Federal Independent Agencies
Here's a look at documents from federal independent agencies
Featured Stories
SBA Ready to Action President Trump's Executive Order to Bypass Bureaucracy and Help California Residents Rebuild One Year After Wildfires
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release:
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SBA Ready to Action President Trump's Executive Order to Bypass Bureaucracy and Help California Residents Rebuild One Year After Wildfires
Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), applauded President Donald J. Trump for signing a new executive order Link is external, "Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters," which encourages the SBA to promulgate new regulations that allow disaster survivors to bypass certain
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release:
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SBA Ready to Action President Trump's Executive Order to Bypass Bureaucracy and Help California Residents Rebuild One Year After Wildfires
Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), applauded President Donald J. Trump for signing a new executive order Link is external, "Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters," which encourages the SBA to promulgate new regulations that allow disaster survivors to bypass certainstate and local bureaucracy impeding recovery and the timely use of SBA disaster loans. The executive order comes in direct response to gross mismanagement in California, where thousands of Eaton and Palisades wildfire survivors have been prevented from rebuilding over the last year due to massive permitting backlogs - even after the Trump SBA approved an unprecedented $3.2 billion in disaster relief for the state.
"Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass had over a year to clear the permitting backlogs that kept California in ruins by preventing survivors from spending billions in federal relief funds," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "Today, while local officials continue to delay, the Trump Administration is stepping in to do what the Governor and Mayor did not: offer Californians an immediate onramp to recovery by bypassing the bureaucracy. With this executive order, the SBA is introducing straightforward regulations that allow us to deploy immediate relief - and empower residents to rebuild from the devastation of both the wildfires and local inaction."
The Trump SBA authorized historic capital to help homeowners, renters, small businesses, and nonprofits recover from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires. Last year, the agency approved 12,600 disaster loans for Los Angeles totaling $3.2 billion in disaster relief - representing over half of all disaster aid approved by the agency in FY25. Yet despite this unprecedented federal response, less than 25% has been drawn down by borrowers due to enormous permitting backlogs that prevented survivors and their contractors from beginning the rebuilding process.
More than a year after the wildfires destroyed over 16,000 homes and businesses in California, less than 3,000 rebuild permits have been issued across the City Link is external and County Link is external of Los Angeles. Fewer than ten homes have been rebuilt according to the county. As of last year, 75% of Pacific Palisades residents remained Link is external in temporary housing, as well as 67% of residents in Altadena - even as billions of dollars were made available to support rebuilding and construction.
Typically, disaster survivors have six months from the date of SBA loan approval to fully use their approved funds. However, recognizing that extraordinary delays for rebuild permits were preventing California borrowers from drawing down approved funding, the SBA repeatedly extended disaster loan disbursement deadlines to protect survivors' access to disaster loans. The agency most recently extended the deadline through June 30, 2026.
President Trump's executive action encourages the SBA to implement new rules that will allow disaster survivors to bypass state and local permitting requirements and other approvals if there are substantive delays - empowering survivors to begin accessing and using their approved SBA relief for rapid recovery. In practice, the agency's rules will allow Californians to self-certify compliance with substantive state and local regulations, allowing them to finally move forward with the rebuilding process and ending over a year of failed local governance that caused widespread suffering and devastation.
SBA will publish new regulations in the coming days and will work with federal partners to ensure borrowers can access their approved funds and begin rebuilding without further delay. Survivors seeking information about SBA disaster assistance may visit sba.gov/disaster, call the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/01/27/sba-ready-action-president-trumps-executive-order-bypass-bureaucracy-help-california-residents
NASA Reveals New Details About Dark Matter's Influence on Universe
PASADENA, California, Jan. 27 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Reveals New Details About Dark Matter's Influence on Universe
With the Webb telescope's unprecedented sensitivity, scientists are learning more about dark matter's influence on stars, galaxies, and even planets like Earth.
