The senior official indicated that the United States is willing to allow Iran to use nuclear in a civilian capacity.
“We’re not bothered at all by the idea of civilian power plants in Iran. What we’re bothered by is the type of infrastructure that would allow them to jump from civilian power generation to nuclear weapons development, and that’s what they’ve had for a very long time,” they said.
(May 28, 2026)
“I’m hearing from advocates and families on the ground reports of ICE pepper spraying and beating detainees inside Delaney Hall. I have seen the horrific conditions and spoken to those inside about the disgusting food, lack of medical care, and violent and unsanitary conditions as recently as this week. With demoted former USCBP Commander Greg Bovino’s announcement that he is coming to Newark today and his threats online to tear gas our community, I have even more concern that he will only escalate the chaos at Delaney,” said McIver. “More ICE violence has never made a situation safer. The only solution to stop the abuse at Delaney Hall and quell this terror nationwide is to shut down the facility and abolish ICE. We will keep standing up to this administration’s terror campaign and we will keep fighting for justice.”
On Monday, McIver made her fourth visit to Delaney Hall. The chaos created by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during McIver’s first visit to Delaney Hall, led to the Trump administration bringing baseless charges against her for conducting oversight. Her second visit came on the heels of the death of Jean Wilson Brutus in ICE custody. Her third visit was following the release of the S.O.S. letter signed by 300 detainees.
(May 22, 2026)
NEWARK — Roughly 300 people detained at migrant jail Delaney Hall began a hunger and labor strike to bring attention to what they call the detrimental conditions and treatment they say they face behind bars.
For two hours near a tent outside the Doremus Avenue detention center Friday morning, people shared their stories of loved ones who are detained inside. Gabriela Soto translated calls from prisoners, including one from her husband, Martin, who has been held there since February.
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Shortly after their calls with advocates, guards cut access to phones and tablets inside.
(May 26, 2026)
A California ballot initiative that will be put to voters in November would tax just 5 percent of billionaires’ fortunes over five years. This trailblazing wealth tax would be a small (for the ultrawealthy) but important (for everyone else) step toward raising needed tax revenue and curbing the state’s runaway inequality.
The billionaire class in California includes roughly 250 households, a mere 0.001 percent of the state’s families. Yet its wealth now amounts to more than half of California’s entire annual economic output.
This means that if these billionaires spent all of their wealth, they could buy more than half of the goods and services produced in a year in the entire state.
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(June 11, 2025)
Many radiopharmaceuticals, especially those used in PET scans, have very short half-lives. This means they decay significantly within a short period, reducing their effectiveness.
Consequently, the „last mile“ of radiopharmaceutical delivery, including transport, is crucial for maintaining the drug‘s potency and safety.
Speaking to IRIB TV3 on Monday night, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami explained that importing radiopharmaceuticals were impossible until recently.
This was because Western countries refused to provide radiopharmaceuticals to Iran due to sanctions, while regional airlines such as Qatar Airways did not undertake such shipments, he said.
(May 10, 2026)
Sixty percent enriched uranium, when fabricated into targets and irradiated in a research reactor, produces molybdenum‑99, a radioisotope that decays into technetium‑99m.
This single isotope is used in tens of millions of medical procedures worldwide each year, including cardiac scans and cancer diagnostics that are essential to modern medicine.
Iran has officially declared this medical application, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified the conversion of a portion of Iran’s 60 percent enriched uranium into targets for molybdenum‑99 production in March 2022.
(April 9, 2026)
While nuclear fusion is often discussed as a future source of clean energy, companies like SHINE Technologies, based in Janesville, WI, are currently using its power to solve a critical shortage in medical imaging.
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Tc-99m supports about 56,000 patient studies daily in the U.S., helping physicians detect heart disease, cancer, and other serious conditions.
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SHINE announced it has received a conditional commitment for a loan of $263 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF). If approved, the financing will support the completion of Chrysalis, a first-of-a-kind medical isotope production facility that will establish the first domestic commercial supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99).
(May 29, 2024)
“Molybdenum is used to detect some diseases. Every week, hospitals and nuclear medicine diagnostic centers across the country need radiopharmaceuticals based on the use of technetium-m99, and more than one million patients benefit from technetium-m99 every year,” Ali Bahrami Samani, the project manager of the Molybdenum macro plan said.
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“Furthermore, the hot cell facilities during the implementation of the molybdenum production plan using the method of neutron activation of molybdenum oxide were not suitable under the foreign sanctions for the rapid implementation of the industrial stage under special conditions. Also, given the restrictions imposed by the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA (Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action), it was decided that molybdenum production plan to be carried out in several stages,” the manager of the project further explained.
