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Letter rip: But an objection only has legal power if it results in an actual act of Congress, and with Republicans in charge, such an outcome is unlikely.
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

Letter rip Democrats are in the minority in both chambers of the U.S. Congress, but they’re still trying to make their voices heard as *they oppose the Trump administration’s deep cuts to foreign aid* — even insisting the merger of USAID into the State Department could be unlawful <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZUKjKGNr42ku…> . “As proposed, this plan will overburden the State Department, jeopardize the continuity of programs that save lives and keep Americans safe at home and *further undermine U.S. credibility and reliability*,” four top-ranking Democratic lawmakers write in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter, Elissa reports, came two weeks after the Trump administration delivered a congressional notification <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POjbW6rOsZ37Uc-AtgCDeIvf-tQPk7a-w…> to Capitol Hill that laid out a plan to “abolish” USAID as an independent entity, and to subsume select programs into the Department of State. <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZUKjKGNr42ku…> Last week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Brian Schatz, Rep. Gregory Meeks, and Rep. Lois Frankel formally objected to the State Department’s plan, stating *the process Rubio had undertaken to reform USAID was unlawful*. But an objection only has legal power if it results in an actual act of Congress, and with Republicans in charge, such an outcome is unlikely. *Exclusive: *Lawmakers oppose USAID merger, citing ‘unlawful’ process <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZUKjKGNr42ku…>

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Sally Yates - Wikipedia
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Yates *Sally Quillian Yates* (born *Sally Caroline Quillian*; August 20, 1960[1] <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Yates#cite_note-1>) is an American lawyer. From 2010 to 2015, she was United States Attorney <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney> for the Northern District of Georgia. In 2015, she was appointed United States Deputy Attorney General <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Deputy_Attorney_General> by President Barack Obama <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama>. Following the inauguration <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_inauguration_of_Donald_Trump> of President Donald Trump <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump> and the departure of Attorney General <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General> Loretta Lynch <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Lynch> on January 20, 2017, Yates served as Acting Attorney General for 10 days.

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Open questions: “There’s always been a lot of talk about aid dependence,” she says. “And so here is the moment now that nobody wanted to actually address: What happens when aid is switched off?”
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

*Open questions* When the Open Society Foundations announced a significant, multiphase restructuring in 2021, it made headlines in the philanthropy world and beyond. Now, *its dramatic transformation is complete*, and it has fully “stepped into a new operating model,” <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POquLMWQDCK6SR9GxRixA_IlRzYWV_ckR…> its president, Binaifer Nowrojee, says, admitting that the decision to reduce staff and offices was a “difficult” one. While OSF <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecvSVyNEwKSY7dVBIv8VDa42Buqy0TMB…> had already been *moving toward a leaner structure*, the foundation has now finalized that transition — cutting staff <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkpr086FbTPNGengllvEop_ad9b-oKk0…> from around 2,000 to 500 and reducing its global footprint from about 40 offices to 13, my colleague Ayenat Mersie writes. The new operating model also includes *sweeping changes to OSF’s grantmaking*. The foundation has simplified its internal processes to make it easier for partners to access funding, enabled multiyear commitments, and expanded core support for organizations in the global south. “We’re trying to make it better and easier for grantees and partners to access funds,” says Nowrojee. Previously, “every grant, regardless of the risk level or the renewal number of years, would go through 40 touch points and a very strong application process that actually was adding uncompensated complexity to the process,” she adds. One thing it’s not doing though? Filling the void left by USAID. “We got *a lot of requests to fill the gap left behind by USAID*,” Nowrojee says. “We could have taken our whole budget this year and filled the gap. At the end of the year, we’d be back where we started — and we’d have diverted all our funds away from our mandate.” Instead, the foundation is *using its advocacy to push for the restoration of U.S. assistance* and encourage other donors to step in. Nowrojee also described this moment as one of reckoning for the broader development sector. “There’s always been a lot of talk about aid dependence,” she says. “And so here is the moment now that nobody wanted to actually address: What happens when aid is switched off?” *Read more:* OSF’s new strategy bets on longer-term, more flexible funding <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POquLMWQDCK6SR9GxRixA_IlRzYWV_ckR…>

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Gone, but not forgotten: “He is no longer at State,” the official says.
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

Gone, but not forgotten Peter Marocco, who led the Office of Foreign Assistance at the U.S. State Department <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecgxosNHTfEzTU2hSoeb_b4-ijKFx6V-…> and was considered the point person for dismantling USAID <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecn4BHhumZ9CtHKdsfm8J245KQUeZgZh…>, has left the State Department, according to The Wall Street Journal <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecgiLS2iRFmYMsHeR6aaY_DdZxCzJxAt…>, which spoke to a U.S. official who said *it wasn’t Marocco’s choice to leave* after barely three months in office. A senior administration official confirmed Marocco’s departure to WSJ. “Pete was brought to State with a big mission — to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance,” the official says. “He conducted that historic task and exposed egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars. We all *expect big things are in store for Pete on his next mission*.” “He is no longer at State,” the official says.

