Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter.
UN chief said that the Charter of the United Nations is not “an à la carte menu.”
Addressing the General Assembly today (26 Jun) at Informal Plenary meeting to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter, António Guterres said, “The Charter has given us the tools to change destinies, save lives, and deliver hope to the most desperate corners of the world. And we can draw a direct line from the creation of the United Nations and the prevention of a third world war.”
He highlighted, “Today, we see assaults on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter like never before.”
He stressed, “On and on, we see an all too familiar pattern: Follow when the Charter suits, ignore when it does not. The Charter of the United Nations is not optional. It is not an à la carte menu. It is the bedrock of international relations. We cannot and must not normalize violations of its most basic principles.”
He concluded, “On this anniversary, I urge all Member States to live up: To the spirit and letter of the Charter. To the responsibilities it demands. And to the future it summons us to build. For peace. For justice. For progress. For we the peoples.”
The eightieth anniversary of the signing of the Charter in San Francisco provides an opportunity for the United Nations membership to reflect on the enduring significance and relevance of the Charter of the United Nations.
As geopolitical dynamics shift and new global challenges emerge, the meeting will serve as a moment of collective reaffirmation of the spirit of San Francisco and the founding principles of the United Nations enshrined in the Charter.
This gathering not only honors the legacy of the United Nations but also seeks to inspire continued cooperation in the pursuit of a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world, guided by the Charter and the promise it enshrines.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) — Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), and Yael Bron-Pivet, president of the French National Assembly, co-chaired the 12th meeting of the China-France Legislative Exchange Mechanism in Beijing on Thursday, agreeing to strengthen bilateral ties.
In his opening speech, Zhao Leji said China stands ready to expand all-round exchanges and cooperation with France.
The two sides should deepen cooperation in traditional areas, expand collaboration in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence and green low-carbon development, and properly handle trade differences through consultation and dialogue, he said.
Zhao Leji called on the two countries to deepen exchanges in culture, education and tourism and strengthen coordination within a multilateral framework, stressing that the Chinese side believes that France will take concrete actions to uphold the one-China principle.
As the NPC Standing Committee chairman pointed out, given that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, China hopes that China-EU ties will continuously develop in a positive direction so that they will bring more stability and positive energy to the world.
Zhao Leji stressed that this meeting marks the resumption of the exchange mechanism between the two legislatures after a five-year hiatus and is of great significance to deepening cooperation between the two sides.
He stated that the NPC will work with the French parliament to implement the important agreements reached by the heads of state and provide legal guarantees for practical cooperation between China and France. Zhao Leji added that the NPC also wants to expand exchanges and cooperation with the European Parliament.
J. Bron-Pivet, for her part, pointed out that in the current difficult international situation, it is extremely important for France and China, which are supporters of multilateralism, to strengthen communication and solidarity.
The French side hopes to strengthen cooperation with the Chinese side in the areas of trade and investment, artificial intelligence, climate change, culture and education, and jointly overcome global challenges, said Bron-Pivet.
She added that the French National Assembly is ready to deepen dialogue with the NPC to give new impetus to the development of French-Chinese relations. –0–
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Associate Professor, New Testament, & Director of The Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy, University of Divinity
Wars are often waged in the name of religion. So what do key texts from Christianity, Islam and Judaism say about the justification for war?
We asked three experts for their views.
The Bible
Robyn J. Whitaker, University of Divinity
The Bible presents war as an inevitable reality of human life. This is captured in the cry of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes:
for everything there is a season […] a time for war and a time for peace.
In this sense, the Bible reflects the experiences of the authors and communities who shaped the texts over more than a thousand years as they experienced both victory and defeat as a small nation among the large empires of the ancient near east.
When it comes to God’s role in war, we cannot shirk from the problematic violence associated with the divine. At times, God orders the Hebrew people to go to war and enact horrendous violence. Deuteronomy 20 is a good example of this: God’s people are sent to war with the blessing of the priest but told to first offer terms of peace. If peace terms are accepted, the town is enslaved. Certain enemies, however, are decreed worthy of total annihilation, and the Hebrew army is commanded to destroy anyone and anything that doesn’t produce food.
On other occasions, war is interpreted as a tool, a punishment where God uses foreign nations against the Hebrew people because they have gone astray (Judges 2:14). You can also find an underlying ethic to treat the captives of war justly. Moses commands that women captured in war are to be treated as wives, not slaves (Deuteronomy 21), and in 2 Chronicles, captives are allowed to return home.
In contrast to war as divinely authorised, many of the Hebrew prophets express hope in a time where God will bring peace and people will “neither learn war any more” (Micah 3:4) but rather turn their weapons into tools for agriculture (Isaiah 2:4).
War is viewed as a result of human sinfulness, something that God will ultimately transform into peace. And that peace (Hebrew: shalom) is more than an absence of war. It is about human flourishing and unity between peoples and God.
Most of the New Testament was written during the first century CE, when Jews and emerging Christians were a minority within the Roman Empire. The military power of Rome is harshly critiqued as evil in resistance texts such as the Book of Revelation. Many early Christians refused to fight in the Roman army.
In this context, Jesus says nothing specific about war but generally rejects violence. When Jesus’s disciple Peter seeks to defend him with a sword, Jesus tells him to put away his sword because a sword only leads to more violence (Matthew 26:52). This is consistent with Jesus’s other teachings such as “blessed are the peacemakers” or his commands to “turn the other cheek” when struck or to “love your enemies”.
The reality is that we find various war ideologies in the Bible’s pages. If you want to find a justification for war in the Bible, you can. If you want to find a justification for peace or pacifism, that is there too. Later Christians would develop ideas of “just war” and pacifism based on biblical ideas, but these are developments rather than explicit within the Bible.
For Christians, Jesus’s teaching provides an ethical framework for interpreting earlier war texts through the lens of love for enemies. This counterpoint to divine violence and war points readers back to the prophets, whose hopeful visions imagine a world where violence and suffering are no more and peace is possible.
The Quran
Mehmet Ozalp, Charles Sturt University
Islam and Muslims emerged onto the world stage in the hostile environment of the seventh century. In response to major challenges, including warfare, Islam introduced pioneering legal and ethical reforms. The Quran and the Prophet Muhammad’s example laid out clear legal and ethical guidelines for the conduct of war, well before similar frameworks appeared in other societies.
Islam did this by defining a new term, “jihad” rather than the usual Arabic word for war, “harb”. While harb refers broadly to warfare, jihad was defined within Islamic teachings as a legal, morally justified struggle, which includes but is not limited to armed conflict. In the context of warfare, jihad refers specifically to fighting in a just cause under clear legal and ethical guidelines, rather than belligerent or aggressive warfare.
Between 610-622, Prophet Muhammad practised active non-violence in the face of the constant suffering, persecution and economic embargo he and his followers endured in Mecca, despite insistent approaches by his followers to take up arms. This showed that armed struggle cannot be taken up within the members of the same society, as this would lead to anarchy.
After leaving his home town to escape persecution, he established a pluralistic and multi-faith society in Medina. He took active steps to sign treaties with neighbouring tribes. Despite following a deliberate strategy of peace and diplomacy, the hostile Meccans and allied tribes attacked the Muslims in Medina. Engaging these attackers in an armed struggle was unavoidable.
The permission to fight was given to Muslims by the Quran verses 22:39-40:
The believers against whom war is waged are given permission to fight in response, for they have been wronged. Surely, God has full power to help them to victory. Those who have been driven from their homeland against all right, for no other reason than that they say, “Our Lord is God” […]
This passage not only permits armed struggle but also offers a moral justification for just war. It means war is clearly just when defensive — while aggression is unjust and condemned. Elsewhere, the Quran emphasises this point:
If they withdraw from you and do not fight against you, and offer you peace, then God allows you no way (to war) against them.
Verse 22:39 outlines two ethical justifications for warfare. The first is when people are driven from their homes (and land) – in other words, through occupation by a foreign power. The second is when people are attacked because of their beliefs to the point of violent persecution and attack.
Importantly, verse 22:40 includes churches, monasteries and synagogues. If believers in God do not defend themselves, all places of worship would be destroyed, so this is to be prevented by force if necessary.
The Quran does not allow for aggression, since “God loves not the aggressors” (2:190). It also provides detailed regulations on who is to fight and who is exempted (9:91); when hostilities must cease (2:193); and prisoners should be treated humanely and with fairness (47:4).
Verses such as 2:294 emphasise that warfare and any response to violence and aggression must be proportional and within limits:
Whoever attacks you, attack them in like manner as they attacked you. Nevertheless, fear God and remain within the bounds.
In the event of unavoidable war, every opportunity to end it must be pursued:
But if the enemy inclines towards peace, then you must also incline towards peace and trust in God.
The aim of military action is to end hostilities and remove the reason for warfare, not to humiliate or annihilate the enemy.
Military jihad cannot be pursued for personal ambition or to further nationalistic or ethnic disputes. Muslims cannot wage war on nations that have no hostility towards them (60:8). But if there is open hostility and attack, Muslims have a right to defend themselves.
The Prophet and the early caliphs specifically warned military leaders and all combatants that they must not act treacherously or engage in indiscriminate killing and pillage. He said:
Do not kill women, children, the elderly, or the sick. Do not destroy palm trees or burn houses.
Because of these teachings, Muslims have had legal and ethical guidelines throughout much of history to help limit human suffering caused by war.
