'This Is What Fascism Looks Like': Beloved LA Labor Leader David Huerta Arrested

"This is about something much bigger," said the president of SEIU California, still in detention. "This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice."


SEIU California president David Huerta is pushed by a federal agent just before falling over backward and then being arrested during an immigration enforcement raid in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, June 6, 2025.
(Image: via U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli)

Jon Queally
Jun 07, 2025

COMMON DREAMS

Unions and allies in California and across the United States on Saturday are demanding the immediate release of David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU-United Service Workers West, after the highly regarded labor leader was injured and then arrested while witnessing a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Friday.

"SEIU California members call for the immediate release of our President, David Huerta, who was injured and detained at the site of one of today's ICE raids in Los Angeles," said Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, in a statement.

"This isn't just an overreach—it's a nationwide pattern of suppression." —Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.)

In a later update, the union stated that Huerta—a veteran labor leader whose union represents over 45,000 janitors, airport workers, security guards, and other property service workers—had been released from the hospital, where he received treatment for injuries sustained during his arrest, but that he remained in custody.

The union included remarks from Huerta, who said, "We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice."


"This is about something much bigger" than his arrest, said Huerta. "This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice."

According to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security, approximately 44 individuals were "administratively arrested" in a series of raids at retail stores in the Los Angeles area. In contrast, one individual, identified as Huerta, was arrested "for obstruction" of federal officers.

"This is what fascism looks like," said California State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat. "Secret police raids. Injuring protesters. Arresting labor leaders."

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the chief prosecutor in the Central District of California, claimed in a post on social media that "federal agents were executing a lawful judicial warrant at a LA worksite this morning when David Huerta deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle. He was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday."

"Let me be clear: I don't care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted," said Essayli. "No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties."

A video posted by Essayli alongside his statement appears to show the moment Huerta is pushed over by ICE agents amid a chaotic scene on a sidewalk where officers are clearing an area in front of a gate for an approaching van.

Separate footage from a different angle shows Huerta going down backward due to a forceful push by the officers and landing with his neck and head on a hard concrete curb:



"Today, SEIU-USWW President, my friend, and constituent David Huerta was thrown to the ground, tased, injured, and arrested for exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), who represents areas of Los Angeles. "This isn't just an overreach—it's a nationwide pattern of suppression. We must stand together."

California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom also weighed in. "David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people," said Newsom. "No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action."

Outrage over Huerta's arrest and ongoing detention, both from the labor union movement and immigrant rights groups, continued to spread on Friday and into Saturday.



"We refuse to stay silent while ICE terrorizes working-class communities," said the California Federation of Labor Unions (CFLU). "We are turning out and standing united in solidarity with SEIU-California, calling on the release of SEIU President David Huerta!"

In a statement, CFLU president Lorena Gonzalez called for "an end to the cruel, destructive, and indiscriminate ICE raids that are tearing apart our communities, disrupting our economies, and hurting all working people. Immigrant workers are essential to our society—feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes."

In a post on social media, SEIU California said: "Let’s be clear: ICE injured and detained the president of SEIU California for peacefully observing. ICE picked the wrong side. The wrong state. The wrong person. And the wrong union. David Huerta stood up. And 750,000 SEIU workers are standing with him."

'A Declaration of War': Trump Sends National Guard to LA Over Anti-ICE Protests

"The Trump administration's baseless deployment of the National Guard is plainly retaliation against California, a stronghold for immigrant communities," one advocate said.


National Guard are stationed at the Metropolitan Detention Center, MDC, in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Photo: Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Olivia Rosane
Jun 08, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

U.S. President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members in response to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Los Angeles over the weekend, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened to call in the marines.

The protests kicked off on Friday in opposition to ICE raids of retail establishments around Los Angeles. During Friday's protests David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU-United Service Workers West, was injured and then arrested while observing a raid. His arrest sparked further protests, which carried over into Saturday in response to apparent ICE activity in the nearby city of Paramount.

"The Trump administration's baseless deployment of the National Guard is plainly retaliation against California, a stronghold for immigrant communities, and is akin to a declaration of war on all Californians," Victor Leung, chief legal and advocacy officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Southern California, said in a statement.

"They yell 'invasion' at the border—but this is the real one: Trump is seizing control of California's National Guard and forcing 2,000 troops into our streets."

Saturday's most dramatic protest occurred outside a Home Depot in Paramount following rumors of an ICE raid there. However, Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told the Los Angeles Times that the ICE agents may instead have been staging at a nearby Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office. There were also rumors of an ICE raid on a meatpacking plant that never occurred.

"We don't know what was happening, or what their target was. To think that there would be no heightening of fear and no consequences from the community doesn't sound like good preparation to me," Lemons said. "Above all, there is no communication and things are done on a whim. And that creates chaos and fear."

According to the LA Times, the Home Depot protests began peacefully until officers lobbed flash-bang grenades and pepper balls at the crowd, after which some individuals responded by throwing rocks and other objects at the ICE cars, and one person drove their vehicle toward the ICE agents.

"Many of the protesters did not appear to engage in these tactics," the LA Times reported.

In another incident, Lindsay Toczylowski, the chief executive of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, wrote on social media that ICE agents threw a tear-gas canister at two of the center's female attorneys after they asked the agents if they could see a warrant and observe their activities.



The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said that over a dozen people were arrested on Saturday for interfering with the work of immigration agents.

The first member of the Trump administration to mention sending in the National Guard was White House border czar Tom Homan, who told Fox News, "We're gonna bring National Guard in tonight and we're gonna continue doing our job. This is about enforcing the law."

Trump then signed a memo Saturday night calling members of the California National Guard into federal service to protect ICE and other government officials.

"To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States," the memo reads in part.

"The only threat to safety today is the masked goon squads that the administration has deployed to terrorize the communities of Los Angeles County."

Instead of using the Insurrection Act, as some had speculated he might, Trump federalized the guard members under the president's Title 10 authority, which allows the president to place the National Guard under federal control given certain conditions, but does not allow those troops to carry out domestic law enforcement activities, which invoking the Insurrection Act would enable.

"On its face, then, the memorandum federalizes 2,000 California National Guard troops for the sole purpose of protecting the relevant DHS personnel against attacks," Georgetown University Law Center professor Steve Vladeck explained in a blog post Saturday. "That's a significant (and, in my view, unnecessary) escalation of events in a context in which no local or state authorities have requested such federal assistance. But by itself, this is not the mass deployment of troops into U.S. cities that had been rumored for some time."

Indeed, several state leaders spoke out against the deployment.

"The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers," California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media Saturday. "That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions. LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment's notice. We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need."

