MANILA, PHILIPPINES (29 January 2025) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million policy-based loan to provide the Philippines with quick access to financing in case of disasters triggered by natural hazards or health-related emergencies. The financing will support reforms to raise resilience and enable timely response and recovery efforts, thus minimizing the impact of disasters on the economy and Filipinos’ lives and livelihoods.
The Second Disaster Resilience Improvement Program is a multiyear contingent disaster financing program with an option to replenish the facility twice, upon approval by the ADB Board. Loan renewals are allowed if there will be unutilized amounts after the initial 5-year period.
“The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia but is at high risk for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, rising sea levels, and flooding,” said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran. “With this program, we aim to help boost the country’s capacity for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) nationally and locally, including state-owned and controlled corporations; strengthen DRRM policies and frameworks; and attain long-term resilience to lessen the impact of disasters, especially to the most vulnerable sectors.”
The Philippines ranked as the highest in disaster risk out of 193 economies in 2024, according to the World Risk Report 2024. At least 60% of its total land area is exposed to multiple hazards, with nearly three-fourths of its entire population susceptible to the impact of these hazards. The country experiences at least 20 typhoons and an average of up to 150 earthquakes of at least magnitude 4 every year.
The new program seeks to harmonize DRRM planning processes at the national, provincial, and city levels and integrate DRRM in national public financial management (PFM) reforms as prescribed in the PFM roadmap developed with ADB’s support. It also seeks to incorporate gender equity, disability, and social inclusion in DRRM plans; enhance the service delivery of state-owned or controlled corporations for disaster response; and provide additional sources of risk financing, including a voluntary city parametric disaster insurance scheme that offers faster payouts for damages from earthquakes, typhoons, and other disasters.
The program forms a central part of ADB’s support to the Philippines to build disaster resilience. It builds on the reforms achieved under the first Disaster Resilience Improvement Program. It also leverages past ADB assistance on climate and disaster resilience, such as the support for the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) program, which addressed the post-disaster needs of local communities.
The program complements ADB’s Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project (Phase 1), which is helping prepare and implement DRRM plans to reduce selected LGUs’ disaster vulnerabilities. Finally, it builds on the Climate Change Action Plan Subprograms 1 and 2, which support the implementation of national climate policies and the scale-up of climate adaptation and mitigation efforts at the national and local levels.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
DETROIT – A Houston, Texas resident and leader of the violent Jackson street gang the “Thorough Bread Family,” Tamarious “Poogi” Faulkner, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced today.
Beck was joined in the announcement by James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Detroit Field Division, Colonel James F. Grady, II, Michigan State Police, Director Elmer J. Hitt, Jackson Police and Fire Services, and Sheriff Gary Schuette, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
Tamarious Faulkner, 28, of Houston, Texas, was the leader of the Thorough Bread Family (TBF), a violent street gang that primarily operated in Jackson, Michigan. In his plea, Faulkner admitted that he was the leader of the conspiracy and that he and his co-conspirators distributed large amounts of fentanyl in Jackson. According to court documents, the fentanyl sold by the gang had a unique texture and coloring. Unlike most fentanyl, typically sold in powder form, TBF’s fentanyl was sold in a rock-like crystalline form, and was often colored yellow, purple, or blue, rather than the usual white. Faulkner and his fellow gang members also possessed firearms and machineguns in furtherance of the fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.
Six other co-conspirators have already been sentenced as follows:
Demond Johns, age 27 of Jackson: 128 months’ prison
Dominque Faulkner, age 33 of Jackson: 126 months’ prison
Zaire Faulkner, age 26 of Jackson: 120 months’ prison
Demarquan Smith, age 23 of Jackson: 120 months’ prison
Tommy Owens, age 33 of Jackson: 87 months’ prison
Mario Murguia, age 24 of Jackson: 60 months’ prison
“As is so often the case when drugs and gangs intersect, TBF wreaked havoc on a community by peddling poison and protecting their drug business with violence. The United States Attorney’s Office, in coordination with our federal, state, and local partners, will aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals, groups, and gangs like TBF who do so much to corrode public safety and the well-being of a community,” Acting U.S. Attorney Beck said.
“Today’s guilty plea is a huge win for the Jackson community. The Thorough Bred gang and Dominque Faulkner let their greed and desire for power guide their violent pathway straight into prison like a yellow brick road,” said James Deir ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division. Like Dorothy and Toto, they are not in Kansas anymore; their cyclone of gun violence has blown them straight into federal prison for an extended period of time. To be clear: There is no place in our community for people who use illegal firearms to carry out fear, intimidate others, or facilitate drug dealing. Our community deserves better than Mr. Faulkner and his merry gang of thugs.”
Tamarious Faulkner is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2025,before Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III. Faulkner faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the Michigan State Police, Jackson Police Department, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew R. Picek, Matthew Roth, and Craig Welkener.
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
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WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to condemn President Trump’s recent actions—including pardoning violent January 6th rioters and announcing a sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans—as a direct threat to democracy and public safety. Murphy warned these moves send a dangerous signal that political violence will be excused if it serves Trump’s interests, undermining the rule of law and putting the country’s democratic institutions at risk.
“Today you are fundamentally less likely to be attacked, to be murdered, by a neighbor, by somebody that you have a contest with, than you were centuries ago. Donald Trump is throwing that out the window,” said Murphy. “Donald Trump is throwing out the window the idea that we only advance ourselves politically or economically or socially through nonviolent means. Because what happened last week is that Donald Trump said to this country, ‘If you use violence on my behalf, you’re off the hook. If you beat the hell out of police officers, if you pound them over the head with metal poles, if you yank them by the neck and drag them into a crowd, hold them down so that people can stomp on them, if you taser police officers to the point that they suffer a heart attack, as long as you are doing that to advance my political power, you’re off the hook.’”
Murphy slammed Trump’s illegal freeze on federal grants and loans as a corrupt attack on American democracy: “What happened last night is part of a story. The president can’t be the only person in charge of who gets money or not in this country. That’s corrupt because then the president can dole out money to his political friends or the friends of his billionaire friends, can dole out money to states with senators that are loyal to him and can punish companies that are competitors with his billionaire friends or punish states represented by people who are disloyal to him. That’s not how our democracy works. We’re in charge of making sure that taxpayer money is spread out evenly, that it has nothing to do with loyalty or disloyalty to the leader.”
He continued: “A couple of days ago, all the inspectors general got fired. That’s illegal, but they all got fired. Why? Because if you’re going to engage in corruption inside these agencies, you don’t want anybody to be watching. And so you’ve got to put this next to each other. You’ve got to understand the story. If you’re trying to transition our democracy to a government in which only one person is in charge, you permit people to engage in violence on your behalf so as to intimidate the opposition into being silent, and I’m just going to tell you, if you don’t believe this, there are a lot of folks who don’t support Donald Trump who are not going to show up to rallies, who are not going to participate in politics because they just learned that if they do and somebody hurts them, that person might be let off the hook. You excuse violence, you arrange government so that you can operate in darkness, and you rig the rules so that nobody is in charge of dispensing money except for you. Violence is a legitimate tool of politics. One person in charge of doling out money. Government decisions made in secret. That’s not a democracy. That is a recipe for corruption.”
Murphy concluded: “And so, yes, I am fuming mad about how my Republican colleagues talk about law and order and then mostly, with a few exceptions, either remain silent when the most violent January 6 protesters get pardoned or celebrate those pardons. But I also want to be clear that it stands in a context, a context of actions taken during this first week, that are undermining our democracy to the point of putting it on the brink of possible extinction as a means for fundamental corruption to take place inside our government. That should be unacceptable. That is unacceptable. And I’m thankful to Senator Murray and others for bringing us down to the floor to raise this alarm bell. I yield the floor.”
A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:
MURPHY: “Thank you Mr. President. You know, the murder rate in the United States, the global murder rate, today, is infinitesimal; a fraction of what it was 200 years ago, 400 years ago, 600 years ago; a fraction of what it likely was in the bronze age or in the days when native tribes patrolled this land. What we’ve seen over the course of global history is that human beings have decided that instead of advancing our social power or our economic power or our political power through violence, instead we are going to have law and order. We’re going to have economies that reward merit. We’re going to punish people who disobey those laws to protect the rest of us.
“And that served us really, really well. Today you are fundamentally less likely to be attacked, to be murdered, by a neighbor, by somebody that you have a contest with, than you were centuries ago. Donald Trump is throwing that out the window. Donald Trump is throwing out the window the idea that we only advance ourselves politically or economically or socially through nonviolent means. Because what happened last week is that Donald Trump said to this country, ‘If you use violence on my behalf, you’re off the hook. If you beat the hell out of police officers, if you pound them over the head with metal poles, if you yank them by the neck and drag them into a crowd, hold them down so that people can stomp on them, if you taser police officers to the point that they suffer a heart attack, as long as you are doing that to advance my political power, you’re off the hook.’
“The people that walked out of jail last week were convicted of viciously violent crimes. And, yes, there were plenty of people who were convicted who didn’t engage in that horrific violence, but I was here in this chamber that day. I remember all of my Republican colleagues running out the door just like Democrats did. I don’t remember any of my Republican colleagues staying in the chamber to greet the tourists. Everybody knew that our safety was in jeopardy. Democrats certainly knew our safety was in jeopardy because as we found out, many of those protesters were looking for Democrats. One of the most violent protesters who was let out of jail last week in the middle of his sentence, after he had beaten up police officers, went to the gallows, went to the noose that was constructed, and posted on social media, “Too bad no Democrats here.’
“If you beat up a police officer for reasons other than perpetuating Donald Trump’s power, you’re still in jail. The only people who beat up police officers in the year 2021 that got let out of jail last week—the only ones—were the ones that beat up police officers to help Donald Trump. That sends a clear signal: that your violence is excused if it’s for Donald Trump’s political purposes. And that puts all of our lives in jeopardy. That puts our democracy in jeopardy, when violence is excused.
“What we are learning in the days following that unconscionable executive order, pardoning the rioters— not some of the rioters, everybody— is that it’s part of a plan. Listen, I have done a lot of work across the aisle. I have such respect for my Republican colleagues. I spent hours, weeks, days sitting in rooms negotiating immigration bills and voting bills and public safety bills. But, man, you are watching this president try to seize power right now, try to make us irrelevant, try to suppress political dissent.
“What happened last night is part of a story. The president can’t be the only person in charge of who gets money or not in this country. That’s corrupt because then the president can dole out money to his political friends or the friends of his billionaire friends, can dole out money to states with senators that are loyal to him and can punish companies that are competitors with his billionaire friends or punish states represented by people who are disloyal to him.
“That’s not how our democracy works. We’re in charge of making sure that taxpayer money is spread out evenly, that it has nothing to do with loyalty or disloyalty to the leader. A couple of days ago, all the inspectors general got fired. That’s illegal, but they all got fired. Why? Because if you’re going to engage in corruption inside these agencies, you don’t want anybody to be watching. And so you’ve got to put this next to each other. You’ve got to understand the story. If you’re trying to transition our democracy to a government in which only one person is in charge, you permit people to engage in violence on your behalf so as to intimidate the opposition into being silent, and I’m just going to tell you, if you don’t believe this, there are a lot of folks who don’t support Donald Trump who are not going to show up to rallies, who are not going to participate in politics because they just learned that if they do and somebody hurts them, that person might be let off the hook.
“You excuse violence, you arrange government so that you can operate in darkness, and you rig the rules so that nobody is in charge of dispensing money except for you. Violence is a legitimate tool of politics. One person in charge of doling out money. Government decisions made in secret. That’s not a democracy. That is a recipe for corruption. For corruption.