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Scientists using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have made one of the most detailed, high-resolution maps of dark matter ever produced. It shows how the invisible, ghostly material overlaps and intertwines with "regular" matter, the stuff that makes
... Show Full Article
PASADENA, California, Jan. 27 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Reveals New Details About Dark Matter's Influence on Universe
With the Webb telescope's unprecedented sensitivity, scientists are learning more about dark matter's influence on stars, galaxies, and even planets like Earth.
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Scientists using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have made one of the most detailed, high-resolution maps of dark matter ever produced. It shows how the invisible, ghostly material overlaps and intertwines with "regular" matter, the stuff that makesup stars, galaxies, and everything we can see.
Published Monday, Jan. 26, in Nature Astronomy, the map builds on previous research to provide additional confirmation and new details about how dark matter has shaped the universe on the largest scales -- galaxy clusters millions of light-years across -- that ultimately give rise to galaxies, stars, and planets like Earth.
"This is the largest dark matter map we've made with Webb, and it's twice as sharp as any dark matter map made by other observatories," said Diana Scognamiglio, lead author of the paper and an astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "Previously, we were looking at a blurry picture of dark matter. Now we're seeing the invisible scaffolding of the universe in stunning detail, thanks to Webb's incredible resolution."
Dark matter doesn't emit, reflect, absorb, or even block light, and it passes through regular matter like a ghost. But it does interact with the universe through gravity, something the map shows with a new level of clarity. Evidence for this interaction lies in the degree of overlap between dark matter and regular matter. According to the paper's authors, Webb's observations confirm that this close alignment can't be a coincidence but, rather, is due to dark matter's gravity pulling regular matter toward it throughout cosmic history.
"Wherever we see a big cluster of thousands of galaxies, we also see an equally massive amount of dark matter in the same place. And when we see a thin string of regular matter connecting two of those clusters, we see a string of dark matter as well," said Richard Massey, an astrophysicist at Durham University in the United Kingdom and a coauthor of the new study. "It's not just that they have the same shapes. This map shows us that dark matter and regular matter have always been in the same place. They grew up together."
Closer look
Found in the constellation Sextans, the area covered by the new map is a section of sky about 2.5 times larger than the full Moon. A global community of scientists have observed this region with at least 15 ground- and space-based telescopes for the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS). Their goal: to precisely measure the location of regular matter here and then compare it to the location of dark matter. The first dark matter map of the area was made in 2007 using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a project led by Massey and JPL astrophysicist Jason Rhodes, a coauthor of the paper.
Webb peered at this region for a total of about 255 hours and identified nearly 800,000 galaxies, some of which were detected for the first time. Scognamiglio and her colleagues then looked for dark matter by observing how its mass curves space itself, which in turn bends the light traveling to Earth from distant galaxies. When observed by researchers, it's as if the light of those galaxies has passed through a warped windowpane.
The Webb map contains about 10 times more galaxies than maps of the area made by ground-based observatories and twice as many as Hubble's. It reveals new clumps of dark matter and captures a higher-resolution view of the areas previously seen by Hubble.
To refine measurements of the distance to many galaxies for the map, the team used Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), designed and managed through launch by JPL, along with other space- and ground-based telescopes. The wavelengths that MIRI detects also make it adept at detecting galaxies obscured by cosmic dust clouds.
Why it matters
When the universe began, regular matter and dark matter were probably sparsely distributed. Scientists think dark matter began to clump together first and that those dark matter clumps then pulled together regular matter, creating regions with enough material for stars and galaxies to begin to form.
In this way, dark matter determined the large-scale distribution of galaxies in the universe. And by prompting galaxy and star formation to begin earlier than they would have otherwise, dark matter's influence also played a role in creating the conditions for planets to eventually form. That's because the first generations of stars were responsible for turning hydrogen and helium -- which made up the vast majority of atoms in the early universe -- into the rich array of elements that now compose planets like Earth. In other words, dark matter provided more time for complex planets to form.
