Targeted News Service

WASHINGTON, March 22 (TNStalk) -- Vet Voice Foundation issued the following statement on March 21, 2023:

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Earlier today, President Biden designated the Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments. In reaction, Vet Voice Foundation CEO Janessa Goldbeck released the following statement.

"We want to offer our sincere thanks to President Biden, Secretary Haaland, and others in the administration for today's designations of Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments.

Today's designations are the result of years of campaigning and advocacy - in Texas, in Nevada, and in Washington, ... Show Full Article

Helmsley Charitable Trust Grants More Than $26.4M to Fund Nearly 200 Ultrasound Imaging Devices Across Minnesota and Train Sonography Workforce

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 22 -- The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust issued the following news release:

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted nearly $18.3 million to help Minnesota hospitals and health centers purchase nearly 200 ultrasound imaging devices and an additional $8.1 million to boost sonography and point of care ultrasound (POCUS) training opportunities across the state.

Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the grants will help improve access to exceptional medical treatment for all Minnesotans, whether they ... Show Full Article MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 22 -- The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust issued the following news release: The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted nearly $18.3 million to help Minnesota hospitals and health centers purchase nearly 200 ultrasound imaging devices and an additional $8.1 million to boost sonography and point of care ultrasound (POCUS) training opportunities across the state. Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the grants will help improve access to exceptional medical treatment for all Minnesotans, whether theylive in the heart of Minneapolis or a smaller rural or underserved community.

"Our hospitals and health centers need to stay current with rapidly advancing technology so they can continue to provide top-notch healthcare close to home," Panzirer said. "These grants help ensure that facilities across Minnesota have the latest and greatest ultrasound equipment and training."

The grants were announced Tuesday during a news conference at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, where the basic foundation for what would become known as point of care ultrasound (POCUS) began in the United States.

Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures inside the body. This safe, cost-effective tool supports other clinical information to help providers make timely diagnoses and provide appropriate treatment.

More than half of the 196 devices purchased through the grants (109) are POCUS machines, which are used by providers at the bed or tableside for immediate assessment of a patient to quickly determine a course of action. The grants will also provide 69 general ultrasound systems and 18 cardiovascular ultrasound systems, which aid in imaging of the heart.

"Offering comprehensive care locally is important for rural hospitals across the state of Minnesota," said Brian Lovdahl, CEO of CCM Health in Montevideo. "Having the latest ultrasound technology available in our communities means we can provide efficient and accurate diagnoses in our hospitals, clinics, and emergency departments. At CCM Health, grant funds will allow us to equip our surgery rooms with endoscopic ultrasound tools that will expand services for patients in our region."

The initiative also includes more than $8.1 million to train new sonographers, offer continuing education to sonographers and ultrasound technologists, and provide comprehensive POCUS training to doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. The training grants include more than $917,000 to the Minnesota Rural Health Association to support sonographer training in rural and underserved areas of the state, more than $1 million to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to expand St. Cloud Technical & Community College's sonography program, and nearly $6.2 million to the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Foundation which will partner with High Quality Medical Education (HQMEDED) to provide POCUS training across the state.

"These grants are a game changer for rural hospitals across the state," said Thomas Pahl, PA-C, an emergency department clinician at Glacial Ridge Health System in Glenwood, instructor with HQMEDED, and member of the Minnesota State Trauma Advisory Council. "Clinicians and sonographers will not only have access to the newest ultrasound equipment on the market, but they will also be able to pursue educational opportunities to become more proficient at use of the equipment, expand the studies they can perform, and incorporate these skills into their clinical practices."

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Original text here: https://helmsleytrust.org/news-and-insights/helmsley-charitable-trust-grants-more-than-26-4m-to-fund-nearly-200-ultrasound-imaging-devices-across-minnesota-and-train-sonography-workforce/

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression: Grammy-Winning Rocker Melissa Etheridge Appears on Second Installment of Spin and Fire's Video Interview Series, 'Free Speech + Other Dirty Words'

LOS ANGELES, California, March 22 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression issued the following news release on March 21, 2023:

In the '90s, two-time Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge made waves when she publicly came out after struggling with censorship during her first three records. Since then, Etheridge has remained outspoken on LGBTQ rights and other issues.

