THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2025
Dominican food import deal ‘slap in farmers’ faces’
• Regulators approve six products from Caribbean neighbour
• Minister says announcement ‘premature’; no deal is signed
• Trade chief confirms part of strategy to combat cost of living
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
A BAHAMIAN agricultural entrepreneur yesterday branded the Government’s move to expand food imports from the Dominican Republic as “a slap in the face to our farmers”.
Caron Shepherd, the Bahamas Agro Entrepreneurs Group’s president, told Tribune Business it was “heart-breaking” to the industry and especially veteran farmers after it emerged that Bahamian regulators have approved six agricultural products - bitter orange, pineapple, lime, avocado, banana, and plantain - for importation from the Dominican Republic.
Challenging why The Bahamas is spending money that could be invested in increasing production from its own farmers on expanding food imports instead, she argued that the move contradicts the Government’s stated policy goals of greater domestic output and enhanced food security - particularly since most of those six targeted products can be grown here.
‘treasure maps illegally exploited’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
AN underwater explorer is voicing fears that its $5m investment in creating “treasure maps” of The Bahamas is already being “illegally” exploited by an ex-contractor to locate “in excess of $1.5bn in riches”.
Carl Allen, owner of Walker’s Cay, and his Allen Exploration Group (AEG), are alleging they have obtained evidence showing Dan Porter is using their proprietary data and mapping to launch “an incredible new venture” exploring for treasure and historical artifacts that can be recovered from shipwrecks in Bahamian waters.
The multi-millionaire, in filings with the North Texas federal court, disclosed a February 12, 2025, notice issued to investors in Mr Porter’s
• Explorer’s nemesis hails ‘new Bahamas venture’
• Island Luck co-founder says ‘Mr Fox’ is not me
• Contractor claims forced out of The Bahamas
company, Maritime Research & Recovery, in which the latter discloses that he is “in the final stages” of sealing an agreement with “Mr Fox of Long Island, Bahamas”, who has purportedly secured a exploration licence from the Government.
‘Mr Fox’s’ full identity is not disclosed in the court papers, but Adrian Fox, the Island Luck co-founder and Fox Group of Companies president and founder, told Tribune Business it is not
him. “I have not been granted any licence and I don’t know anything about this,” he said in response to this newspaper’s inquiries.
Mr Porter, in the update to his investors describing “exciting news”, wrote: “A new exploration licence has been officially granted to Mr Fox of Long Island, Bahamas, setting the stage for an incredible new venture. I have been deeply involved in the design of the licensed area and have worked closely with the team
Marinas chief: ‘Looks like in COVID again’
OPPOSITION to the new and increased boating fees has sparked multiple online petitions with the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) chief yesterday saying: “It looks like we’re in COVID again.”
Peter Maury told Tribune Business that the Bahamian marina industry is expecting this week’s July 4 US
independence weekend to “be pretty much a bust” due to the ongoing confusion, uncertainty and fall-out from the increased ‘temporary’ cruising permit fees, and new fishing permit and anchorage fees, that went into effect this Tuesday.
He added that marinas, and visiting boaters, have had to deal with “the normal confusion” over the changes as one vessel with six persons aboard was charged $500 plus a $50 attendance fee by
Customs. Under the Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2025, only three of those persons should have been charged a $30 per head passenger tax making for a total of $90, while the Customs and Immigration fees are supposed to be incorporated into the temporary cruising permit fee.
The ABM chief spoke after several online petitions emerged in response to the negative boating community reaction to the fees and other
to support them throughout this process.
“This region holds multiple high value targets, and we are strategically preparing to begin exploration efforts. Additionally, we are in the final stages of completing our agreement with Mr Fox and his team to establish a strong and mutually respectful working relationship that will ensure the success of this endeavour.
“We have already finalised and tested the recordation system, ensuring seamless tracking data. The database for Mr Fox’s operations is complete, and we have successfully integrated the designated search areas into our software. With remote sensing data acquisition surveys about to begin, this project is officially ready for launch.”
Mr Allen and his company alleged in documents
our Bahamas’ maritime industry, had gained 297 signatures as this newspaper went to press last night.
Court frees vessel seized in undercover fish probe
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A FOREIGN vessel, seized in an undercover operation involving multiple Bahamian and US agencies for alleged fisheries law violations, has been freed by the Supreme Court in return for a $100,000 bond.
Justice Andrew Forbes, in a July 1, 2025, verdict, ordered that Highly Migratory, a sports fishing vessel, be released to its owner, self-described Florida businessman Mark Tsurkis, once he pays a security or guarantee equal to the maximum $100,000 fine that can be imposed if the vessel and its occupants are ultimately
found guilty of the claimed breaches.
Noting that the boat is purportedly valued at $750,000, and that it is costing the Government $3,000 per month to store it at Grand Bahama-based Bradford Marine, the judge signalled that the vessel’s release from detention made commercial and financial sense.
And, besides having to lodge a bond ten times’ higher than the $10,000 security he had suggested, Mr Tsurkis was also ordered to pay $20,445 - representing five months’ worth of storage fees - to Bradford Marine and cover all costs involved in recovering the
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
THE Bahamian aviation regulator’s chairman yesterday asserted that “everyone wins” in the settlement reached over an exam some feared would spark a pilot shortage and damage the industry. Devard Francis, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas’ Board, told Tribune Business that the agreement reached over the ‘air law’ exam that must be sat by all Bahamian pilots had ended potential “acrimony” with both sides largely achieving their objectives.
For while the regulator has succeeded in upholding the exam, and the need for airmen to sit and pass it, the industry - led by the Bahamas Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (BAOPA), and its estimated 100-strong members - succeeded in adjusting its content to be more Bahamian-focused, as well as gaining extra time to study and prepare for what will now be an ‘open book’ exam. “We’re definitely satisfied,” Mr Francis told this newspaper of the outcome. “We’re happy we got it resolved. We didn’t want to see any acrimony with
reforms. One, called ‘Save
BARRY GRIFFIN
PETER MAURY
CARON SHEPHERD
Boycott, cancellations - how visitors are reacting to boating fee increases
BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter
A ROW over increased boating fees is continuing to see visitors cancelling their trips - while one post on social media is talking about a boycott of The Bahamas.
Stephen Kappeler said Bimini Big Game Club Resort has seen another six cancellations as of yesterday, adding: “The bigger issue is not much forward boat booking with slips and rooms.”
Meanwhile, Bimini Cove Resort and Marina, which has seen ten cancellations, has been warned by guests that they would not return to the island now that increased boating fees have taken effect. The property manager, Jonisha Poitier, said a post shared to a Bimini-related Facebook group, revealed a woman
talking about “boycotting” The Bahamas.
“We definitely had some persons that were not happy,” Ms Poitier said. “I had a few cancellations. I do have some clients that are coming, but for the most part, I’ve had some cancellations due to the increase in fees. We’ve had about ten.
“So we do have about 45 rooms in the rental programme, that doesn’t include persons that do Airbnbs as well. And I do have some clients that have said that their guests have also canceled due to the increasing fees.”
A YouTube Video was shared with Tribune Business of a boater stating that there’s a new $802 fee to enter The Bahamas and that “AIS is a must have to enter their waterways”. Commenters on the video expressed disappointment in the new fees with many stating they will no longer visit The Bahamas. One added that “there’s a lot
of ripping off of Americans, and this is just the Bahamian government continuing that culture.”
The commenter said they had recently returned from Bimini and that “it’ll likely be the last trip to The Bahamas”.
“Someone on Facebook was saying that they’re not coming,” Ms Poitier added. “They’re going to the [Florida] cays instead. I have a lot of clients that are saying that now. She was on there saying how she comes a few times a year. She’s canceled all of her trips for the year.”
Ms Poitier said the decision was a swift one and she has experienced guests, who are also second-home owners in Bimini, contemplating selling their residence.
“I think this was kind of a shock to everyone,” she said. “Before I could even see it anywhere or was made aware of it, I had clients that were sending it to me, and I had to tell them
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Succession planning is not only crucial, but essential, for the continuity and long-term success of any company. It goes beyond merely replacing an outgoing executive, and involves an all-encompassing assessment of the company’s future leadership needs and the strategic cultivation of talent to meet them. Until we meet again, live life for memories rather than regrets. Enjoy life and stay on top of your game.
NB: Columnist welcomes feedback at deedee21bastian@gmail.com
About columnist: Deidre M. Bastian is a graphic designer/brand marketing analyst, international award-winning author and certified life coach.
Digital provider pledges ‘full financial inclusion’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN digital payments provider says it will shortly provide “full financial inclusion” for all islands with more than 50 persons once the necessary equipment arrives, and is installed, on Acklins.
Sun Cash, which says it has 85,000 customer accounts, added in a statement that every Bahamian and resident, regardless of where they live or whether a bank is physically present, will soon have the same ability to handle their financial transactions and obligations thanks to its nationwide expansion.
“As we mark our eighth anniversary this month, we are extremely pleased to report that the number of SunCash accounts now tops 85,000,” said Shawn Smith, its principal and director.
“That number is not just about our success as a provider – it is a reflection of the need for a solution to the problem of how to conduct your financial affairs if
you live on an island where banking facilities are scarce or non-existent.
“For those of us in New Providence or Grand Bahama, we don’t stop to think about what it is like to conduct the simplest of transactions, paying a BPL bill for instance or depositing wages. But for those living in Acklins, Mayaguana, Inagua, even closer to home in Andros or the Berry Islands, seemingly routine obligations can be complicated, challenging and often expensive.”
let me check it out, and I’ll, get back to you. “I don’t know if it’s going to bring a new kind of clientele. I don’t know. I know persons are now, at this moment, very upset. I don’t know if it’s because it’s in its initial stages. But I could speak to basically saying that we have had cancelations. We do have some persons that are still coming. As a matter of fact, I was just talking to a boater who said she may just purchase an unlimited package if that’s something that they offer because she has a home here. And if she can’t do that, she’s considering selling. It’s affecting second-home owners. There are a lot of secondhome owners here. A lot of people vacation here. A lot of people spend a lot of time here.”
A yearly slight increase was suggested by Ms Poitier, who added: “Even if there was an increase, $100, $50, if they’re going to increase every year, I could
see that. But this is almost double in some cases”. She said she hopes the government “revisits their decision”.
“I hope they’re looking at everyone’s response,” Ms Poitier said. “I hope they’re on social media, and seeing what people are saying... and checking the marinas to see how it’s affecting the marinas. Like I said, I had a client this morning that called and said that they had an Airbnb booked, and they canceled due to the fees.
“I really hope that they do revisit, because I’ve heard a lot of concerns from the clientele that’s coming in. I have experienced some cancellations due to the change in prices. Like I said, I don’t know if it’s going to be long term. We’re just going to have to wait it out and see what happens, but I do know it’s going to affect some traffic for some time. So we’ll just have to, at this point, wait and see how it goes.
“As long as they’re hearing the complaints and then making the adjustments needed, I’m happy with that.
“We have a lot of boaters in Bimini. Most persons that do come, they fish. We have a lot of boaters that come. We have a lot of smaller boats that come, smaller vessels that come, 30 foot, 25 foot, 40 footers, all of different sizes. So it’s not necessarily the bigger ones that come. We have fishermen that come.
“We have the yachts that come, but we have mostly small boaters that come. Especially here at Bimini Cove, a lot of clients that we have, they come, they rent a unit, but they go out and fish all day. Or they may decide they want to go to Honeymoon Harbour all day. So they have smaller boats, 30, 35, 40 foot boats. I have a few right now that I was just talking to, just came in from fishing. But they’re small 35 foot vessels.”
Increased demand drives use of higher-cost diesel: BPL chief
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
BPL CEO Toni Seymour said the price of electricity will stabilise once LNG comes on stream next year.
Speaking to Tribune Business, Ms Seymour said with the cost of oil and diesel fluctuating due to geopolitical pressures the transition away from diesel to LNG next year will bring stability to the utility’s fuel pricing.
“With the threat of war in the Middle East, the oil prices will still continue to fluctuate. Our cost of fuel is based on global trends, but it’s also based on our consumption and how much we use. As we transition into LNG later on this year and early into next year, then we can see some more stability in terms of our fuel pricing,” said Ms Seymour. She explained that the recent spike in electricity bills was due to the company deploying more diesel engines to sustain the increased summer load. Although the engines that run on cheaper heavy fuel oil (HFO) are still in use
more diesel engines have been added to the energy mix which increased the fuel surcharge.
“Our Clifton pair power station runs on heavy fuel oil, which is the cheaper of the two fuels that we use.
