected, and these were the ones she had passed on to her two deceased children. Dr. Zhang did not use the procedure pioneered in the UK because of the couple’s Muslim faith, which opposed the destruction of human embryos. Instead, he chose to extract the nucleus from the mother’s egg (actually the metaphase plate, an incomplete nuclear division, which is the stage at which all eggs are ready for fertilization) and transferred it to the egg of another woman (with healthy mitochondria), from which he had also previously removed the nucleus. Once the nucleus from the mother had been transferred to the egg of the second woman, he used this resulting egg to perform in vitro fertilization with sperm from the father to obtain embryos. Dr. Zhang created five embryos in this way, only one of which developed normally, was implanted in the mother’s uterus, and resulted in the birth of a healthy baby. It was the first newborn obtained using the “three-parent technique”: two mothers and one father.
“In the United Kingdom, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) had approved another procedure in 2015, technically different but also called the “three-parent technique,” to solve problems related to mitochondrial diseases. In this case, the father’s sperm is used to fertilize (through intracytoplasmic sperm injection, ICSI) two eggs, one from the mother carrying the affected mitochondria and one from another woman with healthy mitochondria. After fertilization begins, the two pronuclei (paternal and maternal) that appear temporarily are destined to fuse and form the first nucleus of the zygote. Before this happens, researchers can extract the two pronuclei from the in vitro fertilization between the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm and transfer them to the egg of the woman fertilized by the same sperm from the father, from which the pronuclei will have been previously removed. The result is that the egg with the woman’s healthy mitochondria hosts the two pronuclei of the couple, whose baby will be born without the mitochondrial genetic disease and will be genetically from both the father and the mother. The healthy mitochondria will come from the female donor. In this procedure, which is methodologically somewhat more aggressive than the previous one but less risky, one embryo is destroyed to create another, something that the Muslim couple assisted by Dr. Zhang considered unacceptable. The first baby in the United Kingdom obtained through the authorized British three-parent procedure was born in 2023.
“Ten years later [after the approval of this technique in the UK], a team of British and Australian doctors and researchers published the results of applying the British “three-parent” technique to 22 women carrying pathogenic mutations in their mitochondria (and therefore at high risk of having children born with these incurable diseases) in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Of the 22 women treated, only 8 gave birth (36%), and one more pregnancy is still in progress. The eight babies born are healthy, with no signs or very low levels of affected mitochondria, which are not sufficient to cause the disease. So far, all eight children are doing well. Only a couple of them developed minor clinical problems, initially unrelated to the procedure, which were resolved with treatment or spontaneously. In addition, the researchers applied a second technique (preimplantation genetic testing, or PGT) to women with heteroplasmy (a mixture of healthy and affected mitochondria) to assess the percentage of affected mitochondria in babies obtained through in vitro fertilization and select those with lower values of affected mitochondria. In this case, they obtained 16 pregnancies from 39 women (41%) with the result of 18 babies born with a percentage of affected mitochondria of less than 7%.
“In Spain, our Law 14/2006 of May 26 on assisted human reproduction techniques does not explicitly refer to this technique (which did not exist when this legislation was passed), so sensu stricto the procedure is neither expressly prohibited nor explicitly authorized in our country. Essentially, it is not regulated. The legal and ethical doubts that remain have so far prevented the three-parent technique from being applied in Spain.However, this new study shows that the technique has a remarkable success rate (36%) that could well be offered to couples in which the mother is a carrier of affected mitochondria to have offspring free from terrible mitochondrial diseases. Personally, I believe that we should allow this technique in our country in assisted reproduction clinics that have adequate training in this sophisticated method of embryo intervention.”
Dr Paul Wuh-Liang Hwu, Professor, College of Medicine, Pediatrics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan / Distinguished Research Fellow, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, said:
“In this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, two research articles published by groups of researchers from the UK describe the success of mitochondrial donation treatments for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases. Each human cell contains a few hundred mitochondria. The mitochondrion is a double membrane-bound organelle, and each mitochondrion contains a few copies of double-stranded, circular DNA molecules of around 16,500 genetic units (base pairs).
“Mitochondria are responsible for energy (ATP) production, fatty acid oxidation, and some other functions for the cells. Pathological variations or deletions of mitochondrial DNA can impair mitochondrial function, and when the proportion of defective mitochondria (heteroplasmy level) is high, cause serious symptoms involving the brain, muscle, and metabolism. During reproduction, all mitochondria are inherited from the mother (the egg). However, the level of defected mitochondria in offspring can be very different from their mothers, leaving reproduction planning almost impossible.