(December 18, 2024)
The U.S. government has worked for several years to help establish a domestically produced supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99)to stabilize access to this critical radio-isotope used for more than 75% of medical nuclear imaging exams. The U.S. currently relies on 100% of its Mo-99 supplies from foreign reactors overseas, making the country‘s medical imaging supply chain vulnerable. This was the case in October and early November, when one of the key aging European reactors was taken off line for emergency repairs.
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Historically, Mo-99 has been sourced from a handful of older research reactors outside the U.S., much of which came from the Chalk River reactor in Canada. But that 60-year-old reactor closed in 2018, and the reliance on reactors outside the states, including one Russian reactor for some medical isotopes, has left the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.
“The world depends on six reactors, many of which are decades old,” Cutler explained. “These facilities coordinate their operations to minimize disruptions, but when maintenance issues arise, shortages can quickly follow.”
Beirut‘s hospitals have been inundated with casualties from the latest wave of Israeli attacks on the city, the Beirut Doctors Syndicate has said.
Elias Challala, who helms the group, issued a plea to “all doctors, each within their specialty, to go to hospitals to provide assistance following the large number of injuries caused by the air strikes, to fulfil their medical and humanitarian duty“.
Tony knows that working families across California are facing so many challenges that require our entire state government, working together, to solve.
Growing up in poverty as a Black and Latino kid without his parents, Tony lived the struggles that so many Californians face every day – that‘s why he dedicated his career to fighting for a brighter future for California‘s children.
(February 20, 2026)
Thurmond, a longtime champion of programs to counter food insecurity, sponsored a state law that currently funds universal school meals for every California student. Today, Thurmond praised the Billionaire Tax for helping children and families when they need it most, by funding food, supporting K-14 public education, and protecting healthcare for all Californians.
“Billionaires have a unique opportunity to save healthcare for Californians, feed hungry families, and reinvest in our public schools,” Thurmond said. “Growing up in poverty, having access to healthcare and food aid kept me and my brother alive, and public education offered us a ladder to the middle class. At a time of unprecedented wealth and income inequality, now is the time to strengthen that ladder for the next generation, not pull it up behind us.”
How it Works
Paid only by Californians worth more than $1 billion—about 200 people who together hold $2 trillion in wealth, most of which will never be taxed in their lifetimes due to loopholes in state and federal tax laws.
Raises about $100 billion to replace lost federal dollars and protect essential services. Directs 90% of funds to healthcare and 10% to public K-14 education and state food assistance programs.
No new taxes on the middle class, small businesses, or homeowners.
What it does for Californians
Keeps hospital ERs, clinics, nursing homes, and home care open and staffed in every community.
Stabilizes premiums and coverage, so families can see a doctor when they need one.
Protects healthcare jobs and the middle-class economy they support.
Funds public K-14 education to keep classrooms staffed, protect programs, and ensure every child gets a quality education.
Funds state food assistance programs to keep millions of Californians from losing access to food and support school nutrition programs.
What we want is simple
Protect our fragile healthcare system from collapse so our families can get the care we need.
Billionaires doing their part to support California and contribute to the social safety nets and public infrastructure that enabled their wealth accumulation.
A state with a strong middle class where everyone can thrive.
California Billionaire Tax Act
A statewide ballot initiative to enact an emergency tax on billionaires to save California’s healthcare system from collapse
Massive cuts to federal healthcare funding are driving California towards a healthcare collapse. The federal funding cuts will strip roughly $100 billion from California healthcare over the next five years, leading to:
Short-staffed shifts: Skeleton crews left on the front lines as 145,000 healthcare jobs disappear
Higher costs and lost coverage: Insurance premiums go up for everyone, and millions of Californians lose coverage altogether.
Facility closures and reduced services: Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and home care will be forced to reduce services or close down.
Our solution: The California Billionaire Tax Act
(October 24, 2025)
The proposed initiative would tax the 2025 net worth of billionaires residing in California, allowing them to pay off the obligation over five years. The revenue would go into a special fund with 90% reserved for health care spending and 10% reserved for K-12 education spending.
It needs 874,641 signatures to be placed before voters on the 2026 ballot, a number that the groups are confident they can reach. Getting voters to ultimately approve the tax, however, could be a hard sell.
(January 12, 2026)
The conversations, reported here for the first time, have occurred intermittently for months as SEIU-UHW’s ballot initiative targeting billionaires migrated from the backrooms of California politics to the center of a raging debate about Silicon Valley and income inequality, sparking tech titans’ wrath and vows to move out of state.
“We’ve been at this for four months,” Newsom said in an interview with POLITICO, describing an “all-hands” effort that has included him meeting one-on-one with SEIU-UHW’s leader, Dave Regan.