The Torah
Suzanne D. Rutland, University of Sydney
Judaism is not a pacifist religion, but in its traditions it values peace above all else, and prayers for peace are central to Jewish liturgy. At the same time, there is a recognition of the need to fight defensive wars, but only within certain boundaries.
In the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, the recognition of the need for war is clear. Throughout their journeying in the desert, the Israelites (Children of Israel) fight various battles. At the same time, in Deuteronomy, the Israelites are instructed (chapter 12, verse 10):
When you go forth against your enemies and are in camp, then you should keep yourself from every evil thing.
The story of Amalek is the symbol of ultimate evil in Jewish tradition. Scholars argue this is because his army attacked the Israelites from the rear – killing defenceless women and children.
The Torah also stresses that army service is compulsory. Yet, Deuteronomy elaborates four categories of people who are exempt:
someone who has built a home but has not yet dedicated it
someone who has planted a vineyard but has not yet eaten of its fruit
someone who is engaged or in his first year of marriage
someone who is afraid, in case he influences other soldiers with his fear.
Judaism is not a pacifist religion, but in its traditions it values peace above all else. Shutterstock
It is important to point out that the disdain of war is so strong that King David was not permitted to build the temple in Jerusalem because of his military career. His son, Solomon, was allocated this task, but no iron was to be used in the building because this represented war and violence, while the temple was to represent peace, the ideal virtue.
The vision of peace for all humanity is further developed in the prophetic writings and the concept of the Messiah. This is seen particularly in the writings of the prophet Isiah, who envisaged an age when, as he describes in his idyllic vision:
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
The Mishnah, the first part of the Talmud, raises the concept of an “obligatory war” (milhemet mizvah). This encompasses the biblical wars against the seven nations said to inhabit the Promised Land, the war against Amalek, and the Jewish nation’s defensive wars. It is, accordingly, a clearly defined and recognisable class.
Not so the second category, “permitted war” (milhemet reshut), which is more open-ended and, as scholar Avi Ravitsky writes, “could relate to a preemptive war”.
After the Talmudic period, which ended in the 7th century, this debate became theoretical, since Jews living in Palestine and the diaspora no longer had an army. This was largely the case from the time of the defeat of the Bar Kokhba Rebellion against the Romans (132–135 CE), apart from a few small Jewish kingdoms in Arabia.
However, with the return of the early Zionist pioneers to the Land of Israel in the late 19th and 20th century, the rabbinic debates of what constitutes an obligatory, defensive war and what is a permitted war, as well as the characteristics of a forbidden war has reignited. This is a subject of deep concern and controversy for both academics and rabbis today.
Robyn J. Whitaker is affiliated with The Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy.
Mehmet Ozalp is affiliated with Islamic Sciences and Research Academy
Suzanne Rutland has received an Australian Research Council grant for her research on the Australian Jewry and funding from the Pratt Foundation, as well as an Australian Prime Ministers Centre (APMC) fellowship for her research on Soviet Jewry and Australia. She is also involved with numerous NGOs, including the Australian Jewish Historical Society (patron), the Australian Association for Jewish Studies (past president and committee member), and the Australian government’s expert delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. In addition, she is a board member of the Freilich Project for the Study of Bigotry at ANU; she is on an academic advisory committee at the Sydney Jewish Museum; she is the director of the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism; and she is an Australian board member for Boys Town Jerusalem and a board member of Better Balance Futures for faith communities These roles are all undertaken in an honorary capacity. She is also writing the history of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry in an honorary capacity.
This marks a historic milestone—it is the first time a normative global health policy, rather than a scientific paper, has received this prestigious recognition. The award underscores the transformative power of evidence-informed, system-level reforms and affirms the collective efforts of WHO technical teams, Member States, partners, and the broader oral health community in shaping the global oral health agenda.
The Aubrey Sheiham Award is named in honour of the late Professor Aubrey Sheiham from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland—a pioneering advocate for public health-oriented, evidence-based approaches in oral health. His legacy continues to inspire the global integration of oral health within noncommunicable diseases, universal health coverage and development agendas.
“The recognition of the Global strategy and action plan on oral health with this award is a powerful validation of our shared commitment to advancing oral health as a key pillar of global health,” said Dr Benoit Varenne, Dental Officer in WHO’s oral health programme. “It reflects the consensus that oral diseases are a major public health issue that needs a response embedded into a broader primary health care systems reform.”
WHO will be donating the prize money to the One World campaign—a gesture that aligns with the spirit of the award and supports broader public health engagement and resource mobilization.
The award will be formally presented at the IADR Conference in Barcelona on Thursday, 26 June from 17:30 to 18:30 (CEST).
OLYMPIA – A pilot program to encourage drivers to slow down concludes this week as two Highway Speed Cameras leave Interstate 90 and I-5 after more than two months on the roadway.
The cameras gathered speed data and generated courtesy notices, not fines, which were mailed to the registered owners of vehicles that were photographed driving over the speed limit.
Earlier this week, cameras in eastern and western Washington were picked up from the following locations:
Southbound I-5 between Cook and Bow Hill roads in Skagit County.
Eastbound I-90 near Liberty Lake between the Liberty Lake and State Line interchanges in Spokane County.
Since the safety program’s start on April 10, more than 16,000 notices were mailed encouraging drivers to reduce speeds. As required by the Legislature, the letters also shared information about the cost of a potential speeding ticket.
A safety tool
The Washington State Department of Transportation partnered with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Washington State Patrol for the program. The goal is to reduce the number of crashes by encouraging drivers to slow down.
In 2024, 728 people were killed on Washington roadways. While that number dropped slightly from 2023, it’s still far above pre-pandemic averages.
The cameras identified several instances of excessive speeds, with 277 notices for vehicles averaging 100 mph or more through the three-mile monitoring areas. On state highways alone, there were 368 fatal or serious injury collisions in 2024 where speeding was cited as a factor, and that does not include local roadway crashes.
Last year speeding was a factor in 34% of fatal crashes, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
“When you drive at safe speeds, you’re protecting families, neighbors and the people working to maintain our roads,” said Washington Traffic Safety Commission Program Manager Dr. Janine Koffel.
The program was paid for with $1 million from the Legislature. People can learn more about the cameras at an online open house and share feedback. WSDOT will now analyze the data from the cameras, review public feedback and report back to the Legislature. A preliminary report will be ready in early July and a final report this fall.
Work Zone Speed Camera Program
The Highway Speed Camera program differs from the Work Zone Speed Camera Program, which continues enforcement in active road construction work zones throughout the state. The Work Zone Speed Camera Program uses mobile cameras that rotate to various road construction zones around the state, capturing images of speeding vehicles.
Three cameras are currently rotating through multiple construction zones. Six cameras are expected to be operating later this summer. Currently, the first Work Zone Speed Camera infraction is $0, but beginning in July 2026, the Legislature increased that to $125. The second and subsequent infractions are and will remain $248.
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County resident was charged for his role in a bank fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Isiah J. Jordan, 27, is charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre and was released on $100,000 bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Jordan was part of a multi-person scheme to steal checks from the mail and deposit those checks into bank accounts controlled by his co-conspirators. For example, in June 2023, Company-1 mailed out a business check for over $50,000. That check was stolen and altered by Jordan and his co-conspirators such that the payee information on the original check was changed so that the check could be deposited into an account controlled by the conspirators. Then in July 2023, after the stolen check cleared, Jordan and his co-conspirators withdrew the money from the account and split the proceeds.
Jordan and his coconspirators then continued to actively recruit other members to participate in and join the conspiracy. Specifically, they recruited individuals who had long-standing bank accounts to continue the scheme of depositing stolen checks and withdrawing the funds before the bank or the victims whose checks were stolen were aware of the illegal activity.
The bank fraud conspiracy and the bank fraud charges both carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey S. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division and Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Vancouver, BC, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Oxley Bridge Acquisition Limited (the “Company”) announced today the closing of its initial public offering of 25,300,000 units, which includes 3,300,000 units issued pursuant to the exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in full. The offering was priced at $10.00 per unit, resulting in gross proceeds of $253,000,000.
The Company’s units began trading on June 25, 2025 on The Nasdaq Global Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) under the ticker symbol “OBAWU.” Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share of the Company at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustment. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “OBA” and “OBAWW,” respectively.
Of the proceeds received from the consummation of the initial public offering (including the exercise of the over-allotment option) and a simultaneous private placement of warrants, $253,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit sold in the offering) was placed in trust.
The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The Company may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business or industry or at any stage of its corporate evolution. The Company’s primary focus, however, will be to search globally for a target with operations or prospects focusing on global consumer and technology sectors with disruptive growth potential through the use of technology that can benefit from operations in Asia, excluding the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The Company’s management team is led by Jonathan Lin, its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors (the “Board”), and Gary Chan, its Chief Financial Officer. The Board also includes Norma Chu, Enrique Gonzalez, Gan Wee Leong, and Jack Cho.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as sole book-running manager for the offering.
A registration statement relating to the securities was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 24, 2025. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” No assurance can be given that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s registration statement and prospectus for the Company’s initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies of these documents are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has scheduled its second quarter 2025 financial results announcement.
Who:
Nasdaq’s CEO, CFO, and additional members of its senior management team
What:
Review Nasdaq’s second quarter 2025 financial results
When:
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Results Call: 8:00 AM Eastern
Senior management will be available for questions from the investment community following prepared remarks.
All participants can access the conference via webcast through the Nasdaq Investor Relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com/.
