Federal Independent Agencies
Here's a look at documents from federal independent agencies
Featured Stories
IDB Supports Ecuador to Improve Electricity Supply
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Supports Ecuador to Improve Electricity Supply
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Board of Executive Directors has approved a Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP) of $1 billion aimed at improving electricity supply in Ecuador.
Within this new credit line, the Board also approved an initial individual operation for $270 million, along with a $30 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund. This financing seeks to support improvements in the reliability and capacity
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Supports Ecuador to Improve Electricity Supply
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Board of Executive Directors has approved a Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP) of $1 billion aimed at improving electricity supply in Ecuador.
Within this new credit line, the Board also approved an initial individual operation for $270 million, along with a $30 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund. This financing seeks to support improvements in the reliability and capacityof Ecuador's electricity transmission system.
The program backed by the new CCLIP will contribute, among other benefits, to reducing 1.3 million tons of CO2 emissions by displacing fossil fuels traditionally used to maintain electricity service quality. It will also enable more than 5,600 new households in the Ecuadorian Amazon region to connect to the grid by 2031.
The program will fund the modernization and digitalization of control centers and connection points for strategic power generation plants, increase transmission system capacity to interconnect new generation -- especially renewable -- and upgrade more than 700 km of transmission lines with advanced conductors.
Additionally, in the electricity distribution sector, substations will be reinforced, control centers modernized to better integrate distributed generation (such as in San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands), and projects financed to extend the grid and improve access in rural and underserved areas of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
This program is part of Amazonia Forever, an IDB Group initiative for sustainable development in the region, which aims to work together on forest and climate conservation and improve people's quality of life by offering economic alternatives.
The first operation for $270 million has a repayment term of 22.5 years, an 8-year grace period, an interest rate based on SOFR, and a local counterpart of $78.3 million.
The $30 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund has a repayment term of 20 years, an 8-year grace period, and an annual interest rate of 1.19%.
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About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the IDB Group, is devoted to improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, the Bank works with the region's public sector to design and enable impactful, innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Leveraging financing, technical expertise, and knowledge, it promotes growth and well-being in 26 countries. Visit our website: www.iadb.org/en.
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/idb-supports-ecuador-improve-electricity-supply
IDB Approves Second Operation to Finance Metro of Bogota
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Approves Second Operation to Finance Metro of Bogota
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Board of Executive Directors has approved a second individual operation for $530 million under a Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP) aimed at supporting the development and implementation of the First Line of the Metro of Bogota (PLMB) in Colombia.
The program will benefit the 2.9 million inhabitants within the PLMB's area of influence, 96% of whom belong to low- and middle-income
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Approves Second Operation to Finance Metro of Bogota
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Board of Executive Directors has approved a second individual operation for $530 million under a Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP) aimed at supporting the development and implementation of the First Line of the Metro of Bogota (PLMB) in Colombia.
The program will benefit the 2.9 million inhabitants within the PLMB's area of influence, 96% of whom belong to low- and middle-incomehouseholds. Thanks to this initiative, residents in Bogota's southwestern corridor will improve their access to employment, health, and education opportunities located in the city's center and north, while also helping reduce environmental pollution.
Over the past 15 years, Bogota's administrations have prioritized the development of metro lines integrated with the public transportation system, considering them a structural axis of urban mobility.
The new operation for $530 million includes a 23-year amortization period, a 5.5-year grace period, and an interest rate based on SOFR.
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About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the IDB Group, is devoted to improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, the Bank works with the region's public sector to design and enable impactful, innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Leveraging financing, technical expertise, and knowledge, it promotes growth and well-being in 26 countries. Visit our website: www.iadb.org/en.
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/idb-approves-second-operation-finance-metro-bogota
Office of Advocacy: It's Time to Release Massachusetts Fishermen From Red Tape
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy issued the following news release:
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It's Time to Release Massachusetts Fishermen from Red Tape
Faced with burdensome red tape brought on by bad trade deals, foreign-owned wind farms, and unfair cost-sharing programs, the American fishing industry finds itself struggling to put food on the table for fishermen and for Americans across the country.
