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Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI USA: Voltage Park joins NSF-led National AI Research Resource pilot to expand access to advanced computing

    Source: US Government research organizations

    The U.S. National Science Foundation is proud to announce a new partnership with Voltage Park in support of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot — a transformative public-private initiative designed to drive U.S. AI innovation, discovery and national competitiveness by expanding access to the tools and resources essential for cutting-edge AI resources for researchers and educators across the country.

    Voltage Park, a company committed to broadening access to AI infrastructure, will contribute high-performance cloud computing resources and expert support to help researchers nationwide pursue breakthrough innovations in AI. As part of the partnership, Voltage Park will provide one million NVIDIA H100 GPU hours, enabling a diverse range of AI research projects in science, engineering, health, climate, and more.

    “Voltage Park’s participation significantly strengthens our ability to deliver on the promise of the NAIRR pilot,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “By partnering with visionary private sector organizations like Voltage Park, we are expanding the frontiers of AI research and ensuring that the US continues to lead in AI innovation.”  

    ​​​“Expanding access to advanced computing is not just a technical initiative—it’s a strategic priority,” said Ozan Kaya, Chief Executive Officer of Voltage Park. “By lowering the barriers to high-performance AI infrastructure, we can unlock innovation from a more diverse and representative set of researchers. That inclusivity is what drives truly impactful AI—and strengthens our national edge in the global innovation landscape.”

    The NAIRR pilot, launched in 2024 and led by NSF, is a two-year proof-of-concept designed to inform the development of a full-scale national infrastructure. It connects researchers to a distributed ecosystem of computational, data, software, model, training, and user support resources essential for advancing AI research, development, and workforce training.

    The pilot brings together 12 federal agencies and now 27 partners from the private sector, nonprofit, and philanthropic communities, reflecting a whole-of-nation approach to building a more inclusive and impactful AI research ecosystem.

    Voltage Park’s team will work closely with NAIRR pilot operations staff to match researchers with the most appropriate resources, ensuring they receive expert support and training to maximize their use of the computing time provided.

    This collaboration exemplifies NSF’s commitment to forging strategic partnerships that advance U.S. leadership in AI while promoting innovation, economic growth and national competitiveness. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: NCDHHS Celebrates Third Anniversary of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, New Resources Available to Help Those in Need

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: NCDHHS Celebrates Third Anniversary of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, New Resources Available to Help Those in Need

    NCDHHS Celebrates Third Anniversary of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, New Resources Available to Help Those in Need
    jawerner
    Tue, 07/15/2025 – 12:26

    The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services this week celebrates three years of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which provides help and support for anyone suffering from depression, anxiety or interpersonal/family issues or who just needs someone to talk to during a time of personal crisis. North Carolina is a national leader in 988 implementation with a focus on answering every call and ensuring every person gets the care they need. A recent survey shows many people reported feeling hopeful, grateful and motivated after calling 988 with more than 90% finding the service valuable in their community. Additionally, 33% of people in the survey say 988 saved their life or the life of someone they care about.

    From August 2022, the first full month of service, through May 2025, the state averaged more than 9,400 calls, texts or chats each month. Text and chat options were first offered in July 2023.

    From June 2024 through May 2025, the volume increased to 11,443 calls/chats/texts per month. National data shows 68 percent of contacts are phone calls, 18 percent are texts and 14 percent are chats.

    “No matter what you are facing, help is just a phone call away for all North Carolinians,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. “The rapid and successful adoption of 988 is a testament to the need for accessible, compassionate and supportive counselors so someone experiencing a mental health crisis can feel cared for in their most vulnerable moments.”

    Mental health impacts every North Carolinian, and rates of anxiety and depression have skyrocketed in recent years. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 14, and a leading cause of death among those aged 15-24. Experienced and trained 988 operators will respond to all calls to 988 and ensure that people receive the support and resources that they need.

    In North Carolina, the 13-17 age group averages the most contacts to 988, with 97 contacts per 10,000 residents, followed by 25-34 (96), 18-24 (93) and 35-44 (57), according to the most recent data from the North Carolina 988 Performance Dashboard.

    “The need for mental health care for young people in North Carolina has never been greater,” said Kelly Crosbie MSW, LCSW NCDHHS Director of the Division of Mental Health, Substance Use Services and Developmental Disorders. “We are building a system of crisis services to ensure there will always be someone to contact, someone to respond and a safe for help if you are in crisis or just need someone to talk to.”

    Experienced and trained 988 operators will respond to all calls and ensure people receive the support and resources they need. The United States Department of Health and Human Services recently announced it would eliminate federal funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline service dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth services. On July 17, 2025, people who call 988 will no longer have the option to Press 3, specific to LGBTQ+ youth considering suicide. NCDHHS is committed to responding to everyone who needs mental health services. Everyone can and should still call 988, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

    The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is an important component of NCDHHS’ ongoing work to ensure every North Carolinian has someone to contact, someone to respond and a safe place for help when experiencing a behavioral health crisis. 

    Of the $835 million investment in behavioral health in the 2023 state budget, NCDHHS has committed more than $130 million to transforming North Carolina’s mental health crisis response services and providing support when and where it is needed, no matter the crisis.

    The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is one of many crisis services offered by NCDHHS to those who need support. Mobile crisis teams can come to you to provide in-person help. Find the low or no cost crisis services right for you at ncdhhs.gov/CrisisServices.

    Community Crisis Centers are open 24/7 and provide access to licensed clinicians. No appointment is required, and help is available to people ages 4 and up.

    Our Crisis Services Communications Toolkit includes free flyers, posters and other resources to promote and explain crisis services in your community in English and Spanish. For additional information about 988, visit 988lifeline.org.

    ###

    If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health or need someone to talk to, you are not alone. Resources are available on the NCDHHS Suicide Prevention website for social or family situations, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, thoughts of suicide, alcohol or drug use, or if you just need someone to talk to.

    El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte celebra esta semana tres años de la Línea 988 de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis, que proporciona ayuda y apoyo a cualquier persona que sufra de depresión, ansiedad o problemas interpersonales y/o familiares, o que simplemente necesite a alguien con quien hablar durante un momento de crisis personal. Carolina del Norte es un líder nacional en la implementación de la línea 988 con un enfoque en responder a cada llamada y garantizar que cada persona reciba la atención que necesita. Una encuesta reciente muestra que muchas personas reportaron sentirse esperanzadas, agradecidas y motivadas después de llamar al 988, y más del 90 % considera que el servicio es valioso en su comunidad. Además, el 33 % de las personas en la encuesta dicen que la línea 988 salvó su vida o la vida de alguien que les importa.

    Desde agosto de 2022, el primer mes completo de servicio, hasta mayo de 2025, el estado respondió en promedio a más de 9,400 llamadas, mensajes de texto o chats cada mes. Las opciones de texto y chat se ofrecieron por primera vez en julio de 2023.

    Desde junio de 2024 hasta mayo de 2025, el volumen aumentó a 11,443 llamadas, chats y/o mensajes de texto por mes. Los datos nacionales muestran que el 68 por ciento de los contactos son llamadas telefónicas, el 18 por ciento son mensajes de texto y el 14 por ciento son chats.

    “No importa a lo que se enfrente, la ayuda está a solo una llamada telefónica de distancia para todos los habitantes de Carolina del Norte”, dijo el secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte, Dev Sangvai. “La adopción rápida y exitosa del 988 es un testimonio de la necesidad de consejeros accesibles, compasivos y de apoyo para que alguien que experimenta una crisis de salud mental pueda sentirse atendido en sus momentos más vulnerables”.

    La salud mental afecta a todos los habitantes de Carolina del Norte, y las tasas de ansiedad y depresión se han disparado en los últimos años. El suicidio es la segunda causa de muerte entre los jóvenes de 10 a 14 años, y una de las principales causas de muerte entre los de 15 a 24 años. Los operadores experimentados y capacitados del 988 responderán a todas las llamadas al 988 y se asegurarán de que las personas reciban el apoyo y los recursos que necesitan.

    En Carolina del Norte, el grupo de edad de 13 a 17 años es el que registra más contactos al 988 en promedio, con 97 contactos por cada 10,000 habitantes, seguido del grupo de 25 a 34 (96), 18 a 24 (93) y 35 a 44 (57), según los datos más recientes del tablero de rendimiento del 988 de Carolina del Norte.

    “La necesidad de atención de salud mental para los jóvenes en Carolina del Norte nunca ha sido mayor”, dijo Kelly Crosbie MSW, LCSW, directora de la División de Servicios de Salud Mental, Discapacidades de Desarrollo y Uso de Sustancias del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte. “Estamos construyendo un sistema de servicios de crisis para garantizar que siempre haya alguien con quien ponerse en contacto, alguien que responda y un lugar seguro para obtener ayuda si está en crisis o simplemente necesita a alguien con quien hablar”.

    Los operadores experimentados y capacitados del 988 responderán a todas las llamadas y se asegurarán de que las personas reciban el apoyo y los recursos que necesitan. El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los Estados Unidos anunció recientemente que eliminaría los fondos federales para el servicio de la Línea 988 de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis dedicado a los jóvenes LGBTQ+. El 17 de julio de 2025, las personas que llamen al 988 ya no tendrán la opción de oprimir 3, específicamente para los jóvenes LGBTQ+ que estén considerando suicidarse. El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte (NCDHHS, por sus siglas en inglés) se compromete a responder a todas las personas que necesitan servicios de salud mental. Todos pueden y deben llamar al 988, incluidos los miembros de la comunidad LGBTQ+.

    La Línea 988 de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis es un componente importante del trabajo continuo del NCDHHS para garantizar que todos los habitantes de Carolina del Norte tengan a alguien con quien comunicarse, alguien que responda y un lugar seguro para obtener ayuda cuando experimentan una crisis de salud conductual. 

    De la inversión de $ 835 millones en salud conductual en el presupuesto estatal de 2023, el NCDHHS ha comprometido más de $ 130 millones para transformar los servicios de respuesta a crisis de salud mental de Carolina del Norte y brindar apoyo cuando y donde sea necesario, sin importar la crisis.

    La Línea 988 de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis es uno de los muchos servicios de crisis ofrecidos por el NCDHHS a aquellos que necesitan apoyo. Los equipos móviles de respuesta a crisis pueden acudir a usted para brindarle ayuda en persona. Encuentre los servicios de crisis gratuitos o de bajo costo adecuados para usted en Servicios de respuesta a crisis de Carolina del Norte – en español | NCDHHS.

    Los centros comunitarios de respuesta a crisis están abiertos las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana y brindan acceso a médicos con licencia. No se requiere cita y hay ayuda disponible para personas de 4 años en adelante. 

    Nuestro Kit de herramientas de comunicación sobre los servicios de respuesta a crisis incluye volantes gratuitos, carteles y otros recursos para promover y explicar servicios de respuesta a crisis en su comunidad en inglés y español. Para obtener información adicional sobre el 988, visite Linea988.org/es.

    ###

    Si usted o alguien que conoce está luchando con su salud mental o necesita a alguien con quien hablar, no está solo. Los recursos están disponibles en el sitio web de Prevención del Suicidio del NCDHHS para situaciones sociales o familiares, depresión, ansiedad, ataques de pánico, pensamientos de suicidio, consumo de alcohol o drogas, o si solo necesita a alguien con quien hablar.

    Jul 16, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Alectra urges customers to stay cool and conserve energy as prolonged heatwave continues across Southern Ontario

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With a multi-day stretch of extreme heat and humidity continuing across Southern Ontario, Alectra Utilities is encouraging residents to prioritize their health and safety while taking steps to reduce electricity consumption.

    Environment Canada has issued a heat warning with daytime highs of 31 to 35 C and humidex values reaching up to 42. The intense conditions are expected to persist through Thursday night.

    With extreme heat events becoming more frequent, investing in renewing aging equipment and installing new infrastructure remains crucial to meet the growing grid demand. For more information on Alectra’s capital construction investments, please visit: alectrautilities.com/improving-reliability. To help manage electricity consumption and lower summertime bills, Alectra recommends the following tips:

    • Use a programmable thermostat to regulate indoor temperatures.
    • Close curtains or blinds during peak sun hours.
    • Delay using major appliances, such as dishwashers or dryers, until the evening.
    • Use ceiling or portable fans to circulate air.
    • Keep windows and doors closed while using air conditioning.

    If your home is too hot, consider visiting a cooling centre, public library, mall or community centre. Follow the advice of your local public health authority.

    For more tips, visit alectrautilities.com/tips-resources.

    For more information about how you can save energy this summer and avoid higher bills, visit alectrautilities.com/tips-resources.

    About Alectra Utilities

    Serving more than one million homes and businesses in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served. We contribute to the economic growth and vibrancy of the 17 communities we serve by investing in essential energy infrastructure, delivering a safe and reliable supply of electricity, and providing innovative energy solutions. Our mission is to be an energy ally, helping our customers and the communities we serve to discover the possibilities of tomorrow’s energy future.