“And so, yes, I am fuming mad about how my Republican colleagues talk about law and order and then mostly, with a few exceptions, either remain silent when the most violent January 6 protesters get pardoned or celebrate those pardons. But I also want to be clear that it stands in a context, a context of actions taken during this first week, that are undermining our democracy to the point of putting it on the brink of possible extinction as a means for fundamental corruption to take place inside our government. That should be unacceptable. That is unacceptable. And I’m thankful to Senator Murray and others for bringing us down to the floor to raise this alarm bell. I yield the floor.”
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
A training center for Russian national football teams will be built in the northwest of the capital. The City Committee for Architecture and Urban Development (Moskomarkhitektura) has already amended the land use and development rules for the construction of the sports facility. This was reported by Juliana Knyazhevskaya, chairman of the department.
Land use and development regulations are a set of rules and requirements that govern how land should be used and what can be built on it. They determine what activities are allowed in certain places and what requirements must be met when designing and constructing buildings.
“According to the document, a territorial zone has been formed in the northwest of Moscow, where a center with an area of over 32.6 thousand square meters will appear. The site will house a training base for national football teams. Its area will be over 19 thousand square meters. In addition, athletes will have the opportunity to live on the territory of the center during training. The total area of the premises for temporary accommodation will be almost three thousand square meters,” said Yuliana Knyazhevskaya.
The land plot is located on the bank of the Moskva River on Nizhnie Mnevniki Street – a 10-minute walk from the Terekhovo metro station of the Big Circle Line. The area is currently free of development.
“The training center for the Russian national football teams will be built in the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain as part of a large-scale investment project. For this purpose, the city will provide the Russian Football Union with a land plot of 6.05 hectares. The contract is planned to be concluded for five years, during which time the construction of the sports complex should be completed,” noted the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of City Property
Previously Sergei Sobyanin said on the development of the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jason Brundige, age 49, of Ballston Spa, New York, has been indicted for distributing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Saratoga County Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo.
The indictment alleges that on June 28 and July 2, 2024, Brundige, a previously convicted felon, distributed cocaine from his Saratoga County residence and, during one of those drug sales, he possessed a firearm. The indictment further alleges that on July 3, 2024, Brundige possessed cocaine with intent to sell it and possessed a loaded firearm in furtherance of this crime. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted on all counts, Brundige would face a minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum prison term of life. Brundige also faces a supervised release term of between 5 years and life to be served after any term of imprisonment. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The ATF and SCSO are investigating this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashlyn Miranda is prosecuting this case.
Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) took to the Senate floor today to speak about the Trump Administration’s recent decision to freeze all federal grants, ignoring Article I of the Constitution.
“There is real pain starting today because of this funding freeze. Schools, child care facilities, fire departments, community health centers, domestic violence shelters all of them will instantly lose their funding at 5 p.m. today because somebody said, ‘we’re fiscal conservatives,’” said Senator Schatz. “You want to enact a fiscally conservative appropriations bill? Pass a law.”
“If you’re a disaster survivor in North Carolina or Louisiana, or California or Texas or Florida or Maui, you don’t know what happens next,” he continued. “If you’re a low-income family that relies on the Women, Infants, and Children Program to get healthy meals for your kids, if you live in a remote area like Wai?anae or Lana?i in Hawai‘i, and you go to a community health center to fill your prescriptions or to get a checkup, this freeze on funding means you don’t get help.”
Schatz concluded, “What is happening today is unconstitutional. It is also against statutory law. But most importantly, it is causing pain across the country.”
The full text of Senator Schatz’s remarks, as delivered, is below. Video is available here.
Mr. President, the government shutdown that Donald Trump just ordered is illegal and unconstitutional. He is not a king and we do not live in a monarchy. It is Congress’s authority to decide on federal funding. The power of the purse is the foundational funding of the Article I branch. Everybody talks like that. Everybody says those things. But now we are all put to the test – Democrats and Republicans. Are we going to forfeit all of our power?
We’re the elected branch. We make the laws. And the President of the United States just ordered a funding freeze for stuff he doesn’t feel like funding. That is literally not how it works. And today, the White House Press Secretary was asked about specific, popular, essential programs. And you know what she said?
She said, “Have those people talk to Russ Vought and make an appeal to him.” Now there’s a couple of problems with that. First of all, Russ Vought doesn’t get to decide in an appropriations law, which parts of the law to follow and which parts not to follow. Second of all, let’s be really clear about this. Russ Vought is not a government employee right now.
He’s a nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget. And so we’re supposed to have, I don’t know, Medicaid recipients, VA home loan recipients, nursing homes, education organizations, health care organizations, transportation contractors appeal mercy to the king. “Will you please release these dollars?”
That’s not how the American system works. This is illegal.
There is real pain starting today because of this funding freeze. Schools, child care facilities, fire departments, community health centers, domestic violence shelters all of them will instantly lose their funding at 5 p.m. today because somebody said, “we’re fiscal conservatives.”
You want to enact a fiscally conservative appropriations bill? Pass a law. Pass a law.
I also would like to select the federal funding, which I agree with and fund that, and select the funding that I disagree with and defund that. But I’m not a monarch and neither is Donald Trump.
We’re hearing from so many constituents across the country, and I had a bit of a time delay because it’s earlier in Hawai‘i, but all of my colleagues were getting incoming texts and calls and panicked people. This isn’t about some arcane government program. This is like basic stuff. People are like staged to do construction and told not to show up for work.
Some of these construction projects are in places where you only have a narrow window during which you can even do construction, so a 90-day freeze means wait till next year. I don’t care what the law says, wait till next year.
If you’re a disaster survivor in North Carolina or Louisiana, or California or Texas or Florida or Maui, you don’t know what happens next.
If you’re a low-income family that relies on the women, infants, and Children program to get healthy meals for your kids, if you live in a remote area like Wai?anae or Lana?i in Hawai‘i, and you go to a community health center to fill your prescriptions or to get a checkup, this freeze on funding means you don’t get help.
People are you know how long it takes to get a home loan, VA home loan, or any other kind of home loan. People are showing up to get their VA home loans and saying, “not today”. You might be like 45 days from closing. You’re a veteran. You’re entitled to this thing under the law. Russ Vought, not a member of the federal government yet, has decided you don’t get your home loan today.
What an embarrassing abdication of the role of the Congress.
All of this high-minded talk from my fellow appropriators about, you know, there’s two parties. There’s really three parties in the Congress. It’s the old joke. Democrats, Republicans, and appropriators. Right. And the idea is that the appropriators are the adults in the room, the appropriators are the adults in the room, and they’re not going to let nonsense, unconstitutional, illegal acts happen because we’re the ones that control the purse strings.
And I want to make one final point in addition to all the pain that’s being caused: My goodness, the door swings both ways in Washington.
Imagine a progressive president reaching into the federal budget after an appropriations bill is passed and saying, “You know what? I don’t like that thing. I don’t like that other thing. I don’t like this one. I don’t like that one. I’m in charge”.
What are we even here for? And so this is not going to be business as usual. I will tell you one thing. I have never in my 13 years withheld my unanimous consent. I’ve used a little leverage. Everybody does.
But we better get this straight on a bipartisan basis. Not because I want to score partisan points, not because I want to characterize Donald Trump in one way or the other, but because we all worked so hard and made real sacrifices to get to this place so we could have a position of responsibility to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
What is happening today is unconstitutional. It is also against statutory law. But most importantly, it is causing pain across the country.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
January 28, 2025
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke in favor of U.S. Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) resolution condemning President Trump’s pardons of the January 6 insurrectionists who assaulted the brave police officers defending the U.S. Capitol that day. The resolution was rejected by Senate Republicans.
“For many of us, it’s personal. We were here on the Senate Floor on January 6, 2021. Vice President Pence was presiding. I was sitting at this very desk. A few minutes after two o’clock, the Secret Service came in and literally removed him from his chair. We knew there were demonstrations outside, but we didn’t know how serious or how violent they’d become,” Durbin said.
“The insurrectionist mob was taking over the Capitol. Thousands of people were storming into this building not for peaceful demonstration by any means, but sadly for violence and destruction. That day was the worst day I can recall in the history of the Senate in terms of our respect for this building that has become a symbol not only for the United States, but for the world—for peace and democracy. And I thought of those poor Capitol police who were asked to defend us with their lives. They were asked to risk their lives for us, and they did. Some of the things that were done to them were outrageous. You’ve seen the videotape. We saw [the footage] as they tore down building structures, as they beat up on these cops, as many of them faced death, and we knew at the time it was that serious. The grimmest reality of those riots was the subsequent death of five of the law enforcement officers and the injuries to approximately 140 others, many of whom still pay a price to this day.”
Last week, President Trump, who incited the violence, commuted the sentences of 14 individuals and granted full, complete, and unconditional pardons to approximately 1,500 others convicted of offenses related to the January 6th attack. Many of the perpetrators have shown a stunning lack of remorse following their violent assaults on the brave members of the U.S. Capitol Police and D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department who protected the Capitol that day.
“For example, last August, David Dempsey, just a few hours after receiving a 240-month prison sentence for attacking police on January 6 with a flagpole, crutches, pepper spray, and pieces of furniture, called into a gathering of supporters outside the D.C. jail. In reference to Trump’s opponents, Mr. Dempsey said, ‘Don’t celebrate too hard, man, because that sentence is only going to last like six months…’ Devlyn Thompson attempted to throw a speaker at police officers—which ended up hitting and injuring a fellow rioter—and hit a police officer with a metal baton, according to court documents. Daniel ‘D.J.’ Rodriguez, a California man who drove a stun gun into an officer’s neck during one of the most violent clashes of the Capitol riot, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison before President Trump granted him clemency. Andrew Taake pepper-sprayed police officers and hit one with a metal whip. He was supposed to serve 74 months at a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, but he was pardoned by President Trump,” said Durbin.
“As Winston Churchill said once, ‘Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it,’” Durbin continued. “That is why we must continue sounding the alarm on the violence and chaos of that day to ensure that it never happens again. We must also be clear that violence for political purposes is never, never acceptable and has no place in a democracy.”
Durbin concluded, “The men and women who bravely defended the members of this body deserve better—and we should honor them for their heroic efforts on that day, not excuse the thugs who attacked this body and the ideals it represents… I thank Senator Murray for introducing this important resolution condemning President Trump’s pardons of the January 6 insurrectionists who assaulted our brave law enforcement officers, and I am disgusted that our Republican colleagues won’t join us in honoring the men and women who risk their lives every single day for us.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.
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Australia’s headline inflation rate dropped to a three-year low of 2.4% in the December quarter, according to the Consumer Price Index, adding to pressure for an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank as soon as next month.
Since it peaked at 7.8% in December 2022, inflation has now fallen for seven out of eight quarters.
The closely watched core inflation measure dropped sharply to 3.2% from 3.6%, below market expectations, but the central bank is concerned about how sustainable the fall in inflation will be. Strength in the labour market is also weighing against the need for a cut in interest rates.
The long-running quarterly measure of the CPI is a better indicator than the more volatile monthly version. But the monthly rate is currently very similar; it ended the year at 2.5%.
Why did inflation fall?
A main reason headline inflation fell was the electricity rebates, which led to the price of electricity falling by 25.2% during 2024.
The fall in global oil prices, which led to petrol prices dropping 7.9% during 2024, also contributed to the decline in inflation.