A compromise does not appear imminent. A union official cast doubt on the possibility of a deal, saying the two sides do not currently have another meeting scheduled and framing a ballot fight as an inevitability.
According to official data, energy supply restrictions are primarily affecting the Maternal and Child Health Program, limiting pregnant women’s access to obstetric ultrasounds for fetal monitoring and genetic testing, essential for the timely diagnosis of malformations and complications.
The fuel shortage is also hindering the mobilization of medical teams responsible for evaluating cases of extremely severe maternal morbidity and critical newborns, in addition to causing delays in childhood vaccination schedules.
Health authorities indicated that these disruptions could significantly impact the 61,830 children under one year old who require special care during their first stage of life. Furthermore, care for children with specific needs, such as home ventilation, mechanical suction, and air conditioning, is jeopardized due to the unstable electricity supply and the limited availability of ambulances for urgent and emergency situations.
(February 13, 2026)
Two Mexican ships carrying urgent humanitarian aid arrived in Cuba’s capital Havana on Thursday as the United Nations warns the island is facing humanitarian collapse due to the Trump administration’s oil blockade. Infant mortality is also on the rise in Cuba as the United States tightens its decades-old economic embargo on the island as part of Trump’s efforts to overthrow the Cuban government. We’ll have more on Cuba later in the broadcast with Cuba’s Ambassador to the U.N. Ernesto Soberón Guzmán.
In finalizing this rule, EPA carefully considered and reevaluated the legal foundation of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and the text of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in light of subsequent legal developments and court decisions. The agency concludes that Section 202(a) of the CAA does not provide statutory authority for EPA to prescribe motor vehicle and engine emission standards in the manner previously utilized, including for the purpose of addressing global climate change, and therefore has no legal basis for the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations. EPA firmly believes the 2009 Endangerment Finding made by the Obama Administration exceeded the agency’s authority to combat “air pollution” that harms public health and welfare, and that a policy decision of this magnitude, which carries sweeping economic and policy consequences, lies solely with Congress. Unlike our predecessors, the Trump EPA is committed to following the law exactly as it is written and as Congress intended—not as others might wish it to be.
(May 8, 2025)
Alabama, Arkansas, California, New Jersey, Vermont and Virginia received the highest scores for CO safety. These states generally mandate CO detectors, run year-round public awareness efforts and coordinate among agencies to ensure compliance, according to the report. Many have emergency protocols in place to address higher CO risk during power outages, the report noted.
The report cited 13 states – Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia – as having limited or no statewide CO regulations and minimal public education.
(June 24, 2025)
Noting that the product has been used in the world since 2013 and was monopolized by a US company that has FDA approval, he said, “Now this product has been indigenized in Iran in cooperation with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the Development Headquarters of Nanotechnology and Micro Technologies.”
“The particle size of this product is less than ten nanometers and can move in the lymphatic system,” Shahcheraq said.
“This product will first be delivered to the AEOI. Then, in nuclear medicine centers, it is labeled with technetium-99 radioisotope a few minutes before it is injected into the patient‘s body. After the product is labeled with a radioisotope, it is injected directly (into the tumor) or subcutaneously (in the lymphatic part) to the patient,” he explained.
In line with its strategic objective, ESA leads the actions towards securing the supply of source materials for the radioisotopes production, thus actively contributing to the Strategic Agenda for Medical Ionising Radiation Applications (SAMIRA).
The Agency undertakes measures to ensure security of supply of high-enriched uranium (HEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), required to feed the production of medical radioisotopes and to fuel research reactors. These strategic materials are currently not produced in the Community and must be imported from the US or the Russian Federation.
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Radioisotopes are used in medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, including some of the most important ones, like cancers, cardiovascular and brain disorders. Over 10000 hospitals worldwide use radioisotopes for the in vivo diagnosis or treatment of about 35 million patients every year, of which 9 million in Europe.
Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is the most widely used (diagnostic) isotope.
Europe is the second largest consumer of Tc-99m, accounting for more than 20% of the global market.
(September 8, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are announcing new actions to support domestic production of the vital medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99).
“We’ve spent years working with U.S. companies to reshore Mo-99 production using advanced technology that doesn’t require weapons-usable nuclear material,” said Kasia Mendelsohn, NNSA’s Acting Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. “But NNSA hasn’t been alone in its efforts. Other agencies and departments are a big part of aiding the rebirth of this innovative U.S. industry.”
“We didn’t lose to Donald Trump. We lost to the couch,” DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider said in an interview. “We saw our voters, many of our important voters, stay home. Obviously, that is a trend that cannot continue.”
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“If we want to keep earning back the trust and support of voters, we have to listen to them,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “The Democratic Party is done with waiting until the last minute to engage voters — these conversations need to happen early and often.”