But in the summer months, once the load starts to increase, we have to run more engines, which means we’re running more diesel engines. We’re still running our HFO engines, but in addition to that, we’re running more diesel engines,”
said Ms Seymour.
“While we’ve installed some high efficiency diesel turbines, the cost of diesel is higher than the cost of heavy fuel oil, which means that the more fuel we burn, the more the fuel surcharge will be that we pass on to the customers, so that is the reason for the increased bills that our customers saw last month.”
She said BPL’s summer energy rebate programme will allow consumers to better manage their consumption and provide relief during the peak season.
The government has decided to do is hold the fuel surcharge steady for the
remainder of the summer until the end of September, and then kind of subsidise BPL on the back end, just to bring some relief to our customers during the hotter months, because consumption goes up in the summer, because it is hotter and we burn more fuel in the summer.
That will give customers the benefit of knowing ahead of time what the fuel charge will be, and they can plan for that and then work on managing consumption or lowering consumption, so that they can see lower bills
Beginning with the July billing cycle, residential consumers will benefit from reduced fuel charge rates of 17.4 cents and 21.4 cents per kilowatt hour, down from the current rates of 18.5 cents and 22.5 cents, respectively.
Officials said the rebate is intended to help offset higher electricity costs driven by increased summer demand and a temporary reliance on diesel, a more expensive fuel, to maintain stable power supply.
The challenges can be even greater, said Mr Smith, in cases involving a medical emergency or natural disaster where cash is needed urgently. “Sometimes those challenges can be lifethreatening,” he added. Even routine matters pose challenges on islands where banks either never established a presence or pulled out.
For decades, residents of remote Bahamian islands have had to organise the equivalent of a money
DEIDRE BastiaN By
$1.5BN BAHAMAS ‘TREASURE MAPS ILLEGALLY EXPLOITED’
obtained by Tribune Business that one of Mr Porter’s “former crew members advised” them on June 5, 2025, that the “information to design this new licence area” had come from Allen Exploration Group’s research, data and other materials.
The underwater explorer, which is embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute with Mr Porter over payments related to the division of artifacts recovered from the sunken Spanish treasure galleon, Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas, has already claimed he has locked them out of the Dropbox folder containing all information related to this search - including dealings with the Bahamian government.
Describing this data as “the modern equivalent of ‘treasure maps’”, Mr Allen and Allen Exploration Group added: “The treasure maps have the potential to assist salvors in locating sunken treasure not only from the Maravillas, but also from other shipwrecks throughout The Bahamas.
“Over the past several years, defendants compiled an extensive archive of maps, historical research, underwater surveys and
other material at a cost of nearly $5m, including by purchasing the archives of other noted salvors who worked for decades to compile their material.
“Plaintiffs [Mr Porter and Maritime Research and Recovery] have illegally retained this material, acting on ‘the advice of counsel’, and they now claim they obtained this material through ‘discovery’. Defendants are seeking the return of this material via their counterclaim for breach of contract,” they continued.
“Defendants see no legitimate reason why opposing counsel should retain their confidential and proprietary information, including documents comprising an actual treasure map to riches they claim are worth in excess of $1.5bn, either during or after the conclusion of this litigation.”
The North Texas court has subsequently issued a ‘protective order’ governing how “confidential material” is to be used.
Mr Porter, meanwhile, has hit back by asserting that Mr Allen and Allen Exploration Group have inflicted “irreparable” harm and financial losses on himself by bad-mouthing him to other members of the
tight-knit global salvaging and exploration industry.
He is alleging that the resulting “reputational damage” has cost Maritime Research & Recovery exploration opportunities in The Bahamas by prompting officials to “stall or revoke” his work permit and order that his vessels leave this nation’s waters. However, such a claim is somewhat undercut by his February 12, 2025, missive touting the potential joint venture with ‘Mr Fox’.
“Allen and Allen Exploration Group have used the influence they have acquired with high-ranking Bahamian officials to stall or revoke the renewal process for Porter to have a renewal of his Bahamian work license - a pre-requisite for him to work on other available salvage efforts in The Bahamas,” Mr Porter and Maritime Research & Recovery alleged in their revised lawsuit.
“Allen and Allen Exploration Group have used their influence they have acquired with high-ranking Bahamian officials to demand that Porter remove his vessels from Bahamian waters and, once he did, the defendants implemented their plan to use Customs and Federal agencies in the
US to interdict those vessels as they entered the US, to board and search them for stolen treasure so that the boats could be confiscated and have Porter detained or arrested.
“Porter and his vessels were interdicted by American law enforcement agents after they left The Bahamas and, after thoroughly searching, no treasure or antiquities were found and the boats were released. Not by coincidence, an Allen Exploration Group employee “just happened to be” sitting by the pier as the vessels were interdicted almost as if he knew the interdiction would happen at that very time,” they added.
“As a result of those intentional acts, the plaintiffs have been unable to secure projects they were promised in The Bahamas by other salvage-related companies. Additionally, they were denied a large capital investment they had been promised due to the false statements being made.
“The reputational damages caused by the defendants’ actions to the plaintiffs is irreparable and will continue to cost plaintiffs monetary losses in the millions of dollars.
The emotional cost to Porter is extreme – he has in essence been locked out of his career as a result of the defendants’ unfounded statements and actions.”
However, Mr Allen and Allen Exploration Group rejected the claims and asserted that Mr Porter cannot “plausibly” claim he would have received contracts but for their purported interference.
“Plaintiffs do not plausibly allege this element, and instead make only vague allegations about past relationships with the Bahamian government and with other salvage contractors in The Bahamas,” they argued.
“This is not a plausible allegation that Porter or Maritime Research & Recovery would have entered into an agreement with the Bahamian government.” Mr Porter, in initiating legal action, alleged that Mr Allen and Allen Exploration sought to hire his expertise and skills to assist with the Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas exploration and recovery because they lacked the necessary knowledge at that time.
He claims the two parties agreed “a treasure recovery operation” where Mr
DOMINICAN FOOD IMPORT DEAL ‘SLAP IN FARMERS’ FACES’
Ms Shepherd described the strategy as “unacceptable”, “despicable” and “deplorable”, with media reports from the Dominican Republic signalling that it is trying to secure Bahamian market access for another 80 food products including fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, seafood and processed goods.
Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and fisheries, yesterday described the Dominican Republic announcement as “premature” as The Bahamas has yet to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to give effect to the deal. He added that the tie-up is not official and could still be revoked.
However, Senator Barry Griffin, the Bahamas Trade Commission’s chairman, in confirming that the food import tie-up with the Dominican Republic is part of the Government’s strategy to reduce the cost of living and diversify market sources, said it was also sensitive to “protecting and empowering Bahamian farmers”.
“That’s definitely part of our trade diversification programme, and the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority
(BAHFSA) has been working behind the scenes with the Dominican Republic authorities for quite some time now. There were some early issues, but the kinks have been worked out and this is something we are definitely targeting,” Mr Griffin told Tribune Business.
“The importation of additional Dominican agricultural products, following the earlier approval for eggs, is indeed part of the Government’s broader trade diversification strategy and our efforts to reduce the cost of living in The Bahamas. These initiatives are aligned with our objective to increase access to high quality, competitively priced food products for Bahamian consumers.
“The recent approval for six new Dominican agricultural exports: Bitter orange, pineapple, lime, avocado, banana and plantain, was facilitated through close collaboration between the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) and the Dominican authorities,” he added.
“It marks a tangible step in diversifying our sources of imports, while also strengthening food security and reducing vulnerabilities caused by over-dependence
on a narrow group of trading partners. The potential for expanding import ties with the Dominican Republic is significant.”
Mr Griffin said talks on the other 80 products are at an early stage. “Ongoing talks concerning the possible approval of over 80 additional food products, including fresh produce, meats, dairy, seafood and processed goods, reflect strong commercial interest and regional co-operation,” he added.
“These discussions are still preliminary and will be subject to rigorous sanitary and phytosanitary assessments before any approvals are granted.” However, the Bahamas Trade Commission chairman asserted that the interests of Bahamian farmers are not being ignored or overlooked by the Davis administration.
“At the same time, we remain firmly committed to protecting and empowering Bahamian farmers. Every trade engagement of this nature is carefully reviewed to ensure it does not crowd out local production,” he explained.
“The goal is to strike the right balance, meeting the country’s food needs, improving affordability and stimulating domestic agriculture through
enhanced competitiveness, targeted support and policy co-ordination.
“Dominican imports, therefore, are not a replacement for Bahamian produce, but rather a supplement to help fill gaps and stabilise prices where local supply is insufficient. We will continue to pursue strategic trade arrangements that align with our national development goals, while safeguarding the interests of Bahamian producers and consumers alike,” Mr Griffin said.
“The Bahamas Trade Commission is setting the policy and leading in bringing together strategic partners to make these goals a reality. In particular, as it relates to agricultural products from the Dominican Republic, Jomo Campbell’s leadership within the Ministry of Agriculture and BAHFSA’s technical assistance have been most instrumental in pushing all of this forward.”
Ms Shepherd, though, was not so convinced. “The Government is making a very hypocritical move here,” she blasted. “They say they are for the people, but they ain’t for the farmers. They indicated they wanted to empower the people, but they are selling our farmers out.
“The funds they are using to purchase all these foods from the Dominican Republic could be invested in the farmers here for the farmers to produce these items. We have the same climate. Why can’t we be producing here? They’re investing our money in
other countries, not their own people.
“We produce lemons, limes, pineapples and grapefruits all the time. Why can’t they invest in farmers in The Bahamas who already have the knowhow and knowledge in producing these crops? This is very hypocritical of the Government. The farmers need the opportunity to be able to produce, and they’re not providing the farmers with the opportunity.”
A common concern has been that Bahamian farmers lack the critical mass and scale, and suffer from other disadvantages that leave them unable to produce the required quality and supply volumes on a consistent basis. However, this is countered by the argument that they will never be able to do so unless given the chance.
Arguing that The Bahamas should instead invest in rebuilding Family Island agriculture and production, Ms Shepherd told this newspaper: “They are taking money from The Bahamas and spending it in the Dominican Republic rather then spending it in The Bahamas with people who are your greatest assets.
“That is very, very hypocritical and a slap in the face. That’s a slap in the face to the farmers, a slap in the face to your agricultural sector and a slap in the face to the Bahamian people. We, as the Bahamian people, should not allow the Government to sell us out. That’s practically what
DIGITAL PROVIDER PLEDGES ‘FULL FINANCIAL INCLUSION’
FROM PAGE B3
posse, sending a trusted member of the settlement to Nassau carrying envelopes of money to pay bills for residents back home, or deposit wages or shop revenue into a bank account in the capital.
Porter and his firm would receive 30 percent of the artifacts recovered once the Bahamian government had taken its share. He is alleging that Mr Allen and Allen Exploration have reneged on their deal and are now refusing to pay Maritime Research & Recovery’s rightful share of $10m in “undivided treasure” that has been recovered.
“Our agreement stipulated that Maritime Research & Recovery was entitled to 25 percent of the recoveries after the Government of The Bahamas received its share, and we fully intend to uphold that agreement,” Mr Porter said in his February 2025 letter to investors, referring to a lower percentage than that claimed in the original lawsuit.
However, Mr Allen and Allen Exploration countered by asserting their contractor “failed to use money he was given to pay the Government for multiple work permits to pay for any work permit except his own”. They also alleged he used their money to pay personal expenses, while using vessels and crew hired by AEX on salvage work for others while “rarely” going to explore the Nuestra site in winter despite being paid to do so.
they are doing. Why not invest in our most valuable assets, our people?
“That’s despicable, that’s deplorable. That’s the lowest of the low for our agricultural sector,” she added. “It’s very disappointing, it’s very heart-breaking because I know we have hundreds of farmers out there doing their best to produce crops and nutritious foods as much as possible. That’s not acceptable, not acceptable. Not one bit
“Abaco used to produce limes, lemons and grapefruit for export. Why can’t we revive that industry? Eleuthera produces pineapples. Why can’t we reinvest or improve pineapple development? We have the land to do it. This is deplorable and very hypocritical.”
The six-product import deal was announced by the Dominican Republic’s embassy in Jamaica, which also covers The Bahamas. It was said to have taken two years to negotiate via “joint sanitary inspections, regulatory alignment and diplomatic co-ordination”
“This development builds on the recent launch of Dominican egg exports to The Bahamas and forms part of a broader strategy to position the Dominican Republic as a competitive and reliable supplier in the Caribbean,” Dominican Republic media reported.