Note: The press release and results presentation for the second quarter 2025 results will be posted on the Nasdaq Investor Relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com/ on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at approximately 7:00 AM Eastern.
About Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.
– Jeremy T. Bezdek is a seasoned expert in energy transition –
– Alan R. Tank has played pivotal roles in advancing renewable energy, including decarbonization –
PEKIN, Ill., June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTO), leading producer and distributor of specialty alcohols, renewable fuels, and essential ingredients, named Gilbert Nathan Chair and Dianne Nury Vice-Chair of the board of directors and announced that Alan R. Tank and Jeremy T. Bezdek were elected as directors at the Company’s annual meeting on June 25th.
“I am honored to serve as Chairman and look forward to working with the Board and management as we progress on our strategic initiatives to increase shareholder value,” said Gilbert Nathan, Chair of Alto Ingredients. “We welcome our new board members and are excited to add their wealth of experience and expertise.”
“We are thrilled to welcome distinguished industry leaders to our board of directors,” said Bryon McGregor, CEO of Alto Ingredients. “As an entrepreneur, investor, and strategic advisor, Alan has played pivotal roles in advancing renewable energy, including decarbonization. Jeremy’s expertise in capital raising, complex transactions, and operational excellence will be invaluable as Alto Ingredients continues to expand our market presence. Together with the board, their vision and experience will be instrumental as we accelerate our growth strategy and advance our commitment to sustainability and innovation.”
Jeremy T. Bezdek is an accomplished senior executive with three decades of experience in leadership, business development, M&A, strategy execution, project development, investment origination, finance and commercial roles across the energy, renewables, and advanced manufacturing sectors. He has large company and startup experience and served on ten boards of directors, both public and private, since 2010. As president and founder of Ad Astra Advisors, Mr. Bezdek provides strategic advisory services, guiding companies through strategy, complex transactions, growth, fundraising, and organizational priorities. Mr. Bezdek spent 26 years with Koch Industries in a variety of finance and commercial leadership roles, including managing director of Koch Strategic Platforms, an investment arm of Koch Investment Group. In that role, he led investments in the energy transition vertical for Koch Strategic Platforms. He spent most of his career at a Koch subsidiary Flint Hills Resources where he directed multi-billion-dollar investments and transformative growth initiatives. Under his leadership, the team was very active in acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures, as well as making multiple investments in early-stage development companies related to refining, biofuels and chemicals industries.
Mr. Bezdek has a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in finance, from the University of Kansas.
Alan R. Tank brings more than three decades of executive leadership and board experience across the agriculture, food, and renewable energy sectors. Since 2024, Mr. Tank has served as an advisor to Mercator Partners, an asset management platform that invests in decarbonization opportunities. Since 2022, he has served as an advisor to Eion Corp, a carbon capture and removal company. Since 2017, he has served as an executive advisor to Blue Sea Capital, a private equity firm focusing on the industrial growth, aerospace and healthcare sectors. Since 2015, he has co-owned and managed Tank Brothers Farm/Tank Customs, his family farm in eastern Iowa, as its managing member. Until 2016, Mr. Tank served as chief executive officer and managing partner of Revolution Energy Solutions, a company he co-founded in 2006 that developed, owned and operated renewable energy/waste-to-energy projects on agricultural platforms in the US. In 2001, Mr. Tank also founded AgCert International, a world leader in the production and sale of agriculturally derived greenhouse gas emission reductions used to satisfy the Kyoto Protocol and European Union Emission Trading Scheme requirements and served as its chief executive officer until 2005. He serves on the board to WestMET Group and Victory Hemp Foods.
Mr. Tank holds a B.S. in Animal Science, from Iowa State University.
About Alto Ingredients, Inc. Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a leading producer and distributor of specialty alcohols, renewable fuels and essential ingredients. Leveraging the unique qualities of its facilities, the company serves customers in a wide range of consumer and commercial products in the Health, Home & Beauty; Food & Beverage; Industry & Agriculture; Essential Ingredients; and Renewable Fuels markets. For more information, please visit www.altoingredients.com.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Harrison, Director, Master of Business Administration Program (MBA); Co-Director, Better Consumption Lab, Deakin University
It’s quite unsettling to discover something so central to our cultural rituals – the “slop” in the Aussie mantra of “Slip! Slop! Slap!” – can no longer be trusted.
We’ve never really had to scrutinise sunscreen. We slop it on because Sid the Seagull (in his role as spokesbird for the Cancer Council) told us to. We’ve learned about sun protection factors (SPF) and made choices to protect ourselves. We do it because it works.
Or so we thought.
Consumer group Choice recently tested 20 sunscreen brands and found only four met their labelled SPF claims. The findings have shaken consumers’ trust in the brands that make these products, and perhaps, in the institutions responsible for regulating them.
Trust is the silent architecture of our lives that makes everything from catching a bus to undergoing surgery feel possible. Indeed, we are born into trust. From infancy, we are wired to trust, first in our caregivers, then later in life in the cues and symbols such as endorsements, SPF ratings, brands or rankings that help us navigate a complex world.
The original Sid the Seagull video from the Cancer Council.
The role of power in trust relationships
Trust, and its erosion in public life, has become such a critical issue that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has made it a focus of Friday’s Consumer Congress, titled “Who can we trust? Regulating in an environment of declining consumer trust”.
Something that is often missed in discussions around trust is that it is also a social arrangement, shaped by power and vulnerability. Trust is nearly always asymmetric; those with the least power are usually required to place their trust first and most fully.
The powerful rarely have to reciprocate that vulnerability. They hold the information, set the rules and shape the narrative. When things go wrong, the powerful often walk away relatively unscathed, while the vulnerable are left to navigate complex complaints or refund systems.
Increasingly, we are told to be savvy, to read the fine print and to “do the research”.
But putting the responsibility on the individual reframes structural failures as personal shortcomings. It places the burden of vigilance and scrutiny on people who lack the time or expertise to meaningfully assess risk.
A breach of faith
The issue is compounded by a wider trend across many businesses that have misread their relationship with consumers. Much of our trust in brands is automatic.
We are more inclined to trust claims from familiar or warm-sounding sources, with research showing warmth comes first. People tend to judge others and institutions by their perceived warmth before considering their competence. So a brand that feels benevolent often earns our trust before we assess its actual performance.
Qantas, a brand that built its entire identity around the idea that it was “us”, trashed our trust when it began acting like a transactional retail business, rather than one built on relationships.
Management and the board failed to grasp they had been given something rare: a kind of cultural endearment underpinned by trust and perceived reciprocity that made Australians feel personally invested in its success.
While Qantas does retain market share, the erosion of this emotional bond means many customers are more willing to try its competitors. It will struggle to rebuild that trust simply with price deals or heartstring-tugging ad campaigns.
One of Qantas’ ad campaigns with an emotional appeal to customers.
The response matters
For organisations such as the Cancer Council, whose trustworthiness is built on moral authority, the response to failure matters deeply. Its decision to acknowledge the findings and commit to retesting was more than public relations. It was an act of relational repair.
In contrast, some of the other corporate brands in the survey responded by disputing Choice’s methodology. That reveals an outdated corporate reflex – one that attacks the messenger rather than engaging with the message. This defensive posture reflects a mindset shaped more by legal risk and brand control than by public accountability or ethical responsibility.
Still, individual responses are not enough. We need systems designed with human limits in mind. Trust cannot be sustained if it is constantly tested by complexity, misinformation and opaque accountability.
Consumer bodies such as Choice provide a public service by filling the gap between what people assume and what they can verify. But more broadly, businesses and regulators must treat trust as a relationship, not a marketing goal.
The system needs to prevent harm, not deal with the fallout
Rebuilding trust means putting people at the centre of consumer regulation. A human-centred system does not treat people as problems to be managed. It treats them as participants in a shared moral project. It requires systems grounded in evidence, designed around real human behaviour and focused on preventing harm rather than managing fallout.
One way to do this is through collaborative regulation. This approach brings together consumer representatives, regulators, behavioural experts and industry to design rules and standards that reflect how people actually behave (as opposed to how we hope they behave). This reduces asymmetries of power, and ensures trust is earned and maintained over time.
This collaborative approach has been successfully adopted in local government and health. But it only works when collaboration is approached in good faith by all parties, not just a “tick-the-box” exercise.
Of course, this approach runs counter to a legal system that tends to prioritise the system over the people it serves, and process over outcomes. But the goal shouldn’t be to force better ideas into outdated frameworks. Instead, we should design systems that lead to better outcomes for everyone.
Paul Harrison has received research funding from ASIC, the Consumer Action Law Centre, ACCAN, Victorian Health Association, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act to bar illegal immigrants from entering the United States if they have committed or been convicted of a drunk driving offense and makes a DUI a deportable offense.
“According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, 35% of Iowa’s fatal car accidents involved an impaired driver in 2022,” said Rep. Feenstra. “It’s why I voted to deport illegal immigrants convicted of driving while drunk so that we keep our kids, law enforcement officers, and communities safe. Back in 2016, the illegal immigrant who killed 21-year-old Iowan, Sarah Root, was driving drunk, and should have never been in our country. Drunk driving is already a serious issue that claims too many lives; there is no need to exacerbate the situation.”