    X: https://twitter.com/alectranews

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alectranews/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alectranews/?hl=en

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/16178435/admin/

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alectranews.bsky.social

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/alectranews

    Media Contact

    Ashley Trgachef, Media Spokesperson ashley.trgachef@alectrautilities.com |
    Telephone: 416.402.5469 | 24/7 Media Line: 1-833-MEDIA-LN

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators King, Collins, Smith Introduce Bill to Combat Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN) today introduced legislation to reauthorize the Kay Hagan Tick Act, their landmark legislation to improve research, prevention, diagnostics, and treatment for tick-borne diseases, which became law in 2019. Senator Angus King (I-ME) joins them as an original co-sponsor. The Kay Hagan Tick Act unites the effort to confront the alarming public health threat posed by Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Confirmed cases of Lyme disease reached a record number in Maine – 3,035 – last year. Senators Collins and Smith named their bill in honor of former Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) who passed away on October 28th, 2019, due to complications from the tick-borne disease known as the Powassan virus.

    “Our state has been battling diseases like Lyme for decades, so it is critical we continue to invest in our research and understanding of these vector-borne diseases to better protect Maine residents and visitors,” said Senator King. “The Kay Hagan Tick Act will further the prevention efforts that keep us safe by funding research, testing and diagnostics along with resources for improved data collection. I am proud to work on this critical bipartisan legislation that will help mitigate this long-term public health threat for the future safety and health of all Maine people.”

    “Last year, Maine reported over 3,000 cases of Lyme disease—a record in our state. The reauthorization of our Tick Act is urgently needed to continue to support those who struggle with Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses and keep improving research, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention for these terrible diseases,” said Senator Collins. “Resources from the Tick Act have led to exciting developments such as the first-ever clinical trial for a Lyme disease vaccine for people, which is underway right now at the MaineHealth Institute for Research.”

    “My home state of Minnesota is proud to have more than 10,000 lakes and thousands of rivers for us to enjoy, and we’re always especially eager to get outside after a long winter,” said Senator Smith. “Unfortunately, the number of Lyme disease cases in the state—and states across the country—is on the rise. This bill would empower regional centers to lead the response against these diseases and expanded the federal government’s role in researching, testing and treating these diseases. For the sake of Americans’ health and well-being, we need to keep moving this bill forward.”

    “Reauthorizing the Kay Hagan Tick Act will continue the nation’s coordinated framework for tick-borne disease surveillance, diagnostics, and prevention”, said Griffin Dill, Director of the University of Maine Tick Lab. Continued support means earlier detection, targeted interventions, and fewer families facing the physical and financial burden of Lyme disease and other emerging infections. Through this investment, Congress can ensure a proactive approach to safeguarding our communities from increasing threats related to ticks.”

    “With an estimated 500,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, it is critical that the United States is equipped to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to this growing public health threat,” said Bonnie Crater, co-founder and board member at Center for Lyme Action. “We applaud the foundation laid by the Kay Hagan Tick Act, which established the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in Humans and we are committed to working with Congress and federal agencies to ensure this strategy is fully implemented and strengthened.  We commend Senator Collins, Senator King, and Senator Smith for their bipartisan leadership in advancing the reauthorization of this vital legislation to protect the health and safety of Americans nationwide.”

    Using a three-pronged approach, the Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act would:

    1. Require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue implementing and updating, as appropriate, its National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People.  This strategy has been integral in expanding research into tick-borne diseases, improving testing and diagnostics, and coordinating efforts across the federal government.
    1. Reauthorize Regional Centers of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease for five years. Funding for these centers, which was allotted in 2017, expires this year. These Centers have led the scientific response against tick-borne diseases, which now make up 75 percent of vector-borne diseases in the U.S.  There are four centers located at universities in California, Florida, Texas, and Wisconsin. 
    1. Reauthorize CDC Grants to State Health Departments to improve data collection and analysis, support early detection and diagnosis, improve treatment, and raise awareness.  These awards would help states continue to build a public health infrastructure for Lyme and other vector-borne diseases and amplify their initiatives through public-private partnerships.   

    In May, Senator Collins delivered the opening remarks at the Center for Lyme Action Congressional Series and spoke to the need for continued federal funding for tick-borne disease research. Click here to watch and here to download her remarks. Senator Collins has also urged leading health officials to continue to support the development of treatment for these illnesses, including the clinical trials currently ongoing in Maine for the first Lyme disease vaccine for people.

    Senator King is a longtime advocate for the elimination of vector-borne diseases. His SMASH Act, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize critical public health tools that support states and localities in their mosquito surveillance and control efforts, especially those linked to mosquitos that carry the Zika virus, and improve the nation’s preparedness for Zika and other mosquito-borne threats like West Nile virus, chikungunya, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (“triple-e”) virus was signed into law in 2019. A re-authorization of SMASH was introduced in 2023 and included in the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Following Senator Hassan’s Push, Manchester Wage and Hour Office to Stay Open After DOGE Targeted It for Closure

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan
    WASHINGTON – Following advocacy by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), the U.S. Department of Labor will keep open its Manchester Wage and Hour Division office, which recovers an average of nearly $2 million annually in back pay for New Hampshire workers. The office had previously been slated for closure by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). After learning of the planned closure, Senator Hassan pressed the U.S. Department of Labor about preserving the office, warning that closing this facility would jeopardize workers’ ability to get the wages that they are owed.
    “I am pleased that the Manchester Wage and Hour Division office will remain open to continue serving Granite Staters,” said Senator Hassan. “This office has delivered for New Hampshire workers by recovering wages that they have earned. We need to work together to eliminate waste and fraud in government in ways that help everyday people, not hurt them. DOGE’s arbitrary cuts to offices that are effectively serving constituents do not make our government more efficient and this closure would have threatened the ability of hardworking Granite Staters to recover wages that they are owed.”
    Senator Hassan has opposed the planned closure of the Manchester office, pressing Department of Labor officials on the issue in recent months. The office investigates reports of workers not receiving the full pay that they are entitled to, and it has recovered nearly $8 million for almost 5,600 New Hampshire workers over the last five years – more money per person than in 40 other states. Last month, Senator Hassan secured a commitment from Andrew Rogers, the nominee for Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor, to review DOGE’s decision to close the Manchester office. Senator Hassan later met with Rogers to personally underscore the importance of keeping the office open. The Department of Labor recently shared that the office will stay open and that the lease has been re-signed.
    Senator Hassan has also been speaking out against other DOGE targets, including Social Security offices. Following news that DOGE planned to close the Littleton Social Security office – the only Social Security field office accessible to Granite Staters in Northern New Hampshire – Senators Hassan and Shaheen called on the leaders of the General Services Administration and Social Security Administration to halt any efforts to close the Littleton office and stop broader attacks on Social Security services. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: United Kingdom reaffirms commitment to protect Guatemalan forests

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    World news story

    United Kingdom reaffirms commitment to protect Guatemalan forests

    • English
    • Español de América Latina

    The British Ambassador, Juliana Correa, met with the Manager of the National Forest Institute (INAB), Bruno Enrique Arias Rivas, to strengthen bilateral collaboration in the protection of biodiversity and sustainable forest management.

    The meeting allowed for the exchange of priorities and exploration of new opportunities for technical and institutional cooperation, including within the framework of the UK’s environmental flagship project in Guatemala, the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF). 

    Among the topics discussed were INAB’s support for the BLF and other UK-funded projects, such as the Darwin projects, as well as the Aim4Forests programme, which seeks to strengthen forest monitoring through innovative technologies and sustainable solutions. 

    Progress was discussed in key areas such as Paso Caballos, in Laguna del Tigre National Park, and the Trifinio region, where forests conservation and ecosystem restoration are promoted.  

    The meeting reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to protecting biodiversity in Guatemala and promoting joint solutions to climate change, deforestation, and forest degradation.

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    Published 16 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pic of the Week – Bizzell Memorial Library, Historic Landmark and Home to Library of Congress History

    Source: US Global Legal Monitor

    My summer travels always end at a library. Every library I have visited, from the one of my childhood home to my current place of employment, is special to me, not to mention the communities they continue to serve. On a visit to Oklahoma, I discovered another.

    The Bizzell Memorial Library is located in Norman, on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Built in 1929, the library’s architectural style is Cherokee Gothic, like many other buildings on the campus. In 2001, it was made a National Historic Landmark.

    The Peggy V. Helmerich Great Reading Room of Bizzell Library on a summer day. Photo by Bailey DeSimone.

    While exploring the halls, I learned that the library was an important part of a civil rights case. In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (229 U.S. 637 (1950)), a unanimous court ruled that George W. McLaurin, the first African American to attend the University of Oklahoma, was deprived of his 14th Amendment rights in the “separate but equal” segregation practices of the University. Before this ruling, McLaurin “was required to sit apart at a designated desk in an anteroom adjoining the classroom” and “a designated desk on the mezzanine floor of the library, but not to use the desks in the regular reading room.” (p. 4.) The ruling was also delivered on the same day as Sweatt v. Painter (339 U.S. 629 (1950)), a case in which Herman Marion Sweatt, an African American applicant to the University of Texas School of Law, was ruled to have had his 14th Amendment rights violated when he was denied admittance on the grounds of his race.

    Also in the Bizzell Library is a select collection of awards granted to, and publications by, Daniel J. Boorstin, a notable author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1974. He went on to serve as the Librarian of Congress from 1975 to 1987. Though not an alumnus of the University, Boorstin did grow up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1989.

    The Daniel J. Boorstin Collection at the University of Oklahoma Bizzell Memorial Library. Photo by Bailey DeSimone.

    I am grateful to every library that has welcomed me through its doors, and I am glad to add Bizzell Library to the list. I learn something new and interesting every time. This summer, check out your local library for their current displays and see what you learn!

    Subscribe to In Custodia Legis – it’s free! – to receive interesting posts drawn from the Law Library of Congress’s vast collections and our staff’s expertise in U.S., foreign, and international law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pic of the Week – Bizzell Memorial Library, Historic Landmark and Home to Library of Congress History

    Source: US Global Legal Monitor

    My summer travels always end at a library. Every library I have visited, from the one of my childhood home to my current place of employment, is special to me, not to mention the communities they continue to serve. On a visit to Oklahoma, I discovered another.

    The Bizzell Memorial Library is located in Norman, on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Built in 1929, the library’s architectural style is Cherokee Gothic, like many other buildings on the campus. In 2001, it was made a National Historic Landmark.

    The Peggy V. Helmerich Great Reading Room of Bizzell Library on a summer day. Photo by Bailey DeSimone.

    While exploring the halls, I learned that the library was an important part of a civil rights case. In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (229 U.S. 637 (1950)), a unanimous court ruled that George W. McLaurin, the first African American to attend the University of Oklahoma, was deprived of his 14th Amendment rights in the “separate but equal” segregation practices of the University. Before this ruling, McLaurin “was required to sit apart at a designated desk in an anteroom adjoining the classroom” and “a designated desk on the mezzanine floor of the library, but not to use the desks in the regular reading room.” (p. 4.) The ruling was also delivered on the same day as Sweatt v. Painter (339 U.S. 629 (1950)), a case in which Herman Marion Sweatt, an African American applicant to the University of Texas School of Law, was ruled to have had his 14th Amendment rights violated when he was denied admittance on the grounds of his race.

    Also in the Bizzell Library is a select collection of awards granted to, and publications by, Daniel J. Boorstin, a notable author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1974. He went on to serve as the Librarian of Congress from 1975 to 1987. Though not an alumnus of the University, Boorstin did grow up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1989.

    The Daniel J. Boorstin Collection at the University of Oklahoma Bizzell Memorial Library. Photo by Bailey DeSimone.

    I am grateful to every library that has welcomed me through its doors, and I am glad to add Bizzell Library to the list. I learn something new and interesting every time. This summer, check out your local library for their current displays and see what you learn!

    Subscribe to In Custodia Legis – it’s free! – to receive interesting posts drawn from the Law Library of Congress’s vast collections and our staff’s expertise in U.S., foreign, and international law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: How rising living costs are changing the way we date, live and love

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Melise Panetta, Lecturer of Marketing in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University

    Young adults in their 20s and 30s face an altered social landscape where financial realities influence their relationships. (Rene Ranisch/Unsplash)

    If it feels like rising prices are affecting your dating life or friendships, you’re not imagining it. Around the world, economic pressures are taking a significant toll on personal relationships.

    From strained romantic partnerships to postponed life milestones, financial uncertainty is changing the way people connect and relate to with one another.

    Young adults in their 20s and 30s, in particular, are facing an altered social landscape where even the most fundamental aspects of relationships are being influenced by financial realities.

    Dating today can feel like a mix of endless swipes, red flags and shifting expectations. From decoding mixed signals to balancing independence with intimacy, relationships in your 20s and 30s come with unique challenges. Love IRL is the latest series from Quarter Life that explores it all.

