Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
One person has died after a crash on Papakura-Clevedon Road last night, where a vehicle left the road and entered a creek.
Police were called to the scene about 6.45pm.
Sadly, one person died at the scene.
The Serious Crash Unit has examined the scene, and enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Source: South Africa News Agency
Two Border Management Authority (BMA) Immigration officials, together with several other suspects, are facing charges of corruption after being arrested at an intelligence-driven operation at the Beitbridge Port of Entry.
The operation conducted by the BMA resulted in the arrest of the two BMA Immigration officials, five undocumented foreign nationals and two suspected facilitators involved in the alleged unlawful entry of persons into the Republic, and the contravention of the Immigration Act.
The operation, executed on Tuesday at approximately 09:00, was led by two executive members of the BMA following extensive movement monitoring and the deployment of advanced technological surveillance at the port.
After confirming suspicious behaviour, the executives immediately contacted South African Police Service (SAPS) Detectives in Musina, the Limpopo Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit and the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) to process the case further.
During the operation, the executives observed a white Mercedes-Benz taxi parked near a shop at the port. Two BMA Immigration officials, a 61-year-old female and a 44-year-old male, were seen engaging with the facilitator and subsequently allowed the taxi to pass through, allegedly after receiving a bribe.
The vehicle was intercepted shortly thereafter and was found to be transporting 18 passengers, 13 of whom held valid travel documents, while five were undocumented foreign nationals.
A female passenger and the taxi driver, believed to have facilitated the illegal entry, were also arrested.
All nine suspects were charged with corruption and appeared before the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. The five undocumented individuals face additional charges under the Immigration Act. The case has been postponed to today [Thursday] for a formal bail application.
The BMA has since suspended the two implicated officials, pending the outcome of both internal disciplinary processes and the criminal investigation.
Acting Commissioner of the BMA, Jane Thupana, has commended the proactive involvement of the BMA executive team on the ground and reaffirmed the authority’s commitment to cleaning up the system.
“This operation reflects the BMA’s firm stance against corruption within its ranks. I applaud the executive members for leading from the front and taking decisive action to restore integrity at one of our busiest ports,” Thupana said.
“We are resolute in disrupting illegal facilitation networks and holding every official accountable to the highest standards of conduct,” Thupana said.
She said the operation strengthens the BMA’s resolve to roll out body-worn cameras (BWCs) across all ports of entry. During the Easter period, 40 body cameras were deployed across various sites, enhancing monitoring capabilities and supporting real-time accountability.
“The implementation of body cameras is not just about oversight: it’s about protecting both the official and the public, and ensuring that every interaction at our ports is transparent, lawful and traceable,” she said.
Beitbridge port of entry remains South Africa’s busiest land border and a key commercial gateway into the African continent.
With increased movements expected during the return leg of the Easter travel period, the BMA continued to intensify its operational presence at ports and along the borderline, with a strong focus on intercepting illegal movement and dismantling facilitation syndicates. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: US State of New York
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that construction is underway on a $3.4 million project that will enhance motorist safety and improve traffic flow along an important travel route in Saratoga County and a key gateway to the historic City of Saratoga Springs. The project is reconfiguring the traditional four-way, signalized intersection of New York State Route 29, Rowland Street and Petrified Sea Gardens Road in the Town of Milton into a modern, single-lane roundabout that will reduce congestion and points of potential vehicle conflict. The intersection is less than three miles away from Saratoga Springs’ bustling downtown district.
“New Yorkers need the best and safest roads so they can travel to work, visit their families and shop for leisure,” Governor Hochul said. “While we are transforming the infrastructure of our state and connecting our roads to ensure safer and more efficient travel, the construction of this new roundabout on State Route 29 in Saratoga County would not be possible without our roadside workers, who risk their lives every day delivering for our state and keep us moving.”
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State continues to lead the way in reimagining our infrastructure to better connect communities and get people where they need to go safely and efficiently. The transformation of this intersection along State Route 29 into a roundabout will reduce vehicle congestion along a vital travel corridor in Saratoga County and make it easier to reach one of the sparkling jewels of upstate New York, the City of Saratoga Springs.”
State Route 29 — also known as Washington Street — is a major east-west artery that connects the Town of Milton with Saratoga Springs and its many popular attractions, including the Saratoga Race Course and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Rowland Street is also a key north-south local connector that provides access to local residential communities as well as the Saratoga County Airport.
The new roundabout will improve overall traffic conditions by reducing idling time and allowing vehicles to navigate the intersection more efficiently.
Roundabouts are engineered to maximize safety and minimize congestion. Compared to some traditional intersections, traffic flows more freely through roundabouts, cutting congestion and commute times. Crashes at roundabouts tend to be less severe because they typically occur at slower speeds. Roundabouts also eliminate the need for electric-powered traffic signals. Watch a video about how to safely navigate a roundabout.
To minimize disruptions, the New York State Department of Transportation will maintain traffic in each direction on State Route 29 throughout construction. The project is expected to be in its final stages in early June and is not expected to impact travel to the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which runs from June 4 through June 8. Construction is expected to be substantially complete by late June, well before the start of the regular race season at the Saratoga Race Course.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said, “The intersection of Rowland Street and Petrified Sea Gardens Road is part of one of Saratoga’s most vital routes. Thanks to $1 million in federal funding from my Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, we are paving the way for a safer roundabout that will improve traffic flow. These improvements will make it easier for residents and visitors to reach the historic Saratoga Springs and travel throughout the Capital Region more easily and safely. I’m grateful that Governor Hochul is putting these federal dollars to good use to improve safety along this key gateway.”
Saratoga County Administrator Steve Bulger said, “Saratoga County is pleased to see new infrastructure investments as our County continues to grow. We believe this new roundabout will improve traffic flow at a key intersection that will benefit our constituents moving forward.”
Town of Milton Supervisor Scott Ostrander said, “Our town is one of the fastest growing towns in the County. Unfortunately, it’s growing faster than everyone has expected. I think the roundabout is a positive for our town because it will clear up the congested traffic in our town with the roundabout creating a steady flow of traffic which will hopefully take care of the congestion problem with the population continuously growing.”
About the Department of Transportation
It is the mission of the New York State Department of Transportation to provide a safe, reliable, equitable, and resilient transportation system that connects communities, enhances quality of life, protects the environment, and supports the economic well-being of New York State.
Lives are on the line; slow down and move over for highway workers!
Follow New York State DOT on Twitter: @NYSDOT and @NYSDOT_NYC. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/NYSDOT.
Source: United Nations – Geneva
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today held an informal meeting with States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Opening the meeting, Michal Balcerzak, Committee Chair, said this year was the sixtieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention. This was a moment of reflection, not only on past achievements, but also on the current and future viability of the treaty body system. The Committee was facing turbulent times, and many challenges were undermining the realisation of human rights and racial equality.
Mr. Balcerzak called on States parties to renew commitment to fully respect and effectively implement obligations under international human rights law, including the Convention. Prompt action was needed to end current conflicts, address the root causes of racial discrimination, and prevent further human rights violations targeting people based on their national or ethnic origin and identity.
Régine Esseneme, Committee Vice-Chair, said the Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 1965 and entered into force in 1969. It covered all areas of human rights and fundamental freedoms and had been ratified by 182 countries. For several years, States parties had submitted fewer reports to the Committee, often choosing to combine reports over longer periods.
The discussion with States parties addressed topics including the liquidity crisis facing the Committee and the United Nations treaty body system, cooperation with the Committee, commemoration of the Convention’s sixtieth anniversary, the Committee’s simplified reporting and individual communications procedures, hybrid dialogues, and measures to prevent racial discrimination.
Speaking in the discussion were Mexico, Finland, Belgium, Bolivia, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, China and Cuba.
The programme of work and other documents related to the Committee’s one hundred and fifteenth session can be found here. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Friday, 25 April at 3 p.m. to hold a half-day general discussion on reparations for the injustices from the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans, their treatment as chattel, and the ongoing harms to and crimes against people of African descent.
Opening Statements
MICHAL BALCERZAK, Committee Chair, said this year was the sixtieth anniversary of the entry into force of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This was a moment of reflection, not only on past achievements, but also on the current and future viability of the treaty body system. The Committee was facing turbulent times, and many challenges were undermining the realisation of human rights and racial equality.
In the last 60 years, there had been progress in the fight against racial discrimination. However, progress had not occurred at the pace and to the extent needed and expected by marginalised groups and victims of racial discrimination, and today, there were serious risks of backsliding. The Committee called on States parties to renew commitment to fully respect and effectively implement obligations under international human rights law, including the Convention. Prompt action was needed to end current conflicts, address the root causes of racial discrimination, and prevent further human rights violations targeting people based on their national or ethnic origin and identity.
The United Nations treaty body system was faced by an unprecedented crisis marked by acute financial and liquidity constraints. These challenges struck at the very core of the Committee’s ability to carry out its mandate effectively. The downsizing of resources had already begun to significantly impair the Committee’s work. Under the Convention, the expenses of the Committee were required to be borne by State parties. The current situation raised serious concerns about the sustainability of this obligation. The Committee was facing the real risk of reducing its activities, and, in a worst-case scenario, cancelling sessions due to lack of resources. This year, the second and third sessions of the Committee were not yet confirmed. Weakening of the Committee would not only weaken international human rights oversight but also send a troubling signal about the collective will to combat racial discrimination globally.
In addition, the Committee was increasingly impacted by a drop in timely reporting by States parties – a trend that undermined its ability to plan and hold dialogue sessions, notably for the years 2026 and 2027. But despite these challenges, the Committee remained steadfast. On average, it reviewed 18 State party reports per year, consistently worked to refine its methods of work, and continued to engage in meaningful, forward-looking initiatives in line with its mandate.
This year marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention, which was adopted on 21 December 1965. To mark this auspicious occasion, the Committee and its Secretariat were working in collaboration with partners on a year-long campaign throughout 2025. The campaign highlighted the foundational importance of the Convention for the fight against racial discrimination, and focused attention on its continued relevance today. It would stimulate discussions on effective practices to address structural and emerging challenges in preventing and combatting racial discrimination and aimed to renew the commitment for the effective implementation of the Convention.
The Committee encouraged all States parties to the Convention to contribute to the anniversary by taking concrete action to implement the Convention, including jointly with other States and stakeholders, at the local, national, regional or international levels. The Committee would hold a high-level commemorative event, tentatively scheduled to take place on 4 December 2025. The active support of States parties and all stakeholders in the organization of this event was crucial for its success.
The Committee had adopted general recommendation 37 in 2024 on equality and freedom from racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health. This general recommendation clarified the obligations undertaken under the Convention regarding the right to health and provided guidance on measures to address concerns in line with the Convention.
Currently, the Committee was working with the Committee on Migrant Workers on a joint general recommendation on xenophobia; regional consultations were held last year to inform the drafting. It was also elaborating a general recommendation on reparations, which would provide guidance on the scope and content of the right to reparations under international human rights law, particularly concerning the harms of the forced capture of Africans, the transatlantic transport of those captives, their enslavement as chattel, and the massive and continuing harms suffered by their descendants.
The Committee called on States parties to provide advice on how to address the unprecedented crisis affecting the treaty body system.
RÉGINE ESSENEME, Committee Vice-Chair, said the Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 1965 and entered into force in 1969. It covered all areas of human rights and fundamental freedoms and had been ratified by 182 countries. These States parties had committed to engaging in the Committee’s periodic review process, under which each State party was obliged to submit an initial report after one year of ratification and subsequent periodic reports every two years. For several years however, States parties had submitted fewer reports to the Committee, often choosing to combine reports over longer periods.
Most States had submitted to the Committee’s simplified reporting procedure, but given its resource limitations, the Committee prioritised States with reports overdue by more than 10 years for this procedure. Currently, 78 States parties had significant delays in the submission of reports. The Committee sought States’ views on this issue and on methods of fostering collaboration with States parties to ensure that they honoured their commitments under the Convention.
Discussion with States Parties
In the ensuing discussion, representatives of States parties said, among other things, that the Convention, the first fundamental human rights treaty, was an essential tool for combatting racial discrimination. Speakers expressed commitment to fulfilling their obligations under the Convention and eliminating racial discrimination, xenophobia and social exclusion, and to cooperating with the Committee. They thanked the Committee for its work in eliminating racial discrimination. Cooperating with the Committee gave States the ability to ensure the highest possible implementation of the Convention.
Many speakers said they would join in the commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention, which offered an opportunity for renewing commitments under the Convention and addressing modern challenges related to racial discrimination, including hate speech, discrimination and xenophobic practices. They expressed concern about the United Nations’ liquidity crisis, which impacted the Committee’s work.
Speakers presented measures to prevent racial discrimination and promote racial equality; recognise the status and promote the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their participation in policy development; and participate in the Committee’s reporting procedure and follow-up on the recommendations of the Committee.
Some speakers proposed that the Committee held hybrid meetings with States when necessary to promote the participation of civil servants with specific knowledge and civil society in States with limited resources. One speaker called for the hybrid meeting tools used by the United Nations to guarantee the equal participation of all States. Some speakers called on the Committee to strengthen its cooperation with regional mechanisms and other international bodies, including the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.
One speaker said that individual communications needed to be handled effectively. How did the Committee monitor the implementation of its decision on individual communications?
Some speakers noted that the Committee had decided to extend the simplified reporting procedure to all States parties, but at the same time requested many States to continue using the regular reporting procedure as their reports were not overdue by 10 years. Why had the Committee decided to do this? The simplified reporting procedure would ease States’ reporting burden. Without this procedure, future report submissions could be delayed, they said. Other speakers, however, said that there were disadvantages to the simplified procedure, expressing support for the regular reporting procedure. One speaker said that efforts to simplify reporting procedures needed to be balanced with efforts to establish a predictable reporting calendar.
One speaker expressed concern regarding unilateral coercive measures and human rights violations against migrants, including their illegal deportation to other States. Another speaker raised the issue of trans-Atlantic slavery, expressing support for a new United Nations instrument on the rights of people of African descent.
Statements and Responses by Committee Experts
MICHAL BALCERZAK, Committee Chair, thanked States for the proposals they had put forward. He said that the Committee offered the possibility of hybrid dialogues, which were not currently shortened compared to regular dialogues. The Committee regretted that it did not have the possibility to hold hybrid meetings with other stakeholders.
The simplified reporting procedure was a crucial issue. There was a problem with this procedure in that it was not, in fact, simple from the perspective of the Committee and its secretariat. If the Committee had more capacity to prepare lists of issues prior to reporting, it would have done so.
The Chair encouraged States parties to engage in events to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention, information on which was available online. He also called for further dialogue between the Committee and regional bodies.