"This map provides stronger evidence that without dark matter, we might not have the elements in our galaxy that allowed life to appear," said Rhodes. "Dark matter is not something we encounter in our everyday life on Earth, or even in our solar system, but it has definitely influenced us."
Scognamiglio and some of her coauthors will also map dark matter with NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope over an area 4,400 times bigger than the COSMOS region. Roman's primary science goals include learning more about dark matter's fundamental properties and how they may or may not have changed over cosmic history. But Roman's maps won't beat Webb's spatial resolution. More detailed looks at dark matter will be possible only with a next-generation telescope like the Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA's next astrophysics flagship concept.
More about Webb
The James Webb Space Telescope is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
To learn more about Webb, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-reveals-new-details-about-dark-matters-influence-on-universe/
How NASA Is Homing in From Space on Ocean Debris
PASADENA, California, Jan. 27 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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How NASA Is Homing in From Space on Ocean Debris
Space-based technology could help track plastic and other flotsam by its 'fingerprints.'
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In late 2025, scientists reported that, for the first time, they were able to detect concentrations of plastic pollution on land using NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) sensor aboard the International Space Station. The technology has inspired marine researchers to see whether it could also help track debris in our waters.
Before
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PASADENA, California, Jan. 27 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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How NASA Is Homing in From Space on Ocean Debris
Space-based technology could help track plastic and other flotsam by its 'fingerprints.'
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In late 2025, scientists reported that, for the first time, they were able to detect concentrations of plastic pollution on land using NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) sensor aboard the International Space Station. The technology has inspired marine researchers to see whether it could also help track debris in our waters.
Beforefuture generations of sensors like EMIT can be called upon to detect ocean litter, scientists need to know what to look for. Working with collaborators, NASA intern Ashley Ohall has built a newly published reference library containing nearly 25,000 molecular "fingerprints" from all manner of flotsam and jetsam, including rope, tires, metal, bubble wrap, buoys, and bottle caps. Given the overwhelming presence of plastic in marine debris, the library includes some 19 types of polymer.
Most of the estimated 8 million tons or more of plastic that enter the ocean every year comes from land, so mapping pollution hot spots near coastlines could be a first step toward reducing what ends up on beaches and washed out to sea. That's exactly what NASA's sensor showed it could do, though detecting plastic wasn't its first mission. Launched in 2022, EMIT maps minerals across desert regions to help determine how the dust can heat or cool the atmosphere.
But the instrument has proved itself incredibly nimble. From its perch on the space station, it can identify hundreds of compounds on Earth via the unique spectral patterns they make in reflected sunlight. The technology behind EMIT, called imaging spectroscopy, was pioneered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and is used on missions throughout the solar system. One of EMIT's cousins discovered lunar water in 2009, and another is set to return to the Moon to help future astronauts identify scientifically valuable areas to sample.
Marine scientist Ashley Ohall checked out aircraft at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, during her recent internship with the agency in which she led the creation of a spectral library containing nearly 25,000 molecular "fingerprints" from all manner of debris. Credit: Kelsey Bisson
The same technology has now shown that it can find plastic compounds in landfills and large-scale structures like greenhouses, said JPL's David Thompson, who coauthored the 2025 study. However, detecting plastic once it enters the ocean is more challenging: Seawater absorbs infrared light, masking many of plastic's prominent spectral features.
Litter library
That's where the work of Ohall and her collaborators comes in. Their open-source library compiles the work of many researchers over the years who've analyzed marine debris using handheld instruments in laboratories. Standardizing the various datasets into one searchable repository is crucial because different kinds of debris have slightly different spectra based on material, color, and condition. Weathered water bottles, for example, "look" different than washed-up hurricane detritus. Once the patterns are known, detection algorithms can be developed.
Carried by ocean currents, debris can travel thousands of miles from the source, so a better understanding of where it is and where it's headed could be a boon for public health and coastal tourism, said Ohall, a Florida native who recently graduated from the University of Georgia.
"My biggest hope is that people see remote sensing as an important and useful tool for marine debris monitoring," Ohall said. "Just because it hasn't been done yet doesn't mean it can't be done."
