Wheeling, WV – Three (3) subjects were located and arrested in Powhatten, Belmont County, OH.
Jesse Thompson, 21, Chaz Suarez, 23, and Stormetta Hawkins, 32, were arrested today around 8:00am by the U.S. Marshals Service – Mountain State Fugitive Task Force in Powhatten, OH. Thompson, Suarez and Hawkins were wanted by the Moundsville Police Department due to an investigation involving a home invasion where the victims were pistol whipped and five (5) firearms were stolen.
The U.S. Marshals Service was requested to assist in locating Thompson, Suarez and Hawkins from Moundsville Police Department. Deputy U.S. Marshals received information that the subjects were staying in Powhatten, OH.
On July 11, 2025, Deputy Marshals, Task Force Officers, Belmont County Sheriff Deputies and Powhatten Police responded to 200 block of State Route 7 in Powhatten, OH. U.S. Marshals announced their presence and immediately located and arrested Thompson, after further search of the residence Hawkins and Suarez were located and placed in custody. During the search of Suarez, DUSMs located a loaded H&K .45 caliber pistol in his waist band. Upon further investigation, Powhatten Police Department and Belmont County conducted a search of the residence and located and seized two (2) additional firearms which were suspected to be from the home invasion, ammunition and small amount of suspected Methamphetamine.
All subjects were transported to the Belmont County Jail in Flushing, OH pending extradition hearing to West Virginia.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency, having served the country since 1789.
Ten individuals have been charged for their roles in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center.
Today’s announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI R. Joseph Rothrock, and Enforcement Removal Operations Dallas Acting Field Office Director Joshua Johnson.
According to a criminal complaint filed today, the defendants, dressed in black military-style clothing, began shooting fireworks at the facility, as part of an organized attack.
After approximately 10 minutes of convening, one or two individuals broke off from the main group and began to spray graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility. An Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911 to report suspicious activity. When the Alvarado police officer arrived, one alleged defendant positioned in nearby woods shot the officer in the neck area. Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility.
As alleged in the complaint, AR-style rifles were found at the scene. The assailants fled from the detention center but were stopped by additional law enforcement officers. Some defendants were wearing body armor, some were armed, and some had two-way radios. A total of twelve sets of body armor were found during searches of vehicles associated with the defendants, on their persons, and in the area around the Prairieland Detention Center.
Additionally, officers found spray paint, flyers stating, “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS,” and a flag stating, “RESIST FACISM – FIGHT OLIGARCHY.” One of the alleged attackers had cell phones inside a “Faraday bag,” used to block phone signals and commonly used by criminal actors to try to prevent law enforcement from tracking their location.
Ten individuals were charged in one complaint with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Those include:
• Cameron Arnold • Savanna Batten • Nathan Baumann • Zachary Evetts • Joy Gibson • Bradford Morris • Maricela Rueda • Seth Sikes • Elizabeth Soto • Ines Soto
As outlined in the complaint, officers photographed the graffiti, flyers, flag, body armor, and magazines containing ammunition:
“Make no mistake, this was not a peaceful protest,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “This was an ambush on federal and local law enforcement officers. This increasing trend of violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas. Those who use violence against law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted using the toughest criminal statutes and penalties available.”
“The incident at the Prairieland Detention Center underscores the dangers that officers face daily. We want to thank all the law enforcement agencies that promptly responded and assisted in apprehending the suspects,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI stands with our partners and pledges that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. We are committed to thoroughly investigating this weekend’s incident and will hold those responsible accountable for threatening the safety of law enforcement.”
“Violence, threats of violence, and attempts of vandalism at our ICE Facilities will not deter our officers at ICE from fulfilling their duties, said Josh Johnson, Acting ERO Dallas Field Office Director. “This type of vigilante lawlessness is emblematic of the dangers federal, state, and local law enforcement officials face every day.”
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, the defendants face a minimum penalty of ten years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the Dallas FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office (ICE ERO), Homeland Security Investigations, ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety, Alvarado Police Department, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
Ten individuals have been charged for their roles in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center.
Today’s announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI R. Joseph Rothrock, and Enforcement Removal Operations Dallas Acting Field Office Director Joshua Johnson.
According to a criminal complaint filed today, the defendants, dressed in black military-style clothing, began shooting fireworks at the facility, as part of an organized attack.
After approximately 10 minutes of convening, one or two individuals broke off from the main group and began to spray graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility. An Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911 to report suspicious activity. When the Alvarado police officer arrived, one alleged defendant positioned in nearby woods shot the officer in the neck area. Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility.
As alleged in the complaint, AR-style rifles were found at the scene. The assailants fled from the detention center but were stopped by additional law enforcement officers. Some defendants were wearing body armor, some were armed, and some had two-way radios. A total of twelve sets of body armor were found during searches of vehicles associated with the defendants, on their persons, and in the area around the Prairieland Detention Center.
Additionally, officers found spray paint, flyers stating, “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS,” and a flag stating, “RESIST FACISM – FIGHT OLIGARCHY.” One of the alleged attackers had cell phones inside a “Faraday bag,” used to block phone signals and commonly used by criminal actors to try to prevent law enforcement from tracking their location.
Ten individuals were charged in one complaint with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Those include:
• Cameron Arnold • Savanna Batten • Nathan Baumann • Zachary Evetts • Joy Gibson • Bradford Morris • Maricela Rueda • Seth Sikes • Elizabeth Soto • Ines Soto
As outlined in the complaint, officers photographed the graffiti, flyers, flag, body armor, and magazines containing ammunition:
“Make no mistake, this was not a peaceful protest,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “This was an ambush on federal and local law enforcement officers. This increasing trend of violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas. Those who use violence against law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted using the toughest criminal statutes and penalties available.”
“The incident at the Prairieland Detention Center underscores the dangers that officers face daily. We want to thank all the law enforcement agencies that promptly responded and assisted in apprehending the suspects,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI stands with our partners and pledges that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. We are committed to thoroughly investigating this weekend’s incident and will hold those responsible accountable for threatening the safety of law enforcement.”
“Violence, threats of violence, and attempts of vandalism at our ICE Facilities will not deter our officers at ICE from fulfilling their duties, said Josh Johnson, Acting ERO Dallas Field Office Director. “This type of vigilante lawlessness is emblematic of the dangers federal, state, and local law enforcement officials face every day.”
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, the defendants face a minimum penalty of ten years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the Dallas FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office (ICE ERO), Homeland Security Investigations, ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety, Alvarado Police Department, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
Ten individuals have been charged for their roles in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center.
Today’s announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI R. Joseph Rothrock, and Enforcement Removal Operations Dallas Acting Field Office Director Joshua Johnson.
According to a criminal complaint filed today, the defendants, dressed in black military-style clothing, began shooting fireworks at the facility, as part of an organized attack.
After approximately 10 minutes of convening, one or two individuals broke off from the main group and began to spray graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility. An Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911 to report suspicious activity. When the Alvarado police officer arrived, one alleged defendant positioned in nearby woods shot the officer in the neck area. Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility.
As alleged in the complaint, AR-style rifles were found at the scene. The assailants fled from the detention center but were stopped by additional law enforcement officers. Some defendants were wearing body armor, some were armed, and some had two-way radios. A total of twelve sets of body armor were found during searches of vehicles associated with the defendants, on their persons, and in the area around the Prairieland Detention Center.
Additionally, officers found spray paint, flyers stating, “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS,” and a flag stating, “RESIST FACISM – FIGHT OLIGARCHY.” One of the alleged attackers had cell phones inside a “Faraday bag,” used to block phone signals and commonly used by criminal actors to try to prevent law enforcement from tracking their location.
Ten individuals were charged in one complaint with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Those include:
• Cameron Arnold • Savanna Batten • Nathan Baumann • Zachary Evetts • Joy Gibson • Bradford Morris • Maricela Rueda • Seth Sikes • Elizabeth Soto • Ines Soto
As outlined in the complaint, officers photographed the graffiti, flyers, flag, body armor, and magazines containing ammunition:
“Make no mistake, this was not a peaceful protest,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “This was an ambush on federal and local law enforcement officers. This increasing trend of violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas. Those who use violence against law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted using the toughest criminal statutes and penalties available.”
“The incident at the Prairieland Detention Center underscores the dangers that officers face daily. We want to thank all the law enforcement agencies that promptly responded and assisted in apprehending the suspects,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI stands with our partners and pledges that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. We are committed to thoroughly investigating this weekend’s incident and will hold those responsible accountable for threatening the safety of law enforcement.”
“Violence, threats of violence, and attempts of vandalism at our ICE Facilities will not deter our officers at ICE from fulfilling their duties, said Josh Johnson, Acting ERO Dallas Field Office Director. “This type of vigilante lawlessness is emblematic of the dangers federal, state, and local law enforcement officials face every day.”
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, the defendants face a minimum penalty of ten years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the Dallas FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office (ICE ERO), Homeland Security Investigations, ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety, Alvarado Police Department, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of Justice released Guidance to ensure compliance with President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14224, which establishes English as the official language of the United States of America. Consistent with the Executive Order, the Department of Justice will lead a coordinated effort across federal agencies to minimize non-essential multilingual services, redirect resources toward English-language education and assimilation, and ensure legal compliance with the Executive Order through targeted measures where necessary.
“As President Trump has made clear, English is the official language of the United States,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will lead the effort to codify the President’s Executive Order and eliminate wasteful virtue-signaling policies across government agencies to promote assimilation over division.”
“President Trump’s Executive Order marks a pivotal step toward unifying our nation through a common language and enhancing efficiency in federal operations,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The Department of Justice ensures that while we respect linguistic diversity, our federal resources will prioritize English proficiency to empower new Americans and strengthen civic unity.”
While leaving room for linguistic diversity that exists in private and community spheres, this Guidance will help streamline federal processes, reduce administrative burdens, and increase operational efficiency across agencies by removing extensive translation services and de-prioritizing multilingualism over English proficiency. Implementing the Executive Order will enhance social and economic integration, offer new Americans a vital pathway for civic engagement, and further bind Americans together with a shared language.