NOUREDDIN AMIR, Committee Expert, said that Committee Experts were elected by States every two years on a rolling basis. They sought to achieve States’ aspirations to better fulfil their human rights obligations. The Committee was committed to combatting racism and injustice, which was everywhere. It needed to promote discussions between belligerents in the wars that were currently raging. Women and children were being killed in Palestine. States needed to take responsibility for these issues, stop criminals, and seek justice for those whose voices were not heard. The International Court of Justice needed to be able to condemn States that carried out forbidden acts against international law.
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert, said that the Committee’s individual communications procedure had not yet reached its full potential, as around one-third of States parties to the Convention had not accepted the procedure. Last year, the Committee adopted decisions on 48 complaints and found violations in 27 of them. The Committee advocated for this procedure, which created an opportunity to remedy harms caused by racial discrimination and to prevent future violations. States parties could deploy junior professionals to support the Working Group on individual communications. The Committee invited States to accept the individual communications procedure, which would reenforce their efforts to combat racial discrimination effectively.
FAITH DIKELEDI PANSY TLAKULA, Committee Expert, said that the Committee had strengthened its relationship with regional human rights mechanisms, contacting relevant regional bodies regarding their assessment of follow-up efforts to the Committee’s concluding observations. The concluding observations contained recommendations for improving the implementation of the Convention, which were to be implemented within one year. States parties were required to submit follow-up reports on the implementation of these recommendations, but only one-third of States parties submitted reports, which often did not demonstrate sufficient implementation of the recommendations. The Committee called on all States to submit these reports.
VERENE ALBERTHA SHEPHERD, Committee Vice-Chair, expressed pleasure that several States parties from the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean region were attending the meeting. She was the only Expert on the Committee from this region. She called on these States to promote the appointment of more Experts from the region. It was regrettable that some countries had difficulty in using hybrid tools offered for participation in dialogue, and that some non-governmental organizations could not attend meetings with the Committee. The Committee would address these issues.
Ms. Shepherd said that a second International Decade for People of African Descent had been established by the General Assembly. She called on all States to participate in commemorations of the Decade. The Committee used an intersectional lens when addressing racial discrimination to address issues such as gender. In closing, she called on States to financially support the Committee to address its liquidity crisis.
GAY MCDOUGALL, Committee Vice-Chair, said that the Committee had issued general recommendation 25 on gender, in which it committed to taking an intersectional approach to gender. The Committee was also committed to assessing the relationship between racial discrimination and economic marginalisation. It was assessing opportunities for decent work for ethnic minorities, as well as access to education and other social services.
The Committee was concerned by its shrinking resources and capacity to do its work. It was in the worst situation of any treaty body in terms of resources. Although it had one of the most ratified treaties, the Committee received among the lowest number of reports. Why was this?
RÉGINE ESSENEME, Committee Vice-Chair, said the legal basis for the presentation of reports was article nine, paragraph one of the Convention. The purpose of the simplified reporting procedure was to encourage States to submit reports. However, it had not led to an increase in the number of reports that the Committee received. The Committee was affected by a lack of human and financial resources. The simplified reporting procedure was not simple for the Committee; it was thus the exception and not the rule. States needed to respect their reporting obligations under the Convention.
CHINSUNG CHUNG, Committee Expert, said the Committee and all nine treaty bodies had inter-State communications procedures. The Committee had received and considered three inter-State communications, and amicable solutions to two of these complaints had been found. A third communication had been received from the State of Palestine against Israel in 2018. The Committee had issued six recommendations in relation to this communication. What steps could the Committee take to ensure that its recommendations would be implemented? Ms. Chung encouraged States to cooperate with the inter-State communications procedure.
IBRAHIMA GUISSE, Committee Expert, said that the Committee had set up an early warning mechanism to prevent existing issues from becoming conflicts. The mechanism could intervene if there was a lack of legislation or mechanisms to prevent racial discrimination, or to react to discriminatory statements or actions. The Committee had recently adopted decisions under this procedure related to Sudan and the State of Palestine, which had been cited by the International Court of Justice. Most conflicts in the world stemmed from racial or religious issues. The Committee could be a major force to prevent such crises, but it needed the support of States in this regard.
BAKARI SIDIKI DIABY, Committee Expert, commended the efforts of States parties to engage in dialogue with the Committee. Some States had not come before the Committee for more than 20 years. The simplified procedure was set up to assist such States. The Committee also had the power to examine States parties in the absence of a report if necessary and it had done so in the past. It called on all States to help victims protected by the Convention and to engage in dialogue with the Committee. States also needed to cooperate with civil society in preparation for dialogues. Some members of civil society who had cooperated with the Committee had been subjected to reprisals; the United Nations had no tolerance for this.
PELA BOKER-WILSON, Committee Expert, said that reviews of some States parties showed a lack of collection of disaggregated data that allowed for a comparison of population groups. This entailed moving away from traditional data collection practices. States parties were encouraged to collect data on sex, age, ethnicity, migration status, disability, religion and other distinctions.
GÜN KUT, Committee Expert, thanked representatives of States parties for engaging with the Committee and expressing support for the Committee’s work. The Committee was sensitive to States’ questions, demands and criticisms. The success of the Committee depended on States parties’ will and contributions. The Committee needed regularity in the submission of reports and sufficient follow-up to the Committee’s recommendations, including through follow-up and periodic reports. The Committee sought to improve its work, but this depended on securing sufficient meeting time and support for the Committee’s secretariat. States needed to commit to sending reports on time and supporting the financial situation of treaty bodies.
MAZALO TEBIE, Committee Expert, called on States to support the functioning of the Committee.
YEUNG KAM JOHN YEUNG SIK YUEN, Committee Expert, said many States parties had not taken steps to criminalise hate speech. Was this done deliberately to protect politicians? When the Committee issued a decision on an individual communication, it left it to States parties involved to implement it. The Committee took up implementation of these decisions in dialogues with States parties.
Closing Remarks
MICHAL BALCERZAK, Committee Chair, thanked States parties for attending the meeting. The Committee would do its best to address the issues raised in the dialogue. It would work efficiently with States and ensure that it did not disappoint victims of racial discrimination. The Chair called on States to encourage the commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention across the world. The Committee looked forward to further engagement with States in future.
___________
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
CERD25.003E
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
A 44-year-old man has died in a single vehicle crash in Darwin’s rural area.
At 4:33pm the Joint Emergency Services Communications Centre received a report of a single vehicle crash on Hopewell Road, Berry Springs.
It was reported that a vehicle had hit a power pole and the only
occupant, the driver, was trapped inside.
Power lines were also reportedly damaged and fuel was leaking from the vehicle.
Humpty Doo and Palmerston General duties Police attended the scene with St John Ambulance and NT Fire and Emergency Services members.
Power and Water staff also attended and isolated electricity in the area.
Upon arrival at the scene St John Ambulance members confirmed the driver was deceased.
A crime scene was declared and Hopewell Road between Kentish and Old Bynoe roads is expected to remain closed until late tonight.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or who has dashcam footage is urged to reach out to NT Police on 131 444 and quote reference number P25112590.
Source: US State of Vermont
Defendant Defrauded the United States of More than $20M in Taxes While Amassing a Large Collection of Luxury Goods Including 27 Ferraris
A Florida man was sentenced today to 50 months in prison for not paying taxes withheld from his employees’ wages and filing a false tax return.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Matthew Brown, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, owned and operated multiple businesses in and around Martin County, Florida. One of these businesses was a payroll services company known as Elite Payroll. Elite Payroll provided payroll services to small businesses in and around St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties. Elite Payroll was hired by its clients to collect and pay over the Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes withheld from clients’ employees’ wages and to pay over those funds to the IRS each quarter. The timely payment of these taxes is critical to the functioning of the U.S. government, including because they are the primary source of funding for Social Security and Medicare. The federal income taxes that are withheld from employees’ wages also account for a significant portion of all federal income taxes collected each year.
Between 2014 and 2022, Brown did not pay over $20,000,000 in taxes withheld from the wages of employees of clients of Elite Payroll and from other businesses he controlled and instead enriched himself. To effectuate his scheme, Brown charged his clients the full amount of their tax liabilities but then filed false employment tax returns with the IRS that substantially underreported their liabilities, and pocketing the difference. For example, for one quarter in 2021, a client owed approximately $219,000 in taxes. Elite Payroll collected that amount from the client but filed a false tax return with the IRS claiming that the client only owed approximately $32,000, which Elite paid. Brown then kept the remaining approximately $190,000.
Instead of paying over the funds, Brown purchased commercial and residential real estate, including his multimillion-dollar home, a Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 Aircraft, and a large collection of cars including Porsches, Rolls Royces, and 27 Ferraris.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon for the Southern District of Florida ordered Brown to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $22,401,585 in restitution, and a $200,000 fine to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Bryne of the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Andrew Ascencio of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Porter for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Attorneys General
Defendant Defrauded the United States of More than $20M in Taxes While Amassing a Large Collection of Luxury Goods Including 27 Ferraris
A Florida man was sentenced today to 50 months in prison for not paying taxes withheld from his employees’ wages and filing a false tax return.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Matthew Brown, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, owned and operated multiple businesses in and around Martin County, Florida. One of these businesses was a payroll services company known as Elite Payroll. Elite Payroll provided payroll services to small businesses in and around St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties. Elite Payroll was hired by its clients to collect and pay over the Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes withheld from clients’ employees’ wages and to pay over those funds to the IRS each quarter. The timely payment of these taxes is critical to the functioning of the U.S. government, including because they are the primary source of funding for Social Security and Medicare. The federal income taxes that are withheld from employees’ wages also account for a significant portion of all federal income taxes collected each year.
Between 2014 and 2022, Brown did not pay over $20,000,000 in taxes withheld from the wages of employees of clients of Elite Payroll and from other businesses he controlled and instead enriched himself. To effectuate his scheme, Brown charged his clients the full amount of their tax liabilities but then filed false employment tax returns with the IRS that substantially underreported their liabilities, and pocketing the difference. For example, for one quarter in 2021, a client owed approximately $219,000 in taxes. Elite Payroll collected that amount from the client but filed a false tax return with the IRS claiming that the client only owed approximately $32,000, which Elite paid. Brown then kept the remaining approximately $190,000.
Instead of paying over the funds, Brown purchased commercial and residential real estate, including his multimillion-dollar home, a Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 Aircraft, and a large collection of cars including Porsches, Rolls Royces, and 27 Ferraris.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon for the Southern District of Florida ordered Brown to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $22,401,585 in restitution, and a $200,000 fine to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Bryne of the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Andrew Ascencio of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Porter for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Source: NASA
The image marks what may be the first time one of the agency’s Mars orbiters has captured the rover driving.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has never been camera shy, having been seen in selfies and images taken from space. But on Feb. 28 — the 4,466th Martian day, or sol, of the mission — Curiosity was captured in what is believed to be the first orbital image of the rover mid-drive across the Red Planet.
Taken by the HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the image shows Curiosity as a dark speck at the front of a long trail of rover tracks. Likely to last for months before being erased by wind, the tracks span about 1,050 feet (320 meters). They represent roughly 11 drives starting on Feb. 2 as Curiosity trucked along at a top speed of 0.1 mph (0.16 kph) from Gediz Vallis channel on the journey to its next science stop: a region with potential boxwork formations, possibly made by groundwater billions of years ago.
How quickly the rover reaches the area depends on a number of factors, including how its software navigates the surface and how challenging the terrain is to climb. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads Curiosity’s mission, work with scientists to plan each day’s trek.
“By comparing the time HiRISE took the image to the rover’s commands for the day, we can see it was nearly done with a 69-foot drive,” said Doug Ellison, Curiosity’s planning team chief at JPL.
Designed to ensure the best spatial resolution, HiRISE takes an image with the majority of the scene in black and white and a strip of color down the middle. While the camera has captured Curiosity in color before, this time the rover happened to fall within the black-and-white part of the image.
In the new image, Curiosity’s tracks lead to the base of a steep slope. The rover has since ascended that slope since then, and it is expected to reach its new science location within a month or so.
More About Curiosity and MRO
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover was built at JPL, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL manages both the Curiosity and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of the agency’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado.
For more about the missions, visit:
science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity
science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter
News Media Contacts
Andrew GoodJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-2433andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly WasserNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
2025-059
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001422/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Marit Maij (S&D), Gabriele Bischoff (S&D), Marc Angel (S&D), Johan Danielsson (S&D), Estelle Ceulemans (S&D), Marianne Vind (S&D)
In Venlo, truck drivers from Central Asia are on strike. Their employers, often based in Lithuania where the truck drivers barely work, exploit them, deny them transparent information, fail to comply with pay legislation and make them work under poor conditions; their trucks are not even heated. These employers instruct the truck drivers to manipulate their tachographs and to knowingly lie to police officers – for example, to lie that they have slept outside of their vehicle over the weekend and have been staying with family – to avoid problems of compliance with EU legislation. If the drivers demand their pay documentation and salary, the transport companies’ reaction is to threaten them and even to send men to use violence against them.
Submitted: 8.4.2025
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
The defendant, a felon, also possessed a firearm in connection with the drug offense.
Baltimore, Maryland – Freddie Anthony Curry, 54, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty in federal court to possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Special Agent in Charge William DelBagno, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; and Postal Inspector in Charge Damon Wood, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) – Washington Division.
In May 2024, the FBI and DEA began investigating Curry in connection with suspected fentanyl and cocaine trafficking in the Baltimore area. During their investigation, they verified Curry’s vehicle and residence. Authorities then executed federal search warrants on Curry’s residence and vehicle. During the search, investigators recovered approximately 980 grams of fentanyl, 1,040 grams of cocaine, digital scales, drug-packaging materials, and a Glock 19 9-millimeter handgun. Curry is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony convictions.
The parties have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Curry will be sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. Sentencing is set for Monday, June 30, 2025, at 2 p.m.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case is part of a Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Baltimore Strike Force is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle violent drug trafficking, money laundering, and transnational criminal organizations to reduce drug-related and/or gang violence in the Baltimore metropolitan and surrounding areas. The Baltimore Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Secret Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore Sheriff’s Office, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Maryland Transportation Authority, and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, DEA, and USPIS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Simpkins who is prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
# # #
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man has been charged with altering the odometers on vehicles he sold at his former Whitehall car dealership.
Simon C. Nwaru, Jr., 38, who owned and operated S. Automotive Ltd., was indicted by a federal grand jury today.
According to the eight-count indictment, between November 2020 and May 2022, Nwaru knowingly disconnected, reset and altered the mileage registered by the odometer on vehicles, changing them from high mileage to lower mileage, before selling them to customers.
The charging document details eight vehicles that allegedly had their mileage illegally reduced by approximately 80,000 to 100,000 miles.
