Latest news with #U.S.Government
Business Wire
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Iron Mountain Provides Update on U.S. Government Digital Award
PORSTMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM), a global leader in information management services, today provided an update on its recently awarded contract by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The company has commenced work under the award and is actively digitizing documents and leveraging its proprietary intelligent digitization solution as part of the engagement. Earlier this week the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a Request for Quotations (RFQ) for a new long-term engagement for digitalization as a service, with an expanded scope and a lengthened contract period of five years. If awarded, this new RFQ would incorporate the work awarded to Iron Mountain in April. The company welcomes the opportunity to compete for this larger and longer duration contract. Having successfully completed numerous digital transformation projects for the U.S. Government, having been awarded the earlier iteration of this opportunity, and having the benefit of doing the work under its current contract, Iron Mountain believes it is well positioned to provide the U.S. Government with a superior end-to-end solution that can fully support this efficiency initiative. The company has begun the process of responding to the RFQ and expects to submit its response before the government's July 11, 2025 deadline. In the meantime, we continue to work and be compensated under the initial award given the time criticality of the U.S. Government's requirement. As previously disclosed, the company has not included any benefit from the Department of Treasury award in its 2025 financial guidance. About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is trusted by more than 240,000 customers in 61 countries, including approximately 95% of the Fortune 1000, to help unlock value and intelligence from their assets through services that transcend the physical and digital worlds. Our broad range of solutions address their information management, digital transformation, information security, data center and asset lifecycle management needs. Our longstanding commitment to safety, security, sustainability and innovation in support of our customers underpins everything we do. To learn more about Iron Mountain, please visit
Forbes
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
187,000 Ukrainians Get A Reprieve From U.S. Deportation as War Rages
A major court decision has brought long-awaited relief to tens of thousands of Ukrainian U.S. immigrants who got relief to live in the U.S. under temporary protection. Many had been stuck for months without the ability to work or apply for legal status because of a government-imposed freeze on immigration processing. Now, after a federal judge ruled that pause unlawful, the U.S. government is restarting the process — allowing parolees to once again seek work permits, asylum, and more permanent immigration solutions. But while this news is welcome, it comes against a darker backdrop: the United States, despite having promised to protect Ukraine's independence decades ago, has in recent months attempted to deport some Ukrainians back to a country still under active assault by Russia. And instead of supporting Ukraine as the victim of Russia's invasion of its sovereignty, the administration is outright supporting Russia as the aggressor. The situation in Ukraine remains dire. Reports of war crimes, rapes, torture, and mass graves in places like Bucha, Irpyn, and other towns have shocked the world. Russian forces continue to occupy parts of Ukrainian territory, and the toll on civilians—especially women and children—grows daily. Yet, while the war grinds on, the U.S. government has attempted to strip protections from Ukrainians in the U.S. under temporary humanitarian programs, exposing them to the risk of deportation. This includes those who arrived through the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, launched in 2022 to offer temporary safety. This effort has left many advocates and immigrants feeling betrayed, especially given America's 1994 commitment under the Budapest Memorandum, where the U.S., U.K., and Russia pledged to respect Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity. Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal—the third largest in the world—in exchange for that promise. Russia, which received the surrendered weapons, has flagrantly violated the deal. But critics say the U.S. is also falling short, not through bombs or invasion, but through immigration policy that undermines the very people fleeing that war. In February 2025, the U.S. paused processing of immigration applications for people here on humanitarian parole, including U4U participants. That meant: This left over 187,000 Ukrainian parolees in a dangerous legal limbo. Many were unable to renew documents or continue working — some were even placed into deportation proceedings. On May 28, a federal court ruled this freeze unlawful, siding with plaintiffs in a case called Svitlana Doe v. Noem. The judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restart application processing. On June 9, USCIS issued internal guidance telling officers to resume working on backlogged cases. While new U4U sponsorships are still paused, existing parolees can now move forward again. These numbers represent real people: children in school, parents holding jobs, soldiers' families who fled Russian bombs. Many are now hoping to finally get decisions on their cases — decisions that could mean safety, stability, and legal status. With the court's ruling in place, parolees in the U.S. can once again apply for: Applications