"The Guard has been admirably serving LA throughout recovery," he continued, referring to the devastating wildfires that swept the city early this year. "This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust."

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) posted on social media that he "couldn't agree more."

"Using the National Guard this way is a completely inappropriate and misguided mission," Padilla said. "The Trump administration is just sowing more chaos and division in our communities."

Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) added, "They yell 'invasion' at the border—but this is the real one: Trump is seizing control of California's National Guard and forcing 2,000 troops into our streets."

While the National Guard's mission is currently limited, Vladeck argued that there were three reasons to be "deeply concerned" about the development. First, troops could still respond to real or perceived threats with violence, escalating the situation; second, escalation may be the desired outcome from the Trump administration, and used as a pretext to invoke the Insurrection Act after all; and third, this could depress the morale of both National Guard members and the civilians they engage with while degrading the relationships between federal, local, and state authorities.

"There is something deeply pernicious about invoking any of these authorities except in circumstances in which their necessity is a matter of consensus beyond the president's political supporters," Vladeck wrote. "The law may well allow President Trump to do what he did Saturday night. But just because something is legal does not mean that it is wise—for the present or future of our Republic."

Leung of the ACLU criticized both the ICE raids and the decision to deploy the Guard.

"Workers in our garment districts or day laborers seeking work outside of Home Depot do not undermine public safety," Leung said. "They are our fathers and mothers and neighbors going about their day and making ends meet. Rather, the only threat to safety today is the masked goon squads that the administration has deployed to terrorize the communities of Los Angeles County."

He continued: "There is no rational reason to deploy the National Guard on Angelenos, who are rightfully outraged by the federal government's attack on our communities and justly exercising their First Amendment right to protest the violent separation of our families. We intend to file suit and hold this administration accountable and to protect our communities from further attacks."

National political leaders also spoke out Sunday morning.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on social media that it was "important to remember that Trump isn't trying to heal or keep the peace. He is looking to inflame and divide. His movement doesn't believe in democracy or protest—and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it. None of this is on the level."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) posted that the entire incident was "Trump's authoritarianism in real time."

 

Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened further escalation Saturday night when he tweeted that "if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized—they are on high alert."

Newsom responded: "The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior."

"This is an abuse of power and what dictators do. It's unnecessary and not needed."

Hegseth then doubled down on the threat Sunday morning, replying on social media that it was "deranged" to allow "your city to burn and law enforcement to be attacked."

"The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE," he posted.

Journalist Ryan Grim noted that it was an "ominous development" for the secretary of defense to be commenting on immigration policy or local law enforcement at all.

Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) said of Trump and Hegseth's escalations: "This is an abuse of power and what dictators do. It's unnecessary and not needed."

Writing on his Truth Social platform early Sunday, Trump praised the National Guard for their work in Los Angeles. Yet local and state leaders pointed out that the Guard had not yet arrived in the city by the time the post was made.



As of Sunday morning, the National Guard had arrived in downtown Los Angeles and Paramount, ABC 7reported.

In the midst of the uproar over Trump's actions, labor groups continued to decry the ICE raids and call for the release of Huerta.

National Nurses United wrote on Friday: "With these raids, the government is sowing intense fear for personal safety among our immigrant and migrant community. Nurses and other union workers oppose this, and are standing up in solidarity with fellow immigrant workers. We refuse to be silent, and people like David Huerta are bravely putting their own bodies on the line to bear witness to what ICE is doing. It's appalling that ICE injured and detained him while he was exercising his First Amendment rights. We demand his immediate release."

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said in a statement Saturday:
The nearly 15 million working people of the AFL-CIO and our affiliated unions demand the immediate release of California Federation of Labor Unions Vice President and SEIU California and SEIU-USWW President David Huerta. As the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda has unnecessarily targeted our hard-working immigrant brothers and sisters, David was exercising his constitutional rights and conducting legal observation of ICE activity in his community. He was doing what he has always done, and what we do in unions: putting solidarity into practice and defending our fellow workers. In response, ICE agents violently arrested him, physically injuring David in the process, and are continuing to detain him—a violation of David's civil liberties and the freedoms this country holds dear. The labor movement stands with David, and we will continue to demand justice for our union brother until he is released.

The unrest in Los Angeles may continue as Barragán toldCNN on Sunday she had been informed that ICE would be present in LA for a month. She argued that the National Guard deployment would only inflame the conflict.

“We haven't asked for the help. We don't need the help. This is [President Trump] escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It's only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement."

AMERIKA

Stephen Miller brutally ridiculed by observers for 'crying' about 'insurrection'

David McAfee
June 7, 2025 

RAW STORY


U.S. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks to reporters during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

U.S. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is under fire this weekend after proclaiming that there is an "insurrection" occurring with California protests.

After it was reported on social media that, "Protesters have surrounded the federal detention center in Los Angeles. California isn’t backing down, this is a full-blown standoff with the feds," Miller sought to define what is happening.

"An insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States," Miller wrote.

Podcaster Brian Allen responded, saying, "Stephen Miller is now calling the anti-ICE uprising in Los Angeles 'an insurrection against U.S. sovereignty.' Let’s be clear: over 800 protesters cornered federal agents in a garage, breached a government building, and caused widespread damage."

"This isn’t just chaos, it’s a full-blown standoff. Miller is demanding National Guard deployment and federal arrests. The stakes just got raised," Allen added. "Stephen Miller; the guy who architected family separation, is now crying 'insurrection' because Californians dared to protest ICE raids. You don’t get to weaponize the government, then act shocked when the people fight back. California isn’t backing down."

Internet personality Leah McElrath also chimed in:

"To give people an idea of where the Trump administration is wanting to take things, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is calling the anti-ICE protests in large cities in blue states 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.'"


Self-described "political junkie" Richard Angwin told his hundreds of thousands of followers:

"Calling peaceful protest an 'insurrection' disrespects our democracy. Protesting unjust policies is a constitutional right, not sedition. Miller's rhetoric endangers civil liberties and distorts the meaning of real threats."

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol echoed Miller's language, resulting in similar feedback.



"Let this be clear: Anyone who assaults or impedes a federal law enforcement officer or agent in the performance of their duties will be arrested and swiftly prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Attack a cop, and life long consequences will follow!" CBP wrote.

To that, speech writer Mark Salter replied, "Unless you’re breaking into the Capitol and trying to hang the VP."

Oops: Kevin Hassett says 'of course' Medicare cuts are on the table

David Edwards
June 8, 2025 

RAW STORY

CBS/screen grab


White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett insisted that the Trump administration would consider cutting Medicare even though the president has said the program would not be touched.