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Watch "Blue Origin Space Flight with All-Female Space Crew" on YouTube
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

This is super duper cool! -- Watch "Blue Origin Space Flight with All-Female Space Crew" on YouTube https://youtu.be/tycHGEBwxqk?si=PQ92KVX4QZbgyMMp

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A double-edged sense of urgency? Twenty-five days later, seven WCK staff in Gaza were dead.
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

A double-edged sense of urgency? The email was titled *Urgent: Personnel safety concerns* and was sent to the leadership of World Central Kitchen last year. <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkrZ218GcgnHX2hd2Dfy8uBs148Ouces…> “I have first hand witnessed this organization *disregard safety many times in the past*,” wrote Brack Watters, a distribution operations manager who’d deployed with WCK to Ukraine, Turkey, Haiti, and beyond, and was now working on the organization’s response in Gaza, in the email. “I feel it is happening again and on a level that is completely unacceptable.” Twenty-five days later, *seven WCK staff in Gaza were dead*. Israel took responsibility for the killings on April 1, 2024, *calling them a “grave mistake.”* A report commissioned by the Australian government reached the same conclusion, although it also presented a more nuanced picture. My colleague Elissa Miolene spent months delving into those nuances, speaking to 14 former and current staff members and contractors about whether World Central Kitchen’s renowned sense of urgency to help people in disasters and war zones came at the expense of its own people <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkrZ218GcgnHX2hd2Dfy8uBs148Ouces…> . “For this to happen did not come as a surprise to any of us,” says one former staff member who left the organization in 2023. “And that makes it so much worse.” World Central Kitchen <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIechByqryQAEjuDFtrUK6QadxktGYPZik…> *refuted allegations that it suffered from a lax safety culture*. "Any suggestion that a lack of training or security protections contributed to the events of April 1 is both malicious and contrary to these undisputed facts,” writes Erin Gore, who became WCK’s chief executive officer in March 2023. “Our model is unique: when disaster strikes, we move fast to get on location, partner with communities, and dramatically scale operations to fill immense humanitarian food needs,” the organization adds in a statement to Devex. That’s exactly what WCK became known for: Feeding millions of people while bucking the bureaucracy that often can slow down traditional humanitarian groups. The organization’s vision statement highlights how it shows up “with the fierce urgency of now,” instead of “asking for permission or following systems and bureaucracy that lack urgency and flexibility.” But not everyone agrees with what two people describe as a tendency to *“build the plane while flying it”* across the world. “I love that we move so quickly and usually make the impossible happen,” Watters wrote in his email. “But at what cost.” *Read:* What lay behind the deaths of 7 World Central Kitchen staff in Gaza <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkrZ218GcgnHX2hd2Dfy8uBs148Ouces…> *Background:* How 7 deaths changed aid work in Gaza <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POnf_FbI6LykMaSzAO87LWNLpureB2rfV…>

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55 years ago today, April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center. On the way to the Moon, an oxygen tank exploded in the service module, ending the mission and endangering the astronauts. In the now famous effort, engineers and astronauts on the ground used the Lunar Module Simulator we have in the Davidson Center to find the solution to bring the astronauts home safely. The simulator was also used to train the Apollo 11 astronauts for their mission, and Neil Armstrong, seen here with then
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

55 years ago today, April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center. On the way to the Moon, an oxygen tank exploded in the service module, ending the mission and endangering the astronauts. In the now famous effort, engineers and astronauts on the ground used the Lunar Module Simulator we have in the Davidson Center to find the solution to bring the astronauts home safely. The simulator was also used to train the Apollo 11 astronauts for their mission, and Neil Armstrong, seen here with then Director Ed Buckbee, revisited it on a visit to the Rocket Center. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DPBPu6iH6/

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Step into a world where Four Seasons legendary service and hospitality extend to the sea. Our inaugural season, with exclusive holiday voyages, invites you to experience the world through a new lens.
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

Step into a world where Four Seasons legendary service and hospitality extend to the sea. Our inaugural season, with exclusive holiday voyages, invites you to experience the world through a new lens. https://www.facebook.com/share/19TEBTezH2/

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160 years ago today, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia – effectively bringing four long, bloody years of civil war to a close. For so many reasons, it remains one of the most important days in American history, and visiting our expertly-preserved Civil War battlefields is time well spent.
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

160 years ago today, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia – effectively bringing four long, bloody years of civil war to a close. For so many reasons, it remains one of the most important days in American history, and visiting our expertly-preserved Civil War battlefields is time well spent. https://www.facebook.com/share/1JxzbqdTTD/

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Insurers Allowed To End Chemical Explosion Coverage Suit
by Gunnar Larson 14 Apr '25

14 Apr '25

Insurers Allowed To End Chemical Explosion Coverage Suit <https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/2324611?nl_pk=347c5954-47a8-495c-…> By Elizabeth Daley Insurers were allowed Friday to dismiss their case in Texas federal court against Team Industrial Services Inc. seeking to disclaim coverage for underlying suits filed against the company in connection with injuries from a 2021 explosion at a chemical plant. Order attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/2324611?nl_pk=347c5954-47a8-495c-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/2324611?nl_pk=347c5954-47a8-495c-…>

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