President Trump’s Executive Order rescinds Executive Order No. 13,166, signed by President Clinton on August 16, 2000. Executive Order No. 13,166 directed agencies to enhance access to federal programs for persons with limited English proficiency and required tailored guidance for recipients of federal funding—straining federal resources and impeding the assimilation of new Americans.
This is the latest Guidance issued by the Department of Justice to implement and administer President Trump’s agenda.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Hill ASC Inc., doing business as Hill Associates, of Rockville, Maryland, agreed to pay at least $14.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a General Services Administration (GSA) contract for information technology services.
This settlement relates to a contract under which Hill provided information technology services to federal agencies from 2018 to 2023 through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The MAS program provides the government with a streamlined process to buy commonly used commercial goods and services. GSA negotiates contract terms and other agencies can then buy goods and services from the contractor under that GSA MAS contract. The settlement resolves allegations that Hill billed federal agencies for labor of information technology personnel who did not have the experience or education required under the contract. In addition, it resolves allegations that, although GSA required technical evaluations for contractors who sought to offer highly adaptive cybersecurity services to government customers, and Hill had not passed such an evaluation, Hill submitted claims for such cybersecurity services and other services that were not within the scope of the MAS contract. Finally, it resolves allegations that Hill charged the government for unapproved fees, failed to provide government customers with required information about discounts for prompt payment, and included unallowable incentive compensation in a cost submission in connection with a new contract proposal.
Under the settlement with the United States, Hill has agreed to pay $14.75 million, plus additional amounts if certain financial contingencies occur. The settlement amount was based on the company’s ability to pay.
“Information technology contractors are expected to charge the government appropriately for their services,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue cyber fraud and hold accountable those companies that knowingly fail to meet contractual obligations to the American taxpayers.”
“Federal agencies should get what they have paid for from GSA contractors, nothing less,” said GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson. “I appreciate the hard work of all the attorneys, auditors, and special agents involved in this investigation.”
“False claims and similar unfair advantage by contractors undermine the integrity of the contracting process and can result in significant adverse effects to vital security concerns,” said Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba. “Treasury OIG is committed to conducting and assisting other agencies to the utmost in investigations, audits, and other work to detect and prevent these violations of the public trust.”
“As the nation’s tax watchdog, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s contracting and procurement processes,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Cipolla of TIGTA’s Gulf States Field Division. “We remain steadfast in our mission to expose and hold accountable those who attempt to defraud the IRS. Anyone doing business with the IRS or the Department of the Treasury is expected to operate with the highest levels of honesty and integrity. We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their continued collaboration and critical support in this investigation.”
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the GSA’s Office of the Inspector General, the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, and TIGTA. The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Terranova of the Fraud Section.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
A responsive justice system is essential to ensuring survivors of gender-based violence are supported, and people committing these crimes are held to account. To support survivors of gender-based violence, Alberta’s government is launching a new grant program to strengthen support services across the province.
Through the Community Pathways to Justice grant, $1.25 million in one-time funding will be made available to help community-based organizations and Indigenous communities enhance access to justice and provide survivor-centered services. This initiative is part of Alberta’s 10-year strategy to end gender-based violence by preventing harm, holding offenders accountable and empowering those impacted. The grant supports programs that focus on victim support, education and awareness, legal navigation, system coordination and restorative justice.
“We are making this significant investment because gender-based violence has no place in society. This funding empowers community programs to help survivors identify gender-based violence, know how to respond and have the support they need to move forward if they are impacted. Alberta’s government is standing with survivors and the organizations that support them.”
“We are leading with action. This grant delivers real support when and where survivors need it most, a key part of our made-in-Alberta strategy to end gender-based violence.”
Funding will be awarded to eligible Alberta-based organizations, including registered not-for-profits, charities, and Indigenous communities. Grants range from $50,000 to $150,000 and must be used for operational activities. The application process will open on July 14 and will close on August 1.
“No one should have to live in fear of violence, and no survivor should have to face their journey to justice alone. Supported by our National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence, this grant is a meaningful step in making sure more Albertans can access the support, advocacy and safety they deserve. Our federal government is proud to partner with Alberta to help build a future where gender-based violence has no place, and where every survivor knows they are seen, heard and supported.”
Alberta’s 10-year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence builds on our province’s strengths – across government and with community partners – to achieve our vision of a province where every Albertan lives in safety, free from gender-based violence.
Quick facts
For more information on eligibility criteria, funding priorities and how to apply, interested applicants may attend an upcoming virtual information session.
Details can be found here: https://www.alberta.ca/grant-to-support-survivors-of-gender-based-violence.
The Community Pathways to Justice grant is one of the short-term actions identified in the 10-year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence to support survivors and all those impacted where and when they need it.
Funding for this grant is part of Alberta’s four-year, $54-million bilateral agreement with the federal government that was announced in 2023.
Through Budget 2025, Alberta’s government is committing $188 million in direct supports to programs and services that address gender-based violence and support survivors.
Gender-based violence refers to acts of violence, intimidation or coercion aimed at people where the victim’s gender is a relevant factor, and can take many forms, including intimate partner and family violence, sexual violence, stalking, harassment, human trafficking, financial abuse and online exploitation.
Related information
Ending gender-based violence | Alberta.ca
Supports for girls and women
Related news
Alberta takes action: Ending gender-based violence (May 13, 2025)
Supporting survivors of gender-based violence (May 20, 2025)
Building safer futures free from family violence (June 3, 2025)
A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Friday for tax evasion and filing false tax returns related to a scheme to conceal income received from his commercial property business.
The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: Steven Loo, of Seattle, controlled and operated eight companies that owned commercial real estate. Each was managed by independent property management companies, which were responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the real estate. Loo diverted the income he earned from his real estate by instructing the property management companies to issue checks, categorized as asset management fees, to two other entities that Loo controlled. Loo knew that the funds deposited into these bank accounts, totaling more than $4.8 million, were income to him and that he was required to report and pay tax on the funds. Nevertheless, Loo filed tax returns for 2015 through 2020 that did not report or pay tax on these funds.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Loo owes $1.6 million in taxes on his unreported income.
Loo is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of the false tax return charges and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges for which he was convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Regina Jeon of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dion and Sean Waite for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Friday for tax evasion and filing false tax returns related to a scheme to conceal income received from his commercial property business.
The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: Steven Loo, of Seattle, controlled and operated eight companies that owned commercial real estate. Each was managed by independent property management companies, which were responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the real estate. Loo diverted the income he earned from his real estate by instructing the property management companies to issue checks, categorized as asset management fees, to two other entities that Loo controlled. Loo knew that the funds deposited into these bank accounts, totaling more than $4.8 million, were income to him and that he was required to report and pay tax on the funds. Nevertheless, Loo filed tax returns for 2015 through 2020 that did not report or pay tax on these funds.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Loo owes $1.6 million in taxes on his unreported income.
Loo is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of the false tax return charges and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges for which he was convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Regina Jeon of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dion and Sean Waite for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Friday for tax evasion and filing false tax returns related to a scheme to conceal income received from his commercial property business.
The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: Steven Loo, of Seattle, controlled and operated eight companies that owned commercial real estate. Each was managed by independent property management companies, which were responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the real estate. Loo diverted the income he earned from his real estate by instructing the property management companies to issue checks, categorized as asset management fees, to two other entities that Loo controlled. Loo knew that the funds deposited into these bank accounts, totaling more than $4.8 million, were income to him and that he was required to report and pay tax on the funds. Nevertheless, Loo filed tax returns for 2015 through 2020 that did not report or pay tax on these funds.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Loo owes $1.6 million in taxes on his unreported income.
Loo is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of the false tax return charges and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges for which he was convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Regina Jeon of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dion and Sean Waite for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Friday for tax evasion and filing false tax returns related to a scheme to conceal income received from his commercial property business.
The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: Steven Loo, of Seattle, controlled and operated eight companies that owned commercial real estate. Each was managed by independent property management companies, which were responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the real estate. Loo diverted the income he earned from his real estate by instructing the property management companies to issue checks, categorized as asset management fees, to two other entities that Loo controlled. Loo knew that the funds deposited into these bank accounts, totaling more than $4.8 million, were income to him and that he was required to report and pay tax on the funds. Nevertheless, Loo filed tax returns for 2015 through 2020 that did not report or pay tax on these funds.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Loo owes $1.6 million in taxes on his unreported income.
Loo is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of the false tax return charges and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges for which he was convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Regina Jeon of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dion and Sean Waite for the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.
At the beginning of 2025, panic about fraud and human trafficking erupted on Chinese social media. It started when a Chinese actor called Wang Xing was tricked into travelling to Thailand for an audition, where he was abducted by criminals and taken to a scam centre in Myanmar.
Wang was reported missing and, within three days, the Thai police had located and returned him to Thailand. Details of the operation were not revealed, leading to speculation that withholding more information was part of a deal that led to Wang’s release.
Inside the compound, Wang’s head was shaved and he told the police he was forced to undergo the first phase of training on how to carry out scams.
One such scam is known as “pig butchering”. This type of scam began attracting attention in China around 2019, and is typically carried out by Chinese organised crime groups. Scammers establish fake romantic and trusting relationships with victims before luring them into fraudulent investments or other financial traps.
Pig-butchering scammers have stolen billions of dollars from victims worldwide. In one notable example from 2023, a banker from Kansas in the US called Shan Hanes embezzled US$47 million (£34.6 million) from his bank to cover his losses after falling victim to a pig butchering scam. Hanes was subsequently sentenced to more than 24 years in prison. So, what do we know about how pig butchering scams work?
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A pig butchering scam consists of three stages: hunting, raising and killing. These stages correspond to scammers finding victims online, talking with them to build trust and then getting them to invest large amounts of money in fraudulent schemes.
There are some similarities between a pig butchering scam and a traditional romance scam. Scammers may, as in a traditional scam, approach their victims by posing as a possible romantic partner on a dating app or a friend on social media.