During a Sunday interview on CBS, host Margaret Brennan noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had acknowledged a discussion around Medicare cuts.

"Is the White House open to any discussion around Medicare?" she asked Hassett.

"Well, first of all, what's happening is that the senators, respecting the legislative process, are discussing what they think that they can put on the table," President Donald Trump's economic adviser replied. "If the Senate comes up with other things they'd like us to look at, I guess we would have a look at them. But there have been a lot of false stories about Medicare being on the table, and it's totally not on the table."

"You are taking Medicare off the table?" Brennan clarified. "The White House says don't do it?"

"No," Hassett laughed, "I've seen a massive amount of waste, fraud, abuse in Medicaid, and I've not been briefed on Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse. But if they find something that, of course, we would look at it."

"You would look at it?" Brennan asked.


"Of course," Hassett said.

Watch the video below from CBS or at the link..

Why MAGA Christianity should fear the new pope

(RNS) — Pope Leo’s election also offers hope, because he reminds the world that religious conviction need not serve nationalist power.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV concelebrates Mass with the College of Cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican the day after his election as 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Vatican Media)

Jennifer Butler
June 6, 2025


(RNS) — The election of Pope Leo XIV has felt like a balm, as the Chicago native who spent decades in Peru has revealed himself as a leader with a modern globalist perspective, rooted in dignity, solidarity and mercy. The warm reception he’s received from Catholics and non-Catholics alike shows how much his outlook is needed.

There is one group that’s not so enthusiastic. “This is all a very calculated move,” warned Sean Feucht, a Christian nationalist influencer in the Trump orbit. “They chose a globalist and woke Pope from the West ON PURPOSE to stand up and criticize the leaders of the Free World.”
RELATED: Inauguration week was a collision of two Christianities

Fringe-right commentator Laura Loomer, who has advised President Trump on national security appointments, called Leo a “WOKE MARXIST POPE” and “a Marxist puppet in the Vatican.”

Why such fury? It’s not because Leo espouses liberal theological views — he doesn’t. He holds traditional Catholic positions on sexuality and abortion and prefers the liturgical formalism many conservatives favor. Leo has become a MAGA flashpoint not due to any dramatic break from Catholic doctrine, but because his worldview directly threatens the Christian nationalist engine behind the rising authoritarianism of our time. He threatens to become a transnational counterweight to a rapidly expanding authoritarian religious network.

Before the conclave, as Cardinal Robert Prevost, Leo retweeted a post criticizing U.S. President Trump and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for mocking immigrants being deported from the U.S. to Bukele’s jails. The future pope also challenged Vice President JD Vance’s “ordo amoris” argument that Christians should prioritize their own nation over global needs. “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” the cardinal tweeted.

This was no minor theological dustup over the proper “order of love” Christians should obey. It was a direct rebuttal to the ideological foundation of Christian nationalism: that faith should serve state nativist power and preserve national sovereignty at the expense of human rights.

Christian nationalism is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has used the Orthodox Church to launder the legacy of Soviet authoritarianism and sanctify nationalist aggression. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has refined the Christian nationalist playbook, conflating immigration with national collapse and portraying European Union officials as threats to Hungary’s Christian identity.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni, influenced by American conservative Christians, criminalized LGBTQ+ communities, setting them up for harassment, imprisonment and potentially the death penalty. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro used similar tactics to rally evangelical Christians, claiming his opponent in recent elections would close churches. After losing that election, he incited an insurrection reminiscent of Jan. 6, where mobs waving Christian banners attacked government buildings.

The American Christian Right has played a central role in the creation of this transnational movement merging religious identity with authoritarian rule. Its leaders increasingly collaborate across borders — culturally, politically and financially — to impose a rigid moral order, polarize the public and erode democratic institutions.

Funded by fossil-fuel billionaires and with strategic support from far-right operatives such as Steve Bannon, Christian nationalists have established international networks to roll back gender rights, embolden strongmen and promote anti-democratic messaging. They’ve built alliances with sympathetic governments, particularly in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa. This month, U.S.-based Christian right leaders are hosting a continental summit in Africa aimed at seeding Christian nationalist power in national governments.

The connective tissue? A shared strategy of using religion to justify authoritarian consolidation and frame dissent as sacrilege.

The election of Leo XIV signals that not all global religious institutions are capitulating.

Commentators expect Leo to continue to align the papacy with marginalized communities targeted by the global right, in the spirit of Pope Francis, who invited 40 migrants, transgender individuals and those experiencing homelessness to personally receive his coffin as it entered the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The implications go beyond such symbolism. The Catholic Church, the world’s largest religious institution, plays a complex role in global affairs, often shaping public sentiment and influencing political alliances. Leo has already shown that he rejects the premises of the Christian nationalist movement, which thrives on polarization and convincing believers that compassion for outsiders is weakness. His tweets to Vance pushed back on the idea that national sovereignty trumps human rights and that political violence is a legitimate defense of “faith.”

MAGA influencers understand that when Leo speaks, people listen — not just Catholics, but others looking for spiritual leadership grounded in clarity. His critics know how powerful that can be.
RELATED: Catholics see a familiar political divide in Pope Leo XIV and his eldest brother

That’s why Pope Leo’s election also offers hope, because he reminds the world that religious conviction need not serve nationalist power. It can, instead, call us to global responsibility — to protect the vulnerable, honor the dignity of every person and resist tyranny in all its forms.

The Rev. Jennifer Butler. (Photo by David F. Choy)

In a moment when the line between spiritual leadership and political manipulation is dangerously thin, that reminder couldn’t be more timely.

(The Rev. Jennifer Butler, the founder of Faith in Democracy and Faith in Public Life, chaired President Obama’s third Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. )

MAGARTS&CRAFTS

Kennedy Center's free show sponsored by pest control company flopped big: report


David McAfee
June 8, 2025 
RAW STORY


The Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

 (Photo credit: Matthew Hodgkins / Shutterstock)

The MAGAfied Kennedy Center hosted a free animated film about Jesus, but only a little more than half of the seats were filled, according to a new report.

Trump avoided the Kennedy Center in his first term, but has since vowed to remake it in MAGA's image.

Already, reports have abounded about canceled bookings, a dropoff in donations, and stars like legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma dropping out of performances ever since Trump promised to rebuild the Kennedy Center into a MAGA bastion.

Raw Story reported over the weekend on how Kennedy Center officials have purportedly discussed speaking to Qatar about funding a VIP renovation project.

The same Wall Street Journal report that revealed the potential Qatari funding had an anecdote about a recent film flop.