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Conventional methods for quantifying plastic in the ocean -- including dragging nets through garbage patches -- can't sample the millions of tons that flow in. With NASA's support, scientists are learning more about the ability of existing sensors as well as what's still needed to spot marine debris. Teams are also training AI tools to sift through satellite imagery.
It remains a planet-scale endeavor, said Kelsey Bisson, a program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The groundwork being done by Ohall and other scientists brings us a step closer to leveraging a powerful technology flying in air and space today.
"Humans have a visceral connection to the ocean and its health," Bisson said. "Detecting marine debris is the kind of incredible challenge that NASA can help solve."
To learn more about EMIT, visit: https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/emit/
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/how-nasa-is-homing-in-from-space-on-ocean-debris/
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Announces Millions in Community Investment Programs Funding for 2026
DALLAS, Texas, Jan. 27 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news release:
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Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Announces Millions in Community Investment Programs Funding for 2026
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DALLAS, TEXAS, January 27, 2026-The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) is committing millions in funding through its 2026 Community Investment programs to strengthen housing and economic development across its five-state District, including $17 million for first-time homebuyer assistance.
"Everything we do is about equipping
... Show Full Article
DALLAS, Texas, Jan. 27 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news release:
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Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Announces Millions in Community Investment Programs Funding for 2026
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DALLAS, TEXAS, January 27, 2026-The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) is committing millions in funding through its 2026 Community Investment programs to strengthen housing and economic development across its five-state District, including $17 million for first-time homebuyer assistance.
"Everything we do is about equippingour members with flexible funding and grants that strengthen housing and spur economic opportunity in the communities they serve," said Greg Hettrick, senior vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas.
All grants and funding opportunities are provided through FHLB Dallas financial institution members. FHLB Dallas doesn't provide grants or loans directly to consumers.
Here's a look at this year's allocations and programs:
* Affordable Housing Program (AHP) General Fund : up to $1.75 million per project for construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing. FHLB Dallas allocates at least 10 percent of its income each year in the form of AHP General Fund and AHP Homeownership Set Aside program grants. The 2026 AHP General Fund application round opens on March 31 and awards will be announced this fall
* Disaster Rebuilding Assistance (DRA) : $3.5 million to help homeowners repair properties damaged by federally declared disasters
* FHLB Dallas FORTIFIED Fund : $10 million to help fund storm-resistant roofs designed to withstand severe storms for eligible homeowners
* FHLB Dallas FORTIFIED Rental Program: $10 million to help fund storm-resistant roofs designed to withstand severe storms for affordable multifamily rental properties owned by not for profits, including public housing authorities
* Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) : $17 million in grants to assist eligible first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing costs
* Housing Assistance for Veterans (HAVEN) : $1 million for home modifications or down payment assistance for disabled military veterans, service members and Gold Star Families
* Native American Housing Opportunities (NAHO) Fund : $1.5 million to support affordable housing initiatives by tribal housing entities
* Partnership Grant Program (PGP) : $1.5 million for a matching program offered in conjunction with FHLB Dallas financial institution members for grants to qualified community-based organizations
* Pathway Fund : $3 million to help organizations with initiatives that prevent or address heirs' property issues that create a clouded title usually because the original owner died without a will
* Small Business Boost (SBB): $4 million for small business loans for the creation and expansion of small businesses. A portion of each recipient's loan payments go back into the program to be lent out again
* Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) : $1.8 million for home repairs or modifications for homeowners with occupants, who are disabled, elderly or have other special needs
FHLB Dallas also offers two affordable housing and economic development advance (loan) programs:
* Community Investment Program: Favorably priced advances (loans) for FHLB Dallas members to support affordable housing for homeowners and renters earning up to 115 percent of their area's median income
* Economic Development Program: Favorably priced advances (loans) for FHLB Dallas members to support qualified economic and commercial development
For full details on all programs, see FHLB Dallas' Community Programs webpage.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $112.2 billion as of September 30, 2025, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 800 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.