In January, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, which includes Feenstra’s bill – Sarah’s Law – to detain without bail and punish illegal immigrants who harm or kill American citizens.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Tracey Mann (Kansas, 1)
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to commend President Trump’s efforts in maintaining peace through strength in the Middle East. Over the weekend, President Trump and the U.S. military successfully conducted targeted strikes against Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities while keeping the safety of Americans and U.S. troops at the forefront of the mission. President Trump successfully brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel in the days following the strikes.
Rep. Mann’s Remarks as Prepared:
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the leadership of President Trump, America and the world are safer today than we were a week ago. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, is no longer on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon and now they have agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. President Trump is fulfilling his campaign promise to make America safe again. Promises made, promises kept.
Americans want peace through strength, and that is what President Trump is committed to. For far too long, administrations in Washington, D.C. have created red lines that were crossed without consequence, agreed to deals with Iran that the regime disregarded, and concerned themselves more with appeasement than protecting American interests. President Trump took a different approach.
For months, President Trump has urged Iran to make a deal. He has been clear—there is no world where Iran, whose leadership chants, “Death to America, Death to Israel,” will be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Ever. That is not up for debate. President Trump is restoring America’s leadership
on the world stage and fighting tirelessly to keep Americans safe both at home and abroad.
This past week, President Trump showed that he is not willing to let America be strung along or taken advantage of. After Iran refused to accept a deal and continued to wreak havoc in the region through its proxy organizations, President Trump carried out targeted, strategic strikes to prevent the pending threat of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. He was also clear: attacks on U.S. forces will not be tolerated, and there will be grave consequences for such action. That is what leadership looks like, and I applaud President Trump for putting America first.
Audrey and I are grateful that our brave servicemen and women were not harmed in the strikes and continue to pray for the safety of our troops and Americans in the region. The world is safer today because of President Trump, and we pray that the Lord would continue to give him wisdom and discernment as he leads our nation and continues to work on bringing down tensions in the Middle East. God bless President Trump, God bless our troops, and God bless America.
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For more information about Representative Mann, visit: www.mann.house.gov.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) issued the following statement on the vote to table the impeachment motion against President Donald Trump.
“I have voted to impeach President Donald Trump two times, and each time, the reasoning behind those decisions was grounded in facts, flagrant breaches of public trust, and this President’s repeated refusal to uphold the Constitution and the will of the American people. I am steadfast in my belief that Donald Trump remains a clear and present danger to our democracy and must be held fully accountable for his actions.
“This week’s resolution was introduced abruptly and only allowed for less than an hour between its introduction and the vote, leaving no room for sufficient discourse and failing to meet the scrupulous standards that have been set for impeachment proceedings. My vote — along with that of House Democratic leadership, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee Jamie Raskin, and the majority of my Democratic colleagues — was not a vote on whether to impeach Donald Trump, but rather, a procedural vote to table a hastily filed resolution that lacked the careful consideration such a serious matter demands.
“I remain more committed than ever to defending the integrity of our democratic institutions and to delivering real accountability, not through performative gestures, but through meaningful and effective actions.”
The University of Connecticut has reappointed Dr. Bruce T. Liang to a third five-year term as dean of its UConn School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2025.
Liang has served in this UConn leadership role since 2015, in addition to serving UConn Health and his heart patients as a cardiovascular physician-scientist at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center of UConn Health.
Dean Liang speaking with UConn Provost Anne D’Alleva on April 23 at the launch event for the ‘Because of UConn’ Campaign, the largest in University history. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
“His continued leadership reflects the strong foundation he has built and the significant progress achieved over the past decade,” shared UConn Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Anne D’Alleva in her announcement.
Liang is applauded for leading the School of Medicine through a period of meaningful growth and advancement. During his last five-year term alone, he oversaw the full implementation of the MDelta curriculum, which has enriched the educational experience for students and improved outcomes. The School has also expanded its class size, exceeding the initial targets set by Bioscience Connecticut, a state investment launched in 2011 to position Connecticut as a leader in biomedical research and innovation. In addition, Liang led the development of a Science Strategy Plan aligned with the University’s priorities, recruited exceptional faculty, and helped drive an increase in NIH funding. In fact, under Liang’s leadership the medical school has received record-breaking research grant funding of over $100 million year after year. Plus, collaborative partnerships with Jackson Laboratories and Connecticut Children’s have deepened, further elevating the School’s research profile.
UConn’s medical school proudly remains the top contributor to Connecticut’s health care workforce, with many graduates staying in the state to practice. Its Graduate Medical Education programs have robustly grown and now rank in the top 10% nationally. The School is also a significant producer of many new scientists and public health experts.
Dr. Bruce T. Liang delivering his 2025 Commencement address to the graduating medical students in the Class of 2025. (Thomas Hurlbut Photography)
Liang has also strengthened community service programs, securing major grants, supporting the Urban Service Track, Area Health Education Center, Health Career Opportunity Programs, and Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs, as well as expanding care access through clinics serving immigrants in the state.
During his past term as dean, Liang also served as Interim CEO of UConn Health, for more than two years, guiding the institution through a key leadership transition with professionalism, growth, integrity, and a clear commitment to the university’s mission.
“Please join me in congratulating Dr. Liang on his reappointment and thanking him for his continued service to UConn Health and the University of Connecticut,” said D’Alleva.
“Thank you to the Provost, the University of Connecticut, and UConn Health for once again entrusting me to take our amazing medical school and its people, along with their innovative medicine, medical education, and research to even greater pinnacles,” said Liang. “It makes me so proud to be reappointed to serve as your dean for a third time— and to be a UConn Husky.”
Liang is an internationally recognized cardiologist and researcher and national leader in academic medicine. He has been consistently named one of America’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America for cardiovascular disease care. His cutting-edge translational research contributions have advanced scientific knowledge about heart disease. His latest research investigations have developed a new potential medication for advanced heart failure patients. His research has been continuously funded since 1986 by the NIH, the American Heart Association, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Dr. Liang applauding the research poster of a public health student trainee at UConn School of Medicine. (Photo by Tharun Palla/Public Health Sciences)
In addition to serving as the longtime dean of UConn School of Medicine, he is the Ray Neag Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine. Before joining the UConn Health faculty in 2002, for 13 years he served the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as associate professor of medicine and pharmacology. Liang received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard in biochemistry and molecular biology and his medical degree from Harvard Medical College. He completed his internal medicine internship and residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and cardiology fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of University Cardiologists, the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Basic Cardiovascular Sciences, and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Eric Burlison (R-Missouri 7th District)
Provision included in broader PERMIT Act to curb delays on infrastructure projects
Washington, D.C. — The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure advanced the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, which includes the Judicial Review Timeline Clarity Act, introduced by Congressman Eric Burlison (MO-07). The bill now heads to the House floor for consideration.
The Judicial Review Timeline Clarity Act establishes a firm 60-day deadline for filing lawsuits that challenge permits issued under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the discharge of dredged or fill material.
“Frivolous lawsuits from environmental activists have derailed critical infrastructure projects,” said Rep. Burlison. “Our communities deserve better. The Judicial Review Timeline Clarity Act puts an end to this nonsense with a hard 60-day deadline to challenge permits. America’s ready to build.”
Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06), praised the bill’s advancement:
“Thanks to the reform proposed by Congressman Burlison, this bill will help eliminate frivolous lawsuits by activists who are simply trying to delay or block important infrastructure projects from moving forward. Setting reasonable timelines for permitting reviews is not only common sense, it’s critical to allowing America to build. I commend Congressman Burlison for his continued leadership on this issue and for his work on this legislation.”
Section 404 permits are essential for infrastructure, energy, agriculture, mining, and construction projects that require placing fill material into waters of the United States. These permits, issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are frequently targeted by lawsuits—even after construction begins—causing delays, added costs, and uncertainty.
The Judicial Review Timeline Clarity Act brings clarity and restores common sense to the process.
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that nearly 3,000 affordable, modern, energy-efficient homes will be created or preserved in communities throughout New York State as a result of $1 billion in housing bonds and subsidies. The latest funding awards help advance the Governor’s commitment to increasing the housing supply and making the State more affordable. The 15 projects receiving funding are part of the Governor’s five-year, $25 billion comprehensive Housing Plan that will create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes across New York State.
“Solving New York’s housing crunch and cutting costs for families hinges on increasing home availability statewide,” Governor Hochul said. “Through these investments, we’re helping produce more affordable, modern, supportive, sustainable housing. This is going to help push costs down, keep our state strong and provide housing opportunities to thousands of New Yorkers.”
Financing is allocated through New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s recent bond issuances which provided $560 million in tax-exempt housing bonds and $466 million in subsidy. All awarded projects will achieve high levels of sustainability and carbon reduction. When coupled with additional private funding and resources, the projects receiving funding are expected to generate $1.5 billion in overall investment.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “With more than $1 billion allocated to these 15 projects through housing bonds and subsidies, we’re helping deliver nearly 3,000 affordable, sustainable, and supportive homes that will serve New Yorkers for years to come. These developments are part of the Governor’s $25 billion Housing Plan, which has already created or preserved more than 60,000 affordable homes in communities across New York. From New York City to the North Country, we are tackling the housing crisis head-on and supporting Governor Hochul’s mission to expand housing options, improve affordability, and foster economic growth across the State.”
New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “I applaud this significant investment in affordable housing, including this critical project right here in Yonkers, as part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring safe, modern, and affordable homes across every region of New York State. The Senate Majority has been at the forefront of driving this historic effort, recognizing that access to quality housing is fundamental to thriving communities. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work with Governor Hochul and the Assembly to build on this progress and create even greater housing opportunities for all New Yorkers.”