    These research-backed articles break down the complexities of modern love to help you build meaningful connections, no matter your relationship status.

    Financial stress and relationship strain

    Money has long been one of the biggest sources of conflict in relationships, but today’s economic landscape has made financial stress an even greater burden.

    In Canada, a staggering 77 per cent of couples report financial strain, and 62 per cent say they argue over money. The rising cost of rent, food and everyday expenses has forced many couples to make difficult financial decisions, sometimes at the expense of their relationship.

    These concerns are not unique to Canadian couples. A study in the United Kingdom found that 38 per cent of people in a relationship admit to having a secret account or “money stashed away” that their partner doesn’t know about. And in the United States, couples surveyed reported having 58 money-related arguments per year.

    Money has long been one of the biggest sources of conflict in relationships.
    (Shutterstock)

    Even more concerning, financial instability is affecting how long relationships last. A recent RBC poll found 55 per cent of Canadians feel they need to be in a relationship to afford their lifestyle.

    The economic barriers to independence are particularly pronounced for those contemplating separation or divorce. Traditionally, a breakup meant one partner moving out, but now more divorced and separated couples are finding themselves cohabitating simply because they can’t afford to live alone.

    Understanding how to maintain a healthy relationship when facing financial troubles is essential for couples to navigate these difficult times.

    Postponing major life decisions

    The cost-of-living crisis is also delaying key life milestones for young adults worldwide. A Statistics Canada survey found that 38 per cent of young adults have postponed moving out due to economic uncertainty, an increase from 32 per cent in 2018.

    This issue is not only delaying the journey to independent adulthood, it is also reversing it. For example, in the United Kingdom, one in five young adults who moved out have had to move back into their family home due to the cost of living crisis.

    Housing affordability plays a major role in these delays. With housing prices soaring in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere, home ownership feels out of reach for many. For instance, 55 per cent of young Canadians report the housing crisis is fuelling their decision to delay starting a family.

    The cost-of-living crisis is also delaying key life milestones for young adults worldwide. Real estate signs seen in Calgary in May 2023.
    (Shutterstock)

    These delays have cascading effects on individuals and on broader societal trends, including lower fertility rates and shifts toward smaller families.

    Dating in a cost-conscious era

    One side effect of the rising cost of living is that couples are moving in together sooner than they might have otherwise in order to split living expenses. Others are adopting a more pragmatic approach to dating and bringing up topics like financial stability, job security and housing much earlier in their relationships.

    A dating trend known as “future-proofing” is also spreading. According to Bumble’s annual trend report, 95 per cent of singles say their worries about the future are impacting who they date and how they approach relationships. Top concerns include finances, job security, housing and climate change.



    Read more:
    The price of love: Why millennials and Gen Zs are running up major dating debt

    At the same time, financial strain is leading to simpler and cheaper date nights. More than half of Canadians say the rising cost of living is affecting dating. Many people are opting for budget-friendly activities like coffee dates, picnics or home-cooked meals instead of expensive dinners or weekend getaways.

    In the U.K., inflation and other day-to-day expenses have also made 33 per cent of the nation’s young singles less likely to go on dates. Around one-quarter of them say it has made them less likely to seek out a romantic partner altogether.

    Financial strain is leading fewer people to go on expensive, extravagent date nights.
    (Shutterstock)

    These costs are forcing single Americans to adjust their dating plans. With 44 per cent of single Americans reporting adjusting a date for financial reasons, and 27 per cent outright cancelling plans due to financial pressures, it is clear that the cost of living is fundamentally changing how Americans date.

    Also, with 38 per cent of dating Canadians saying the costs associated with dating have negatively impacted their ability to reach their financial goals, some are even skipping dating altogether.

    The cost of friendship

    Friendships, too, are feeling the pinch. Gone are the days of casually grabbing dinner or catching a concert on the weekend. Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians, 42 per cent of Britons and 37 per cent of Americans have cut back on social outings due to financial constraints.

    While this may seem like a small sacrifice, the decline in social interactions carries serious consequences. Regular social engagement is critical for mental health, resilience and career development. The more social activities are reduced, the greater the risk of loneliness and isolation — two factors that can significantly impact emotional well-being.

    For many, socializing now means opting for budget-friendly alternatives. However, even with creative adjustments, financial pressures are making it harder to maintain strong social ties.

    The changing landscape of connection

    If you’re in your 20s or 30s, you’ve probably felt the way the economic realities of today are reshaping what relationships look like. Rising costs are influencing everything, from who you live with, how you date and when — or if — you take major life steps.

    Maybe you’ve moved in with a partner sooner than planned to split rent, swapped nights out for budget-friendly hangs or put off milestones like starting a family. You’re not alone. Financial pressures are redefining how we connect with each other.

    Finding ways to maintain strong relationships under economic stress is essential. Research shows providing emotional support to your partner, employing positive problem-solving skills and engaging in open communication are key maintaining high-quality relationships.

    Melise Panetta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How rising living costs are changing the way we date, live and love – https://theconversation.com/how-rising-living-costs-are-changing-the-way-we-date-live-and-love-252709

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ showcases Donald Trump’s penchant for visual cruelty

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marycarmen Lara Villanueva, PhD Candidate, Department of Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

    The United States government recently announced the opening of a massive immigrant detention facility built deep within the Florida Everglades that’s been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a media briefing that “there is only one road leading in … and the only way out is a one-way flight.”

    For some taking in her remarks, the moment felt dystopian. According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the facility is surrounded by swamps and alligators and is equipped with more than 200 security cameras, 8,500 metres of barbed wire and a security force of 400 personnel.

    Accounts from some of the first detainees at the facility have shed light on the inhumane conditions. They’ve described limited access to water and fresh air, saying they received only one meal a day and that the lights are on 24/7.

    Apparently designed to be an immigration deterrence and a display of cruelty, Alligator Alcatraz is much more than infrastructure. It is visual policy aimed to stage terror as a message while making Trump’s authoritarian and fascist politics a material reality.

    Contributing to this fascist visual apparatus, AI-generated images of alligators wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hats have circulated widely on social media. Some have questioned whether these images were satire or state propaganda.

    A screenshot of a June 2025 Homeland Security post on X, formerly Twitter.

    Surveillance, migration, debilitation

    In a moment of growing right-wing rhetoric and support for anti-immigrant violence, understanding how visual regimes operate, and what they attempt to normalize, is important.



    Read more:
    Nearly 54% of extreme conservatives say the federal government should use violence to stop illegal immigration

    Surveillance and deterrence technologies used along the U.S.–Mexico border for decades were intentionally designed to restrict the movement of undocumented migrants. According to Human Rights Watch, this has resulted in more than 10,000 deaths.

    Since 1994, U.S. Border Patrol has been accused of directing migrants away from urban crossings along the southern border, intentionally funnelling them into harsh and inhospitable terrain like the Sonora Desert.

    The desert serves as a deterrent to prevent immigrants from reaching their destiny. American theorist Jasbir Puar’s concept of debility is useful in making sense of the strategic process whereby the state works not to kill, but to weaken, as a form of slow violence that wears people down over time. The desired outcome is deterrence.

    On the southern U.S. border, severe dehydration and kidney failure can be outcomes of this debilitating process, potentially resulting in disability or death.

    Infrastructures of violence

    Sarah Lopez, a built environment historian and migration scholar in the U.S., describes the architecture of migrant immobilization as existing on a continuum with prison design. She’s highlighted the increasingly punitive conditions of immigration detention facilities, such as small dark cells or the absence of natural light.

    French architect and writer Léopold Lambert explains that architecture isn’t just about buildings, but about how space is used to organize and control people. He coined and developed the term weaponized architecture to describe how spaces are designed to serve the political goals of those in power.

    Colonialism, capitalism and modernity are closely connected, and architecture has played a key role in making them possible. Alligator Alcatraz sits at the intersection of all three, intentionally created to invoke danger and isolation. In other words, it’s cruel by design.

    As Leavitt put it, the facility is “isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain.” The Trump administration has essentially transformed land into infrastructure and migrants into disposable threats.

    Terrorizing the marginalized

    State-sanctioned “unforgiving terrains” are not new, and the use of alligators to terrorize people of colour isn’t new either.

    The grotesque history of Black children being used as “alligator bait” in Jim Crow-era imagery is well-documented.

    So when Trump publicly fantasized about alligators eating immigrants trying to escape the new detention centre, it came as no surprise to those familiar with the long racist visual history linking alligators to representations of Black people.

    This logic is redeployed in the form of a racial terror that is made visible, marketable and even humorous in mainstream political discourse.

    Visuality and migration

    “Visuality” is a key term in the field of visual and cultural studies, originally coined by Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle and reintroduced in the early 2000s by American cultural theorist Nicholas Mirzoeff. It can be understood as the socially, historically and culturally constructed ways of seeing and understanding the visual world.

    Visual systems have historically been used to justify western imperial and colonial rule by controlling how people see and understand the world.

    While Alligator Alcatraz is a brand-new detention facility, it draws from a longer visual and spatial history of domination.

    The AI-generated images of alligators wearing ICE hats can be seen as part of a broader visual system that makes racialized violence seem normal, justified and even funny. In this absurd transformation, the alligator is reimagined as a legitimate symbol of border enforcement.

    Migrant death by water

    The spectacle of Alligator Alcatraz, with its swampy inhospitable landscape, cannot be divorced from the long visual history of migrant death by water that’s relied on the circulation of images to provoke outrage — and sometimes state action.

    Examples include the iconic image of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian child whose lifeless body washed ashore in Turkey in 2015, and the devastating photo of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his two-year-old daughter who both drowned crossing the Rio Grande in 2019.

    These images sparked global concern, but they also reinforced the idea that migrant lives only matter when they end in death — as if borders only become visible when they cause deaths.

    Alligator Alcatraz was built in eight days. The fact that a detention camp — or what some have called a concentration camp — can be assembled almost overnight, while basic human needs like clean drinking water or emergency warning systems go unmet for years, speaks volumes about where political will and government priorities lie.

    Marycarmen Lara Villanueva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ showcases Donald Trump’s penchant for visual cruelty – https://theconversation.com/alligator-alcatraz-showcases-donald-trumps-penchant-for-visual-cruelty-260566

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Biology is complex and diverse, so scientific research approaches need to be too

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Thomas Merritt, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laurentian University

    The beautiful, fascinating and often perplexing world around us grows from intricate and convoluted interactions of millions of pieces. As scientists, we work to understand and describe the parts and interactions of these systems.

    Scientific understanding is only as good as the questions we ask. Observing the world from a variety of viewpoints and asking questions from a diversity of perspectives helps us recognize and understand biological complexity. Science, and our own experience, tells us that diverse collaborations lead to better questions and more innovative solutions — but diversity in research is under threat.

    A major advancement in modern biology, specifically in the world of modern genetics that our research team works in, has been the realization that genes are far more complicated than we thought 20 years ago. When the human genome was first sequenced in 2001, scientists realized that each person’s DNA contained around 20,000 genes. Earlier estimates had been between 80,000 and 100,000.

    This drastic downsize may seem like a step back in complexity, but the reduced number means genes must be more complex in order to fulfil multiple roles and functions. There are fewer genes, but each gene has a complicated set of multiple functions modulated through intricate, interconnected and interactive gene-regulation mechanisms.

    Model species, surprising discoveries

    Our research group studies gene regulation using the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) as a model species — a non-human species studied extensively to reveal more about other organisms. Flies, like humans, have two copies of each chromosome, each copy with a full set of genes. Typically, regulation of each copy has been assumed to be independent.

    Flies, like humans, have two copies of each chromosome.
    (Mr.checker/Wikimedia)

    Unexpectedly, our research has found that in fruit flies, the copies on separate chromosomes physically interact to modulate each other’s regulation. This means that the chromosomes aren’t independent: they co-regulate in a way that depends on genome structure, or what we call chromosome architecture.

    This form of inter-chromosomal gene regulation, called transvection, was originally described in the 1950s, but is largely unknown. Its potential role to drive biological complexity is underappreciated because its effects are often (but not always) subtle and generally overshadowed by “typical” mechanisms of gene regulation along a single chromosome, cis-regulation.



    Read more:
    How to kill fruit flies, according to a scientist

    Complex genetic interactions

    Our transvection research focuses on subtle differences between individuals and environments. Too often, biology assumes that phenomena are simple, uniform and discreet.

    A classic example, taught in high school biology classes, demonstrates this thinking. Austrian biologist Gregor Mendel studied genetics in pea plants to propose dominant and recessive hereditary traits. His data was a little too clean, too good to be true: Mendel’s peas were either wrinkled or round, yellow or green.

    Genetics is works in more complex ways: think of eye colour. Our eyes are not a dichotomous brown or blue. Colour varies in a spectrum of shades of blues, greens, grays, hazels and browns.