The rental market is easing, with rents slowing from growth of 7.3% during 2023 to 6.4% during 2024. Increases in Commonwealth Rent Assistance contributed to the deceleration. This still leaves a lot of families facing rental stress.
Home builders offering discounts have moderated the “new dwellings” component of the CPI. It increased by only 2.9% during 2024, a marked deceleration from the growth rates of around 20% seen in 2022.
Urban transport fares also fell during 2024.
Working against the downward trend were increases to the tobacco excise, in addition to the standard indexation, which led to tobacco prices rising by 12.2% during 2024.
Insurance costs continue to rise, increasing by 11% during 2024. If the Californian fires lead to insurers revising up their assessment of the risks posed by climate change, insurance premia could rise further.
The decline in the Australian dollar, while not as alarming as some media reports would suggest, would have added to the price of some goods, particularly those imported from the United States or whose price is denominated in US dollars.
The “underlying” rate of inflation, which looks through temporary measures such as the electricity subsidies and is the preferred measure of the central bank, has also declined. It is now 3.2%.
Australia’s inflation performance is similar to that in comparable countries. It is slightly lower than inflation in the United Kingdom (2.5%) and the same as in the euro area. It is higher than in New Zealand (2.2%) and Canada (1.8%).
The fall in inflation to a rate significantly below the 3.5% at which wages are increasing means that the cost of living crisis is abating, although not yet over.
The quarterly increases in the CPI during 2024 were 1.0% in March and June and 0.2% in September and December. As the large increases in the first half of 2024 are replaced, the annual rate should drop further in coming quarters.
What does it mean for interest rates?
The current Reserve Bank board meets next on February 18. By the following meeting, on April 1, the decisions will be taken by the new monetary policy board, which will have two new members.
This is the second consecutive quarter that inflation has been within the Reserve Bank’s medium-term target band of 2–3%. It is now just below the mid-point of the band.
Inflation is also below the Bank’s latest forecasts of 2.6% (and 3.4% for the “underlying” rate).
But the bank has stated it will only cut interest rates when “members are confident that inflation is moving sustainably towards target”.
Inflation that is low just because of temporary electricity subsidies may not be regarded as ‘sustainable’. That is why the Bank places more emphasis on the underlying inflation measure. While not yet within the target band, underlying inflation has been steadily heading there and is now only just above it. This may be enough to give the Bank board members the confidence they seek. Financial markets now think so.
The government would dearly like to see rates coming down before the election, likely to be in April or May. It faces a nervous wait.
John Hawkins was formerly a senior economist at the Reserve Bank and Treasury.
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Richard Bradley, age 36, of Syracuse, New York, pled guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Bradley admitted that, on September 9, 2024, he possessed a loaded rifle in his vehicle, which was parked at a gas station in East Syracuse. Bradley inadvertently fired the rifle several times, but did not strike anyone. As a result of his prior felony conviction for Criminal Mischief, Bradley could not lawfully possess a firearm.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 10, 2025, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. Bradley faces up to fifteen years in federal prison, along with a post-imprisonment term of supervised release of up to three years. He also could be fined up to $250,000, and will be required to forfeit the assault rifle to the United States. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
ATF and the Manlius Police Department are investigating the case with assistance from the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica N. Carbone is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Committed to prioritizing solutions for the affordable housing crisis in Southern California, U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, (CA-44) hosted a roundtable discussion with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) today at The Enclave in Torrance, California. The roundtable brought together affordable housing leaders, community organizations, financial institutions, and other stakeholders throughout the area to discuss how organizations and public-private partnerships could play a pivotal role in solving the housing crisis in Southern California after tens of thousands were displaced by the recent wildfires in the region.
“Many families in my district, and across Los Angeles County, struggle to afford housing,” said Rep. Nanette Barragán. “This roundtable brings together key partners to explore solutions to increase housing supply, reduce costs, and expand opportunities for homeownership. Together, we can make real progress for our communities.”
Rep. Barragán has a history of leading on issues related to affordable housing and has secured millions in federal funding for local projects that support affordable housing development, advance homeownership for first time homebuyers and expand supportive housing options. By teaming up with FHLBank San Francisco and its members, she is working to find local solutions to the housing crisis.
“This roundtable comes at a critical moment for our district, as many families and individuals have been displaced by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. We are proud to partner with Representative Barragán, a dedicated leader and tireless advocate for addressing the housing crisis in Southern California,” said Alanna McCargo, president and chief executive officer of FHLBank San Francisco. “Collaboration is essential to develop innovative solutions that improve affordability, expand housing supply and support the rebuilding of communities impacted by these wildfires. Our Bank is a valuable and trusted community partner that can leverage an extensive network of member financial institutions to help turn these ideas into action.”
In 2024, FHLBank San Francisco awarded $6.75 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants to support a range of projects in Los Angeles. Statewide, more than $49 million in AHP grants were awarded through its member financial institutions to help address and expedite solutions to California’s affordable housing crisis.
Attendees at the roundtable included:
Dora Leong Gall, A Community of Friends
Holly Benson, Adobe communities
Andrea Parker, Farmers and Merchants bank
Jeremy Empol, FHLBank San Francisco
Anabel Cuevas, FHLBank San Francisco
Darrell Simien, Habitat for Humanity LA
Laura Archuleta, Jamboree
Suny Lay Chang, LINC Housing
Michael Ruane, National CORE
Gerald Phillips, Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County
Patricia Valladolid, One San Pedro/Century Housing
Michael Faulwell, SchoolsFirst FCU
Brent Terecero, SchoolsFirst FCU
FHLBank San Francisco is dedicated to supporting housing initiatives throughout its three-state region, including Arizona, California, and Nevada. Since the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) was created in 1990, FHLBank San Francisco has awarded over $1.35 billion in AHP grants to support the construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of over 154,600 homes affordable to lower-income households, including $61.8 million in 2024 alone. Together, the 11 regional FHLBanks that make up the Federal Home Loan Bank System are one of the largest privately capitalized sources of grant funding for affordable housing in the United States.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is a member-owned cooperative supporting local lenders in Arizona, California, and Nevada to build strong communities, create opportunity, and change lives for the better. The tools and resources we provide to our member financial institutions — commercial banks, credit unions, industrial loan companies, savings institutions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions — propel homeownership, finance quality affordable housing, drive economic vitality, and revitalize neighborhoods. Together with our members and other partners, we are making the communities we serve more vibrant, equitable, and resilient.
Contact: Tom Flannigan tom.flannigan@fhlbsf.com 415-616-2695
Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
Published: 01.28.2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s recent decision to cut federal grants:
“I am already hearing from my constituents who are worried about funding being cut off for cops and firefighters, childcare, combatting the fentanyl crisis, food for kids, and so much more. We are talking about real people’s lives; real people’s ability to eat, stay safe, or live a healthy life is on the line. I want to be clear, Democrats and Republicans passed laws providing this funding for our kids, families, and communities, and ripping it away is an unconstitutional power grab. I will fight it at every step.”
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Padilla Raises Alarm on Trump Administration Illegally Blocking Hundreds of Billions in Federal Support
Urges Budget Committee to Delay OMB Nominee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered federal agencies to freeze all congressionally approved federal grants and loans, including disaster relief for Californians:
“Donald Trump is illegally blocking hundreds of billions of dollars for essential federal programs to support families recovering after catastrophic fires, law enforcement agencies we rely on to keep our communities safe, and children and families who depend on federal child care and nutrition programs. All in his effort to pay for his tax cuts for large corporations and billionaires, like the ones he surrounded himself with during his inauguration. This overreach is unconstitutional and hurts the thousands of Californians who have been devastated by the recent fires. When Congress approves federal funds for programs to help communities, they are not optional: they are legal mandates.
“Americans in every corner of the country will feel the impact of Donald Trump’s unlawful directives. I am calling on my Republican colleagues to not confirm Russell Vought to be OMB Director until Trump reverses this reckless order.”
The sweeping directives in the Trump Administration’s memorandum are set to go into effect at 5 p.m. ET this evening. If implemented as written, the directives could block funding for California and national priorities including:
Disaster Relief: Public assistance and hazard mitigation grants from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and non-profits to help communities quickly respond to, recover from, and prepare for major disasters will be halted — right as so many Southern California communities are struggling amid the recent fires.
Firefighting: Grants to support firefighters across the country will be halted. This includes grants that help states and localities purchase essential firefighting equipment.
Public Safety: Grants for law enforcement and homeland security activities will cease to go out the door, undermining public safety in every state and territory.
Infrastructure Projects: All federally-funded transportation projects — roads, bridges, public transit, and more — will be halted, including projects already under construction.
Homelessness/Housing: In the midst of a homelessness and housing crisis, the Trump Administration is freezing housing and homelessness funding, which will exacerbate our housing crisis.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that Senator Padilla significantly improved, as well as grants for mental health services, will be cut off.
Nutrition Assistance: Millions of American citizens who rely on nutrition assistance programs like school lunch programs will be left hungry as funding is cut off and non-profits who provide additional assistance lose federal funding.
Combating the Fentanyl Crisis: Funding for communities to address the substance use disorder crisis and combat the fentanyl crisis will be cut off.
Emergency Preparedness: Critical preparedness and response capability funding used to prepare for disasters, public health emergencies, and chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear events will be frozen.
Child Care: Child care programs across the country will not be able to access the funding they rely on to keep their doors open.
K-12 Schools: Federal funding for K-12 schools will be halted. School districts may not be able to access key formula grant funding including Title I, IDEA, Impact Aid, and Career and Technical Education, which would pose tremendous financial burdens on schools in the middle of the school year.
Biomedical Research: There will be immediate pauses on all funding for critical health research, including research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes, as well as clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center and all across the country — disrupting lifesaving and often time-sensitive research.
Higher Education and Job Training: Millions of students relying on federal student loans and federal work study will have their plans to pursue postsecondary education and further their careers thrown into chaos as federal financial aid disbursements are paused.
Health Services: Federal funding for community health centers that provide health care for over 30 million Americans will be immediately frozen, creating chaos for patients trying get their prescriptions, a regular checkup, and more.
Small Businesses: The Small Business Administration will have to halt loans to small businesses — including those in disaster-ravaged California communities.
Veterans Care: Federal grants to help veterans in rural areas access health care and grants to help veterans get other critical services, including suicide prevention resources, transition assistance, and housing for homeless veterans, will be cut off.
Tribes: Funding to tribes for basic government services like health care, public safety, programs, tribal schools, and food assistance will be halted.
Preventing Violence Against Women: All Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grants, as well as funding for victims assistance and state and local police, will be cut off.
U.S. Competitiveness: Existing grants to support research for Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing will be halted and any new grant funding would be paused — undermining U.S. innovation and competitiveness with China and putting California jobs at risk.
Energy Jobs: Grants for critical energy projects nationwide will be cut off — halting billions of dollars in investment nationwide and jeopardizing good-paying American jobs. The Department of Energy Loan Program Office will halt loans in 28 states, impacting hundreds of thousands of construction and operations jobs.
Food Inspections: Some states will have to take on the full financial burden of ensuring the nation’s meat supply is safe if federal cooperative agreements for meat inspection are halted.
Support for Servicemembers: Support for a host of Department of Defense financial assistance and grant programs supporting servicemembers and their families will be halted, including the Fisher House, Impact Aid, community noise mitigation, ROTC language training, STEM programs, and the USO.
