All posts tagged: agency

The PR agency, the publishers and the disappearing lottery winners

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Questions have been raised over the authenticity of lottery winners who have featured widely in national media news stories provided to publishers by a PR firm on behalf of a casino website.  PR agency Signal the News threatened Press Gazette with an injunction if we published even a partial screenshot of stories arising from its work which have appeared in the Daily Mail, Metro, Daily Mirror, Daily Express, The Sun and elsewhere. The warning notes: “We will also notify your infrastructure providers, Fastly, Inc. and Pantheon, requiring immediate removal of the infringing content. “Please be advised that publishing our images after receiving this notice removes any defence of innocent infringement and significantly increases your liability under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.” So Press Gazette will merely share links to the stories in question and let readers draw their own conclusions. Several widely covered news stories in late April this year featured people who claimed to have won prizes on either lottery draws or scratch cards, and then lost the ticket. Mark and …

Far-Right ‘Appeal to Heaven’ Flag Flown Above Government Agency in DC

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] A controversial “Appeal to Heaven” flag that has recently become associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement and Christian nationalism was flown above the Small Business Administration (SBA) agency last week in Washington, DC. On June 11, Kelly Loeffler, the former senator from Georgia and current administrator of the SBA, participated in a ceremony where a new flag of the United States was raised over the agency’s headquarters. Just beneath that flag, on what appeared to be the same halyard, was an Appeal to Heaven flag. Sources tell WIRED that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag was raised for less than a day. Though the flag’s roots date to the Revolutionary War, in recent years it has become a popular symbol for the far right. The Appeal to Heaven flag was waved by January 6 rioters at the Capitol in 2021 and has become associated with President Donald Trump’s supporters who deny the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The flag has also been linked to Christian nationalists, who believe that the US should be …

How a US agriculture agency became key in the fight against bird flu

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] A dangerous strain of bird flu is spreading in US livestock MediaMedium/Alamy Since Donald Trump assumed office in January, the leading US public health agency has pulled back preparations for a potential bird flu pandemic. But as it steps back, another government agency is stepping up. While the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) previously held regular briefings on its efforts to prevent a wider outbreak of a deadly bird flu virus called H5N1 in people, it largely stopped once Trump took office. It has also cancelled funding for a vaccine that would have targeted the virus. In contrast, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has escalated its fight against H5N1’s spread in poultry flocks and dairy herds, including by funding the development of livestock vaccines. This particular virus – a strain of avian influenza called H5N1 – poses a significant threat to humans, having killed about half of the roughly 1000 people worldwide who tested positive for it since 2003. While the pathogen spreads rapidly in birds, it is poorly adapted …

Accounting for Institutional Limitations on Agency under Trump: Civil Servants’ Loyalty Traps

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] When I started investigating civil servants’ responses to the first Trump administration in 2017, I presumed civil servants were likely to face ethical dilemmas. During his campaign and early presidency, Trump criticized what he called the “deep state.” Historic mass protests in support of women, science, climate change, and asylum seekers proliferated in response to Trump and his administration’s evident values and agenda. Through civil servants’ own reports in real time across the first Trump administration, I show in my new book The Loyalty Trap how civil servants understood and responded to illiberal and anti-bureaucratic leadership changes in their workplaces. I also analyzed who was likely to resist, how, and why. In reflecting on civil servants’ experiences and responses to the first Trump term, their stories and reflections on ethics reveal how workplace hierarchies can set the stage for, influence, and delimit agentic moral action, even among people who care more than most about doing the right thing for their country and the public. It also shows how autocratic turns in leadership can provoke …

how the space agency helped keep Europe at the frontiers of science

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Everyone has heard of Nasa, a name synonymous with every aspect of space exploration. Yet talk about Esa, the European Space Agency, is more likely to result in a blank stare. Esa is not such a highly recognised brand, yet it has been central to the development of space exploration and to space science in Europe, delivering world class science at the frontiers of knowledge and allowing the continent to compete commercially with the wider world. Europe compares favourably with the US on the level of space science it delivers, and Esa has sometimes “gone boldly” where even Nasa has not. Now that Esa has turned 50 years old, it’s a good time to look at the organisation’s history, celebrate its achievements and look towards the future of European space in its hands. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. As an agency, Esa …

After 50 successful years, the European Space Agency has some big challenges ahead

