NewzIntel.com

Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI: Athene Holding Ltd. Declares First Quarter 2025 Preferred Stock Dividends

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) announced that it has declared the following preferred stock dividends on its non-cumulative preferred stock (represented by depositary shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of preferred stock), payable on March 31, 2025 to holders of record as of March 15, 2025.

    • Quarterly dividend of $396.875 per share on the company’s 6.35% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A (the “Series A Preferred Stock”); holders of depositary shares will receive $0.396875 per depositary share.
    • Quarterly dividend of $351.5625 per share on the company’s 5.625% Fixed-Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series B (the “Series B Preferred Stock”); holders of depositary shares will receive $0.3515625 per depositary share.
    • Quarterly dividend of $398.4375 per share on the company’s 6.375% Fixed-Rate Reset Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C (the “Series C Preferred Stock”); holders of depositary shares will receive $0.3984375 per depositary share.
    • Quarterly dividend of $304.6875 per share on the company’s 4.875% Fixed-Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series D (the “Series D Preferred Stock”); holders of depositary shares will receive $0.3046875 per depositary share.
    • Quarterly dividend of $484.375 per share on the company’s 7.750% Fixed-Rate Reset Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series E (the “Series E Preferred Stock”); holders of depositary shares will receive $0.484375 per depositary share.

    Depositary shares for the Series A Preferred Stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “ATHPrA,” depositary shares for the Series B Preferred Stock are listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “ATHPrB,” depositary shares for the Series C Preferred Stock are listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “ATHPrC,” depositary shares for the Series D Preferred Stock are listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “ATHPrD,” and depositary shares for the Series E Preferred Stock are listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “ATHPrE.”

    About Athene
    Athene is a leading retirement services company with over $360 billion of total assets as of December 31, 2024, and operations in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, and Japan. Athene is focused on providing financial security to individuals by offering an attractive suite of retirement income and savings products and also serves as a solutions provider to corporations. For more information, please visit www.athene.com.

    Contact:

    Jeanne Hess
    VP, External Relations
    +1 646 768 7319
    jeanne.hess@athene.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Cramer Announces Mobile Office Hours in Larimore and Mayville

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced members of his staff will hold mobile office hours in Larimore and Mayville on Thursday, February 27.
    “Since it’s not always possible for people to travel to my in-state offices, these mobile office opportunities help bring the services we offer closer to the constituents who need them,” said Cramer. “Having members of my staff in Larimore and Mayville will give North Dakotans more chances to explore solutions to the problems they face with people who are in a position to help.”
    Individuals from the Larimore and Mayville areas are encouraged to stop by the mobile office for help with veterans and Social Security benefits, Medicare difficulties, immigration issues, military records or medals, or other assistance with federal agencies. 
    Mobile Office Hours – Thursday, February 27
    Larimore City Hall 
         119 Booth Ave
         Larimore
         9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. CT
    Mayville City Hall
         21 1st St NE
         Mayville
         11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CT
    Constituents should contact Cramer’s Constituent Services Representative Brooke Doss at Brooke_Doss@cramer.senate.gov for more information.
    For press inquiries, please contact Rachel Buening at Rachel_Buening@cramer.senate.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine Introduces Bill to Raise Minimum Age to Buy Assault Weapons to 21

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined 18 Senate colleagues to introduce the Age 21 Act, legislation that would raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines from 18 to 21, the same age requirement that already applies to purchasing handguns from federally-licensed dealers. Assault weapons have been used by individuals under 21 to carry out some of the most devasting school shootings in U.S. history, including the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people on February 14, 2018.

    “Everyone in America should be able to live free from the fear of injury or death caused by a firearm,” said Kaine. “One of many commonsense steps we can take to reduce that risk is limiting young people’s access to assault weapons—just like we already limit their access to handguns. I’m proud to help introduce this bill to raise the legal purchasing age for assault weapons to 21, and will keep pushing for additional legislation to make our communities safer from gun violence.”

    Gun violence is a national crisis, claiming over 46,000 lives in 2023. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in America. Assault weapons, originally engineered for the battlefield to maximize damage inflicted on enemy soldiers, are frequently used in mass shootings. More than 85 percent of deaths in public mass shootings involving four or more fatalities were caused by assault rifles, and shootings involving assault weapons or large-capacity magazines result in twice as many deaths and fourteen-times as many injuries compared to incidents involving other firearms.

    The Age 21 Act is endorsed by organizations including Brady: United Against Gun Violence, March for Our Lives, Giffords, Newtown Action Alliance, and Everytown for Gun Safety.

    “Six of the deadliest mass shootings since 2018 were committed by individuals 21 and under. The Age 21 Act could have saved lives then, and will continue to do so if passed into law,” said Alexa Browning, Policy Manager at March For Our Lives. “Firearms are still the leading cause of death for young people, yet we continue to allow access to deadly weapons while restricting substances like alcohol and tobacco. We are deeply grateful to Senator Padilla for taking decisive action in this fight to prevent further tragedies and protect our future.”

    “People ages 18 to 20 are responsible for perpetrating a disproportionate share of school shootings, public mass shootings, and gun homicides overall. Raising the minimum age of purchase not only protects communities, but kids as well, as states with minimum age laws have seen significant declines in firearm suicides and other types of gun violence among young adults and children. Senator Padilla’s bill sets a national standard for something that has already proven effective at the state level, and we urge Congress to implement this common sense legislation,” said Vanessa Gonzalez, Vice President of Government & Political Affairs at GIFFORDS.

    The Age 21 Act is led by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

    The full text of the bill is available here. A one-pager is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Peters Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen FEMA’s Workforce Planning and Accountability

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reintroduced bipartisan legislation to improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) workforce planning and management. The Federal Emergency Mobilization Accountability Workforce Planning Act would require FEMA to develop and submit detailed workforce plans to Congress to ensure the agency can effectively respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. This legislation would also require FEMA to improve employee recruitment and retention efforts, develop strategies to train and deploy their workforce in efficient ways, and utilize data to address and fix staffing gaps.    

    “When disaster strikes, communities in Michigan and across the nation rely on FEMA to help them recover and rebuild. However, FEMA continues to face challenges in maintaining a qualified workforce that can be quickly deployed to help disaster survivors,” said Senator Peters. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure FEMA develops comprehensive strategies to recruit and retain the skilled workers they need to carry out their vital mission.”    

    Recent reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have highlighted significant workforce management issues at FEMA, including with deploying qualified staff and recruitment efforts. In 2017, at the height of multiple disaster responses, GAO found that more than half of deployed FEMA staff were serving in positions for which they were not qualified. A 2023 GAO audit found that FEMA was not collecting necessary data to monitor hiring progress to close staffing gaps.   