In October, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Casey B. Mulligan had the opportunity to visit with independent fishermen from New Bedford and Gloucester, Massachusetts. He raised
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy issued the following news release:
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It's Time to Release Massachusetts Fishermen from Red Tape
Faced with burdensome red tape brought on by bad trade deals, foreign-owned wind farms, and unfair cost-sharing programs, the American fishing industry finds itself struggling to put food on the table for fishermen and for Americans across the country.
In October, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Casey B. Mulligan had the opportunity to visit with independent fishermen from New Bedford and Gloucester, Massachusetts. He raisedtheir concerns with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is a part of the executive branch that has especially burdened the fishing industry with unnecessary restrictions and excessive compliance costs.
Chief Counsel Mulligan also testified before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship last week to highlight needed reforms. Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts, ranking member on the committee, was unable to attend. Chief Counsel Mulligan regrets the missed opportunity to discuss the important regulatory reform needed to unburden small fishing businesses.
"In my confirmation hearing, I pledged to visit small businesses where they are," said Mulligan. "Today, I am committing to do just that in New Bedford, MA, because the input of small fishing businesses is too urgent to put off for another day. We have extended an invitation to Senator Markey to join us, and I hope that together we can find adequate regulatory relief."
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Created by Congress in 1976, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration is an independent voice for small business within the executive branch. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel's efforts. For more information on the Office of Advocacy, visit advocacy.sba.gov or call (202) 205-6533.
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Original text here: https://advocacy.sba.gov/2025/11/25/its-time-to-release-massachusetts-fishermen-from-red-tape/
National Gallery of Art: Beneath the Surface - Mining and American Photography
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
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Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography
Dependent on precious metals from its inception, photography has always been intertwined with the natural resources that are fundamental to modern industrialized life. Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography is the first exhibition to exclusively examine how photographers from the mid-19th century to today have powerfully captured the effects of resource extraction on the land and communities of the United States. Featuring some 150 photographs
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
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Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography
Dependent on precious metals from its inception, photography has always been intertwined with the natural resources that are fundamental to modern industrialized life. Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography is the first exhibition to exclusively examine how photographers from the mid-19th century to today have powerfully captured the effects of resource extraction on the land and communities of the United States. Featuring some 150 photographsthat span 185 years, this exhibition focuses especially on the subterranean removal of the minerals and fossil fuels that power this country's economy and industry. Together, these works demonstrate how photographers have drawn on changing technology and unique visual strategies to rise to the challenge of picturing these colossal industries.
Made for a variety of purposes, ranging from commercial boosterism and celebration of technical advancement to social documentation and community activism, the pictures in the exhibition shed light on how photography has revealed the costs of extraction and who benefits from its success. Divided into six broad, chronological sections that contextualize the complex history of photography and extraction, from daguerreotypes of the Gold Rush to large-scale, immersive photographs made in the last decade, Beneath the Surface highlights how artists have used photography to explore the relationship between extraction, society, and the environment.
This exhibition is curated by Diane Waggoner, curator of photographs, National Gallery of Art, and Kristen Gaylord, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum.
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
Major support for the exhibition has been provided by the Center for Contemporary
Documentation.
The exhibition is also made possible through the leadership support of the Trellis Charitable Fund.
Additional support for this exhibition was provided by Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman.
Exhibition Tour
National Gallery of Art, Washington, May 23-August 23, 2026
Milwaukee Art Museum, October 23, 2026-January 17, 2027
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, February 14-May 9, 2027
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Original text here: https://www.nga.gov/press/beneath-surface-mining-and-american-photography
National Gallery of Art: Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release on Nov. 25, 2025:
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Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne
April 26, 2025-April 26, 2026
Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne brings together four major works spanning centuries and continents to reveal how artists remix and reinterpret the conventions of portraiture and allegory as well as contemporary culture. Featuring works from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art--afro.died, T. (2011) by contemporary artist Rozeal., Titian's Venus with a Mirror (c. 1555) and Ranuccio Farnese
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release on Nov. 25, 2025:
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Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne
April 26, 2025-April 26, 2026
Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne brings together four major works spanning centuries and continents to reveal how artists remix and reinterpret the conventions of portraiture and allegory as well as contemporary culture. Featuring works from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art--afro.died, T. (2011) by contemporary artist Rozeal., Titian's Venus with a Mirror (c. 1555) and Ranuccio Farnese(1541-1542), and Paul Cezanne's Boy in a Red Waistcoat (1888-1890)--this exhibition considers how artists construct meaning through focused pairings examining Gaze, Space, Pose, and Subject.