will be reviewed after additional security vetting. Interviews that were previously canceled may now be rescheduled. While the court decision is good news, there are still big challenges: In fact, just days after the court's May 28 ruling, the Trump administration (in its ongoing legal battle) asked the court to throw out the decision—arguing that Ukrainian sponsors had no right to sue, and that deportation wasn't a real threat. That argument rings hollow to many Ukrainians and Americans alike. It ignores the reality that returning someone to a war zone where civilian apartment blocks are being shelled is not a policy—it's a moral failure. This matter is part of the overall discontent that was displayed as hundreds of thousands of people in America demonstrated Saturday against Trump immigration policies in cities across the country while in Washington the American Army marched in a parade to mark their 250th birthday and President Trump marked his 78th birthday. In the days ahead the debate over what is the proper immigration policy for American to follow in general, not just for Ukrainians, will be at the forefront of considerations in Congress. Meanwhile President Trump has travelled to Canada to attend the G-7 meeting and deal with security issues such as the Middle East and Ukraine while keeping an eye on immigration issues back home. This moment is a test of America's moral compass. The U.S. once asked Ukraine to trade its nukes for a promise of peace. Now, Ukrainians are asking America to keep that promise—not with weapons, but with compassion and lawful protection. For over 187,000 Ukrainians here, this ruling which gave Ukrainian U.S. immigrations relief from deportation a ray of hope. But it's also a reminder that immigration is not just policy — it's people. And behind every application is a family fleeing a war the world promised to help them survive. Now is the time to act — apply, renew, and speak up. Because history will remember not only what Russia did to Ukraine, but what the world did—or didn't do—in response.
Fox News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Deadly drone wars are already here and the US is horribly unprepared
The massive Ukrainian drone strike on Russia has strong implications for the future of all warfare. The sophisticated operation taught us that the use of low-cost, highly scalable, lethal drone technology is here to stay. Our leaders must pay attention, because the Ukraine-Russia war is a blueprint for not only how we will fight future wars but how we will have to defend ourselves from a more sophisticated and capable enemy than ever before. America's defense leaders need to start reflecting on the realities of modern warfare and fully understand that, as a country, we are not ready. Some people still want to try and deny these very small, handheld first-person view (FPV) drones that cost only a few hundred dollars are not the future of warfare. They need to wake up. That's the wrong mentality, and it makes the U.S. less prepared. In the case of the Ukraine operation, they utilized a few good sources, some cheap trucks, and low-cost drones with munitions that managed to destroy over 40 strategic bombers worth billions. Not millions, billions. The U.S. government, on the other hand, will spend $10 billion dollars on an aircraft carrier that takes a decade to build and likely now could be destroyed by a modern-day swarm of unmanned surface vehicles, the same ones that have pushed the entire Russian Black Sea Fleet out of the Black Sea. Our defense procurement priorities are misguided. The Russians, Ukrainians, Iranians and even the Chinese are starting to treat drones not like we typically do as surveillance. They treat them like they do artillery rounds. This is ammunition and ammunition needs to be produced in massive quantities. They collectively have their manufacturers producing millions per year, yet our government gets excited when a U.S. manufacturer can produce 100 drones a month. The Ukraine operation should also highlight just how vulnerable we are as a country to similar attacks from our enemy. Sadly, history has shown that the U.S. government will likely only change its archaic laws after we have a catastrophic attack on U.S. soil. Currently, we don't allow for the needed widespread use of counter-drone and electronic warfare systems. We should be asking our leaders, why do we have to wait for fellow Americans to get hurt before doing something? The truth is, we are not prepared defensively for what the state of drone technology currently is globally. People now easily have access to lethal capabilities at low costs that were before only allotted to first-world countries with massive budgets. The technology is proliferating at an alarming rate. Thankfully, we have a few companies up to the task. Andy Yakulis, CEO of the defense startup Vector Defense, focused on preparing our soldiers for the next generation of drone warfare, told me recently that: "We don't have a drone technology problem, we have a contracting problem. We have a federal government and defense department procurement problem. Our defense industrial base is broken, and the big prime contractors just don't get it and aren't incentivized to adapt to this modern way of warfare because the money keeps rolling out to the same large defense contractors in from our government. We need to streamline the process for defense innovators, companies who understand the threats." He's right, the technology and expertise in America exists today to stop future attacks and to protect Americans. We will never fight another war without drone technology and AI playing some of the most critical roles. We just aren't moving federal government budgets quickly enough to fix it, and we need to before it's too late.