Today, the artist-turned-activist sits down for an episode of "Free Speech + Other Dirty Words," the provocative and engaging new video series created by legendary media brand SPIN and the Foundation for Individual ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, March 22 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression issued the following news release on March 21, 2023: In the '90s, two-time Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge made waves when she publicly came out after struggling with censorship during her first three records. Since then, Etheridge has remained outspoken on LGBTQ rights and other issues. Today, the artist-turned-activist sits down for an episode of "Free Speech + Other Dirty Words," the provocative and engaging new video series created by legendary media brand SPIN and the Foundation for IndividualRights and Expression. The program weaves together the fundamental right of free speech with thought-provoking artist interviews and features iconic artists sharing their stories about freedom of speech, self-expression, and the barriers they crossed to avoid censorship.

In her interview with host Ryan J. Downey, Etheridge recalls the issue of her sexuality being raised by Island Records just before the release of her debut album. "There was a meeting at an office with a conference table where everybody was sitting round, and someone said, 'So...what are we going to do about the gay thing?'" she remembers. "I am not going to pretend I am something else and find a guy to take pictures with -- I am going to be me. They said, 'Well, as long as you don't flag wave.' This was before we had the rainbow flag, and four years later, I was flag waving."

The conversation also turns to the challenges of free speech when the speech deeply offends, as it did for Etheridge with Eminem's first big homophobic lyric controversy that climaxed at the 2001 Grammys with Elton John and Eminem publicly joining forces. "It works both ways," Etheridge says of free speech. "We want the freedom to say what we like even though it offends others; I gotta let him be even though it offends me. Because that's freedom." She continues: "The American Experiment is about can we all live together inside those differences?" She also boldly addresses her decision to stay at Sirius XM after considering quitting over the platform having Steve Bannon host Breitbart Daily News. "This is a hard one; free speech is hard," she says.

This series is the latest way SPIN is sparking important discussions and creating inspiring music-related print and video editorial. Since 1985, the cutting-edge media brand has developed a reputation for award-winning journalism and a willingness to dive into provocative topics. Today, SPIN brings this tradition into the digital age, creating a platform where the old school and new school come together to pave the way for new conversations in our current cultural landscape.

For more than two decades, FIRE has been the nation's leading defender of student and faculty rights on college campuses. In 2022, the organization announced an expansion initiative into off-campus free speech advocacy and legal defense.

"Free Speech + Other Dirty Words" airs exclusively on SPIN.com and the FIRE YouTube channel.

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Original text here: https://www.thefire.org/news/grammy-winning-rocker-melissa-etheridge-appears-second-installment-spin-and-fires-video

Arf Solving Liquidity Constraints in Cross-Border Payments With Support From Stellar Development Foundation

SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 22 -- The Stellar Development Foundation issued the following news release:

Arf, the Swiss-regulated global settlement banking platform, with support from the Stellar Development Foundation, is now offering the world's first unsecured, short-term, USDC-based working capital financing solutions for licensed financial institutions.

Making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more transparent and inclusive is a priority for global economic development and prosperity. However, as a capital-intensive sector, cross-border payments remain a challenging industry ... Show Full Article SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 22 -- The Stellar Development Foundation issued the following news release: Arf, the Swiss-regulated global settlement banking platform, with support from the Stellar Development Foundation, is now offering the world's first unsecured, short-term, USDC-based working capital financing solutions for licensed financial institutions. Making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more transparent and inclusive is a priority for global economic development and prosperity. However, as a capital-intensive sector, cross-border payments remain a challenging industryfor payment and remittance companies with limited capital; but solutions that bridge Web3 and traditional finance can tackle this problem.

Arf, a global settlement banking platform, and the Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the growth and development of the open-source Stellar network, have teamed up to solve the liquidity constraints faced by payment and remittance companies in cross-border payments.

Arf's solution, known as the Arf Credit Line, is built on the Stellar network and powered by Circle's USDC, and provides access to unsecured and short-term (1 to 5 days) working capital for qualified licensed financial institutions worldwide. With Arf Credit Line, financial institutions can make same-day settlements with their partners in desired countries without requiring pre-funding or any additional collateral. Arf Credit Line eliminates the capital-intensive business model for sending parties and counterparty risk for receiving parties in cross-border payments. Moreover, because all of these transactions happen on-chain with USDC, money transfers can be transparently tracked without any intermediary.

"Today, there are more than $4 trillion in pre-funded accounts that could be used for global payments' growth and development instead of staying idle," said Arf Co-founder & CEO Ali Erhat Nalbant. "Arf Credit Line unlocks this trapped capital to drive trillions of dollars worth of industry growth. We currently help more than 800 money transfer locations worldwide to make same-day treasury settlements with their partners in a fully compliant manner, so that they can grow and thrive in competition with global players."