“The embassy is also working on gaining approval for over 80 more Dominican products, including fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, seafood and processed goods. The Bahamas, with a high demand for food imports and a growing tourism industry, is seen as a key market.”
to be paid for not only the bank deposit or withdrawal but for the act of taking money around to pay bills for community members.” Sun Cash launched in 2017 in a bid to provide financial solutions for Bahamians in locations where there is no physical bank presence or automated teller machine (ATM).
“It is too great a risk, too slow a solution, too inefficient and expensive, as the carrier of the funds has
“The struggles associated with that kind of financial exchange are not only slow and inconvenient, they put the individual carrying the money at risk for their safety. In an age when the ability to conduct transactions digitally is at our fingertips, burdening someone to transfer cash makes no sense,” Mr Smith said.
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“Sun Cash is now on every island in The Bahamas with any population over 50 persons, with the exception of Acklins, and we are only waiting for the mail boat to be back in the water to deliver the equipment that is ready to go to Acklins,” Mr Smith said.
“Then, for the first time in Bahamian history, there will be full financial inclusion for every resident whether they live in the heart of Nassau or the most remote corner of Mayaguana.”
SunCash operates 15 storefronts and a network of more than 200 ATMs and kiosks, with services that include deposits and withdrawals, payments to individual beneficiaries, sending money to relatives abroad, paying insurance premiums or tuition, and creating automatic payments.
‘PREMATURE’ TO SAY DEAL DONE FOR DOMINICAN FOOD IMPORTS
By FAY SIMMONS
THE announcement of a trade deal with the Dominican Republic has been described as “premature” by Agriculture Minister Jomo Campbell.
Mr Campbell said the memorandum of understanding has not yet been signed for a trade deal for six agricultural products, announced by the Dominican Republic Embassy in Jamaica, and therefore the deal is still subject to revocation.
Responding to Tribune Business inquiries, representatives for the minister said further comment will be given after the deal is signed.
JOMO CAMPBELL
The Dominican Republic Embassy in Jamaica said access was secured to trade six Dominican agricultural products, bitter orange, pineapple, lime, avocado, banana, and plantain, into the Bahamian market after approval was granted by the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA), with support from the Dominican Ministries of
Agriculture and Foreign Affairs. The statement said Bahamas is seen as a “key market” due to the growing tourism industry and high volume of food imports and they are working on gaining approval for over 80 more Dominican products, including fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, seafood, and processed goods.
Senator Barry Griffin, chairman of the Bahamas Trade Commission said consumers could expect to see these products in store over the coming weeks once orders are sent to suppliers.
The items are expected to be “competitively priced” and increase the supply of fresh produce while giving consumers more options.
“This is part of the government’s broader strategy to diversify our trade partners, improve food security, and reduce the cost of living for Bahamian families.
The approval comes after nearly two years of sanitary inspections and regulatory coordination between Bahamian and Dominican authorities,” said Mr Griffin.
“Bahamian consumers can expect to begin seeing these products on store shelves in the coming weeks, as private sector importers begin to place and receive shipments. We do expect these products to be competitively priced, helping to put downward pressure on prices in the market by introducing more supply and more choice for consumers. Of course, pricing ultimately depends on import volumes, freight costs, and retailer decisions, but we are optimistic that this move will lead to more affordable fresh produce options.”
He noted that the import of these products will not negatively affect domestic
Call for rethink over pharmacy approvals
BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter
A QUALITY assurance and “pharmacovigilance team” has been assembled after the government has been advised “to rethink their policy of utilising the Caribbean Public Health Agency as a standard or guidelines for approval of pharmacy companies”.
Speaking on the National Prescription Drug Plan, Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association (BPA) president Marvin Smith, said (BPA) views the Caribbean Public Health Agency as being “misled, misinformed and misguided as to how it interacts with pharmaceutical companies”.
“So one of the things that we have been advising the government on is to rethink their policy of utilising the Caribbean Public Health Agency as a standard or guidelines for approval of pharmacy companies,” Dr Smith said. “We believe that this agency is misled, misinformed and misguided as to how it interacts with pharmaceutical companies, because any agency that says we can only use product out of the United States, Britain, Europe or Canada, is crazy. It’s crazy. You can’t be an intelligent pharmacy person and come up with that. So you have to be crazy.
“The association has sent a formal document to the minister and to the NHIA team on this. We’ve had a meeting. We’ve had meetings we were able to discuss. They’ve asked us to put together a team related to quality assurance and pharmacovigilance. And I
have a well-qualified, long time distributor who does a lot of imports, working with that team and one of our most senior pharmacists, who’s actually trained in pharmacovigilance from the global pharmacovigilance centre in Sweden, from Uppsala. So, they’re working on the team with NHIA. So you know we don’t just got people throwing numbers around. Our pharmacists are qualified and they’re trained, and we’re here. None of them are government workers, but we’re here, working with the government to make this thing happen.” He said India manufactures 60 to 70 percent “of the branded product” and “they manufacture up to 80 percent of the world’s generic supplies adding that its one of the most regulated markets for international supply. He suggested that their “gold standards” be utilised. “But we know that there’s a process in place, and we’ve given to the Minister a paper that outlines how we believe The Bahamas utilising normal global standards that come from the World Health Organization - we ain’t creating nothing new, we ain’t asking them to make nothing new, we’re not asking any company to create a document,”
Dr Smith said. “We’re saying that there are documents that if a company is a legitimate, fully regulated company under the World Health Organization, which is the gold standard, they will have these documents. Just let them provide it. Let them provide it, and then you move ahead with utilising their products and not do the silly idea of single product registration, where
you have to register every single product in every single version from every single company that makes that product.
“So the smart thing is, utilise systems in place, like the establishment and evaluation of the Pharmacopeia of a product, which is the basically the recipe. There’s a British one, there’s the American one, there’s a European one. They basically all say the same thing, with very slight differences, but not clinically different. Let’s utilise that. And if these countries and manufacturers are adhering to those standards, then we don’t need to sit and register them. That makes no sense. And there’s an easy way for us to validate when it comes here, we simply ask them to provide with each shipment, the certificate of analysis for that batch. And again, we’re not asking them to create nothing. Every company has to do this for every batch. So they already have the document. Tell them send us a copy. Let me check it. We can check it against the standard. If it’s if it’s made with USP, United States Pharmacopeia, we look at the certificate of analysis. It’s going to list all of these chemical factors.”
Dr Smith said relations between BPA, the Minister of Health and Wellness Michael Darville and the permanent secretary, had gone well as they were invited to the table to discuss the prescription plan. He said they’ve had the opportunity to view it and they sent recommendations and questions.
“For example, the act spoke to suppliers generally and then international suppliers,” Dr Smith said. “It
UKRAINE LOOKS TO JOINTLY PRODUCE WEAPONS WITH ALLIES AS THE US HALTS SOME SHIPMENTS
By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press
UKRAINE is forging ahead with early plans for joint weapons production with some international allies, top officials said, while warning Wednesday of potential consequences of the U.S. decision to halt some arms shipments promised to help Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion.
"Any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, not seek peace," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said. A renewed Russian push to capture more land has put Ukraine's shorthanded defenses under severe strain in the all-out war launched by Moscow nearly 3½ years ago. Russian missiles and drones are battering Ukrainian cities. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to find a peace settlement have stalled.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it hadn't received any official U.S. notification of a suspension or revision of agreed arms delivery schedules. Officials have requested a phone call with their U.S. counterparts to
verify the status of specific items in the pipeline, it said in a statement.
As Washington — Ukraine's biggest military backer — has distanced itself from Ukraine's war efforts under President Donald Trump, a bigger onus has fallen on European countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday held their first direct telephone call in almost three years. Macron's office said that during their two-hour conversation, the French leader underlined France's "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and called for a ceasefire.
Washington's decision could remove some of the most formidable weapons in Ukraine's battlefield arsenal, including some air defense missiles, precisionguided artillery and other weapons, according to AP sources.
The U.S. decision should prompt European Union countries to spend more on developing Ukraine's defense industry, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.
"It just underlines the need for Europe to do more, and also to invest more in Ukraine," Lund Poulsen told reporters. "We could do even more, to give them a stronger way of fighting back."
Denmark on Tuesday took over the EU's rotating presidency for six months. It is already investing directly in Ukraine's defense industry, which can produce arms and ammunition more quickly and cheaply than elsewhere in Europe.
Denmark is also allowing companies from Ukraine to set up shop in Denmark and manufacture military equipment on safer ground. Lund Poulsen said the first companies could start work as soon as September, and he urged European partners to follow suit.
Ukraine prepares for joint investments in defense Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his daily address on Tuesday evening said officials are preparing with a sense of urgency for upcoming meetings with EU countries and other partners to talk about cooperation in weapons manufacturing.
farmers as the amount of these goods they produce is “limited, inconsistent, or not able to meet commercial-scale demand”
“Whenever we pursue trade liberalisation or expand import access, we’re always mindful of the potential impact on local farmers. That’s why every product approval is guided by careful analysis, including whether there’s sufficient local production to meet demand, and whether imports would create unfair competition,” said Mr Griffin.
“In this case, the approved products—such as bananas, plantains, and avocados—are ones where domestic production is either limited, inconsistent, or not able to meet commercial-scale demand. These imports are meant to supplement, not replace, local agriculture.”
that they’re still working on. So, we had questions, they were able to give us updates. They took some of our recommendations.
didn’t really specify pharmacy wholesalers. And we felt it was particular that, that needed to be added in the language, because nobody who is not a registered pharmacy wholesaler should be providing medicines in the country. So we needed that to mimic the terminology used in the Pharmacy Act, so that all the laws spoke in the same voice. They took that recommendation and they made that change.
“We had questions about the inclusion or exclusion of certain diseases, and they were able to answer why certain things were there and why certain things weren’t, and that that those were coming in some other things. We had a question that came about as it related to promotion of Bahamian made medical products, and they indicated that that would come under another Act
They made the changes and we’re confident that what we see there is a good structure. It lays out the disease states.
“It lays out who is established to be providers, who are established to be prescription providers, who are established to be suppliers, and that the qualifications and all these things have to be in place. It talks about the establishment of of the NHIA and how that will run. And more importantly, it gave a clear path about how the amalgamation of supply is going to be done, because you can’t have one set of drugs for NIB, another set of drugs in the Public Hospitals Authority and then, if you go to Doctor’s Hospital and you’re on the plan, you can’t get nothing, because that’s not what they carry and so on and so forth. This is going to allow for a streamlining
He said the Davis administration is investing in the local agricultural sector to increase production and highlighted that a balanced trade ecosystem will facilitate imports while ensuring local producers are not disadvantaged.
“The government is investing in strengthening the local farming sector through initiatives under the Ministry of Agriculture to increase yields, improve infrastructure, and enhance market access for Bahamian farmers. The goal is to create a more balanced and resilient food system, where trade and local production work together, not against each other,” said Mr Griffin.
“We are committed to ensuring that Bahamian farmers are protected, supported, and positioned to thrive in this evolving environment.”
of a product listing that people know they can get, and what now remains is for the government to come up with regulations and policies that will not create an interrupted supply. That is critical.”
Dr Smith said: “Now the regulations are going to have to come, the policies are going to have to come. And those are really the fine tuning details that will either make the plan work or make it crash.”
He praised the minister and his team for the work on the issue, saying: “I really have to, on behalf of the association, give them kudos. We believe that if we continue to work with the government to put this plan in place, that we can come up with something that the Bahamian people will get service. The government will have a sustainable way to fund it, and pharmacy owners and pharmacy persons will be in a profession that is growing and thriving. We believe everybody can win in this process.”
COURT FREES VESSEL SEIZED IN UNDERCOVER FISH PROBE
vessel from his own pocket. Any fish found on the vessel are to be given free to children’s and elderly person’s homes if still in good condition,
The Highly Migratory was seized on January 27, 2025, following an operation that was heavily publicised by Bahamian law enforcement authorities just days later at a press conference featuring Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, and Gregory Bethel, director of marine resources.
The operation, which involved the Customs Department, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Department of Marine Resources and WildAid, a marine enforcement organisation, was held up as an example of this country’s renewed intent to crack down on vessels who violate Bahamian fisheries laws.
However, Justice Forbes, in his ruling, complained he had been placed in “unsatisfactory positions” by what
he branded as “a rushed case” and the authorities’ haste to quickly bring the matter to trial. He added that he was “initially perplexed” by the opposition mounted by both the Attorney General’s Office and director of public prosecutions to releasing the Highly Migratory under bond.
For, while the three men found on board have been charged with breaching the Fisheries Act by conducting commercial fishing without the necessary licence permit, Justice Forbes noted that documents filed by the Government authorities themselves appear to show the Highly Migratory’s captain possessed a valid sports fishing permit when the boat was seized.