But the key difference lies in how the scam is executed. In a traditional romance scam, trust is based on the victim’s desire to maintain a romantic relationship with the scammer. Because of this, traditional romance scams can sometimes last for years.
Pig butchering scams, in comparison, generally take place over a shorter time frame. Rather than focusing on extracting money solely through emotional manipulation, they lean heavily on the victim’s desire to make money together with the scammer. They often involve just a few months of talking with the victim.
The scammers present themselves as financially successful and confident people with broad networks and attractive investment opportunities. Once a victim makes a small initial investment, scammers rapidly escalate the process and push them into making much larger financial commitments.
In one example from 2024, a woman in the US state of Connecticut called Jacqueline Crenshaw met a man on an online dating site. He was posing as a widower with two children and frequently spoke with Crenshaw over the phone. Within two months, they began discussing investing in cryptocurrency.
Crenshaw sent him US$40,000 (£29,500) initially and received screenshots from him showing supposedly huge profits from the cryptocurrency investment. The scammer soon encouraged Crenshaw to invest much more, which ultimately led to her losing nearly US$1 million (£738,000).
Organised crime groups
Pig butchering scams are typically run by highly organised criminal groups. These groups have management teams, provide training to new recruits and often hire people as models who occasionally interact with victims.
The Chinese government has taken several steps to combat fraud in recent years. It enacted the Anti-Telecom Fraud Law in 2022, which was designed specifically to prevent and punish the use of telecommunications and internet technologies to defraud individuals and organisations. It was introduced in response to the growing prevalence of pig butchering scams in China.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security has also developed a mobile application called the National Anti-Fraud Center App. The app allows the public to report scams and access real-time risk alerts related to fraud. Alongside the work of other government departments, it has helped intercept 4.7 billion scam calls and 3.4 billion fraudulent text messages since the beginning of 2024.
The crackdown on fraud within China has made it more difficult for criminal groups to operate domestically, prompting many to relocate their bases abroad. South-east Asian countries – particularly Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar – have become a preferred destination for such groups.
Regions of northern Myanmar, such as Kokang and Wa State, have become breeding grounds for organised fraud over the past few years. Chinese is widely spoken in both of these areas and local customs closely resemble those in China.
Organised fraud has evolved into a key pillar of the local economy in certain parts of south-east Asia. The profits generated from online scams are estimated to amount to 40% of the combined GDP of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Criminal leaders have established tightly controlled compounds that serve as hubs for online scams, with their primary activities centred on pig butchering. These compounds are frequently presented as “technology parks”, which helps recruit workers. However, many people are forced to work in the scam centres.
Pig butchering scams can inflict severe financial harm on victims. But are also closely tied to violent crime, human trafficking and other forms of organised criminal activity. They pose a growing threat to regional and global security.
Bing Han does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
When pop star Katy Perry and five other women made a much-publicised trip to the edge of space earlier this year, they faced sharp criticism across both social and traditionalmedia, with sceptics questioning multiple aspects of the mission.
Much of the backlash centred on the emphasis the crew – which included broadcaster Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’s now-wife, journalist Lauren Sánchez – placed on glamour. Detractors saw their uniforms as at odds with the traditional image of astronauts as explorers, scientific pioneers and envoys of humankind venturing into space.
The flight suits were designed by New York fashion house Monse Maison’s co-founders, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim. They also created Sánchez’s 2024 Met Gala look.
The celebrity crew were first revealed in a photo shared by Blue Origin on April 12, two days before the launch. The unveiling was followed by a series of pre-flight interviews that touched on topics such as makeup, lash extensions and hair styling.
In one such segment, Perry quipped that the crew “put ass in astronaut”. It’s the type of comment that, while playful, reinforced the criticism that the flight prioritised spectacle over substance.
Having previously conducted research on governance of space suit design and astronaut safety, I think much of the backlash targeting the crew’s emphasis on glamour is misplaced. Fashion and style has long played a role in space exploration, a defining feature of both science fiction and real-world missions.
The all-women crew of Blue Origin, in their own way, carried forward this tradition, reinforcing the enduring connection between style symbolism, and space travel.
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Space-faring nations spend millions getting both public and private companies to design suits for intravehicular activity (IVA suits) and extravehicular activities (EVA suits). The priority is not just functionality and safety, but also creating impressive designs.
High fashion house Prada is currently collaborating with Axiom Inc. to design suits for the forthcoming Artemis Mission, a lunar exploration mission led by Nasa. Another Nasa next-generation spacesuit features an exterior cover designed by Esther M. Marquis, who was enlisted for the project after showcasing her visionary spacesuit designs in For All Mankind, an Apple TV Sci-Fi series.
The European Space Agency (ESA), meanwhile, has contracted Maison Pierre Cardin to design the uniforms for training in its new lunar mission simulation facility, Luna, in Germany.
These and many other similar collaborations represent a continuation of the longstanding interplay between art, fashion and space technology. Science fiction books and movies have both influenced and been influenced by advancements developed for space travel.
Modern space fashion
Photos and videos from inside the International Space Station (ISS) reveal that their intravehicular activity (IVA) suits are designed for functionality and comfort rather than style.
It’s a sensible approach, as most crew stay there for extended periods to conduct scientific experiments. In contrast, two of the billionaires most associated with space tourism – Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson – take a different approach. In competing to promote their emerging space tourism ventures, their own trips to space have been carefully curated – with fashion playing a key role.
From launch to landing, Bezos’ own suborbital space travel with Blue Origin in 2021 lasted 11 minutes, while Branson’s travel in Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity lasted approximately 90 minutes, with four minutes of experience of weightlessness. However, they ensured that their “look” as they walked to their spacecraft would remain entrenched in our memories.
Jimmy Fallon jokes about Bezos’s cowboy hat.
Branson entrusted sports brand Under Armour to make a statement with a dark blue jumpsuit. Nine days later, Bezos appeared on the flight platform sporting a cowboy hat with his light blue flight suit.
Branson’s crew won more fashion points with their sleek and streamlined suits – and he flew before Bezos – beating Blue Origin’s flight by nine days. Yet Bezos and his crew travelled to a higher altitude.
As of the date of this article, Blue Origin has flown 58 people into space, whereas Virgin Galactic have flown 61 passengers, including crew. Space suits are an integral part of the experience. No less than a picture-perfect design will be expected for the high price tag.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is the foremost private space enterprise of our time and arguably the one with the most political influence – although the effects of the recent fallout between SpaceX founder Elon Musk and the US president, Donald Trump, on the company remain uncertain.
SpaceX has also stepped up its design efforts before the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk during the Polaris Dawn spaceflight, it unveiled its new EVA suit, dubbed the “space tuxedo”.
SpaceX’s ‘space tuxedo’ suit reveal.
During spacewalks, EVA suits are essential for keeping humans alive, making them a vital piece of wearable technology. The space tux was designed by Hollywood costume designer, Jose Fernandez, who also designed the suits for Iron Man and Captain America (an interesting twist given the film version of Iron Man’s alter ego, Tony Stark was reportedly partly inspired by Musk).
Musk reportedly demanded both IVA and EVA suits to look “badass” while remaining practical. The mission was a success, as the four-member civilian team, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, travelled further into space than any humans since the Apollo Missions to the moon.
As we continue to explore the cosmos, fashion will continue to play a role in how we present ourselves to the universe. Whether for scientific missions or private ventures, how we dress for space will reflect our identity and aspirations as a species. This phenomenon did not begin with these glamorous star-studded women embarking on space ventures in their signature bold styles, nor will it end with the scrutiny and negative publicity they have faced.
Berna Akcali Gur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Clearly angered by the intensification of Russia’s air campaign against Ukraine, Donald Trump has pivoted from the suspension of US military assistance to Ukraine to promising its resumption. Russia’s strikes on major cities killed more civilians in June than have died in any single previous month, according to UN figures.
Over the past two weeks, the US president has made several disparaging comments about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, including on July 13 that the Russian president “talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening”.
Not only will the US resume delivery of long-promised Patriot air defence missiles, Trump is now also reported to be considering a whole new plan to arm Ukraine, including with offensive capabilities. And he has talked about imposing new sanctions on Putin’s regime.
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This is the background against which the eighth Ukraine Recovery Conference took place in Rome on July 10 and 11. The event, attended by many western leaders and senior business executives, was an important reminder that while the war against Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield, peace will only be won as the result of rebuilding Ukraine’s economy and society.
Ending the war anytime soon and on terms favourable to Kyiv will require an enormous effort by Ukrainians and their European allies. But the country’s recovery afterwards will be no less challenging.
According to the World Bank’s latest assessment, at the end of 2024 Ukraine’s recovery needs over the next decade stood at US$524 billion (£388 billion). And with every month the war continues, these needs are increasing. Ukraine’s three hardest-hit sectors are housing, transport and energy infrastructure, which between them account for around 60% of all damage.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided a relatively positive assessment of Ukraine’s overall economic situation at the end of June, forecasting growth of between 2% and 3% for 2025 – likely to grow to over 4% in 2026 and 2027. But the IMF also cautioned that this trajectory – and the country’s macroeconomic stability more generally – will remain heavily dependent on external support.
Taking into account a new €2.3 billion package from the EU, consisting of €1.8 billion of loan guarantees and €580 million of grants, the cumulative pledge of over €10 billion (£8.7 billion) made by countries attending the Ukraine recovery conference is both encouraging and sobering.
It is encouraging in the sense that Ukraine’s international partners remain committed to the country’s social and economic needs, not merely its ability to resist Russia on the battlefield.
But it is also sobering that even these eye-watering sums of public money are still only a fraction of Ukraine’s needs. Even if the EU manages to mobilise its overall target of €40 billion for Ukraine’s recovery, by attracting additional contributions from other donors and the private sector, this would be less than 8% of Ukraine’s projected recovery needs as of the end of 2024.
As the war continues and more of the (diminishing) public funding is directed towards defence expenditure by Kyiv’s western partners, this gap is likely to grow.
Overcoming the trauma of war
Money is not the only challenge for Ukraine recovery efforts. Rebuilding the country is not simply about undoing the physical damage.