Contact Information:
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
fhlb.com
214.441.8445
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Original text here: https://www.fhlb.com/library/press-releases/2026/federal-home-loan-bank-of-dallas-announces-million
EPA Stops Another California Scheme to Impose its Costly Vehicle Policies on Entire Country
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Stops Another California Scheme to Impose its Costly Vehicle Policies on Entire Country
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Agency Announces Final Disapproval of CA Heavy-Duty Vehicle Rule Pertaining to Out-of-State, Out-of-Country Vehicles
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency's final disapproval of California's Heavy-Duty (HD) Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to the extent the regulation applies to out-of-state and out-of-country registered
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Stops Another California Scheme to Impose its Costly Vehicle Policies on Entire Country
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Agency Announces Final Disapproval of CA Heavy-Duty Vehicle Rule Pertaining to Out-of-State, Out-of-Country Vehicles
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency's final disapproval of California's Heavy-Duty (HD) Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to the extent the regulation applies to out-of-state and out-of-country registeredvehicles. EPA determined that California's unprecedented attempt to establish an I/M program in its State Implementation Plan (SIP) for heavy-duty vehicles that pass-through California, regardless of where the vehicle was registered, may violate Federal law. Specifically, EPA determined that California failed to provide necessary assurances as required by Section 110 of the CAA, that implementing the Regulation would be consistent with the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, which prevents states from interfering with interstate and international trade. EPA approval was limited to the aspect of the Regulation in California's SIP only as it applies to in-state registered vehicles.
"The Trump EPA will never back down from holding California accountable and stopping them from imposing unnecessary regulations on the entire nation. If California had its way, prices would skyrocket for truckers and businesses across America. Affordable trucks are vital for keeping food and goods moving and prices low for families," said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. "Americans didn't vote for California's policies to be imposed nationwide. They voted for President Trump's policies that put working families first."
The agency also said that California's attempt to apply these truck inspection rules to vehicles from other countries violates federal authority over foreign policy matters, and that applying the regulation to out-of-state registered vehicles is not a proper use of the CAA's planning provisions, which empower each state to promote air quality.
EPA is committed to following the law and its statutory obligations as written. While California may force costly regulations on vehicles registered in its own state, EPA will not allow California to impose those costly regulations on American truck drivers and engine manufacturers in other states or countries for its own purposes by misusing the CAA.
Prior to its finalization, EPA held a 30-day public comment period. The final action can be viewed here.
Background
EPA's partial approval will allow the regulation to become federally enforceable for non-gasoline combustion vehicles over 14,000 pounds registered in California.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-stops-another-california-scheme-impose-its-costly-vehicle-policies-entire-country
Award-Winning Medievalist Aden Kumler to Present 2026 A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
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Award-Winning Medievalist Aden Kumler to Present 2026 A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts
The National Gallery of Art's Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (the Center) announced today that Aden Kumler of Universitat Basel will deliver the 75th A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, the institution's longest-running lecture series, in May 2026.
Kumler, an award-winning art historian, will present a four-part lecture series entitled In Praise of Difficulty: Ambiguity, Aesthetics, and the
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
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Award-Winning Medievalist Aden Kumler to Present 2026 A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts
The National Gallery of Art's Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (the Center) announced today that Aden Kumler of Universitat Basel will deliver the 75th A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, the institution's longest-running lecture series, in May 2026.
Kumler, an award-winning art historian, will present a four-part lecture series entitled In Praise of Difficulty: Ambiguity, Aesthetics, and theWork of Art in Medieval Europe, to take place in the National Gallery's East Building Auditorium every Sunday from May 3 to 24, 2026, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. In the series, Kumler will focus on difficulty as an aesthetic strategy, value, and theme in medieval European art. The lectures expand upon one of the central topics of Kumler's scholarly research: how the material conditions of life shape people's thought, imagination, and actions.