    The Federal Emergency Mobilization Accountability Workforce Planning Act would require FEMA to submit a detailed human capital operating plan to Congress that includes specific performance measures and goals for recruitment and retention, analysis of current workforce gaps and strategies to address them, plans for training and deploying qualified staff, and detailed efforts and strategies to increase cost-efficiency in workforce operations. Additionally, the bill would require GAO to audit the plan within 6 months of submission to analyze whether it meets the requirements set in law, and, if not, offer recommendations to ensure subsequent plans do.     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Peters Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Authorize FEMA to Accept Tribal Government Requests for Fire Management Assistance Grants

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Gary Peters(D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reintroduced bipartisan legislation that requires FEMA to accept requests from Tribal governments to receive a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Declaration. FEMA can currently accept Emergency and Major Disaster Declaration requests from Tribal governments, but the agency cannot accept FMAG requests directly from Tribes. This limitation impedes Tribes’ capacity to access federal resources for wildfire management and undermines Tribal independence by forcing them to work through state governments rather than having the option to interact directly with federal authorities for this specific type of assistance.    

    “When wildfires threaten Tribal communities, Tribal governments must receive the assistance they need quickly,” said Senator Peters. “This bipartisan legislation allows FEMA to directly provide Tribal governments with federal resources to combat wildfires.”  

    Tribal governments currently face unnecessary limitations in accessing FEMA’s wildfire disaster assistance. While the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act granted federally recognized Tribal governments the authority to directly request Emergency and Major Disaster Declarations from the President or to go through a state request, Tribes cannot do the same for Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Declarations. Instead, they must work through state governments to receive FMAG assistance, despite their status as sovereign nations.  

    The Fire Management Assistance Grants for Tribal Governments Act aims to address this gap. This bipartisan legislation would modify the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to give Tribal governments the same options for FMAG Declarations that they already have for other FEMA declarations: either requesting assistance directly from FEMA or to work through their state. This change would create consistency across all three types of FEMA disaster declarations: Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Declarations, Emergency Declarations, and Major Disaster Declarations.  

    The bill has been endorsed by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the National Native American Law Enforcement Association, and the National Association of Counties.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Peters Demands Trump Reinstate National Labor Relations Board Member Wilcox

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    Democratic Leaders Unite Against Unprecedented and Illegal Firing of National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) joined every Democratic U.S. senator and a bipartisan group of 213 U.S. representatives in urging President Trump to immediately reinstate National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Gwynne Wilcox. Congress created the NLRB nearly 90 years ago as an independent, non-partisan federal agency to protect workers nationwide by enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which guarantees the rights of workers to collectively bargain, including by organizing unions, negotiating contracts, and going on strike. The lawmakers pointed to specific federal statute that restricts the president’s ability to remove NLRB members for reasons other than neglect of duty or malfeasance. They also clarified that Wilcox’s firing without a hearing or cause expressly violated that law.

    “We are writing to express our deep frustration at the unprecedented and illegal firing of National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox and the negative impact this will have on working people across the country,” Peters and the lawmakers said.  “This firing violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), renders the Board unable to effectively enforce federal labor law, and profoundly undermines the independence of the agency.”

    The lawmakers also called on the president to restore the NLRB’s ability to protect the rights of American workers to organize and collectively bargain, which were already impaired by understaffing at the agency, and are now effectively lost due to lack of quorum on the NLRB.

    “Workers rely on the NLRB to safeguard their rights to organize and collectively bargain to better their working conditions,”  the lawmakers continued. “However, by firing Member Wilcox and leaving the five-seat NLRB with only two Members, you have left the Board without a quorum and effectively shut down its decision-making ability. This simply encourages bad employers to violate the law and trample on workers’ rights, while workers subjected to illegal union-busting will face significant delays in receiving the justice to which they are entitled.”

    “We urge you to reverse your decision and to immediately reinstate Member Wilcox to the NLRB to ensure that working people are afforded the protections to which they are entitled under the law,” concluded Peters and the lawmakers.

    Read the full text of the letter here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Peters Helps Lead Legislation to Protect Access to Contraception

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) helped reintroduce legislation to guarantee Americans the right to access contraceptives. The Right to Contraception Act would prohibit government from restricting the use of – and health care providers’ ability to prescribe – contraception. Peters cosponsored the Right to Contraception Act in response to continued efforts across the U.S. to limit access to reproductive health care, including efforts to ban some or all forms of contraception despite overwhelming support among Americans.

    “Republican lawmakers across the country are actively working to strip women of their reproductive freedoms, despite more than 90 percent of Americans believing everyone should be able to access the contraceptives that they need,” said Senator Peters. “This legislation is simple. It would guarantee every single American the right to access contraception and ensure that health care professionals can do their jobs without interference from extreme politicians.” 

    Peters has been a strong advocate for protecting access to essential care and the right of all Americans to make health care decisions privately with their doctors and family. Peters spoke on the Senate floor last year in support of the Right to Contraception Act. Peters also spoke on the Senate floor last year to urge his colleagues to support the Access to Family Building Act, legislation Peters cosponsored that would protect every American’s right to access in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, as well as other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services that families depend on to start a family. In previous years, Peters joined his colleagues in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2023, legislation seeking to restore the right to comprehensive health care for millions of Americans following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which repealed Roe v. Wade. In 2020, Peters was the first U.S. Senator to publicly share his family’s personal abortion story. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins, Bipartisan Group Introduce Bill to Help Beauty Professionals Identify and Respond to Domestic Violence

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), John Boozman (R-AR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced the bipartisan Supporting the Abused by Learning Options to Navigate Survivor (SALONS) Stories Act to incentivize domestic violence awareness training for cosmetologists and beauty professionals.

    “No state, no community, and no family is immune to the horrors of domestic violence. In Maine, domestic violence has historically been involved in approximately half of annual homicides. That’s unacceptable,” said Senator Collins. “Ending domestic violence requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and the SALONS Stories Act would equip cosmetologists with the tools they need to join the fight. It’s a bipartisan, commonsense idea that has the potential to save lives.” 

    In the United States, an average of three women are killed each day by an intimate partner, and one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime. The SALONS Stories Act would provide grants to states that have in place laws requiring cosmetologists to undergo free and easily accessible domestic violence awareness training, while preserving states’ autonomy in setting their cosmetology standards.

    The bill is endorsed by The Professional Beauty Association, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and YWCA USA.

    The complete text of the bill can be read here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin, Colleagues Tell Trump and Republicans: Hands Off Medicare and Medicaid

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and a group of her colleagues are demanding the Trump administration, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) make no cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. This follows reports that Elon Musk and DOGE officials gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). CMS is in charge of Medicare and Medicaid.

    “We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid. We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk – or anyone else in your administration – cutting or damaging these vital programs,” wrote Baldwin and the lawmakers. “Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care. Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs.”

    In 2024, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities relied on Medicare coverage for essential health care, including hospital visits, screenings for cancer, diabetes, and depression, and prescription drugs. This includes the nearly 1.2 million Wisconsin veterans, children, and seniors who rely on Medicaid for health care.