The social impact of Russia’s aggression is hard to overstate. Ukraine has been deeply traumatised as a society since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Generally reliable Ukrainian casualty counts – some 12,000 civilians and 43,000 troops killed since February 2022 – are still likely to underestimate the true number of people who have died as a direct consequence of the Russian aggression. And each of these will have left behind family members struggling to cope with their loss. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of war veterans.
Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there were nearly half a million veterans from the “frozen” conflict that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. By the end of 2024, this number had more than doubled to around 1 million. Most of them have complex social, economic, medical and psychological needs that will have to be considered as part of a society-wide recovery effort.
Returning refugees
According to data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), there are also some 7 million refugees from Ukraine and 3.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs). This is equivalent to one quarter of the country’s population. The financial needs of UNHCR’s operations in Ukraine are estimated at $800 million in 2025, of which only 27% was funded as of the end of April.
Once the fighting in Ukraine ends, refugees are likely to return in greater numbers. Their return will provide a boost to the country’s economic growth by strengthening its labour force and bringing with them skills and, potentially, investment. But like many IDPs and veterans, they may not be able to return to their places of origin, either because these are not inhabitable or remain under Russian occupation.
Some returnees are likely to be viewed with suspicion or resentment by those Ukrainians who stayed behind and fought. Tensions with Ukrainians who survived the Russian occupation in areas that Kyiv may recover in a peace deal are also likely, given Ukraine’s harsh anti-collaboration laws.
As a consequence, reintegration – in the sense of rebuilding and sustaining the country’s social cohesion – will be a massive challenge, requiring as much, if not more, of Ukraine’s partners’ attention and financial support as physical reconstruction and the transition from a war to a peace-time economy.
Given the mismatch between what is needed and what has been provided for Ukraine’s recovery, one may well be sceptical about the value of the annual Ukraine recovery conferences. But, to the credit of their organisers and attendees, they recognise that the foundations for post-war recovery need to be built before the war ends. The non-military challenges of war and peace must not fall by the wayside amid an exclusive focus on battlefield dynamics.
Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.
The election of Zambia’s president, Hakainde Hichilema, in 2021 was widely interpreted as a victory for democracy. Zambia had suffered rising repression under former leader Edgar Lungu, but Hichilema promised democratic accountability. However, there are now concerns that his government is promoting constitutional changes that would entrench ruling-party dominance.
Hichilema has proposed a bill that would increase the number of MPs by over 60%. It would also introduce elements of proportional representation to create a “mixed” electoral system, and create reserved seats for women, young people and those with disabilities.
Zambia’s ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) claims the amendments are needed to correct historical exclusion. But many civil society groups believe this is “gender washing” – using inclusive rhetoric to mask an authoritarian agenda.
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This scepticism is rooted in recent political developments and the text itself. The bill has emerged alongside other legislation that would tighten state control over civic and political space, at a time when infringements on fundamental freedoms in Zambia are growing.
Many of the bill’s provisions are also vague and some undermine democratic checks and balances, while the progressive aspects are ill-conceived. This makes the proposed reforms, in the words of well-known Zambian constitutional expert O’Brien Kaaba: “deeply problematic and counterproductive”.
I take no pleasure in saying this. The last time I wrote such an article about Zambia, it was to condemn the persecution of Hichilema after he was arrested in 2017 on trumped up treason charges. I was honoured to receive a letter of thanks upon his release.
Like many Zambians and international observers, I was hopeful for the new administration. Yet, while the government has kept some campaign promises and negotiated a difficult deal on the country’s debt burden, efforts to restore democracy are now going backwards.
Weakening a fragile system
As prominent Zambian civil society leaders like Laura Miti and Linda Kasonde have warned, a number of the proposed changes could enable the government to all-but-guarantee itself a majority in the next elections scheduled for 2026.
First, the bill would add 55 new constituency-based MPs – more than the total number to be elected through proportional representation. There are concerns that most of these new constituencies will be created in UPND strongholds, helping the party retain a majority even if it loses support.
These fears have been magnified by the government’s failure to release the Boundary Delimitation Report, which sets out the redrawing of electoral boundaries. This has prevented independent scrutiny of the process and its motivations.
Second, the rule that parliament must be dissolved 90 days before elections is also being revoked on the basis that this unfairly shortens office terms for MPs. Although MPs would not be supposed to conduct parliamentary business after this point, such a change would exacerbate existing problems. These include the use of government resources and vehicles in the ruling party’s campaign.
And third, the constitutional amendment increases the number of MPs the president can appoint from eight to ten. In a system already adding reserved seats for underrepresented groups, this lacks justification. Taken together, these changes threaten to further empower the government and explain why a collective of civil society groups recently demanded “an immediate halt” to the process.
At the same time, the government has not taken the opportunity to remove problematic clauses from Zambia’s constitution. These include the right of the president to dissolve the National Assembly if it fails to “reasonably” perform its duties.
The government has justified the bill by emphasising the historical underrepresentation of women and marginalised groups in Zambian politics. This is a serious problem, but the bill will not fix it.
The amendments only create 20 seats for women, 12 for young people, and three for those with disabilities. In a 256-seat chamber, this will do little to address the imbalance and falls well short of the Southern African Development Community’s target of 30% female representation.
Poorly designed quotas can also reinforce marginalisation. Parties may push women toward quota seats, limiting their participation in regular constituency races. The amendment may thus create a new ceiling: if women only run in reserved seats, female representation would almost halve from 15% now to just 8% in the next parliament.
A similar issue arises with the proportional representation system more broadly. When only a small proportion of seats are allocated this way, it fails to deliver the benefits of fairness that are associated with true proportionality.
In other words, the constitutional amendment bill gives the appearance of inclusivity while carefully preserving the government’s incumbency advantage.
A constitutional rush-job
Perhaps the most striking flaw in the bill has been the process itself. The amendments have seen such scant public consultation that, in June, the Law Association of Zambia called for them to be withdrawn.
This concern is shared by the constitutional court, which recently found the government had failed to meet constitutional requirements for public participation. The court recommended restarting a more inclusive process.
Hichilema, perhaps aware of the likely verdict, preempted the ruling by announcing shortly before the court’s decision that he would pause the process to allow for wider consultation. This is a welcome, but insufficient, development. As the Law Association has argued, the amendments are so badly designed that they do not represent a viable foundation for constitutional review.
Compounding its other flaws, the legislation is poorly written and vague. In many cases, it also fails to explain how new provisions would actually work in practice. The bill therefore needs to be withdrawn, not revised or deferred.
Zambia needs a new constitution, but it deserves one that is rooted in evidence, consultation and democratic principles. Anything less threatens to undermine the country’s hard-won democratic gains and Hichilema’s own legacy.
Nic Cheeseman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dale Pankhurst, PhD candidate and Tutor in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
The British government announced in early July that a far-right group called the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) will be banned under terrorism legislation. This will make it a criminal offence in the UK to be a member of the group or to express support for it.
The RIM was at the centre of a string of letter bomb attacks targeting high-profile people and institutions in Spain in 2022. These included a bomb addressed to the official residence of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, which was intercepted by his security detail.
Six more letter bombs were mailed to targets including the American and Ukrainian embassies in Madrid, military installations, and weapons manufacturing companies that supply arms to Ukraine. No one was killed in the attacks, which US officials considered to be acts of terrorism.
Investigators soon announced that they suspected the RIM of being involved. US and European officials alleged that the group was directed to carry out the attacks by Russian intelligence officers.
What is the RIM?
The RIM is an ultra-nationalist, neo-nazi and white supremacist organisation based in Russia. It was created in 2002 by Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, a Russian national who is designated a terrorist by the US government.
The group seeks to create a new Russian empire, and uses the Russian imperial flag as its sign. The previous Russian empire (1721-1917) encompassed all of modern-day Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Georgia, Armenia and the Baltic states, as well as parts of China.
The movement does not recognise Ukrainian sovereignty. It sees Ukraine as part of what it calls a global Zionist conspiracy designed to undermine Russia and promote Jewish interests. The RIM has engaged in Holocaust denial and is formally outlawed in the US, Canada and now the UK.
It also has a paramilitary wing called the Imperial Legions, which operates at least two training facilities in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The US State Department believes these facilities are being used to train RIM members in woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
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Denis Valliullovich Gariyev, the Imperial Legions’ leader, has in the past called on “young orthodox men” to join the Legions and defend Novorossiya – a term used to describe Russia’s claim over Ukraine. As of 2020, the Imperial Legions was estimated to have several thousand members.
The RIM and its paramilitary wing have engaged in a wide range of activities and operations. These range from passive alliances with other far-right groups in Europe to providing paramilitary training for terrorist organisations. They have also participated directly in bomb attacks.
Since 2014, when the conflict in eastern Ukraine began, the movement has trained and sent members as mercenaries to bolster the pro-Russian separatist groups fighting there. Its members have also actively supported the Russian armed forces in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
After the invasion, posts related to the RIM on various social media platforms such as Vkontakte and Telegram revealed a ramping up of recruitment to join operations in Ukraine. Its fighters have posted videos of themselves in Ukraine armed with weaponry from sniper rifles to anti-tank missiles.
According to analysts, the movement also maintains strong ties with the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group. Imperial Legions fighters are believed to have operated alongside Wagner mercenaries in Syria, Libya and possibly the Central African Republic.
Outside of these activities, the movement has been active in supporting far-right organisations in Europe. These include the Nordic Resistance Movement in Sweden and similar groups in Germany, Spain and elsewhere.
It provides training to these groups through its so-called “Partizan” (Russian for guerrilla) programme. The training includes bombmaking, marksmanship, medical and survival skills, military topography and other tactics. According to the UK government, the Partizan programme aims to increase the capacity of attendees to conduct terrorist attacks.
Two Swedish nationals who took part in the programme later committed a series of bombings against refugee centres in Gothenburg, a city on Sweden’s west coast, in late 2016 and early 2017. The men were convicted in Sweden, with the prosecutor crediting RIM for their terrorist radicalisation and training.