Art made for and by European medieval Christians has often been associated with religious and aesthetic values of certainty, clarity, and transcendence. Kumler argues that, instead, a long tradition of medieval art offers viewers perceptual and conceptual encounters with ambiguity, obscurity, and contingency. Attending to this neglected tradition of difficult, often self-reflexive images, Kumler's lectures will explore how medieval works of art position difficulty as a virtue, asking what was at stake and reflecting on its implications for our understanding of medieval art today.
"Professor Kumler's lectures will take on one of the most challenging concepts in medieval European art: difficulty. In a series of talks ranging from the invention of art as a human creation to the transformative and redemptive effects inherent to works of art, Aden Kumler will highlight the rewards of examining the complex and sometimes obscure origins of art of this period," said Peter M. Lukehart, interim dean of the Center.
The Lectures
"Regio dissimilitudinis: Art and Ars in a Fallen World"
Sunday, May 3, 2026
For medieval Christians, artmaking originated in estrangement: Exiled from paradise after their transgression, Adam and Eve invented ars (craft or art) to survive after the fall. In this lecture, Kumler examines how medieval artworks confronted and reflected upon their origin and existence as postlapsarian human creations in a "region of dissimilitude": a world of aesthetic experience, estranged from its creator.
"Opus/Onus: Art's Burden in Medieval Europe"
Sunday, May 10, 2026
The making of art in medieval Europe required skill, a knowledge of materials, hard work, and patience. There was also the additional challenge of making images and objects that pleased the senses, engaged the mind, and even addressed the beholder's soul. Addressing the multiple burdens placed on the work of art--and its makers--in medieval Europe, this lecture explores how artists thematized art's tasks and difficulties in the works they created.
"Obscuritas: Ambiguity and Disorientation"
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Although European medieval art has often been celebrated for its luminous qualities, spiritual certainties, and ordered and ordering aesthetic values, these characteristics are only part of the historical picture. This lecture examines medieval works of art that virtuosically pursue other aims: blurring the divide between image and reality, bending time and space, and calling into question both the work of art and art's work on its beholders.
"Passio--Patientia--Potentia: Tribulation, Tension, Transformation"
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Medieval Christians understood passio--the state of being acted upon, even de-formed and transformed--to be a fundamental aspect of the human condition and of Christ's redemptive work. In this lecture, Kumler examines how medieval works of art took up passio and the cognate virtue of patience as a theme, an aesthetic strategy, and an occasion for reflecting upon the making and beholding of works of art.
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About Aden Kumler
Aden Kumler is professor of art history in the Department of Arts, Media, Philosophy at Universitat Basel and director of eikones, Center for the Theory and History of the Image. Her research interests are thematically and historically wide-ranging, but a key tenet of her work surrounds how the material conditions of life shape people's thought, imagination, and actions. Kumler's first book, Translating Truth: Ambitious Images and Religious Knowledge in Late Medieval France and England (2011), examines the interplay of manuscript illumination and vernacular texts in 13th- and 14th-century France and England. It was awarded a Medieval Academy of America book subvention and was short-listed for the ACE/Mercer's International Book Award. Her work also focuses on Christian liturgical objects in the context of practice, ritual prescriptions, and theological concepts in the Middle Ages, as well as contemporary problems of methodology and image theory. A new area of her research explores the influential role of images, artworks, and artifacts in the formation of historical conceptions of labor, property, value, and authenticity. At the Center, Kumler has been a David E. Finley Fellow (2004-2007) and a member of the board of advisors (2017-2020).
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About the Mellon Lectures
Inaugurated in 1949, the Mellon Lectures is the longest-running lecture series at the National Gallery of Art. The series was founded to present the best contemporary thought and scholarship in the fine arts. The program itself is named for Andrew W. Mellon, founder of the National Gallery of Art, who gave the nation his art collection and funds to build the West Building, which opened to the public in 1941. Lecturers have included art historians, artists, archaeologists, poets, actors, and musicologists. See the full list.
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About the National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through its doors each year--with millions more online--making it one of the most visited art museums in the world. The National Gallery's renowned collection includes nearly 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.