The phrase "back and forth"-- which is repeated in the background of Rozeal.'s afro.died, T., inspired in part by the lyrics of Willow Smith's 2010 hit, "Whip My Hair" -- evokes a shifting dialogue between centuries and styles. It encourages close looking and offers an opportunity to see how each artist engaged with and transformed artistic traditions. Each pairing opens a thematic lens that breaks down boundaries between old and new, and portrait and allegory.
Gaze pairs Titian's Venus with a Mirror, which represents the ideal of beauty in the Italian Renaissance, with Rozeal.'s afro.died, T., which challenges and plays with notions of beauty, culture, and race through the present. Both paintings evoke the Greco-Roman goddess of beauty (Venus and Aphrodite) while the pairing questions how ideals vary for women from different cultural backgrounds. Space showcases how Rozeal. and Cezanne construct disorienting yet intimate interiors that blur abstraction and realism.
Pose juxtaposes Cezanne's Boy in a Red Waistcoat with Titian's Ranuccio Farnese. With their strikingly similar contrapposto stances, each portrait projects a confidence that belies youthful fragility and innocence. Subject pairs both works by Titian to encourage reflection on how the artist depicted surface and psychology when painting an allegory or a portrait.
Back and Forth offers insight into how artists make choices--about composition, gesture, and detail--to construct meaning, while also revealing how these works illuminate and complicate one another when seen together.
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
The exhibition is curated by Molly Donovan, curator of contemporary art and acting head of modern and contemporary art; Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, curator and head of the department of Italian and Spanish paintings; and Aaron Wile, associate curator in the department of French paintings, all of the National Gallery of Art.
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Original text here: https://www.nga.gov/press/back-and-forth-rozeal-titian-cezanne
NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery
PASADENA, California, Nov. 26 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery
Results from an enhanced radar technique have demonstrated improvement to subsurface observations of Mars.
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NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revisited and raised new questions about a mysterious feature buried beneath thousands of feet of ice at the Red Planet's south pole. In a recent study, researchers conclude from data obtained using an innovative radar technique that an area on Mars suspected of being an underground
... Show Full Article
PASADENA, California, Nov. 26 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery
Results from an enhanced radar technique have demonstrated improvement to subsurface observations of Mars.
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NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revisited and raised new questions about a mysterious feature buried beneath thousands of feet of ice at the Red Planet's south pole. In a recent study, researchers conclude from data obtained using an innovative radar technique that an area on Mars suspected of being an undergroundlake is more likely to be a layer of rock and dust.
The 2018 discovery of the suspected lake set off a flurry of scientific activity, as water is closely linked with life in the solar system. While the latest findings indicate this feature is not a lake below the Martian surface, it does suggest that the same radar technique could be used to check for subsurface resources elsewhere on Mars, supporting future explorers.
The paper, published in Geophysical Research Letters (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL118537) on Nov. 17, was led by two of MRO's Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument scientists, Gareth Morgan and Than Putzig, who are based at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and Lakewood, Colorado, respectively.
The observations were made by MRO with a special maneuver that rolls the spacecraft 120 degrees. Doing so enhances the power of SHARAD, enabling the radar's signal to penetrate deeper underground and provide a clearer image of the subsurface. These "very large rolls" have proved so effective that scientists are eager to use them at previously observed sites where buried ice might exist.
Morgan, Putzig, and fellow SHARAD team members had made multiple unsuccessful attempts to observe the area suspected of hosting a buried lake. Then the scientists partnered with the spacecraft's operations team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission, to develop the very large roll capability.