Military Readiness: Grants and other assistance appropriated to strengthen military effectiveness and defense capacity will be halted, including Defense Production Act support for the defense industrial base, basic research grants necessary to advance key technologies, and small business support to strengthen supply chains.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Washington (January 28, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement today on President Trump’s pardons for violent January 6 insurrectionists. Yesterday, Senator Markey joined the Senate Democratic caucus in introducing a resolution condemning the pardons of individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police Officers.
“On January 6, 2021, dedicated officers of the U.S. Capitol Police were forced to protect members of Congress in medieval-style combat as a vicious mob armed with firearms, bear spray, and metal barricades forced its way into the U.S. Capitol. Officers died as a result of the insurrection, and many more were left beaten and bruised. Donald Trump pardoned the January 6 insurrectionists, including violent felons, in one swoop—a disgraceful insult not only to our democracy, but to the law enforcement officers who show up every day to protect and serve us,” said Senator Markey. “I’m astounded by the silence among my Republican colleagues. They claim to ‘back the blue’ but now they laud the violent criminals who left our officers black and blue on January 6. We now know that the Republican party is no longer the party of ‘law and order,’ but the party of ‘chaos and disorder.’ Donald Trump’s pardons are a dangerous and shameful abuse of presidential power. We should all be united in denouncing them.”
Washington, DC: On March 22nd, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation1 for Bolivia. This also included a discussion of the findings of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) exercise for Bolivia.[1]
Bolivia’s growth momentum moderated in 2023, to 2.5 percent, from declining natural gas production, less public investment, and financial market turmoil. Price controls, food and fuel subsidies, export restrictions, and strong agricultural production held inflation below 2 percent at year-end. However, the combination of lower natural gas exports, high fuel imports, a large fiscal deficit―increasingly financed by the central bank―and an overvalued exchange rate contributed to a wider current account deficit (estimated at 5 percent of GDP for 2023) and near-depletion of international reserves. Public debt increased to nearly 84 percent of GDP by end-2023. Sovereign spreads rose sharply in early 2023 as the foreign exchange (FX) shortage became apparent and a mid-sized bank (Banco Fassil) failed. Consequently, banks were forced to restrict the withdrawal of FX deposits, heightening financial sector stability risks.
Growth is anticipated to decelerate to 1.6 percent in 2024, holding at around 2.2-2.3 percent in the medium term under the continuation of the current policies. Inflation is forecast to reach 4.5 percent in 2024, stabilizing around 4 percent thereafter. The outlook is however predicated on significantly improved access to external financing, without which the risk of disorderly fiscal and/or exchange rate adjustment is elevated. External factors such as reduced demand, intensified global conflicts disrupting trade routes, commodity price volatility, or a renewed tightening of financial conditions could worsen fiscal and external imbalances, impede growth, and destabilize the domestic financial sector.
Additionally, extreme weather events, like the 2023 droughts and recent floods, pose a risk to Bolivia’s agricultural sector and critical infrastructure. Domestically, a faster decline in hydrocarbon production, higher inflation due to FX scarcity, or confidence shocks could further impact growth, hurt real incomes and exacerbate financial stability risks. Social unrest stemming from inequality and security concerns remains a concern, as evidenced by the prolonged road blockages of early 2024. On the upside, Bolivia could potentially benefit from the global shift towards green energy due to its vast lithium resources, although developing the lithium sector and scaling up domestic production capacity will likely take time.
Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They welcomed Bolivia’s socioeconomic progress over the past several years but expressed concerns about the difficult financial situation Bolivia currently finds itself in, with low reserves, uncertain fiscal financing, and pressures in parallel exchange markets. Directors stressed the urgency of a shift from current unsustainable policies to avoid a disorderly adjustment that would exert significant social and economic hardship.
Directors called for continued constructive engagement on a sustainable policy mix that is likely to require both fiscal adjustment phased in over the next few years and an up front step devaluation to more quickly address the external imbalance and allow for a build up of reserves. They emphasized the importance of improving the social safety net to shield poorer households from inflation pressures following a realignment of the exchange rate. Directors also emphasized the importance of strengthening fiscal institutions to underpin the credibility of the planned adjustment and to improve central bank governance in support of a shift to a crawling peg and, eventually, to inflation targeting.
Directors recommended a strengthening of the central banks’ capacity to conduct sterilization operations and to lift lending rate caps to improve the allocation of capital and enhance monetary policy transmission. They also underscored the need to improve crisis preparedness and contingency planning in line with FSAP recommendations to safeguard financial stability.
Directors recommended a range of supply side reforms to unlock private investment, boost productivity and enhance competitiveness. These should include phasing out export ceilings and price controls and better prioritizing public investment projects. A stronger regulatory framework for hydrocarbon and lithium exploration could be instrumental in increasing investment in those sectors. Directors also called for enhancing AML/CFT framework and ensuring the timely publication of key macroeconomic data.
Table 1. Bolivia: Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2022–2026
Population (millions, 2021)
11.8
Poverty rate (percent, 2021)
36.3
Population growth rate (percent, 2021)
1.4
Adult literacy rate (percent, 2021)
94.8
Life expectancy at birth (years, 2021)
72
GDP per capita (US$, 2021)
3,437
Total unemployment rate (2021)
7.0
IMF Quota (SDR, millions)
240.1
Est.
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Income and prices
Real GDP
3.6
2.5
1.6
2.2
2.2
Nominal GDP
8.9
4.9
6.2
6.5
6.2
CPI inflation (period average)
1.7
2.6
4.5
4.2
3.9
CPI inflation (end of period)
3.1
2.1
4.8
4.0
3.9
Investment and savings 1/
Total investment
15.1
15.9
16.6
16.3
16.0
Of which: Public sector
5.7
5.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
Gross national savings
12.5
8.6
10.5
10.3
10.5
Of which: Public sector
-1.4
-2.0
-1.9
-1.5
-1.2
Combined public sector
Revenues and grants
28.9
28.3
27.6
27.4
27.1
Of which: Hydrocarbon related revenue
6.0
5.4
4.3
3.9
3.5
Expenditure
36.0
35.3
35.5
34.8
34.3
Current
30.3
30.3
29.5
28.8
28.3
Capital 2/
5.7
5.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
Net lending/borrowing (overall balance)
-7.1
-7.0
-7.9
-7.5
-7.2
Of which: Non-hydrocarbon balance
-12.8
-12.2
-12.0
-11.2
-10.5
Total gross NFPS debt 3/
80.4
83.6
86.7
88.9
90.9
External sector
Current account 1/
-0.4
-5.0
-5.7
-5.8
-5.6
Exports of goods and services
32.6
28.5
27.0
26.9
26.5
Of which: Natural gas
6.7
3.8
3.4
3.0
2.7
Imports of goods and services
32.9
34.4
33.6
33.6
32.7
Capital account
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Financial account (-= net inflow)
-1.5
-0.5
-5.3
-5.8
-5.6
Of which: Direct investment net
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.9
-0.9
Of which: Other investment, net
-0.3
-0.3
-4.6
-4.7
-5.1
Net errors and omissions
-3.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Terms of trade index (percent change)
-1.6
1.2
-0.6
0.0
0.2
Central Bank gross foreign reserves 4/ 5/ 6/
In millions of U.S. dollars
3,796
1,808
1,653
1,555
1,556
In months of imports of goods and services
2.8
1.3
1.1
1.0
1.0
In percent of GDP
8.6
3.9
3.4
3.0
2.8
In percent of ARA
44.5
20.8
18.2
16.2
15.5
Money and credit
Credit to the private sector (percent change)
6.3
-0.4
3.0
4.3
5.1
Credit to the private sector (percent of GDP)
74.2
70.5
68.4
67.0
66.3
Broad money (percent of GDP)
85.2
82.8
81.2
80.0
78.9
Memorandum items:
Nominal GDP (in billions of U.S. dollars)
44.3
46.5
49.3
52.5
55.8
Bolivianos/U.S. dollar (end-of-period) 7/
6.9
6.9
…
…
…
REER, period average (percent change) 8/
-0.9
-1.9
…
…
…
Oil prices (in U.S. dollars per barrel)
96.4
80.6
77.7
73.8
70.9
Energy-related subsidies to SOEs (percent of GDP) 9/
4.4
4.0
3.5
2.7
2.4
Sources: Bolivian authorities (MEFP, Ministry of Planning, BCB, INE, UDAPE); IMF; Fund staff calculations. 1/ The discrepancy between the current account and the savings-investment balance reflects methodological differences. For the projection years, the discrepancy is assumed to remain constant in dollar value. 2/ Includes nationalization costs and net lending. 3/ Public debt includes SOE’s borrowing from the BCB (but not from other domestic institutions) and BCB loans to FINPRO and FNDR. 4/ Excludes reserves from the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) and Offshore Liquidity Requirements (RAL). 5/ All foreign assets valued at market prices. 6/ Includes a repurchase line of US$99.2 million maturing in 2025. 7/ Official (buy) exchange rate. 8/ The REER based on authorities’ methodology is different from that of the IMF (see 2018 and 2017 Staff Reports). 9/ Includes the cost of subsidy borne by public enterprises and incentives for hydrocarbon exploration investments in the projection period.
1 Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[1] The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of a country’s financial sector. FSAPs provide input for Article IV consultations and thus enhance Fund surveillance. FSAPs are mandatory for the 47 jurisdictions with systemically important financial sectors and otherwise conducted upon request from member countries. The key findings of an FSAP are summarized in a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA).
[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Reunion dinner on the eve of Spring Festival
Updated: January 29, 2025 07:35Xinhua
Villager Chen Fangjin has a reunion meal with his family members at Shanhouhu Village of Jinhua City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Jan. 28, 2025. Dining with family members in a reunion meal has been a cherished tradition for the Chinese on the eve of the Spring Festival, which falls on Jan. 29 this year. [Photo/Xinhua]An actor in the costume of the God of Wealth extends greetings to customers at a restaurant in Nanjing City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]Chefs cook reunion meals at a restaurant in Jiaxing City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]People have reunion meals at a restaurant in Nanjing City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]Firefighters have a meal at a fire station in Taizhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]People have a reunion meal at a restaurant in Nanjing City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A firefighter has a reunion meal with his family members at a fire station in Taizhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A worker arranges cooking of reunion meals at a restaurant in Nantong City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]People have reunion meals at a restaurant in Wuhu City, east China’s Anhui Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]Families of newborns have a reunion meal with staff at the canteen of a maternal and child care service center in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]People have reunion meals at a restaurant in Wuhu City, east China’s Anhui Province, Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Fire and Emergency New Zealand is asking people to be vigilant during their Lunar New Year celebrations.
“We want everybody to have a wonderful time celebrating Lunar New Year, but we’re asking people to avoid using fireworks or sky lanterns as part of their celebrations,” Community Education Manager Tom Ronaldson says.
Some parts of the country are in prohibited and restricted fire seasons, and a ban on fireworks has been imposed for parts of Mid-South Canterbury and Otago.
These areas are Lake Clearwater and Lake Camp in the Ashburton Lakes area, the Mackenzie Basin, Naseby, Upper Waitaki zones, Central Otago and Central Lakes zones which include Wakatipu Basin, Wānaka and Hāwea areas.
A fireworks ban means you can’t light and set off any fireworks, including sparklers.
Sky lanterns also pose a significant risk to buildings and vegetation.
“We strongly recommend you do not light lanterns, as you have no control over where they travel. If they land in dry vegetation, they can quickly cause a fire,” Tom Ronaldson says.
“This includes tethered lanterns, as there is a risk of them becoming untethered and causing a fire.
“We’ve seen hot, dry and windy conditions in many parts of the country this summer, which means much of our vegetation is dry and ready to ignite,” he says.