Odometer fraud is a federal crime punishable by up to three years in prison.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the charges returned today. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Prichard is representing the United States. This case was investigated by the United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Investigations Section.
NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States costs consumers more than $1 billion annually. NHTSA encourages the public to report odometer fraud by emailing odometerfraud@dot.gov or calling 800-424-9393.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
# # #
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SAVANNAH, GA: A Savannah resident has been found guilty at trial of drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Malik Javier McKenzie, 27, of Savannah, was convicted after a two-day trial in U.S. District Court on charges of Possession of Controlled Substances With Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Machinegun in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, said Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The convictions subject McKenzie to a statutory minimum penalty of 30 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison, followed by a period of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
As described at trial, McKenzie was the driver of a motor vehicle that recklessly avoided police after an attempted traffic stop. Following a crash of McKenzie’s vehicle, McKenzie led law enforcement on a foot chase that resulted in a physical struggle. A search of McKenzie’s person following the struggle revealed a Glock handgun in his pants pocket and a fanny pack containing distributable quantities of Cocaine, Fentanyl, Carfentanil, and Methamphetamine.
Later testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confirmed the presence of the various controlled substances. Testimony at trial noted that Carfentanil is a more potent, and dangerous, version of Fentanyl. Testing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) revealed that the recovered handgun bore a “machinegun conversion device” (commonly referred to as a “Glock switch”) which illegally allowed the firearm to function as a machinegun in that it expelled multiple rounds of ammunition with one sustained pull of the trigger.
McKenzie was prohibited from possessing any firearm because of previous convictions in both the U.S. District Court and the Superior Court for the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia.
“I am extremely proud of our officers, investigators, and our federal partners involved in this case,” said Tracey Howard, Hinesville Chief of Police. “Due to their hard work and expertise, Mr. McKenzie is being held accountable for his actions.”
“Machinegun conversion kits are turning up more and more in our streets and at crime scenes,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “These conversion devices are illegal, dangerous, and pose a serious threat to the community. ATF is working closely with our law enforcement partners to keep these devices off our streets.”
“Guns, drugs, and violence are unfortunately all too common tools of the drug traffickers operating in our communities,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “Today’s announcement demonstrates DEA’s emphatic commitment to attacking the drug dealers responsible for the devastation.”
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer.
The case was being investigated by the ATF, DEA, and the Hinesville Police Department and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley R. Thompson and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah N. Brettin.
Source: GlobalData
The UK general insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% from GBP92.9 billion ($119.7 billion) in 2025 to GBP113.0 billion ($149.2 billion) in 2029, in terms of direct written premiums (DWP), according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
As per GlobalData’s UK General Insurance Report, the general insurance industry in the UK is expected to grow by 5.8% in 2025, driven by the increasing home insurance cost, the rising natural catastrophic events, the government push for greener vehicles, and rising demand for commercial motor insurance.
Swarup Kumar Sahoo, Senior Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The UK general insurance industry is navigating change, driven by evolving consumer behaviors, climate challenges, regulatory changes, competition, and price sensitivity. Overall, the sector anticipates steady growth but must adapt to emerging risks and consumer demands.”
Motor insurance is the leading line of business in the UK general insurance industry, estimated to account for a 28.0% share of the DWP in 2025. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.4% during 2025-29. Factors such as recovery of the economy, increased personal injury discount (Ogden) rates, and expansion of commercial fleets will contribute to the growth of motor insurance.
With an increase in commercial activity, government incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), and a push to transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2035, the fleet operators in the UK are increasingly adopting electric vans. This, along with an increase in new car registrations, which grew by 2.6% in 2024, will support the growth of motor insurance in 2025. Fleet sales accounted for 59.6% of the new vehicle registrations in 2024, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Sahoo adds: “The increase in Ogden rate from -0.25% to 0.5% starting January 11, 2025, will lower motor insurance claims costs and is expected to increase insurers’ profitability. The motor insurance premiums, which registered an average increase of 40% during 2022 and 2023, will not witness such a steep increase further and will give some relief to the policyholders.”
Property insurance is estimated to account for a 25.7% share of DWP in 2025. It is expected to grow by 5.8% in 2025, driven by rising frequency of extreme weather events, including storms and flooding, rising building costs, rising opportunity for contents and renters insurance, and increasing consumer demand for comprehensive coverage.
Sahoo continues: “The increasing frequency of extreme weather events poses challenges, leading insurers to raise premiums and reassess coverage options in high-risk areas. Collaborative investments in flood adaptation infrastructure are essential to mitigate these risks and expand coverage options for vulnerable communities. The integration of smart home technologies is also transforming the landscape, enabling homeowners to detect issues early, which can reduce claims.”
Liability insurance is estimated to account for a 15.1% share of DWP in 2025. It is expected to grow by 5.1% in 2025, driven by growing awareness of cyber threats, as businesses seek to protect themselves against increasing cyberattacks. Additionally, the fatal injury of workers, expected to grow by 3% in 2025, as reported in the Health and Safety Executive’s annual statistics, along with the increased Ogden rate, will support the growth of employers’ liability insurance. The evolving needs of consumers and businesses in a rapidly changing environment will continue to support the liability insurance to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% during 2025-29.
Personal Accident and Health (PA&H), Marine, Aviation, and Transit (MAT), and Financial Lines insurance products are estimated to account for the remaining 31.2% share of the general insurance DWP in 2025.
Swarup concludes: “The outlook for the UK general insurance market remains positive, with growth driven by regulatory change and evolving consumer needs. Insurers must remain agile and innovative to navigate the challenges posed by climate change and economic pressure. However, the increased Ogden rate is a welcome development for general insurers.”
Source: Verizon
Headline: Verizon Frontline Network Slice launches coast-to-coast
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon today announced the availability of the Verizon Frontline Network Slice in select markets nationwide, continuing to build on the company’s more than 30-year history of cutting-edge innovation in support of our nation’s first responders.
The Verizon Frontline Network Slice is a 5G Ultra Wideband (UW) virtual network slice completely dedicated to public safety that allows for the allocation of network resources within Verizon’s network infrastructure. This helps provide first responders several key advantages including (but not limited to):
For example, Verizon Frontline Network Slicing for Connected Vehicles can deliver enhanced in-vehicle connectivity for first responders, providing a mobile working environment with access to 5G UW network resources completely dedicated to the needs of public safety users.
With dedicated 5G UW network capacity reserved for the Verizon Frontline Network Slice, first responders will have access to enhanced mission-critical connectivity in even the most population-dense environments or during periods of high network congestion.
“When every second counts, Verizon Frontline is the #1 network of choice of first responders,
enabling more than 40,000 public safety agencies across the nation,” said Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business. “The launch of the Verizon Frontline Network Slice continues our unwavering commitment to meeting the highly specialized needs of first responders and is a crucial step forward in the evolution of public safety communications.”
Verizon Frontline is dedicated to meeting the mission-critical communication needs of those on the front lines and eligible public safety agencies will have access to plans featuring the Verizon Frontline Network Slice for the same cost as current 5G UW plans. The Verizon Frontline Network Slice is now available in the following markets:
Source: Government of Canada regional news
Communities and workers throughout British Columbia are benefiting from 64 new Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) supported projects that reduce wildfire risk, enhance forest health and get more fibre into the hands of mills and energy producers.
“The projects I am announcing today will remove almost 11,000 truckloads of flammable waste fibre from our forests,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “We all have a role to play in reducing wildfire risk in B.C. This fibre that once would have been burned in slash piles will instead support workers and help keep communities safe.”
With $19 million in provincial funding, projects will take place in all eight of the Province’s natural resource regions. This includes 31 led by First Nations and another 14 with First Nations involvement, demonstrating the critical leadership role First Nation communities are playing in restoring and protecting B.C.’s forests. This funding is part of the $90 million allocated in 2025 for wildfire-prevention initiatives through BC Wildfire Service, FireSmart initiatives and FESBC.
“We received so many excellent applications from interested parties across the province looking to invest in the future of B.C.’s forests,” said Jason Fisher, executive director, FESBC. “After careful review, we are pleased to be able to support a portfolio of projects that will make forests more resilient and communities safer, while unlocking the value of wood waste generated through forest-management activities.”
These projects build on the Province’s broader support for B.C.’s forest sector, which includes wildfire reduction, streamlining permitting, investing in innovation and advocating for fairness in international trade, especially in the face of U.S. softwood lumber duties and tariff threats.
“Many rural British Columbians know the risk of wildfires well, and many have been in frightening situations,” said Steve Morissette, parliamentary secretary for rural development. “This funding will help support forestry projects in rural, remote and First Nations communities with a focus on sustainability and fire prevention.”
Wildfire-mitigation projects remove excess wood and flammable undergrowth from areas around rural centres and have proven effective during previous wildfire seasons. The BC Wildfire Service is planning to treat 9,600 hectares in 2025-26, with more than an additional 2,100 hectares planned under FESBC.
Fibre-recovery projects take wood fibre that would otherwise be burned or abandoned and put it in the hands of mills and forestry companies that can use it, helping keep forestry workers on the job.
Quick Facts:
Learn More:
For more information about FESBC, visit: https://fesbc.ca/about-us/
A backgrounder follows.
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Cumberland County District RCMP has charged a man with drug trafficking and firearms offences after receiving information from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) regarding an ongoing investigation in its area.
On April 5, Eastern Region Federal Policing (Nova Scotia) received information from the OPP-led Biker Enforcement Unit about a possible suspect in an investigation into suspected drug trafficking activity by outlaw motorcycle gang (OMG) members in St. Catharines, Ontario. The suspect was believed to be travelling into Nova Scotia in a black Kia Sorento.
At approximately 9:20 a.m. on April 5 Cumberland County District RCMP located the vehicle travelling east on Hwy. 104 near Amherst. Officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and safely arrested the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and seized 5 kg of cocaine, a firearm modified to look like an AK47, ammunition and a quantity of cash.
Scott Rempel, 37, of Welland, Ontario, has been charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cocaine), Unauthorized Possession of Firearm, and Possession of a Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized.
“This serves as an excellent example of cooperation among and within police agencies to address organized crime networks across inter-provincial boundaries,” says Supt. Dave Chubbs, Eastern Region Federal Policing (Nova Scotia). “The quick action of frontline officers in Cumberland was instrumental to ensuring the cocaine and firearm didn’t reach our communities.”
“The OPP is grateful for the support from the RCMP on this significant investigation,” says Detective Insp. Scott Wade, OPP Biker Enforcement Unit. “It takes national collaboration across jurisdictions to disrupt drug trafficking networks and protect our respective communities.”
Rempel was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Amherst Provincial Court on April 25.
Nova Scotians are encouraged to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or local police to report crime, including the illegal sale of drugs, in their communities. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or using the P3 Tips app.
File #2025-442045
Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)
The Department of Defense (DoD) authorized the deployment of Stryker armored vehicles to assist Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in detecting and monitoring activity to enhance security at the U.S. southern border.
Securing the U.S. southern border is the top priority for the DoD and U.S Border Patrol (USBP). The deployment of the Stryker vehicles is not just about enhancing capability; it also showcases a strategic shift in how military resources are being utilized.
Instagram ➤ https://instagram.com/CBPgov
Facebook ➤ https://facebook.com/CBPgov
Twitter ➤ https://twitter.com/CBP
Official Website ➤ https://www.cbp.gov
#cbp
#army
#southernborder
#lawenforcement
#patrol
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – US Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), both members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reintroduced legislation to increase inspections of traffic going from the U.S. to Mexico, which would help combat the flow of illicit firearms and money that fuel drug cartels.
“With border crossings at a record low, the results speak for themselves. President Trump’s leadership is making America safer; the southern border is much more secure than it was a year ago,” Lankford said. “But US Customs and Border Protection still doesn’t have the resources they need to stop gun smuggling to the criminal cartels in Mexico. We need to ensure border law enforcement has the personnel and technology to crack down on criminal activity that puts Americans at risk.”
“Dismantling drug cartels requires cutting off the flow of illegal firearms and cartel money moving from the U.S. into Mexico, which help give cartels the resources to continue to operate and flood our communities with deadly drugs,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation significantly enhances our southbound inspection capabilities, which will help disrupt cartel operations and reduce the trafficking of fentanyl, which has devastated communities across New Hampshire and nationwide.”
Specifically, the Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act would:
Require that at least 10 percent of southbound vehicles are inspected, to the extent practicable
Authorize at least 100 additional Homeland Security Investigations agents to investigate the smuggling of guns and money from the U.S. into Mexico
Authorize at least 100 additional Homeland Security Investigations agents to investigate drug smuggling, human trafficking, child trafficking, and unauthorized entries from Mexico into the U.S.
Authorize 50 additional x-ray inspection systems for southbound inspections
Source: European Parliament
Low temperatures affect the range of electrified vehicles, as a consequence of a reduced efficiency of the battery and also due to the additional energy consumption from auxiliaries (e.g. thermal comfort systems).
To be able to quantify and assess the corresponding impact, the Commission has chaired a United Nations (UN) task force developing a harmonised test procedure for the accurate determination of the electric range in low temperature conditions.
This procedure has been introduced as a new annex to UN Global Technical Regulation (GTR) No 15[1] and will be transposed into the Euro 7[2] implementing legislation.
It is expected that improved consumer information will support the adoption of enhanced battery technology. In parallel, battery research and innovation on new, more robust battery generations is being undertaken in the co-programmed partnership BATT4EU under Horizon Europe[3].
Regarding the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, Regulation (EU) 2023/1804[4] sets mandatory targets for recharging infrastructure for Member States in relation to the electric fleet size and along the trans-European transport (TEN-T) road network.
The regulation does not define specific rules or targets on a regional or local level where Member States or regional authorities are better placed to determine expected demand and the need for recharging points at specific locations.
The Commission supports the deployment of recharging infrastructure through various programmes, such as the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Facility (AFIF)[5] and the Recovery and Resilience Facility[6] and is preparing for the Social Climate Fund[7] and the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan[8] with additional funds.
Source: European Parliament
The European automotive sector is of critical socioeconomic importance for the EU, accounting for EUR 1 trillion of gross domestic product (GDP), a third of private research and development investment in the EU and providing directly and indirect employment to 13 million Europeans.
The sector is undergoing a structural transformation and serious competitiveness challenges, which is why the President of the Commission launched a Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the European Automotive Industry on 30 January 2025. The Strategic Dialogue informed the Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector[1] which was adopted on 5 March 2025.
As announced in the action plan, the Commission proposed on 1 April 2025 a targeted amendment to the regulation setting CO2 standards for cars and vans, introducing additional flexibilities for reaching the CO2 targets in the period 2025-2027, while keeping the overall ambition of the targets untouched.