The RIM has also provided specific paramilitary training to far-right groups in Finland. Some members of these groups have fought on Russia’s side in Ukraine, while others have attempted to establish a Finnish cell of the international neo-nazi Atomwaffen Division. Police raids in 2023 also unveiled plans to assassinate the then Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin.
Links with the Russian state
The movement has previously been critical of the Russian government. It initially believed the approach of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, to Ukraine was too soft, while the group’s promotion of white supremacy and neo-nazism is at odds with Putin’s pragmatic nationalism within Russia.
In 2012, the RIM even took part in discussions with other far-right groups in Russia to form an opposition movement called New Force to challenge Putin’s rule. However, the crisis in Ukraine that erupted in 2014 after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power has caused the Kremlin and RIM’s political objectives to converge.
Indeed, the group can now be viewed as one of the core Russian proxy paramilitaries operating in Ukraine at a time when Putin needs more recruits to continue the war. Western intelligence agencies now believe it has a relationship with officials from Russian state intelligence.
It is difficult to pinpoint the total number of RIM fighters operating in Ukraine as the involvement of mercenary groups there is a closely guarded secret. However, based on previous intelligence reports on the group’s activities, it is reasonable to assume the number is in the hundreds to low thousands.
The decision by the British government to proscribe the RIM indicates concern that the far-right group is increasing its operational capacity both in Ukraine and throughout Europe. With its extensive network, the movement will become an increasing threat to security if it is allowed to continue acting as a proxy for Putin’s foreign policy objectives.
Dale Pankhurst does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Clearly angered by the intensification of Russia’s air campaign against Ukraine, Donald Trump has pivoted from the suspension of US military assistance to Ukraine to promising its resumption. Russia’s strikes on major cities killed more civilians in June than have died in any single previous month, according to UN figures.
Over the past two weeks, the US president has made several disparaging comments about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, including on July 13 that the Russian president “talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening”.
Not only will the US resume delivery of long-promised Patriot air defence missiles, Trump is now also reported to be considering a whole new plan to arm Ukraine, including with offensive capabilities. And he has talked about imposing new sanctions on Putin’s regime.
Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox.Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.
This is the background against which the eighth Ukraine Recovery Conference took place in Rome on July 10 and 11. The event, attended by many western leaders and senior business executives, was an important reminder that while the war against Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield, peace will only be won as the result of rebuilding Ukraine’s economy and society.
Ending the war anytime soon and on terms favourable to Kyiv will require an enormous effort by Ukrainians and their European allies. But the country’s recovery afterwards will be no less challenging.
According to the World Bank’s latest assessment, at the end of 2024 Ukraine’s recovery needs over the next decade stood at US$524 billion (£388 billion). And with every month the war continues, these needs are increasing. Ukraine’s three hardest-hit sectors are housing, transport and energy infrastructure, which between them account for around 60% of all damage.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided a relatively positive assessment of Ukraine’s overall economic situation at the end of June, forecasting growth of between 2% and 3% for 2025 – likely to grow to over 4% in 2026 and 2027. But the IMF also cautioned that this trajectory – and the country’s macroeconomic stability more generally – will remain heavily dependent on external support.
Taking into account a new €2.3 billion package from the EU, consisting of €1.8 billion of loan guarantees and €580 million of grants, the cumulative pledge of over €10 billion (£8.7 billion) made by countries attending the Ukraine recovery conference is both encouraging and sobering.
It is encouraging in the sense that Ukraine’s international partners remain committed to the country’s social and economic needs, not merely its ability to resist Russia on the battlefield.
But it is also sobering that even these eye-watering sums of public money are still only a fraction of Ukraine’s needs. Even if the EU manages to mobilise its overall target of €40 billion for Ukraine’s recovery, by attracting additional contributions from other donors and the private sector, this would be less than 8% of Ukraine’s projected recovery needs as of the end of 2024.
As the war continues and more of the (diminishing) public funding is directed towards defence expenditure by Kyiv’s western partners, this gap is likely to grow.
Overcoming the trauma of war
Money is not the only challenge for Ukraine recovery efforts. Rebuilding the country is not simply about undoing the physical damage.
The social impact of Russia’s aggression is hard to overstate. Ukraine has been deeply traumatised as a society since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Generally reliable Ukrainian casualty counts – some 12,000 civilians and 43,000 troops killed since February 2022 – are still likely to underestimate the true number of people who have died as a direct consequence of the Russian aggression. And each of these will have left behind family members struggling to cope with their loss. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of war veterans.
Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there were nearly half a million veterans from the “frozen” conflict that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. By the end of 2024, this number had more than doubled to around 1 million. Most of them have complex social, economic, medical and psychological needs that will have to be considered as part of a society-wide recovery effort.
Returning refugees
According to data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), there are also some 7 million refugees from Ukraine and 3.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs). This is equivalent to one quarter of the country’s population. The financial needs of UNHCR’s operations in Ukraine are estimated at $800 million in 2025, of which only 27% was funded as of the end of April.
Once the fighting in Ukraine ends, refugees are likely to return in greater numbers. Their return will provide a boost to the country’s economic growth by strengthening its labour force and bringing with them skills and, potentially, investment. But like many IDPs and veterans, they may not be able to return to their places of origin, either because these are not inhabitable or remain under Russian occupation.
Some returnees are likely to be viewed with suspicion or resentment by those Ukrainians who stayed behind and fought. Tensions with Ukrainians who survived the Russian occupation in areas that Kyiv may recover in a peace deal are also likely, given Ukraine’s harsh anti-collaboration laws.
As a consequence, reintegration – in the sense of rebuilding and sustaining the country’s social cohesion – will be a massive challenge, requiring as much, if not more, of Ukraine’s partners’ attention and financial support as physical reconstruction and the transition from a war to a peace-time economy.
Given the mismatch between what is needed and what has been provided for Ukraine’s recovery, one may well be sceptical about the value of the annual Ukraine recovery conferences. But, to the credit of their organisers and attendees, they recognise that the foundations for post-war recovery need to be built before the war ends. The non-military challenges of war and peace must not fall by the wayside amid an exclusive focus on battlefield dynamics.
Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.
The election of Zambia’s president, Hakainde Hichilema, in 2021 was widely interpreted as a victory for democracy. Zambia had suffered rising repression under former leader Edgar Lungu, but Hichilema promised democratic accountability. However, there are now concerns that his government is promoting constitutional changes that would entrench ruling-party dominance.
Hichilema has proposed a bill that would increase the number of MPs by over 60%. It would also introduce elements of proportional representation to create a “mixed” electoral system, and create reserved seats for women, young people and those with disabilities.
Zambia’s ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) claims the amendments are needed to correct historical exclusion. But many civil society groups believe this is “gender washing” – using inclusive rhetoric to mask an authoritarian agenda.
Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox.Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.
This scepticism is rooted in recent political developments and the text itself. The bill has emerged alongside other legislation that would tighten state control over civic and political space, at a time when infringements on fundamental freedoms in Zambia are growing.
Many of the bill’s provisions are also vague and some undermine democratic checks and balances, while the progressive aspects are ill-conceived. This makes the proposed reforms, in the words of well-known Zambian constitutional expert O’Brien Kaaba: “deeply problematic and counterproductive”.
I take no pleasure in saying this. The last time I wrote such an article about Zambia, it was to condemn the persecution of Hichilema after he was arrested in 2017 on trumped up treason charges. I was honoured to receive a letter of thanks upon his release.
Like many Zambians and international observers, I was hopeful for the new administration. Yet, while the government has kept some campaign promises and negotiated a difficult deal on the country’s debt burden, efforts to restore democracy are now going backwards.
Weakening a fragile system
As prominent Zambian civil society leaders like Laura Miti and Linda Kasonde have warned, a number of the proposed changes could enable the government to all-but-guarantee itself a majority in the next elections scheduled for 2026.
First, the bill would add 55 new constituency-based MPs – more than the total number to be elected through proportional representation. There are concerns that most of these new constituencies will be created in UPND strongholds, helping the party retain a majority even if it loses support.
These fears have been magnified by the government’s failure to release the Boundary Delimitation Report, which sets out the redrawing of electoral boundaries. This has prevented independent scrutiny of the process and its motivations.
Second, the rule that parliament must be dissolved 90 days before elections is also being revoked on the basis that this unfairly shortens office terms for MPs. Although MPs would not be supposed to conduct parliamentary business after this point, such a change would exacerbate existing problems. These include the use of government resources and vehicles in the ruling party’s campaign.
And third, the constitutional amendment increases the number of MPs the president can appoint from eight to ten. In a system already adding reserved seats for underrepresented groups, this lacks justification. Taken together, these changes threaten to further empower the government and explain why a collective of civil society groups recently demanded “an immediate halt” to the process.
At the same time, the government has not taken the opportunity to remove problematic clauses from Zambia’s constitution. These include the right of the president to dissolve the National Assembly if it fails to “reasonably” perform its duties.
The government has justified the bill by emphasising the historical underrepresentation of women and marginalised groups in Zambian politics. This is a serious problem, but the bill will not fix it.
The amendments only create 20 seats for women, 12 for young people, and three for those with disabilities. In a 256-seat chamber, this will do little to address the imbalance and falls well short of the Southern African Development Community’s target of 30% female representation.
Poorly designed quotas can also reinforce marginalisation. Parties may push women toward quota seats, limiting their participation in regular constituency races. The amendment may thus create a new ceiling: if women only run in reserved seats, female representation would almost halve from 15% now to just 8% in the next parliament.
A similar issue arises with the proportional representation system more broadly. When only a small proportion of seats are allocated this way, it fails to deliver the benefits of fairness that are associated with true proportionality.
In other words, the constitutional amendment bill gives the appearance of inclusivity while carefully preserving the government’s incumbency advantage.
A constitutional rush-job
Perhaps the most striking flaw in the bill has been the process itself. The amendments have seen such scant public consultation that, in June, the Law Association of Zambia called for them to be withdrawn.