The awarded projects are:
New York City
$23 million for Kittay House in the Bronx – Rehabilitation of a Mitchell-Lama development built in 1969 in the Fordham neighborhood. The 295-unit development for seniors includes a common kitchen, dining hall, recreation rooms, a doctor’s office, and is conveniently located near health care and services. Developed by Kittay Senior Housing.
$326 million for Vital Brooklyn Alafia Phase 2 in Brooklyn – Construction of two 14-story, mixed-use buildings with 634 units and over 12,000 square feet of commercial space as part of the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Development Center. Includes 47 units with supportive services for individuals struggling with homelessness. The development is a component of the State’s Vital Brooklyn initiative to address chronic social, economic, and health disparities in central Brooklyn. Developed by Apex Real Estate Development.
$40 million for Emerson Davis Apartments in Brooklyn – Demolition of an obsolete building and the new construction of a 12-story building with 103 affordable and supportive apartments in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. The development will include supportive social service space for residents in the Emerson-Davis Family Residence program. Developed by Institute for Community Living.
$142 million for Edgemere Commons in Queens – Construction of an 18-story, mixed-use building with 244 units and nearly 4,000 square feet of commercial space at the former Peninsula Hospital site in Far Rockaway. Includes 73 units with supportive services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, as well as 9,000 square feet of community facility space set aside for a daycare facility. Developed by Tishman Speyer.
$63 million for Westbeth Artist Housing in Manhattan – Rehabilitation of the historic Westbeth Artist Housing in the West Village with 385 residential units and 73 commercial units across eight buildings. The affordable live-work housing for artists, includes studios, a gallery, a theater, commercial spaces, and landscaped park and courtyard. Developed by Westbeth Corp. Housing Development Fund Company.
$9 million for Jericho House in Manhattan – Rehabilitation and expansion of a 48-unit affordable housing and supportive development, with eight units added for a total of 56. All apartments are set aside for formerly homeless individuals. The development is receiving funding from the Clean Energy Initiative. Developed by the Jericho Project.
Capital Region
$72 million for Northgate Landing in Albany – Construction of two, four-story buildings in the Bishop’s Gate neighborhood with 185 apartments for families. The development will include community space and fitness center, and is close to health care, retail, and services. Developed by Conifer.
Finger Lakes
$46 million for Gardner’s Lofts in Rochester – Adaptive reuse of a former historic mill consisting of six interconnected five-story buildings with 88 affordable and supportive apartments for formerly homeless veterans and families. The development will include office space for services provided by Soldier On. Developed by Winn Development.
Mid-Hudson
$36 million for Rip Van Winkle Apartments in Poughkeepsie – Acquisition and rehabilitation of an 18-story building containing 179 affordable apartments. The development is receiving funding from the Clean Energy Initiative and will be fully electrified. Developed by Related Affordable.
$43 million for 345 McLean Avenue in Yonkers – New construction of a 12-story building containing 105 units for seniors aged 62 or older, including 31 units with supportive services for households experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Developed by Verus Development.
$107 million for 345 Q-West Towers in Mount Vernon – New construction of a 15-story building containing 115 units and a 12-story building containing 114 units. Both buildings will also include commercial space. Developed by Simone Development Companies.
Mohawk Valley
$14 million for Historical Park Apartments in Utica – Acquisition and rehabilitation of an 11-story building originally built in 1973 that contains 121 affordable apartments set aside for seniors and people with disabilities, as well as one market-rate unit. Developed by SpringTide Housing.
North Country
$15 million for Beekman Towers in Plattsburgh – Acquisition and rehabilitation of an 11-story building originally built in 1974 that contains 124 affordable apartments set aside for seniors and people with disabilities. Developed by SpringTide Housing.
$44 million for Pine Camp Apartments in Watertown – New construction of a four-story building containing 120 affordable apartments, including 80 with supportive services for veterans, seniors, and individuals experiencing homelessness. Developed by DePaul.
Southern Tier
$46 million for Saratoga Heights in Binghamton – Acquisition and rehabilitation of 100 units in 11 existing townhouse-style residential buildings and one community building owned by the Binghamton Housing Authority. The development is receiving funding from the Clean Energy Initiative. Developed by 3D Development Group.
Governor Hochul’s Housing Agenda Governor Hochul is dedicated to addressing New York’s housing crisis and making the State more affordable and more livable for all New Yorkers. As part of the FY25 Enacted Budget, the Governor secured a landmark agreement to increase New York’s housing supply through new tax incentives, capital funding, and new protections for renters and homeowners. Building on this commitment, the FY26 Enacted Budget includes more than $1.5 billion in new State funding for housing, a Housing Access Voucher pilot program, and new policies to improve affordability for tenants and homebuyers. These measures complement the Governor’s five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan, included in the FY23 Enacted Budget, to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. More than 60,000 homes have been created or preserved to date.
The FY25 and FY26 Enacted Budgets also strengthened the Governor’s Pro-Housing Community Program — which allows certified localities exclusive access to up to $750 million in discretionary State funding. Currently, more than 300 communities have received Pro Housing certification.
What you need to know: La Passeggiata on Lindsey Street in Stockton is the latest site to be transformed from excess, underutilized state land into affordable housing under Governor Newsom’s executive order.
STOCKTON — Today, state leaders broke ground on a new affordable housing community in downtown Stockton. Through an executive order signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the former state-owned site will be turned into 94 homes for low-income households.
“Once again, the Excess Sites program is helping transform state-owned land into something more: hope and stability for our state’s residents. California continues to lead by example in addressing the nation’s affordable housing crisis.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
The Excess Sites program is administered in partnership by the California Department of General Services (DGS) and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The program identifies state-owned land available and suitable for housing and creates a digital inventory of those properties through the State Excess Sites – Affordable Housing Opportunities Map Viewer. The sites are awarded to developers via a long-term ground lease allowing for low-cost development of affordable housing. This community is being developed by Visionary Home Builders of California.
“The State’s Excess Sites program continues to transform neighborhoods across California by turning underutilized state property into affordable housing and revitalizing communities,” Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss said. “This energy-efficient project will reduce the community’s carbon footprint and breathe new life into Downtown Stockton with housing and services for families and seniors.”
“Having grown up in Stockton, I am honored to be a part of this transformation to provide safe and stable housing for members of the community who need it most,” said Government Operations Secretary Nick Maduros. “This marks another step on California’s journey toward addressing housing needs while staying committed to our sustainability goals.”
Project details
The plans for La Passeggiata at 622 East Lindsey Street in Stockton include two buildings, five and six stories high, connected by a breezeway. The five-story building will have 39 one- and two-bedroom apartments, and the six-story building will have 55 two- and three-bedroom apartments. The units will have energy-efficient appliances, rooftop gardens, and will utilize solar energy for seniors and families.
“The modern, energy-efficient units at La Passeggiata will provide homes for dozens of local families who need an affordable place to live,” DGS Director Ana M. Lasso said. “This project harnesses the best of state, local and nonprofit collaboration to deliver much needed sustainable, affordable housing across the state.”
“Thanks to the Governor’s executive order, nearly an acre of land sitting unused in the heart of Stockton—blocks from the Civic Center and waterfront—will be transformed into critically needed affordable housing,” HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez said. “Through this ongoing partnership, we are connecting residents in need of housing stability to jobs, transit, amenities, and opportunity.”
From state land to affordable housing
In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order N-06-19, tasking HCD and DGS with tackling the state’s affordable housing crisis by identifying underutilized state-owned land that could be converted into affordable housing, considering factors such as proximity to job centers, amenities, and public transit. The order has since been utilized to create hundreds of affordable homes on nearly 50 state-owned sites, including:
248 new homes at Sugar Pine Village for families and workers in the Tahoe region
58 new homes for seniors under construction with an additional 150 new homes starting construction within the year at Mulberry Gardens Senior Apartments in Riverside
75 new homes at 750 Golden Gate Avenue with an additional 92 new homes at 850 Turk Street in San Francisco
58 new homes at Sonrisa in Sacramento
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A satellite image from Aug. 13, 2024, shows an algal bloom covering approximately 320 square miles (830 square km) of Lake Erie. By Aug. 22, it had nearly doubled in size.NASA Earth Observatory
Federal scientists released their annual forecast for Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms on June 26, 2025, and they expect a mild to moderate season. However, anyone who comes in contact with toxic algae can face health risks. And 2014, when toxins from algae blooms contaminated the water supply in Toledo, Ohio, was a moderate year, too.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s prediction for harmful algal bloom severity in Lake Erie compared with past years. NOAA
1. What causes harmful algal blooms?
Harmful algal blooms are dense patches of excessive algae growth that can occur in any type of water body, including ponds, reservoirs, rivers, lakes and oceans. When you see them in freshwater, you’re typically seeing cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.
These photosynthetic bacteria have inhabited our planet for billions of years. In fact, they were responsible for oxygenating Earth’s atmosphere, which enabled plant and animal life as we know it.
The leading source of harmful algal blooms today is nutrient runoff from fertilized farm fields. Michigan Sea Grant
Algae are natural components of ecosystems, but they cause trouble when they proliferate to high densities, creating what we call blooms.
The main sources of harmful algal blooms are excess nutrients in the water, typically phosphorus and nitrogen.
Historically, these excess nutrients mainly came from sewage and phosphorus-based detergents used in laundry machines and dishwashers that ended up in waterways. U.S. environmental laws in the early 1970s addressed this by requiring sewage treatment and banning phosphorus detergents, with spectacular success.