The judge said claims by the Government that Mr Tsurkis himself agreed to “organise the illegal charter operation for monetary gain” were not supported by any evidence. And storing the Highly Migratory at Bradford Marine under the authority of the Fisheries Department violates the Fisheries Act, as any vessel seized under it is supposed
to be in the Commissioner of Police’s custody. “This application stems from the arrest of the vessel that was seized as a result of a collaborative effort by teams of officers from various agencies, including a US agency, who commenced an undercover operation upon receiving information,” Justice Forbes wrote, noting that investigators boarded the Highly Migratory posing as charter and fishing clients.
The vessel’s captain, Ramel Sheikh, and two crew members, Mr Bacallo and Mr Longman, were arrested and charged with breaches of both the Fisheries Act and Firearms Act. The trio pleaded not guilty and were released on cash bail worth $20,000 each, with a case management hearing set for September 10, 2025.
Mr Tsurkis was not on the boat when it was apprehended, and subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking an Order that it be released after the vessel was “ordered detained” until the trial’s conclusion. He voiced concern “about the value of the
vessel being diminished if it is detained for months”, with regular maintenance needed to prevent damage to the engine, bilge pump, hull and fish well.
Failure to conduct this maintenance, the Florida businessman added, created the risk it could be “rendered a total loss”. L’Dina Pelecanos, a fisheries officer, in countering for the Government revealed that the Highly Migratory had been under surveillance since 2023 for conducting a suspected “illicit foreign charter operation”.
Arguing that the evidence showed “the hallmarks of fishing ventures that ought to be prevented as a means of national maritime security interest”, she added that a bond was insufficient and that releasing the vessel now would “interfere with or impede” the investigation and “greatly impact all future seizures”. There was also the possibility that the boat might be ordered “forfeit” to the Government.
K Brian Hanna, the Bahamian attorney for Mr Tsurkis, noted that the Government’s own evidence showed a sports fishing
MARINAS CHIEF: ‘LOOKS LIKE IN COVID AGAIN’
Posted on change.org, it warned: “The proposed new taxes on marina visitors and charter yachts will devastate small Bahamian operators who depend on this industry to survive. Thousands of Bahamians rely on the yachting sector — from captains, crew, marina workers, shore support businesses, Out Island suppliers and countless Bahamian families.
“Every dollar earned by these visiting yachts flows directly into our local economy, supporting Bahamian jobs and livelihoods. Raising taxes, increasing fees and adding more barriers will drive business away, shut down Bahamian businesses and take food off Bahamian tables.
“We call on the Government to pause this legislation immediately and sit down with the Bahamian people whose futures are at stake. Protect Bahamian businesses. Protect Bahamian families. Protect Bahamian livelihoods. Pause the Bill [sic, Act]. Don’t destroy our Out Island yachting industry. Sign now. Speak up. Our future depends on it.”
One Tucson, Arizona resident, posted: “They will destroy the economy of The Bahamas. I’ve been visiting there for over 35 years. Just when we were ready to buy a boat to winter in The Bahamas. No more. Good bye my beloved Bahamas. I will truly miss you.”
And Robert, from Palm Harbour, added: “This should not just be for the yachting changes but for the entire boating industry changes. Last year a 40-foot vessel with two people aboard could enter The Bahamas for up to 90 days for $300. This year the cost of entry for the same vessel will increase to $1,650, a whopping 550 percent increase. It’s time to be heard.”
Erika Feszt, assistant manager at Bay Street Marina and Bahamas Charter Yacht Show chair, in a letter issued to the media yesterday warned that the negative impact from reduced boating traffic and visitor spending will spread far beyond just the marinas and hotels if vessels are deterred from coming by the new fees. While not opposing the Government’s imposition of fees and other levies on
visiting boaters, she nevertheless argued that this had to be done “logically” as anything implemented in haste - and with no consultation and warning to those impacted - typically “backfires”.
“The message is simply this: When you implement something hastily, chances are it will backfire,” Ms Feszt wrote. “No one is saying not to charge boats coming into Bahamian waters, but do it logically. You can’t increase fees by 100 percent to 300 percent and not expect a backlash, especially when our direct competition is 0 percent.
Also, if changes are to be made, discuss with the stakeholders. Have all the information so that the best possible solution can be made. And let’s not rush to execute new legislation without the necessary systems being in place.
“I work at a marina. Part of my job is to help boats get workers/services they need. So I deal with many Bahamians on a daily business with all different types of occupations. I am being called all the time asking what happened: Where did the boats go?”
Speaking the broader economic impact, Ms Feszt added that this hits “the boat washer crying to me that he can’t feed his children; the laundry service that expanded after COVID only to have to downsize and let staff go; the carpet cleaner who is now having to wash cars; the one who bought a centre console to assist yachts and now is wondering if she has to sell it; the provisioner who doesn’t have any yachts to provision for; the car rental guy who is selling some of his plates because he can’t keep up with the increase in his fees and there aren’t enough crew to rent his cars; the fisherman who has no one to sell his catch to.
“The pilot who guides boats past Devil’s Backbone and sells his wife’s pies to the boats isn’t getting the boats; the interior cleaners who have no boats to clean; the freight forwarder who bought another plane after COVID, only to have to now figure out if he has to sell it; the florists who don’t have the boats to sell flowers to, not to mention Bahamian captains and crew who have no jobs because there just are not enough jobs and are
permit was granted to Mr Sheikh, the Highly Migratory’s captain, on January 26, 2025. This was one day before the vessel’s seizure, and was purportedly valid for three months until April 26, 2025, and stamped by Bahamas Customs. Limits were imposed on catch size and fishing reels.
Mr Hanna argued that his clients, via the permit “have a valid defence and will likely not be convicted”. And, pointing out that the Highly Migratory could not be forfeited to the Government without a conviction, he added that the boat was “rapidly losing value, resulting in substantial economic loss for the owner”.
The Attorney General’s Office, though, hit back by asserting that the boat “had made 18 trips to The Bahamas since 2021 and did not have the appropriate registration, inspection and licences required to operate as a foreign fishing charter”. Instead, all it possessed was a cruising permit. The director of public prosecutions argued that the release application
having to go find work on boats abroad. The list goes on and on - mechanics, the marine stores, the AC and refrigeration technicians, food stores, fuel docks, fuel attendants, mobile barbers, hairdresser, salons, masseuses, farmers and on and on.”
Ms Feszt added: “So many Bahamians are hurting because the boats can simply go somewhere else that makes better business sense for them. And before you say, ‘well, they over fish and they bring all their supplies’, not true. I am not saying there are not bad apples - I mean, flip, how many Bahamians take under-measured crawfish or undersize conch or overfish themselves?
“I know for a fact that the majority of these yachts get their fish from local fishermen, load up at the food stores and liquor storeswe have all seen crew with their three loaded trolleys at the food store - and they not only take their trash from the beach, but they clean up whatever trash they meet....
“So, let’s not be hypocrites. The bottom line is that there are so many Bahamians, especially in the Out Islands, that rely on boaters and yachts coming to The Bahamas. So before we push them away and have many many Bahamians out of work, let’s find a common ground. The Government needs to meet with stakeholders and let’s find the best solution to continue to grow this industry to benefit Bahamians and The Bahamas.”
Mr Maury, meanwhile, said marinas were bracing
was “premature” and Mr Tsurkis was a non-party.
“To put it mildly, the court was initially perplexed by the affidavit supporting the Attorney General’s objection and the preliminary arguments filed on behalf of the director of public prosecutions,” Justice Forbes wrote, noting the Highly Migratory’s purported sports fishing permit that was produced with the Government’s own evidence.
Asserting that the objection “is full of emotive language and very short on evidence in support”, the judge also noted that the boat is, in effect, being detained illegally because it is not under the custody of the police commissioner. And he ruled that the vessel itself is not needed as an exhibit at the full trial.
“No evidence has been offered as to whether any fish were on board and, if so, what was the nature and value of the fish?” Justice Forbes wrote.
“Furthermore, what has happened to those items since no Order was made, as required by the statute? This is just one of the unsatisfactory positions in which this court finds itself with a rushed case.”
for “maybe worse” confusion over the new fees and permits over the next 48 hours and tomorrow’s July 4 holiday. “In the Exumas and to the south they’re not expecting to see any new boats or improvement,” he added, basing this on reports from ABM members.
“For Nassau, it’s not even average for July 4, one of the busiest weeks of the year. It looks like we’re in COVID again. There’s no big boats here, no boats in the Exumas. I’m not hearing great things from Abaco marinas. They’re hoping tomorrow improves, but right now there are definitely fewer boats. The weather is great, nothing is stopping them from coming here. That definitely ain’t going to be an excuse.”
Asked about the industry’s forecast for this weekend, Mr Maury replied: “We all expect it to be pretty much a bust. We were nervous about it a month ago when this started happening and everyone was fighting the change, but now we know it’s going to be a failure....
“Friday is July,y 4, and tomorrow we’re hoping that we get some boats coming over. I can tell you that the boats I’m talking to, they are all over in Fort Lauderdale. The marinas are busy and in Florida bats are using the inland waterways. Everybody’s in party mode; not so much over here. We’ll see after the weekend. Maybe they’ll over come over. We’re dealing with confusion over entry and process.”
Responsibilities
• Install, maintain, and repair air conditioning systems
• Inspect and diagnose issues in AC units
• Perform routine maintenance to ensure system efficiency
• Replace or repair damaged components
Qualifications
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Completion of an accredited HVAC
program
• Minimum of 2 years experience in HVAC
or air conditioning systems
• Strong problem-solving and diagnostic
skills
• Good communication and customer
AVIATION CHIEF: ‘EVERYONE WINS’ ON PILOT EXAM DEAL
the pilots. We’re happy we came to a satisfactory result. No one loses; everyone wins in this matter.
“The exam has not been cancelled. We want to create the safest flying and aviation environment for our consumers, and we want to make sure our pilots are up to par and at their best. I think the flying community and those that travel incessantly will feel good that they have an Authority that is looking out for the best for everyone - pilots and consumers.
“For the industry we just feel we have a safer, more qualified [sector[. We have persons who are tested, tried and proven.” Mr Francis also confirmed that Alexander Flowers has left his as the Authority’s director-general to be replaced by Chequita Johnson who is an acting capacity.
He spoke after the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas issued a July 1, 2025, notice to all pilots and the wider industry informing them of the “revised” air law exam for Bahamian airmen. It did not, though, mention that the changes and, indeed, the letter itself were part of the Supreme Court-approved settlement reached with BAOPA to head-off its Judicial Review challenge.
Ms Johnson, in her role as acting director-general, said a “beta” or pilot testing phase of the new exam will be held until month’s end.
The regulator will identify pilots who previously failed the exam and invite them to participate in the testing at no cost.
With the revised exam set to go into effect from August 1, 2025, Ms Johnson wrote: “In response to extensive feedback from industry partners and stakeholders, the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas has listened carefully and acted decisively to revise the air law examination for greater relevance, transparency and alignment with the national regulatory framework.
“The revised examination will now draw questions exclusively from the Civil Aviation Act and the following Civil Aviation Regulations” that include
medical, licensing, general operating rules, commercial air transport and general aviation regulations.
Ms Johnson said any pilots passing the revised ‘air law’ exam during the testing phase “will have their result fully recognised” and not need to sit it again, adding that the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas is committed to “ensuring that examination standards remain fair, clear and relevant to the national aviation regulatory environment”.
The terms of the agreement between the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas (CAAB) and BAOPA are set out in a May 29, 2025, ‘consent Order’ that was approved by Supreme Court justice, Leif Farquharson KC, and their respective attorneys.
The Order, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, appears to give the Association much of what it was seeking without compromising the Authority’s position that all Bahamian aviators must take the ‘air law’ exam in order for their licences to be validated.
In return for the Association withdrawing its Judicial Review challenge, which named the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas, the Attorney General and minister of tourism, investments and aviation as defendants, the Authority has pledged to issue a “new notice to airmen” detailing
the revised air law exam requirements.
The Order stipulates that all Bahamian pilots and Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas “licence/ validation holders, who have not sat and passed the air law exam at the time of expiration of their licence/ validation”, will now have their licences extended until year-end December 31, 2025, once they apply for this to the regulator. The previous deadline to take and pass the exam had been June 1.
This will give them more time to study for, and pass, the exam, and the settlement also requires pilots to “attend a mandatory seminar” on civil aviation regulations and licensing, then register for and take what will now be an “open book exam”. The seminar and exam will be “available on or before August 31, 2025.