    Similarly, we have shown that transvection, itself an unexpected twist, varies subtly and substantially, in unexpected ways. Recognizing that inter-chomosomal regulation was even possible, let alone could itself be modulated and variable, meant looking at our results from a non-typical view point, a different perspective.

    Our research into stress biology has drawn similar conclusions; diverse responses are the norm and appreciating this variability is absolutely fundamental to understanding the system.

    Differences between male and female biologies

    In our research into metabolism, we have repeatedly found significant and substantial differences between male and females. For example, in recent unpublished data, we find that differences between male and female fruit fly responses to metal toxicity were as large as we would have expected to occur between different species.

    Past conventional wisdom in the field assumed that the biology in the two sexes was interchangeable, with females essentially being just hypervariable males, although recent research in our lab and others is broadly pushing back against this misconception.



    Read more:
    Sex matters: Male bias in the lab is bad science

    The male and female responses are similar but distinct, and this is an important point. To understand biology, our research indicates, we need to identify, appreciate and study these subtle differences in order to produce more thorough scientific investigations.

    Unexpected complexity

    Our research regularly reveals unexpected biological complexity and, not coincidentally, the studies listed above were all collaborations. The technical complexity of research often requires involving experts in multiple disciplines.

    A typical project can involve half a dozen or more experiments and methods, ranging from biochemistry to genetics to life history, and techniques from enzyme kinetic assays to mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing.

    We are part of a genetics research group at Laurentian University whose diversity has greatly strengthened the quality and originality of contributions we have made to the field. In our experience, diverse collaborations combining different perspectives and viewpoints lead to innovative conclusions.

    The literature bears this out: a series of large-scale studies involving millions of researchers and publications repeatedly show that diverse groups of scientists ask more interesting, perceptive and innovative questions and pose more interesting solutions.

    Diversity and innovation

    But this diversity-innovation connection is under attack in the current social and political climate. This has been most visible under the current political regime in the United States, but is also present here in Canada.

    If successful, these attacks will narrow the perspective of scientific research and cripple scientific advances. Current diversity is the result of decades of programs fighting generations of systematic discrimination. Many researchers have been making research a more diverse and inclusive place.



    Read more:
    Want to reach out to an Indigenous scholar? Awesome! But first, here are 10 things to consider

    Sustainability is essential to the long-term health of scientific research. The research, and our own experiences, clearly shows that diverse groups of researchers conduct more creative, innovative and impactful science. Visibility in scientific research is important to ensure its sustainability. More young students will pursue careers in research if they can see themselves in that role.

    Our hope is that a broader appreciation of the importance of diversity in research, will lead to greater community and political, support for research programs that recognize the fundamental importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.

    The biological world is a beautifully diverse and complex place. To truly understand that world, the research laboratory must to be, too.

    Thomas Merritt receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

    Allie Hutchings does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Biology is complex and diverse, so scientific research approaches need to be too – https://theconversation.com/biology-is-complex-and-diverse-so-scientific-research-approaches-need-to-be-too-260696

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Burlison Announces Hearing on Advancing Nuclear Energy

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Eric Burlison (R-Missouri 7th District)

    WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) today announced a hearing titled “The New Atomic Age: Advancing America’s Energy Future.” The hearing will examine advancements made in nuclear power technology and the importance of making small and micro modular reactors (SMRs and MMRs) commercially viable and available. Members will also evaluate supply chain challenges that limit access to nuclear fuel and discuss what Congress can do to grow and strengthen American energy.

    “America is at risk of falling behind in the global energy race—and that should concern every one of us. The hard truth is that excessive regulations and red tape from previous administrations have stifled private-sector innovation, preventing us from fully unleashing America’s energy potential. Fortunately, the Trump Administration is implementing common-sense policies designed to redefine power generation and open new pathways to solving our domestic energy challenges. Advanced nuclear reactors will make energy more accessible, more affordable, and more abundant for hardworking Americans. I look forward to hearing from witnesses on how Congress can bolster nuclear energy development and ensure American energy dominance,” said Subcommittee Chairman Burlison.  

    WHAT: Hearing titled “The New Atomic Age: Advancing America’s Energy Future”

    DATE: Tuesday, July 22, 2025

    TIME: 1:00 P.M. ET

    LOCATION: HVC-210, U.S. Capitol Visitors Center

    WITNESSES:

    Alex Epstein, President and Founder, Center for Industrial Progress  
    Joshua Smith, Energy Policy Lead, Abundance Institute  
     

    BACKGROUND:

    On July 11, 2025, Subcommittee Chairman Burlison and members of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs traveled to Los Angeles County, California, to examine nuclear power reactors and evaluate next steps toward advancing nuclear energy. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Gabe Vasquez Honors Downwinders on 80th Anniversary of The Trinity Test

    Source: US Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 16, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) issued the following statement on the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test:

    “For 80 years, generations of New Mexican Downwinders have endured the Trinity Test’s devastating legacy while the government looked the other way,” said Vasquez. “Today, I’m proud that Congress has finally reauthorized and expanded the Radiation Expansion Compensation Act, delivering long overdue justice for the New Mexican families that were exposed to harm without their consent, knowledge, or recourse. This moment is about honoring the lives lost, the voices ignored, and the communities left behind — making sure they are never forgotten.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: What is peer review? The role anonymous experts play in scrutinizing research before it gets published

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joshua Winowiecki, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Michigan State University

    Reviewer 1: “This manuscript is a timely and important contribution to the field, with clear methodology and compelling results. I recommend publication with only minor revisions.”

    Reviewer 2: “This manuscript is deeply flawed. The authors’ conclusions are not supported by data, and key literature is ignored. Major revisions are required before it can be considered.”

    These lines could be pulled from almost any editorial decision letter in the world of academic publishing, sent from a journal to a researcher. One review praises the work, while another sees nothing but problems. For scholars, this kind of contradiction is common. Reviewer 2, in particular, has become something of a meme: an anonymous figure often blamed for delays, rejections or cryptic critiques that seem to miss the point.

    But those disagreements are part of the peer-review process.

    A world of memes – like this one shared on Reddit – has sprung up about the ridiculous feedback provided by a mythical Reviewer #2.
    Reddit/r/medicalschool

    As a clinical nurse specialist, educator and scholar who reviews studies in nursing and health care and teaches others to do so critically as well, I’ve seen how peer review shapes not just what gets published, but what ultimately influences practice.

    Peer review is the checkpoint where scientific claims are validated before they are shared with the world. Researchers and scholars submit their findings to academic journals, which invite other scholars with similar expertise – those are the peers – to assess the work. Reviewers look at the way the scholar designed the project, the methods they used and whether their conclusions stand up.

    The point of peer review

    This process isn’t new. Versions of peer review have been around for centuries. But the modern form – anonymous, structured and managed by journal editors – took hold after World War II. Today, it is central to how scientific publishing works, and nowhere more so than health, nursing and medicine. Research that survives review is more likely to be trusted and acted upon by health care practitioners and their patients.

    Millions of research papers move through this process annually, and the number grows every year. The sheer volume means that peer review isn’t just quality control, it’s become a bottleneck, a filter of sorts, and a kind of collective judgment about what counts as credible.

    In clinical fields, peer review also has a protective role. Before a study about a new medication, procedure or care model gains traction, it is typically evaluated by others in the field. The point isn’t to punish the authors – it’s to slow things down just enough to critically evaluate the work, catch mistakes, question assumptions and raise red flags. The reviewer’s work doesn’t always get credit, but it often changes what ends up in print.

    So, even if you’ve never submitted a paper or read a scientific journal, peer-reviewed science still shows up in your life. It helps shape what treatments are available, what protocols and guidelines your nurse practitioner or physician uses, and what public health advice gets passed along on the news.

    This doesn’t mean peer review always works. Plenty of papers get published despite serious limitations. And some of these flawed studies do real harm. But even scholars who complain about the system often still believe in it. In one international survey of medical researchers, a clear majority said they trusted peer-reviewed science, despite frustrations with how slow or inconsistent the process can be.

    What actually happens when a paper is reviewed?

    Before a manuscript lands in the hands of reviewers, it begins with the researchers themselves. Scientists investigate a question, gather and analyze their data and write up their findings, often with a particular journal in mind that publishes new work in their discipline. Once they submit their paper to the journal, the editorial process begins.

    At this point, journal editors send it out to two or three reviewers who have relevant expertise. Reviewers read for clarity, accuracy, originality and usefulness. They offer comments about what’s missing, what needs to be explained more carefully, and whether the findings seem valid. Sometimes the feedback is collegial and helpful. Sometimes it’s not.

    Peer reviewers’ comments can help researchers revise and strengthen their work.
    AJ_Watt/E+ via Getty Images

    Here is where Reviewer 2 enters the lore of academic life. This is the critic who seems especially hard to please, who misreads the argument, or demands rewrites that would reshape the entire project. But even these kinds of reviews serve a purpose. They show how work might be received more broadly. And many times they flag weaknesses the author hadn’t seen.

    Review is slow. Most reviewers aren’t paid, with nearly 75% reporting they receive no compensation or formal recognition for their efforts. They do this work on top of their regular clinical, teaching or research responsibilities. And not every editor has the time or capacity to sort through conflicting feedback or to moderate tone. The result is a process that can feel uneven, opaque, and, at times, unfair.

    It doesn’t always catch what it is supposed to. Peer review is better at catching sloppy thinking than it is at detecting fraud. If data is fabricated or manipulated, a reviewer may not have the tools, or the time, to figure that out. In recent years, a growing number of published papers have been retracted after concerns about plagiarism or faked results. That trend has shaken confidence in the system and raised questions about what more journals should be doing before publication.

    Imperfect but indispensable

    Even though the current peer-review system has its shortcomings, most researchers would argue that science is better off than it would be without the level of scrutiny peer review provides. The challenge now is how to make peer review better.

    Some journals are experimenting with publishing reviewer comments alongside articles. Other are trying systems where feedback continues after publication. There are also proposals to use artificial intelligence to help flag inconsistencies or potential errors before human reviewers even begin.

    These efforts are promising but still in the early stages of development and adoption. For most fields, peer review remains a basic requirement for legitimacy, while some, such as law and high-energy physics, have alternate methods of communicating their findings. Peer review assures a reader that a journal article’s claim has been tested, scrutinized and revised.

    Peer review doesn’t guarantee truth. But it does invite challenge, foster transparency, offer reflection and force revision. That’s often where the real work of science begins.

    Even if Reviewer 2 still has notes.

    Joshua Winowiecki does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What is peer review? The role anonymous experts play in scrutinizing research before it gets published – https://theconversation.com/what-is-peer-review-the-role-anonymous-experts-play-in-scrutinizing-research-before-it-gets-published-258255

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Examining mushrooms under microscopes can help engineers design stronger materials

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mohamed Khalil Elhachimi, PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    White button mushrooms are one of the types studied to inform stronger materials. DigiPub/Moment via Getty Images

    Pick up a button mushroom from the supermarket and it squishes easily between your fingers. Snap a woody bracket mushroom off a tree trunk and you’ll struggle to break it. Both extremes grow from the same microscopic building blocks: hyphae – hair-thin tubes made mostly of the natural polymer chitin, a tough compound also found in crab shells.

    As those tubes branch and weave, they form a lightweight but surprisingly strong network called mycelium. Engineers are beginning to investigate this network for use in eco-friendly materials.

    Filaments called hyphae are a mushroom’s support structures both above and below ground, and the mycelium network links multiple mushrooms together.
    Milkwood.net/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

    Yet even within a single mushroom family, the strength of a mycelium network can vary widely. Scientists have long suspected that how the hyphae are arranged – not just what they’re made of – holds the key to understanding, and ultimately controlling, their strength. But until recently, measurements that directly link microscopic arrangement to macroscopic strength have been scarce.

    I’m a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student at Binghamton University who studies bio-inspired structures. In our latest research, my colleagues and I asked a simple question: Can we tune the strength of a mushroomlike material just by changing the angle of its filaments, without adding any tougher ingredients? The answer, it turns out, is yes.

    2 edible species, many tiny tests

    In our study, my team compared two familiar fungi. The first was the white button mushroom, whose tissue uses only thin filaments called generative filaments. The second was the maitake, also called hen-of-the-woods, whose tissue mixes in a second, thicker type of hyphae called skeletal filaments. These skeletal filaments are arranged roughly in parallel, like bundles of cables.

    The two types of mushrooms used in the study: The white button mushroom is monomitic, shown on the left, meaning it has only one type of hyphae. The maitake is shown on the right, and is dimitic, meaning it has two types of hyphae.
    Mohamed Khalil Elhachimi

    After gently drying the caps and stems to remove any water, which can soften the material and skew the results, we zoomed in with scanning electron microscopes and tested the samples at two very different scales.