This will ensure that for the calendar years 2025, 2026 and 2027, instead of annual compliance, compliance will be assessed over the three years combined.
The action plan also indicates that the Commission will accelerate work on the preparation of the foreseen review of the regulation. This review will rely on a fact-based analysis, taking into account all relevant technological developments, and the importance of an economically viable and socially fair transition towards zero-emission mobility.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
LOS ANGELES – A United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer has been arrested on a five-count federal grand jury indictment alleging he fraudulently obtained nearly $150,000 in COVID-19 pandemic business-relief loan funds for two of his sham businesses, the Justice Department announced today.
Amer Aldarawsheh, 45, of Moreno Valley, is charged with five counts of wire fraud.
He was arrested Wednesday morning and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him at his arraignment Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered Aldarawsheh released on $30,000 bond and scheduled a June 16 in U.S. District Court in Riverside.
According to the indictment unsealed Wednesday, Aldarawsheh owned and purportedly operated two businesses: Nahar Enterprises Inc., a San Bernardino based business he described as a trucking and freight company, and Ameral, which he described as an automotive repair company.
From July 2020 to December 2021, Aldarawsheh made false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to fraudulently obtain a loan under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL), which provided low-interest financing to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 authorized the SBA to provide EIDL loans of up to $2 million to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aldarawsheh applied to the SBA for EIDL loans on behalf of his two companies, neither of which had substantial business or employees. EIDL loans were supposed to be used by the recipient to only pay certain authorized business expenses. Instead, Aldarawsheh knowingly misappropriated and misused the EIDL funds he received from the SBA for his own personal benefit, including in December 2020, causing the transfer of $149,900 in SBA COVID-19 EIDL loan funds to be wired from the SBA to a bank account under his control.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Aldarawsheh would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.
The United States Custom and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Laura A. Alexander and Michael J. Morse of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
WASHINGTON – Justin Fisher, 49, of the District, was charged in Superior Court with four counts of defacing public or private property stemming from offenses committed between Mar. 1 and Mar. 21, 2025, involving multiple Tesla vehicles, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Fisher made an appearance in court today and was released on personal recognizance. His misdemeanor initial status hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2025, in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.
“The so-called ‘Tesla Takedown’ is domestic terrorism, and my team is taking it on front and center,” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “These attacks are not just an attack on someone’s property. They are meant to intimidate and suppress political speech and shut down the marketplace of ideas,” Martin said.
“If you target Tesla and break the law, then you can expect consequences,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate such criminal acts.”
According to documents filed with the court, between the dates of Mar. 1 and Mar. 21, 2025, in Northeast D.C., Fisher defaced private property on Tesla vehicles, owned by multiple victims. The offenses were committed as follows:
Fisher was arrested on April 1, 2025.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW BERN, N.C. – A Brooklyn, NY woman was sentenced Wednesday to 4 years in prison for aiding and abetting in the armed robbery of a Family Dollar in Swan Quarter. On November 13, 2024, Victoria Michelle Cyren Clarke, 32, pled guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on Sunday, June 4, 2023, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Hyde County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) received a call about an armed robbery at the Family Dollar, located at 13065 US Highway 264 in Swan Quarter. Two individuals entered the store brandishing firearms while demanding money. After retrieving over $2000 in cash from the store, the two individuals left and got into a car being driven by Clarke. A deputy with HCSO attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle after it was observed leaving the area at a high rate of speed. A high-speed chase ensued for approximately 18 miles with speeds in excess of 100 mph before the vehicle was finally stopped. In addition to the two armed robbers and Clarke, two children were unrestrained in the vehicle. Subsequent investigation revealed that Clarke bought both firearms used in the robbery and rented the get-away car.
“The Hyde County Sheriff’s Office is committed to ensuring the safety of our residents and businesses,” said Sheriff Guire Cahoon. “The armed robbery at the Family Dollar in Swan Quarter was a serious crime that put innocent lives at risk, and we are grateful for the quick response of our deputies which resulted in the apprehension of the individuals involved, and we are grateful for the assistance of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work on the case. Violent crime has no place in our community, and we will continue working tirelessly to protect the people of Hyde County.”
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. Hyde County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie A. Childress prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-CR-12-FL-RJ-3.
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Source: Office of United States Attorneys
DEL RIO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 45 months in prison for assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
According to court documents, Mario Alonso Torrijos-Perez was apprehended on Dec. 14, 2021by USBP agents in Carrizo Springs with five other illegal aliens. While being escorted to the Border Patrol station for processing, Torrijos-Perez attempted to escape on foot. An agent caught Torrijos-Perez, who physically resisted and demanded the agent let him go despite the agent instructing him in Spanish and English to stop resisting and show his hands. Torrijos-Perez forcefully struck the agent with his right elbow, causing the agent to lose balance and fall to the ground. After further resistance, the agent gained control and handcuffed Torrijos-Perez.
The USBP agent sustained a contusion to his right shoulder, redness in the upper-arm area, scratches on both hands and both wrists, along with pain and discomfort in the aforementioned areas.
Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
USBP investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TOANO, Va., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — C&F Financial Corporation (the Corporation) (NASDAQ: CFFI), the holding company for C&F Bank, today reported consolidated net income of $5.4 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $3.4 million for the first quarter of 2024. The following table presents selected financial performance highlights for the periods indicated:
| For The Quarter Ended | ||||||||
| Consolidated Financial Highlights (unaudited) | 3/31/2025 | 3/31/2024 | ||||||
| Consolidated net income (000’s) | $ | 5,395 | $ | 3,435 | ||||
| Earnings per share – basic and diluted | $ | 1.66 | $ | 1.01 | ||||
| Annualized return on average equity | 9.35 | % | 6.33 | % | ||||
| Annualized return on average tangible common equity1 | 10.65 | % | 7.30 | % | ||||
| Annualized return on average assets | 0.84 | % | 0.57 | % | ||||
________________________
1 For more information about these non-GAAP financial measures, which are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), please see “Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” below.
Tom Cherry, President and Chief Executive Officer of C&F Financial Corporation, commented, “We are pleased with our first quarter results. Net income increased across all of our business segments compared to the same quarter last year. Both loan and deposit growth at the community banking segment was strong and loan originations at the mortgage banking segment increased when compared to the first quarter of last year. Despite a decrease in the average balance of loans at the consumer finance segment, we were able to increase net income by continuing to focus on efficiencies. Consolidated margins grew slightly as higher cost time deposits continue to reprice downward. Despite the economic uncertainties, we are optimistic about our earnings for 2025.”
Key highlights for the first quarter of 2025 are as follows.
Community Banking Segment. The community banking segment reported net income of $5.4 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $4.0 million for the same period of 2024, due primarily to:
partially offset by:
Average loans increased $165.3 million, or 12.7 percent, for the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, due primarily to growth in the construction, commercial real estate, land acquisition and development and builder lines segments of the loan portfolio. Average deposits increased $131.6 million, or 6.4 percent, for the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, due primarily to higher balance of time deposits and noninterest-bearing demand deposits.
Average interest-earning asset yields were higher for the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, due primarily to a shift in the mix of the loan portfolio, renewals of fixed rate loans originated during periods of lower interest rates and purchases of securities available for sale in the overall higher interest rate environment. Average costs of interest-bearing deposits were higher for the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, due primarily to the continued effects of a shift in the mix of deposits with customers seeking higher yielding opportunities as a result of higher interest rates paid on time deposits.
The community banking segment’s nonaccrual loans were $1.2 million at March 31, 2025 compared to $333,000 at December 31, 2024. The increase in nonaccrual loans compared to December 31, 2024 is due primarily to the downgrade of one residential mortgage relationship in the first quarter of 2025. The community banking segment recorded $100,000 in provision for credit losses for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $500,000 for the same period of 2024. At March 31, 2025, the allowance for credit losses increased to $17.5 million, compared to $17.4 million at December 31, 2024, due primarily to growth in the loan portfolio and increased macroeconomic uncertainties. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans decreased to 1.18 percent at March 31, 2025 from 1.20 percent at December 31, 2024 due primarily to growth in loans with shorter expected lives, which resulted in lower estimated losses over the life of the loan. Management believes that the level of the allowance for credit losses is adequate to reflect the net amount expected to be collected.
Mortgage Banking Segment. The mortgage banking segment reported net income of $431,000 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $294,000 for the same period of 2024, due primarily to:
partially offset by:
Despite the sustained elevated level of mortgage interest rates, higher home prices and low levels of inventory, mortgage banking segment loan originations increased for the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. Mortgage loan originations for the mortgage banking segment were $113.8 million for the first quarter of 2025, comprised of $12.1 million refinancings and $101.7 million home purchases, compared to $94.3 million, comprised of $7.5 million refinancings and $86.8 million home purchases, for the same period in 2024. Mortgage loan originations in the first quarter of 2025 decreased $16.7 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due in part to normal industry seasonal fluctuations. Mortgage loan segment originations include originations of loans sold to the community banking segment, at prices similar to those paid by third-party investors. These transactions are eliminated to reach consolidated totals.
During the first quarter of 2025, the mortgage banking segment recorded a reversal of provision for indemnification losses of $25,000, compared to a reversal of provision for indemnification losses of $140,000 in the same period of 2024. The allowance for indemnifications was $1.32 million and $1.35 million at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. The release of indemnification reserves in 2025 and 2024 was due primarily to lower volume of mortgage loan originations in recent years, improvement in the mortgage banking segment’s assessment of borrower payment performance and other factors affecting expected losses on mortgage loans sold in the secondary market, such as time since origination. Management believes that the indemnification reserve is sufficient to absorb losses related to loans that have been sold in the secondary market.
Consumer Finance Segment. The consumer finance segment reported net income of $226,000 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to net loss of $63,000 for the same period in 2024, due primarily to:
Average loans decreased $8.3 million, or 1.8 percent, for the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. The consumer finance segment experienced net charge-offs at an annualized rate of 2.64 percent of average total loans for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 2.54 percent for the first quarter of 2024, due primarily to an increase in delinquent loans, repossessions and the average amount charged-off when a loan was uncollectable. At March 31, 2025, total delinquent loans as a percentage of total loans was 3.05 percent, compared to 3.90 percent at December 31, 2024, and 2.78 percent at March 31, 2024.
The consumer finance segment, at times, offers payment deferrals as a portfolio management technique to achieve higher ultimate cash collections on select loan accounts. A significant reliance on deferrals as a means of managing collections may result in a lengthening of the loss confirmation period, which would increase expectations of credit losses inherent in the portfolio. Average amounts of payment deferrals of automobile loans on a monthly basis, which are not included in delinquent loans, were 1.75 percent of average automobile loans outstanding during the first quarter of 2025, compared to 1.62 percent during the same period during 2024. The allowance for credit losses was $22.5 million at March 31, 2025 and $22.7 million at December 31, 2024. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 4.88 percent at March 31, 2025 compared to 4.86 percent at December 31, 2024. Management believes that the level of the allowance for credit losses is adequate to reflect the net amount expected to be collected. If loan performance deteriorates resulting in further elevated delinquencies or net charge-offs, the provision for credit losses may increase in future periods.
Liquidity. The objective of the Corporation’s liquidity management is to ensure the continuous availability of funds to satisfy the credit needs of our customers and the demands of our depositors, creditors and investors. Uninsured deposits represent an estimate of amounts above the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance coverage limit of $250,000. As of March 31, 2025, the Corporation’s uninsured deposits were approximately $644.4 million, or 29.1 percent of total deposits. Excluding intercompany cash holdings and municipal deposits, which are secured with pledged securities, amounts uninsured were approximately $496.6 million, or 22.4 percent of total deposits as of March 31, 2025. The Corporation’s liquid assets, which include cash and due from banks, interest-bearing deposits at other banks and nonpledged securities available for sale, were $315.0 million and borrowing availability was $598.7 million as of March 31, 2025, which in total exceed uninsured deposits, excluding intercompany cash holdings and secured municipal deposits, by $417.1 million as of March 31, 2025.
In addition to deposits, the Corporation utilizes short-term and long-term borrowings as sources of funds. Short-term borrowings from the Federal Reserve Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLB) may be used to fund the Corporation’s day-to-day operations. Short-term borrowings also include securities sold under agreements to repurchase. Total borrowings decreased to $119.5 million at March 31, 2025 from $122.6 million at December 31, 2024 due primarily to fluctuations in short-term borrowings.
Additional sources of liquidity available to the Corporation include cash flows from operations, loan payments and payoffs, deposit growth, maturities, calls and sales of securities, the issuance of brokered certificates of deposit and the capacity to borrow additional funds.
Capital and Dividends. During the first quarter of 2025, the Corporation increased its quarterly cash dividend by 5 percent, to 46 cents per share, compared to the previous quarterly dividend. This dividend, which was paid to shareholders on April 1, 2025, represents a payout ratio of 27.7 percent of earnings per share for the first quarter of 2025. The Board of Directors of the Corporation continually reviews the amount of cash dividends per share and the resulting dividend payout ratio in light of changes in economic conditions, current and future capital levels and requirements, and expected future earnings.
Total consolidated equity increased $8.3 million at March 31, 2025, compared to December 31, 2024, due primarily to net income and lower unrealized losses in the market value of securities available for sale, which are recognized as a component of other comprehensive income, partially offset by dividends paid on the Corporation’s common stock. The Corporation’s securities available for sale are fixed income debt securities and their unrealized loss position is a result of increased market interest rates since they were purchased. The Corporation expects to recover its investments in debt securities through scheduled payments of principal and interest. Unrealized losses are not expected to affect the earnings or regulatory capital of the Corporation or C&F Bank. The accumulated other comprehensive loss related to the Corporation’s securities available for sale, net of deferred income taxes, decreased to $19.1 million at March 31, 2025 compared to $23.7 million at December 31, 2024 due primarily to fluctuations in debt security market interest rates and a decrease in the balance of securities available for sale in an unrealized loss position as a result of maturities, calls and paydowns.
As of March 31, 2025, the most recent notification from the FDIC categorized C&F Bank as well capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. To be categorized as well capitalized under regulations applicable at March 31, 2025, C&F Bank was required to maintain minimum total risk-based, Tier 1 risk-based, CET1 risk-based and Tier 1 leverage ratios. In addition to the regulatory risk-based capital requirements, C&F Bank must maintain a capital conservation buffer of additional capital of 2.5 percent of risk-weighted assets as required by the Basel III capital rules. The Corporation and C&F Bank exceeded these ratios at March 31, 2025. For additional information, see “Capital Ratios” below. The above mentioned ratios are not impacted by unrealized losses on securities available for sale. In the event that all of these unrealized losses become realized into earnings, the Corporation and C&F Bank would both continue to exceed minimum capital requirements, including the capital conservation buffer, and be considered well capitalized.