"Richard Grenell, the White House special envoy who was named executive director of the Kennedy Center in February, said the president has taken a direct interest in the center and agreed it needed additional funding for upkeep and repairs after a recent visit," the report states before quoting Grenell.

"The back of the house and the front of the house have been left in an embarrassing state. I am proud to be a small part of a team where the boss eschews partisan politics in favor of putting American culture, heritage, and excellence first,” Grenell reportedly said.

The report states, "Grenell requested a June 1 public screening of 'The King of Kings,' an animated feature film about the story of Jesus, as told by the character of Charles Dickens. Grenell ordered that the free event take place in the center’s biggest venue, a 2,500-seat concert hall, at a projected cost of $29,000 for staffing, gratis popcorn and other expenses."

"The event featured a prayer wall where visitors could post their written prayers for the nation, and was sponsored by the Museum of the Bible and Moxie Pest Control, whose founder made an unsuccessful run at a Republican U.S. Senate seat in Utah last year," The report continues. "When advance sign-ups for tickets indicated a full house, Kennedy Center leaders added a second screening, increasing the total cost of the event."

But things didn't go as planned, according to the WSJ.

"Employees, who said there is typical attrition for free events, said the actual turnout left the hall 55% full for the first screening and 58% full for the second," the report states. "The Kennedy Center spokesperson said the free screenings were sold out."

Kennedy Center official's new request led to 'audible gasp' from staff: report

The Kennedy Center has undergone a slew of changes since Donald Trump's election to his second term in office, but one request made staff release "an audible gasp," according to a report.

Trump avoided the Kennedy Center in his first term, but has since vowed to remake it in MAGA's image.

Already, reports have abounded about canceled bookings, a dropoff in donations, and stars like legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma dropping out of performances ever since Trump promised to rebuild the Kennedy Center into a MAGA bastion.

Raw Story reported over the weekend on how Kennedy Center officials have purportedly discussed speaking to Qatar about funding a VIP renovation project, as well as on an anecdote about a recent film flop.

But one request made the staff gasp, according to the Wall Street Journal's weekend report.

Noting that the center recently filled a position for a director of faith-based programming, the outlet reported, "The religious orientation has at times extended to the institution’s staff."

"The Kennedy Center’s new head of development, Lisa Dale, invited her staff to pray during a May meeting, a request that prompted an audible gasp from some staff members, according to a person familiar with the matter," it stated. "Dale dropped the idea at the time. In the same meeting, she mentioned that insubordination would be grounds for dismissal, the person said."

Dale didn't reply to requests for comment from the WSJ, the report states.


Qatar may fund Kennedy Center renovation project as part of 'MAGA makeover'

U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, before being seen off to Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base, en-route to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Fresh off the scandal involving Donald Trump's administration accepting a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One, Wall Street Journal broke some news about potential Qatari involvement in the famous Kennedy Center.

Trump avoided the Kennedy Center in his first term, but has since vowed to remake it in MAGA's image.

Already, reports have abounded about canceled bookings, a dropoff in donations, and stars like legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma dropping out of performances ever since Trump promised to rebuild the Kennedy Center into a MAGA bastion.

Now, the WSJ has a new report with additional details on the struggles the center is having.

As part of that report, the outlet included this nugget of reporting:

"A Trump appointee on the Kennedy Center board has suggested building a marina next to it on the Potomac River, so that visitors can pull up their boats and listen to music," it states, adding, "Kennedy Center officials have discussed speaking to Mideast countries such as Qatar about funding the renovation of one of its VIP lounges, people familiar with the matter said."

The article is called, "It’s Opening Night for the MAGA Makeover of the Kennedy Center."

Read the full report here.

SUB REQUIRED

David McAfee
June 8, 2025 

MEN IN BLACK (MIB)

Satellite tracking reveals ocean giants are in trouble

ByDr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
June 8, 2025


Sperm whales are the largest toothed predators on the planet, living in matrilineal societies with distinct cultures and dialects - Copyright AFP/File AHMAD GHARABLI, SEYLLOU

A global collaboration, led by the Australian National University with the United Nations, and between many scientists has tracked over 12,000 marine animals from whales to turtles to create one of the most detailed movement maps of ocean giants ever assembled.

The project, MegaMove, highlights how animal migrations intersect with fishing, shipping, and pollution, revealing alarming gaps in current ocean protections. Even if 30% of the oceans were protected, most critical habitats would still be exposed to threats.

The research also links to UN Sustainable Development Goals Goal 14 on water, and specifically, to Goal A of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to halt human-induced extinction of threatened species. The study’s lead author was the Research Director and Founder of MegaMove, Associate Professor Ana Sequeira of the Australian National University.

How marine megafauna move globally

The scientists tracked more than 100 species and identified ocean hotspots critical for protecting threatened marine megafauna that fall beyond current conservation zones.

The study reveals how marine megafauna move globally and where their migratory, feeding, and breeding behaviors intersect with human threats such as fishing, shipping, and pollution.

According to one contributor, Francesco Ferretti, a marine ecologist at Virginia Tech: “This is one of the largest marine tracking data sets ever assembled…It’s not just about drawing lines on a map. We need to understand animal behavior and overlap that with human activity to find the best solutions.”

U.S. example

Taking just one of the insights, relating U.S. coastal waters, the scientists revealed that past collapses of shellfish fisheries in North Carolina and impacts on seagrasses meadows, important for fisheries, carbon sequestration, and to prevent coastal erosion, show how predator loss can shift entire ecosystems.

Troubling findings

MegaMove was established to inform the United Nations’ 30×30 target: a global goal to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030. The team used optimization algorithms to propose which areas should be prioritized for protection based on how marine species use the space.

But the findings show that even if all 30 percent of protected areas were perfectly placed, it would not be enough. This is partly because sixty percent of the tracked animals’ critical habitats would fall outside of these zones.

Current marine protection areas include only 8 per cent of the world’s total oceans, which the UN High Seas Treaty seeks to expand to 30 per cent.

The research appears in the journal Science, titled “Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets.”

Outdated phones can power smart cities and save the seas


By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 8, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


Smartphone makers are racing to develop more potent batteries that can charge faster and last longer - Copyright AFP Nelson ALMEIDA

Researchers at the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science have introduced a novel approach for reducing electronic waste and advancing sustainable data processing: turning old smartphones into tiny data centres. This low-cost innovation (just 8 euros per phone) offers practical applications from tracking bus passengers to monitoring marine life without needing new tech.

A modern problem

Each year, more than 1.2 billion smartphones are produced globally. The production of electronic devices is not only energy-intensive but also consumes valuable natural resources. Additionally, the manufacturing and delivery processes release a significant amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, devices are ageing faster than ever — users replace their still-functional phones on average every 2 to 3 years. At best, old devices are recycled; at worst, they end up in landfills.