    “We continue to fight for a health care system that works better for all Americans, so they experience lower costs, shorter wait times, and receive better care. But your Administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE have already made that harder,” continued the lawmakers. “Your Administration is already responsible for the shut-down of Medicaid portals across all 50 states, disruptions to vital health care communication, closures of community health centers, and significant delays in funding for life-saving health research. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will only serve to deepen the harm.”

    “It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life and death decisions affecting millions of Americans,” Baldwin and the lawmakers urged. “No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government health care systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans’ health care, now.”

    A full version of this letter is available here and below.

    Dear President Trump:

    We write with alarm at recent actions by your Administration that put Medicare and Medicaid at risk – threatening access to care for 140 million Americans. On February 5, Elon Musk and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers these vital programs. Masquerading as a false crusade against waste, fraud, and abuse, Musk appears intent to break the programs that seniors, people with disabilities, children, and families rely on to get their health care. We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid. We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk – or anyone else in your administration – cutting or damaging these vital programs.

    Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Medicare and Medicaid are lifelines for millions of Americans. In 2024, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities seniors relied on Medicare coverage for essential health care, including hospital visits, screenings for cancer, diabetes, and depression, and prescription drugs. Nearly 80 million Americans relied on Medicaid, making it the largest public health insurance program in the United States. Medicaid provides funding to states for services at nursing homes, hospitals, rural health clinics as well as home health services, addiction and mental health services, and family planning. Americans rely on Medicaid for pregnancy and childbirth, as well as long-term services and supports to care for people with disabilities, older adults, and chronically ill Americans.

    But now, DOGE is invading CMS, posing immeasurable risks to Americans’ health care. DOGE representatives, with no training or expertise, could make unilateral, politically motivated decisions to target both beneficiaries and health care providers while blocking access to care and essential payments for services. Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care. Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs.

    We continue to fight for a health care system that works better for all Americans, so they experience lower costs, shorter wait times, and receive better care. But your Administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE have already made that harder. Your Administration is already responsible for the shut-down of Medicaid portals across all 50 states, disruptions to vital health care communication, closures of community health centers, and significant delays in funding for life-saving health research. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will only serve to deepen the harm.

    It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life and death decisions affecting millions of Americans. No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government health care systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans’ health care, now.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin Calls on Trump Administration to Contain Avian Flu, Protect Farmers and Consumers From Price Hikes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called on President Trump to quickly develop a plan to contain the avian flu outbreak that is devastating the nation’s poultry flocks and dairy herds and driving egg costs to reach record highs. Baldwin’s letter follows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) refusing to provide updated information to the public and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) failing to publish the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for the first time in decades due to the pause on all public health communications.

    “In the last 30 days, 22.43 million birds, including 153 total poultry flocks, have been affected by avian flu. Last week, the average wholesale price for large, white shell eggs reached $8 a dozen, a 218 percent increase from the $2.51 average consumers were paying in December 2023. The number of avian flu detections, and increases in egg prices, are far surpassing previous records and will not slow down anytime soon unless your Administration commits to a robust response,” said Senator Baldwin.

    Senator Baldwin has long led in supporting the agriculture community and consumers from the impacts of avian flu outbreaks. In February 2023, she called on the Biden Administration to take swift action to address the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza and use the resources she helped pass in government funding bills to address the situation. In April 2024, Senator Baldwin pushed the Biden administration to quickly deploy additional resources to contain the spread of the ongoing avian flu outbreak in dairy cattle. In May 2024, she called on the United States Department of Agriculture to strengthen interagency coordination to continue to provide the public and state agencies with coordinated, up-to-date and accurate information on the spread of HPAI, particularly around the safety of the U.S. commercial milk or meat supply, and the risk to farmworker health.

    “Your Administration is responsible for ensuring that data and available resources reach stakeholders on the ground responding to the outbreak. When the CDC, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) coordinate with each other and their counterparts across the country, stakeholders working on the ground can make informed decisions. The CDC and USDA, specifically, should prioritize communicating and deploying resources to farmers, ranchers, and veterinarians to strengthen biosecurity measures that protect workers and livestock. Without these measures in place, we will not be able to contain the spread of the virus, further exacerbating the risk to our nation’s farmers and driving up food costs,” Baldwin continued.

    The full letter is available here and below.

    Dear Mr. President:

    I write regarding the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that is devastating our nation’s poultry flocks and dairy herds. The outbreak is putting a strain on the livelihoods of American farmers and driving up prices for consumers. I ask that you task your Administration with creating and announcing a plan to contain the virus through robust agency engagement and coordination with stakeholders.

    In the last 30 days, 22.43 million birds, including 153 total poultry flocks, have been affected by avian flu. Last week, the average wholesale price for large, white shell eggs reached $8 a dozen, a 218 percent increase from the $2.51 average consumers were paying in December 2023. The number of avian flu detections, and increases in egg prices, are far surpassing previous records and will not slow down anytime soon unless your Administration commits to a robust response.

    In the first few weeks of your Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) refused to provide updated information to the public on HPAI. For the first time in decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) failed to publish the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), including data on the HPAI outbreak, due to the pause on all public health communications. While I am relieved that the CDC has now resumed releasing the reports, I am alarmed by the message your Administration is sending to the public: that avian flu is not a priority.

    The HPAI MMWR released this week suggests that the disease is capable of spreading undetected to humans, and that it is more prevalent than we previously understood. Now is not the time to delay federal guidance and funding for research, biosecurity, and testing, yet I am hearing directly from Wisconsinites concerned about their access to federal resources. Farmers, veterinarians, food processors, and local health officials are seeking federal leadership on the outbreak, and I request that your Administration execute a plan that includes these stakeholders in the avian flu response.

    Your Administration is responsible for ensuring that data and available resources reach stakeholders on the ground responding to the outbreak. When the CDC, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) coordinate with each other and their counterparts across the country, stakeholders working on the ground can make informed decisions. The CDC and USDA, specifically, should prioritize communicating and deploying resources to farmers, ranchers, and veterinarians to strengthen biosecurity measures that protect workers and livestock. Without these measures in place, we will not be able to contain the spread of the virus, further exacerbating the risk to our nation’s farmers and driving up food costs.

    The FDA must be an active partner in addressing the outbreak, including continuing research and publishing guidance on the HPAI outbreak. I hope your Administration will continue FDA funding for the Animal and Veterinary Innovation Center that is tasked with studying the virus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. FDA should also prioritize its duty to keep consumers safe by enforcing the current rigorous food safety protocols, including pasteurization of dairy and egg products. In doing so, your Administration will reduce the risk to the public’s safety and safeguard their confidence in the nation’s food supply.

    Over the last few years, I pressed the Biden Administration to address the avian flu outbreak that began in early 2022. I weighed in with Secretary Vilsack and Secretary Beccera, and I plan to do the same with Secretary Kennedy and Secretary Rollins.  Again, I request that your Administration prioritize its response to the HPAI outbreak, and I look forward to working with you on this issue.