“Again, we strongly encourage you to celebrate without fireworks or sky lanterns. But if you do decide to use them, please go towww.checkitsalright.nzto find out if it’s safe to do so.
“The website advises on the risk for different types of fire activity, provides fire safety advice, and tells you what fire restrictions your location is under if you aren’t sure.”
Washington, DC: On March 22nd, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation1 for Bolivia. This also included a discussion of the findings of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) exercise for Bolivia.[1]
Bolivia’s growth momentum moderated in 2023, to 2.5 percent, from declining natural gas production, less public investment, and financial market turmoil. Price controls, food and fuel subsidies, export restrictions, and strong agricultural production held inflation below 2 percent at year-end. However, the combination of lower natural gas exports, high fuel imports, a large fiscal deficit―increasingly financed by the central bank―and an overvalued exchange rate contributed to a wider current account deficit (estimated at 5 percent of GDP for 2023) and near-depletion of international reserves. Public debt increased to nearly 84 percent of GDP by end-2023. Sovereign spreads rose sharply in early 2023 as the foreign exchange (FX) shortage became apparent and a mid-sized bank (Banco Fassil) failed. Consequently, banks were forced to restrict the withdrawal of FX deposits, heightening financial sector stability risks.
Growth is anticipated to decelerate to 1.6 percent in 2024, holding at around 2.2-2.3 percent in the medium term under the continuation of the current policies. Inflation is forecast to reach 4.5 percent in 2024, stabilizing around 4 percent thereafter. The outlook is however predicated on significantly improved access to external financing, without which the risk of disorderly fiscal and/or exchange rate adjustment is elevated. External factors such as reduced demand, intensified global conflicts disrupting trade routes, commodity price volatility, or a renewed tightening of financial conditions could worsen fiscal and external imbalances, impede growth, and destabilize the domestic financial sector.
Additionally, extreme weather events, like the 2023 droughts and recent floods, pose a risk to Bolivia’s agricultural sector and critical infrastructure. Domestically, a faster decline in hydrocarbon production, higher inflation due to FX scarcity, or confidence shocks could further impact growth, hurt real incomes and exacerbate financial stability risks. Social unrest stemming from inequality and security concerns remains a concern, as evidenced by the prolonged road blockages of early 2024. On the upside, Bolivia could potentially benefit from the global shift towards green energy due to its vast lithium resources, although developing the lithium sector and scaling up domestic production capacity will likely take time.
Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They welcomed Bolivia’s socioeconomic progress over the past several years but expressed concerns about the difficult financial situation Bolivia currently finds itself in, with low reserves, uncertain fiscal financing, and pressures in parallel exchange markets. Directors stressed the urgency of a shift from current unsustainable policies to avoid a disorderly adjustment that would exert significant social and economic hardship.
Directors called for continued constructive engagement on a sustainable policy mix that is likely to require both fiscal adjustment phased in over the next few years and an up front step devaluation to more quickly address the external imbalance and allow for a build up of reserves. They emphasized the importance of improving the social safety net to shield poorer households from inflation pressures following a realignment of the exchange rate. Directors also emphasized the importance of strengthening fiscal institutions to underpin the credibility of the planned adjustment and to improve central bank governance in support of a shift to a crawling peg and, eventually, to inflation targeting.
Directors recommended a strengthening of the central banks’ capacity to conduct sterilization operations and to lift lending rate caps to improve the allocation of capital and enhance monetary policy transmission. They also underscored the need to improve crisis preparedness and contingency planning in line with FSAP recommendations to safeguard financial stability.
Directors recommended a range of supply side reforms to unlock private investment, boost productivity and enhance competitiveness. These should include phasing out export ceilings and price controls and better prioritizing public investment projects. A stronger regulatory framework for hydrocarbon and lithium exploration could be instrumental in increasing investment in those sectors. Directors also called for enhancing AML/CFT framework and ensuring the timely publication of key macroeconomic data.
Table 1. Bolivia: Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2022–2026
Population (millions, 2021)
11.8
Poverty rate (percent, 2021)
36.3
Population growth rate (percent, 2021)
1.4
Adult literacy rate (percent, 2021)
94.8
Life expectancy at birth (years, 2021)
72
GDP per capita (US$, 2021)
3,437
Total unemployment rate (2021)
7.0
IMF Quota (SDR, millions)
240.1
Est.
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Income and prices
Real GDP
3.6
2.5
1.6
2.2
2.2
Nominal GDP
8.9
4.9
6.2
6.5
6.2
CPI inflation (period average)
1.7
2.6
4.5
4.2
3.9
CPI inflation (end of period)
3.1
2.1
4.8
4.0
3.9
Investment and savings 1/
Total investment
15.1
15.9
16.6
16.3
16.0
Of which: Public sector
5.7
5.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
Gross national savings
12.5
8.6
10.5
10.3
10.5
Of which: Public sector
-1.4
-2.0
-1.9
-1.5
-1.2
Combined public sector
Revenues and grants
28.9
28.3
27.6
27.4
27.1
Of which: Hydrocarbon related revenue
6.0
5.4
4.3
3.9
3.5
Expenditure
36.0
35.3
35.5
34.8
34.3
Current
30.3
30.3
29.5
28.8
28.3
Capital 2/
5.7
5.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
Net lending/borrowing (overall balance)
-7.1
-7.0
-7.9
-7.5
-7.2
Of which: Non-hydrocarbon balance
-12.8
-12.2
-12.0
-11.2
-10.5
Total gross NFPS debt 3/
80.4
83.6
86.7
88.9
90.9
External sector
Current account 1/
-0.4
-5.0
-5.7
-5.8
-5.6
Exports of goods and services
32.6
28.5
27.0
26.9
26.5
Of which: Natural gas
6.7
3.8
3.4
3.0
2.7
Imports of goods and services
32.9
34.4
33.6
33.6
32.7
Capital account
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Financial account (-= net inflow)
-1.5
-0.5
-5.3
-5.8
-5.6
Of which: Direct investment net
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.9
-0.9
Of which: Other investment, net
-0.3
-0.3
-4.6
-4.7
-5.1
Net errors and omissions
-3.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Terms of trade index (percent change)
-1.6
1.2
-0.6
0.0
0.2
Central Bank gross foreign reserves 4/ 5/ 6/
In millions of U.S. dollars
3,796
1,808
1,653
1,555
1,556
In months of imports of goods and services
2.8
1.3
1.1
1.0
1.0
In percent of GDP
8.6
3.9
3.4
3.0
2.8
In percent of ARA
44.5
20.8
18.2
16.2
15.5
Money and credit
Credit to the private sector (percent change)
6.3
-0.4
3.0
4.3
5.1
Credit to the private sector (percent of GDP)
74.2
70.5
68.4
67.0
66.3
Broad money (percent of GDP)
85.2
82.8
81.2
80.0
78.9
Memorandum items:
Nominal GDP (in billions of U.S. dollars)
44.3
46.5
49.3
52.5
55.8
Bolivianos/U.S. dollar (end-of-period) 7/
6.9
6.9
…
…
…
REER, period average (percent change) 8/
-0.9
-1.9
…
…
…
Oil prices (in U.S. dollars per barrel)
96.4
80.6
77.7
73.8
70.9
Energy-related subsidies to SOEs (percent of GDP) 9/
4.4
4.0
3.5
2.7
2.4
Sources: Bolivian authorities (MEFP, Ministry of Planning, BCB, INE, UDAPE); IMF; Fund staff calculations. 1/ The discrepancy between the current account and the savings-investment balance reflects methodological differences. For the projection years, the discrepancy is assumed to remain constant in dollar value. 2/ Includes nationalization costs and net lending. 3/ Public debt includes SOE’s borrowing from the BCB (but not from other domestic institutions) and BCB loans to FINPRO and FNDR. 4/ Excludes reserves from the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) and Offshore Liquidity Requirements (RAL). 5/ All foreign assets valued at market prices. 6/ Includes a repurchase line of US$99.2 million maturing in 2025. 7/ Official (buy) exchange rate. 8/ The REER based on authorities’ methodology is different from that of the IMF (see 2018 and 2017 Staff Reports). 9/ Includes the cost of subsidy borne by public enterprises and incentives for hydrocarbon exploration investments in the projection period.
1 Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[1] The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of a country’s financial sector. FSAPs provide input for Article IV consultations and thus enhance Fund surveillance. FSAPs are mandatory for the 47 jurisdictions with systemically important financial sectors and otherwise conducted upon request from member countries. The key findings of an FSAP are summarized in a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA).
[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
Good morning. It’s so great to be with you all today.
I begin this morning by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we meet, the Wadawurrung peoples, and pay my respects to elders past and present. I extend this acknowledgement to all First Nations people joining us here today.
It is great to be here at this Having a Say Conference so that we can launch the updated Australia’s Disability Strategy. The Strategy is Australia’s plan to make life better for people with disability.
It talks about what we can do together to make Australia inclusive – so everyone can live good lives, take part in the community as equals, and be treated with respect. I am so happy to be here with Victoria’s Minister for Disability, Minister Lizzie Blandthorn, along with Jane Spring, the Chair of the Strategy’s Advisory Council. We are here together to show our shared commitment to improve outcomes for people with disability.
I would like to thank VALiD’s Chair, Arthur Rogers, and the CEO, Fionn Skiotis, for inviting us to be here this morning.
In fact, I would like to thank the whole VALiD team for the fantastic work they do every day, and have been doing since 1989.
Having a say, learning from each other, and supporting each other is really important, and I want you to know that your voices are being heard and are feeding into the decisions that governments make.
The message of ‘nothing about us without us’ has been heard loud and clear.
It is your voices, your thoughts, feelings and experiences, that guide our policies and the changes we want to make with you.
Because we all know that you are only able to participate fully in your communities when you get to have a say about what you need, what you want, and are treated with respect. And what an amazing group of leaders, thinkers and communicators we have here with us today.
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Australia’s Disability Strategy sets out our vision for an inclusive Australia.
It is a commitment by all levels of government to take actions to improve the lives of people with disability in Australia.
An Australia where the 5.5 million people with disability have the support they need to live the life they want and participate as equal members in the community.
****************
Following the Disability Royal Commission’s report, all governments agreed to review Australia’s Disability Strategy.
Hearing from the disability community was so important when we started looking at what was working and what we could make better about the Strategy.
The updated Strategy is something I am very proud to share with you today.
We listened to the disability community, held public consultation and partnered with states and territories, the Strategy’s Advisory Council and Disability Representative Organisations, to understand what was most important.
The updates to the Strategy reflect what we have heard since the original launch of the Strategy 3 years ago, including through the Royal Commission.
We heard from you that having accessible housing and reducing homelessness was a really important issue for people with disability – and that’s why the updated Strategy now has a priority focus area on this.
And there are three new Targeted Action Plans that are focused on improving the lives of people with disability across 3 very important areas.
****************
These new Targeted Action Plans include actions that are based on what the disability community has told us is the most important work we need to focus on. Over the next three years, we will focus on the key areas of:
Changing Community Attitudes
Inclusive Homes and Communities; and
Safety, Rights and Justice.
The Commonwealth, States and Territories and local governments have agreed to these action plans and to work together to deliver.
We know that people with disability can face barriers because other people don’t understand what it means to live with disability.
And that’s why increasing understanding of disability and changing community attitudes is so important.
Sometimes people may not even realise that their actions are making it harder for people with disability to be included. This could be something as simple as writing something down for someone instead of only speaking. Or adjusting lighting in a public space.