Zawya
30-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Wheat and corn higher, soybeans stuck near 3-week low
PARIS/SINGAPORE - Chicago wheat and corn edged higher on Friday as the cereal markets consolidated after losses this week linked to favourable U.S. and global harvest prospects. Soybeans ticked lower to hold near Thursday's three-week low, curbed by expectations of ample supplies along with uncertainty over biofuel demand as the U.S. government considers waivers for oil refiners. A firmer dollar kept grain prices in check as grain markets awaited an update on demand from weekly U.S. export sales figures later on Friday. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.7% to $5.37-3/4 a bushel by 1015 GMT. Corn added 0.5% to $4.49-1/4 a bushel to steady after a one-week low on Thursday. CBOT soybeans inched down 0.1% at $10.50-1/2 a bushel to consolidate above Thursday's low of $10.40. Agricultural consultancy Sovecon on Thursday raised its forecast for Russia's wheat exports for the 2025-2026 season by 1.1 million metric tons to 40.8 million tons, citing improved weather conditions for the harvest. India is likely to produce a record 117.5 million metric tons of wheat in the year ending June 2025, the farm ministry said, above its March forecast of 115.4 million tons. In the U.S., winter wheat conditions are at a five-year high despite an unexpected decline last week, while regular showers have helped most corn and soybean crops get off to a good start to their growing season. With expectations rising for Brazil's upcoming second corn crop, the corn market found little support in large export sales reported on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Despite exceptional export sales reported by the USDA —amounting to 205,096 tons for the 2024/25 campaign — market support remains absent," Argus Media analysts said in a note. The soybean market was assessing a Reuters report that the White House is considering a plan to clear a record backlog of requests from small refineries for exemptions from U.S. biofuel laws. Prices at 1015 GMT Last Change Pct Move CBOT wheat 537.75 3.75 0.70 CBOT corn 449.25 2.25 0.50 CBOT soy 1050.50 -1.25 -0.12 Paris wheat 202.00 0.00 0.00 Paris maize 193.00 2.25 1.18 Paris rapeseed 474.50 2.00 0.42 WTI crude oil 61.35 0.41 0.67 Euro/dlr 1.13 0.00 -0.34 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Women To Watch: Ashley Harris
AUGUSTA, Ga (WJBF) – Moving the needle of progress in Augusta takes one building at a time.. one business at a time.. But many forward thinking people to lead the way. Ashley Harris is one of them. 'I started out as a high school Economics and U.S. Government teacher. Then, I transitioned into the Chamber world,' she explains. After three years with the Columbia County chamber, she came to Accelerate Augusta. She's still teaching but with a different kind of student. 'At Accelerate Augusta I'm the program manager, program director, and there I'm designing programs to help small business owners, entrepreneurs and everyone who falls in between to create workshops or courses to help them better their business.'She says the program is the brainchild of Augusta Technical College and the Downtown Development Authority. She explains, 'what we do is we're hosting classes, cohorts, bootcamps and academies based on the feedback that small business gives us. So, if they're in need of Quickbook training, if their in need of social media marketing training, we just had a class last night talking about generative A-I and ChatGPT and how that can affect, positively, small business owners.' For Ashley, this is more than a job. It's a mission toward a greater good. 'I love the CSRA and Augusta. I have done the majority of my professional work in Columbia County. But, I'm a native of Augusta. I love the area and I love the potential and the growth that's happening right before our eyes. Having a hand in it is also fulfilling.' While her goal is to help move the city in a positive direction she has advice for women trying to get on the right path in business. 'They have to stand firm in what they believe. They have to be able to be confident enough to be in places that they know that they belong but not necessarily be welcomed.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