And the exam will have a revised format with “content based on Bahamian regulations”. The Bahamian content, extra time and “open book exam”, were key demands of BAOPA which, within less than a year of its September 18, 2024, formation, appears to have obtained several concessions from the regulatory authority.
The ‘consent Order’ stipulates that the exam will be taken at the regulator’s offices, and be rolled out in digital format come January 2026. “Once a
candidate successfully passes the exam, they will not be required to sit any future exams for licensing/ validation purposes,” the settlement stipulates, while preserving the Authority’s stance that taking the test is “non-negotiable” for Bahamian pilots.
The Association had argued that the Authority had created a “reasonable expectation” that it would consult with itself and its members before implementing the ‘air law’ exam, but failed to “discharge its duty” as a public body to do so.
It also claimed that the exam’s original content and
structure held “jurisdictional irrelevance” because it was not sufficiently based on the conditions and regulations pilots will encounter in The Bahamas, instead including questions on take-offs and landings at London’s Heathrow airport and flying through volcanic ash.
The Association also said the 75 percent grade required to pass the ‘air law’ exam was “an irrational high bar”, and also challenged whether the Authority had complied with the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of The Bahamas Act 2007 as it had produced no proof that the exam had been accredited, registered and recognised by that body.
The Authority, though, hit back by asserting that the Civil Aviation Act of The Bahamas Act 2021, as well as its accompanying regulations and the global Chicago Convention on civil aviation, gave it the necessary legal authority to test airmen’s knowledge by imposing the ‘air law’ exam. And it warned that not imposing such a test on Bahamian pilots “exposes a country to serious risks”, including the possibility that this nation would be downgraded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European regulators, and also suffer International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) findings, resulting in “economic harm to its aviation industry”.
Trump administration withholds over $6 billion for after-school, summer programs and more
By COLLIN BINKLEY, BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS, SHARON LURYE and ANNIE MA AP Education Writers
DAY camp providers and schools are warning that a Trump administration funding freeze could wreck summer for low-income American families and wipe out some after-school programming next year.
The administration is withholding more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more as part of a review to ensure grants align with President Donald Trump's priorities.
The move leaves states and schools in limbo as they budget for programs this summer and in the upcoming school year, introducing new uncertainty about when — or if — they will receive the money. It also sets the stage for a clash with Democrats, who say the administration is flouting the law by holding back money Congress appropriated.
Without the money, schools say they won't be able to provide free or affordable after-school care for low-income kids while their parents work, and they may not be able to hire staff to teach children who are learning English. Even classes or camps underway this summer could be in jeopardy.
For instance, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America depend on some of the withheld money to run camps and other summer programming for lowincome students. If funding isn't restored soon, the programming may end midseason, said Boys and Girls Club President Jim Clark.
After-school programming in the fall could also take a hit. "If these funds are blocked, the fallout will
be swift and devastating," Clark said. As many as 926 Boys and Girls Clubs could close, affecting more than 220,000 kids, the group said.
Programs that rely on the money were expecting it to be distributed July 1, but an Education Department notice issued Monday announced the money would not be released while the programs are under review. The department did not provide a timeline and warned that "decisions have not yet been made" on grants for the upcoming school year.
"The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities," Education Department officials wrote in the notice, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The department referred questions to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not respond to a request for comment.
After-school child care at risk
In Gadsden City Schools in Alabama, officials say they'll have no choice but to shutter their after-school program serving more than 1,200 low-income students if federal funds aren't released. There's no other way to make up for the frozen federal money, said Janie Browning, who directs the program.
Families who rely on after-school programs would lose an important source of child care that keeps children safe and engaged while their parents work. The roughly 75 employees of the district's after-school programs may lose their jobs.
"Those hours between after school and 6 o'clock really are the hours in the day when students are at the most risk for things that
may not produce great outcomes," Browning said. "It would be devastating if we lost the lifeline of afterschool for our students and our families."
Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, said withholding the money could cause lasting damage to the economy.
Some advocates fear the grants are being targeted for elimination, which could force schools to cut programs and teachers. Trump's 2026 budget proposal called for Congress to zero out all of the programs under review, signaling the administration sees them as unnecessary.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., pressed the administration to spend the money as Congress intended.
"Every day that this funding is held up is a day that school districts are forced to worry about whether they'll have to cut back on afterschool programs or lay off teachers instead of worrying about how to make sure our kids can succeed," Murray said in a statement.
What the money funds
The six grant programs under review include one known as 21st Century Community Learning Centers. It's the primary federal funding source for after-school and summer learning programs and supports more than 10,000 local programs nationwide, according to the Afterschool Alliance. Every state runs its own competition to distribute the grants, which totaled $1.3 billion this fiscal year.
Also under review are $2 billion in grants for teachers' professional development and efforts to reduce class size; $1 billion for academic enrichment grants, often used for science and math education and accelerated learning; $890 million for students
who are learning English; $376 million to educate the children of migrant workers; and $715 million to teach adults how to read.
These programs account for over 20% of the federal money the District of Columbia receives for K-12 education, according to an analysis by the Learning Policy Institute, a think tank. California alone has at least $800 million in limbo, while Texas has more than $660 million.
"Trump is illegally impounding billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to serve students this fiscal year," said Tony Thurmond, California's state superintendent, in a statement. "The Administration is punishing children when states refuse
to cater to Trump's political ideology. The loss of funds could "put several more school districts in extreme financial distress," said Chris Reykdal, superintendent of public instruction in Washington state. Districts have already adopted budgets, planned programming and hired staff, assuming they'd receive the money, Reykdal said. If the funding freeze remains, children learning English and their parents would be especially affected. Some districts use the money to pay for summer programming designed for English learners, family engagement specialists who can communicate with parents and professional development training for staff. Rural
districts would be hit the hardest.
"They're trying to send a message," said Amaya Garcia, who oversees education research at New America, a left-leaning think tank. "They don't believe that taxpayer funding should be used for these children."
Umatilla School District in rural eastern Oregon — with a sizable population of migrant families and students learning English — relies heavily on federal funding for its after-school and summer school programs. Superintendent Heidi Sipe says she is meeting with state officials soon to find out if the district will have to plan an early end to summer school, an option 20% of students are using.
Spanish wildfire kills 2 people as parts of Europe bake in severe heat wave
By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press
EUROPE'S continuing heat wave on Wednesday helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures. The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that rose 14,000 meters (45,000 feet) into the sky, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.
Two farmers were killed while apparently trying to flee in a vehicle, local authorities said Wednesday.
Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph (17 mph) at one point as it consumed 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) mostly of grain fields.
"Wildfires today are not like they were before," Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, said.
"These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of
Public Managers’ Union Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held
Date: Thursday July 17 2025 Time: 6:00 PM
Venue: B.C.P.O.U Hall, Farrington Road
Calling PMU Members from Bahamas Air, Airport Authority, University of The Bahamas and the National Insurance Board
firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out."
Firefighters credited a rainstorm later on Tuesday for having "quickly changed the situation and helped speed up getting the fire stabilized."
Two of the 500 firefighters who deployed needed treatment at a local hospital for their injuries. Some 14,000 residents were ordered to stay indoors for several hours on Tuesday night.
More hot weather is expected on Wednesday with temperatures in the Lleida region forecast to reach a high of 39 C (102 F). The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts said that it was closely monitoring the abnormally hot temperatures.
Weather experts link the heat wave to climate change.
After Spain set a record for June air temperatures, its port authorities recorded the hottest ever water temperature readings for the month in the Mediterranean and the part of the Atlantic nearest to France.
Experts say higher surface temperatures are bad for sea life and make for warmer nights on shore.
"A much warmer sea around us contributes to the nights not cooling down, which is detrimental to people's rest," Manuel Vargas, researcher at the Oceanographic Center of Malaga, told The Associated Press.
In Spain's southern city of Malaga, the Red Cross set up an air-conditioned "climate refuge" to help residents and provided and "assisted bathing service" to help people with reduced mobility to cool down in waters at the beach.
In Turkey, authorities evacuated two neighborhoods in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme after a fire that started on an agricultural field, spread to a forested area, threatening some holiday homes in the region.
Turkey has been battling a series of wildfires stoked by strong winds, heat and low humidity.
JAELENE, 9, works on a computer during a third grade English language arts class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., May 1, 2024.
Photo:Jacquelyn Martin/AP
FDA vaccine official restricted COVID vaccine approvals against the advice of agency staff
By MATTHEW PERRONE
AP Health Writer
THE government's top vaccine official working under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently restricted the approval of two COVID-19 vaccines, disregarding recommendations from government scientists, according to federal documents released Wednesday.
The new memos from the Food and Drug Administration show how the agency's vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad, personally intervened to place restrictions on COVID shots from vaccine makers Novavax and Moderna. Both vaccines were approved by the FDA in May after months of analysis by rank-and-file FDA reviewers.
But internal correspondence show Prasad disagreed with staffers who planned to approve the shots for everyone 12 and older, similar to previous COVID vaccines. The scientists had concluded the benefit from the vaccines and the risk of COVID-19 outweighed the risk of possible side effects, which are rare.
Instead Prasad decided the shots should be limited to those who face special risks from the virus— seniors or children and adults with underlying medical issues.
Prasad explained that the COVID vaccine benefits must be reconsidered in light of falling rates of death and hospitalization and the possibility for vaccine side effects. It's the latest in a series of vaccine restrictions imposed by officials working under Kennedy, who has long questioned the benefits of vaccines.
"Even rare vaccination related harms both known and unknown now have higher chance of outweighing potential benefits" Prasad wrote in a fivepage memo explaining his decision.
COVID-19 remains a public health threat, resulting in 32,000 to 51,000 U.S. deaths and more than 250,000 hospitalizations since last fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most at risk for hospitalization are seniors and children under 2 — especially infants under 6 months.
Top FDA leaders are typically not involved in the review of individual products. Officials like Prasad can overrule staffers, but such cases are rare and often controversial.
News of the FDA documents was first reported by the New York Times.
Prasad was hired to lead the FDA's vaccine center in May, after the previous director, Dr. Peter Marks, was forced to resign over disagreements with Kennedy. An academic researcher specializing in cancer therapies, Prasad came to prominence during the pandemic for criticizing public health measures, including the FDA's approval of COVID boosters for healthy adults and children.
Since arriving at the agency he has worked with FDA Commissioner Mark Makary on new guidelines that will limit approvals of future COVID boosters to higher-risk Americans, mainly seniors and those with medical conditions like asthma and obesity. Those limits match the terms FDA recently approved for Novavax's
shot, Nuvaxovid and Moderna's mNexspike. Novavax's vaccine is the only protein-based coronavirus vaccine available in the U.S. Moderna's vaccine is an updated, lower-dose version of its existing mRNA-based vaccine.
The review team for the Novavax vaccine pointed to data from a study in 30,000 adults, concluding that "the risk-benefit assessment for this vaccine technology remains favorable."
FDA staff reached a similar conclusion for the Moderna vaccine, deeming it similar in safety and effectiveness to the company's original shot.
Last week, the FDA finalized new warning labeling about the risk of myocarditis, a rare form of heart inflammation, on shots from Moderna and Pfizer, the other maker of an mRNA-based shot for COVID.
In his "override memo," reversing FDA staff's decision on the Moderna shot, Prasad pointed to the ongoing risk of myocarditis and questions about its frequency. The agency ordered Moderna to conduct further studies of the risk as a condition for the approving its updated shot.
A spokesman for the administration said Prasad "has raised serious concerns" about the issue.
"We will not ignore these risks and will ensure that the gold standard of science is used for any decisions," said Andrew Nixon, in an emailed statement.
Outside researchers have noted that cases of the heart condition tend to resolve quickly and are less severe than those associated with COVID infection itself, which can also cause myocarditis.
Shriners Children’s to open $153M medical research facility in Atlanta
By JEFF AMY Associated Press
THE nonprofit that operates Shriners Children's hospitals across North America will locate a $153 million medical research facility in Atlanta, the group announced Wednesday.
Shriners Children's Research Institute intends to conduct research into cell and gene therapies, other biotechnology therapies, robotics, artificial intelligence, medical devices and the study of data.
Shriners Children's operates 17 hospitals in the United States and one each in Mexico and Canada, plus clinics. The system is owned by Shriners International, a Masonic order. It specializes in treating children with orthopedic problems, burns, urology disorders and craniofacial conditions including cleft lips and palates. While the organization accepts insurance payments, it says that it treats patients regardless of their ability to pay.
"This is a decision of the health care system to expand the role we play in pediatric research," said Mel Bower, a spokesperson for Shriners Children's.