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Space Agency (Esa). It has launched spectacularly successful missions, but is different to other space agencies which generally represent one country. Esa is funded by 23 member states and also has cooperation agreements with nations such as Canada. Esa operates cutting edge spacecraft designed to monitor the Earth, as well as space telescopes that study the distant cosmos. It has launched robotic spacecraft to other planets and to objects such as comets. It is also involved in human spaceflight – training European astronauts to work on the International Space Station (ISS). These are hugely successful achievements. But the agency now faces challenges as competition heats up among newer space powers such as China and India. The history of Esa can be traced to events immediately after the second world war, when many European scientists moved to either the US or to the Soviet Union. Many of them realised that projects supported only by a single nation could not compete with those supported …

Nasa’s planned budget cuts could set back space science, but show how to future-proof the agency

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] The 2026 Nasa budget proposal would slash around US$6 billion (£4.4 billion) in funding. This is a huge reduction, amounting to around 25% of recent Nasa budgets. The savings would mainly come from Nasa science programmes, potentially devastating high profile missions and international collaborations. However, the budget proposal also represents an intentional redirection of Nasa’s focus by government through resource allocation. The state has long supported the development of a robust commercial space sector, and this budget is a further step in that direction. Congress will have the final say and the cost to science could be high if the budget goes through without major amendments. One casualty could be Mars Sample Return (MSR), a joint endeavour with the European Space Agency that is intended to retrieve Martian soil and rock collected by the Perseverance rover and deliver it to laboratories on Earth. An audit of MSR released in February 2024, suggested that the mission’s overall cost could exceed US$7.5 billion (£5.6 billion). The timescale for the mission was also slipping into the 2040s. …

Teaching Regulation Agency: Unions take legal action

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Concern over non-white teachers being ‘overrepresented’ in misconduct referrals Concern over non-white teachers being ‘overrepresented’ in misconduct referrals Education unions have launched legal action against the Teaching Regulation Agency over concerns non-white teachers are “overrepresented” in misconduct referrals. Leadership unions NAHT and ASCL, the National Education Union, teaching union NASUWT and Community have lodged a claim for judicial review of what they called “significant non-compliance” with equalities duties. They said the TRA’s decision not to collect data on protected characteristics such as age, disability, race and sexual orientation of teachers referred to it made it “impossible to evaluate” how its policies and practices impact different groups. In a statement, the unions said they were in particular “concerned that black and minority ethnic teachers may be overrepresented in referrals to the TRA. “There is a concern about the underlying reasons for such referrals and whether they stem from discriminatory stereotypes, such as inaccurately labelling the teachers’ behaviour as overly aggressive.” There is “also a concern that, in comparison with heterosexual teachers, the TRA has investigated …

AG James Challenges Trump Order Targeting Federal Library and Museum Agency

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] New York State Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit—alongside 20 other attorneys general—against the Trump administration over an executive order that effectively shuts down three federal agencies responsible for supporting libraries, museums, minority-owned businesses, and labor mediation services. At the center of the lawsuit is the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a modest but vital federal agency that in 2024 alone distributed $180 million in funding across all 50 states. In New York, more than $8 million from IMLS supported literacy programs, internet access, staff training, and salaries for two-thirds of the state library’s employees. That funding—and the services it sustains—is now at risk. Following the executive order, IMLS has placed nearly all of its employees on administrative leave and frozen hundreds of grants. Related Articles Two additional agencies are also in the administration’s crosshairs: the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which fosters economic growth for minority-owned enterprises, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), which helps resolve labor disputes. The Trump administration has reportedly slashed MBDA’s staff from …

Who will be the Property Agency of the Year?

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] As a part of the South Coast Property Awards 2025, we’re on the hotly contested hunt for the Property Agency of the Year. Our independent judges are looking for a well-rounded agency that has demonstrated a comprehensive and outstanding approach to real estate services during the qualifying period. The winner will stand out for their holistic and exceptional performance, having made a positive impact on clients, the community, and the real estate industry as a whole. Judges will be particularly looking for excellence in service delivery, market performance, client satisfaction, and professionalism. Think you’ve got what it takes to bring home the trophy? Nominations for this highly anticipated black-tie gala event close tomorrow – this is your last chance to enter for the chance to be named among the best-of-the-best in the vibrant world of South Coast property. Just head over to the event page now to get involved. Are you the Young Property Person of the Year? Perhaps you’re a part of the Property Legal Team of the Year? Maybe you’re our Commercial …