“In the two studies, mitochondrial donation by pronuclear transfer (PNT) was conducted to reduce the reproductive risk of women with mitochondrial diseases. Both the mitochondrial donor and patient eggs were fertilized first. The nucleus of the donor’s fertilised egg was removed and discarded, leaving behind a fertilised egg without a nucleus but with healthy mitochondria. The nucleus from the patient’s fertilised egg was then transferred into this enucleated donor egg.
“The PNT zygote was then cultured and implanted to continue pregnancy. All live births were in good health and with low levels of defective mitochondria. PNT has been widely used in animal research and now proved to be safe and efficient in humans. This breakthrough gives a reproductive choice for women affected with mitochondrial diseases, which is very important for the patients and their families. However, this study also broke the ban for continuing pregnancy of genetically manipulated human embryos. One argument is that PNT does not really touch the genetic materials but only provides normal mitochondria. The excellent outcome of this study also eases the concerns of nuclear/mitochondrial genome compatibility and other safety issues. Nevertheless, one may still worry if this technology will be abused to improve human physiological quality, for example, creating a body with more efficient energy production. Then, how about adding a little bit of normal, or good, DNA to the nuclear genome, if we can do that safely?
“As doctors and researchers who take care of patients with genetic disease, we welcome inventions, including reproduction medicine, that can help patients. Certainly, before the safety of new treatments can be confirmed, they should be used in patients with no other choices, or with a favorable benefit over risk. Recently, gene therapies, including gene editing treatments, are rapidly developing, offering hope to patients who previously have no option for treatment. However, we need to ask people to restrain themselves, not to apply PNT or gene therapy to improve the health of people without a medical condition, but to let these new treatments be developed to rescue lives of patients.”
Prof Lee Chung-HisProfessor, Graduate Institute of Health and Biotechnology Law, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, said:
“Pronuclear Transfer Technology: Advancing with Cautious Innovation and International Consensus. While early clinical results show promise in reducing the level of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA in newborns, the application of Pronuclear transfer (PNT) raises significant ethical and regulatory questions that must be addressed through both national oversight and international dialogue. From a bioethical standpoint, germline modification—defined as altering genetic material in a way that affects future generations—has long been met with caution. This is because it involves irreversible changes to the human genome, with potential consequences not only for the individuals born from such interventions but also for society’s understanding of what it means to be human.
“Pronuclear transfer, however, occupies a unique space in this debate. It targets mitochondrial DNA, which, although essential for cellular energy production, contributes relatively little to traits traditionally associated with identity, such as physical appearance, personality, or intelligence. Because of this limited influence on key phenotypic characteristics, PNT is viewed by some as an acceptable “ethical testing ground” for germline-level intervention. Rather than resorting to high-risk gene therapy after the onset of a hereditary disease, using PNT technology to reduce the likelihood of disease is a more ethically acceptable option. It provides a possible pathway to explore the responsible use of reproductive technologies without crossing the bright-line boundaries typically drawn around nuclear DNA modification.
“Nonetheless, mitochondrial DNA modification is not without ethical complexity. Even if its direct functional role is narrower, it still involves heritable changes and the creation of embryos with genetic contributions from three individuals—the intended mother and father, and a mitochondrial donor. This raises questions about identity, kinship, and the rights of the resulting child, especially regarding disclosure and autonomy. Moreover, the long-term health effects of such interventions remain unknown. To prevent a gradual erosion of ethical boundaries, transparent ethical review processes and long-term clinical monitoring must be established as foundational requirements for any country considering the use of PNT.
“From a clinical perspective, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) should remain the first-line option for reducing the risk of mitochondrial disease transmission. PGT is a more established and less invasive method that allows for the selection of embryos with minimal or undetectable levels of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA. In many cases, this approach has proven effective and carries fewer biological and ethical uncertainties than PNT. In contrast, PNT is a more complex and experimental procedure that combines nuclear DNA from the parents with mitochondrial DNA from a donor egg, and it may result in lower fertilization rates or higher embryonic loss. Therefore, in keeping with the precautionary principle in bioethics, PNT should be considered only when PGT is not feasible or has been shown to be ineffective.