Novel solution

Researchers Huber Flores, Ulrich Norbisrath, and Zhigang Yin from the University of Tartu’s Institute of Computer Science, along with Perseverance Ngoy from the Institute of Technology and their international colleagues developed the alternative use for superseded mobile devices.

“Innovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old, re-imagining its role in shaping the future,” explains Huber Flores, Associate Professor of Pervasive Computing in a research note.

Yesterday’s devices become tomorrow’s opportunities

The scientists demonstrated that old smartphones can be successfully repurposed into tiny data centers capable of efficiently processing and storing data. They also found that building such a data center is remarkably inexpensive.

These tiny data centers have a wide range of applications. For example, they could be used in urban environments like bus stops to collect real-time data on the number of passengers, which could then be used to optimize public transportation networks.

Practical demonstration

In the project’s first stage, the researchers removed the phones’ batteries and replaced them with external power sources to reduce the risk of chemical leakage into the environment. Then, four phones were connected together, fitted with 3D-printed casings and holders, and turned into a working prototype ready to be re-used, fostering sustainable practices for old electronics.

The prototype was successfully tested underwater, where it participated in marine life monitoring by helping to count different sea species. Typically, these kinds of tasks require a scuba diver to record video and bring it to the surface for analysis. However, with the prototype, the whole process was done automatically underwater.

This demonstrates that even with minimal resources, smartphone devices can be given a new purpose, contributing to the development of more environmentally friendly and sustainable digital solutions.

The research appears in the journal IEEE Pervasive Computing, titled “Supporting Sustainable Computing by Repurposing E-Waste Smartphones as Tiny Data Centers.”

Scientists, activists call for ban on bottom trawling ahead of UN ocean summit

Issued on: 08/06/2025 - 

Scientists and environmental activists are calling for a ban on bottom trawling, a damaging fishing practice, ahead of a high-level UN summit in France aimed at protecting the world’s oceans.

Video by: FRANCE 24

Money, mining and marine parks: The big issues at UN ocean summit


By AFP
June 8, 2025


France is hosting the third edition of the UN Ocean Conference in the Riviera city of Nice - Copyright AFP Frederic DIDES

Nick Perry

France is hosting world leaders this week to confront what the United Nations calls a global “emergency” in the oceans — but what is expected, and can the summit make a difference?

There is pressure on the UN Ocean Conference starting Monday in Nice to show that countries can unite and deliver more than just talk for the world’s ailing and neglected seas.

– Plundered parks –

Several countries are expected to announce the creation of new marine conservation zones within their national waters, though how protected they really are will come under scrutiny.

Some countries impose next to no rules on what is forbidden or permitted in marine zones. France and other EU states, for example, allow bottom trawling, a damaging fishing practice, in protected waters.

This means just three percent of oceans are considered truly safe from exploitation, far short of a global target to place 30 percent under conservation by 2030.

– High seas –

Key to achieving this goal is enacting the high seas treaty, a landmark global pact signed in 2023 to protect marine life in the vast open waters beyond national control.

France had pinned success at Nice on delivering the 60 ratifications necessary to bring the treaty into force, saying the conference would be a failure without it.

But it could not get the required number, drumming up roughly half ahead of the summit. Those outstanding will be pushed to explain when they intend to do so.

– Uncharted waters –

France will be leading diplomatic efforts in Nice to rope more countries into supporting a moratorium on deep-sea mining, a contentious practice opposed by 33 nations so far.

Bolstering those numbers would send a rebuke to US President Donald Trump, who wants to allow seabed mining in international waters despite concerns over how little is understood about life at these depths.

But it would also carry weight ahead of a closely watched meeting in July of the International Seabed Authority, which is haggling over global rules to govern the nascent deep-sea mining sector.

– Actions not words –

At the summit’s close, nations will adopt a pre-agreed political statement that recognises the crisis facing oceans, and the global need to better protect them.

Critics slammed the language in the eight-page document as weak or — in the case of fossil fuels — missing altogether, but others cautioned against reading into it too much.

“The end declaration from here isn’t really the only output. It’s much more important, actually, what governments commit to, and what they come here to say on an individual basis,” said Peter Haugan, policy director at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway.

– Money matters –

The conference is not a COP summit or a UN treaty negotiation, and any decisions made between June 9 and 13 in Nice are voluntary and not legally binding.

But countries will still be expected to put money on the table in Nice to plug a massive shortfall in funding for ocean conservation, said Pauli Merriman at WWF International.

“What we lack — what we still lack — is the ambition, the financing and the delivery needed to close the gap,” she told reporters.

“It’s not enough for governments to show up to Nice with good intentions.”

What is the UNOC? World leaders gather in Nice to confront ocean emergency

Copyright AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag

By Rosie Frost
Published on 08/06/2025 

More than 10,000 people will gather in France for largest ocean conference ever.


World leaders are gathering in the French city of Nice tomorrow for the United Nations Oceans Conference.

As the world’s oceans face increasing threats from climate change, overuse of marine resources and pollution, leading marine experts are calling on governments to use this opportunity to protect fragile underwater ecosystems.

Taking place from 9 to 13 June, it is the largest ocean summit ever organised and could provide a vital chance for key agreements to be finalised, promises to be delivered upon, and new pledges to be made.

What is the United Nations Ocean Conference?

Co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, the conference aims to confront the deepening global ocean emergency. Scientists warn that climate change, plastic pollution, the loss of ecosystems and the overuse of marine resources are all pushing our oceans to the point of no return.

In an effort to spark collaboration and subsequent solutions to some of these problems, UNOC is bringing together world leaders, scientists, activists and businesses.

Specifically, it focuses on the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. The overarching theme of this particular conference is “accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”.

This is the third UN Oceans conference, and over 10,000 people will be in attendance. It is set to welcome leaders like Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula and France’s President Emmanuel Macron will be in the spotlight.
Will UNOC result in a new agreement for oceans?

The week-long talks will end with the adoption of a political declaration. While this won’t be legally binding, it sets the tone for future global ambition, serving as a signal to governments, investors and civil society and hopefully motivating support for new initiatives.

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UNOC identifies three key priorities for the declaration: defending ocean ecosystems, sustainable ocean economies and accelerating actions.

A successful conference would result in a final and signed political declaration which would be called the Nice Ocean Action Plan.

More ratifications of the landmark UN High Seas Treaty are also expected as efforts intensify to ensure its implementation.