                   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders Calls on Trump Admin to Rehire VA Workers, Ensure Veterans’ Health Care Access

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 – After the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dismissed more than 1,000 employees last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins urging him to reverse the layoffs to ensure that America’s veterans have the health care they deserve – especially as VA facilities across the country already face severe understaffing challenges. Earlier this month, Sanders voted to confirm Collins as VA secretary.

    “One of the reasons I voted for you to become Secretary of Veterans Affairs was your promise to protect the needs of veterans and oppose the privatization of the VA. And then, in your first few weeks on the job, you lay off over 1,000 VA employees at a department that is already understaffed,” wrote Sanders. “There is no way that these layoffs will not negatively impact the veterans of our country in terms of the health care and benefits they receive.”

    These reductions to the VA’s workforce come after the VA Office of Inspector General in August detailed existing “severe occupational staffing shortages” that delay care for veterans in Vermont and across the country. This chronic understaffing included an astounding 86% of facilities reporting shortages of medical officers including physicians, and 82% of facilities reporting shortages of nurses. Among the 139 facilities the VA surveyed for this report, all but two reported significant understaffing.

    In his letter, Sanders also calls out the Trump administration’s defense of these layoffs – which they claim will save the department only $98 million – as the administration simultaneously proposes more than $1 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

    “In other words, you are sacrificing the needs of veterans, who put their lives on the line to defend our country, in order to make billionaires even richer. That is unacceptable,” continued Sanders. “I am writing to demand that you rescind these layoffs and restore these workers, many of whom are themselves veterans, to their jobs.”

    Read the text of the letter here and below.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Statement on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Stepping Down

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s tenure at the U.S. Postal Service was a disaster for Vermont residents and postal workers alike. DeJoy and the national management of the USPS failed to promptly reopen a fully-functioning Post Office in downtown Montpelier following the July 2023 floods, ultimately taking 15 months to restore the essential service for Vermont’s Capital City. At the same time, DeJoy’s restructuring plan has led to unacceptable mail delivery delays across Vermont, especially in rural areas of the state. In response to legitimate criticism, DeJoy has demonstrated an utter disregard and, at times, disdain for Congress and the communities it represents. U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today issued the following reaction to Postmaster General DeJoy’s announcement he will soon leave the U.S. Postal Service: 
    “Good riddance.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Guatemalan national sentenced for illegal reentry in Eastern District of Texas

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BEAUMONT, Texas –A Guatemalan national has been sentenced to federal prison for illegally reentering the United States, announced Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    Carlos Rodriguez-Torres, 42, pleaded guilty to reenty of deported alien and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on February 18, 2025.

    According to information presented in court, on April 18, 2024, Rodriguez-Torres was found in Lumberton.  Data system checks revealed Rodriguez-Torres is a citizen and national of Guatemala and illegally present in the United States.  Further investigation revealed Rodriguez-Torres had been previously deported or removed to Guatemala on March 14, 2012; October 9, 2012; March 12, 2013; and January 8, 2019.  Rodriguez-Torres had also been previously convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien on February 20, 2018, in the Eastern District of Texas.

    This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Lumberton Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Quinn.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Gibson Energy Reports 2024 Fourth Quarter and Record Full Year Results Driven by All-Time High Volumes at the Gateway and Edmonton Terminals, Alongside a 5% Dividend Increase

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    All financial figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted

    CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gibson Energy Inc. (TSX:GEI) (“Gibson” or the “Company”) announced today its financial and operating results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024.

    “We are pleased to announce record Infrastructure results for 2024, driven by a full year of contribution from Gateway,” said Curtis Philippon, President & Chief Executive Officer. “Exiting the year, the quality and stability of our Infrastructure cash flows improved due to successful re-contracting efforts and record throughput at both Gateway and Edmonton. We also announced exciting growth capital projects at Gateway. I am pleased with the progress we are making on setting up the Gibson team, increasing our focus on the business, strengthening our growth pipeline and building a high-performance culture.”

    Financial Highlights:

    • Revenue of $11,780 million for the full year, including $2,358 million in the fourth quarter, relatively consistent year over year primarily due to higher sales volumes within the Marketing segment and the revenue contribution from the Gateway Terminal
    • Infrastructure Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $601 million for the full year, including $147 million in the fourth quarter, a $107 million or 22% increase over full year 2023 primarily due to the full year contribution from the Gateway Terminal and an Edmonton tank, which were only partially offset by a reduction from the Hardisty Unit Train Facility and the impact of certain one-time items
    • Marketing Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $63 million for the full year, including a $5 million loss in the fourth quarter, an $82 million or 57% decrease over full year 2023 principally due to significantly tighter crude oil differentials and crack spreads, and increased demand for Canadian heavy oil triggering steep backwardation and limited volatility, impacting storage, quality and time-based opportunities
    • Adjusted EBITDA(1) on a consolidated basis of $610 million for the full year, including $130 million in the fourth quarter, a $20 million or 3% increase over full year 2023, due to the impact of unrealized gains and losses on financial instruments recorded in both periods and the factors noted above, partially offset by the add back of certain one-time items, and an increase in general and administrative expenses, net of executive transition and restructuring costs
    • Net income of $152 million for the full year 2024, including a $6 million loss in the fourth quarter, a $62 million or 29% decrease over full year 2023 due to the impact of items noted above, higher general and administrative costs primarily due to executive transition and restructuring costs, the impact of the Gateway acquisition that resulted in higher finance costs, depreciation and amortization expenses, and an environmental remediation provision, partially offset by acquisition and integration costs in the prior year and a lower income tax expense
    • Distributable Cash Flow(1) of $375 million for the full year, including $71 million in the fourth quarter, an $11 million or 3% decrease over full year 2023, primarily due to higher finance costs, partially offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower lease payments
    • Dividend Payout ratio(2) on a trailing twelve-month basis of 71%, which is at the low end of the 70% – 80% target range
    • Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio(2) of 3.5x for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, which is at the high end of the 3.0x – 3.5x target range, compared to 3.7x for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023

    Strategic Developments and Highlights:

    • Appointed Curtis Philippon as the President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 29, 2024
    • Announced the extension of a long-term contract with an investment grade global E&P company at the Gateway Terminal and the sanction of a connection to the Cactus II Pipeline in July
    • Refinanced $350 million 5.80% senior unsecured notes due 2026 with $350 million of 4.45% senior unsecured notes due in November 2031, resulting in annual cost savings of approximately $5 million
    • Announced the extension of a long-term contract and the sanctioning of the dredging project at the Gateway Terminal in December which, along with the earlier announcements, will allow the Company to achieve its Gateway targets
    • Placed in-service two new 435,000 barrel tanks under a long-term take-or-pay agreement with an investment grade customer at the Edmonton Terminal in December
    • Achieved a new milestone, recording 8.8 million hours without a lost time injury for our employee and contract workforce
    • Subsequent to the quarter, appointed Riley Hicks as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective February 4, 2025
    • Subsequent to the quarter, Gibson’s Board of Directors also approved a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per common share, an increase of $0.02 per common share or 5%, beginning with the dividend payable in April
    (1) Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures. See the “Specified Financial Measures” section of this release.
    (2) Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio and dividend payout ratio are non-GAAP financial ratios. See the “Specified Financial Measures” section of this release.


    Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Financial Statements
    The 2024 fourth quarter Management’s Discussion and Analysis and audited Consolidated Financial Statements provide a detailed explanation of Gibson’s financial and operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2023. These documents are available at www.gibsonenergy.com and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

    Earnings Conference Call & Webcast Details
    A conference call and webcast will be held to discuss the 2024 fourth quarter and year-end financial and operating results at 7:00am Mountain Time (9:00am Eastern Time) on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.

    To register for the call, view dial-in numbers, and obtain a dial-in PIN, please access the following URL:

    Registration at least five minutes prior to the conference call is recommended.

    This call will also be broadcast live on the Internet and may be accessed directly at the following URL:

    The webcast will remain accessible for a 12-month period at the above URL.

    Supplementary Information
    Gibson has also made available certain supplementary information regarding the 2024 fourth quarter and full year financial and operating results, available at www.gibsonenergy.com.

    About Gibson
    Gibson is a leading liquids infrastructure company with its principal businesses consisting of the storage, optimization, processing, and gathering of liquids and refined products, as well as waterborne vessel loading. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the Company’s operations are located across North America, with core terminal assets in Hardisty and Edmonton, Alberta, Ingleside and Wink, Texas, and a facility in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

    Gibson shares trade under the symbol GEI and are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.gibsonenergy.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information and statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) including, but not limited to, the Company’s plans and targets, including its focus on delivering shareholder returns and progressing its cost focus campaign, and dividend payment dates and amounts thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words “will,” “anticipate”, “continue”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “should”, “could”, “believe”, “further” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by securities law. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of numerous risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in “Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” included in the Company’s Annual Information Form and Management’s Discussion and Analysis, each dated February 18, 2025, as filed on SEDAR+ and available on the Gibson website at www.gibsonenergy.com.

    For further information, please contact:

    Investor Relations:
    (403) 776-3077
    investor.relations@gibsonenergy.com

    Media Relations:
    (403) 476-6334
    communications@gibsonenergy.com

    Specified Financial Measures

    This press release refers to certain financial measures that are not determined in accordance with GAAP, including non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP financial ratios. Readers are cautioned that non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP financial ratios do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Management considers these to be important supplemental measures of the Company’s performance and believes these measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in industries with similar capital structures.

    For further details on these specified financial measures, including relevant reconciliations, see the “Specified Financial Measures” section of the Company’s MD&A for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, which is incorporated by reference herein and is available on Gibson’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca and Gibson’s website at www.gibsonenergy.com.

    a)   Adjusted EBITDA

    Noted below is the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures of the Company’s segmented and consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the three months and years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023:

    Three months ended December 31, Infrastructure Marketing Corporate and
    Adjustments    		 Total
    ($ thousands) 2024 2023   2024   2023 2024   2023   2024   2023  
                     
    Segment profit 127,444 157,968   (16,435 ) 24,474 —   —   111,009   182,442  
    Unrealized loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments 6,359 (5,377 ) 11,662   3,388 —   —   18,021   (1,989 )
    General and administrative — —   —   — (18,065 ) (10,893 ) (18,065 ) (10,893 )
    Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 1,169 155   —   — —   —   1,169   155  
    Executive transition and restructuring costs — —   —   — 6,304   —   6,304   —  
    Environmental remediation provision (1) 9,287 —   —   — —   —   9,287   —  
    Post-close purchase price adjustment (1) 2,670 —   —   — —   —   2,670   —  
    Renewable power purchase agreement — —   —   — (713 ) —   (713 ) —  
    Other — —   —   — —   (34 ) —   (34 )
    Adjusted EBITDA 146,929 152,746   (4,773 ) 27,862 (12,474 ) (10,927 ) 129,682   169,681  
    Years ended December 31, Infrastructure Marketing Corporate and
    Adjustments    		 Total
    ($ thousands) 2024 2023   2024 2023   2024   2023   2024   2023  
                     
    Segment profit 574,010 494,451   52,956 148,436   —   —   626,966   642,887  
    Unrealized loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments 10,105 (4,637 ) 9,778 (3,484 ) —   —   19,883   (8,121 )
    General and administrative — —   — —   (69,985 ) (49,570 ) (69,985 ) (49,570 )
    Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 5,240 4,448   — —   —   —   5,240   4,448  
    Executive transition and restructuring costs — —   — —   16,969   —   16,969   —  
    Environmental remediation provision (1) 9,287 —   — —   —   —   9,287   —  
    Post-close purchase price adjustment (1) 2,670 —   — —   —   —   2,670   —  
    Renewable power purchase agreement — —   — —   (888 ) —   (888 ) —  
    Other — —   — —   —   184   —   184  
    Adjusted EBITDA 601,312 494,262   62,734 144,952   (53,904 ) (49,386 ) 610,142   589,828  

    (1) added back in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA as these charges are not reflective of the ongoing earning capacity of the business, as described in the discussion of Infrastructure segment results in the MD&A.

      Three months ended December 31,
    		  
    ($ thousands) 2024   2023  
         
    Net (Loss) Income (5,563 ) 53,301  
         
    Income tax expense 7,575   20,259  
    Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 55,217   47,690  
    Finance costs, net 34,033   35,919  
    Unrealized loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments 18,021   (1,989 )
    Unrealized (gain) loss on renewable power purchase agreement (4,375 ) 866  
    Share-based compensation 6,882   5,600  
    Acquisition and integration costs —   2,083  
    Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 1,169   155  
    Corporate foreign exchange (gain) loss and other (1,538 ) 5,797  
    Environmental remediation provision (1) 9,287   —  
    Post-close purchase price adjustment (1) 2,670   —  
    Executive transition and restructuring costs 6,304   —  
    Adjusted EBITDA 129,682   169,681  
      Years ended December 31,
    		  
    ($ thousands) 2024   2023  
         
    Net Income 152,174   214,211  
         
    Income tax expense 53,780   71,123  
    Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 186,669   142,478  
    Finance costs, net 138,318   116,276  
    Unrealized loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments 19,883   (8,121 )
    Corporate unrealized loss on derivative financial instruments 2,332   1,296  
    Share-based compensation 22,040   20,944  
    Acquisition and integration costs 1,371   22,042  
    Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 5,240   4,448  
    Corporate foreign exchange (gain) loss and other (591 ) 5,131  
    Environmental remediation provision (1) 9,287   —  
    Post-close purchase price adjustment (1) 2,670   —  
    Executive transition and restructuring costs 16,969   —  
    Adjusted EBITDA 610,142   589,828  

    (1) added back in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA as these charges are not reflective of the ongoing earning capacity of the business, as described in the discussion of Infrastructure segment results in the MD&A.

    b)   Distributable Cash Flow

    The following is a reconciliation of distributable cash flow from operations to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, cash flow from operating activities:

    Three months ended December 31,
    		   Years ended December 31,
    		  
    ($ thousands) 2024   2023   2024   2023  
             
    Cash flow from operating activities 67,276   155,602   598,454   574,856  
    Adjustments:        
    Changes in non-cash working capital and taxes paid 53,978   7,487   (10,642 ) (7,434 )
    Replacement capital (11,727 ) (10,226 ) (35,987 ) (35,928 )
    Cash interest expense, including capitalized interest (31,931 ) (34,456 ) (134,336 ) (100,133 )
    Acquisition and integration costs (1) —   2,083   1,371   22,042  
    Executive transition and restructuring costs (1) 6,304   —   16,969   —  
    Lease payments (6,063 ) (9,628 ) (30,241 ) (35,896 )
    Current income tax (6,685 ) (7,917 ) (30,318 ) (31,717 )
    Distributable cash flow 71,152   102,945   375,270   385,790  

    (1) Costs adjusted on an incurred basis.

    c)   Dividend Payout Ratio

      Years ended December 31,  
      2024   2023  
    Distributable cash flow 375,270   385,790  
    Dividends declared 266,858   236,907  
    Dividend payout ratio 71 % 61 %


    d)       Net Debt To Adjusted EBITDA Ratio

      Years ended December 31,
    		  
      2024   2023  
         
    Current and long-term debt 2,598,635   2,711,543  
    Lease liabilities 48,180   62,005  
    Less: unsecured hybrid debt (450,000 ) (450,000 )
    Less: cash and cash equivalents (57,069 ) (143,758 )
         
    Net debt 2,139,746   2,179,790  
    Adjusted EBITDA 610,142   589,828  
    Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio 3.5   3.7  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Video: President Trump Signs Executive Orders at Mar-a-Lago, Feb. 18, 2025

    Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)

    Palm Beach, FL

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_oK1KBw7Q

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Amid Evolving Threat Landscape, UN Peacekeepers Must Have Adequate Resources to Protect Vulnerable Populations in Conflict Zones, Speakers Tell Special Committee

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    In an ever-shifting security landscape, ensuring sufficient funding, technology and training, and promoting gender equality in peacekeeping operations while also recognizing the importance of safeguarding vulnerable populations in conflict zones is more critical than ever, speakers told the opening of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, which also marked 60 years since its establishment.

    Vice-President of the General Assembly Cherdchai Chaivaivid (Thailand), speaking on behalf of Assembly President Philémon Yang (Cameroon), said that, for nearly 80 years, UN peacekeepers have protected civilians from violence and supported vital political dialogue between parties to conflict.

    “The safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers remains of utmost importance,” he stressed, adding that since 1948 over 3,500 blue helmets have lost their lives serving in UN peacekeeping operations.  “Going forward, we will need mandates suited for an evolving threat landscape,” he said, also emphasizing the need for improved capacity to assess conflict situations, as well as effective planning and management throughout the peacekeeping cycle.

    “It is also vital to improve cooperation of poor countries with other critical partners, increase trust among stakeholders and manage local and international expectations in the Pact for the Future,” he went on to say.  Further, Member States must enhance collaboration between the UN and regional and subregional organizations, particularly the African Union.

    Adoption of Pact for the Future Created ‘Transformative Moment’ for Peacekeeping

    Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, speaking on behalf of Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said that this annual engagement by Member States is a key source of the “enduring strength as a preeminent symbol of multilateral resolve”.  Peacekeepers can be a “lifeline” for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in conflict.

    The Committee’s sixtieth anniversary comes at a transformative moment for peacekeeping following the adoption of the Pact for the Future, where Member States equivocally reaffirmed peacekeeping as a critical tool to maintain international peace and security, she said.  “You have a unique opportunity to build on those efforts by providing a platform for dialogue, presenting innovative ideas and ensuring the effectiveness and accountability of UN peacekeeping operations,” she added.

    More Peacekeeper Resources Key amid Complex Terrain Marked by Geopolitical Challenges and Volatility

    As delegates took the floor, many stressed the need for more resources so that peacekeepers can carry out their work in an ever-shifting security landscape, with Morocco’s delegate, speaking for Non-Aligned Movement, noting that UN peacekeeping operations are currently navigating a complex terrain marked by geopolitical challenges.  “Funding and limited resources remain a significant issue,” she stressed.  “As a result, peacekeeping operations find themselves in a delicate position, needing to adapt to the realities on the ground while responding to international expectations.”

    Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries Stress Consultation with Them Key for Drafting Clear, Achievable Mandates

    Speakers from troop- and police-contributing countries stressed the Security Council must further consult with them to draft clear and achievable mandates that preserve the primacy of political solutions and help peacekeeping operations better address the evolving nature of global conflicts.

    “Our peacekeepers continue to serve in nations where security situations are volatile, but despite such challenges, our peacekeepers are striving to fulfil their mandates, and therefore we must ensure their safety and security,” said Indonesia’s delegate, speaking for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).  Noting that its member States contribute over 5,000 peacekeepers across various UN missions, he called for better quality training and equipment for the troops.

    Canada’s representative, also speaking for Australia and New Zealand, and echoing other speakers, emphasized the importance of including women in all areas of peacekeeping missions, and commitment to the women, peace and security agenda as a cornerstone of the UN’s efforts to promote gender equality and lasting peace, reduce training obstacles in order to guarantee women’s full, equal participation.  “We urge missions to step up efforts to support the role of women in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding,” he said.  He further underscored the importance of planning and the deliberate implementation of transitions and drawdowns in peacekeeping operations, stressing:  “Several agencies need to be involved from the very beginning of these processes to identify the capacity of the host Government, the UN and civil society actors to support those transitions.”

    Countries Hosting Peacekeeping Missions Urge Focus on Linguistic Capacity-Building, Improved Cooperation

    Speakers from countries hosting peacekeeping missions laid out their priorities and concerns, as well, with the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking for the French-Speaking Ambassadors Group, emphasizing that French-speaking areas host several operations that face growing and complex challenges.  “The fragility of ceasefire agreements, the high cost of conflict for the civilian population and the complexity of peace processes are making the work of the blue helmets more essential than ever,” he stressed. Recalibrating peacekeeping capacities is vital to improve cooperation with host States and “strengthen the links of trust” with the local population.

    “This is a priority that must also be looked at from the point of view of linguistic and intellectual capacity-building,” he said, calling for a focus on language abilities from the strategic planning to the operational phases.  Many countries in the Francophone space want to contribute more to peacekeeping operations, but they are being held back by language barriers at every stage of their engagement.

    Donor Countries Pledge Continued Support

    Donor countries, meanwhile, pledged to continue to support UN peacekeeping missions, and echoed many other Member States in calling attention to the unique opportunity created by the adoption of the Pact for the Future.  The European Union’s speaker, noting that the bloc provided almost one quarter of the UN’s peacekeeping budget last year, said it will continue to contribute constructively to the upcoming negotiations with the intent to improve UN peacekeeping in accordance with the Pact.  “We currently deploy almost 4,000 military police and civilian personnel to UN peace operations,” he said, adding:  “We cannot continue to demand more from our peacekeeping missions by expanding their mandates without providing the necessary resources for their implementation.”