This concern is shared by the constitutional court, which recently found the government had failed to meet constitutional requirements for public participation. The court recommended restarting a more inclusive process.
Hichilema, perhaps aware of the likely verdict, preempted the ruling by announcing shortly before the court’s decision that he would pause the process to allow for wider consultation. This is a welcome, but insufficient, development. As the Law Association has argued, the amendments are so badly designed that they do not represent a viable foundation for constitutional review.
Compounding its other flaws, the legislation is poorly written and vague. In many cases, it also fails to explain how new provisions would actually work in practice. The bill therefore needs to be withdrawn, not revised or deferred.
Zambia needs a new constitution, but it deserves one that is rooted in evidence, consultation and democratic principles. Anything less threatens to undermine the country’s hard-won democratic gains and Hichilema’s own legacy.
Nic Cheeseman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dale Pankhurst, PhD candidate and Tutor in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
The British government announced in early July that a far-right group called the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) will be banned under terrorism legislation. This will make it a criminal offence in the UK to be a member of the group or to express support for it.
The RIM was at the centre of a string of letter bomb attacks targeting high-profile people and institutions in Spain in 2022. These included a bomb addressed to the official residence of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, which was intercepted by his security detail.
Six more letter bombs were mailed to targets including the American and Ukrainian embassies in Madrid, military installations, and weapons manufacturing companies that supply arms to Ukraine. No one was killed in the attacks, which US officials considered to be acts of terrorism.
Investigators soon announced that they suspected the RIM of being involved. US and European officials alleged that the group was directed to carry out the attacks by Russian intelligence officers.
What is the RIM?
The RIM is an ultra-nationalist, neo-nazi and white supremacist organisation based in Russia. It was created in 2002 by Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, a Russian national who is designated a terrorist by the US government.
The group seeks to create a new Russian empire, and uses the Russian imperial flag as its sign. The previous Russian empire (1721-1917) encompassed all of modern-day Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Georgia, Armenia and the Baltic states, as well as parts of China.
The movement does not recognise Ukrainian sovereignty. It sees Ukraine as part of what it calls a global Zionist conspiracy designed to undermine Russia and promote Jewish interests. The RIM has engaged in Holocaust denial and is formally outlawed in the US, Canada and now the UK.
It also has a paramilitary wing called the Imperial Legions, which operates at least two training facilities in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The US State Department believes these facilities are being used to train RIM members in woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
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Denis Valliullovich Gariyev, the Imperial Legions’ leader, has in the past called on “young orthodox men” to join the Legions and defend Novorossiya – a term used to describe Russia’s claim over Ukraine. As of 2020, the Imperial Legions was estimated to have several thousand members.
The RIM and its paramilitary wing have engaged in a wide range of activities and operations. These range from passive alliances with other far-right groups in Europe to providing paramilitary training for terrorist organisations. They have also participated directly in bomb attacks.
Since 2014, when the conflict in eastern Ukraine began, the movement has trained and sent members as mercenaries to bolster the pro-Russian separatist groups fighting there. Its members have also actively supported the Russian armed forces in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
After the invasion, posts related to the RIM on various social media platforms such as Vkontakte and Telegram revealed a ramping up of recruitment to join operations in Ukraine. Its fighters have posted videos of themselves in Ukraine armed with weaponry from sniper rifles to anti-tank missiles.
According to analysts, the movement also maintains strong ties with the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group. Imperial Legions fighters are believed to have operated alongside Wagner mercenaries in Syria, Libya and possibly the Central African Republic.
Outside of these activities, the movement has been active in supporting far-right organisations in Europe. These include the Nordic Resistance Movement in Sweden and similar groups in Germany, Spain and elsewhere.
It provides training to these groups through its so-called “Partizan” (Russian for guerrilla) programme. The training includes bombmaking, marksmanship, medical and survival skills, military topography and other tactics. According to the UK government, the Partizan programme aims to increase the capacity of attendees to conduct terrorist attacks.
Two Swedish nationals who took part in the programme later committed a series of bombings against refugee centres in Gothenburg, a city on Sweden’s west coast, in late 2016 and early 2017. The men were convicted in Sweden, with the prosecutor crediting RIM for their terrorist radicalisation and training.
The RIM has also provided specific paramilitary training to far-right groups in Finland. Some members of these groups have fought on Russia’s side in Ukraine, while others have attempted to establish a Finnish cell of the international neo-nazi Atomwaffen Division. Police raids in 2023 also unveiled plans to assassinate the then Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin.
Links with the Russian state
The movement has previously been critical of the Russian government. It initially believed the approach of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, to Ukraine was too soft, while the group’s promotion of white supremacy and neo-nazism is at odds with Putin’s pragmatic nationalism within Russia.
In 2012, the RIM even took part in discussions with other far-right groups in Russia to form an opposition movement called New Force to challenge Putin’s rule. However, the crisis in Ukraine that erupted in 2014 after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power has caused the Kremlin and RIM’s political objectives to converge.
Indeed, the group can now be viewed as one of the core Russian proxy paramilitaries operating in Ukraine at a time when Putin needs more recruits to continue the war. Western intelligence agencies now believe it has a relationship with officials from Russian state intelligence.
It is difficult to pinpoint the total number of RIM fighters operating in Ukraine as the involvement of mercenary groups there is a closely guarded secret. However, based on previous intelligence reports on the group’s activities, it is reasonable to assume the number is in the hundreds to low thousands.
The decision by the British government to proscribe the RIM indicates concern that the far-right group is increasing its operational capacity both in Ukraine and throughout Europe. With its extensive network, the movement will become an increasing threat to security if it is allowed to continue acting as a proxy for Putin’s foreign policy objectives.
Dale Pankhurst does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
July 11, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in this appropriations bill, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.
“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Duckworth said. “Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it’s critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that support our rural communities.”
“Congress is tasked with the critical responsibility to fund our government programs and agencies. While Congress has fulfilled this responsibility by routinely passing continuing resolutions, I hope that we can have a true bipartisan effort to pass appropriations bills in a timely, thoughtful process,” said Durbin. “And as the Trump Administration aims to gut our government, I will continue to push for the funding and resources for Illinoisans to thrive.”
The Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA funding bill includes the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:
Health Clinic, LaHarpe: $1.38 million to Memorial Hospital Association to help construct an additional health clinic to expand access to health care in the Western Illinois community.
Hospital Infrastructure Improvements, Watseka, Illinois: $645,000 to the Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home to update aged and outdated facilities, including HVAC systems and flooring.
Intergenerational Center, Fairbury, Illinois: $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County to construct an intergenerational community center to provide programming and services to youth and seniors at the same site.
Laboratory Renovation, Pittsfield, Illinois: $1 million to the Blessing Care Corporation to update the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in order to modernize facilities that are more than 80 years old.
Medical Technology Upgrades, Lawrenceville, Illinois: $450,000 to provide essential technological upgrades at Lawrence County Memorial Hospital, including improvements in diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring systems, and life-saving equipment.
Pre-K Expansion, Herrin: $263,000 to Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 to help expand capacity at the district’s pre-K center.
Rural Health Clinic Expansion, West Frankfort, Illinois: $1 million to Southern Illinois Hospital Services to expand the Miners Memorial Rural Health Clinic to provide improvements in both patient rooms and provider workspace.
Teledentistry Initiative, Mattoon, Illinois: $110,000 to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to expand rural telehealth efforts to include teledentistry with an emphasis on underserved children.
The Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill includes additional Illinois priorities secured through the programmatic appropriations process:
USDA
Bee Genome: $3 million, an increase of $750,000 from FY25, to continue sequencing the genome of more than 4,000 domestic bee species, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Midwest Soybean Germplasm Lab: The President’s Budget Request proposes closing research labs in three states, including two operations at the University of Illinois—the National Soybean Germplasm Collection and the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center. The bill includes language to prohibit USDA laboratory and facility closures without USDA providing Congressional notification and approval.
Agricultural Research: $3.2 billion for basic food and agricultural research nationwide, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Tracking Farm Exports by State: Includes report language requiring USDA to track and publish the top five farm commodities exported, or imported, by State, and the country of destination, or origin.
Plant Health, Tree and Wood Pests: $59 million to help identify and contain wood-boring pests threatening tree health across the country, 19 of which have been detected in the past decade, including the Emerald Ash Borer. This funding will allow for the identification and containment of Emerald Ash Borer infestations and increase public awareness of the threat posed by EAB in the 15 states that are battling this invasive species.
Animal Welfare: $27 million to implement and enforce provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those governing facilities that previously have fallen out of compliance with the AWA.
Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program): $35 million to support loans and grants that facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas without sufficient broadband access.
Agricultural Extension – Food Safety Outreach Program: $10 million to provide food safety training and tech assistance to owners and operators of small farms, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable vendors affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.
Food for Peace: $1.5 billion to meet emergency food needs around the world, including due to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, and conflict, displacement, poverty, and climate change exacerbating needs around the world, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program: $240 million to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
Local and Regional Procurement: Continues support for the promotion of locally sourced agricultural products, which remain less costly and more accessible when compared to commodities sourced from the United States and shipped overseas.
FDA
Tobacco: Includes substantial bill language pertaining to FDA’s Tobacco Center to eliminate harmful provisions and ensure alignment with public health needs. The statutory language specifies $200 million for e-cigarette enforcement activities, out of the $712 million total for the FDA’s Tobacco Center—which will increase resources to investigate and stop illegally sold products. The language also enhances reporting to Congress, dedicates $2 million to the interagency task force between FDA, DOJ, and DHS, and provides statutory authority requested by FDA Commissioner Makary to enable FDA to detain and destroy seized illegal e-cigarettes at ports of entry. There also is report language ensuring that the FDA’s regulatory focus is on kid-friendly and flavored products, and balanced between unauthorized Chinese vapes and also-illegal, unauthorized domestic vapes (made by Altria, RJ Reynolds, JUUL).
ALS: Provides no less than $2.5 million for FDA to continue implementation of the ACT for ALS law to enable FDA to fund early stage clinical trials for new ALS therapies.