He said the institute will be financed using the Shriners Children's resources and should be operating within a year to 18 months.
The institute projects it will have 470 employees, many of them new hires, and Georgia Tech said it will be the largest tenant at Science Square. That is a mixed-use development that Georgia Tech is
developing along with the Trammell Crow Co.
Georgia Tech owns the land adjoining its campus near downtown Atlanta, while the company built labs that opened last year.
TESLA SALES PLUNGE AGAIN AS ANTI-MUSK BOYCOTT SHOWS STAYING POWER AND RIVALS POUNCE ON THE WEAKNESS
By BERNARD CONDON AP Business Writer
SALES of Tesla electric cars fell sharply in the last three months as boycotts over Elon Musk’s political views continue to keep buyers away.
The 13% plunge in global sales over a year earlier suggests the damage to Tesla’s brand from Musk’s embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump and farright European politicians is much deeper, widespread and lasting than some investors had expected. The figures reported by Tesla on Wednesday also signal that its quarterly earnings report due later this month could disappoint as rival electricvehicle makers pounce on its weakness and steal market share. v
Sales fell to 384,122 in April through June, down from 443,956 in the same three months last year.
During the latest period, Musk formally left the Trump administration as a cost-cutting czar, and hopes rose that sales would recover. The Tesla CEO himself recently said the company was in the midst of a “major rebound” in sales, a statement contradicted by the latest figures.
Still, some parts of the report were encouraging. Sales of the Models 3 and Y totaled 373,728, above the estimate of 356,000 from Wall Street analysts. Tesla shares rose 5% on the news.
“The numbers weren’t as bad as thought with all the analyst forecast cuts we saw over the past week,” said Morningstar’s Seth Goldstein, though he added the report overall showed
the company faces big challenges. “The current product lineup is at market saturation and Tesla will need the new affordable vehicle to grow deliveries.”
Musk has promised a cheaper EV model would be coming this year that would boost sales.
It’s not clear yet if Musk’s latest feud with Trump will help lure back buyers who have been angry at the billionaire’s political positions.
After Musk once again took to social media to criticize Trump’s budget bill, the president threatened Tuesday to use the power of his office to hurt his companies, including Tesla, pushing its stock down more than 5%.
federal car safety regulators because of a few mishaps, including one case in which a Tesla cab was shown on a video heading down an opposing lane.
The competition from rival EV makers is especially fierce in Europe where China’s BYD has taken a bite out of its market share. Tesla sales fell 28% in May in 30 European countries even as the overall market for electric vehicles expanded sharply, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Musk has acknowledged that his work as head of
“The numbers weren’t as bad as thought with all the analyst forecast cuts we saw over the past week. The current product lineup is at market saturation and Tesla will need the new affordable vehicle to grow deliveries.”
Seth Goldstein
A June AP-NORC poll showed about half of U.S. adults have an unfavorable opinion of Tesla, including 30% of Republicans.
The new figures come as Tesla is focusing less on new models and more on robots, self-driving technology and robotaxis ferrying passengers around without anyone behind the wheel.
Tesla is in the midst of a test run of robotaxis in Austin, Texas, that seems to have gone smoothly for the most part. But it also has drawn the scrutiny of
the Department of Government Efficiency and his embrace of European farright candidates have hurt the company. But he said earlier this year that much of the sales plunge is due to customers holding off while they waited for an ugrade to Tesla’s best selling Model Y. That new version has been out for months now.
Tesla reports second quarter financial results on July 23. In the first quarter, net income fell 71%.
A NURSE loads a syringe with a COVID-19 booster vaccine at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., Nov. 18, 2022.
Photo:Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Microsoft’s largest layoff in years hits Xbox, sales and other divisions
By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer
MICROSOFT says it is laying off about 9,000 workers, its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than two years.
The tech giant began sending out layoff notices Wednesday that hit the company's Xbox video game business and other divisions.
Among those losing their jobs are 830 workers tied to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, according to a notice sent to state officials Wednesday.
Microsoft said the cuts will affect multiple teams around the world, including its sales division, part of "organizational changes" needed to succeed in a "dynamic marketplace."
The company won't say the total number of layoffs except that it was about 4% of the workforce it had a year ago.
A memo to gaming division employees Wednesday
from Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said the cuts would position the video game business "for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas." Xbox would "follow Microsoft's lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness," Spencer wrote. Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of June 2024, the last time it reported its annual headcount. Its latest layoffs would cut fewer than 4% of that workforce, according to Microsoft. But it has already had at least three layoffs this year and it's unlikely that new hiring has matched the amount lost. Either way, a 4% cut would amount to somewhere in the range of 9,000 people. Until now, this year's biggest layoff was in May, when Microsoft began laying off about 6,000 workers, nearly 3% of its global workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years.
The cutbacks come as Microsoft continues to invest huge amounts of money in the data centers, specialized computer chips and other infrastructure needed to advance its AI ambitions. The company anticipated those expenses would cost it about $80 billion in the last fiscal year. Its new fiscal year began Tuesday.
Microsoft just last month cut another 300 workers based out of its Redmond headquarters, on top of nearly 2,000 who lost their jobs in the Puget Sound region in May, most of them in software engineering and product management roles, according to information it sent to Washington state employment officials.
Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on "building highperforming teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers."
North Carolina Gov. Stein vetoes bill repealing interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate
By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press
NORTH
Carolina Gov.
Josh Stein vetoed legislation Wednesday that in part would repeal an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate set for power generation in a 2021 law, arguing that the bill would have discouraged diverse energy sources and harmed consumers.
The measure, which largely addresses activities involving Duke Energy — the state's dominant electric utility — would get rid of the current requirement that electric regulators take "all reasonable steps to achieve" reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030.
A directive in the 2021 law to meet a carbon neutrality standard by 2050 stays in place with or without the legislation.
Environmental critics who want cleaner energy sources to come online sooner urged Stein to veto the bill. They also were unhappy with other bill provisions that they argue will make Duke Energy more profitable and shift costs of producing or purchasing electricity to residential customers.
The bill "walks back our state's commitment to reduce carbon emissions, sending the wrong signal to businesses that want to be a part of our clean energy economy," Stein said in a news release. "My job is to do everything in my power to lower costs and grow the economy. This bill fails that test."
Stein, a former attorney general who took office in January, also vetoed two more bills Wednesday from dozens still on his desk left by the GOP-controlled legislature.
These and four other recent Stein vetoes are subject to potential override votes, perhaps coming as soon as later this month.
Speaking Wednesday only on the energy bill, House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger expressed confidence in successful overrides. Over a dozen House and Senate Democrats voted for the measure in June.
The 2021 greenhouse gas law was the result of a rare agreement on environmental issues by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers.
Now GOP supporters of the current bill say the 70% reduction mandate is unnecessary and will needlessly raise customer rates by requiring outsize growth for renewable sources like solar and wind power. The state Utilities Commission already pushed back the 2030 deadline — as the
The company has repeatedly characterized its recent layoffs as part of a push to trim management layers, but the May focus on cutting software engineering jobs has fueled worries about how the company's own AI code-writing products could reduce the number of people needed for programming work.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said earlier this year that "maybe 20, 30% of the code" for some of Microsoft's coding projects "are probably all written by software."
The latest layoffs, however, seemed centered on slower-growing areas of the company's business, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.
"They're focused more and more on AI, cloud and next-generation Microsoft and really looking to cut costs around Xbox and some of the more legacy areas," Ives said. "I think they overhired over the years. This is Nadella and
team making sure that they're keeping with efficiency and that's the name of the game in Wall Street."
The trimming of the Xbox staff follows Microsoft's years-long expansion of the business surrounding its gaming console, culminating in 2023 with the $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard — the California-based maker of hit franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush. Before that, in a bid to compete with Sony's PlayStation, it spent $7.5
2021 law allows — by at least four years.
By focusing on meeting the 2050 carbon-neutrality mandate, bill supporters say, regulators can direct Duke Energy, which backed the measure, to assemble less expensive power sources now and moderate electricity rate increases.
They cite an analysis performed by a state agency that represents utility customers that calculated the repeal would reduce by at least $13 billion what Duke Energy would have to spend on energy sources for the next 25 years.
Bill opponents, which include
billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Maryland-based video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.
Many of those game studios, which have locations across North America and Europe, were struggling with the layoffs Wednesday, according to social media posts from employees who announced they were looking for new jobs.
Environmentalists
several environmental groups, question the savings figure. And Stein cited another study in saying the bill could cost utility customers more through 2050 due to higher fuel costs.
"We need to diversify our energy portfolio so that we are not overly reliant on natural gas and its volatile fuel markets," Stein added.
At least 17 other states, most of them controlled by Democrats, have laws setting similar net-zero power plant emissions or 100% renewable energy targets, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The bill also contains language that would help Duke Energy seek higher electric rates to cover financing costs to build nuclear or gas-powered plants incrementally, rather than wait until the project's end.
praised Stein's action and urged lawmakers to uphold the veto. "Stand instead for affordable energy and economic opportunity for all," said Dan Crawford of the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. Donald Bryson of the conservative-leaning John Locke Foundation urged an override, saying Stein "has chosen ideology over affordability."
Another vetoed measure Wednesday attempted to clarify and adjust powers of the state auditor — currently Republican Dave Boliek — including his ability to investigate alleged improper governmental activities of individuals, nonprofits and other groups that receive government funds.
Stein's veto message said the auditor's "sweeping access" in the bill to records of "any private corporation that accepts any amount of state funding" could undermine business recruitment efforts. Boliek said in a statement that Stein's veto "undercuts the important principles of accountability and transparency that taxpayers expect from their government."
NOTICE STAGE 47 INVESTMENT LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 205252 B.
(In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General.
Dated this 1st day of July A.D. 2025.
FABRICIO DANIEL MEHR MAMBERTI LIQUIDATOR
UPGRADE PARTNERS LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation
Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, UPGRADE PARTNERS LTD. is in dissolution as of June 25, 2025
International Liquidator Services Ltd. situated at 3rd Floor Whitfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.
A MICROSOFT sign and logo are pictured at the company’s headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash.
Photo:Jason Redmond/AP
THE SHEARON Harris nuclear plant is seen in Holly Springs, N.C., on June 14, 2013. Photo:Gerry Broome/AP
BRITAIN'S STARMER BACKS HIS TREASURY CHIEF AFTER U-TURNS DENT
THE GOVERNMENT'S FISCAL
By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press
BRITISH Prime Minister
Keir Starmer said Wednesday that Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is secure in her job after a series of government U-turns dented her revenue-raising plans and sparked speculation about her future.
Rumours swirled after Reeves appeared to be in tears in the House of Commons, the day after an embarrassing reversal for the government over its plans to cut welfare spending. Many viewers observed that Reeves looked exhausted and upset as she sat behind Starmer during
the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session. The Treasury said Reeves was dealing with a "personal matter." It would not elaborate.
Starmer initially declined to say, when asked by opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, that Reeves would still have her job when the next election is called, likely in 2029.
The pound fell against the U.S. dollar during the session and the cost of government borrowing rose on uncertainty about Reeves' future and the administration's fiscal plans.
Starmer's press secretary later stressed that Reeves "is going nowhere. She has
IRAN’S PRESIDENT ORDERS COUNTRY TO SUSPEND COOPERATION WITH UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG IAEA
By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
IRAN’S president on Wednesday ordered the country to suspend its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after American and Israeli airstrikes hit its most-important nuclear facilities, likely further limiting inspectors’ ability to track Tehran’s program that had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.
The order by President Masoud Pezeshkian included no timetables or details about what that suspension would entail. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled in a CBS News interview that Tehran still would be willing to continue negotiations with the United States.
“I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,” Araghchi said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments that talks could start as early as this week. However, he added: “The doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”
Pressure tactic
Iran has limited IAEA inspections in the past as a pressure tactic in negotiating with the West — though as of right now Tehran has denied that there’s any immediate plans to resume talks with the United States that had been upended by the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
Iranian state television announced Pezeshkian’s order, which followed a law passed by Iran’s parliament to suspend that cooperation.
The bill already received the approval of Iran’s constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, on Thursday, and likely the support of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, which Pezeshkian chairs.
“The government is mandated to immediately suspend all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its related Safeguards Agreement,” state television quoted the bill as saying. “This suspension will remain in effect until
N O T I C E
STOGG EAGLE FUNDING LTD
Creditors having debts or claims against the abovenamed Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 28th day of July A.D., 2025. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.
Dated the 3rd day of July, A.D., 2025.