    UN peacekeeping operations are confronted with increasingly complex challenges, he observed, citing regional threats, the effects of climate change, mis- and disinformation, increased presence of non-State actors, such as private military companies, transnational criminal activities and the weaponization of new and emerging technology, as demonstrated by the first attack ever last September on UN peacekeepers with an improvised armed unmanned aerial system.

    Election of Officers

    At the opening of the meeting, the Committee by acclamation elected Francisco Tropepi (Argentina), Michael Gort (Canada), Takayuki Iriya (Japan) and Michal Miarka (Poland) as Vice-Chairs; and Mohamed Soliman (Egypt) as Rapporteur.  Michael Gort (Canada) was elected to serve as Chair of the Working Group of the Whole.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Coalition to Continue Supporting Pennsylvania’s Commonsense Age-Based Firearm Restrictions

    Source: US State of California

    Tuesday, February 18, 2025

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general, filed a brief in support of the State of Pennsylvania’s petition for rehearing en banc in Lara v. Commissioner of Pennsylvania State Police. Pennsylvania law sets the minimum age at 21 for securing a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public and during states of emergency. The case is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit after remand from the U.S. Supreme Court for further consideration in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi. The coalition’s brief argues that the Third Circuit’s three-judge panel erred in its decision to strike down the laws as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and that the panel’s reasoning could undermine efforts by states to protect their citizens through the application of similar age-limitation laws. In fact, most states across the nation impose some age-based restrictions on the possession, purchase, or use of firearms reflecting their collective judgment that such laws promote public safety and curb gun violence within their borders.

    “States must have the ability to protect citizens and communities from the harmful effects of gun violence and promote the safe use of firearms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Third Circuit’s decision to overturn Pennsylvania’s law is inconsistent with our nation’s historical tradition as well as longstanding state and federal laws imposing age-based restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms. We stand with Pennsylvania and other states in their efforts to curb gun violence through these kinds of commonsense laws that improve public safety.” 

    In the brief, the coalition asserts that Pennsylvania’s law is constitutional under the Second Amendment and is consistent with states’ authority and a historical tradition of state regulations promoting gun safety and protecting communities from gun violence. The coalition argues that the Third Circuit’s decision to strike down Pennsylvania’s law misreads the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which preserves states’ authority to regulate firearms through laws that are “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.” States still retain meaningful authority to regulate access to firearms even after Bruen and Rahimi.

    Attorney General Bonta urges the Court of Appeals sitting en banc to overturn the panel’s decision because: 

    • The Second Amendment allows states to enact varied measures to promote gun safety and protect against gun violence consistent with historical tradition, and states have long exercised this power by enacting laws to promote safety, prevent crime, and minimize gun violence within their borders.
    • Pennsylvania’s age-based restrictions are consistent with measures taken by other states and fall comfortably within states’ authority to regulate firearms. Most states and the District of Columbia impose age-based restrictions regarding the use, purchase, or possession of firearms, and a majority of states have determined that those under the age of 21 should be more restricted in their ability to carry firearms in public. Courts have previously upheld these restrictions relying on the historical record as is now required by Bruen.
    • The panel’s categorical rejection of relevant historical evidence from the time period when the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the Second Amendment against the states is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent and fundamental principles of constitutional adjudication.

    Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington in filing the brief.

    A copy of the brief can be found here.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed: Trump Should Urgently Address Air Traffic Controller Staffing Shortages, Not Indiscriminately Fire FAA Employees

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    PROVIDENCE, RI — Hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees are in the process of being fired — not because of their performance or because they weren’t delivering critical services for taxpayers — but as part of the Trump Administration’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s partisan mass terminations of federal workers.

    U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees FAA funding, says FAA staffing decisions should be based on the agency’s mission-critical needs, not partisan whims. 

    Senator Reed says Trump’s shortsighted mass-firing of new FAA employees will have a ripple effect, leading to understaffing at the FAA now and in the future, which could then cause airports to slow down air traffic to match staffing levels.

    “Our air traffic control system is already overtaxed and firing these dedicated FAA professionals will make it harder to keep the traveling public safe.  There should be an FAA hiring push right now, not a mass-firing purge.  FAA staffing shortages can have a detrimental impact on air travel and operations.  Understaffing in control towers leads to more planes on the ground and flight delays.  Every member of Congress should be calling on President Trump and Elon Musk to strengthen, not weaken the FAA’s workforce,” said Reed. 

    Air traffic controllers at the nation’s 313 air traffic control locations across the country help safeguard more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers nationwide per day.

    The Trump administration has begun firing hundreds of the FAA’s most recent hirees — known as ‘probationary workers’ during their first year or two of public service — who were sent termination emails over the weekend and could be barred from entering their FAA job sites on Tuesday.

    According to the Associated Press, the impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance.  Many of these workers are veterans, as the FAA continuously recruits employees with prior air traffic experience from the military and private industry.  

    The Trump Administration’s FAA purge comes after he fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by Congress that is charged with examining safety issues at airlines and airports around the country.

    Air traffic control is one of the most specialized and skilled professions in the federal government. Air traffic controllers work in towers at airports and radar rooms at FAA facilities nationwide. Their job is to separate planes, navigate them through weather, and ensure that everyone reaches their respective destinations safely.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James and HCR Commissioner Visnauskas Return 21 New York City Apartments to Rent Stabilization

    Source: US State of New York

    NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas today announced the re-regulation of 21 New York City apartments owned by Emerald Equity Group, LLC (Emerald), a real estate company with a number of buildings in East Harlem, Manhattan. An Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and HCR investigation found that Emerald had improperly and illegally deregulated rent-stabilized units, overcharged tenants, and failed to keep tenants’ security deposits in separate accounts as required by law. In addition to returning the illegally deregulated apartments to rent stabilization, Attorney General James is requiring Emerald to repay $54,799.66 to the tenants who were overcharged for their rent.

    “Emerald blatantly ignored rent stabilization laws, denying many New Yorkers access to affordable, reliable housing,” said Attorney General James. “By returning these units to rent stabilization and ensuring tenants are reimbursed for overcharges, we are bringing justice to the families that Emerald harmed and ensuring more fair and equitable housing for future renters. Every New Yorker deserves a fair, stable, and secure place to live.”

    “This case exemplifies how the longstanding enforcement partnership between HCR’s Tenant Protection Unit and Attorney General James continues to protect New Yorkers from unlawful schemes to deregulate apartments and overcharge tenants,” said New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas. “By systematically rooting out fraudulent deregulation and restoring legal rents, we are securing the rights of millions of rent-regulated tenants and building on Governor Hochul’s efforts to strengthen tenant protections and improve enforcement of the rent laws.”