A strong outcome could also help lay the groundwork for more biodiversity and climate wins at COP30 in Brazil later this year.

What can we expect from President Macron?

France is co-hosting the conference with Costa Rica, and it is being held in Nice on the country’s Mediterranean coast.

Ahead of the summit, President Macron and the French government have been encouraging countries to improve ocean protection.

“We've…had the leadership from the French government engaging with countries to increase the ratification for the BBNJ (UN High Seas Treaty),” says Rita El Zaghloul, director of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.

In late May, the European Union and six of its member states formally ratified the High Seas Treaty after France and Spain did so earlier this year. It is hoped that this international agreement will garner enough ratifications before the end of the summit to enter into force as international law.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron leave after visiting an exhibition in Paris. AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool

France has been actively leading efforts to engage with countries on ocean protection, El Zaghloul adds, to ensure that the conference ends with some concrete results.

Earlier this year, Chile and France announced the ‘100 per cent Alliance’, urging coastal and ocean states to commit to 100 per cent sustainable management of their national ocean areas.

But Enric Sala, National Geographic explorer in residence and founder of Pristine Seas, emphasises that France has to be a “leader in actions, not just words”.

Related

‘A systemic problem’: Legal action targets EU’s failure to stop bottom trawling in protected areas

 

‘Lacklustre’ EU Ocean Pact falls short of urgent marine protection needs, NGOs say

“France is the co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, committing to at least 30 per cent of the ocean protected by 2030,” he explains, “and in France…there are all these protected areas, but most of these protected areas are open to commercial fishing, including bottom trawling.”

Sala says just 1 per cent of French waters are no-take areas that actually allow marine life to recover. These areas also bring huge benefits for tourism, jobs and local, small-scale fishermen.

“Everybody expects President Macron to make some announcements of designation of new marine protected areas that are truly protected. Also, there is a great expectation for President Macron to make some commitment about phasing out bottom trawling in marine protected areas.”

Funding for marine protection is billions short

The pledges made both at the conference and before will mean nothing, however, without the funds to back them up. And global marine protection efforts are already critically underfunded.

In 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to designate 30 per cent of the world’s oceans as protected areas by 2030.

As of 2024, just 8.4 per cent were covered, and only 2.7 per cent have been assessed to be effectively protected - meaning there are regulations and active management in place to ensure minimal or no damaging activities. That latter figure has dropped earlier this year as a result of the Trump Administration’s rollback of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.

Just two countries - Palau and the United Kingdom - have effectively protected more than 30 per cent of their waters, although effectively protected areas in UK waters are overwhelmingly located in remote, overseas territories.

Around $15.8 billion (€13.8 billion) a year is needed to achieve the 30 per cent by 2030 target, but a new report by a global coalition of nature NGOs and funders has found that just $1.2 billion (€1.05 billion) is currently being spent.

That is a massive funding gap of $14.6 billion (€12.7 billion) - a figure the environmental groups point out is just 0.5 per cent of annual global defence budgets.

Brian O’Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, which led on the finance gap analysis, says protecting the ocean is “no longer just an ecological imperative - it's an economic one.”

“For just $15.8 billion (€13.8 billion) a year, we can protect one of our planet’s most valuable assets while avoiding costs and unlocking long-term returns in the tens of billions.”

The report’s authors say it sends a clear message ahead of UNOC: governments can’t afford to underinvest in ocean protection. And the conference is a critical opportunity to build momentum, ratify key international agreements and recognise the value of the ocean

As Arctic ice vanishes, maritime traffic boom fuels the climate crisis


The Arctic is warming four times faster than any other place on the planet. As sea ice melts, new shipping routes between continents are opening up, and the yearly window for navigating through these freezing waters is expanding. But there is a heavy toll that comes with increased traffic in the Arctic, a fragile environment that is rapidly collapsing.


Issued on: 08/06/2025 -
FRANCE24
By: Lara BULLENS

File photo of a ship navigating between icebergs near Greenland in the Arctic taken August 15, 2023. © Olivier Morin, AFP

When a Russian gas tanker sliced through the icy waters of the Arctic in the middle of winter four years ago, it became clear global shipping routes would be forever changed.

The Christophe de Margerie vessel, named after the former CEO of French oil company Total, made its way from eastern China through the Bering Sea, eventually docking at a remote Arctic port in Siberia in February 2021.

For the first time in history, global warming caused by humans allowed a ship to navigate through Arctic winter ice.

The Arctic has been warming four times faster than anywhere else on the planet since 1979, according to multiple scientific studies. Melting sea ice is opening up paths for increased shipping and other vessel traffic in the region, especially along the Northern Sea Route, the Arctic shortcut between Europe and Asia that stretches more than 9,000 kilometres.

Shipping seasons are also being prolonged as a result of the warming climate.

But with more traffic comes more environmental degradation. The consequences are dire, particularly for climate heating, loss of biodiversity and pollution. And since the Arctic is a key regulator of the Earth's climate, what happens in this region can be felt thousands of kilometres away.
A vicious cycle

It's a vicious cycle. As sea ice melts and opens new routes for maritime traffic in the Arctic, the environmental fallout caused by vessels burning fossil fuels adds to global warming, which in turn melts more sea ice.

A perfect example of this is black carbon. It's a sooty material emitted from gas and diesel engines that aren't completely combusted. Not only does black carbon pollute the air with particulate matter, but because of its ability to absorb light as heat, it contributes to climate change by warming the air.

When black carbon is deposited on ice in the Arctic, it takes away its ability to reflect heat.

“The black colour deposited on the white ice means the ice then absorbs more sunlight, leading to more melting,” explained Sammie Buzzard, a polar scientist at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at Northumbria University.

 

Arctic scientists race against the clock as 'ice memory' melts away

The use of heavy fuel oil, leftovers from the bottom of the barrel that lead to high black carbon emissions, grew by 75 percent in the Arctic in just four years, between 2015 and 2019. On the opposite end of the planet, in Antarctica, its use has been banned since 2011.

Black carbon is one of the most significant contributors to climate change, after CO2.

“Lots of Arctic ice gets covered, and anything that changes the colour of the ice or causes it to melt also removes a key part of the ecosystem,” Buzzard said.

Busy routes

Almost all types of maritime traffic are on the rise in the Arctic, whether for tourism or transportation. Fishing boats are by far the most common type on ship in the Arctic, followed by cargo ships and bulk carriers. Between 2013 and 2023, every type of ship aside from oil tankers and research vessels took to the Arctic in higher numbers.

Not only are there an increasing number of ships in the Arctic Ocean, but they are also navigating over greater distances. In the span of a decade, the total distance vessels covered more than doubled, with an increase of 111 percent.