How pollution affected Lake Erie in the 1960s, before clean water regulations.
Today, agriculture is the main source of excess nutrients from chemical fertilizer or manure applied to farm fields to grow crops. Rainstorms wash these nutrients into streams and rivers that deliver them to lakes and coastal areas, where they fertilize algal blooms. In the U.S., most of these nutrients come from industrial-scale corn production, which is largely used as animal feed or to produce ethanol for gasoline.
2. What does your team’s DNA testing tell us about Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms?
Harmful algal blooms contain a mixture of cyanobacterial species that can produce an array of different toxins, many of which are still being discovered.
These novel molecules cannot be detected with traditional methods and show some signs of causing toxicity, though further studies are needed to confirm their human health effects.
Blue-green algae blooms in freshwater, like this one near Toledo in 2014, can be harmful to humans, causing gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, fever and skin irritation. They can be lethal for pets. Ty Wright for The Washington Post via Getty Images
We also found organisms responsible for producing saxitoxin, a potent neurotoxin that is well known for causing paralytic shellfish poisoning on the Pacific Coast of North America and elsewhere.
Our research suggests warmer water temperatures could boost its production, which raises concerns that saxitoxin will become more prevalent with climate change. However, the controls on toxin production are complex, and more research is needed to test this hypothesis. Federal monitoring programs are essential for tracking and understanding emerging threats.
The toxins can cause acute health problems such as gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, fever and skin irritation. Dogs can die from ingesting lake water with harmful algal blooms. Emerging science suggests that long-term exposure to harmful algal blooms, for example over months or years, can cause or exacerbate chronic respiratory, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems and may be linked to liver cancers, kidney disease and neurological issues.
The water intake system for the city of Toledo, Ohio, is surrounded by an algae bloom in 2014. Toxic algae got into the water system, resulting in residents being warned not to touch or drink their tap water for three days. AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari
In addition to exposure through direct ingestion or skin contact, recent research also indicates that inhaling toxins that get into the air may harm health, raising concerns for coastal residents and boaters, but more research is needed to understand the risks.
The Toledo drinking water crisis of 2014 illustrated the vast potential for algal blooms to cause harm in the Great Lakes. Toxins infiltrated the drinking water system and were detected in processed municipal water, resulting in a three-day “do not drink” advisory. The episode affected residents, hospitals and businesses, and it ultimately cost the city an estimated US$65 million.
4. Blooms seem to be starting earlier in the year and lasting longer – why is that happening?
Warmer waters are extending the duration of the blooms.
Scientific studies of western Lake Erie show that the potential cyanobacterial growth rate has increased by up to 30% and the length of the bloom season has expanded by up to a month from 1995 to 2022, especially in warmer, shallow waters. These results are consistent with our understanding of cyanobacterial physiology: Blooms like it hot – cyanobacteria grow faster at higher temperatures.
5. What can be done to reduce the likelihood of algal blooms in the future?
The best and perhaps only hope of reducing the size and occurrence of harmful algal blooms is to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the Great Lakes.
In Lake Erie, where nutrients come primarily from agriculture, that means improving agricultural practices and restoring wetlands to reduce the amount of nutrients flowing off of farm fields and into the lake. Early indications suggest that Ohio’s H2Ohio program, which works with farmers to reduce runoff, is making some gains in this regard, but future funding for H2Ohio is uncertain.
In places like Lake Superior, where harmful algal blooms appear to be driven by climate change, the solution likely requires halting and reversing the rapid human-driven increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Gregory J. Dick receives funding for harmful algal bloom research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the United States Geological Survey, and the National Institutes for Health. He serves on the Science Advisory Council for the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Tashkent, June 26 (Xinhua) — The key driving force behind the continuous deepening of cooperation between Central Asian countries and China is the shared focus on high-quality development as the main goal, Davron Toshpulatov, senior risk manager at Uzbekistan Mortgage Refinancing Company and Doctor of Economics, said in an interview with Xinhua.
According to him, from the point of view of the states of the region, including Uzbekistan, such a format of interaction not only corresponds to the tasks of modernization and structural reforms, but also opens the way to sustainable development. The expert emphasized that high-quality development has become a common value uniting the countries of Central Asia and China.
“Currently, Uzbekistan is going through an important stage of deep economic transformation, improving the business climate and modernizing the manufacturing sector,” noted D. Toshpulatov. In his opinion, the Chinese experience, especially in such areas as infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, green transition and innovation, serves as a practical guide for Uzbekistan. “It is especially valuable that the Chinese side shares its knowledge and technologies with us on the basis of openness and equal partnership,” he added.
D. Toshpulatov pointed out that cooperation covers a wide range of areas – from the construction of transport hubs and industrial parks to green energy and the digital economy. He cited such illustrative examples as Uzbek-Chinese industrial cooperation projects, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, as well as initiatives in the field of electric vehicles and renewable energy. “We receive not just technologies, but also an impetus for the modernization of local industries, the transition to a sustainable, innovative and inclusive economy,” the Xinhua interlocutor emphasized.
As the expert noted, it is equally important that China consistently promotes the concept of human-centered development. “This fully coincides with Uzbekistan’s goals in such areas as human capital development, professional education, healthcare and social stability,” he said. D. Toshpulatov cited the opening of the Lu Ban Workshops and cooperation in youth training as examples. According to him, these are practical steps that actually improve people’s living standards and strengthen the social base of modernization.
“Looking to the future with optimism, I am convinced that under the banner of high-quality development, Uzbekistan and China will continue to deepen their pragmatic partnership, jointly forming a green, intelligent, efficient and inclusive regional community,” the expert concluded. Such joint modernization, he added, is based on mutual understanding and mutual benefit, and this is the path that meets the strategic interests of Uzbekistan. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, June 26 (Xinhua) — As in previous years, on June 22, the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union without declaring war in 1941, hundreds of residents and visitors of the capital came to the Belorussky Station in Moscow to honor the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland. It was from here that trains with Red Army soldiers departed during the war, and for many relatives this station became the final place to say goodbye.
Here, “The Sacred War” was performed again – a song that became a symbol of the courage and unbending will of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. The composition, written in the first days of the war, is invariably heard at memorial events in Russia and abroad and has remained part of living historical memory for more than 80 years.
On June 22, hundreds of Muscovites came to the station to honor the memory of the fallen together with veterans. During the Great Patriotic War, trains with Red Army soldiers departed from here to the front. For many relatives, the farewell on the platform was their last meeting. Since 2005, on the initiative of the Moscow City Council of Veterans with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Moscow government, an annual patriotic event has been held at the Belorussky Station. Its key event is the performance of a song that appeared in the first days of the war.
THE BIRTH AND POWER OF THE “HOLY WAR”
The song “Sacred War” was written in the summer of 1941. As contemporaries recall, composer Alexander Alexandrov saw the poems of poet Vasily Lebedev-Kumach in a newspaper and immediately began composing the music. Rehearsals began the very next day.
“This song was probably needed like air, precisely in those days… Therefore, this power, this strength, this entire meaning that the authors of this song put into their work, lives on today, and is performed today,” explained the artistic director of the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A. V. Alexandrov, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Colonel Gennady Sachenyuk.
On June 26, 1941, “The Sacred War” was performed for the first time at the Belorussky Station. It was a one-song concert and its premiere at the same time. According to G. Sachenyuk, after the first chords there was silence, and the composer thought that the song had not been received. However, a few seconds later the station was filled with applause, the soldiers asked to perform it again and again.
KEEPER OF THE PEOPLE’S GENETIC CODE
The Alexandrov Ensemble has preserved the original sound of “The Sacred War” for decades. The song remains recognizable and symbolically important for each generation. According to the musicians, the strength of the work lies in the inseparable unity of poetry and music born of time.
“This song contains the genetic code of our people… something awakens inside, and you feel as one with your country, with everyone standing next to you,” the ensemble’s chief conductor, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Nikolai Kirillov, shared with a Xinhua correspondent.
“This is exactly the example of musical art, when both poetry and music are united and complement each other,” noted G. Sachenyuk. He added that the performers each time experience the same emotions as the people during the war.
According to official data, the Soviet Union lost about 27 million people during the Great Patriotic War. And so the song has a deeply personal meaning for millions of Russian families.
“This is the kind of music that many people sometimes even talk about with a lump in their throat, because it is connected with the history of each family,” emphasized the rector of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, Alexander Ryzhinsky.
“SONG AS A WEAPON”
A. Aleksandrov left personal memories of the creation and performance of the song. “I was never a military specialist, but I still had a powerful weapon in my hands. This is a song. A song that can also defeat the enemy, like any weapon. When I performed with the Red Banner Ensemble at train stations and other places in front of soldiers going to the front, this song was always listened to standing, with some special impulse, a holy mood. And not only the soldiers, but also we, the performers, often cried,” N. Kirillov read out the composer’s memories with a feeling of deep respect.
The ensemble’s performers admit that even today they can hardly contain their emotions when they go on stage with this song. It contains the tragedy of war, the feat of the people, the pain of loss and the triumph of life.
“Sometimes tears come, but since we are artists, we hold them back,” says choir member Dmitry Trunov, admitting that each performance is accompanied by a feeling of pride for the country and the realization that “The Sacred War” went to the front along with the soldiers. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) — The China Agricultural Development Bank said Thursday it has issued loans totaling about 2.7 trillion yuan (about 377 billion U.S. dollars) since 2021 to preserve the ecosystems of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.