    First, we tested macro-scale compression. A motor-driven piston slowly squashed each mushroom while sensors recorded how hard the sample pushed back – the same way you might squeeze a marshmallow, only with laboratory precision.

    Then we pressed a diamond tip thinner than a human hair into individual filaments to measure their stiffness.

    The white mushroom filaments behaved like rubber bands, averaging about 18 megapascals in stiffness – similar to natural rubber. The thicker skeletal filaments in maitake measured around 560 megapascals, more than 30 times stiffer and approaching the stiffness of high-density polyethylene – the rigid plastic used in cutting boards and some water pipes.

    The two mushrooms tested include the maitake, left, and the button mushroom.
    Lance Cheung/USDA and edenpictures/Flickr, CC BY

    But chemistry is only half the story. When we squeezed entire chunks, the direction we squeezed in mattered even more for the maitake. Pressing in line with its parallel skeletal filaments made the block 30 times stiffer than pressing across the grain. By contrast, the tangled filaments in white mushrooms felt equally soft from every angle.

    A digital mushroom and twisting the threads

    To separate geometry from chemistry, we converted snapshots from the microscope into a computer model using a 3D Voronoi network – a pattern that mimics the walls between bubbles in a foam. Think of ping-pong balls crammed in a box: Each ball is a cell, and the walls between cells become our simulated filaments.

    We assigned those filaments by the stiffness values measured in the lab, then virtually rotated the whole network to angles of 0 degrees, 30 degrees, 60 degrees, 90 degrees and completely random.

    Horizontal (0 degrees) filaments flexed like a spring mattress. Vertical (90 degrees) filaments supported weight almost as firmly as dense wood. Simply tilting the network to 60 degrees nearly doubled its stiffness compared with 0 degrees – all without changing a single chemical ingredient.

    The researchers modeled structures with different fiber orientations to see which are the strongest: (a) represents a horizontal fiber orientation, (b) a 30-degree fiber orientation, (c) a 60-degree fiber orientation, (d) a vertical fiber orientation, and (e) a random fiber orientation.
    Mohamed Khalil Elhachimi

    Basically, we found that orientation alone could turn a mushy sponge into something that stands up to serious pressure. That suggests manufacturers could make strong, lightweight, biodegradable parts – such as shoe insoles, protective packaging and even interior panels for cars – simply by guiding how a fungus grows rather than by mixing in harder additives.

    Greener materials – and beyond

    Startups already grow “leather” made from mycelium – the threadlike fungal network – for handbags, and mycelium foam as a Styrofoam replacement.

    Guiding fungi to lay their filaments in strategic directions could push performance much higher, opening doors in sectors where strength-to-weight ratio is king: think sporting goods cores, building-insulation panels or lightweight fillers inside aircraft panels.

    The same digital tool kit also works for metal or polymer lattices printed layer by layer. Swap the filament properties in the model, let the algorithm pick the best angles, and then feed that layout into a 3D printer.

    One day, engineers might dial up an app that says something like, “I need a panel that’s stiff north-south but flexible east-west,” and the program could spit out a filament map inspired by the humble maitake.

    Our next step is to feed thousands of these virtual networks into a machine learning model so it can predict – or even invent – filament layouts that hit a targeted stiffness in any direction.

    Meanwhile, biologists are exploring low-energy ways to coax real fungi to grow in neat rows, from steering nutrients toward one side of a petri dish to applying gentle electric fields that encourage filaments to align.

    This study taught us that you don’t always need exotic chemistry to make a better material. Sometimes it’s all about how you line up the same old threads – just ask a mushroom.

    Mohamed Khalil Elhachimi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Examining mushrooms under microscopes can help engineers design stronger materials – https://theconversation.com/examining-mushrooms-under-microscopes-can-help-engineers-design-stronger-materials-260477

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grants Awarded to Support Veteran Facilities

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced $1 million in grants to 16 veterans organizations across New York State through the third round of the Veterans’ Nonprofit Capital Program. These grants will support capital improvements to facilities that serve the state’s veterans, service members and their families.

    “Our veterans, who have courageously served to protect our country, need and deserve to have access to safe, quality facilities to gather with family and loved ones,” Governor Hochul said. “This investment will not only allow for critical infrastructure upgrades, but it will also allow veterans to come together and bond with their community and families.”

    The grants, administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) in partnership with the Department of Veterans’ Services, provide reimbursement for capital improvement projects ranging from $25,000 to $75,000. Veterans organizations will use the funding for critical infrastructure upgrades including new roofs, HVAC systems, electrical improvements, ADA-compliant modifications and renovations to kitchens and common areas.

    Recipients are located across six regions: Capital Region (4), Central New York (1), Finger Lakes (4), Long Island (2), Mid-Hudson (1) and Western New York (4). Projects include roof replacements, parking lot reconstruction, generator installations and facility accessibility improvements. A list of awards is located here.

    Dormitory Authority of the State of New York President and CEO Robert J. Rodriguez said, “DASNY is proud to administer this program alongside our partners at the Department of Veterans’ Services, delivering on Governor Hochul’s continued commitment to supporting veterans. These capital improvements will help ensure that veterans have access to safe, modern facilities where they can gather, receive services, and maintain the important connections forged through their service to our nation.”

    New York State Department of Veterans’ Services General Counsel Jonathan Fishbein said, “Round three of the Veterans’ Nonprofit Capital Program was one of our strongest to date, both in the quality of applications received and in the range of services supported across the state. These grants are making a real difference on the ground. DVS remains deeply committed to ensuring that Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families in every corner of New York have access to strong, stable, and growing networks of support. Governor Hochul continues to deliver much-needed support for all who served.”

    The Veterans’ Nonprofit Capital Program provides funding for architecture, design, engineering, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or expansion of eligible facilities, and purchase of eligible furnishings or equipment. Since its inception, the program has awarded $4.6 million to veterans organizations statewide.

    About the NYS Department of Veterans’ Services

    The New York State Department of Veterans’ Services proudly serves New York’s Veterans, Service Members and Military Families, connecting them with benefits, services and support. All who served should contact the Department at 888-838-7697 or via its website — veterans.ny.gov — to meet in-person or virtually with an accredited Veterans Benefits Advisor to receive the benefits they have earned. Follow DVS on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

    About DASNY

    Founded in 1944, DASNY is New York State’s capital project development authority. It finances and constructs sustainable and resilient science, health and education institutions that help New York thrive. It is one of the largest issuers of tax-exempt bonds in the nation with an outstanding bond portfolio of approximately $60.1 billion as of March 31, 2025. DASNY is also a prolific public builder with a construction pipeline of approximately 1,000 projects valued at more than $13 billion as of March 31, 2025. To learn more about DASNY, visit www.dasny.org.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Three MS-13 Members Charged with Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Murder

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Three alleged members of the notorious gang La Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, made their initial appearance in the District of Maryland yesterday for their role in a racketeering conspiracy, including murder and drug trafficking.

    “As alleged, the defendants are MS-13 members who carried out a brutal and senseless murder in exchange for promotions within the gang and drugs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their actions furthered MS-13’s reign of terror across communities in Maryland. The Criminal Division will continue to pursue charges against MS-13 members and associates and will not relent until this dangerous gang is eradicated from our streets.”

    “The brutal retaliatory murder of this victim is a chilling reminder of the MS-13 gang’s callous disregard for human life,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Those who assault and kill others must be brought to justice and ultimately held accountable for their actions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland will continue to work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to dismantle violent criminal organizations that terrorize our communities.”

    “The FBI and our partners are committed to using every tool available to prevent violent criminals from terrorizing the communities they live in,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “We will not let up. We will relentlessly pursue those who engage in violent activity like murder and drug trafficking until they are held accountable.”

    According to court documents, on July 4, 2024, Maxwell Ariel Quijano-Casco, 24, of El Salvador; Daniel Isaias Villanueva-Bautista, 19, of El Salvador; and Josue Mauricio Lainez, 21, of Hyattsville, Maryland, allegedly killed a homeless man as part of their involvement with MS-13. On July 5, 2024, a passerby called 911 after seeing the victim sitting in a blue 2008 Dodge Caravan that was parked in a used car lot in Hyattsville, Maryland. When the police arrived, they found the deceased victim, who appeared to have been stabbed in the neck. Investigators obtained video surveillance from a nearby business that captured the incident.

    The surveillance video shows that at approximately 11:35 p.m Quijano-Casco and another person approach the victim. The video shows the victim wielding what looks like a metal pole at Quijano-Casco, at which point Quijano-Casco and the other person flee on foot and the victim returns to the Dodge Caravan. About 15 minutes later, Quijano-Casco returns with co-defendants Villanueva-Bautista, Lainez, and another person. At approximately 11:48 p.m., the video surveillance shows all four of them approaching the blue Dodge Caravan. 

    The surveillance video then shows Quijano-Casco, Villanueva-Bautista, Lainez, and the unnamed person opening the van’s rear sliding driver’s side door, reaching inside, and moving as if striking someone. 

    The victim does not exit the blue Dodge Caravan after the attack.

    On Aug. 23, 2024, Prince George’s County Police arrested Quijano-Casco and Villanueva-Bautista. Quijano-Casco was in possession of a black Ruger P95DC semi-automatic handgun and about eight grams of cocaine at the time of his arrest. Quijano-Casco and Villanueva both admitted that they were present for the altercation where the victim was murdered. Quijano-Casco allegedly admitted to Prince George’s County Police to stabbing the individual.

    Quijano-Casco, Villanueva-Bautista, and Lainez are each charged with racketeering conspiracy, including the July 4, 2024, murder. If convicted, Quijano-Casco, Villanueva-Bautista, and Lainez face a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department are investigating the case.

    Trial Attorney Christina Taylor of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Crespo for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: AIXA Miner Launches New Green Cloud Mining Contracts with Boosted Daily Returns

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Denver, USA, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AIXA Miner, a trusted name in global cloud mining solutions, today announced the rollout of upgraded Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin mining contracts featuring a 2.5% increase in daily returns. The performance gains coincide with AIXA Miner’s transition to 100% green energy across its 200+ data centers worldwide.

    “We initiated a green mining model to reduce environmental impact and improve operational efficiency,” said a company spokesperson for AIXA Miner. “By leveraging low-cost renewable energy, we’ve been able to cut mining costs by up to 50%, enabling higher returns for our users.”

    Scaling Sustainable & Profitable Cloud Mining

    Founded in 2020, AIXA Miner has grown rapidly by aligning sustainability with profitability in cloud mining. The company operates globally distributed mining centers powered exclusively by solar and wind energy, helping reduce carbon emissions while optimizing crypto mining yields—particularly for Bitcoin.

    This cost-effective approach has made AIXA Miner one of the most profitable platforms for crypto mining participants, attracting over 2 million new users following the announcement of increased returns.

    New Mining Contract Options: Short-Term with High ROI

    AIXA Miner offers a range of short-term mining contracts to suit various investment sizes. Each contract delivers fixed daily income and allows for full capital withdrawal at term completion.

    Contract Amount Duration Daily Income Total Income Daily Interest Rate
    $550 5 days $7.32 $36.58 1.33%
    $1,500 10 days $20.40 $204.00 1.36%
    $2,600 12 days $37.18 $446.16 1.43%
    $6,300 15 days $95.13 $1,426.95 1.51%
    $15,700 17 days $285.74 $4,857.58 1.82%
    $25,000 20 days $515.00 $10,300.00 2.06%
    $57,000 15 days $1,350.90 $20,263.50 2.37%
    $87,000 20 days $2,366.40 $47,328.00 2.72%
    $127,000 12 days $3,987.80 $47,853.60 3.14%
    $235,000 15 days $12,925.00 $193,875.00 5.50%

    AIXA Miner also offers a free Litecoin mining contract for new users, which includes a $20 welcome credit that allows immediate onboarding and platform testing. 

    Affiliate & VIP Incentives

    To further enhance user experience and earning potential, AIXA Miner provides a three-tier affiliate program, rewarding users with up to 5% commissions on referred investments. VIP memberships offer one-time bonuses and increased ROI for users with active contract levels of $50,000 and above. For example, VIP Level 3 users receive an additional 0.11% ROI bonus and a $613 reward on qualifying investments.

    How to Get Started With AIXA Miner With a Smartphone: Three Simple Steps

    1. Install the app: Visit the AIXAminer.com website and download the AIXA Miner mobile app (Android/iOS).
    2. Sign up with a username and password and a valid email address to activate the free trial and gain access to the mining platform.
    3. Select the mining contract, connect the user crypto wallet, and start earning.

    And that is all! The app allows users to track their earnings daily and provides options to withdraw or reinvest their profits at will.

    About AIXA Miner

    AIXA Miner is a cloud-based cryptocurrency mining platform founded in 2020. Specializing in AI-optimized, eco-friendly mining operations, AIXA Miner enables individuals worldwide to generate passive income through transparent, automated crypto mining services. AIXA Miner’s upgraded mining contracts are now available globally via its official website: www.aixaminer.com. The platform offers transparent earnings dashboards, same-day payouts (once the minimum is reached), and a range of contract durations to suit both beginner and seasoned crypto participants. 