“The United Kingdom currently leads in the clinical implementation of PNT, having established a strict licensing and regulatory regime through the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The UK’s model reflects a commitment to enabling scientific advancement while maintaining ethical vigilance. However, reproductive technologies such as PNT are inherently transnational. If only a few countries offer access to such procedures, it may prompt “reproductive tourism”, whereby patients travel abroad to seek unregulated or less strictly governed treatments, potentially undermining safety standards and ethical norms.
“For this reason, a coordinated international approach is urgently needed. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Medical Association (WMA) are well-positioned to initiate global discussions and help formulate shared ethical guidelines and governance frameworks. These discussions should encompass not only scientific and medical dimensions but also social, cultural, and legal implications. Establishing minimum ethical standards and oversight mechanisms will help ensure that the benefits of PNT are pursued responsibly and that global health equity and ethical integrity are preserved.”
‘Mitochondrial Donation and Preimplantation Genetic Testing for mtDNA Disease’ by Louise A. Hyslop et al. and ‘Mitochondrial Donation in a Reproductive Care Pathway for mtDNA Disease’ by Robert McFarland et al. was published in The New England Journal of Medicine at 22:00 UK time on Wednesday 16th July.
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2415539
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2503658
Declared interests
Dr David J Clancy: No interests to declare
Prof Joanna Poulton: Nothing to declare
Prof Dusko Ilic: No conflicts of interest
Prof Dagan Wells: I don’t think I have any declarations relevant to this.
Dr Andy Greenfield: Andy was a member of the board of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) from 2009 to 2018; he was a member of its Scientific & Clinical Advances Advisory Committee (SCAAC) and Chair of its Licence Committee. He chaired the 3rd and 4th preclinical scientific reviews of the safety and efficacy of mitochondrial donation, in 2014 and 2016. Andy chairs the Independent Advisory Committee of the MitoHOPE Program in Australia. He is also a member of the board of the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC), the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) and Singapore’s Ministry of Health Regulatory Advisory Panel. Andy’s programme of research in developmental genetics was funded by the Medical Research Council at its Harwell Unit from 1996 to 2021. All opinions expressed are his own and not necessarily shared by any organisations with which he is associated.
Mr Stuart Lavery: No DOIs
Prof Bert Smeets: I am scientific advisor for the HFEA on PNT applications.
Sarah Norcross: PET – https://www.progress.org.uk/ – is a charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions, and that campaigned for the introduction of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 into UK law.
Beth Thompson: Wellcome funded research into mitochondrial donation and co-funded the clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.
Danielle Hamm: The Nuffield Council on Bioethics conducted an ethical review of new techniques that aim to prevent the transmission of maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA disorders in 2012. The report and key findings of the review are available here.
HFEA: As of 1 July 2025, 35 patients have been given approval for mitochondrial donation treatment by the HFEA Statutory Approvals Committee. These decisions are made on an individual case by case basis where there are no other options for the families involved and in strict accordance with the law. The published papers set out that 25 of those patients have undergone pronuclear transfer (mitochondrial donation treatment.)
Prof. Dr. Marcus Deschauer: “Apart from the fact that I spent six months as a researcher in the Mitochondrial Research Group over 20 years ago and subsequently collaborated with the group on scientific projects, and that I am of course well acquainted with some of the co-authors of the two papers, I have no conflicts of interest.”
Dr. Dunja M. Baston-Büst: “I have no conflict of interest.”
Dr Holger Prokisch: “I have no conflicts of interest.”
Prof. Dr. Nils-Göran Larsson: “I have no conflicts of interest with this work.”
Prof. Dr. Heidi Mertes: “I have no conflicts of interest.”
Prof David Thorburn: David has declared he has no financial conflicts of interest and has the following unpaid positions:
Board Member of the Mito Foundation (the major relevant mito advocacy group) and he played a prominent role in their advocacy for legalising mitochondrial donation in Australia.
He is also a Member of the MitoHOPE Executive, funded by the Medical Research Future Fund to deliver an Australian clinical trial of mitochondrial donation.
Dr Santiago Restrepo Castillo: No conflicts of interest
Prof Lluís Montoliu: He declares that he has no conflicts of interest
For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.
July 16, 2025Boston, MA, United StatesChild Exploitation
BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations New England administratively arrested an illegally present Guatemalan national convicted of indecent assault and battery involving a child.
ICE HSI personnel arrested Jose Alberto Rojop Cajas, a Level 1 registered sex offender, on July 9 in Middleton, Massachusetts, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Cajas, 39, illegally entered the United States from an unknown location in approximately 2004. He was convicted in Lynn, Massachusetts, District Court on June 13, 2023, of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.