The area for ships to move safely in open waters of the Arctic route during a 90-day safety window expanded by 35 percent from 1979 to 2018. Every year, the area keeps growing. It’s estimated that five percent of global shipping traffic will be diverted to the Arctic route as a result.

Usually, navigating the frozen waters of the Arctic requires an escort well-versed in icebreaking. A boat designed to break open large chunks of ice glides alongside vessels that need to make it through one of the three main shipping routes: the Transpolar Sea Route, the Northwest Passage or the Northern Sea Route.

But according to climate projections, unescorted navigation could be possible as early as 2030 in the summer months.

Arctic shipping routes. © FRANCE 24's graphic design studio

In the Canadian Arctic, where the Northwest Passage is located, the number of vessels has quadrupled since 1990.

But the exact number of weeks ships can navigate safely through the route is dwindling. Research has found that melting sea ice doesn't necessarily make all Arctic sea routes more accessible. Thin sea ice does indeed melt under global warming, but centuries-old floes break off and are released into the Arctic Ocean, moving southwards and creating choke points, which makes some key points in the Northwest Passage more dangerous and unpredictable.

Still, the overall trend is alarming. Melting sea ice brought on by global warming allowed shipping traffic to increase by 25 percent between 2013 and 2019.

The butterfly effect of the Arctic

The Arctic helps keep the planet's climate in balance. As sea ice perishes and maritime traffic increases, further accelerating global warming, environmental consequences become ever more far-reaching.

“The polar regions act to help cool the rest of the planet through the white ice reflecting energy from the sun back to space,” Buzzard explained. “They act a bit like a giant freezer for the rest of the planet.”

This has an effect on global temperature. “Sea ice regulates heat exchange between the atmosphere and ocean, impacting the global circulation of heat,” said Buzzard. “[So] anything that reduces the amount of ice, or darkens it, can mean less energy is reflected, which means extra warming, which then has consequences for the entire planet.”

Some changes are being implemented to slow down this worrying feedback loop. A ban on heavy fuel oil, which releases black carbon, was introduced in July 2024, though some vessels can continue to use it until July 2029.

The UN agency responsible for regulating maritime transport, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), also pledged to reduce emissions by at least 20 percent in the next five years.

But the Clean Arctic Alliance, a group of 21 NGOs who advocate for government action to protect the Arctic's wildlife and its people, insists there is not enough being done to curb the rise of black carbon and methane pollution from shipping in the Arctic. Its lead advisor, Sian Prior, said that “in recent years, black carbon emissions from Arctic shipping have more than doubled,” in a statement published on 14 May. 

For Buzzard, the economic interests of using Arctic shipping routes may be beneficial. But increased traffic must be coupled with strict environmental regulations.

“While there can be a saving both in terms of carbon and time for ships to travel across the Arctic, this is a very fragile ecosystem that is already struggling to cope with changes from human-created climate change,” she said.

“Sea ice not only acts to help cool the planet, it is a habitat for creatures like polar bears that use the ice for hunting,” Buzzard noted. The polar bear, now a mascot for environmental issues in the Arctic, relies on sea ice to hunt and move around to find crucial denning areas. It accounts for over 96 percent of the animal's critical habitat.

Increased traffic also brings noise pollution, which disturbs mammals who travel through these frozen waters, like whales. Pods use sound to find their food, mates, avoid predators and migrate. A recent study found that underwater noise in some places in the Arctic Ocean has doubled in just six years because of increased shipping.

The list of environmental consequences of the maritime traffic boom in the Arctic goes on. Vessels navigating through the Arctic also release air pollutants, flush out sulphur oxide into the ocean through scrubbers that remove the substance from a ship's exhaust, and can leave behind litter.

“There is also the increased risk of pollution from oil spills,” added Buzzard.

As countries such as Russia and China eye the prospect of new exploitation that comes with melting sea ice, and US President Donald Trump covets the resource-rich island of Greenland, time is running out for this fragile environment.

“There needs to be careful regulation to minimise the [environmental] impacts to the area,” stressed Buzzard. “The consequences won't just stay in the Arctic.”

Environmental DNA, a ‘revolutionary’ key to unlocking the secrets of our oceans

Sequencing environmental DNA found in soil, seawater, snow or even air samples has made it possible to detect and identify organisms, allowing researchers to build exhaustive biodiversity inventories. And when it comes to our oceans, environmental DNA may be a revolutionary tool for better understanding and protecting them.

Issued on: 06/06/2025 - 

FRANCE24
By: Cyrielle CABOT

A volunteer from NGO Oceano Scientific takes a DNA sample in the Mediterranean in June 2024. © Oceano Scientific


Pierre Jorcin slides on a pair of gloves, attaches a plastic tube to a filter, plunges it into the water, presses the start button on a small pump and then slowly begins walking through the river stream. Thirty minutes later, he has gathered three litres of water and filtered thousands of particles. The entire procedure seems simple, banal even. But Jorcin’s gesture is part of a microscopic revolution. In the process, the scientist has collected fragments of environmental DNA, also known as eDNA.

“Every living organism leaves traces of DNA behind, whether in water, soil or in the air. And those traces hold out for some time before eventually degrading,” Jorcin explains. “By collecting them, we can identify and catalogue the organisms we find like bacteria, mammals, amphibians, fish, etc.”

Pierre Jorcin, project manager at Spygen, takes environmental DNA samples at from a lake in Savoie on June 2, 2024. © Cyrielle Cabot, FRANCE 24

An environmental DNA kit that is sold by Spygen. © Cyrielle Cabot, FRANCE 24

The samples Jorcin collects are then transported a few kilometres away to the University of Savoie Mont Blanc in Chambéry, an Alpine town in southeast France. That is where the offices of Spygen are based, a French pioneer in environmental DNA and the only company in the country that markets eDNA kits. Spygen sells the kits to NGOs, universities and private stakeholders, and then collects the samples to decode them.

Dozens and dozens of samples are processed in the small premises of the company, which analyses the trapped eDNA to try and identify what species it belongs to. “We extract the DNA from the filters and then run it through the sequencing machines,” says Jorcin, who is a project manager at the company. After sequencing, a long succession of four letters emerges – A, T, C, G – representing the genetic code of all species. “Then it’s up to us to find which species the code belongs to by looking through reference databases,” he explains.

A burgeoning practice

Spygen didn’t end up at the foot of the Alps by accident. While the practice of sampling and sequencing eDNA was first tested by a US microbiologist in the 90s, this small revolution truly began about 60 kilometres south of Chambéry. Researchers from the Alpine ecology lab in Grenoble in 2008 found that the method could be used to detect bullfrogs, an invasive species, in places it had not yet been seen.