Food Safety: $1.17 billion for FDA’s Human Foods Program to oversee food and nutrition in the United States. Includes report language encouraging coordination between FDA, USDA, and CDC in better ensuring the safety of our nation’s foods.
Dietary Supplements: Includes report language calling on FDA to strengthen its enforcement actions against adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
July 11, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in this appropriations bill, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.
“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Duckworth said. “Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it’s critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that support our rural communities.”
“Congress is tasked with the critical responsibility to fund our government programs and agencies. While Congress has fulfilled this responsibility by routinely passing continuing resolutions, I hope that we can have a true bipartisan effort to pass appropriations bills in a timely, thoughtful process,” said Durbin. “And as the Trump Administration aims to gut our government, I will continue to push for the funding and resources for Illinoisans to thrive.”
The Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA funding bill includes the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:
Health Clinic, LaHarpe: $1.38 million to Memorial Hospital Association to help construct an additional health clinic to expand access to health care in the Western Illinois community.
Hospital Infrastructure Improvements, Watseka, Illinois: $645,000 to the Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home to update aged and outdated facilities, including HVAC systems and flooring.
Intergenerational Center, Fairbury, Illinois: $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County to construct an intergenerational community center to provide programming and services to youth and seniors at the same site.
Laboratory Renovation, Pittsfield, Illinois: $1 million to the Blessing Care Corporation to update the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in order to modernize facilities that are more than 80 years old.
Medical Technology Upgrades, Lawrenceville, Illinois: $450,000 to provide essential technological upgrades at Lawrence County Memorial Hospital, including improvements in diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring systems, and life-saving equipment.
Pre-K Expansion, Herrin: $263,000 to Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 to help expand capacity at the district’s pre-K center.
Rural Health Clinic Expansion, West Frankfort, Illinois: $1 million to Southern Illinois Hospital Services to expand the Miners Memorial Rural Health Clinic to provide improvements in both patient rooms and provider workspace.
Teledentistry Initiative, Mattoon, Illinois: $110,000 to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to expand rural telehealth efforts to include teledentistry with an emphasis on underserved children.
The Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill includes additional Illinois priorities secured through the programmatic appropriations process:
USDA
Bee Genome: $3 million, an increase of $750,000 from FY25, to continue sequencing the genome of more than 4,000 domestic bee species, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Midwest Soybean Germplasm Lab: The President’s Budget Request proposes closing research labs in three states, including two operations at the University of Illinois—the National Soybean Germplasm Collection and the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center. The bill includes language to prohibit USDA laboratory and facility closures without USDA providing Congressional notification and approval.
Agricultural Research: $3.2 billion for basic food and agricultural research nationwide, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.
Tracking Farm Exports by State: Includes report language requiring USDA to track and publish the top five farm commodities exported, or imported, by State, and the country of destination, or origin.
Plant Health, Tree and Wood Pests: $59 million to help identify and contain wood-boring pests threatening tree health across the country, 19 of which have been detected in the past decade, including the Emerald Ash Borer. This funding will allow for the identification and containment of Emerald Ash Borer infestations and increase public awareness of the threat posed by EAB in the 15 states that are battling this invasive species.
Animal Welfare: $27 million to implement and enforce provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those governing facilities that previously have fallen out of compliance with the AWA.
Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program): $35 million to support loans and grants that facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas without sufficient broadband access.
Agricultural Extension – Food Safety Outreach Program: $10 million to provide food safety training and tech assistance to owners and operators of small farms, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable vendors affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.
Food for Peace: $1.5 billion to meet emergency food needs around the world, including due to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, and conflict, displacement, poverty, and climate change exacerbating needs around the world, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program: $240 million to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls, despite Trump’s efforts to eliminate the program.
Local and Regional Procurement: Continues support for the promotion of locally sourced agricultural products, which remain less costly and more accessible when compared to commodities sourced from the United States and shipped overseas.
FDA
Tobacco: Includes substantial bill language pertaining to FDA’s Tobacco Center to eliminate harmful provisions and ensure alignment with public health needs. The statutory language specifies $200 million for e-cigarette enforcement activities, out of the $712 million total for the FDA’s Tobacco Center—which will increase resources to investigate and stop illegally sold products. The language also enhances reporting to Congress, dedicates $2 million to the interagency task force between FDA, DOJ, and DHS, and provides statutory authority requested by FDA Commissioner Makary to enable FDA to detain and destroy seized illegal e-cigarettes at ports of entry. There also is report language ensuring that the FDA’s regulatory focus is on kid-friendly and flavored products, and balanced between unauthorized Chinese vapes and also-illegal, unauthorized domestic vapes (made by Altria, RJ Reynolds, JUUL).
ALS: Provides no less than $2.5 million for FDA to continue implementation of the ACT for ALS law to enable FDA to fund early stage clinical trials for new ALS therapies.
Food Safety: $1.17 billion for FDA’s Human Foods Program to oversee food and nutrition in the United States. Includes report language encouraging coordination between FDA, USDA, and CDC in better ensuring the safety of our nation’s foods.
Dietary Supplements: Includes report language calling on FDA to strengthen its enforcement actions against adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements.
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
LONDON, July 14 (Xinhua) — Four people were killed in a plane crash at London’s Southend Airport on Sunday, local media reported on Monday.
Four people have died, the BBC and PA news agency reported. Police have not yet confirmed the number of casualties.
The 12-metre-long aircraft, believed to be a Beech B200 Super King Air, was owned by Dutch company Zeusch Aviation and was scheduled to fly to Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands.
Zeusch Aviation confirmed that its flight SUZ1 “experienced an incident” at London Airport and expressed sympathy to “all those affected”.
Video footage shows a huge fireball after the plane crashed.
Pictures posted online showed large flames and a cloud of black smoke after the crash, which happened on Sunday afternoon. Essex Police said they received “reports of a collision involving a single 12m aircraft” shortly before 4pm local time /1500 GMT.
Southend Airport said the airport would be “closed until further notice” due to a “serious incident”. -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.
Detectives have arrested three men in their 20s in connection with the murder of Blue Stevens, who was stabbed to death in Knightsbridge.
Two were arrested at an address in Hounslow on Saturday, 12 July.
One man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. He remains in police custody.
Another man was arrested on suspicion of murder. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.
Following their arrests, Met officers obtained a warrant to search two properties in Chiswick where significant evidence was recovered.
The third man was arrested on Monday, 14 July on suspicion of assisting an offender. He remains in police custody.
Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah, who leads policing in Central West London, said: “These arrests mark a significant milestone in this complex and unfolding murder investigation.
“We continue to progress at pace. While we retain an open mind around motive, one line of enquiry is now that this may have been a targeted attack.
“Increased police patrols remain active in and around the Knightsbridge area. Please do speak with an officer if you have any questions or concerns.”
A murder investigation was launched after officers were called to reports of a stabbing in Seville Street at 21:24hrs on Wednesday, 9 July.
Met officers responded with paramedics from London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance. Blue Stevens, 24, was found with stab wounds. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he sadly died at the scene.
His next-of-kin continue to be supported by specialist officers.
Please call police on 0208 721 4961 referencing CAD 8521/09JUL if you were a witness or have any information which might help.
You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) –South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Dallon Christopher Barnwell, 22, of Pickens, S.C., on 10 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led them to Barnwell. Investigators state that Barnwell possessed files of child sexual abuse material.
Barnwell was arrested on July 3, 2025. He is charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.
What you need to know: Clean energy reliably powered California to levels never seen before – 67% in 2023 – as renewable energy and clean resources continue to advance the state’s world-leading energy transition while fueling the nation’s largest clean energy workforce, more than a half-million strong.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced California achieved an historic milestone – the state was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. California is the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy.
The state released new data showing California’s continued progress toward a clean energy future with 67% of the state’s retail electricity sales in 2023 coming from renewable and zero-carbon electricity generation — compared to just 61% the previous year and around 41% a decade ago. Sources of clean energy include generation from solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, geothermal and biomass.
In 2024, the state added a record-breaking 7,000 megawatts (MW) of clean capacity to the grid, representing the largest single-year increase in clean energy capacity added to the grid in state history. This new figure broke the previous records set in both 2022 and 2023, marking a third consecutive year of unprecedented clean energy growth.
As the federal government turns its back on innovation and commonsense, California is making our clean energy future a reality. The world’s fourth largest economy is running on two-thirds clean power – the largest economy on the planet to achieve this milestone.
And for the first time ever, clean energy provided 100% of the state’s power nearly every day this year for some part of the day. Not since the Industrial Revolution have we seen this kind of rapid transformation.
Governor Gavin Newsom
Historic investments over the past 15 years have led to an extraordinary pace of development in new clean energy generation. And as the grid is increasingly powered by clean energy, pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 – even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period. The power sector is a major driver of the decline in greenhouse gases – emissions from electric power have been cut in half since 2009, helping the state achieve its emissions reductions goals years ahead of schedule.
California is home to the most clean energy jobs in the U.S. and the state’s renewable energy and clean vehicle industries lead the nation in growth. California boasts more than a half-million green jobs and has 7 times more clean jobs than fossil fuel jobs. Solar and wind jobs account for a majority of green jobs, and battery storage and grid modernization is the second-fastest growing sector within California’s clean energy workforce.
California continues to move at a rapid pace on bringing clean energy online. Since 2019, a record 25,000 MW of new energy resources statewide have been added to the grid, with most of that being solar and battery storage. This aligns with the Governor’s roadmap to the state’s clean energy future released in 2023, which called for 148,000 megawatts (MW) of new clean power by 2045.
“California has achieved yet another major milestone on our journey to a clean energy future. The latest numbers show how our state is demonstrating that clean energy is mainstream and is here to stay,” said California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild.
Sources eligible under the state’ Renewables Portfolio Standard – such as solar and wind – made up 43% of the power mix in 2023, up from 39% in 2022. Other zero carbon resources continue to power the grid with large hydro accounting for 12% and nuclear power at 12% in 2023.