Kirvy Ferguson Liquidator
Caves Village Professional Centre Nassau, Bahamas
N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:
(a) MIDDLETON EXPORT FUNDING LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000.
(b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 1st day of July 2025 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.
(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Kirvy Ferguson of Caves Village Professional Centre, Nassau, Bahamas.
Dated the 3rd day of July, 2025.
PLANS
the prime minister's full backing." And the prime minister said Reeves would remain Chancellor of the Exchequer "for a very long time to come."
"She's done an excellent job as chancellor and we have delivered inward investment to this country in record numbers," Starmer told the BBC.
He said Reeves' tears had "nothing to do with politics."
The government is trying to steady the ship after a wobby few days in which it was forced to water down plans to curb welfare spending in order to quell a rebellion by lawmakers from his own party.
certain conditions are met, including the guaranteed security of nuclear facilities and scientists.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what that would mean for the Vienna-based IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. The agency long has monitored Iran’s nuclear program and said that it was waiting for an official communication from Iran on what the suspension meant.
A diplomat with knowledge of IAEA operations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation in Iran, said that IAEA inspectors were still there after the announcement and hadn’t been told by the government to leave.
Israel condemns the move
Iran’s decision drew an immediate condemnation from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
“Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA,” he said in an X post. “This is a complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments.”
Saar urged European nations that were part of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal to implement its so-called snapback clause. That would reimpose all U.N. sanctions on it originally lifted by Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, if one of its Western parties declares the Islamic
In something of a hollow victory, the bill passed its first big House of Commons hurdle on Tuesday after the government appeased Labour Party rebels by softening and delaying cuts to welfare benefits for disabled people. Even so, 49 Labour lawmakers voted against the bill.
The result was a major blow to Starmer's authority as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his election on Friday, reckoning with a sluggish economy and rock-bottom approval ratings.
It also leaves the Treasury short of money it had counted on to invest in public services, making
Republic is out of compliance with it.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nucleararmed state in the Middle East, and the IAEA doesn’t have access to its weaponsrelated facilities.
Iran’s decision stops short of experts’ worst fears Iran’s move so far stops short of what experts feared the most. They had been concerned that Tehran, in response to the war, could decide to fully end its cooperation with the IAEA, abandon the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and rush toward a bomb. That treaty has countries agree not to build or obtain nuclear weapons and allows the IAEA to conduct inspections to verify that countries correctly declared their programs.
Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67% — enough to fuel a nuclear power plant, but far below the threshold of 90% needed for weapons-grade uranium. It also drastically reduced Iran’s stockpile of uranium, limited its use of centrifuges and relied on the IAEA to oversee Tehran’s compliance through additional oversight. The IAEA served as the main assessor of Iran’s commitment to the deal.
But Trump, in his first term in 2018, unilaterally withdrew Washington from the accord, insisting it wasn’t tough enough and didn’t address Iran’s missile
N O T I C E
STOGG EAGLE FUNDING LTD
N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:
(a) STOGG EAGLE FUNDING LTD is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000.
(b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 1st day of July 2025 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.
(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Kirvy Ferguson of Caves Village Professional Centre, Nassau, Bahamas.
Dated the 3rd day of July, 2025.
HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD.
Registered Agent for the above-named Compan
Kirvy Ferguson Liquidator Caves Village Professional Centre Nassau, Bahamas N O T I C E MIDDLETON EXPORT FUNDING LIMITED
Creditors having debts or claims against the abovenamed Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 28th day of July A.D., 2025. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.
Dated the 3rd day of July, A.D., 2025.
tax increases more likely.
The government has promised not to raise key levies including income tax and sales tax.
The government estimated that its welfare reforms would save 5 billion pounds ($7 billion) a year, but after the changes it's unclear whether they will save any money at all.
The reversal follows a decision in May to drop a
program or its support for militant groups in the wider Middle East. That set in motion years of tensions, including attacks at sea and on land.
Iran had been enriching up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weaponsgrade levels. It also has enough of a stockpile to build multiple nuclear bombs, should it choose to do so. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the IAEA, Western intelligence agencies and others say Tehran had an organized weapons program up until 2003.
Suspension comes after Israel, US airstrikes Israeli airstrikes, which began June 13, decimated the upper ranks of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and targeted its arsenal of ballistic missiles.
The strikes also hit Iran’s nuclear sites, which Israel claimed put Tehran within reach of a nuclear weapon.
Iran has said the Israeli attacks killed 935 “Iranian citizens,” including 38 children and 102 women. However, Iran has a long history of offering lower death counts around unrest over political considerations.
The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, has put the death toll at 1,190 people killed, including 436
plan to end winter home heating subsidies for millions of retirees, which Reeves had also counted on to raise money. Starmer has endured a turbulent 12 months since the election on July 4, 2024, when his center-left party took 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons to end 14 years of Conservative government.
civilians and 435 security force members. The attacks wounded another 4,475 people, the group said.
Meanwhile, it appears that Iranian officials now are assessing the damage done by the American strikes conducted on the three nuclear sites on June 22, including those at Fordo, a site built under a mountain about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show Iranian officials at Fordo on Monday likely examining the damage caused by American bunker-busters. Trucks could be seen in the images, as well as at least one crane and an excavator at tunnels on the site. That corresponded to images shot Sunday by Maxar Technologies similarly showing the ongoing work.
U.S. intelligence suggests the facilities were “completely obliterated” by the strikes, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday in a briefing, repeating the Trump administration’s assertion.
He said the operation set back Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years.
“We destroyed the components they would need to build a bomb,” Parnell said. “We believe Iran’s nuclear capability has been severely degraded.
HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Compan N O T I C E
MIDDLETON EXPORT FUNDING LIMITED
Creditors having debts or claims against the abovenamed Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 28th day of July A.D., 2025. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.
Dated the 3rd day of July, A.D., 2025.
Kirvy Ferguson Liquidator
Caves Village Professional Centre Nassau, Bahamas
N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:
(a) LEKKIE REFINERY FUNDING LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000.
(b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 1st day of July 2025 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.
(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Kirvy Ferguson of Caves Village Professional Centre, Nassau, Bahamas.
Dated the 3rd day of July, 2025. HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Compan
THIS screen grab of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, right, crying as Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday July 2, 2025.
Photo:House of Commons/AP
In a big bill that hurts clean energy, residential solar likely to get hit fast
By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press
AS Republicans in Congress rushed forward with a massive tax and spending cut bill, a North Carolina renewable energy executive wrote to his 190 employees with a warning: Deep cuts to clean energy tax credits were going to hurt.
"(The changes) would almost certainly include the loss of jobs on our team," wrote Will Etheridge, CEO of Southern Energy Management in Raleigh. "I'm telling you that because you deserve transparency and the truth — even if that truth is uncomfortable."
The bill now in the House takes an ax to clean energy incentives, including killing a 30% tax credit for rooftop residential solar by the end of the year that the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act had extended into the next decade. Trump has called the clean energy tax credits in the climate law part of a "green new scam" that improperly shifts taxpayer subsidies to help the "globalist climate agenda" and energy sources like wind and solar.
Businesses and analysts say the GOP-backed bill
will likely reverse the sector's growth and eliminate jobs.
"The residential solar industry is going to be absolutely creamed by this," said Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, a business group that advocates for pro-environment policies.
President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" takes aim at renewables broadly, including phasing out tax credits enjoyed by
After Diddy’s conviction, here’s where his business ventures stand
By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer
SEAN “Diddy” Combs has been acquitted of the most serious charges in his federal sex trafficking trial, but that doesn’t mean the once-celebrated music mogul will see his business empire restored.
Combs, 55, who is one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history, was acquitted Wednesday of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges but convicted on prostitution offenses. Prosecutors painted a dark portrait of the mogul, with witnesses taking the stand to allege a pattern of violence and detail drug-fueled sex parties he reportedly called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act. He will remain in custody while he awaits sentencing.
Here’s a closer look at how Combs’ business portfolio and public image have crumbled under the weight of the allegations.
What has happened to Combs’ business empire?
Before Combs was arrested and charged, his major business ventures had collapsed: He stepped down and later fully divested from Revolt TV, which was founded in 2013.
The network offered a mix of programming focused on hip-hop culture, R&B music, social justice and documentaries.
He also reportedly lost a Hulu reality series deal and saw his once-iconic fashion brand Sean John vanish from Macy’s shelves. After surveillance footage surfaced last year showing Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie, his then-girlfriend, in 2016, consequences mounted: New York City revoked his ceremonial key, Peloton pulled his music, Howard University rescinded his honorary degree and his charter school in Harlem cut ties.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that PEDIE MATHURIN of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that BILLY EXANTUS of P.O. Box SS954 Windsor Place, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
utility-scale solar and wind. But cutting the residential solar credit will happen sooner.
Companies have announced more than $20 billion in clean-energy investments in North Carolina in recent years.
Etheridge, whose company installs solar panels and helps ensure buildings are energy efficient, was among many in the sector to lobby Republican U.S. Sen. Thom
Tillis of North Carolina for changes in the bill.
Tillis ultimately was one of three Republicans to vote against the measure, but in a sign of Trump's power over legislators to pass it, Tillis said he wouldn't seek reelection after Trump said he'd likely support a primary challenger.
Now, Etheridge says losing the tax credit will likely mean laying off 50 to 55 of his workers. He called the elimination of
SOLAR
are
July 2, 2025.
residential tax credits a "bait and switch."
"I made a decision from being an employee to taking out a loan from my grandmother to buy into my business and put my house on the line" in part because of the stability of the tax credits, he said. He said he'll scramble now to figure out ways to diversify his business.
"If you require a moneyspigot from Washington to make your business viable, it probably shouldn't have been in business in the first place," said Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
Michel said he doubted many clean energy companies would go out of business, but "I think that they will be right sized for the market and that the people that are employed with them will find better jobs and more stable jobs in industries that are actually viable and don't require billions of dollars of federal subsidies."
Even ahead of debate over the bill, experts at E2 said in May that $14 billion in clean energy investments
Last year, Combs settled a legal dispute with Diageo, withdrawing a lawsuit filed as part of a settlement with the London-based spirits giant, making the company the sole owner of Ciroc and DeLeon. While many of his ventures have unraveled, his music catalog — for now — remains intact.
Where does Combs’ music stand?
Bad Boy Records may be synonymous with 1990s icons like The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, and 112, but Combs kept the label relevant before his arrest with high-profile releases.
In 2023, Combs dropped “ The Love Album: Off the Grid,” which was his first solo studio album in nearly two decades, and
Janelle Monáe released her critically acclaimed project “ The Age of Pleasure “ through Bad Boy. Both albums earned Grammy nominations, with Monáe’s effort recognized in the prestigious record of the year category.
Ahead of the “The Love Album” release, Combs made headlines by returning Bad Boy publishing rights to several former artists and songwriters, years after he was criticized for how he handled their contracts.
Bad Boy Records remains operational, but the label has been significantly shaken by Combs’ legal firestorm and it hasn’t announced any major upcoming releases.
Last week, a surprise EP called “Never Stop”
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that FELLY PETITFRERE of P.O.Box N-9426, William Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that TERRICA FRANÇOIS of P.O.Box N-9426, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
across the country had been postponed or cancelled this year.
The bill the Senate passed Tuesday removes a tax on some wind and solar projects that was proposed in a previous version and gives utility-scale projects some time to begin construction before phasing out those tax credits.
Karl Stupka, president of Raleigh-based NC Solar Now that employs about 100 people, said the Senate's bill eased the impact on commercial projects "while destroying the residential portion of the tax credits." Roughly 85% of his business is residential work.
"They took it away from every average American normal person and gave it to the wealthier business owners," he said.
Stupka said if the bill becomes law, companies will rush to finish as many solar jobs as they can before the credit ends. He expected to lay off half his employees, with "trickledown" job losses elsewhere.
"It would cause a pretty severe shock wave," he said.
released by his son, King Combs, and Ye (formerly Kanye West), showed support for the embattled mogul. The project was released through Goodfellas Entertainment.
Bad Boy Records remained active through 2022, backing Machine Gun Kelly’s “Mainstream Sellout” under the Bad Boy umbrella. He was a producer on MTV’s reality television series “Making the Band,” and “Making His Band,” launching the careers of artists like the girl group Danity Kane and male R&B group Day 26.
Could Diddy’s fortune be at risk?
Combs has been sued by multiple people who claim to have been victims of physical or sexual abuse. He has already paid $20 million to settle with one accuser, his former girlfriend Cassie. Most of those lawsuits, though, are still pending. It isn’t clear how many, if any, will be successful, or how much it will
cost Combs to defend himself in court. Combs and his lawyers have denied all the misconduct allegations and dismissed his accusers as out for a big payday.