In December 2024, the Board of Directors authorized a program, effective January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, to repurchase up to $5.0 million of the Corporation’s common stock (the 2025 Repurchase Program). During the first quarter of 2025, the Corporation did not make any repurchases of its common stock under the 2025 Repurchase Program.
About C&F Financial Corporation. The Corporation’s common stock is listed for trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol CFFI. The common stock closed at a price of $65.33 per share on April 23, 2025. At March 31, 2025, the book value per share of the Corporation was $72.51 and the tangible book value per share was $64.39. For more information about the Corporation’s tangible book value per share, which is not calculated in accordance with GAAP, please see “Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” below.
C&F Bank operates 31 banking offices and four commercial loan offices located throughout eastern and central Virginia and offers full wealth management services through its subsidiary C&F Wealth Management, Inc. C&F Mortgage Corporation and its subsidiary C&F Select LLC provide mortgage loan origination services through offices located in Virginia and the surrounding states. C&F Finance Company provides automobile, marine and recreational vehicle loans through indirect lending programs offered primarily in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southern United States from its headquarters in Henrico, Virginia.
Additional information regarding the Corporation’s products and services, as well as access to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are available on the Corporation’s website at http://www.cffc.com.
Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures. The accounting and reporting policies of the Corporation conform to GAAP in the United States and prevailing practices in the banking industry. However, certain non-GAAP measures are used by management to supplement the evaluation of the Corporation’s performance. These may include adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted return on average equity, adjusted return on average assets, return on average tangible common equity (ROTCE), adjusted ROTCE, tangible book value per share, price to tangible book value ratio, and the following fully-taxable equivalent (FTE) measures: interest income on loans-FTE, interest income on securities-FTE, total interest income-FTE and net interest income-FTE.
Management believes that the use of these non-GAAP measures provides meaningful information about operating performance by enhancing comparability with other financial periods, other financial institutions, and between different sources of interest income. The non-GAAP measures used by management enhance comparability by excluding the effects of balances of intangible assets, including goodwill, that vary significantly between institutions, and tax benefits that are not consistent across different opportunities for investment. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered an alternative to, or more important than, GAAP-basis financial statements, and other bank holding companies may define or calculate these or similar measures differently. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures used by the Corporation to evaluate and measure the Corporation’s performance to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is presented below.
Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the Corporation’s management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Corporation’s management, and reflect management’s current views with respect to certain events that could have an impact on the Corporation’s future financial performance. These statements, including without limitation statements made in Mr. Cherry’s quote and statements regarding future interest rates and conditions in the Corporation’s industries and markets, relate to expectations concerning matters that are not historical fact, may express “belief,” “intention,” “expectation,” “potential” and similar expressions, and may use the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “intend,” “target,” “should,” “could,” or similar expressions. These statements are inherently uncertain, and there can be no assurance that the underlying assumptions will prove to be accurate. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this release may include, without limitation, statements regarding expected future operations and financial performance, expected trends in yields on loans, expected future recovery of investments in debt securities, future dividend payments, deposit trends, charge-offs and delinquencies, changes in cost of funds and net interest margin and items affecting net interest margin, strategic business initiatives and the anticipated effects thereof, changes in interest rates and the effects thereof on net interest income, mortgage loan originations, expectations regarding C&F Bank’s regulatory risk-based capital requirement levels, technology initiatives, our diversified business strategy, asset quality, credit quality, adequacy of allowances for credit losses and the level of future charge-offs, market interest rates and housing inventory and resulting effects in mortgage loan origination volume, sources of liquidity, adequacy of the reserve for indemnification losses related to loans sold in the secondary market, the effect of future market and industry trends, the effects of future interest rate fluctuations, cybersecurity risks, and inflation. Factors that could have a material adverse effect on the operations and future prospects of the Corporation include, but are not limited to, changes in:
These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. For additional information on risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements contained herein, see the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and other reports filed with the SEC. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
| C&F Financial Corporation
Selected Financial Information |
||||||||||
| Financial Condition | 3/31/2025 | 12/31/2024 | 3/31/2024 | |||||||
| Interest-bearing deposits in other banks | $ | 62,490 | $ | 49,423 | $ | 39,303 | ||||
| Investment securities – available for sale, at fair value | 431,513 | 418,625 | 430,421 | |||||||
| Loans held for sale, at fair value | 27,278 | 20,112 | 22,622 | |||||||
| Loans, net: | ||||||||||
| Community Banking segment | 1,463,679 | 1,436,226 | 1,324,690 | |||||||
| Consumer Finance segment | 439,604 | 444,085 | 452,537 | |||||||
| Total assets | 2,612,530 | 2,563,374 | 2,469,751 | |||||||
| Deposits | 2,216,654 | 2,170,860 | 2,087,932 | |||||||
| Repurchase agreements | 25,909 | 28,994 | 27,803 | |||||||
| Other borrowings | 93,546 | 93,615 | 93,772 | |||||||
| Total equity | 235,271 | 226,970 | 216,949 | |||||||
| For The | |||||||
| Quarter Ended | |||||||
| Results of Operations | 3/31/2025 | 3/31/2024 | |||||
| Interest income | $ | 35,988 | $ | 32,708 | |||
| Interest expense | 10,978 | 9,550 | |||||
| Provision for credit losses: | |||||||
| Community Banking segment | 100 | 500 | |||||
| Consumer Finance segment | 2,900 | 3,000 | |||||
| Noninterest income: | |||||||
| Gains on sales of loans | 1,847 | 1,288 | |||||
| Other | 5,726 | 6,204 | |||||
| Noninterest expenses: | |||||||
| Salaries and employee benefits | 13,483 | 14,252 | |||||
| Other | 9,576 | 8,898 | |||||
| Income tax expense | 1,129 | 565 | |||||
| Net income | 5,395 | 3,435 | |||||
| Fully-taxable equivalent (FTE) amounts1 | |||||||
| Interest income on loans-FTE | 32,428 | 29,636 | |||||
| Interest income on securities-FTE | 3,346 | 3,098 | |||||
| Total interest income-FTE | 36,276 | 32,993 | |||||
| Net interest income-FTE | 25,298 | 23,443 | |||||
________________________
1For more information about these non-GAAP financial measures, please see “Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
| For the Quarter Ended | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3/31/2025 | 3/31/2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Average | Income/ | Yield/ | Average | Income/ | Yield/ | ||||||||||||||
| Yield Analysis | Balance | Expense | Rate | Balance | Expense | Rate | |||||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||||||||||
| Securities: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Taxable | $ | 339,450 | $ | 2,193 | 2.58 | % | $ | 365,244 | $ | 1,980 | 2.17 | % | |||||||
| Tax-exempt | 119,033 | 1,153 | 3.87 | 120,920 | 1,118 | 3.70 | |||||||||||||
| Total securities | 458,483 | 3,346 | 2.92 | 486,164 | 3,098 | 2.55 | |||||||||||||
| Loans: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Community banking segment | 1,467,555 | 19,966 | 5.52 | 1,302,260 | 17,331 | 5.35 | |||||||||||||
| Mortgage banking segment | 20,968 | 339 | 6.56 | 17,700 | 281 | 6.39 | |||||||||||||
| Consumer finance segment | 465,526 | 12,123 | 10.56 | 473,848 | 12,024 | 10.21 | |||||||||||||
| Total loans | 1,954,049 | 32,428 | 6.73 | 1,793,808 | 29,636 | 6.64 | |||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing deposits in other banks | 55,830 | 502 | 3.65 | 28,417 | 259 | 3.67 | |||||||||||||
| Total earning assets | 2,468,362 | 36,276 | 5.95 | 2,308,389 | 32,993 | 5.75 | |||||||||||||
| Allowance for credit losses | (40,605 | ) | (40,292 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Total non-earning assets | 154,554 | 156,800 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 2,582,311 | $ | 2,424,897 | |||||||||||||||
| Liabilities and Equity | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing deposits: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing demand deposits | $ | 332,341 | 600 | 0.67 | $ | 335,570 | 553 | 0.66 | |||||||||||
| Savings and money market deposit accounts | 489,217 | 1,205 | 1.00 | 484,645 | 1,061 | 0.88 | |||||||||||||
| Certificates of deposit | 821,949 | 7,964 | 3.93 | 705,167 | 6,916 | 3.94 | |||||||||||||
| Total interest-bearing deposits | 1,643,507 | 9,769 | 2.40 | 1,525,382 | 8,530 | 2.25 | |||||||||||||
| Borrowings: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Repurchase agreements | 28,192 | 112 | 1.59 | 27,997 | 111 | 1.59 | |||||||||||||
| Other borrowings | 93,597 | 1,097 | 4.69 | 78,445 | 909 | 4.64 | |||||||||||||
| Total borrowings | 121,789 | 1,209 | 3.97 | 106,442 | 1,020 | 3.83 | |||||||||||||
| Total interest-bearing liabilities | 1,765,296 | 10,978 | 2.51 | 1,631,824 | 9,550 | 2.35 | |||||||||||||
| Noninterest-bearing demand deposits | 545,346 | 531,885 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other liabilities | 40,874 | 44,125 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 2,351,516 | 2,207,834 | |||||||||||||||||
| Equity | 230,795 | 217,063 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities and equity | $ | 2,582,311 | $ | 2,424,897 | |||||||||||||||
| Net interest income | $ | 25,298 | $ | 23,443 | |||||||||||||||
| Interest rate spread | 3.44 | % | 3.40 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Interest expense to average earning assets | 1.79 | % | 1.66 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Net interest margin | 4.16 | % | 4.09 | % | |||||||||||||||
| 3/31/2025 | |||||||||
| Funding Sources | Capacity | Outstanding | Available | ||||||
| Unsecured federal funds agreements | $ | 75,000 | $ | — | $ | 75,000 | |||
| Borrowings from FHLB | 248,508 | 40,000 | 208,508 | ||||||
| Borrowings from Federal Reserve Bank | 315,221 | — | 315,221 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 638,729 | $ | 40,000 | $ | 598,729 | |||
| Asset Quality | 3/31/2025 | 12/31/2024 | |||||
| Community Banking | |||||||
| Total loans | $ | 1,481,190 | $ | 1,453,605 | |||
| Nonaccrual loans | $ | 1,189 | $ | 333 | |||
| Allowance for credit losses (ACL) | $ | 17,511 | $ | 17,379 | |||
| Nonaccrual loans to total loans | 0.08 | % | 0.02 | % | |||
| ACL to total loans | 1.18 | % | 1.20 | % | |||
| ACL to nonaccrual loans | 1,472.75 | % | 5,218.92 | % | |||
| Annualized year-to-date net charge-offs to average loans | 0.01 | % | 0.01 | % | |||
| Consumer Finance | |||||||
| Total loans | $ | 462,136 | $ | 466,793 | |||
| Nonaccrual loans | $ | 975 | $ | 614 | |||
| Repossessed assets | $ | 976 | $ | 779 | |||
| ACL | $ | 22,532 | $ | 22,708 | |||
| Nonaccrual loans to total loans | 0.21 | % | 0.13 | % | |||
| ACL to total loans | 4.88 | % | 4.86 | % | |||
| ACL to nonaccrual loans | 2,310.97 | % | 3,698.37 | % | |||
| Annualized year-to-date net charge-offs to average loans | 2.64 | % | 2.62 | % | |||
| For The | |||||||
| Quarter Ended | |||||||
| Other Performance Data | 3/31/2025 | 3/31/2024 | |||||
| Net Income (Loss): | |||||||
| Community Banking | $ | 5,445 | $ | 4,012 | |||
| Mortgage Banking | 431 | 294 | |||||
| Consumer Finance | 226 | (63 | ) | ||||
| Other1 | (707 | ) | (808 | ) | |||
| Total | $ | 5,395 | $ | 3,435 | |||
| Net income attributable to C&F Financial Corporation | $ | 5,368 | $ | 3,401 | |||
| Earnings per share – basic and diluted | $ | 1.66 | $ | 1.01 | |||
| Weighted average shares outstanding – basic and diluted | 3,234,935 | 3,370,934 | |||||
| Annualized return on average assets | 0.84 | % | 0.57 | % | |||
| Annualized return on average equity | 9.35 | % | 6.33 | % | |||
| Annualized return on average tangible common equity2 | 10.65 | % | 7.30 | % | |||
| Dividends declared per share | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.44 | |||
| Mortgage loan originations – Mortgage Banking | $ | 113,750 | $ | 94,346 | |||
| Mortgage loans sold – Mortgage Banking | 106,431 | 86,079 | |||||
________________________
1 Includes results of the holding company that are not allocated to the business segments and elimination of inter-segment activity.
2 For more information about these non-GAAP financial measures, please see “Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
| Market Ratios | 3/31/2025 | 12/31/2024 | |||||
| Market value per share | $ | 67.39 | $ | 71.25 | |||
| Book value per share | $ | 72.51 | $ | 70.00 | |||
| Price to book value ratio | 0.93 | 1.02 | |||||
| Tangible book value per share1 | $ | 64.39 | $ | 61.86 | |||
| Price to tangible book value ratio1 | 1.05 | 1.15 | |||||
| Price to earnings ratio (ttm) | 11.16 | 11.86 | |||||
________________________
1 For more information about these non-GAAP financial measures, please see “Use of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
| Minimum Capital | ||||||||||
| Capital Ratios | 3/31/2025 | 12/31/2024 | Requirements3 | |||||||
| C&F Financial Corporation1 | ||||||||||
| Total risk-based capital ratio | 14.1 | % | 14.1 | % | 8.0 | % | ||||
| Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio | 11.9 | % | 11.9 | % | 6.0 | % | ||||
| Common equity tier 1 capital ratio | 10.8 | % | 10.7 | % | 4.5 | % | ||||
| Tier 1 leverage ratio | 9.9 | % | 9.8 | % | 4.0 | % | ||||
| C&F Bank2 | ||||||||||
| Total risk-based capital ratio | 13.7 | % | 13.5 | % | 8.0 | % | ||||
| Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio | 12.4 | % | 12.3 | % | 6.0 | % | ||||
| Common equity tier 1 capital ratio | 12.4 | % | 12.3 | % | 4.5 | % | ||||
| Tier 1 leverage ratio | 10.3 | % | 10.1 | % | 4.0 | % | ||||
________________________
1 The Corporation, a small bank holding company under applicable regulations and guidance, is not subject to the minimum regulatory capital regulations for bank holding companies. The regulatory requirements that apply to bank holding companies that are subject to regulatory capital requirements are presented above, along with the Corporation’s capital ratios as determined under those regulations.
2 All ratios at March 31, 2025 are estimates and subject to change pending regulatory filings. All ratios at December 31, 2024 are presented as filed.