In particular, the bank allocated 2.09 trillion yuan to protect the Yangtze River and 605.2 billion yuan to protect the ecosystem of the Yellow River basin. According to the bank, these loans have significantly supported efforts to preserve the ecosystems of China’s two main rivers.
The financial institution assured that it would expand its lending support for the protection of the two rivers, focusing on key areas such as water security, transport infrastructure, rural upliftment and food security.
The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, known as the “mother rivers” of China, are the first and second longest rivers in the country, respectively. The two river basins are considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. –0–
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
In 2025, it is planned to allocate about 4 billion rubles to subsidize preferential loans provided to support ongoing projects for the development of urban electric ground public transport in the regions. The planned funding for the budget three-year period will be 12 billion rubles, and in general from 2025 to 2042 – more than 41.7 billion rubles. An order has been signed containing the distribution of these funds.
Document
Order of June 23, 2025 No. 1617-r
The decision will guarantee co-financing of already started projects for construction, modernization and reconstruction of tram lines and infrastructure for them, as well as the acquisition of electric transport. Such projects are implemented on the basis of long-term concession agreements.
Participants in the program for subsidizing projects for the development of urban electric transport include Krasnodar and Perm Krais, Volgograd, Kursk, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, Saratov and Yaroslavl Oblasts. Participants have been receiving preferential loans for the implementation of such projects since 2023 as part of the state program “Development of the Transport System”. Subsidies from the federal budget to compensate for lost income due to the application of a preferential rate are allocated by VEB.RF in the form of a property contribution from the state.
Previously, the main administrator of budget funds in this area was the Ministry of Finance. The signed order transferred these functions to the Ministry of Transport.
According to him, further implementation of the decisions taken will help reduce noise on city streets, reduce emissions due to more environmentally friendly rolling stock, and most importantly, make travel by transport more comfortable and safer.
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.
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev held a meeting of the Presidium of the Government Commission on the Socio-Economic Development of the Far East.
“We continue to work on the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on the development of the Far East. Today we are holding another meeting of the Presidium of the Government Commission for the Development of the Far East. We will be the first to review the changes made to the plans for the social development of economic growth centers. In total, during the work of the commission under the presidential Far Eastern single subsidy program, more than 2,000 social facilities have been built and reconstructed in the Far East – schools, hospitals, kindergartens, FAPs, cultural and sports facilities, about 2,000 courtyards have been repaired. The implementation of the plans continues,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting.
The agenda included issues of changes to the plans for social development of economic growth centers in the Far Eastern regions and support for investment projects. The Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Alexey Chekunkov, reported on the regions’ proposals.
At the meeting, the revised volumes of work on the creation of tourist trails and routes in Buryatia, Transbaikalia, Kamchatka and Chukotka were supported.
Primorsky Krai has been approved for additional funding for a new event to improve the territory adjacent to the building of the branch of the National Center “Russia” in order to create a permanent exhibition of the National Center “Russia”.
Thanks to savings on previously allocated funds, regions will be able to carry out additional activities. In Kamchatka Krai, 11 new events will be held to develop Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Khabarovsk Krai will be able to purchase four additional Class C ambulances for district hospitals. In Amur Oblast, the planned gas boiler house in Tynda will be provided with emergency heat supply. In Zabaikalsky Krai, documentation will be developed for the creation of the Temujin architectural complex based on the design project of Zhigzhit Bayaskhalov.
The implementation of an investment project for the construction of residential microdistricts in the city of Bolshoy Kamen for employees of the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex was discussed.
“The Zvezda Shipyard is an important project, the largest shipyard in Russia, and the object of attention of the President of the Russian Federation. Let’s see what needs to be done to ensure that the company’s employees are provided with housing as soon as possible,” Yuri Trutnev emphasized.
The housing construction project is being implemented at the Bolshoy Kamen priority development area simultaneously with the construction of the shipyard. The total housing demand is 5,795 apartments, which are being built in seven microdistricts within the framework of three projects: 444 apartments (PJSC NK Rosneft), 756 apartments (Primorsky Krai Government), 4,595 apartments (JSC VEB.DV and JSC DOM.RF). At present, a total of 38 residential buildings with 2,666 apartments have been commissioned. More than 3,000 apartments still need to be built.
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.
The population’s mortgage debt increased by 0.3% over the month. This is close to the April figures, despite the fact that the largest banks have cancelled the commissions they took from developers. Most mortgage loans are still issued within the framework of state programs (85%).
The consumer loan portfolio stabilised in May after falling 0.7% in April, with people actively using credit cards with an interest-free grace period. Claims on companies (including bonds) rose by a moderate 0.4% after 1.1% the previous month.
Corporate funds in bank accounts increased by 0.4% after a 0.7% decline in April, due to large tax payments. The growth of household funds slowed to 0.2% (from 2.8% a month earlier). This may be due to high spending during the holidays and the advance payment of May social payments in April.
The banking sector’s profit, excluding dividends from Russian subsidiary banks, amounted to 296 billion rubles (261 billion rubles in April). Since the beginning of the year, banks have earned 1.3 trillion rubles, which is 10% lower than the profit for the same period last year.
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
Please attribute to Counties Manukau District Commander, Superintendent Shanan Gray:
One person has died, and another is in a critical condition following an incident in Manurewa overnight.
A critical incident investigation is now underway, which will establish the full circumstances of what unfolded.
At about 1am, a Police unit was travelling along Roscommon Road after attending an unrelated job.
Staff have then sighted a Mitsubishi vehicle pulling out of Sharland Road closely followed by an Isuzu.
Officers were concerned the Mitsubishi was being chased by the Isuzu and signalled for the Isuzu to stop on Roscommon Road.
Moments after lights and sirens were activated the Isuzu made contact with the Mitsubishi, causing the vehicle to leave the road and collide with a tree.
Officers immediately rendered first aid, however the passenger of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver was transported to hospital in a critical condition, where they remain.
The driver of the Isuzu was arrested at the scene and transported to hospital with minor injuries.
A scene examination has been completed by the Serious Crash Unit and the road has since reopened.
There are several investigations now underway, which will work to establish all the facts surrounding this morning’s tragic incident.
This includes notifying the Independent Police Conduct Authority, as is standard procedure.
We are also working to support those affected and their families, as well as our staff who were involved.
As part of our investigation, we are seeking information from witnesses who may have been in the area at the time, or prior to this incident occurring.
If you have information, please update Police online now or call 105.
A Michigan doctor was sentenced today to four years in prison for a $6.3 million Medicare fraud scheme in which elderly and disabled patients were sent thousands of orthotic braces that they did not need.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sophie Toya, M.D., 56, of Bloomfield Hills, prescribed over 7,900 orthotic braces to more than 2,600 Medicare patients during a six-month period. The patients were solicited through deceptive television commercials offering free back braces. When they called the advertised telephone number, they were persuaded to accept braces for other parts of their bodies, with the promise that Medicare would pay. Toya spoke to some of these patients briefly over the phone, and she had no contact at all with the others. Toya nonetheless signed orders prescribing more than 7,900 braces, including prescribing four or more braces to nearly 1,000 patients.
Toya prescribed as many as 136 braces in a day, 12 braces for a single patient, and numerous braces for undercover agents posing as Medicare beneficiaries after speaking with them by telephone for less than a minute. The prescriptions and accompanying medical records signed by Toya falsely represented that the braces were medically necessary and that she diagnosed the beneficiaries, had a plan of care for them, and recommended that they receive certain additional treatment. In the case of one patient, to whom Toya prescribed five braces for which Medicare was billed $3,883, she falsely attested that she evaluated the patient and that the patient was mobile when, in fact, the patient had long been confined to a wheelchair, could not walk or stand, and was suffering from a dangerous spinal infection that could not be treated by braces but instead required spinal surgery.
Toya’s false prescriptions were used by brace supply companies to bill Medicare more than $6.3 million. Toya was paid approximately $120,000 by purported telemedicine companies in exchange for signing the fraudulent prescriptions.
On May 10, 2024, Toya was convicted following an eight-day trial on one count of health care fraud and five counts of false statements relating to health care matters. Toya was also ordered to pay $3,606,935 in restitution and $120,475 in forfeiture.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director in Charge Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. The case was charged as part of Operation Rubber Stamp, a coordinated nationwide law enforcement operation that targeted medical professionals who participated in fraudulent telemedicine schemes.
Assistant Chief Rebecca Yuan and Trial Attorney Chris Wenger of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
A Michigan doctor was sentenced today to four years in prison for a $6.3 million Medicare fraud scheme in which elderly and disabled patients were sent thousands of orthotic braces that they did not need.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sophie Toya, M.D., 56, of Bloomfield Hills, prescribed over 7,900 orthotic braces to more than 2,600 Medicare patients during a six-month period. The patients were solicited through deceptive television commercials offering free back braces. When they called the advertised telephone number, they were persuaded to accept braces for other parts of their bodies, with the promise that Medicare would pay. Toya spoke to some of these patients briefly over the phone, and she had no contact at all with the others. Toya nonetheless signed orders prescribing more than 7,900 braces, including prescribing four or more braces to nearly 1,000 patients.