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: AIXA Miner Launches New Green Cloud Mining Contracts with Boosted Daily Returns

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Denver, USA, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AIXA Miner, a trusted name in global cloud mining solutions, today announced the rollout of upgraded Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin mining contracts featuring a 2.5% increase in daily returns. The performance gains coincide with AIXA Miner’s transition to 100% green energy across its 200+ data centers worldwide.

    “We initiated a green mining model to reduce environmental impact and improve operational efficiency,” said a company spokesperson for AIXA Miner. “By leveraging low-cost renewable energy, we’ve been able to cut mining costs by up to 50%, enabling higher returns for our users.”

    Scaling Sustainable & Profitable Cloud Mining

    Founded in 2020, AIXA Miner has grown rapidly by aligning sustainability with profitability in cloud mining. The company operates globally distributed mining centers powered exclusively by solar and wind energy, helping reduce carbon emissions while optimizing crypto mining yields—particularly for Bitcoin.

    This cost-effective approach has made AIXA Miner one of the most profitable platforms for crypto mining participants, attracting over 2 million new users following the announcement of increased returns.

    New Mining Contract Options: Short-Term with High ROI

    AIXA Miner offers a range of short-term mining contracts to suit various investment sizes. Each contract delivers fixed daily income and allows for full capital withdrawal at term completion.

    Contract Amount Duration Daily Income Total Income Daily Interest Rate
    $550 5 days $7.32 $36.58 1.33%
    $1,500 10 days $20.40 $204.00 1.36%
    $2,600 12 days $37.18 $446.16 1.43%
    $6,300 15 days $95.13 $1,426.95 1.51%
    $15,700 17 days $285.74 $4,857.58 1.82%
    $25,000 20 days $515.00 $10,300.00 2.06%
    $57,000 15 days $1,350.90 $20,263.50 2.37%
    $87,000 20 days $2,366.40 $47,328.00 2.72%
    $127,000 12 days $3,987.80 $47,853.60 3.14%
    $235,000 15 days $12,925.00 $193,875.00 5.50%

    AIXA Miner also offers a free Litecoin mining contract for new users, which includes a $20 welcome credit that allows immediate onboarding and platform testing. 

    Affiliate & VIP Incentives

    To further enhance user experience and earning potential, AIXA Miner provides a three-tier affiliate program, rewarding users with up to 5% commissions on referred investments. VIP memberships offer one-time bonuses and increased ROI for users with active contract levels of $50,000 and above. For example, VIP Level 3 users receive an additional 0.11% ROI bonus and a $613 reward on qualifying investments.

    How to Get Started With AIXA Miner With a Smartphone: Three Simple Steps

    1. Install the app: Visit the AIXAminer.com website and download the AIXA Miner mobile app (Android/iOS).
    2. Sign up with a username and password and a valid email address to activate the free trial and gain access to the mining platform.
    3. Select the mining contract, connect the user crypto wallet, and start earning.

    And that is all! The app allows users to track their earnings daily and provides options to withdraw or reinvest their profits at will.

    About AIXA Miner

    AIXA Miner is a cloud-based cryptocurrency mining platform founded in 2020. Specializing in AI-optimized, eco-friendly mining operations, AIXA Miner enables individuals worldwide to generate passive income through transparent, automated crypto mining services. AIXA Miner’s upgraded mining contracts are now available globally via its official website: www.aixaminer.com. The platform offers transparent earnings dashboards, same-day payouts (once the minimum is reached), and a range of contract durations to suit both beginner and seasoned crypto participants. 

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Assault of staff member at Kent Institution

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    July 15, 2025 – Agassiz, British Columbia – Correctional Service Canada

    On July 14, 2025, a staff member was assaulted at Kent Institution, a maximum-security federal institution.

    The injured staff member was evaluated and treated at an outside hospital.

    The assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions will be taken.

    The Agassiz detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the institution are presently investigating the incident.

    The safety and security of institutions, their staff, and the public remains the highest priority in the operations of the federal correctional system.

    In order to improve practices aimed at preventing this type of incident, the Correctional Service of Canada will review the circumstances of the incident and take the appropriate measures.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three MS-13 Members Charged with Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Murder

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Three alleged members of the notorious gang La Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, made their initial appearance in the District of Maryland yesterday for their role in a racketeering conspiracy, including murder and drug trafficking.

    “As alleged, the defendants are MS-13 members who carried out a brutal and senseless murder in exchange for promotions within the gang and drugs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their actions furthered MS-13’s reign of terror across communities in Maryland. The Criminal Division will continue to pursue charges against MS-13 members and associates and will not relent until this dangerous gang is eradicated from our streets.”

    “The brutal retaliatory murder of this victim is a chilling reminder of the MS-13 gang’s callous disregard for human life,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Those who assault and kill others must be brought to justice and ultimately held accountable for their actions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland will continue to work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to dismantle violent criminal organizations that terrorize our communities.”

    “The FBI and our partners are committed to using every tool available to prevent violent criminals from terrorizing the communities they live in,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “We will not let up. We will relentlessly pursue those who engage in violent activity like murder and drug trafficking until they are held accountable.”

    According to court documents, on July 4, 2024, Maxwell Ariel Quijano-Casco, 24, of El Salvador; Daniel Isaias Villanueva-Bautista, 19, of El Salvador; and Josue Mauricio Lainez, 21, of Hyattsville, Maryland, allegedly killed a homeless man as part of their involvement with MS-13. On July 5, 2024, a passerby called 911 after seeing the victim sitting in a blue 2008 Dodge Caravan that was parked in a used car lot in Hyattsville, Maryland. When the police arrived, they found the deceased victim, who appeared to have been stabbed in the neck. Investigators obtained video surveillance from a nearby business that captured the incident.

    The surveillance video shows that at approximately 11:35 p.m Quijano-Casco and another person approach the victim. The video shows the victim wielding what looks like a metal pole at Quijano-Casco, at which point Quijano-Casco and the other person flee on foot and the victim returns to the Dodge Caravan. About 15 minutes later, Quijano-Casco returns with co-defendants Villanueva-Bautista, Lainez, and another person. At approximately 11:48 p.m., the video surveillance shows all four of them approaching the blue Dodge Caravan. 

    The surveillance video then shows Quijano-Casco, Villanueva-Bautista, Lainez, and the unnamed person opening the van’s rear sliding driver’s side door, reaching inside, and moving as if striking someone. 

    The victim does not exit the blue Dodge Caravan after the attack.

    On Aug. 23, 2024, Prince George’s County Police arrested Quijano-Casco and Villanueva-Bautista. Quijano-Casco was in possession of a black Ruger P95DC semi-automatic handgun and about eight grams of cocaine at the time of his arrest. Quijano-Casco and Villanueva both admitted that they were present for the altercation where the victim was murdered. Quijano-Casco allegedly admitted to Prince George’s County Police to stabbing the individual.

    Quijano-Casco, Villanueva-Bautista, and Lainez are each charged with racketeering conspiracy, including the July 4, 2024, murder. If convicted, Quijano-Casco, Villanueva-Bautista, and Lainez face a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department are investigating the case.

    Trial Attorney Christina Taylor of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Crespo for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Greenpeace: Ramaphosa, G20 must end financial apartheid with tax on super-rich

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Durban, South Africa, 16 July 2025 – Greenpeace Africa has demanded G20 host and South African President Ramaphosa push ahead on accelerating efforts to impose a wealth tax on the world’s billionaires and to support the UN Tax Convention for new and fair global tax rules. 

    Greenpeace Africa activists hung a giant banner with a photo of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa reading ‘End Financial Apartheid #TaxTheSuperRich’, ahead of the G20’s 3rd Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Durban. Greenpeace is demanding the G20 host push ahead on accelerating efforts to impose a wealth tax on the world’s billionaires and to support the UN Tax Convention for new and fair global tax rules. © Chanho Kondolo / Greenpeace

    Ahead of the G20’s 3rd Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting, Greenpeace Africa activists dropped a 15 metre long x 2 metre high banner from a highway bridge near King Shaka International Airport with a photo of Cyril Ramaphosa and a message that said: ‘End Financial Apartheid. Tax The Super Rich’. 

    Cynthia Moyo, Lead Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa, said: “It’s outrageous that billionaires keep getting richer off a broken global tax system while millions across Africa and the world are pushed deeper into poverty and climate chaos. This is financial apartheid. South Africa understands the cost of injustice. Just as Mandela led the fight against political apartheid, President Ramaphosa now has a chance to lead the G20 in dismantling financial apartheid by taxing the super-rich and backing the UN Tax Convention. This is a fight for justice, dignity, and a future where wealth serves people, not the powerful few.”

    The action comes after an announcement at the UN Financing for Development conference that Spain, Brazil and South Africa are launching an initiative to tax the super-rich and the recent BRICS statement in support of the UN Tax Convention.[1] [2] [3]

    Fred Njehu, Global Political Lead of the Fair Share campaign, Greenpeace Africa, said: “We are on the cusp of momentous change. There is growing public and political momentum for taxing the super-rich and new global tax rules that work for all to achieve social and climate justice.

    “This is a historic opportunity for President Ramaphosa, who must seize this chance to lead the G20 in an economic direction that will serve not only the people of South Africa and the continent, but the majority world, by redistributing funds to tackle the social, environmental and climate polycrisis.

    “We ask G20 countries to support and engage constructively in the UN Tax Convention process as a global multilateral platform that will shape and determine the future of taxation, one rooted in transparency, accountability, equity and justice.”

    Globally, billionaire wealth grew three times faster in 2024 than in 2023.[4] In Africa, the four richest people have more wealth than half of the region’s 750 million people combined. Since 2020, the average income of the richest 1% in Africa has increased five times faster than that of the bottom 50%.[5]

    ENDS

    Photos and Videos can be downloaded via Greenpeace Media Library

    NOTES

    [1] At the recently concluded 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, South Africa had joined the ranks of Spain and Brazil in forming a coalition of willing countries to work on taxing the super-rich and to support fair taxation at the upcoming UN Tax Convention negotiations. Greenpeace’s press release 

    [2] BRICS leaders’ endorsement of the UN framework for international tax cooperation. 

    [3] New global tax rules in an UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation are being negotiated, from now until 2027. It is a historic opportunity to redistribute power and wealth, and foster tax transparency and accountability. It aims to take control of global tax rules from the rich OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries to place it in the hands of the 193 member states of the United Nations. 

    [4] Oxfam report: Takers not Makers: The unjust poverty and unearned wealth of colonialism

    [5] Oxfam report: Africa’s Inequality Crisis and the Rise of the Super-Rich

    CONTACTS

    Ferdinand Omondi, Communications and Storytelling Manager, Greenpeace Africa, +254 722 505 233 , fomondi@admin

    Ibrahima Ka Ndoye, International Communications Coordinator, Greenpeace Africa, +221778437172, indoye@admin

    Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]

    MIL OSI NGO –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Angels, witches, crystals and black cats: How supernatural beliefs vary across different groups in the US

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Christopher P. Scheitle, Associate Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University

    Education, income and demographics shape our views of the unseen world, a survey found. karetoria/Collection Moment via Getty Images

    Younger Americans are more likely to express belief in witchcraft and luck, as our new research shows.

    As sociologists who research the social dynamics of religion in the United States, we conducted a nationally representative survey in 2021. Our survey posed dozens of questions to 2,000 Americans over the age of 18 on a wide range of beliefs in supernatural phenomena – everything from belief in the devil to belief in the magical power of crystals.

    Our statistical analyses found that supernatural beliefs in the United States tend to group into four types.

    The first represents what many consider “traditional religious beliefs.” These include beliefs in God, the existence of angels and demons, and belief in the soul and its journey beyond this lifetime.

    A second represents belief in “spiritual and mental forces,” some of which are associated with either paranormal or new age beliefs. These include communicating with the dead, predicting the future, or believing that one’s soul can travel through space or time.

    A third group represents belief in “witches and witchcraft.” This was measured on our survey with questions about the existence of “black magic” and whether it was “possible to cast spells on people.”

    The fourth and final group represents beliefs in supernatural forces that shape “luck” – for instance, that “black cats bring bad luck.”

    Our analysis finds that higher education and higher income are associated with lower levels of all four types of supernatural belief. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, for instance, score below average on all four types of belief, while those with less education score higher than average on all four.

    Looking at race and ethnicity, we found that Latino or Hispanic individuals were more likely than white individuals to express belief in the “witches and witchcraft” form of supernatural belief. About 50% of Latino or Hispanic individuals in our survey, for example, strongly agreed that “witches exist.” This compares with about 37% of white individuals.