3 The ratios presented for minimum capital requirements are those to be considered adequately capitalized.
| For The Quarter Ended | ||||||||
| 3/31/2025 | 3/31/2024 | |||||||
| Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures | ||||||||
| Return on Average Tangible Common Equity | ||||||||
| Average total equity, as reported | $ | 230,795 | $ | 217,063 | ||||
| Average goodwill | (25,191 | ) | (25,191 | ) | ||||
| Average other intangible assets | (1,118 | ) | (1,366 | ) | ||||
| Average noncontrolling interest | (637 | ) | (649 | ) | ||||
| Average tangible common equity | $ | 203,849 | $ | 189,857 | ||||
| Net income | $ | 5,395 | $ | 3,435 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles | 62 | 65 | ||||||
| Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest | (27 | ) | (34 | ) | ||||
| Net tangible income attributable to C&F Financial Corporation | $ | 5,430 | $ | 3,466 | ||||
| Annualized return on average equity, as reported | 9.35 | % | 6.33 | % | ||||
| Annualized return on average tangible common equity | 10.65 | % | 7.30 | % | ||||
| For The Quarter Ended | ||||||||
| 3/31/2025 | 3/31/2024 | |||||||
| Fully Taxable Equivalent Net Interest Income1 | ||||||||
| Interest income on loans | $ | 32,382 | $ | 29,586 | ||||
| FTE adjustment | 46 | 50 | ||||||
| FTE interest income on loans | $ | 32,428 | $ | 29,636 | ||||
| Interest income on securities | $ | 3,104 | $ | 2,863 | ||||
| FTE adjustment | 242 | 235 | ||||||
| FTE interest income on securities | $ | 3,346 | $ | 3,098 | ||||
| Total interest income | $ | 35,988 | $ | 32,708 | ||||
| FTE adjustment | 288 | 285 | ||||||
| FTE interest income | $ | 36,276 | $ | 32,993 | ||||
| Net interest income | $ | 25,010 | $ | 23,158 | ||||
| FTE adjustment | 288 | 285 | ||||||
| FTE net interest income | $ | 25,298 | $ | 23,443 | ||||
____________________
1 Assuming a tax rate of 21%.
| 3/31/2025 | 12/31/2024 | |||||||
| Tangible Book Value Per Share | ||||||||
| Equity attributable to C&F Financial Corporation | $ | 234,634 | $ | 226,360 | ||||
| Goodwill | (25,191 | ) | (25,191 | ) | ||||
| Other intangible assets | (1,084 | ) | (1,147 | ) | ||||
| Tangible equity attributable to C&F Financial Corporation | $ | 208,359 | $ | 200,022 | ||||
| Shares outstanding | 3,235,781 | 3,233,672 | ||||||
| Book value per share | $ | 72.51 | $ | 70.00 | ||||
| Tangible book value per share | $ | 64.39 | $ | 61.86 | ||||
| Contact: | Jason Long, CFO and Secretary (804) 843-2360 |
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
In a release issued under the same headline today by The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN), please note that the provided embedded image has changed. The corrected release follows:
PASADENA, Calif., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN), a diversified holding company focused on sustainable innovation, is excited to announce the publication of its April 2025 newsletter. The latest edition highlights major advancements in electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and the continued evolution of its vintage fashion subsidiary.
The Now Corporate April 2025 Newsletter
Major Highlights Include:
EV Charging Project in Carson, CA
Green Rain Energy, a subsidiary of The Now Corporation, has been selected to lead the development of a cutting-edge EV charging site at 23315 Main Street in Carson, California. Located within proximity to the Dignity Health Sports Park—one of the venues for the 2028 Olympic Games—this project aims to support increasing EV demand and regional sustainability efforts.
The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN) Through Its Subsidiary Green Rain Energy Announces New Details For Its EV Charging Project In Carson, CA
Strategic Collaboration in Rochester, NY
Green Rain Solar Inc. has also partnered with Chronical Electric and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) to bring high-speed EV charging and battery storage solutions to Rochester, New York. This joint effort underscores The Now Corporation’s mission to advance clean, accessible energy infrastructure.
The Now Corporation (OTC: NWPN) and Green Rain Solar Inc. Partner with Chronical Electric to Bring High-Speed EV Charging and Battery Storage to Rochester, NY
Reviving American Heritage through M Love Vintage Holdings Inc.
The newsletter also spotlights M Love Vintage Holdings Inc., the company’s fashion subsidiary, which is reviving iconic Americana through the timeless styles of Chuck’s Vintage. This effort marks a new era for the brand, celebrating its legacy while embracing a modern, luxurious approach to vintage wear.
M Love Vintage Holdings Inc. Embarks on New Era of Luxury Vintage Fashion Under The Now Corporation
About The Now Corporation:
The Now Corporation is committed to acquiring and developing sustainable technologies across industries such as renewable energy, electric mobility, and advanced manufacturing. Through its subsidiaries, including Green Rain Solar Inc. and M Love Vintage Holdings Inc., the company strives to deliver impactful innovation.
Stay updated and read the full newsletter at www.GreenRainEnergy.com
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward- looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. This includes the possibility that the business outlined in this press release may not be concluded due to unforeseen technical, installation, permitting, or other challenges. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of The Now Corporation to differ materially from those expressed herein. Except as required under U.S. federal securities laws, The Now Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Media Contact:
Michael Cimino
Email: Michael@pubcopr.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aa807ee3-5e38-4ca7-9ab3-3f1e90715dbe
Source: Doctors Without Borders –
Three months since the Trump administration first suspended all international assistance pending review, the US has terminated much of its funding for global health and humanitarian programs, dismantled the federal government architecture for oversight of these activities, and fired many of the key staff responsible for implementation.
Patients around the world are scrambling to understand how they can continue treatment, medical providers are struggling to maintain essential services, and aid groups are sounding the alarm about exploding needs in countries with existing emergencies.
“These sudden cuts by the Trump administration are a human-made disaster for the millions of people struggling to survive amid wars, disease outbreaks, and other emergencies,” said Avril Benoît, CEO of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the United States. “We are an emergency response organization, but we have never seen anything like this massive disruption to global health and humanitarian programs. The risks are catastrophic, especially since people who rely on foreign assistance are already among the most vulnerable in the world.”
The US has long been the leading supporter of global health and humanitarian programs, responsible for around 40 percent of all related funding. These US investments have helped improve the health and well-being of communities around the globe—and totaled less than 1 percent of the annual federal budget.
Abruptly ending this huge proportion of support is already having devastating consequences for people who rely on aid, including those at risk of malnutrition and infectious diseases, and those who are trapped in humanitarian crises around the world. These major cuts to US funding and staffing are part of a broader policy agenda that has far-reaching impacts for people whose access to care is already limited by persecution and discrimination, such as refugees and migrants, civilians caught in conflict, LGBTQI+ people, and anyone who can become pregnant.
The status of even the much-reduced number of remaining US-funded programs is highly uncertain. The administration now plans to extend the initial 90-day review period for foreign aid, which was due to conclude on April 20, by an additional 30 days, according to an internal email from the State Department obtained by the media.
MSF does not accept US government funding, so we are not directly affected by these sweeping changes to international assistance as most other aid organizations are. We remain committed to providing medical care and humanitarian support in more than 70 countries across the world. However, no organization can do this work alone. We work closely with other health and humanitarian organizations to deliver vital services, and many of our activities involve programs that have been disrupted due to funding cuts. It will be much more difficult and costly to provide care when so many ministries of health have been affected globally and there are fewer community partners overall. We will also be facing fewer places to refer patients for specialized services, as well as shortages and stockouts due to hamstrung supply chains.
Amid ongoing chaos and confusion, our teams are already witnessing some of the life-threatening consequences of the administration’s actions to date. Most recently, the US administration canceled nearly all humanitarian assistance programs in Yemen and Afghanistan, two countries facing some of the most severe humanitarian needs in the world. After years of conflict and compounding crises, an estimated 19.5 million people in Yemen—over half the population—are dependent on aid. The decision to punish civilian populations caught in these two conflicts undermines the principles of humanitarian assistance.
Across the world, MSF teams have witnessed US-funded organizations reducing or canceling other vital activities–including vaccination campaigns, protection and care for people caught in areas of conflict, sexual and reproductive health services, the provision of clean water, and adequate sanitation services.
“It’s shocking to see the US abandon its leadership role in advancing global health and humanitarian efforts,” Benoît said. “US assistance has been a lifeline for millions of people–while yanking this support will lead to more preventable deaths and untold suffering around the world. We can’t accept this dangerous new normal. We urge the administration and Congress to maintain commitments to support critical global health and humanitarian aid.”
US funding cuts are severely impacting people in areas of Somalia affected by chronic drought, food insecurity, and displacement due to conflict. In the Baidoa and Mudug regions, the scaling down of operations by aid organizations—driven by US funding cuts and a broader lack of humanitarian aid—is making a shortage of health services and nutrition programs even more critical. For example, the closure of maternal and child health clinics and a therapeutic feeding center in Baidoa cut off monthly care to hundreds of malnourished children. MSF nutrition programs in Baidoa have reported an increase in severe acute malnutrition admissions since the funding cuts. The MSF-supported Bay Regional Hospital has received patients traveling as far as 120 miles for care due to facility closures elsewhere.
Cuts to PEPFAR and USAID have led to suspensions and closures of HIV programs in countries including South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe—threatening the lives of people receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. South Africa’s pioneering Treatment Action Campaign—which helped transform the country’s response to HIV/AIDS—has had to drastically reduce its community-led monitoring system that helps ensure that people stay on treatment. The monitoring is now only happening at a small scale at clinics.
In MSF’s program in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, there has been a 70 percent increase in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) tablet distribution from January to March compared to the previous quarter, as well as an increase of 30 percent in consultations for health services, including for HIV—highlighting the growing demand as USAID funding cuts reduce access to other HIV prevention services.
In the border regions across South Sudan and Ethiopia, MSF teams are responding to a rampant cholera outbreak amid escalating violence—while other organizations have scaled down their presence. According to our teams, a number of organizations, including Save the Children, have suspended mobile clinic activities in South Sudan’s Akobo County due to US aid cuts. Save the Children reported earlier this month that at least five children and three adults with cholera died while making the long, hot trek to seek treatment in this part of South Sudan. With the withdrawal of these organizations, local health authorities are now facing significant limitations in their ability to respond effectively to the outbreak. MSF has warned that the disruption of mobile services, combined with the reduced capacity of other actors to support oral vaccination campaigns, increases the risk of preventable deaths and the continued spread of this highly infectious disease.
MSF teams in more than 20 countries have reported concerns with disrupted or suspended sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs, which MSF relies on for referrals for medical emergencies, supplies, and technical partnerships. These include contexts with already high levels of maternal and infant mortality. In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh—home to one of the world’s largest refugee camps—MSF teams report that other implementers are not able to provide SRH supplies, like emergency birth kits and contraceptives. Referrals for medical emergencies, like post-abortion care, have also been disrupted, increasing urgent needs for SRH care in the region.
Essential protection services—including shelters for women and children, legal aid, and support for survivors of violence—have been shuttered or severely reduced as needs increase due to changes in US immigration policy. For patients and MSF teams in areas like Danlí, San Pedro Sula, Tapachula, and Mexico City, referral networks have all but disappeared. This has left many migrants without safe places to sleep, access to food, or legal and psychosocial support.
In the initial weeks following the aid freeze, our teams saw several organizations stop the distribution of drinking water for displaced people in conflict-affected areas, including in Sudan’s Darfur region, Ethiopia’s Tigray region, and Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
In response to the crisis in Port-au-Prince, in March, MSF stepped in to run a water distribution system via tanker trucks to provide for more than 13,000 people living in four camps for communities displaced by violent clashes between armed groups and police. This was in addition to our regular activities focused on providing medical care for victims of violence. Ensuring access to clean drinking water is essential for health and preventing the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera.
The reported decision by the US to cut funding to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, could have disastrous consequences for children across the globe. The organization estimated that the loss of US support is projected to deny approximately 75 million children routine vaccinations in the next five years, with more than 1.2 million children potentially dying as a result. Worldwide, more than half of the vaccines MSF uses come from local ministries of health and are procured through Gavi. We could see the impacts in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where MSF vaccinates more children than anywhere else in the world. In 2023 alone, MSF vaccinated more than 2 million people in DRC against diseases like measles and cholera.
In Ethiopia’s Kule refugee camp, where MSF teams run a health center for more than 50,000 South Sudanese refugees, a US-funded organization abruptly halted mental health and social services for survivors of sexual violence and withdrew their staff. MSF teams provide other medical care but cannot currently cover the mental health and social services these patients need.
In Zimbabwe, US funding cuts have forced a local provider to stop its community outreach activities to identify women to be screened for cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Zimbabwe, even though it is preventable. Many women and girls—especially in rural areas—cannot afford or do not have access to diagnosis and treatment, which makes outreach, screening, and prevention activities vital.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
CHICAGO, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — What do you get when you combine a spotless shop floor, a legacy of quality craftsmanship, and an entrepreneur with vision? A modern American Dream in motion.
Billy Banks, a Chicago-based entrepreneur, father of triplets, and former Northwestern University entrepreneurship professor, has acquired General Machine, a precision manufacturing business based in Freeburg, Illinois. Established in 1980, General Machine has earned its reputation by delivering high-quality custom metal fabrication and machining services to industries such as mining, construction, power generation, and infrastructure.
A native of Elkhart, Indiana, Banks began his career in the RV industry, learning the fundamentals of American manufacturing firsthand. From there, his journey was anything but linear—spanning corporate roles, startups, and even academia. He first cut his teeth by co-founding M-Tec Corporation, a steel fabrication business servicing the RV, commercial vehicle and trailer industries. Next, he co-founded Reach360, a HR-tech platform focused on providing Fortune 500 HR services and benefits to small businesses. Whether in the classroom or the boardroom, Banks has remained committed to creating opportunity and building things that last.
“When I was growing up in northern Indiana, I saw what happens when manufacturing disappears—it leaves a void in communities,” said Banks. “But I also saw what’s possible when you reinvest in people and production.”
That belief led him to acquire General Machine—a business with skilled employees, strong customer relationships, and untapped potential. The acquisition, which included both the business and its real estate, required a creative financing solution. That’s where First American Bank stepped in.
To overcome high capital barriers, Banks partnered with the bank to structure a deal that leveraged the SBA 7(a) loan program to reduce the down payment, finance goodwill, and support stable cash flow through a 10-year amortization schedule. Working in tandem with GrowthCorp, First American Bank also utilized the SBA 504 program to secure 40% of the project at a fixed 25-year rate—while requiring only a 10% down payment. A working capital line of credit rounded out the financing to support ongoing operations.