“California has set ambitious clean energy goals, and utilities and community choice aggregators have stepped up to deliver clean resources at competitive prices to communities up and down the state,” said California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds. “We are bringing renewable energy online at an unprecedented scale and pace never seen before.”
Solar represents the technology with the largest amount of installed renewable energy capacity in the state – over 21,000 MW of solar capacity operates the electric grid and another 19,000 MW of behind-the-meter generation. The California grid regularly breaks solar generation peak record levels – the latest solar peak recorded in late May was over 21,500 MW of solar generation.
The state is also doubling down on its goals by swiftly increasing its battery energy storage capacity. The state’s battery fleet now stands at over 15,000 MW – 1,944% higher than when the Governor took office in 2019. The state’s storage fleet is regularly storing any available extra solar energy generated during the day, and supporting the grid by dispatching during the evening.
Clean energy days
More than 9 out of 10 days so far this year have been powered by 100% clean energy for at least some part of the day in California. In 2025, California’s grid has run on 100% clean electricity for an average of 7 hours a day.
Data compiled by the California Energy Commission shows clean energy has powered the equivalent of 51.9 days in the state – nearly 30% of the year to date running on 100% clean electricity. That already surpasses the amount of “clean energy days” last year – and represents a 750% increase in clean energy days since 2022.
Press releases, Recent news
Recent news
Jul 11, 2025
News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement today on the court’s decision in Vasquez Perdomo, et al. v. Noem to temporarily stop federal immigration agents from unlawful suspicionless stops in California: Justice prevailed today…
Jul 11, 2025
News What you need to know: Californians are strongly encouraged to use state and local resources to protect themselves from heat illness as triple digit temperatures move across the state. SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom is encouraging Californians to prepare for…
Jul 11, 2025
News What you need to know: Governor Newsom is announcing that the California Employment Development Department is awarding $11 million to help six California organizations connect underserved adults — including veterans, people with disabilities, and at-risk young…
ALBUQUERQUE – A To’Hajiilee man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for the brutal killing of a local man in 2020. Earlier this month, that man also pled guilty in a separate case to assaulting a federal detention officer while he was in custody awaiting trial.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on June 24, 2020, Antonio Chaco, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, argued with Thomas Anthony Brown outside Chaco’s trailer home in To’Hajiilee. Without warning or cause, Chaco struck Brown in the face and continued to punch and kick Brown until he lost consciousness. Chaco then wrapped Brown in a square of carpet, transported Brown to a remote desert location within the Navajo Nation, and continued his assault before abandoning Brown—leaving Brown to perish in the wilderness without water, food, phone, or shelter.
On July 4, 2020, Thomas Anthony Brown’s family found Brown’s skeletonized remains in the To’Hajiilee wilderness. The Office of the Medical Investigator later determined Brown’s cause of death was homicidal violence, including blunt-head trauma.
Thomas Brown’s picture and cowboy hat, as displayed during sentencing
Upon his release from prison for this crime, Chaco will be subject to five years of supervised release.
In a separate case, Chaco pled guilty on June 30, 2025, to assaulting a federal detention officer at the Cibola County Correctional Facility while Chaco was in custody pending trial for the murder of Thomas Brown. For this offense, Chaco faces up to 20 years in prison. That sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones and Brittany DuChaussee are prosecuting these cases.
ALBUQUERQUE – A Las Cruces man was sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison for fatally shooting another man during a fentanyl drug deal, following his guilty plea to multiple federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, on January 24, 2022, Rudy Garcia, 38, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms, arranged a deal for the victim and an acquaintance to purchase 100 fentanyl-laced pills for $500 from Garcia’s ex-wife. Prior to getting the pills, Garcia and the victim had a conversation at a motel where Garcia let the victim know he had a shotgun and displayed the shotgun so that it was visible to him. Garcia expressed concern that the victim had developed a reputation for conducting “drug rips” and did not want any trouble during the deal.
After obtaining the pills, Garcia and the victim walked together to a vehicle. As they were getting in, Garcia claimed he saw the victim reach for a pistol. Feeling threatened, Garcia exited the vehicle, pulled out his shotgun, and shot the victim. The victim died from the gunshot wound.
Garcia was arrested and charged with conspiracy, distribution of fentanyl, using and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime resulting in death, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Following his arrest, Garcia admitted to his involvement in the drug deal and the shooting during an interview with detectives. Surveillance footage and witness accounts corroborated the events leading to the victim’s death.
Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl, using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, discharging said firearm, and causing death through use of said firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition
Upon his release from prison, Garcia will be subject to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Randy M. Castellano prosecuted the case.
PROVIDENCE, RI – A former benefits service representative with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Providence pleaded guilty today to a six-count indictment that charges him with three counts of bribery and one count each of extortion, gratuity received by a public official, and witness tampering, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Michael Darrah, 47, of Taunton, MA., solicited and accepted bribes from veterans and the family member of a veteran to approve requested dependent care benefits and/or disability benefits. In requesting payments, Darrah claimed that some of the money he sought from his victims would be used to purchase gift cards for other purported VA employees who Darrah claimed either could or did assist him in expediting and approving benefits claims.
As reflected in the indictment:
Darrah requested payments and accepted approximately $3,385 from a veteran to “grease the wheels” to push paperwork through and expedite a claim for disability benefits.
Darrah corruptly sought and accepted $16,566 from a second veteran to expedite and approve a claim for disability benefits.
Darrah sought and accepted $2,700 from a relative of a third veteran to expedite and approve the veteran’s benefits claim and he sought and accepted a “gratuity” of approximately $5,000 from the same veteran for having successfully used his position at the VA to get other VA employees to expedite and approve the claims. The indictment reflects that Darrah requested this “gratuity” despite being advised that the veteran was facing homelessness as his house was being foreclosed.
After becoming aware of the government’s investigation into his conduct, Darrah attempted to corruptly persuade a witness not to cooperate with the investigation and to lie about the nature of payments made to him.
Darrah is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14, 2025. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter I. Roklan and Ly T. Chin.
The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Veterans Administration Police.
Boise, ID – The U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force is seeking the assistance of the public who were recreating in the Sawtooth National Forest in the last 24 hours – specific to the Bear Creek area.
Travis Caleb Decker is wanted by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in Washington State for 3 counts of murder and 3 counts of kidnapping of his 3 children aged 5, 8, and 9 on 5/30/2025.
Beginning on July 5, 2025, the U.S. Marshal Service received a tip from a family recreating in the Bear Creek area of the Sawtooth National Forest, consistent with the description of Travis Decker.
The person believed to be Travis Decker was described as a white male, 5’8”-5”10 wearing a black mesh cap, black gauged earrings, cream colored t-shirt, black shorts, long ponytail, black Garmin style watch, beard and mustache overgrown, wearing a black Jan Sport backpack and either converse or vans low top shoes.
The U.S. Marshals Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force is a state-wide cooperative to locate and arrest violent state and federal fugitives. Member agencies who work together with the U.S. Marshal Service throughout the State of Idaho are the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Caldwell Police Department, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Idaho State Police, Idaho Department of Corrections, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Nampa Police Department, and the Pocatello Police Department.
Anyone with information on wanted fugitives is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshal Service Communication Center at 1-800-336- 0102, or USMS Tips at www.usmarshals.gov/tips.
The IAM Union Air Transport Territory issued a strong call for action and accountability following a guilty plea in a violent assault against a United Airlines gate agent and IAM member at Washington Dulles International Airport.
On July 10, 2025, Christopher Stuart Crittenden pleaded guilty in federal court to charges stemming from an attack in which he punched an IAM Union member/United Airlines customer service agent, knocking them unconscious, and attempted to assault another IAM member who barely avoided the assault.
Your IAM Union leadership responded swiftly with renewed calls for greater protections for our members in the airline industry.
“No airline worker should ever fear being physically attacked for doing their job,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “This plea is a step toward justice but cannot stop here. Our members show up every day to keep travelers safe. We need Congress and federal agencies to show up for them by ensuring they are fully protected under the law.”
The IAM represents over 100,000 airline workers, including customer service agents, ramp workers, aircraft mechanics, fleet service workers, flight attendants, stock clerks, and more. This latest assault justifies the need for stronger deterrents and enforcement mechanisms, as physical and verbal assaults on airline workers have spiked in recent years.
“We are grateful that Mr. Crittenden has admitted guilt,” said IAM Union Air Transport Territory General Vice President Richie Johnsen. “But this isn’t just about one individual. It’s about a system that has too often failed to protect frontline workers from harassment and violence. We demand change, not just for our member at United Airlines, but for every airline employee.”
Click here to read the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release on Crittenden’s guilty plea.
“This was a completely preventable act of violence,” said IAM Union Air Transport Territory Chief of Staff Edison Fraser. “Too many of our members have been assaulted while trying to do their jobs with professionalism and care. They’re not asking for applause — just for the ability to work without being punched or screamed at.”
This assault has spotlighted the demands for legislative and regulatory action.
“District 141 stands behind our member and their family every step of the way,” said IAM Union District 141 President and Directing General Chair Mike Klemm. “It’s not enough to just prosecute after the fact. We need action from the Department of Transportation and airline management to create safer workplaces for gate agents and all airport employees.”
The IAM continues to push for reforms that include:
Mandatory federal penalties for assaults on all aviation workers;
Increased staffing and security in high-risk airport areas;
Expanded training for de-escalation and reporting;
Zero-tolerance policies that are jointly enforced by airlines and federal agencies.
“We have been leading this fight on customer service assaults on Capitol Hill for years,” said IAM Union National Legislative and Political Director Hasan Solomon. “We’ve called on Congress and the Department of Justice to treat assaults on airline workers with the same urgency as assaults on flight crews or law enforcement. This person was banned from ever flying on United Airlines, but these types of incidents should get a person banned forever on all airlines.”
The IAM urges the public, elected officials, and airline companies to stand with frontline workers and ensure they receive the dignity and security they deserve.
The post IAM Union Air Transport Territory Demands Increased Protections After Guilty Plea in Violent Assault on IAM Union Member, United Airlines Worker at Washington Dulles International Airport appeared first on IAM Union.