    Comparing gender differences, we find that women are more likely than men to believe in the “spiritual and mental forces” forms of supernatural belief. For instance, about 31% of women in our survey agreed that “it is possible to communicate with the dead” compared with about 22% of men.

    Why it matters

    Our research addresses two key questions: first, whether people who hold one type of supernatural belief are also more likely to hold other types of supernatural beliefs; and second, how do different types of supernatural belief vary across key demographic groups, such as across educational levels, racial and ethnic groups, and gender?

    Answering these questions can be surprisingly difficult. Most scientific surveys of the U.S. public include, at best, only one or two questions about religious beliefs; rarely do they include questions about other types of supernatural beliefs, such as belief in paranormal or superstitious forces. This could lead to an incomplete understanding of how supernatural beliefs and practices are changing in the United States.

    An increasing number of Americans are leaving organized religion. However, it is not clear that supernatural beliefs have or will follow the same trajectory – especially beliefs that are not explicitly connected to those religious identities. For example, someone can identify as nonreligious but believe that the crystal they wear will provide them with supernatural benefits.

    Moreover, recognizing that supernatural beliefs can include more than traditionally religious supernatural beliefs may be vital for better understanding other social issues. Research has found, for example, that belief in paranormal phenomena is associated with lower trust in science and medicine.

    What’s next

    Our survey provides some insight into the nature and patterns of supernatural belief in the U.S. at one point in time, but it does not tell us how such beliefs are changing over time.

    We would like to see future surveys – both ours or from other social scientists – that ask more diverse questions about belief in supernatural beings and forces that will allow for an assessment of such changes.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Christopher P. Scheitle receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. The research discussed in this article was supported by a grant from the Science and Religion: Identity and Belief Formation grant initiative spearheaded by the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University and the University of California-San Diego and provided by the Templeton Religion Trust via The Issachar Fund.

    Bernard DiGregorio receives funding from the National Science Foundation. The research discussed in this article was funded by a grant from the Science and Religion: Identity and Belief Formation grant initiative spearheaded by the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University and the University of California-San Diego and provided by the Templeton Religion Trust via The Issachar Fund.

    Katie E. Corcoran receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The research discussed in this article was supported by a grant from the Science and Religion: Identity and Belief Formation grant initiative spearheaded by the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University and the University of California-San Diego and provided by the Templeton Religion Trust via The Issachar Fund.

    – ref. Angels, witches, crystals and black cats: How supernatural beliefs vary across different groups in the US – https://theconversation.com/angels-witches-crystals-and-black-cats-how-supernatural-beliefs-vary-across-different-groups-in-the-us-258377

    MIL OSI –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: California farmers identify a hot new cash crop: Solar power

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jacob Stid, Ph.D. student in Hydrogeology, Michigan State University

    This dairy farm in California’s Central Valley has installed solar panels on a portion of its land. George Rose/Getty Images

    Imagine that you own a small, 20-acre farm in California’s Central Valley. You and your family have cultivated this land for decades, but drought, increasing costs and decreasing water availability are making each year more difficult.

    Now imagine that a solar-electricity developer approaches you and presents three options:

    • You can lease the developer 10 acres of otherwise productive cropland, on which the developer will build an array of solar panels and sell electricity to the local power company.
    • You can select 1 or 2 acres of your land on which to build and operate your own solar array, using some electricity for your farm and selling the rest to the utility.
    • Or you can keep going as you have been, hoping your farm can somehow survive.

    Thousands of farmers across the country, including in the Central Valley, are choosing one of the first two options. A 2022 survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that roughly 117,000 U.S. farm operations have some type of solar device. Our own work has identified over 6,500 solar arrays currently located on U.S. farmland.

    Our study of nearly 1,000 solar arrays built on 10,000 acres of the Central Valley over the past two decades found that solar power and farming are complementing each other in farmers’ business operations. As a result, farmers are making and saving more money while using less water – helping them keep their land and livelihood.

    A hotter, drier and more built-up future

    Perhaps nowhere in the U.S. is farmland more valuable or more productive than California’s Central Valley. The region grows a vast array of crops, including nearly all of the nation’s production of almonds, olives and sweet rice. Using less than 1% of all farmland in the country, the Central Valley supplies a quarter of the nation’s food, including 40% of its fruits, nuts and other fresh foods.

    The food, fuel and fiber that these farms produce are a bedrock of the nation’s economy, food system and way of life.

    But decades of intense cultivation, urban development and climate change are squeezing farmers. Water is limited, and getting more so: A state law passed in 2014 requires farmers to further reduce their water usage by the mid-2040s.

    California’s Central Valley is some of the most productive cropland in the country.
    Citizen of the Planet/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    The trade-offs of installing solar on agricultural land

    When the solar arrays we studied were installed, California state solar energy policy and incentives gave farm landowners new ways to diversify their income by either leasing their land for solar arrays or building their own.

    There was an obvious trade-off: Turning land used for crops to land used for solar usually means losing agricultural production. We estimated that over the 25-year life of the solar arrays, this land would have produced enough food to feed 86,000 people a year, assuming they eat 2,000 calories a day.

    There was an obvious benefit, too, of clean energy: These arrays produced enough renewable electricity to power 470,000 U.S. households every year.

    But the result we were hoping to identify and measure was the economic effect of shifting that land from agricultural farming to solar farming. We found that farmers who installed solar were dramatically better off than those who did not.

    They were better off in two ways, the first being financially. All the farmers, whether they owned their own arrays or leased their land to others, saved money on seeds, fertilizer and other costs associated with growing and harvesting crops. They also earned money from leasing the land, offsetting farm energy bills, and selling their excess electricity.

    Farmers who owned their own arrays had to pay for the panels, equipment and installation, and maintenance. But even after covering those costs, their savings and earnings added up to US$50,000 per acre of profits every year, 25 times the amount they would have earned by planting that acre.

    Farmers who leased their land made much less money but still avoided costs for irrigation water and operations on that part of their farm, gaining $1,100 per acre per year – with no up-front costs.

    The farmers also conserved water, which in turn supported compliance with the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act water use reduction requirements. Most of the solar arrays were installed on land that had previously been irrigated. We calculated that turning off irrigation on this land saved enough water every year to supply about 27 million people with drinking water or irrigate 7,500 acres of orchards. Following solar array installation, some farmers also fallowed surrounding land, perhaps enabled by the new stable income stream, which further reduced water use.

    Irrigation is key to cropland productivity in California’s Central Valley. Covering some land with solar panels eliminates the need for irrigation of that area, saving water for other uses elsewhere.
    Citizen of the Planet/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Changes to food and energy production

    Farmers in the Central Valley and elsewhere are now cultivating both food and energy. This shift can offer long-term security for farmland owners, particularly for those who install and run their own arrays.

    Recent estimates suggest that converting between 1.1% and 2.4% of the country’s farmland to solar arrays would, along with other clean energy sources, generate enough electricity to eliminate the nation’s need for fossil fuel power plants.

    Though many crops are part of a global market that can adjust to changes in supply, losing this farmland could affect the availability of some crops. Fortunately, farmers and landowners are finding new ways to protect farmland and food security while supporting clean energy.

    One such approach is agrivoltaics, where farmers install solar designed for grazing livestock or growing crops beneath the panels. Solar can also be sited on less productive farmland or on farmland that is used for biofuels rather than food production.

    Even in these areas, arrays can be designed and managed to benefit local agriculture and natural ecosystems. With thoughtful design, siting and management, solar can give back to the land and the ecosystems it touches.

    Farms are much more than the land they occupy and the goods they produce. Farms are run by people with families, whose well-being depends on essential and variable resources such as water, fertilizer, fuel, electricity and crop sales. Farmers often borrow money during the planting season in hopes of making enough at harvest time to pay off the debt and keep a little profit.

    Installing solar on their land can give farmers a diversified income, help them save water, and reduce the risk of bad years. That can make solar an asset to farming, not a threat to the food supply.

    Jacob Stid works for Michigan State University. Funding for this work came from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture program and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Michigan State University. He also receives funding from the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research.

    Annick Anctil receives funding from NSF and USDA.

    Anthony Kendall receives funding from the USDA, NASA, the NSF, and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research. He is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, and serves on the nonprofit board of the FLOW Water Advocates.

    – ref. California farmers identify a hot new cash crop: Solar power – https://theconversation.com/california-farmers-identify-a-hot-new-cash-crop-solar-power-259653

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: U.S. proved reserves fell in 2023 from 2022 record

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    In-brief analysis

    July 16, 2025

    U.S. proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate totaled 46 billion barrels at year-end 2023, a 4% decline from the previous year’s record, according to our U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Year-End 2023 report. U.S. proved reserves of natural gas fell to 604 trillion cubic feet, a 13% decline from their 2022 record. Both declines marked the first annual decrease in U.S. proved reserves for those fuels since 2020.

    Proved reserves are operator estimates of the volumes of oil and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. Prices heavily affect estimates of proved reserves.

    Operators revised their proved reserves downward in response to falling prices in 2023 from the historical highs observed in 2022. Annual average wholesale prices at the domestic benchmarks for West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Henry Hub natural gas fell by 18% and 61%, respectively, between 2022 and 2023.

    North Dakota’s crude oil and lease condensate reserves decreased 12%, or 611 million barrels, from 2022, the largest annual net decline reported among all states. Alaska’s oil reserves decreased 11%, or 384 million barrels, the second-largest net decline. New Mexico’s reserves increased by 380 million barrels, the largest increase among the states in 2023.

    Alaska’s natural gas proved reserves decreased 23%, the largest annual net decline (28 trillion cubic feet) among all states in 2023. Texas had the second-largest net decline in proved reserves of natural gas (13%, or 21 trillion cubic feet). Montana reported the largest annual net increase in proved reserves of natural gas (11%, or 70 billion cubic feet).

    Our U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Year-End 2023 report includes additional data on proved reserves, including crude oil and lease condensate reserves from shale plays by state and area. We estimate reserves for subdivisions within each state or area for some locations, namely California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, and the Federal Offshore Gulf of America.

    Principal contributor: Steven Grape

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Men Indicted on 22 Counts for Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Sale of Stolen Vehicles, and Trafficking Stolen Vehicles with Altered VINs

    Source: US FBI

    Greenbelt, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland unsealed a 22-count indictment, charging Jamaican national — Charles Edwards Madden, 39, of New Carrolton, Maryland — and Michael R. Bourne, 33, of New York, New York, with conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, operating a chop shop, sale or receipt of stolen vehicles, and trafficking in motor vehicles with altered vehicle identification numbers (VINs).

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Washington Field Office, and Chief George Nader, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).

    According to the indictment, between at least January 2020, and continuing into June 2024, Madden and Bourne engaged in a conspiracy to buy and sell vehicles that they knew were stolen from various locations across the United States.  As part of the conspiracy, Madden and Bourne altered the VINs to conceal the stolen vehicle scheme and evade law enforcement. 

    Madden and Bourne combined parts from salvaged vehicles and resold them to victim purchasers in Maryland and elsewhere, concealing the prior salvage or damage status and misrepresenting their conditions to buyers.  During the conspiracy, Madden and Bourne obtained dozens of stolen vehicles collectively worth more than $1 million, many of which were transported to and altered in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

    If convicted, Madden and Bourne face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy, a maximum of 10 years for sale or receipt of stolen vehicles, and a maximum of 10 years for trafficking in motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts.  Additionally, Madden is charged with operating a chop shop located in Prince George’s County which carries a maximum of 15 years.

    Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and PGPD for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy and Trial Attorneys Amy Schwartz and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein, Justice Department Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, who are prosecuting this case.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Announcement of Premier PDF Solutions 2025 Semiconductor Industry Events

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PDF Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDFS), a leading provider of comprehensive data solutions for the semiconductor and electronics ecosystems, today announces that it will host two important semiconductor industry events in 2025.

    Connected Equipment Summit
    On October 9th, 2025, PDF Solutions will host its inaugural Connected Equipment Summit in Chandler, Arizona. This premier industry event will showcase the Company’s latest innovations in equipment connectivity, secure remote access and monitoring, and the transformative applications of AI and digital twin technology in semiconductor equipment management.

    Following PDF Solutions’ acquisition of secureWISE LLC earlier in 2025, the summit will unveil the details of the Company’s strategic vision to combine Cimetrix factory automation software solutions with secureWISE capabilities to deliver superior equipment operational efficiency and secure collaboration across the entire semiconductor ecosystem.

    The event will feature insights from key stakeholders throughout the semiconductor value chain, including equipment makers, foundries, and fabless companies. These industry leaders will share their experiences and success stories implementing secureWISE solutions, demonstrating the tangible value of secure remote semiconductor equipment connectivity and control from multiple perspectives within the ecosystem.