“Billy brought a clear vision, strong experience, and a deep passion for revitalizing American manufacturing,” said Ross Van Beek, Senior Vice President, Commercial Loan Relationship Manager at First American Bank.
“This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial story we love to support—because it creates jobs, strengthens communities, and builds the future of American industry.”
Van Beek, along with colleagues Mark Kroencke and Madelyn McCarthy, played a pivotal role in structuring and closing the transaction.
Now at the helm, Banks has ambitious plans: double the business in three years—and then do it again.
He’s building on a rock-solid foundation. General Machine’s capabilities include:
Banks is already modernizing the company—enhancing digital outreach, deepening customer relationships, and integrating advanced technologies like AI to improve quoting, scheduling, and operational efficiency.
“General Machine has all the right bones,” said Banks. “Now it’s about honoring what works—craftsmanship, relationships, integrity—while building something even bigger.”
Thanks to First American Bank’s strategic financial support and Banks’ bold leadership, General Machine is poised to lead the next era of precision manufacturing—one expertly machined part at a time.
If you’re looking to take your business to the next level with innovative financial solutions, contact First American Bank today. Our team is ready to help you structure the right financing to fuel your growth.
For more information about First American Bank and its services, visit www.firstambank.com.
First American Bank is a Member FDIC.
Contact:
Teresa Lee
305-631-6400
tlee@firstambank.com
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Peng Zhou, Professor of Economics, Cardiff University
In the sweltering summer of AD18, a desperate chant echoed across China’s sun-scorched plains: “Heaven has gone blind!” Thousands of starving farmers, their faces smeared with ox blood, marched toward the opulent vaults held by the Han dynasty’s elite rulers.
As recorded in the ancient text Han Shu (the book of Han), these farmers’ calloused hands held bamboo scrolls – ancient “tweets” accusing the bureaucrats of hoarding grain while the farmers’ children gnawed tree bark. The rebellion’s firebrand warlord leader, Chong Fan, roared: “Drain the paddies!”
Within weeks, the Red Eyebrows, as the protesters became known, had toppled local regimes, raided granaries and – for a fleeting moment – shattered the empire’s rigid hierarchy.
The Han dynasty of China (202BC-AD220) was one of the most developed civilisations of its time, alongside the Roman empire. Its development of cheaper and sharper iron ploughs enabled the gathering of unprecedented harvests of grain.
But instead of uplifting the farmers, this technological revolution gave rise to agrarian oligarchs who hired ever-more officials to govern their expanding empire. Soon, bureaucrats earned 30 times more than those tilling the soil.
And when droughts struck, the farmers and their families starved while the empire’s elites maintained their opulence. As a famous poem from the subsequent Tang dynasty put it: “While meat and wine go to waste behind vermilion gates, the bones of the frozen dead lie by the roadside.”
Two millennia later, the role of technology in increasing inequality around the world remains a major political and societal issue. AI-driven “technology panic” – exacerbated by the disruptive efforts of Donald Trump’s new administration in the US – gives the feeling that everything has been upended. New tech is destroying old certainties; populist revolt is shredding the political consensus.
And yet, as we stand at the edge of this technological cliff, seemingly peering into a future of AI-induced job apocalypses, history whispers: “Calm down. You’ve been here before.”
Technology is humanity’s cheat code to break free from scarcity. The Han dynasty’s iron plough didn’t just till soil; it doubled crop yields, enriching landlords and swelling tax coffers for emperors while – initially, at least – leaving peasants further behind. Similarly, Britain’s steam engine didn’t just spin cotton; it built coal barons and factory slums. Today, AI isn’t just automating tasks; it’s creating trillion-dollar tech fiefdoms while destroying myriads of routine jobs.
Technology amplifies productivity by doing more with less. Over centuries, these gains compound, raising economic output and increasing incomes and lifespans. But each innovation reshapes who holds power, who gets rich – and who gets left behind.
As the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter warned during the second world war, technological progress is never a benign rising tide that lifts all boats. It’s more like a tsunami that drowns some and deposits others on golden shores, amid a process he called “creative destruction”.
A decade later, Russian-born US economist Simon Kuznets proposed his “inverted-U of inequality”, the Kuznets curve. For decades, this offered a reassuring narrative for citizens of democratic nations seeking greater fairness: inequality was an inevitable – but temporary – price of technological progress and the economic growth that comes with it.
In recent years, however, this analysis has been sharply questioned. Most notably, French economist Thomas Piketty, in a reappraisal of more than three centuries of data, argued in 2013 that Kuznets had been misled by historical fluke. The postwar fall in inequality he had observed was not a general law of capitalism, but a product of exceptional events: two world wars, economic depression, and massive political reforms.
In normal times, Piketty warned, the forces of capitalism will always tend to make the rich richer, pushing inequality ever higher unless checked by aggressive redistribution.
So, who’s correct? And where does this leave us as we ponder the future in this latest, AI-driven industrial revolution? In fact, both Kuznets and Piketty were working off quite narrow timeframes in modern human history. Another country, China, offers the chance to chart patterns of growth and inequality over a much longer period – due to its historical continuity, cultural stability, and ethnic uniformity.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
Unlike other ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians and Mayans, China has maintained a unified identity and unique language for more than 5,000 years, allowing modern scholars to trace thousand-year-old economic records. So, with colleagues Qiang Wu and Guangyu Tong, I set out to reconcile the ideas of Kuznets and Piketty by studying technological growth and wage inequality in imperial China over 2,000 years – back beyond the birth of Jesus.
To do this, we scoured China’s extraordinarily detailed dynastic archives, including the Book of Han (AD111) and Tang Huiyao (AD961), in which meticulous scribes recorded the salaries of different ranking officials. And here is what we learned about the forces – good and bad, corrupt and selfless – that most influenced the rise and fall of inequality in China over the past two millennia.
Chinese dynasties and their most influential technologies:
One of the challenges of assessing wage inequality over thousands of years is that people were paid different things at different times – such as grain, silk, silver and even labourers.
The Book of Han records that “a governor’s annual grain salary could fill 20 oxcarts”. Another entry describes how a mid-ranking Han official’s salary included ten servants tasked solely with polishing his ceremonial armour. Ming dynasty officials had their meagre wages supplemented with gifts of silver, while Qing elites hid their wealth in land deals.
To enable comparison over two millennia, we invented a “rice standard” – akin to the gold standard that was the basis of the international monetary system for a century from the 1870s. Rice is not just a staple of Chinese diets, it has been a stable measure of economic life for thousands of years.
While rice’s dominion began around 7,000BC in the Yangtze river’s fertile marshes, it was not until the Han dynasty that it became the soul of Chinese life. Farmers prayed to the “Divine Farmer” for bountiful harvests, and emperors performed elaborate ploughing rituals to ensure cosmic harmony. A Tang dynasty proverb warned: “No rice in the bowl, bones in the soil.”
Using price records, we converted every recorded salary – whether paid in silk, silver, rent or servants – into its rice equivalent. We could then compare the “real rice wages” of two categories of people we called either “officials” or “peasants” (including farmers), as a way of tracking levels of inequality over the two millennia since the start of the Han dynasty in 202BC. This chart shows how real-wage inequality in China rose and fell over the past 2,000 years, according to our rice-based analysis.
Official-peasant wage ratio in imperial China over 2,000 years:
The chart’s black line describes a tug-of-war between growth and inequality over the past two millennia. We found that, across each major dynasty, there were four key factors driving levels of inequality in China: technology (T), institutions (I), politics (P), and social norms (S). These followed the following cycle with remarkable regularity.
1. Technology triggers an explosion of growth and inequality
During the Han dynasty, new iron-working techniques led to better ploughs and irrigation tools. Harvests boomed, enabling the Chinese empire to balloon in both territory and population. But this bounty mostly went to those at the top of society. Landlords grabbed fields, bureaucrats gained privileges, while ordinary farmers saw precious little reward. The empire grew richer – but so did the gap between high officials and the peasant majority.
Even when the Han fell around AD220, the rise of wage inequality was barely interrupted. By the time of the Tang dynasty (AD618–907), China was enjoying a golden age. Silk Road trade flourished as two more technological leaps had a profound impact on the country’s fortunes: block printing and refined steelmaking.
Block printing enabled the mass production of books – Buddhist texts, imperial exam guides, poetry anthologies – at unprecedented speed and scale. This helped spread literacy and standardise administration, as well as sparking a bustling market in bookselling.
Meanwhile, refined steelmaking boosted everything from agricultural tools to weaponry and architectural hardware, lowering costs and raising productivity. With a more literate populace and an abundance of stronger metal goods, China’s economy hit new heights. Chang’an, then China’s cosmopolitan capital, boasted exotic markets, lavish temples, and a swirl of foreign merchants enjoying the Tang dynasty’s prosperity.
While the Tang dynasty marked the high-water mark for levels of inequality in Chinese history, subsequent dynasties would continue to wrestle with the same core dilemma: how do you reap the benefits of growth without allowing an overly privileged – and increasingly corrupt – bureaucratic class to push everyone else into peril?
2. Institutions slow the rise of inequality
Throughout the two millennia, some institutions played an important role in stabilising the empire after each burst of growth. For example, to alleviate tensions between emperors, officials and peasants, imperial exams known as “Ke Ju” were introduced during the Sui dynasty (AD581-618). And by the time of the Song dynasty (AD960-1279) that followed the demise of the Tang, these exams played a dominant role in society.
They addressed high levels of inequality by promoting social mobility: ordinary civilians were granted greater opportunities to ascend the income ladder by achieving top marks. This induced greater competition among officials – and strengthened emperors’ authority over them in the later dynasties. As a result, both the wages of officials and wage inequality went down as their bargaining power gradually diminished.
However, the rise of each new dynasty was also marked by a growth of bureaucracy that led to inefficiencies, favouritism and bribery. Over time, corrupt practices took root, eroding trust in officialdom and heightening wage inequality as many officials commanded informal fees or outright bribes to sustain their lifestyles.
As a result, while the emergence of certain institutions was able to put a break on rising inequality, it typically took another powerful – and sometimes highly destructive – factor to start reducing it.
3. Political infighting and external wars reduce inequality
Eventually, the rampant rise in inequality seen in almost every major Chinese dynasty bred deep tensions – not only between the upper and lower classes, but even between the emperor and their officials.
These pressures were heightened by the pressures of external conflict, as each dynasty waged wars in pursuit of further growth. The Tang’s three century-rule featured conflicts such as the Eastern Turkic-Tang war (AD626), the Baekje-Goguryeo-Silla war (666), and the Arab-Tang battle of Talas (751).
The resulting demand for more military spending drained imperial coffers, forcing salary cuts for soldiers and tax hikes on the peasants – breeding resentment among both that sometimes led to popular uprisings. In a desperate bid for survival, the imperial court then slashed officials’ pay and stripped away their bureaucratic perks.
The result? Inequality plummeted during these times of war and rebellion – but so did stability. Famine was rife, frontier garrisons mutinied, and for decades, warlords carved out territories while the imperial centre floundered.
So, this shrinking wage gap cannot be said to have resulted in a happier, more stable society. Rather, it reflected the fact that everyone – rich and poor – was worse off in the chaos. During the final imperial dynasty, the Qing (from the end of the 17th century), real-terms GDP per person was dropping to levels that had last been seen at the start of the Han dynasty, 2,000 years earlier.
4. Social norms emphasise harmony, preserve privilege
One other common factor influencing the rise and fall of inequality across China’s dynasties was the shared rules and expectations that developed within each society.
A striking example is the social norms rooted in the philosophy of Neo-Confucianism, which emerged in the Song dynasty at the end of the first millennium – a period sometimes described as China’s version of the Renaissance. It blended the moral philosophy of classical Confucianism – created by the philosopher and political theorist Confucius during the Zhou dynasty (1046-256BC) – with metaphysical elements drawn from both Buddhism and Daoism.
Neo-Confucianism emphasised social harmony, hierarchical order and personal virtue – values that reinforced imperial authority and bureaucratic discipline. Unsurprisingly, it quickly gained the support of emperors keen to ensure control of their people, and became the mainstream school of thought in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
However, Neo-Confucianist thinking proved a double-edged sword. Local gentry hijacked this moral authority to fortify their own power. Clan leaders set up Confucian schools and performed elaborate ancestral rites, projecting themselves as guardians of tradition.
Over time, these social norms became rigid. What had once fostered order and legitimacy became brittle dogma, more useful for preserving privilege than guiding reform. Neo-Confucian ideals evolved into a protective veil for entrenched elites. When the weight of crisis eventually came, they offered little resilience.
China’s final imperial dynasty, the Qing, collapsed under the weight of multiple uprisings both from within and without. Despite achieving impressive economic growth during the 18th century – fuelled by agricultural innovation, a population boom, and the roaring global trade in tea and porcelain – levels of inequality exploded, in part due to widespread corruption.
The infamous government official Heshen, widely regarded as the most corrupt figure in the Qing dynasty, amassed a personal fortune reckoned to exceed the empire’s entire annual revenue (one estimate suggests he amassed 1.1 billion taels of silver, equivalent to around US$270 billion (£200bn), during his lucrative career).
Imperial institutions failed to restrain the inequality and moral decay that the Qing’s growth had initially masked. The mechanisms that once spurred prosperity – technological advances, centralised bureaucracy and Confucian moral authority – eventually ossified, serving entrenched power rather than adaptive reform.
When shocks like natural disasters and foreign invasions struck, the system could no longer respond. The collapse of the empire became inevitable – and this time there was no groundbreaking technology to enable a new dynasty to take the Qing’s place. Nor were there fresh social ideals or revitalised institutions capable of rebooting the imperial model. As foreign powers surged ahead with their own technological breakthroughs, China’s imperial system collapsed under its own weight. The age of emperors was over.
The world had turned. As China embarked on two centuries of technological and economic stagnation – and political humiliation at the hands of Great Britain and Japan – other nations, led first by Britain and then the US, would step up to build global empires on the back of new technological leaps.
In these modern empires, we see the same four key influences on their cycles of growth and inequality – technology, institutions, politics and social norms – but playing out at an ever-faster rate. As the saying goes: history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
If imperial China’s inequality saga was written in rice and rebellions, Britain’s industrial revolution featured steam and strikes. In Lancashire’s “satanic mills”, steam engines and mechanised looms created industrialists so rich that their fortunes dwarfed small nations.
In 1835, social observer Andrew Ure enthused: “Machinery is the grand agent of civilisation.” Yet for many decades, the steam engines, spinning jennies and railways disproportionately enriched the new industrial class, just as in the Han dynasty of China 2,000 years earlier. The workers? They inhaled soot, lived in slums – and staged Europe’s first symbolic protest when the Luddites began smashing their looms in 1811.