If people have a better understanding about the barriers people with disability face, they can take the steps to remove these barriers.
So, the Community Attitudes Targeted Action Plan will focus on improving community understanding so people can take action to improve the inclusion and participation of people with disability in Australian society.
We’ve already taken important steps towards this goal under the current Strategy.
One example is our investment of $19.6 million (over the next 4 years) for an inclusion and accessibility fund. This will help professionals, like doctors, to improve the way they communicate and better include people with disability in the things that are important to them.
We are all safer when the information we need to make decisions is easy to find and we are included, feel welcome, and can easily seek support and connections.
Through the inclusive Homes and Communities Targeted Action Plan we will also keep working to make housing stock and our broader community more accessible for everyone.
For example, governments have been working together to build over 41 Changing Places, including here in Victoria – like the Aqua Centre in Sale and at the Yarraville Gardens.
These new accessible facilities make it easier for people with complex needs to move around their community and to travel further from their home.
We have also committed to improving the accessibility of public transport – because people with disability should be able to easily get around in their communities.
Every Australian deserves access to safe, affordable and accessible housing, no matter their circumstances. This new Targeted Action Plan will also focus on housing accessibility for people with disability.
States and territories will increase the supply of accessible housing for people with disability.
And the Commonwealth will be looking at ways to make it easier for people renting to find properties that will meet their access needs.
These actions will build on the 2024 National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness – that helps people who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, and supports social housing and homelessness services.
Finally, the new Safety, Rights and Justice Targeted Action Plan sets out key actions to reduce and prevent people with disability from experiencing harm.
It outlines improved supports for those at risk of harm, and lays out pathways for action if things do go wrong. This includes introducing things like standard processes for identifying and supporting people with disability in prisons and making sure people know about supports that are available if they have experienced violence.
With advice from people with disability, and your representative organisations, all levels of government will work together to implement these action plans.
****************
In the updated Strategy we also have a renewed focus on data and evidence.
Because we want to make sure that the actions that we are taking are making a tangible difference to the lives of people with disability.
Our Data Improvement Plan will help show the progress we are making, but also to identify where we need to do more.
The updated Strategy also reflects what you have told us and what we have heard, as well as describing the work that we have done together over the past three years across the country.
We have provided information to make the Strategy clearer and developed videos to help explain what the Strategy is all about.
****************
Over the past three years, our Albanese Labor Government has been working hard to help people with disability across Australia to thrive.
And as Minister I have been working very hard to bring Australia’s Disability Strategy from words on a page, to life.
I have completely redesigned employment services for people with disability to drive a strong focus on quality and put the goals and aspirations of people with disability at the centre.
We are investing in more peer support across Australia – so that people can connect with others like them to give advice and so they don’t feel alone.
For the first time, airports and airlines will have to properly help people with disability – making it easier for people with disability to travel by planes.
Clear information is now available about how to support people with disability when there are emergencies – like fires or floods.
And we have made people with disability a key focus in the creative arts through a dedicated plan to support inclusion of people with disability, which includes things like music, films and live shows.
These are just some of the things our Government has been doing to bring the Strategy to life.
****************
I am very optimistic about the updated Australia’s Disability Strategy and the changes that we will make together to achieve the Strategy’s goals to benefit all Australians with disability, and their families.
I encourage every person here today to share your thoughts, experiences and ideas with one another. Have your say, because it matters.
Our Government has heard what you want from the Strategy, and we will continue to work with you to ensure our work reflects your lived experiences.
Thank you again for the time with you today. And my thanks to the speakers who have shared their time so we could come to talk about how we will use the updated Australia’s Disability Strategy to help everyone to live better lives.
The EA, working closely with Natural England, has secured the largest ever environmental commitment from water companies since privatisation.
The Environment Agency working closely with Natural England has secured the largest ever commitment from water companies to clean up the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation.
The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) sets out over 24,000 actions water companies must take over the next five years to meet their legal requirements for the environment. This series of targeted interventions represents a £22.1bn investment in the environment – four times more than was secured in the last Price Review and will deliver tangible benefits for our water system and for customers.
As part of the PR24 process the Environment Agency assessed actions proposed by water companies and, alongside Ofwat and Natural England, provided technical guidance to make sure these actions will provide direct solutions to environmental pressures and help drive nature recovery.
The agreed actions will lead to improvements in water infrastructure to secure future supply, habitats and biodiversity and drinking water quality. For example, water companies have submitted plans to establish trials to remove nitrate, restore nationally important chalk streams, and install bespoke biosecurity measures to remove invasive species.
Further goals set out under WINEP include:
Reducing the amount of water abstracted, leading to an estimated 60 million litres of water being retained in the environment every day,
Protecting and enhancing of 13,500 km rivers,
Upgrading 2,350 storm overflows leading to an estimated annual reduction of sewage spills by of 85,000 annually,
Improving 21 newly designated bathing water sites across England,
Reducing phosphorous inputs to the environment at over 800 sewage treatment works,
Installing 3,500 monitors at emergency overflows sites.
Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency said:
This unprecedented level of investment represents a vital step forward towards ensuring we have clean, safe, and abundant water now and for future generations.
Working with the water companies on this £22bn programme is a crucial way to realise the government’s goals of stimulating development and boosting economic growth, while ensuring the sector can meet its ambitious environment commitments.
We will work closely with Defra, Ofwat and other regulators to monitor water company progress and ensure they deliver what has been promised. If water companies fail to carry out their legal obligations to the environment, we will take action.”
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for the Environment said:
It is no secret that our water system needs fixing and that our rivers, lakes and seas are choked by pollution.
Customers deserve the money they pay in bills to go towards improving the service they receive, and that is why the Government will ringfence money earmarked for investment, so it can only be spent on projects like these.
We are also going further to fix our water system through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, by introducing new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against lawbreakers.”
Natural England provides advice and guidance where water company activity may influence protected sites ,including Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), such as through water abstraction and discharges, and how this can be improved through the WINEP.
Marian Spain, Chief Executive of Natural England, said:
The scale of investment in the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) is a positive step towards delivering sustainable outcomes for the water environment, nature recovery, biodiversity improvement and sustainable growth.
Natural England will be working to maximise the opportunity of this significant investment, to get full value for money via integrated approaches and work with our partners including the Environment Agency, water companies and Defra to help deliver this ambitious programme.
Chris Walters, Senior Director, Price Review 2024 at Ofwat said:
We welcome the EA’s publication of the WINEP programme. In December we approved a record £104bn investment package, including over £22bn for WINEP.
This quadruples the investment of the last five years, providing water companies with an opportunity to turn around their environmental performance and regain customers’ trust by improving services.
We will monitor companies and hold them to account for their investment programmes so that they do this”.
David Henderson, Chief Executive, Water UK said:
This programme will be the largest amount of money ever spent on the natural environment. It will help to support economic growth, build more homes, secure our water supplies and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.
The Environment Agency and other regulators will drive water companies to embrace state-of-the-art technologies and groundbreaking innovations when delivering the actions set out under WINEP.
These collaborative efforts are crucial to cutting pollution, managing water efficiency, and increasing resilience to climate change for the benefit of both nature and people. By doing so we and industry can stimulate development and support the Government’s objective of boosting economic growth.
The investment was secured through Ofwat’s final determinations announced in December and has been factored into upcoming changes to customer bills.
The WINEP data set will be published at 0800 on 29 January on GOV.UK
Headline: Mercer County, W.Va., disaster aid hits $2 million milestone
Mercer County, W.Va., disaster aid hits $2 million milestone
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Six weeks after a major disaster was declared for Mercer County, W.Va., more than $2 million has been approved for homeowners and renters affected by the Sept. 25-28, 2024, remnants of Tropical Storm Helene. More than 955 households have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to date. The deadline to apply for disaster assistance is Feb. 7, 2025.“Getting $2 million into the hands of the people of Mercer County has been a team effort,” Federal Coordinating Officer Georgeta Dragoiu said. “FEMA continues to work side-by-side with West Virginia and Mercer County emergency management and local officials to coordinate this mission. I also want to thank our state and local nonprofits and our private sector and media partners in getting the word out. We couldn’t have reached this important milestone without them.”“Recovery is always a team effort, and this milestone reflects the dedication of everyone involved — from FEMA to local officials, nonprofits, and community partners,” West Virginia Emergency Management Division Deputy Director Matthew Blackwood said. “We remain committed to supporting the people of Mercer County as they rebuild and recover.”Disaster assistance may include grants to help homeowners and renters pay for essential home repairs, personal property replacement, and essential disaster-related needs. In December and January, FEMA deployed Disaster Survivor Assistance teams to visit storm-damaged homes to register people and answer their questions about disaster assistance. The survivor assistance specialists visited more than 2,250 residences, interacting with more than 660 individuals, as well as 66 faith-based organizations and 245 businesses to meet survivors where they are. Housing inspectors have completed more than 640 inspections of disaster-damaged properties to verify damage.FEMA Enhanced Application Services specialists completed more than 470 follow-up calls with survivors, walking them through the application process and collecting information to help complete their requests for federal assistance. Their extra efforts led to more than $529 thousand to be approved for Mercer County residents’ recovery.Federal disaster assistance is still available to residents of Mercer County. FEMA encourages all survivors who sustained disaster-related damage or losses to apply for assistance at our Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). The Mercer County Disaster Recovery Center location and hours are as follows: Princeton Disaster Recovery CenterLifeline Princeton Church of God250 Oakvale Road Princeton, WV 24740 Hours of operation:Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Sundays The DRC is accessible to all, including survivors with mobility issues, impaired vision, and those who are who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.Survivors can also call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone line operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service. They can also go online to DisasterAssistance.gov or download the FEMA app on their smartphone.Other help remains available to individuals:Free disaster legal assistance is available to West Virginia storm survivors. This service offers counseling on insurance claims, landlord-tenant issues, home-repair contracts, the replacement of legal documents destroyed by the storm and other legal matters. Call the legal hotline 866-255-4370. Disaster assistance grants from FEMA are not taxable income and will not affect eligibility for Social Security (including disability benefits), Medicaid, welfare assistance, food stamps and several other programs. Disaster grants are just that — money that does not have to be paid back to the government.One of FEMA’s federal partners in disaster recovery, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), offers low-interest disaster loans for businesses of all sizes, homeowners, renters and private non-profit organizations. SBA disaster loans may cover repairs, rebuilding, and the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged real estate and personal property. For more information about SBA loans, call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or visit http://www.sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also apply online via SBA’s secure website at http://www.sba.gov/disaster. People who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, should dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.For more information on West Virginia’s disaster recovery, visit emd.wv.gov, West Virginia Emergency Management Division Facebook page, www.fema.gov/disaster/4851 and www.facebook.com/FEMA. tiana.suber Tue, 01/28/2025 – 22:39
Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., Todd Young, R-Ind., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., reintroduced the bipartisan Tornado Observation Research Notification and Deployment to Operations (TORNADO) Act, which would improve the forecasting of tornadoes and other hazardous weather. The TORNADO Act would also encourage the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to update its methods for predicting and communicating weather alerts to residents.
“With the quality of modern forecasting systems, we should be delivering faster warnings for severe weather. The TORNADO Act would update alerts and communication systems with the latest best practices and scientific insights. Advanced warnings will ensure Mississippians can better protect their families, homes, and businesses,” Senator Wicker said.
“Storms and natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe. We need to make sure our communities have the tools to accurately predict and quickly respond to dangerous weather events like tornadoes and flash floods,” said Senator Peters. “I’m proud to again help lead this bipartisan bill to improve our nation’s forecasting and warning systems for hazardous weather to protect the lives and livelihoods of folks across our state.”