    Additional information including agenda, logistics and registration for the Connected Equipment Summit can be found using the following link:
    https://go.pdf.com/l/814523/2025-06-04/c94lg

    Users Conference
    On December 3rd and 4th, 2025, PDF Solutions will host its Users Conference in Santa Clara, CA. This high-profile industry event will cover the breadth of the PDF Solutions platform products and feature expert insights, real-world case studies, and interactive discussions designed to address the most pressing challenges in modern semiconductor manufacturing. The conference will be held in conjunction with PDF Solutions’ Analyst Day on Wednesday, December 3rd.

    For over 30 years, PDF Solutions has anticipated and supported the semiconductor industry’s transformation and needs by delivering innovative solutions. Today, the industry faces accelerating innovation—3D architectures, chiplets, and sophisticated hybrid packages—while navigating increasingly complex supply chains. Simultaneously, AI promises to revolutionize semiconductor design and manufacturing, creating unprecedented efficiency gains across all levels.

    This dynamic landscape demands new levels of collaboration and integration among key semiconductor ecosystem players. A new type of industry platform is essential to unify these diverse stakeholders.

    At this event, PDF Solutions will unveil its latest platform innovations, specifically engineered to:

    • Manage the unique characteristics and massive volumes of design and manufacturing data
    • Enable secure collaboration with robust IP protection
    • Leverage AI embedded throughout its architecture to help each participant rapidly evaluate and optimize business decisions

    This comprehensive event will explore cutting-edge developments in semiconductor manufacturing technology and digital transformation. Key topics will include:

    Strategic Overview

    • Product Strategy & Roadmap: Latest updates on PDF Solutions’ strategic direction and product release plans

    Technology Leadership & Innovation

    • Leading-Edge Technology Development: Keynote presentation on breakthrough innovations and acceleration strategies
    • Digital Transformation in Manufacturing: Keynote and panel discussion examining enterprise integration challenges and solutions in semiconductor production

    Supply Chain & Operations

    • Global Supply Chain Integration: Strategic approaches to operational control across distributed semiconductor manufacturing networks

    Advanced Analytics & AI Solutions

    • Compound Semiconductor Analytics: Keynote and panel discussion focused on manufacturing analytics and yield optimization in compound semiconductor production
    • Manufacturing Data Lake Architecture: In-depth exploration of PDF Solutions’ latest semiconductor manufacturing data platform
    • Scalable Data Analytics & Visualization: Deep dive into next-generation manufacturing data analytics and visualization capabilities
    • AI Model Deployment Infrastructure: Comprehensive overview of scalable artificial intelligence deployment solutions

    Equipment Management & Control

    • Secure Manufacturing Equipment Control: Solutions for secure management and control of semiconductor manufacturing systems
    • AI-Powered Equipment Optimization: Advanced artificial intelligence applications for equipment performance and process control

    Additional information including agenda, speakers, logistics and registration for the PDF Solutions 2025 Users Conference can be found using the following link:
    https://events.pdf.com/

    About PDF Solutions
    PDF Solutions (Nasdaq: PDFS) provides comprehensive data solutions designed to empower organizations across the semiconductor and electronics industry ecosystem to improve the yield and quality of their products and operational efficiency for increased profitability. The Company’s products and services are used by Fortune 500 companies across the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem to achieve smart manufacturing goals by connecting and controlling equipment, collecting data generated during manufacturing and test operations, and performing advanced analytics and machine learning to enable profitable, high-volume manufacturing.

    Founded in 1991, PDF Solutions is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company (directly or through one or more subsidiaries) is an active member of SEMI, INEMI, TPCA, IPC, the OPC Foundation, and DMDII. For the latest news and information about PDF Solutions or to find office locations, visit https://www.pdf.com.

    Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, PDF Solutions also operates worldwide in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan. For the Company’s latest news and information, visit https://www.pdf.com

    PDF Solutions and the PDF Solutions logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PDF Solutions, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

    Company Contacts
    Christophe Begue
    VP, Corporate Strategic Marketing
    christophe.begue@pdf.com

    Sonia Segovia
    Investor Relations
    (408) 938-6491
    sonia.segovia@pdf.com

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Bazaarvoice Holiday Shopping 2025 Report: 47% of Today’s Smart, Selective Holiday Shoppers Are Buying Early to Avoid Price Increases

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    AUSTIN, Texas, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bazaarvoice, Inc., the leading platform for authentic ratings and reviews and social commerce solutions, today released its latest holiday shopping study based on a survey of more than 8,000 global shoppers. The results revealed that in a challenging economy shoppers are scrutinizing value, options, and convenience. They are starting to holiday shop earlier, seeking out sales and free shipping, and opting for budget-friendly brands. 

    “Holiday shopping is here,” said Doug Straton, CMO at Bazaarvoice. “Shoppers are shopping earlier, prioritizing value, and turning to the trusted voices of their peers to guide their decisions – via reviews, social posts and other types of user-generated content. As the lines between content, commerce, and community continue to blur, it’s clear that authenticity, convenience, and trust remain key for holiday retail success.”

    Global survey highlights include:

    • Holiday shoppers are getting smarter and more strategic: 38% of all shoppers start holiday shopping before October, just 9% start in December. Almost half (47%) say they’re buying early to avoid price increases, while the other half (51%) say they wait for major sales like Black Friday. When it comes to shipping, price trumps speed as 48% said they would buy another product to qualify for free shipping, while only 21% said they would do the same to qualify for faster shipping. Lastly, affordable options rule, with nearly 45% actively seeking value, budget-friendly brands/low-cost alternatives.
    • Social media is no longer just a search engine, it’s a checkout: Compared to 2024, holiday purchases on social media jumped nine points, while the number of shoppers discovering gifts on social media dropped 16 points. Social platforms are successfully converting their discovery advantage into a direct sales channel.
    • Omnichannel experiences are a shopper’s expectation: Shoppers no longer think in channels, they expect seamless journeys. While 74% are planning to buy holiday gifts online, 53% will still do in-store shopping in some capacity in 2025. Over half (56%) of those 18-34 favor online shopping, while 49% of those 35-54 value in-store experiences. 
    • Content creators are shoppers’ holiday shopping north star: Trust in creator recommendations for the holidays increased by 30% compared to last year. Shoppers are becoming less focused on the product and more focused on who’s recommending it. Those 18-34 are most open to influencer recommendations, with 55% preferring micro influencers or their friends/family over mega influencers.
    • Authenticity is still very valued: Shoppers who are checking reviews for authenticity while holiday shopping is up from 40% last year to 50% this year. On the flip side, acceptance of AI-generated social content declined from 33% to 20% year-over-year. 

    To see more about the report, visit Bazaarvoice’s Holiday Headquarters. 

    Research methodology
    The research was commissioned by Bazaarvoice and conducted in March 2025 by Savanta among over 8,000 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, and Canada. 

    About Bazaarvoice
    Bazaarvoice is reshaping how brands and retailers connect with consumers by putting the consumer voice first, which includes ratings and reviews. With an end-to-end, commerce-empowered omni-channel content solutions and analytics platform, Bazaarvoice helps 14,000+ brands and retailers inform consumer decisions consistently and at scale at every stage of the shopper journey, on every platform where shoppers live. 2.5B shoppers use the Bazaarvoice Network on a monthly basis.

    Founded in 2005, Bazaarvoice is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in North America, Europe, Australia, and India. For more information, visit www.bazaarvoice.com.

    Press Contact
    Lauren Venticinque
    Lauren.venticinque@bazaarvoice.com

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: As Bitcoin Retreats from Record High, GoldenMining Launches Globally to Offer Investors a Reliable, Green Income Alternative

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    New York, USA, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Bitcoin retreats from its recent all-time high of $123,000, investor sentiment is showing signs of shift. Rising exchange inflows and widespread profit-taking have injected fresh volatility into the crypto market, prompting many to seek more secure, stable income sources. In this shifting landscape, GoldenMining has officially launched its next-generation global cloud mining platform, offering a compelling, eco-friendly alternative for those looking to earn consistent daily rewards without the unpredictability of crypto trading.

    According to a recent CryptoQuant analysis by blockchain expert Terekonchain (July 14), retail and short-term whale investors have begun offloading assets, triggering a cooling-off period that’s left casual investors uncertain. With its official launch, GoldenMining steps in as a strategic solution—offering passive income through sustainable mining contracts, without requiring users to trade, hold, or manage cryptocurrencies manually.

    GoldenMining Officially Launches in 100+ Countries

    Headquartered in London, GoldenMining is now available to users in over 100 countries, offering an intuitive, hardware-free mining experience across both desktop and mobile platforms. The company supports a diverse range of short- and long-term cloud mining contracts—each designed to deliver daily rewards in popular cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, USDT, DOGE, SOL, and more.

    What sets GoldenMining apart is its deep commitment to sustainability. With more than 13 international data centers powered by wind and solar energy, the platform proudly aligns with its “Green Earth” initiative—making it a standout choice for environmentally conscious investors.

    Cloud Mining Contracts that Deliver Consistent Daily Income

    contract days Investment Amount Contract Rewards Total income
    Daily Sign-in Rewards 1 $15 $0.6 $15.6
    New User Contract  2 $100 $3 $106
    Bitmain S23 Hyd 5 $650 $42.25 $692.25
    AntminerL917GH 12 $1800   $287.28 $2087.28
    L916GH 30 $4500  $1890 $6390
    ElphaPex DG Hydro1 30 $7800 $3346 $11146
    ANTSPACE MD5 50 $50000 $1000 $100000

    Each contract is powered remotely, eliminating the need for expensive hardware, electricity costs, or complex configurations.

    Key Launch Highlights

    • $15 Sign-Up Bonus – New users get started instantly with a free contract.
    • Daily Payouts – Contracts pay daily income, even during market downturns.
    • Multi-Currency Support – BTC, ETH, USDT, XRP, DOGE, SOL, and more.
    • 100% Remote Mining – No equipment, no setup, no technical expertise needed.
    • Global Availability – Users in over 100 countries can access the platform.
    • 24/7 Multilingual Support – Round-the-clock assistance in multiple languages.
    • Green-Powered Data Centers – Mining operations powered by renewable energy.
    • Bank-Level Security – SSL encryption, AIG-insured contracts, and secure fund storage.

    Why This Launch Matters Now

    GoldenMining’s debut could not be more timely. With Bitcoin’s price pulling back and investor sentiment uncertain, this launch provides a clear, low-risk income alternative backed by real infrastructure and green energy. For anyone looking to diversify from high-volatility trading or get started in crypto without the learning curve, GoldenMining offers a compelling new pathway.

    “We believe everyone deserves a simple, secure way to earn from crypto—without harming the planet,” said a GoldenMining spokesperson. “Our global launch brings that vision to life.”

    Already, the platform has seen over $100 million in early contract settlements, with rapid expansion underway to meet surging demand.

     About GoldenMining

    GoldenMining is a UK-based green cloud mining provider that empowers individuals across the globe to participate in crypto mining without any technical barriers. With a focus on environmental sustainability, robust security, and user-friendly design, GoldenMining delivers an income opportunity that’s profitable, reliable, and accessible to everyone.

    For more information, please visit the official website GoldenMining.com
    or contact the official email address info@GoldenMining.com

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: PDF Solutions Announces 2025 Analyst Day

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PDF Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDFS), a leading provider of comprehensive data solutions for the semiconductor ecosystem, today announced it will host its 2025 Analyst Day in conjunction with its 2025 Users Conference on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025, at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara, CA. The event will feature presentations from Chief Executive Officer, President, and Co-Founder, John K. Kibarian, Ph.D., and Chief Financial Officer, Adnan Raza.

    Additional information, including registration details, can be found at this link: https://events.pdf.com/

    Presentations and a live webcast, including question and answer session will be made available on the day of the event on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website, at https://ir.pdf.com/.

    About PDF Solutions

    PDF Solutions (Nasdaq: PDFS) provides comprehensive data solutions designed to empower organizations across the semiconductor and electronics industry ecosystem to improve the yield and quality of their products and operational efficiency for increased profitability. The Company’s products and services are used by Fortune 500 companies across the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem to achieve smart manufacturing goals by connecting and controlling equipment, collecting data generated during manufacturing and test operations, and performing advanced analytics and machine learning to enable profitable, high-volume manufacturing.

    Founded in 1991, PDF Solutions is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company (directly or through one or more subsidiaries) is an active member of SEMI, INEMI, TPCA, IPC, the OPC Foundation, and DMDII. For the latest news and information about PDF Solutions or to find office locations, visit https://www.pdf.com.

    Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, PDF Solutions also operates worldwide in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan. For the Company’s latest news and information, visit https://www.pdf.com

    PDF Solutions and the PDF Solutions logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PDF Solutions, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

    Company Contacts

    Adnan Raza
    Chief Financial Officer
    P: +1 (408) 516-0237
    Email: adnan.raza@pdf.com

    Sonia Segovia
    Investor Relations
    P: +1 (408) 838-6491
    Email: sonia.segovia@pdf.com

    The MIL Network –

    July 17, 2025
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