"We are supporting Arf in creating real-world blockchain use cases that transparently solve liquidity constraints for cross-border payments," said Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation. "Our commitment to making financial services more accessible for everyone is reinforced by category-defining solutions like Arf's Credit Line."

Within four months after its launch, Arf Credit Line has provided over $80 million in loans to licensed financial institutions, generating a cumulative on-chain USDC volume of $150 million. Arf Credit Line creates an exceptional use case showing how USDC on Stellar can be utilized for working capital lending, along with making settlements more transparent, accessible, and in real time.

Financial institutions interested in Arf Credit Line can sign up here (https://arf.one/arf-credit-line-waitlist/).

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Original text here: https://www.stellar.org/press-releases/arf-solving-liquidity-constraints-in-cross-border-payments-with-support-from-stellar-development-foundation

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation: Federal Charge - Union Official Threatened Violence Against Concrete Workers Seeking to Vote Out Union

WILMINGTON, Delaware, March 21 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation issued the following news release on March 20, 2023:

GFP Mobile Mix employee Tanner Bradigan has filed federal charges against the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 542 after union officials threatened violent retribution against workers who refused to support the union and later led an effort to remove it. Bradigan and his coworkers are receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in this and a related case.

On March 8, 2023, Foundation attorneys filed ... Show Full Article WILMINGTON, Delaware, March 21 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation issued the following news release on March 20, 2023: GFP Mobile Mix employee Tanner Bradigan has filed federal charges against the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 542 after union officials threatened violent retribution against workers who refused to support the union and later led an effort to remove it. Bradigan and his coworkers are receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in this and a related case. On March 8, 2023, Foundation attorneys filedan unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for Bradigan against the union. In the charges, Bradigan stated that IUOE union officials threatened to physically attack every worker who opposed union control in a December union meeting.

According to the charge, some of the Mobile Mix workers, including Bradigan, went to the union meeting in an attempt to learn more about what union officials were claiming it could obtain for employees at the bargaining table. When they stated that they would not be supporting the union, IUOE union officials became aggressive and began screaming at Bradigan and his coworkers, threatening to fight anyone who refused to support the union.

Vance Pennington, Bradigan's coworker, later submitted a petition on February 2 to the NLRB requesting a decertification election whether to formally remove the union from their workplace. Their petition included the signatures of more than the enough workers in the bargaining unit to trigger the decertification election.

Threatening opponents of the union with violence isn't the only tactic IUOE union officials have deployed in their attempt to counter the decertification effort, however. IUOE officials have so far been able to stop the vote from taking place using so-called "blocking charges," a commonly used union tactic meant to delay or shut down decertification petitions entirely.

Foundation staff attorneys recently responded to the union's allegations by submitting five affidavits from Mobile Mix workers corroborating that the petition for dismissal was completely unrelated to the allegations in the union's blocking charges against GFP Mobile Mix, but rather legitimate grievances, like the union official's threats of violence.

The supply drivers at Mobile Mix are not the only workers who are attempting to remove an unwanted union. The NLRB's own data show that, today, a unionized private sector worker is more than twice as likely to be involved in a decertification effort as a nonunion worker is to be involved in a unionization campaign.

Unfortunately, the NLRB's union decertification process is prone to Board-created roadblocks, with the Mobile Mix workers' situation being just the latest example. However, Foundation-backed NLRB reforms from 2020 have made it somewhat easier for workers to remove unwanted union officials.

Without these Foundation-backed reforms, workers could have their decertification votes delayed virtually automatically by any unproven union blocking charges, giving union bosses the power to trap workers in union ranks they oppose nearly indefinitely. Under the Foundation-backed reforms most votes will take place promptly, with union blocking claims adjudicated later after the votes have been counted.

"The Foundation will not stop fighting for the workers of Mobile Mix regardless of the malicious union tactics at play in this case," stated Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. "Workers should never fear retaliation from union bosses for exercising their rights--physical or otherwise."

"The very fact that IUOE bosses will physically threaten workers who oppose them shows these workers have ample reason, independent of whatever claims union lawyers have made in blocking charges, for wanting to end this union's so-called 'representation,'" added Mix.