During the 19th century, Britain’s richest 1% hoarded as much as 70% of the nation’s wealth, while labourers toiled 16-hour days in mills. In cities like Manchester, child workers earned pennies while industrialists built palaces.
But as inequality peaked in Britain, the backlash brewed. Trade unions formed (and became legal in 1824) to demand fair wages. Reforms such as the Factory Acts (1833–1878) banned child labour and capped working hours.
Although government forces intervened to suppress the uprisings, unrest such as the 1830 Swing Riots and 1842 General Strike exposed deep social and economic inequalities. By 1900, child labour was banned and pensions had been introduced. The 1900 Labour Representation Committee (later the Labour Party) vowed to “promote legislation in the direct interests of labour” – a striking echo of how China’s imperial exams had attempted to open paths to power.
Slowly, the working class saw some improvement: real wages for Britain’s poorest workers gradually increased over the latter half of the 19th century, as mass production lowered the cost of goods and expanding factory employment provided a more stable livelihood than subsistence farming.
And then, two world wars flattened Britain’s elite – the Blitz didn’t discriminate between rich and poor neighbourhoods. When peace finally returned, the Beveridge Report gave rise to the welfare state: the NHS, social housing, and pensions.
Income inequality plummeted as a result. The top 1%’s share fell from 70% to 15% by 1979. While China’s inequality fell via dynastic collapse, Britain’s decline resulted from war-driven destruction, progressive taxation, and expansive social reforms.
Wealth share of top 1% in the UK
However, from the 1980s onwards, inequality in Britain has begun to rise again. This new cycle of inequality has coincided with another technological revolution: the emergence of personal computers and information technology — innovations that fundamentally transformed how wealth was created and distributed.
The era was accelerated by deregulation, deindustrialisation and privatisation — policies associated with former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, that favoured capital over labour. Trade unions were weakened, income taxes on the highest earners were slashed, and financial markets were unleashed. Today, the richest 1% of UK adults own more 20% of the country’s total wealth.
The UK now appears to be in the worst of both worlds – wrestling with low growth and rising inequality. Yet renewal is still within reach. The current UK government’s pledge to streamline regulation and harness AI could spark fresh growth – provided it is coupled with serious investment in skills, modern infrastructure, and inclusive institutions geared to benefit all workers.
At the same time, history reminds us that technology is a lever, not a panacea. Sustained prosperity comes only when institutional reform and social attitudes evolve in step with innovation.
While China’s growth-and-inequality cycles unfolded over millennia and Britain’s over centuries, America’s story is a fast-forward drama of cycles lasting mere decades. In the early 20th century, several waves of new technology widened the gap between rich and poor dramatically.
By 1929, as the world teetered on the edge of the Great Depression, John D. Rockefeller had amassed such a vast fortune – valued at roughly 1.5% of America’s entire GDP – that newspapers hailed him the world’s first billionaire. His wealth stemmed largely from pioneering petroleum and petrochemical ventures including Standard Oil, which dominated oil refining in an age when cars and mechanised transport were exploding in popularity.
Yet this period of unprecedented riches for a handful of magnates coincided with severe imbalances in the broader US economy. The “roaring Twenties” had boosted consumerism and stock speculation, but wage growth for many workers lagged behind skyrocketing corporate profits. By 1929, the top 1% of Americans owned more than a third of the nation’s income, creating a precariously narrow base of prosperity.
When the US stock market crashed in October 1929, it laid bare how vulnerable the system was to the fortunes of a tiny elite. Millions of everyday Americans – living without adequate savings or safeguards – faced immediate hardship, ushering in the Great Depression. Breadlines snaked through city streets, and banks collapsed under waves of withdrawals they could not meet.
In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal reshaped American institutions. It introduced unemployment insurance, minimum wages, and public works programmes to support struggling workers, while progressive taxation – with top rates exceeding 90% during the second world war. Roosevelt declared: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much – it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
In a different way to the UK, the second world war proved a great leveller for the US – generating millions of jobs and drawing women and minorities into industries they’d long been excluded from. After 1945, the GI Bill expanded education and home ownership for veterans, helping to build a robust middle class. Although access remained unequal, especially along racial lines, the era marked a shift toward the norm that prosperity should be shared.
Meanwhile, grassroots movements led by figures like Martin Luther King Jr. reshaped social norms about justice. In his lesser-quoted speeches, King warned that “a dream deferred is a dream denied” and launched the Poor People’s Campaign, which demanded jobs, healthcare and housing for all Americans. This narrowing of income distribution during the post-war era was dubbed the “Great Compression” – but it did not last.
As oil crises of the 1970s marked the end of the preceding cycle of inequality, another cycle began with the full-scale emergence of the third industrial revolution, powered by computers, digital networks and information technology.
As digitalisation transformed business models and labour markets, wealth flowed to those who owned the algorithms, patents and platforms – not those operating the machines. Hi-tech entrepreneurs and Wall Street financiers became the new oligarchs. Stock options replaced salaries as the true measure of success, and companies increasingly rewarded capital over labour.
By the 2000s, the wealth share of the richest 1% climbed to 30% in the US. The gap between the elite minority and working majority widened with every company stock market launch, hedge fund bonus and quarterly report tailored to shareholder returns.
But this wasn’t just a market phenomenon – it was institutionally engineered. The 1980s ushered in the age of (Ronald) Reaganomics, driven by the conviction that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem”. Following this neoliberalist philosophy, taxes on high incomes were slashed, capital gains were shielded, and labour unions were weakened.
Deregulation gave Wall Street free rein to innovate and speculate, while public investment in housing, healthcare and education was curtailed. The consequences came to a head in 2008 when the US housing market collapsed and the financial system imploded.
The Global Financial Crisis that followed exposed the fragility of a deregulated economy built on credit bubbles and concentrated risk. Millions of people lost their homes and jobs, while banks were rescued with public money. It marked an economic rupture and a moral reckoning – proof that decades of pro-market policies had produced a system that privatised gain and socialised loss.
Inequality, long growing in the background, now became a glaring, undeniable fault line in American life – and it has remained that way ever since.
Fig 5. Wealth share and income share of top 1% in the US
So is the US proof that the Kuznets model of inequality is indeed wrong? While the chart above shows inequality has flattened in the US since the 2008 financial crisis, there is little evidence of it actually declining. And in the short term, while Donald Trump’s tariffs are unlikely to do much for growth in the US, his low-tax policies won’t do anything to raise working-class incomes either.
The story of “the American century” is a dizzying sequence of technological revolutions – from transport and manufacturing to the internet and now AI – crashing one atop the other before institutions, politics or social norms could catch up. In my view, the result is not a broken cycle but an interrupted one. Like a wheel that never completes its turn, inequality rises, reform stutters – and a new wave of disruption begins.
Like any technological explosion, AI’s potential is dual-edged. Like the Tang dynasty’s bureaucrats hoarding grain, today’s tech giants monopolise data, algorithms and computing power. Management consultant firm McKinsey has predicted that algorithms could automate 30% of jobs by 2030, from lorry drivers to radiologists.
Yet AI also democratises: ChatGPT tutors students in Africa while open-source models such as DeepSeek empower worldwide startups to challenge Silicon Valley’s oligarchy.
The rise of AI isn’t just a technological revolution – it’s a political battleground. History’s empires collapsed when elites hoarded power; today’s fight over AI mirrors the same stakes. Will it become a tool for collective uplift like Britain’s post-war welfare state? Or a weapon of control akin to Han China’s grain-hoarding bureaucrats?
The answer hinges on who wins these political battles. In 19th-century Britain, factory owners bribed MPs to block child labour laws. Today, Big Tech spends billions lobbying to neuter AI regulation.
Meanwhile, grassroots movements like the Algorithmic Justice League demand bans on facial recognition in policing, echoing the Luddites who smashed looms not out of technophobia but to protest exploitation. The question is not if AI will be regulated but who will write the rules: corporate lobbyists or citizen coalitions.
The real threat has never been the technology itself, but the concentration of its spoils. When elites hoard tech-driven wealth, social fault-lines crack wide open – as happened more than 2,000 years ago when the Red Eyebrows marched against Han China’s agricultural monopolies.
To be human is to grow – and to innovate. Technological progress raises inequality faster than incomes, but the response depends on how people band together. Initiatives like “Responsible AI” and “Data for All” reframe digital ethics as a civil right, much like Occupy Wall Street exposed wealth gaps. Even memes – like TikTok skits mocking ChatGPT’s biases – shape public sentiment.
There is no simple path between growth and inequality. But history shows our AI future isn’t preordained in code: it’s written, as always, by us.
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Peng Zhou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. What 2,000 years of Chinese history reveals about today’s AI-driven technology panic – and the future of inequality – https://theconversation.com/what-2-000-years-of-chinese-history-reveals-about-todays-ai-driven-technology-panic-and-the-future-of-inequality-254505
Source: US State of New York
n celebration of Earth Week, Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that, since 2020, New York has dedicated nearly $125 million to on-farm projects that conserve natural resources, combat climate change, and protect soil and water quality. The projects have been awarded to more than 6,500 farms in every corner of New York through the Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program, Agricultural NonPoint Source Abatement and Control (Ag NonPoint) program, and Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program. Together, through the implementation of the best practices that these projects support, they have reduced 661,633 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to removing more than 154,000 cars off the road for one year.
“New York State has long been a trailblazer in combating climate change, and we continue to lead the nation in environmental protection,” Governor Hochul said. “Protecting our state’s farms and ensuring our farmers have the resources they need to mitigate the effects of climate change is critical to not only protecting our environment, but also maintaining the economic viability of the state’s agricultural industry for generations to come. This milestone is a terrific testament to the progress we’ve made to create a cleaner, greener, more resilient New York.”
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “New York State continues to lead the nation in the work that we as a state are doing to protect our natural resources and combat climate change. Agriculture is proud to be at the table in these discussions and implementing critical best management practices on the farm that are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, capture and sequester carbon, and protect our soil and water quality. It is amazing all that can be accomplished when we work together, and under the leadership of our governor and in partnership with our SWCD, our farmers have made tangible progress in our fight against climate change.”
New York Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “Supporting New York’s farmers helps improve water and air quality for the benefit of all. We applaud the farmers who implement these important projects and thank the Department of Agriculture and Markets for funding these environmentally sustainable programs. This milestone investment signifies Governor Hochul’s continued commitment to the agriculture industry and our environment to advance a greener future for all New Yorkers.”
New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee Chair Matt Brower said, “These numbers are really impressive. We are fortunate that the State is able to provide the financial resources to help fund these practices and we are also fortunate to have the valuable staff at the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts to help the landowners install these practices. It is amazing what this partnership has accomplished over the years in terms of environmental protection and improvement.”
Over the last five years, this investment in on-farm best management practices, such as nutrient management through manure storage, vegetative buffers along streams, conservation cover crops, water management, and more, through the State’s programs, has resulted in the following accomplishments statewide:
These projects were completed by the State’s County SWCD (SWCD) with participating farmers and landowners. County SWCD will use the AEM framework to assist farmers through planning and implementation to make science-based and cost-effective decisions and to apply for funding through the State’s agricultural environmental programming. As a result, farmers can meet business goals while conserving the State’s natural resources.
New York Association of Conservation Districts Executive Director Blanche Hurlbutt said, “Earth Day is an important reminder to us all to take care of our Mother Earth. SWCD through-out New York hosts tree sales and will encourage folks to plant a tree during this time of year. It is also important to protect New York’s soil and water by learning about ways to keep and protect them. This is another way of education that is provided by the SWCD.”
New York Association of Conservation Districts President Sam Casella said, “As we celebrate Earth Week, it is an excellent opportunity to thank the Governor for her steadfast and continuing support of New York State’s Soil and Water Districts in so many ways; both financially and legislatively. Both are crucial for our States Districts and our dedicated District employees to continue their vitally important work to protect and preserve the New York State’s invaluable natural resources, now and for future generations. As I travel the country on behalf of New York Association of Conservation Districts, I have seen firsthand the collective efforts under the leadership of the Governor, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and other key agencies that have made New York State a true leader in Conservation work. Now more than ever, New York’s residents are fortunate to have that commitment, dedication and vision. We should thank them all as we celebrate Earth Week.”
Conservation District Employees Association President Caitlin Stewart said, “New York State’s SWCD are the boots on the ground for natural resource management. From projects that protect farmland, forests, and watersheds to place-based education, and from climate resiliency to invasive species prevention, SWCD programs and services benefit students, producers, landowners, and municipalities. Our expert employees truly make Earth Day every day!”
State Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “New York farmers are an example for the country, showing how vital good environmental stewardship is to growing our food, keeping our land and water healthy, and making measurable progress in fighting the climate crisis through agriculture. Despite federal rollbacks in farmer support, we will continue to fight for New York’s small family farmers by investing in the support they need to make their operations resilient and protect our food supply for future generations.”
State Senator Pete Harckham said, “New York’s agricultural sector and family farms have withstood countless climate crisis related challenges over the years, but to maintain the vitality and capacity of this crucial part of the state’s economy we must continue to offer as much support as possible. The success of the climate resilient farming grants program has benefited the statewide farm community and our environment significantly while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions—a real win-win. In this time of reduced federal support across the board, it makes sense for the governor and state legislature to remain committed to this grant program.”
Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, “Earth Week is the perfect time to highlight New York’s efforts to address climate change through our many agricultural initiatives. 6,500 New York farms have already received support for soil health practices, climate resiliency, nutrient management, and other vital conservation measures. This work is more important now than ever due to changing attitudes about climate coming from the nation’s capital. I’d like to thank the Governor, the Department, and my colleagues from across the state, for their ongoing commitment to these critically important investments.”
Throughout the year, SWCD will also host and participate in public education and outreach events to celebrate the environment, bring awareness to important natural resource issues and highlight the techniques and technologies used to implement conservation practices. To find a County District and learn more about their unique programs, visit the Soil and Water Conservation District Office page on the Department of Agriculture website.
Administered by the Department and the New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program is a cost-share grant program that provides funding to address and prevent potential water quality issues that stem from farming activities. Financial and technical assistance supports the planning and implementation of on-farm projects with the goal of improving water quality in New York’s waterways. The program seeks to support New York’s diverse agricultural businesses in their efforts to implement best management practice systems that improve water quality and environmental stewardship.
The goal of the CRF Program is to reduce the impact of agriculture on climate change (mitigation) and to increase the resiliency of New York State farms in the face of a changing climate (adaptation). Program grant funds are available for projects that reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration in soils and vegetation, in addition to enhancing the on-farm adaptation and resilience to projected climate conditions due to heavy storm events, rainfall, and drought.
To learn more about the State’s funding opportunities in this area, visit the Soil and Water Conservation Committee page on the Department of Agriculture website.
