A great Tuesday to you!
You do not know what you do not know.
December 10, 2024 is a good day for the federal government. Today, the federal government currently has 129 documents from 47 agencies (629 Pages) with 104 Notices, 10 Proposed Rules, and 15 Rules, and 2 Significant Documents. With this current issue, Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Notices is up to page 99688. The federal government is busy.
The 2 Significant Documents:
Visas: Special Immigrant Visas-U.S. Government Employee Special Immigrant Visas for Service Abroad by the State Department on 12/10/2024.
This final rule is effective December 10, 2024. The rule changes the “class of individuals who may qualify for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs)”. The changes include specific changes to INC 101(a)(27)…for coding on Employment 4th Preference. In addition, adjustments to Section 42.35, which does not outline changes but rewords the entire section. This covers a variety of applicants for Special Immigrant status.
International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Registration Fees by the State Department on 12/10/2024.
This final rule is effective January 9, 2025. The summary covers, “The Department of State published a proposed rule on April 24, 2024, requesting comment on proposals to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by increasing and specifying the fees required for registration with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). The Department now responds to the public comments received in response to that proposed rule and issues this final rule.” With 19 comments on these rules, several included concerns about unjust burdens and costs imposed.
Other Item:
Just the other day, a Significant Document was recorded regarding Medicare and Medicaid 2025 Pricing. Well, today, the Medicare and Medicaid Programs are getting started for the 2026 Year.
Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on 12/10/2024.
This covers, “This proposed rule would revise the Medicare Advantage (Part C), Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D), Medicaid, Medicare cost plan, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) regulations to implement changes related to Star Ratings, marketing and communications, agent/broker compensation, health equity, drug coverage, dual eligible special needs plans (D-SNPs), utilization management, network adequacy, and other programmatic areas, including the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. This proposed rule also includes proposals to codify existing subregulatory guidance in the Part C and Part D programs.” Comment periods are available to present feedback until January 27, 2025.
US Debt Clock Update
Setting new records every day!
According to the US Debt Clock at roughly 9:47 AM, the US debt is roughly $36,213,068,000,000. Each taxpayer’s debt is $271,790. The good news is that the federal government revenue is roughly $5,075,399,000,000. Not too shabby if you ask me.
Special Note: Interest of Debt (Net) is $1,013,753,000,000.
The Sun
From Spaceweather.com, “SOLAR STORMS ARE DRIVING FARMERS CRAZY: Planting season is a hectic time for farmers. For many, it means working through the night using GPS-guided tractors to plant thousands of acres in a short period of time. The season was in full swing on May 10, 2024, when the biggest solar storm in decades struck Earth.
"Our tractors acted like they were demon possessed," says Elaine Ramstad, a Spaceweather.com reader and aurora chaser who helps out on a family farm in Northern Minnesota. "All my cousins called me during the May 10th storm to tell me that 'my auroras' were driving them crazy while they were planting."
Modern farmers rely heavily on GPS. Guided by satellites, smart tractors can work around the clock, seeding perfectly straight rows with precise amounts of seed and fertilizer. When harvesting time comes, the tractors can return to exactly the same spots to pick the crops.
This kind of precision agriculture has become widespread. "I would guess 80% or more of all farmers in the Midwest use at least basic GPS for something--whether it's auto-steer or yield mapping," says Ethan Smidt, a service manager for John Deere. "At least 50% of all farmers are VERY reliant on GPS and use it on every machine all year long."
Solar activity poses a growing problem for farm-tech. During big solar storms, a layer of Earth's atmosphere called "the ionosphere" fills with bubbles, waves, and turbulence, which severely distort radio signals from GPS satellites. Sometimes tractors and harvesters can't lock on, which stops them in their tracks. Or the signal may be garbled, causing them to juke back and forth.
May 10th wasn't the end of it. Tractors went off-course again during the autumnal storms of Oct. 6th and 10th.
Ramstad was helping her cousins defoliate sugar beets on Oct. 6th when her tractor started acting up: "As the aurora activity began, my GPS was off by close to a foot. Twice while on Autosteer, the tractor danced a row to the left, to the right — and then the defoliator was off a row, so I had to loop around and start over. By nightfall, there was no controlling the Autosteer."
Indiana farmer Michael Spencer had a similar experience: "This fall was the first time I was able to see the aurora. My hair was standing on end from the beauty, however, it did make the John Deere tech dance. When the storms were strongest around Oct. 7th, my tractor's Autosteer system would 'jump the line'--meaning, the tractor would make a quick jolt left or right and I would have to manually reset."
A beet defoliator--an example of massive hardware thrown off course by solar activity.
It doesn't take an historic solar storm to cause problems. While the May 10th storm was a rare and extreme category G5, storms in October were much more common category G3 and G4 events. All of them sent massive pieces of hardware off course.
NASA says that Solar Maximum has arrived, and it could last for another 1 to 2 years, confusing tractors again in 2025 and 2026. Stay tuned for more crooked rows. Solar storm alerts: SMS Text”
Amazing website with great information about the Earth-Sun environment.