A year later, scientist and Spygen co-founder Alice Valentini came up with the idea of using eDNA in her study on Himalayan brown bears, an endangered species. “To get a better understanding of the bear’s low reproductive capacity, Valentini tested the eDNA of food in its feces, which allowed her to get a precise rundown of its diet. It was a completely new method," says Benjamin Allegrini, president of the company. "That’s when we understood the full scope of eDNA. Not only can we detect what organisms or species exist in different environments, but we can also understand how they interact with one another,” he says, beaming.

A passionate birdwatcher since he was a child, Allegrini kicked off his career, binoculars in hand, as an ornithologist and went on to study bats. “Then I discovered how much we could learn from DNA," he recounts. Once he had earned a degree in molecular biology, he decided to devote himself entirely to Spygen from 2018 onwards.

Benjamin Allegrini in the eDNA sequencing lab in Chambéry on June 2, 2025. © Cyrielle Cabot, FRANCE 24

“The more we know about our environment, the more we’ll be able to protect it,” says Allegrini, who recently published a book on eDNA. “That’s why it’s important to develop new technologies like eDNA, which can revolutionise how we see the world.”

The number of scientific papers on environmental DNA has skyrocketed since Spygen was founded in 2011, with each publication confirming the effectiveness of the method a little more.

It is now a widely used approach, and is even part of France’s new national strategy to protect biodiversity, which was published late last year. The country plans to “regularly and extensively” document its national biodiversity with a census creating during a “large-scale campaign to collect and analyse environmental DNA”.
An ambitious inventory for underwater species

And if there is one habitat where environmental DNA is especially useful, it’s in our seas and oceans. Much of the life that exists in the vastness of these underwater worlds is invisible. “In just one litre of seawater, there are 28 million DNA sequences. But only 14 percent of those sequences are identifiable. That means there are millions and millions of genetic sequences we know nothing about,” Allegrini explains.

“Until now, traditional methods used to document marine biodiversity yielded fragmented results,” says Yvan Griboval, a sailor who is also the head of the French NGO OceanoScientific, which works to collect scientific data from our oceans. “Environmental DNA opens up a new range of possibilities by offering a tool that is no longer based on estimates or observations, but on factual data.”

Read moreThe Saya de Malha Bank, a 'forgotten ecosystem' in need of protection

Scientists traditionally rely on fishing returns, diving expeditions, underwater cameras or acoustic surveys to observe life underwater. Collecting eDNA is a less invasive procedure, with no bait or electric fishing needed to gather data.

“Above all, it allows us to detect species that are invisible to the naked eye, especially those that are rare and difficult to find, or those that only come out at night or live in habitats that are hard for humans to reach,” Allegrini adds.

“It’s also much faster and cheaper than traditional methods. A diver can only make four trips 50 metres underwater per day, and their visibility is limited to two metres… Imagine if they had to cover the entire Mediterranean basin. How many species would they miss?” the head of Spygen insists.

Two years ago, Spygen and OceanoScientific banded together with six other partners to take on a wild dream. Between May and July, the group decided they would make an inventory of every species of fish, crustacean and marine mammal found along the Mediterranean coast. Over the course of four months, they gathered more than 700 eDNA samples. The project was called BioDivMed.

A DNA collection kit is attached to an OceanoScientific boat in the Mediterranean in June 2024. © Oceano Scientific

“When we started out, we didn’t really know what the outcome would be. No one had ever tried to get that broad of an inventory of Mediterranean species,” Griboval recalls. “And the results were good news. The biodiversity of the area was much richer than we had expected it to be.”

“We often talk about the Mediterranean as a dying sea, but this project showed that the coastline is healthier than we thought,” Griboval says.

A total of 267 fish species were identified. “It was a phenomenal result. Unprecedented,” adds David Mouillot, a professor at the University of Montpellier who took part in the project.

Watch moreHatching of baby turtles in south of France puzzles scientists

And there were other surprises. Off the coast of Corsica, eDNA identified the presence of several angel sharks, a critically endangered species that was already thought to have disappeared from the area. “We were able to find the animal’s last refuge,” Mouillot says. “We also found DNA traces of sunfish, which we also thought had disappeared from our waters.”

For Mouillot, the discoveries were not only symbolic but vital for conservation efforts of the Mediterranean’s biodiversity. “Detecting rare species has a tendency to get things moving, especially when it comes to protecting a specific area or ecosystem. No one wants to destroy the habitat of the last living specimen of an endangered species,” he says.
Better protections, better catch

At a time when France, like several other countries, has promised to transform 30 percent of its land and marine ecosystems into protected areas – compiling inventories of living organisms could help identify and monitor priority zones.

One hundred sites in the Mediterranean were identified thanks to the BioDivMed project from 2023. Surveys are conducted annually to observe how many species are left in each delineated zone. And every three or four years, a more complete inventory is taken to allow for long-term monitoring.

“That’s another advantage of eDNA,” says Mouillot. “There is a standard protocol that is easy to replicate, so we can conduct serious species monitoring. It allows us to determine whether the protection of a given area is actually working, whether a species has moved somewhere else, or if there is a proliferation of an invasive species that could pose a threat.”

“Inventories based on eDNA also help us inform fishers about available resources,” says Griboval. “We know when we need to reduce fishing when it puts too much pressure on a given area, and we can help by directing fishers to other locations or even diversify their catch.”

Exploring the deep sea

Allegrini and his team are now setting their sights on new horizons – the deep sea. While some have their sights set on exploiting the resources that can be found, eDNA could help bolster research on this ecosystem we still know very little about.

For some time now, Spygen has been developing an underwater drone that could collect data from these unexplored depths.

But there is a limit to their ambitions. Organisms can only be identified if their genetic sequencing has already been catalogued in the past. In other words, unknown species would not be able to be identified – there would be no match in existing databases.

“So we have a parallel challenge of enriching the existing databases,” says Mouillot. “The good news is that the DNA we collect can be saved, even if it’s unknown for now. We can always identify it later when our inventories grow.”

Another major challenge is "developing our identification process”, says Allegrini. “We can find out what species an organism is thanks to a fragment of its DNA. But we need to be able to identify what family or even what individual it belongs to.”

“It would be a revolution for species monitoring, especially for those at risk of becoming extinct. We could track them with precision, understand their behaviour, their movements…” Allegrini adds.

For now, however, Allegrini admits that these ambitions feel a little more like science fiction than reality. But the president of Spygen has a tendency to think big, especially when it comes to observing something small.

This article was translated from the original in French by Lara Bullens.