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Original text here: https://www.nga.gov/press/mellon-lectures-2026
Austria Hosts IDB Group Non-Regional Members and Announces Contribution as First Donor to IDB Cities and Regions Program
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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Austria Hosts IDB Group Non-Regional Members and Announces Contribution as First Donor to IDB Cities and Regions Program
VIENNA -- The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) convened its annual consultations with non-regional member countries in Vienna, as part of preparations for the IDB Group Annual Meetings, scheduled for March 11-14, 2026, in Paraguay.
During the consultations, Austria announced a contribution of $2 million to the IDB for Cities and Regions program, becoming the
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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Austria Hosts IDB Group Non-Regional Members and Announces Contribution as First Donor to IDB Cities and Regions Program
VIENNA -- The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) convened its annual consultations with non-regional member countries in Vienna, as part of preparations for the IDB Group Annual Meetings, scheduled for March 11-14, 2026, in Paraguay.
During the consultations, Austria announced a contribution of $2 million to the IDB for Cities and Regions program, becoming thefirst donor of the initiative. Austria has been a long-standing partner on urban development. This new contribution nearly doubles its total support for IDB urban and subnational initiatives since 2019.
Launched in 2025, the IDB for Cities and Regions initiative supports cities across Latin America and the Caribbean through direct financing, technical assistance, and credit-enhancement tools to prepare bankable projects, strengthen fiscal and institutional capacity, and mobilize capital for urban services, infrastructure and resilience.
The consultations in Vienna reviewed the IDB Group's work in 2025, where it delivered record scale and finance. The IDB Group reached $35 billion in total financing, including $20 billion in public-sector operations -- the highest level since 2019 -- and a new all-time-high $13 billion in private-sector commitments. Discussions also focused on IDB's move from vision to action in reforms, including through modernizing the Bank's lending policies, and 2026 priorities including critical-mineral framework and enhancing relationship between the region and non-regional partners.
"Last year was a record year -- highest ever financing, more quality and impact of our projects and processes, and record external recognition of our work. We are moving now from vision to action on the reforms, concentrating on execution and implementation, and looking at priorities ahead -- critical minerals, Mercosur-EU, support for countries in economic transition, among others -- as we head toward our Annual Meetings in Paraguay", said IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn. "Austria's role as the first donor to the IDB for Cities and Regions program signals the importance of subnational projects with our non-regional members."
In 2025, the IDB Group received multiple external recognitions, including LatinFinance's MDB of the Year Award; the International Knowledge Management Award; BlueMark's independent verification of IDB Invest's Impact Management Framework; IJGlobal's Securitization Deal of the Year for Scaling4Impact; Environmental Finance's Sustainable Debt Awards for debt-for-nature transactions in Ecuador and The Bahamas; and several LatinFinance awards for bonds, infrastructure financing, and DFI-backed deals.
Tomorrow, on the margins of the consultations, the IDB Group, together with Austria's Federal Ministry of Finance and Advantage Austria, will launch BID for the Americas in Austria. The program connects Austrian firms and investors with projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an initial focus on energy transmission, digital infrastructure, and logistics. The launch will feature President Goldfajn, IDB Invest CEO James Scriven, and Austria's Federal Minister of Finance Markus Marterbauer.
Also tomorrow in Vienna, IDB Lab will host a high-level event with President Goldfajn, IDB Lab CEO Graham Macmillan, representatives of the Government of Austria, and governors from non-regional member countries, in partnership with Zero Project, to discuss financing models and public-private partnerships to expand access to jobs, services, and mobility for persons with disabilities.
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About the IDB Group
The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) is the leading source of financing and knowledge for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. It comprises the IDB, which works with the region's public sector and enables the private sector; IDB Invest, which directly supports private companies and projects; and IDB Lab, which spurs entrepreneurial innovation.
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/austria-hosts-idb-group-non-regional-members-and-announces-contribution-first-donor-idb-cities-and