Toya prescribed as many as 136 braces in a day, 12 braces for a single patient, and numerous braces for undercover agents posing as Medicare beneficiaries after speaking with them by telephone for less than a minute. The prescriptions and accompanying medical records signed by Toya falsely represented that the braces were medically necessary and that she diagnosed the beneficiaries, had a plan of care for them, and recommended that they receive certain additional treatment. In the case of one patient, to whom Toya prescribed five braces for which Medicare was billed $3,883, she falsely attested that she evaluated the patient and that the patient was mobile when, in fact, the patient had long been confined to a wheelchair, could not walk or stand, and was suffering from a dangerous spinal infection that could not be treated by braces but instead required spinal surgery.
Toya’s false prescriptions were used by brace supply companies to bill Medicare more than $6.3 million. Toya was paid approximately $120,000 by purported telemedicine companies in exchange for signing the fraudulent prescriptions.
On May 10, 2024, Toya was convicted following an eight-day trial on one count of health care fraud and five counts of false statements relating to health care matters. Toya was also ordered to pay $3,606,935 in restitution and $120,475 in forfeiture.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director in Charge Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. The case was charged as part of Operation Rubber Stamp, a coordinated nationwide law enforcement operation that targeted medical professionals who participated in fraudulent telemedicine schemes.
Assistant Chief Rebecca Yuan and Trial Attorney Chris Wenger of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
June 26, 2025
Reports reveal ICE held people for days with little food and water, cramped cells, lack of access to health care
ICE recently changed policy to inhibit Congressional oversight, prevent Americans’ representatives from witnessing ICE’s violations
“We are disturbed that ICE appears to be using the Burlington facility beyond its original design to detain people in inadequate conditions in Massachusetts — and that ICE is undermining public transparency and accountability.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) led the entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation in writing to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons and ICE ERO Boston Acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde, pressing them on whether ICE has been violating agency standards by holding detainees in inhumane conditions at a local processing facility in Burlington, Massachusetts. The lawmakers also warned of the damage from a new ICE policy to shield field offices from public view by preventing members of Congress from making unannounced visits as part of their oversight — a key function of their job to serve their constituents.
U.S. Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) also joined Senators Warren and Markey on the letter.
“We are disturbed that ICE appears to be using the Burlington facility beyond its original design to detain people in inadequate conditions in Massachusetts — and that ICE is undermining public transparency and accountability,” wrote the lawmakers.
New reports reveal that ICE is holding people for days at a time at a field office in Burlington, Massachusetts, an office building designed to process people for no more than a few hours. ICE’s own policy says that, barring “exceptional circumstances,” no one should be detained in a field office holding facility for over 12 hours. But in recent months, ICE has used the Burlington office as a “de facto detention facility,” with conditions made worse by the Administration’s attempts to triple the number of ICE arrests per day.
Conditions at the facility are reportedly abysmal, including inadequate food, drinking water, beds, medical care, hygiene supplies, and more. These conditions appear to violate ICE’s own standards, warranting immediate attention.
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security issued new guidance prohibiting members of Congress from making unannounced visits to field offices, undermining lawmakers’ ability to conduct oversight on ICE’s practices and promote transparency. Meanwhile, ICE continues to dispute individuals’ reports of inadequate and inhumane conditions at field offices across the country.
“In effect, ICE appears to be violating its own detention standards, denying reports of violations, and then preventing the American public’s representatives from witnessing those violations,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers requested a congressional briefing and pushed for answers regarding the reportedly inhumane conditions at the Burlington facility and ICE’s intentions to rectify this situation, with a deadline of July 10.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
June 26, 2025
As key vaccine panel meets, Sen. Warren highlights a dozen actions by RFK Jr. to undermine access to vaccines, endangering millions of Americans
“By breaking promises, distorting facts, and pushing out mainstream vaccine experts and disregarding their views while installing anti-vaccination zealots, RFK Jr. has jeopardized the health of millions.”
Report (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) published a new report entitled “Bad Medicine: RFK Jr.’s Dirty Dozen Antivax Attacks,” underscoring the key ways Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.) has undermined vaccine access and confidence in vaccines and jeopardized Americans’ health. The report was published during the first meeting of the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which RFK Jr. gutted and replaced with members who will advance his own anti-vaccine agenda.
“Americans should watch carefully to ensure that RFK Jr. and his hand-picked committee do not further undermine public health,” wrote Senator Warren.
Senator Warren’s “dirty dozen” list of anti-vaccine activities that occurred under RFK Jr.’s watch includes:
“Burying” a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that “emphasized the importance of vaccinating people against the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease,” measles. The report, originally set to be released amidst a growing measles outbreak, found that the risk of contracting measles was high in communities near outbreaks with low vaccination rates.
Promoting pseudoscience remedies and falsehoods while downplaying threats from measles as an outbreak swept across the country. Kennedy falsely claimed that the measles vaccine had not been “safely tested” and that its protection was short-lived. Kennedy pushed false information on X that “cod liver oil” and “Vitamin A” would be an effective treatment. As a result, some unvaccinated children who “were given so much Vitamin A…had signs of liver damage.” After the first death from the disease, he claimed that the outbreak was “not unusual” and failed to mention vaccination as a key to stopping the outbreak.
Ending the “Let’s Get Real” vaccine campaign, which provided resources and information to health care providers for communicating and working with hesitant parents.
Removing the COVID vaccine from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, without consulting CDC experts.
Commissioning and publishing the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report, advancing scientifically dubious assertions, filled with distorted research and inaccurate claims about vaccine safety. The MAHA report misleadingly claimed that vaccines are responsible for “many possible adverse events for which there is inadequate evidence to accept or reject a causal relationship.” The MAHA report also cited multiple studies that did not exist, and researchers whose papers were cited indicated that the report had misinterpreted their findings.
Canceling a promising study to develop a Bird Flu vaccine, even as the newest strain of the disease spreads, infecting more than 70 people, and public health officials become increasingly concerned about a broader outbreak.
Ending funding for a broad swath of HIV vaccine studies, potentially setting back US-led efforts to end the global AIDS pandemic by a decade.
Reneging on his promise to “work within the current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems and maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes,” on February 20th, Kennedy canceled ACIP’s first public meeting of 2025, before firing all the members of the panel on June 9th. ACIP is an independent panel of experts that makes recommendations to the CDC on vaccines. Kennedy also removed the staffers who oversaw ACIP and were responsible for vetting nominees for ACIP membership, effectively leaving the CDC’s chief of staff, a Trump Administration political appointee, in charge of the committee’s planning.
Breaking his pledge not to appoint ideological anti-vaxxers to ACIP, Kennedy named eight new members to the panel, of which at least half are vaccine skeptics. According to various CDC officials, Kennedy circumvented the CDC’s process to select his new committee members.
Announcing in his first address to agency staff as HHS secretary, Kennedy said he would use the Make America Healthy Again commission to investigate the childhood vaccination schedule, despite his baseless claims that it contributes to poor health outcomes.
Hiring David Geier, a known vaccine skeptic who has promoted the debunked link between immunizations and autism, to study the theory. More than a decade ago, state regulators disciplined Grier for practicing medicine without a license.
Forcing Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) top vaccine official and head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, to step down after Dr. Marks refused to comply with Secretary Kennedy’s wish for “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”
“During his tenure as the HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. has systematically weakened the nation’s vaccine system, stoking parents’ fears and using his position to push his anti-vaccine agenda and limit access to vaccines,” wrote Senator Warren. “Vaccines are vital to protecting the lives of millions, and if Secretary Kennedy is successful in dismantling the nation’s vaccine system, the nation will face an extraordinary public health crisis.”
This week, Senator Warren slammed RFK Jr. for his “reckless” and “shortsighted” decision to fire all 17 independent members of the ACIP and replace them with his own hand-picked nominees. Ahead of today’s meeting, Senator Warren pressed RFK Jr. on his conflicts of interest and those of his appointees, raising concerns about their ability to make public health decisions that benefit Americans rather than line their own pockets.
Headline: Less Than a Month Left to Apply for FEMA Assistance for South Texas Severe Storms and Flooding
Less Than a Month Left to Apply for FEMA Assistance for South Texas Severe Storms and Flooding
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas residents who have been affected by the March severe storms and flooding have less than a month left to apply for FEMA assistance
Homeowners and renters in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties who were displaced or have property damage from the March 26-28 storms have until Tuesday, July 22, 2025, to submit an application for FEMA assistance
After the deadline, survivors can still upload information and submit paperwork to their FEMA account
To date, FEMA has approved more than $59
2 million in federal and state assistance for Texas survivors
There are many types of assistance available for survivors who need help covering costs for things like rental expenses, home repairs, vehicle damage, medical expenses, moving and storage, and reimbursement for temporary housing
There are three ways to apply:Visit a Disaster Recovery Center
To find a center close to you, go online to: DRC Locator, or text DRC along with your Zip Code to 43362 (Ex: DRC 78552)
Go online to DisasterAssistance
govDownload the FEMA App for mobile devices Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a
m
and 10 p
m
CT
Help is available in most languages
To view an accessible video about how to apply visit: Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTubeResidents and businesses in the four eligible counties can also apply for a low-interest disaster loan from the U
S
Small Business Administration (SBA) to help recover
Texas residents can apply for a disaster loan online at SBA
gov/disaster or by calling 800-659-2955
To find a Texas location for in-person assistance, visit appointment
sba
gov/schedule/
No appointment is necessary
For more information about the loans available and how to apply, visit: SBA Loans Are a Meaningful Option for Texas Storm Survivors
For the latest information about Texas’ recovery, visit fema