“From tornadoes to flooding, Iowans have seen more than our fair share of severe weather,” Grassley said. “This bipartisan bill would help update and streamline NOAA’s severe weather alerts and communications systems so that precious seconds aren’t lost when notifying communities about dangerous weather events.”
“Tornado alley runs right through Mississippi and too many people have been lost due, in part, to inadequate emergency notifications. We want the TORNADO Act to become law so that federal agencies and their partners can better harness technology to greatly improve how we let people know that a tornado is headed their way and to take cover,” Senator Hyde-Smith said.
“When a tornado strikes, the most important action we can take is to ensure residents receive ample warning of the incoming storm so they can get to safety. The TORNADO Act is a simple yet crucial piece of legislation that will improve forecasts and communicate the risks of impending tornadoes to help keep those in the path of these devastating storms out of danger,” Senator Cruz said.
“While we can’t prevent storms from occurring, the TORNADO Act will improve severe weather forecasting, notifying the public faster and allowing Hoosiers to find safety more quickly,” said Senator Young. “This bill will better protect communities in Indiana and across the nation when severe weather comes.”
“We saw the devastation that Hurricane Helene brought to several communities throughout Georgia last year, many of them are still in the throes of the long recovery process. As Georgians continue to be impacted by increasingly severe weather, we must use every tool in our arsenal to protect our communities,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “That is why the TORNADO Act is so important. It will help improve our ability to inform Georgians about how these dangerous weather events are expected to impact them and allow them to better prepare and protect themselves. I’m proud to work with Senator Wicker to introduce this crucial bipartisan legislation.”
The TORNADO Act would require NOAA to implement new technology and procedures for severe weather alerts. The updates could help increase the warning lead times provided to the public before storms strike.
Among other provisions, the TORNADO Act would:
Require NOAA to prepare and submit an action plan for the national implementation of high-resolution probabilistic guidance for tornado forecasting and prediction.
Encourage NOAA to evaluate the current tornado rating system and make updates.
Require NOAA to coordinate with appropriate entities when conducting post-storm assessments to optimize data collection, sharing, and integration.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the opening of the African Heads of State Energy Summit, in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, today:
It is a pleasure to join you here all today. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Her Excellency President Hassan and her Government of the United Republic of Tanzania for hosting the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit.
But, I would also like to underscore that it is because of her incredible leadership and her vision, that we are all here today and gathered as an African continent. I would also thank the African Union for keeping the fire under our feet to do right thing for the continent.
Congratulations to my two brothers, the African Development Bank Group, Akin, and the World Bank Group, Ajay. These are incredible partnerships, that bring genuine experience, decades of work from the public sector to the private sector.
That is why we are looking to them for the success of this union. But, we also look to the Rockefeller Foundation for a strong and meaningful partnership — one that brings key stakeholders together in this room. Your bold investments are a testament to Africa’s potential for a sustainable and resilient future.
Today, Africa has one of the lowest levels of energy access, as we have heard, but it is also one of the most vulnerable to intensifying climate shocks.
Yet, our continent is rich in renewable energy resources and critical minerals. Which are all essential for the energy transition, and benefit from limited sunk costs in fossil fuel-intensive energy infrastructures. Africa is also home to a vibrant, young and enterprising population.
This provides immense potential for Africa to show the rest of the world what a new economic development paradigm grounded in sustainability, resilience, justice and inclusivity can look like.
Enhanced energy access, affordability and reliability is not only crucial for achieving our Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, but also serves as a catalyst for broader development goals. Access to clean and sustainable energy underpins progress in health, in education, in gender equality, while driving economic growth and climate action — many of the 17 Goals.
By advancing long-term energy security and sovereignty, we can foster peace, we can create green jobs and build resilient livelihoods — paving the way for improved stability and prosperity across the continent.
With renewables now being the cheapest source of new electricity almost everywhere on earth, Mission 300’s bold commitment to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030 represents a transformative opportunity for Africa.
Combined with systemic initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, Africa is uniquely positioned to lead the global energy transition.
By powering essential sectors such as healthcare, education and commerce, bolstering industries like solar manufacturing, grid infrastructure and clean energy solutions, renewable energy can unlock unprecedented economic potential.
With reliable energy access, the continent’s 147 million small and medium-sized enterprises — key drivers of economic growth — will have the tools to scale, innovate and create jobs, turning energy into a true catalyst for inclusive and sustainable progress.
The United Republic of Tanzania stands as a shining example of how rural electrification and off-grid renewable energy solutions can transform lives, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
The country has made remarkable strides, with electricity access increasing from just 14 per cent in 2011 to 46 per cent in 2022. And what does that mean? It has led to over 1 million new connections, driving the rural electrification rate to 72 per cent.
In November 2024, more than 60,000 social institutions were connected by REA [Rural Electrification Agency], benefiting 12,905 educational institutions, 6,768 health facilities, over 8,000 places of worship and 29,000 commercial areas.
This progress means that more boys and girls in remote areas can now study in well-lit classrooms, health workers can deliver life-saving services to off-grid populations and rural businesses can thrive with reliable power. The United Republic of Tanzania demonstrates how energy access is not just about electricity — it’s about opportunity, equity and the foundation of a brighter future and a life in dignity for everyone.
We must ensure that Mission 300 seizes the opportunity that lies ahead. With five years to the endpoint of the SDGs and having completed the first decade of implementing the African Union’s Agenda 2063, it is clear that transformation efforts remain insufficient.
I would like to deeply commend the African leadership that is here today, as you seek solutions to address Africa’s energy access, climate vulnerability and development challenges holistically.
We must accelerate our collective efforts to fast-track solutions for SDG7, but also the Paris Agreement and propel Africa to become a clean energy powerhouse. This requires urgent action in three key areas beyond this Summit.
First, creating the right enabling environment to attract scaled private and public investments through stronger, stable and more coherent policy and regulatory frameworks.
We are very pleased to see — thank you, Ajay — the private sector that is here today and we hope they will accompany us through this very difficult but at the end profitable journey.
This year, every party to the UN Climate Convention has committed to submit a new economy-wide national climate action plan, that is aligned with the 1.5°C world that we need, well before COP30 [thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in November.
If done right, these climate plans should align with national energy strategies and development priorities — and they would doubling as investment plans to seize the potential of renewables, helping to eradicate poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
Furthermore, the Secretary-General’s panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals offers important Principles and Actionable Recommendations to ensure we do not repeat historical patterns of exploitation on this continent.
Second, mobilizing affordable, accessible and adequate finance. The chronic underinvestment in renewable energy in Africa, and long-standing structural barriers, such as exorbitant capital costs, mean that a continent with the potential to be a renewable powerhouse accounts for less than one percent of global installed solar capacity.
It is why we are calling for an SDG Stimulus to scale up affordable, long-term financing for developing countries, and for the “Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion” to bridge the climate finance gap by leveraging all sources and by addressing unjust and structural barriers.
Last year’s Pact of the Future sent an unequivocal message — reform of the international finance architecture is urgent and essential to:
And this Pact would have not gotten over the line, if not for the leadership of the African leaders in the United Nations. It spoke to strengthening the voice and the representation of developing countries. It spoke to mobilizing far greater levels of financing for the SDGs, and directing that financing to countries most in need. It spoke to enabling countries to borrow sustainably, and with confidence, to invest in their long-term development. But, it also spoke to provide effective and equal support to countries during systemic shocks.
Finally, multilateralism — our international cooperation — still remains our best hope for delivering solutions at the necessary scale and speed.
And I note to many of us, as I look to the geopolitical challenges that we have today. Multilateralism does not seem like the best offer on the table — but it is. It is a place that we come to. It is a global town hall for our global village. It is where we have visibility and where we can shine a light on the opportunities. But, also, where we can give hope to the millions that look to us — to serve them.
The United Nations remains dedicated to supporting your efforts every step of the way. Through our UN expertise and presence in the country, we are committed to supporting Mission 300, the African Development Bank and the World Bank. And we are committed to help identify and attract investments, strengthen policy, and secure the support you need to make Mission 300 a success.
Finally, I would like to also commend our Special Representative. It is not often that we have women in leadership positions. Today, we are hosted by a great leader that is a woman. But, we also have the Special Representative of the UN on Sustainable Energy for All, Damilola Ogunbiyi, who is playing a critical role within the Mission 300.
In this critical countdown to 2030, let us ensure that Mission 300 delivers concrete outcomes towards the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2063.
Let us seize this moment to accelerate and to deliver transformative progress. Together, I am sure that Africa can lead the clean energy transition, creating lasting prosperity and resilience for generations to come and actions and aspiration fulfilled today for our women and our youth.
Defendant recruited young people with images of money, exotic cars, and expensive jewelry
Tacoma – The leader of a South Puget Sound drug trafficking organization that sent dangerous drugs as far away as Georgia and Ohio was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to ten years in prison for his multi-state drug trafficking scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Joel Adrian Valencia Rosas, 28, of Lakewood, Washington was indicted in December 2023 following a lengthy investigation that uncovered the trafficking of cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana to East Coast locales, and the importation and distribution of fentanyl and cocaine in Western Washington. The drug ring used social media such as Snapchat and Instagram to communicate and recruit new members. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright noted that Mr. Valencia Rosas was glamorizing drug dealing with his social media posts. “He used the lower-level members of the drug ring to take on higher risks… Mr. Valencia Rosas was willing to recruit and sacrifice others to make more money,” Judge Cartwright said.
“The defendants in this case are all young – 18-28 years old. Mr. Valencia Rosas, the ringleader of this trafficking group, actively enticed young people to join his criminal enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Gorman. “On social media he not only posted the drugs available for sale and their prices, he also attempted to portray the drug trafficking lifestyle as glamorous and lucrative, posting pictures of himself with firearms, flashy vehicles, and cash. In reality, drug trafficking leaves destruction in its wake.”
During this investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and partner law enforcement agencies seized nearly 52 kilos of cocaine, more than 23 kilos of fentanyl pills, and 131 kilos of marijuana. One drug shipment seized by law enforcement contained 37 kilos of cocaine and more than a kilo of fentanyl pills. In June 2023, a traffic stop on Interstate 5 resulted in the seizure of 200,000 fentanyl pills that had been hidden in the vehicle.
According to records filed in the case, Valencia Rosas has been trafficking drugs since at least 2018. His posts on social media talked about how much money he would pay for people to work as drug couriers. Even after Snapchat closed his account in December 2022, Valencia Rosas simply moved his recruiting efforts to another social media site: Instagram. He continued posting on his trafficking activities through 2023.
Valencia Rosas has been in custody since his arrest in December 2023.
In asking for an 11-year prison sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth wrote to the court, “Valencia Rosas was so successful that he could not traffic the drugs without bringing others into his criminal orbit. He could not move the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash drug proceeds from Ohio and Georgia without more people, driving cash back to him or flying with it stuffed into their bags… none of those codefendants made money from their involvement in the DTO. Only Valencia Rosas made money, off the backs of his codefendants.”
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) IRS- Criminal Investigations, TNET (Tacoma Narcotics Enforcement Team), TNT (Thurston Narcotics Task Force), Lakewood PD, Puyallup PD, Bonney Lake PD, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Tacoma PD, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, and Metro Cities SWAT.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marci L. Ellsworth and Crystal Correa.