Federal prosecutors had informed the court that if Combs is convicted, they would seek to have him forfeit any assets, including property, “used to commit or facilitate” his crimes. It was not immediately clear following the verdict how prosecutors would proceed or whether asset forfeiture would be part of a sentence imposed by the judge.
How is Diddy’s music faring on streaming?
Despite the legal turmoil surrounding Combs, his music catalog remains widely available on major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. None of the streamers have publicly addressed whether they plan to adjust how his music is featured. Interestingly, Combs’ music saw a roughly 20% boost in U.S. streaming between April and May 2025, his biggest monthly spike this year, according to Luminate. The numbers jump coincided with key moments in the trial, including testimonies from Cassie and Kid Cudi.
However, there was a slight drop-off with a 5 to 10% decrease in June compared to the previous month’s streams.
PUBLIC NOTICE
INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL
The Public is hereby advised that I,JULIUS IRVIN EUGENE JOHNSON of Honey dew Street, Nassau Bahamas intend to change my name to JULIAN IRVIN EUGENE JOHNSON. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that EWERIN NOEL of Andros Avenue, East Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
panels
installed on a home in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday,
Photo:Allen G. Breed/AP
SEAN ' Diddy' Combs, second from left, watches from the defense table as Judge Arun Subramanian speaks to the jury in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in New York.
Photo:Elizabeth Williams/AP
US stocks hit another record as Tesla and Nike rally
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
U.S. stocks ticked higher on Wednesday to hit another all-time high.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and set a record for the third time in four days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 10 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%.
Tesla helped drive the market higher and rose 5% after saying it delivered nearly 374,000 of its Model 3 and Model Y automobiles last quarter. That was better than analysts expected, though the electric-vehicle maker's overall sales fell 13% from a year earlier.
Worries have been high that CEO Elon Musk's involvement in politics is turning off potential Tesla buyers.
Constellation Brands climbed 4.5% despite reporting a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It pointed to slowing growth for jobs in the construction industry and other "4000 calorie+" sectors, which tends to hurt demand for its beer.
But the company selling Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine nevertheless stuck with its financial forecasts for the full upcoming year. They helped offset a 40.4% drop for Centene. The health care company withdrew its forecasts for profit this year after seeing data that suggests worsethan-expected sickness trends in many of the states where it does business. It was the worst day for the stock since its debut in 2001.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 29.41 points to 6,227.42.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 10.52 to 44,484.42, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 190.24 to 20,393.13.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed ahead of a highly
anticipated report on Thursday, which will show how many jobs U.S. employers created and destroyed last month. The widespread expectation is that they hired more people than they fired but that the pace of hiring slowed from May.
A stunningly weak report released Wednesday morning raised worries that Thursday's report may fall short. The data from ADP suggested that U.S. employers outside the government cut 33,000 jobs from their payrolls last month, when economists were expecting to see growth of 115,000 jobs.
"Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month," according to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.
The ADP report does not have a perfect track record predicting what the U.S. government's more comprehensive jobs report will say each month. That preserves hope that Thursday's data could be more encouraging. But a fear has been that uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariffs could cause employers to freeze their hiring.
Many of Trump's stiff proposed taxes on imports are currently on pause, and they're scheduled to kick into effect in about a week. Unless Trump reaches deals with other countries to lower the tariffs, they could hurt the economy and worsen inflation.
Trump said on Wednesday that he reached a deal with Vietnam, where U.S. products sold in the country will face zero tariffs and Vietnamese-made goods will face a U.S. tariff of 20%. That helped companies that import lots of things from Vietnam, including Nike, whose stock rose 4.1%. Factories in Vietnam made half of all Nike brand footwear in its fiscal year of 2024.
Other factors could also be dragging on the job market, such as the U.S. government's termination of protected status for 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation. That alone could create a drag on payrolls of 25,000 jobs, according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle, whose forecast for Thursday's report is weaker than many of his peers.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.26% late Tuesday.
The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do
with its overnight interest rate, held steady at 3.78%.
An unexpected weakening of the job market could push the Fed to cut interest rates in order to give the economy a boost. So far this year, the Fed has said it would rather wait to see
how Trump's tariffs affect the economy and inflation before cutting rates any further.
Trump, meanwhile, has angrily been calling for cuts to rates to happen sooner.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed as the
President Trump announces trade deal with Vietnam that will let US goods into the country duty-free
By PAUL WISEMAN and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam Wednesday that would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free.
Vietnamese exports to the United States, by contrast, would face a 20% levy. On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared the pact "a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries.'' In April, Trump announced a 46% tax on Vietnamese imports — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. Trump promptly suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow
for negotiations like the one with Vietnam. The pause expires Tuesday, but so far the Trump administration has reached a trade agreement with only one of those countries — the United Kingdom. (Trump has also reached a "framework'' agreement with China in a separate trade dispute.)
"Vietnam has been very keen to get out from under this,'' said Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "This is forcing a smaller country to eat it, basically. We can do that. It's the big countries that everybody's keeping their eyes on.'' She doubts that Trump will be able to impose such a lopsided agreement on big trading partners such as the European Union and Japan.
The United States last year ran a $122 billion trade deficit with Vietnam. That was the third-biggest U.S. trade gap — the difference between the goods and services it buys from other countries and those it sells them — behind the ones with China and Mexico. In addition to the 20% tariffs, Trump said the U.S. would impose a 40% tax on "transshipping'' — goods from another country that stop in Vietnam on their way to the United States. Washington complains that Chinese goods have been dodging higher U.S. tariffs by transiting through Vietnam.
William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the significance of the transshipment crackdown will depend on
"how the term is defined and enforced. Some transshipment is outright fraud – simply changing the label; some is a legitimate substantial transformation in Vietnam into a new product; and there is a lot in between. Enforcement is always complicated.''
A February study in the Harvard Business Review found that there was "much less rerouting than previously believed.''
In May, Vietnam approved a $1.5 billion project by the Trump Organization and a local partner to build a massive golf resort complex near Hanoi, covering an area roughly the size of 336 football fields. Vietnam was a beneficiary of American efforts to counter China's influence. Companies looking to diversify their supply chains away from China flocked to Vietnam.
In 2023, it became the only country to host both President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on state visits.
deadline approaches for when Trump's tariffs will come off their pause. France's CAC 40 rose 1%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6%. But Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6%, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5%.
TRADER Jason Hardzewicz works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Photo:Richard Drew/AP
SOME EDUCATION GRANTS IN LIMBO WERE USED FOR 'LEFTWING AGENDA,' TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS
By BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS AP Education Writer
THE Trump administration has accused states and schools of using federal education grants earmarked for immigrants' children and low-income students to help fund "a radical leftwing agenda."
The administration this week withheld more than $6 billion intended for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more, saying it would review the grants to ensure they align with President Donald Trump's priorities.
The freeze sent schools and summer camp providers scrambling to determine whether they can still provide programs like day camps this summer or afterhours child care this fall.
On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget said an initial review showed schools used some of the money to support immigrants in the country illegally or promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. The administration said it hadn't made any final decisions about whether to withhold or release individual grants.
"Many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda," the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.
It said New York schools had used money for English language instruction to promote organizations that advocate for immigrants in the country illegally.
Washington state used the money to direct immigrants without legal status toward scholarships the Trump administration says were
"intended for American students." Grant funds also were used for a seminar on "queer resistance in the arts," the office said.
Officials from New York and Washington state didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Advocates for lowincome and immigrant children connected the grant freeze to the Trump administration's larger crackdown on immigrants.
Two of the five federal programs put on hold were appropriated by Congress to help support English proficiency of students still learning the language and migrant children who move with their parents to follow agricultural and other jobs.
School districts use the $890 million earmarked for English learners in a wide range of purposes, from training teachers' aides who work with English learners, to running summer schools designed for them, to hiring family liaisons who speak the parents' native languages. The $375 million appropriated for migrant education is often used to hire dedicated teachers to travel close to where students live.
By
"cherrypicking extreme examples," the administration is seeking to conflate all students learning English with people who are in the country illegally, said Amaya Garcia, who directs education research at New America, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C.
In reality, the majority of English learners in public schools were born in the United States, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
"The way they're framing it is that we're using this money for undocumented students and families," said Margarita Machado-Casas, president of the National Association of Bilingual Educators. "It's a distraction. A distraction from what's actually happening: that 5.3 million English learners who speak lots of different languages, not just Spanish, will suffer."
Even if the students lack legal status, states may not deny public education to children in the country illegally under a 1982 Supreme Court decision known as Plyler v. Doe.
Republican leaders in House work to win over final holdouts on Trump’s tax bill
By KEVIN FREKING, LISA MASCARO and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press
REPUBLICAN leaders in the House were busy Wednesday trying to win over some final holdouts on President Donald Trump's tax and spending cuts package — determined to seize momentum from a hardfought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it.
"The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay," the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 51-50, thanks to Vice President JD Vance's tiebreaking vote.
It's a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump's demand for a July 4 finish. Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way this year, often succeeding by only one vote. Their House majority stands at just 220212, leaving little room for defections.
Some Republicans are likely to balk at being asked to rubber-stamp the Senate version less than 24 hours after passage. Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill's cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals.
It falls to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is over. They will need assistance from Trump to close the deal, and several conservatives went to the White House to talk about their concerns with the president.
"The president's message was 'we're on a roll.' He went over all the tariffs that he's got and the money that's accumulated, the economy's hot, and he wants to see this," said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.
In another warning sign of some House Republican resistance, a resolution setting up terms for debating Trump's bill barely cleared the House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning. Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina sided with Democrats in voting against it.
Trump can't afford to lose many votes from Republicans. Late into the afternoon, a procedural vote was being held open for more than two hours as GOP leadership waited for lawmakers delayed coming back to Washington because of weather and to conduct closed-door negotiations with concerned members.
Trump pushes Republicans to do 'the right thing'
The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks from Trump's first term, plus temporarily add new ones he promised during the 2024 campaign, including allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults. In all, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years.
The bill also provides about $350 billion for defense and Trump's immigration crackdown. Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance. The Congressional Budget Office projects the bill will add about $3.3 trillion to the federal debt over the coming decade.
entertaining the possibility of making changes to the bill before the final vote.
"It's not as easy as saying, 'Hey, I just want one more change,' because one more change could end up being what collapses the entire thing," Scalise said.
Democratic lawmakers, united against the bill as harmful to the country, condemned the fast-track process.
"We're rushing not because the country demands it but because he wants to throw himself another party," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. "This isn't policy. It's ego management."
Democratstarget vulnerable Republicans to join them in opposition
Flanked by nearly every member of his caucus, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delivered a pointed message from the Capitol steps on Wednesday morning: All Democrats will vote "no," and they only need to flip four Republicans to prevent the bill from passing.
"The president's message was 'we're on a roll.' He went over all the tariffs that he's got and the money that's accumulated, the economy's hot, and he wants to see this.”
The House passed its version of the bill in May, despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag. Now, it's being asked to give final passage to a version that, in many respects, exacerbates those concerns. The Senate bill's projected impact on the nation's debt, for example, is significantly higher.
Trump praised the bill profusely in a social media post, saying, "We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional 'GRANDSTANDERS' (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk."
The high price of opposing Trump's bill Johnson is intent on meeting Trump's timeline and betting that hesitant Republicans won't cross the president because of the heavy political price they would have to pay. They need only look to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who announced his intention to vote against the legislation over the weekend. Soon, the president was calling for a primary challenger to the senator and criticizing him on social media. Tillis quickly announced he would not seek a third term.
One House Republican who has staked out opposition to the bill, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, is being targeted by Trump's well-funded political operation.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said the leadership was not
Rep. Ralph Norman
Jeffries singled out Republicans from districts expected to be highly competitive in 2026, including two from Pennsylvania.
"Why would Rob Bresnahan vote for this bill? Why would Scott Perry vote for this bill?" he said.
Democrats have described the bill in dire terms. They say Medicaid cuts would result in "Americans losing their lives because of their inability to access health care coverage." Republicans are "literally ripping the food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors," Jeffries said Monday.
Republicans say they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse.
The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and applies existing work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to more beneficiaries. States will also pick up more of the cost for food benefits.
The driving force behind the bill, however, is the tax cuts. Many expire at the end of this year if Congress doesn't act.
HOUSE Democrats on the steps of the Capitol hold up four fingers to signify how many Republicans are needed to vote against President Donald Trump’s signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, in Washington, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Photo:J. Scott Applewhite/AP