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Original text here: https://www.nrtw.org/news/mobile-mix-violence/

Indigenous Connectivity Institute and the Mastercard Foundation Partner to Connect 10,000 Indigenous Young People to Fast, Sustainable Internet

TORONTO, Ontario, March 21 (TNSpar) -- The Mastercard Foundation issued the following news release on March 20, 2023:

The Indigenous Connectivity Institute (ICI) and the Mastercard Foundation are partnering to support Indigenous communities to build fast, affordable, and sustainable broadband and to champion digital skills.

The partnership will help scale the ICI's work to support Indigenous communities with the capacity, skills, and access to the capital they need to deploy and maintain their own networks.

"To be without adequate broadband in today's world is to be shut out from opportunities ... Show Full Article TORONTO, Ontario, March 21 (TNSpar) -- The Mastercard Foundation issued the following news release on March 20, 2023: The Indigenous Connectivity Institute (ICI) and the Mastercard Foundation are partnering to support Indigenous communities to build fast, affordable, and sustainable broadband and to champion digital skills. The partnership will help scale the ICI's work to support Indigenous communities with the capacity, skills, and access to the capital they need to deploy and maintain their own networks. "To be without adequate broadband in today's world is to be shut out from opportunitiesto learn, earn, build businesses, and shape society. Yet, Indigenous communities across North America still live without the reliable, affordable internet they need. The Indigenous Connectivity Institute supports the growing movement of Indigenous broadband champions working to change that," said Darrah Blackwater, ICI Advisory Council member. "This support from the Mastercard Foundation has the potential to advance Indigenous digital equity beyond our imaginations and make real the projects and collaboration we've been dreaming up for years. I am so excited to see this new partnership in action."

The ICI is the first Indigenous-led organization focusing exclusively on digital equity in Canada and the United States. It provides training programs to advance technical and advocacy skills, advocates for effective policies, and amplifies the digital priorities and aspirations of Indigenous people, in alignment with Indigenous self-determination. The Mastercard Foundation is providing CAD $3.7 million to enable the ICI to expand current programs and develop new initiatives to reach 10,000 Indigenous young people over the next three years.

With support from the ICI, Indigenous youth and communities will develop, deploy, and sustain their own networks. Establishing access to reliable, high-speed internet - while strengthening digital skills - will elevate Indigenous innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and employment opportunities.

This includes programs that bring Indigenous leaders together to connect and learn about building and maintaining wireless and fibre broadband networks.

"A fast, reliable internet connection is essential to ensuring that Indigenous young people can access high-quality education and meaningful employment opportunities," says Jennifer Brennan, Director of Canada Programs at the Mastercard Foundation. "The shared vision for this partnership is a commitment to ensuring Indigenous young people and communities have the capacity, support, knowledge, and financial resources to lead digital equity to advance their aspirations and strengthen their communities."

Indigenous communities across North America are among the least connected and most underserved on the continent. In Canada, only 31.3 percent of First Nations households on-reserves have access to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's target broadband speed of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload - a number that masks a near complete lack of connectivity in many remote areas.

Inadequate internet access creates barriers for many Indigenous young people, including in education, training, remote employment, and pursuing entrepreneurship opportunities. Through this partnership, the ICI provides a new model for meeting the challenges and harnessing the opportunities of digital equity, working with Indigenous communities to build their own digital infrastructure and tools.

The ICI also brings together a movement of Indigenous broadband champions at the annual Indigenous Connectivity Summit, convening community members, network operators, policymakers, and researchers to advance Indigenous-led solutions to digital equity. This year's summit will take place from May 22-24 in Anchorage, Alaska.

By maintaining ownership over their networks, Indigenous communities can shape their own digital futures and harvest the benefits of internet connectivity today and for generations to come.

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Original text here: https://mastercardfdn.org/all/elev/indigenous-connectivity-institute-and-the-mastercard-foundation-partner-to-connect-10000-indigenous-young-people-to-fast-sustainable-internet/

As You Sow Foundation: Biden Issues First Veto, Rejects Bill Aimed at Blocking ESG Investing

BERKELEY, California, March 21 (TNStalk) -- As You Sow Foundation issued the following statement on March 20, 2023:

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President Biden today issued the first veto of his presidency on a resolution to overturn the Congressional Review Act (CRA) bill intended to overturn a Department of Labor (DOL) rule that empowers retirement plan fiduciaries to consider material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks when making investment and proxy voting decisions.

The effort to roll back the DOL rule was an attempt to force retirement plan fiduciaries from mitigating the growing material risk ... Show Full Article

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