Because the radar's antenna is at the back of MRO, the orbiter's body obstructs its view and weakens the instrument's sensitivity. After considerable work, engineers at JPL and Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, which built the spacecraft and supports its operations, developed commands for a 120-degree roll -- a technique that requires careful planning to keep the spacecraft safe -- to direct more of SHARAD's signal at the surface.
Bright signal
On May 26, SHARAD performed a very large roll to finally pick up the signal in the target area, which spans about 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) and is buried under a slab of water ice almost 1 mile (1,500 meters) thick.
When a radar signal bounces off underground layers, the strength of its reflection depends on what the subsurface is made of. Most materials let the signal slip through or absorb it, making the return faint. Liquid water is special in that it produces a very reflective surface, sending back a very strong signal (imagine pointing a flashlight at a mirror).
That's the kind of signal that was spotted from this area in 2018 by a team working with the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) instrument aboard the ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Express orbiter. To explain how such a body of water could remain liquid under all that ice, scientists have hypothesized it could be a briny lake, since high salt content can lower water's freezing temperature.
"We've been observing this area with SHARAD for almost 20 years without seeing anything from those depths," said Putzig. But once MRO achieved a very large roll over the precise area, the team was able to look much deeper. And rather than the bright signal MARSIS received, SHARAD detected a faint one. A different very-large-roll observation of an adjacent area didn't detect a signal at all, suggesting something unique is causing a quirky radar signal at the exact spot MARSIS saw a signal.
"The lake hypothesis generated lots of creative work, which is exactly what exciting scientific discoveries are supposed to do," said Morgan. "And while this new data won't settle the debate, it makes it very hard to support the idea of a liquid water lake."
Alternative explanations
Mars' south pole has an ice cap sitting atop heavily cratered terrain, and most radar images of the area below the ice show lots of peaks and valleys. Morgan and Putzig said it's possible that the bright signal MARSIS detected here may just be a rare smooth area -- an ancient lava flow, for example.
Both scientists are excited to use the very large roll technique to reexamine other scientifically interesting regions of Mars. One such place is Medusae Fossae, a sprawling geologic formation on Mars' equator that produces little radar return. While some scientists have suggested it's composed of layers of volcanic ash, others have suggested the layers may include heaps of ice deep within.
"If it's ice, that means there's lots of water resources near the Martian equator, where you'd want to send humans," said Putzig. "Because the equator is exposed to more sunlight, it's warmer and ideal for astronauts to live and work."
More about MRO
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages MRO for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built MRO and supports its operations. SHARAD was provided to the MRO mission by the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-orbiter-shines-new-light-on-long-running-martian-mystery/
Fannie Mae Releases October 2025 Monthly Summary
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- Fannie Mae issued the following news release:
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Fannie Mae Releases October 2025 Monthly Summary
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WASHINGTON, DC - Fannie Mae's (FNMA/OTCQB) October 2025 Monthly Summary is now available. The monthly summary report contains information about Fannie Mae's monthly and year-to-date activities for our gross mortgage portfolio, mortgage-backed securities and other guarantees, interest rate risk measures, and serious delinquency rates.
Follow Fannie Mae
fanniemae.com
On X:@FannieMae
Media Contact
Kelly Antonacci
202-752-4647
Fannie Mae Newsroom
https://www.fanniemae.com/news
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- Fannie Mae issued the following news release:
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Fannie Mae Releases October 2025 Monthly Summary
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WASHINGTON, DC - Fannie Mae's (FNMA/OTCQB) October 2025 Monthly Summary is now available. The monthly summary report contains information about Fannie Mae's monthly and year-to-date activities for our gross mortgage portfolio, mortgage-backed securities and other guarantees, interest rate risk measures, and serious delinquency rates.
Follow Fannie Mae
fanniemae.com
On X:@FannieMae
Media Contact
Kelly Antonacci
202-752-4647
Fannie Mae Newsroom
https://www.fanniemae.com/news
Photo of Fannie Mae
https://www.fanniemae.com/resources/img/about-fm/fm-building.tif
TOPICS
* Fannie Mae Corporate
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Original text here: https://www.fanniemae.com/newsroom/fannie-mae-news/fannie-mae-releases-october-2025-monthly-summary