WASHINGTON — Damian Johnson, 24, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 21 months in federal prison for illegal possession of a Glock 27 and 61 rounds of 45 caliber ammunition. Johnson was on supervised release when he posted numerous photographs of himself to Instagram with his guns that included several of himself wearing an ankle monitor while holding one of his weapons.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. of the District of Columbia and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Johnson, aka “Damien Johnson,” pleaded guilty September 11, 2024, to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. The 21-month federal prison term will run consecutive to a 16-month sentence he received in Superior Court in October 2022 for carrying a pistol without a license. U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb also ordered Johnson to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on December 26, 2023, shortly after 8 p.m., members of the MPD Robbery Suppression Unit executed a search warrant at Johnson’s home on the 300 block of Raleigh Street, SE. As officers entered the residence, an investigator observed Johnson attempting to open the apartment’s rear window. Another officer watched as Johnson tossed an object behind a bed inside a bedroom. The officers found a black Glock 27 .40 caliber pistol handgun behind the bed in plain view. During a search of the premises that followed, inside a closet, investigators discovered a drum magazine with 33 rounds of ammunition and an extended magazine with 28 rounds of ammunition.
Prior to the search, officers had viewed Johnson’s Instagram account and had seen photos and video clips that showed eight different firearms inside Johnson’s apartment. One of the photos depicted Johnson wearing his court-ordered ankle GPS devise on his right ankle as he held one of his handguns.
A federal Grand Jury indicted Johnson on January 17, 2024. U.S. Marshals arrested him on January 23, 2024, in Washington D.C.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Cole for the District of Columbia.
The Glock 27 .40 caliber pistol and ammunition found in Johnson’s apartment.
Drum magazine loaded with 33 rounds of 45 caliber ammunition.
Johnson (at left) and a friend display cash and four firearms – some with extended clips – in an Instagram post.
In an Instagram post, Johnson is pictured with a firearm with an extended clip.
In an Instagram post, Johnson and apregnant woman are depicted holding firearms with extended clips, scopes/lights on firearms. Johnson is seen with court ordered GPS device on his right ankle.
Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
January 28, 2025
Smith & Wesson will be a critical case for victims and survivors of gun violence hoping to hold the gun industry accountable for its actions
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he has joined 46 lawmakers in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court concerning a legal case that would hold gun manufacturers accountable for their role in the illegal trafficking of firearms to Mexico.
“As the American firearm industry continues to rake in more profit from selling firearms to Mexican drug cartels, people continue to suffer at the hands of gun violence every day in Oregon and in our country,” Wyden said. “Gun manufacturers must be held accountable for their reckless business practices that have torn apart our families, neighborhoods, and schools. I thank my colleagues for their effort to ensure that the American firearm industry stops putting a weapon of mass destruction in dangerous hands again, and supporting the voices of gun violence survivors.”
In the ongoing Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. et al., v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Mexico is suing U.S. gun manufacturers and a distributor for allegedly aiding and abetting illegal arms trafficking. The lawmakers argue that the gun industry should not be insulated from liability for its own unlawful conduct, as their constituents have been harmed by gun violence or the threat of it.
In addition to Wyden, the amicus brief was led by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and was joined by U.S. Senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawai’i., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and U.S. Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., Gabe Amo, D-R.I., Becca Balint, D-Vt., Julia Brownley, D-Calif., André Carson, D-Ind., Sean Casten D-Ill., Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., Bill Foster, D-Ill., Valerie P. Foushee, D-N.C., Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., Glenn Ivey, D-Md., Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., D-Ga., Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., James P. McGovern, D-Md., Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Mike Quigly, D-Ill., Delia C. Ramirez, D-Ill., Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Mike Thompson, D-Calif., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Jill Tokuda, D-Hawai’i, Paul D. Tonko, D-N.Y., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in this case on March 4, 2025.
The text of the bill is here.
Hastings Fire Station was the setting for an emotional reunion last week as Mark Stockwell came face-to-face with the emergency crews who freed him after a tree crushed his car.
Mark was driving home during a storm on Coolart Road in Tuerong last August when the freak incident occurred, trapping him in his vehicle with serious injuries.
Emergency services arrived swiftly, but it took a challenging 90 minutes of coordinated effort from Hastings, Langwarrin and Dromana CFA members, VICSES, Ambulance Victoria, and Victoria Police to safely extricate him.
Accompanied by his wife and son, Mark used the reunion as an opportunity to personally thank the first responders for their dedication and teamwork.
“Words can’t express how grateful I am. Every time I’m at home, I think about all these guys, and I tear up,” Mark said.
“I get to be a dad, and I get to be a husband because of them.
“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for what they’ve done and what they continue to do.
“They have families and could be at home, but instead, they’re out there rescuing people like me. It’s incredible.”
Recalling the events of that day, Mark said: “I don’t really remember much about it. I just recall thinking, ‘I think I’ve been in an accident,’ and I was coming in and out of consciousness.
“The guys were trying to keep me awake, but I kept drifting. I remember one moment of pain, like waking from a dream, and thinking, ‘I can’t feel my leg, my back is sore, my neck hurts.’
“I saw the airbag and thought, ‘Why’s my airbag out? I must have been in an accident. That’s pretty much all I remember.”
Several key personnel on scene that day also shared their perspectives on the incident and what it meant to see Mark’s recovery firsthand.
Quotes attributable to CFA Incident Controller Georgia Densley:
“Rescues like this one really highlight the strength of teamwork between CFA and our emergency service partners.
“Everyone on scene played their part, including Mark, who stayed calm under immense pressure, which made our job that much easier.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see him here today and to witness his recovery firsthand.”
Quotes attributable to Dutchy Holland, VICSES Hastings Unit Controller:
“As first responders, having the chance to meet and talk with community members who we support in their time of need is an extremely rewarding experience.
“I’m very proud of our volunteers who were able to provide timely and much-needed aid alongside other emergency service providers to effect a positive outcome in this instance.”
Quotes attributable to MICA Paramedic Angus Bowden:
“Being able to reconnect with a patient and see him thrive after such a serious incident is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. Mark was not only trapped, but appeared to have sustained multiple traumatic injuries.
“In this case, the combination of advanced clinical care and collaboration played a crucial role in the patient’s survival and recovery. From start to finish, it was a remarkable team effort, with paramedics, firefighters and SES working together to achieve the best possible outcome.”
A man with a history of violence was sentenced today, to 10 years in federal prison.
Conrad Lyons, age 36, from Sioux City, received the prison term after an August 26, 2024, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of receipt and possession of a National Firearms Destructive Device not registered to the possessor, i.e., a sawed-off shotgun.
Evidence in this case revealed that on March 23, 2024, at approximately 1:00 a.m., law enforcement received a report of an altercation in an apartment in Sioux City, Iowa, involving Lyons (who is a felon) and several other individuals. Reports indicated the altercation involved a large machete-style knife, and that Lyons had a “sawed-off shotgun”. Law enforcement responded to the apartment in Sioux City where the altercation took place. Outside of the apartment, law enforcement encountered an individual, who confirmed there had been an altercation, and identified some of the individuals, but the individuals inside the apartment were reluctant to cooperate.
Further, on March 23, 2024, at approximately 8:22 p.m., law enforcement observed Lyons and two other individuals, walking in Sioux City, Iowa. As law enforcement approached, Lyons dropped a black backpack and walked into the street. The other individual attempted to throw a machete into a storm drain. The individuals were stopped by police. The machete was retrieved, and through the open zipper of the backpack, law enforcement observed a barrel and what appeared to be a cut-off gunstock that was covered with a sock. It was later determined Lyons was in possession of the sawed-off shotgun.
Lyons has a history of violent offenses, failure on supervision, disciplinary violations in custody and a history of eluding, resisting and fighting with law enforcement. Lyons criminal history includes (1) assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer, in the United States District Court of Nebraska; (2) assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian Country, in the United States District Court of Nebraska; and (3) assault by striking, beating, and wounding, in the United States District Court of Nebraska.
Lyons was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Lyons is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
ST. LOUIS – A man from Maplewood, Missouri has been arrested on charges accusing him of selling machine gun conversion devices.
Tanario Darden, 22, was arrested Monday and pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two felony counts: transporting prohibited weapons without a license and transferring machine guns. He was indicted on those charges January 22.
The indictment says Darden transported and sold one or more machine guns between April 1, 2024, and August 30, 2024.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A motion seeking to have Darden held in jail until trial says he was using a social media account to sell machine gun conversion devices (MCDs).
MCDs, also known as switches or auto sears, convert a semi-automatic firearm into fully automatic weapon, which is defined as a machine gun under federal law.
“These highly dangerous devices can convert a run-of-the-mill firearm into a weapon of war, transforming a street corner into a combat zone, devastating entire communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Bernard G. Hansen of the ATF Kansas City Field Division.
The transporting prohibited weapons charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison. The machine gun charge carries a penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in reintroducing legislation to target illegally caught red snapper and tuna imports. The senators introduced similar legislation last Congress.
The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin of red snapper or tuna imported into the United States. Snapper poaching continues to be an issue across the Gulf of America, as Mexican fishermen illegally catch red snapper, smuggle it into their country, and then confuse American consumers by selling our fish back to us.
“Alabama lands 34 percent of all recreationally caught Red Snapper in the Gulf,” said Senator Tuberville. “Unfortunately, our domestic Red Snapper industry is being undermined by Mexican fishermen who are illegally catching American snapper in the Gulf, smuggling them into Mexico, and then reselling the same fish back to American consumers. In addition to taking business away from Alabama’s fishermen, many of the profits from these illegal fishing operations are funding the cartels. I’m proud to join Senator Cruz in introducing the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act to stop illegal Red Snapper from flooding our markets and bankrupting our great fishermen.”
U.S. Senators Tuberville and Cruz were joined by U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Brian Schatz (D-HI).
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
Mexican fishermen cross the maritime border between Texas and Mexico on small boats called “lanchas” to illegally catch red snapper in U.S. waters and return to Mexico. The fish are sold in Mexico or mixed in with legally-caught red snapper then exported back into the United States across land borders. Red snapper is one of the most well-managed and profitable fish in the Gulf of Mexico, but illegal fishing by Mexican lanchas puts law-abiding U.S. fishermen and seafood producers at a competitive disadvantage. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities violate both national and international fishing regulations.
Cartels engaged in drug smuggling and human trafficking also engage in the profitable illegal fishing of red snapper. The same fishing boats and fishermen who catch red snapper also smuggle drugs and humans for the cartels, and these profits support the organization.
Technology exists to chemically test and find the geographic origin of many foods, but not for red snapper or tuna. The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act would develop a field test kit the Coast Guard could use to accurately ascertain whether fish were caught in Mexico or U.S. waters, thus allowing federal and state law enforcement officers to identify the origin of the fish and confiscate illegally caught red snapper or tuna before it is imported back into the U.S.
With the help of machine learning, NIST scientists are currently able to chemically determine the geographic origin of foods, including strawberries, apples, cherries, ginseng, ginkgo, beef, honey, and rice. Using those same methodologies, these scientists believe it would be possible to determine the geographic origin of red snapper. This would allow law enforcement to have a better understanding of the networks that support illegal fishing. It would also reduce the financial incentives for the crime, since the fish could no longer be sold back into the United States. If successful, this method could be expanded to identify other IUU fish.
MORE:
Tuberville Takes Aim At Cartels Engaged in Illegal Red Snapper Fishing
Tuberville Voices Concerns About New Federal Red Snapper Limits
Tuberville, Colleagues Advocate for Management Flexibility to Preserve Red Snapper Season
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.