    In March 2020, OAG and HCR separately opened investigations into the rent stabilization status of Emerald’s properties and the enforcement of legal rents at certain rent-stabilized units. Both OAG and HCR found that Emerald had illegally deregulated units and overcharged tenants for rent, in clear violation of New York’s Rent Stabilization Law. When investigating the illegal deregulation and improper rents, OAG and HCR also discovered that Emerald had failed to keep tenants’ security deposits in separate security deposit savings accounts, as is required by New York law. These individual accounts are necessary to protect tenants’ funds from being mixed with their landlord’s general business funds and can shield security deposits from being used for improper purposes. It also ensures that security deposits accrue the appropriate interest while being held by the landlord.

    Emerald must return 21 improperly deregulated units to rent stabilization within 60 days and correct the rent price for any apartments whose rents were improperly inflated. Emerald has 30 days to notify all impacted tenants of the changes and, for any tenants that were overcharged, return the excess rent money they illegally collected directly to the renters. It must also establish segregated accounts for all tenant security deposits and ensure all of its units are brought into compliance with rent regulation laws moving forward. If Emerald fails to execute any aspect of this agreement, they must pay a $500 daily penalty for each violation until resolved.

    Emerald has filed for bankruptcy for several of its rent-stabilized properties, including those re-regulated as part of this settlement. As part of bankruptcy proceedings, the company was required to conduct an audit of its portfolio, which uncovered at least 20 units whose registered rents differed from the legal regulated rent. Those units’ legal rents are being adjusted accordingly.

    Emerald owns and manages several rent-stabilized properties in New York, including:

    • 203 West 107th Street;
    • 210 West 107th Street;
    • 220 West 107th Street;
    • 230 West 107th Street;
    • 124 – 136 East 117th Street;
    • 215 East 117th Street;
    • 231 East 117th Street;
    • 235 East 117th Street;
    • 244 East 117th Street;
    • 316 East 117th Street;
    • 322 East 117th Street;
    • 326 East 117th Street; and
    • 1661 Park Avenue.

    These 13 buildings are currently the subject of Emerald’s bankruptcy proceeding and will soon be transferred to Emerald’s lender. The OAG and HCR have also secured an agreement with the lender ensuring that new owners will be bound to the settlement as well in the event that Emerald is not able to comply with the rent regulation and security deposit measures before the transfer of the buildings.

    This settlement is the latest action in Attorney General James’ ongoing efforts to protect tenants and enforce New York’s rent regulation laws. In September 2024, Attorney General James, in partnership with HCR, re-regulated 263 illegally deregulated apartments and reduced rents in 43 additional units. In August 2022, Attorney General James secured $4 million from a group of 29 New York City landlords after uncovering an illegal kickback scheme to deregulate hundreds of rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. In January 2022, Attorney General James banned Raphael Toledano from real estate business in New York, after he failed to uphold his 2019 $3 million agreement with Attorney General James for harassing tenants and violating rent stabilization laws. In December 2020, Attorney General James also won more than $1 million in rent credits from Madison Realty Capital for aiding and abetting Toledano’s harassment and illegal deregulation.

    This matter was handled for OAG by Housing Protection Unit Chief Brent Meltzer with assistance from Assistant Attorney General Jane Landry-Reyes. The Housing Protection Unit is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Preparing to Deploy NY National Guard to Correctional Facilities

    Source: US State of New York

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced preparations to utilize the New York National Guard to protect correction officers who are currently on the job, individuals in DOCCS care and the communities surrounding these correctional facilities. The Governor also directed Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello and senior Administration officials to meet with leaders from the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association to call for an end to the unlawful work stoppage that is causing significant public safety concerns across New York.

    “The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately,” Governor Hochul said. “We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people, and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities. I have directed my Administration to meet with union leadership to resolve this situation and have also ordered the National Guard be mobilized to secure our correctional facilities in the event it is not resolved by tomorrow. Correction officers do difficult work under challenging circumstances, and I have consistently fought for them to have better pay and working conditions and will continue to do so.”

    Governor Hochul is preparing to deploy members of the New York National Guard to DOCCS facilities tomorrow if the unlawful work stoppage does not end, and will begin to take appropriate disciplinary action as necessary. The Governor has also directed her Counsel to work with the Office of the Attorney General on legal mechanisms such as the Taylor Law which will compel employees to return to work.

    DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said, “Earlier today we met with NYSCOPBA President Summers and his Executive Board to discuss a path forward to returning all facilities to normal operations and ending this illegal strike. The safety and security of the staff and incarcerated population is paramount to me. I value the hard work and commitment of the men and women at DOCCS who have had to sacrifice time with their families due to the current staffing shortage. However, this illegal job action involving NYSCOPBA members is causing irreparable harm to the operations of the department and jeopardizing the safety and security of their co-workers within these facilities. We will continue to develop strategies to reduce assaults and to bring more staff on board with NYSCOPBA, the recognized bargaining agency for correction officers and sergeants. There is always room for progress and for disagreements and we welcome continued dialogue with the union at the table. At this time, I am urging all those on strike to end this job action.”

    Governor Hochul has worked with NYSCOPBA to improve salaries, benefits and working conditions for corrections officers. In March 2024, the union agreed to a collective bargaining agreement with the State of New York to improve working conditions for corrections officers:

    • Increased salaries and starting pay for new employees by $6,500.
    • Increased Correction Officer location-based pay by $500 to $1,000 per Officer for downstate assignments.
    • Increased Correction Officer hazardous duty pay from $200 to $1,075.
    • Provides 12 weeks of fully-paid parental leave.

    Governor Hochul has also fought successfully to pass new laws and implement administrative changes to protect corrections officers. This includes advancing legislation to authorize the use of body scanners in correctional facilities and securing funding to procure the deployment of this technology. The Governor also supported DOCCS implementation of the vendor package program leading to large reductions in contraband entering our correctional facilities.

    Governor Hochul has also expanded efforts to increase recruitment and hiring of new correction officers. This includes:

    • Introducing Article 7 language in this year’s Executive Budget to amend the public officers law, in relation to residency requirements for certain positions as a correction officer, allowing recruiting from other states which would greatly expand the number of potential applicants.
    • DOCCS has contracted with OGS Media Services on a large-scale social media recruitment campaign that includes a multi-channel approach including social media, multicultural digital, streaming audio, video and static ads to better familiarize the public on DOCCS mission.
    • DOCCS Statewide Recruitment Unit has been running Recruitment Centers in various locations and currently is operating Recruitment Centers in the Destiny USA mall (Syracuse) and Champlain Centre mall (Plattsburgh).
    • In 2024, DOCCS recruiters attended 1,169 career fairs along with 54 multi day events.
    • DOCCS launched an advanced placement initiative to attract applicants with Correction Officer experience into our Correction Officer ranks at a pay rate commensurate to their experience.
    • In July 2024, the Department launched “CNY200”, a regional hiring incentive promoting direct placement of Correction officer recruits to vacancies at Auburn, Cayuga, Marcy, Mid-State and Mohawk Correctional Facilities, upon completion of the training academy.
      • In August 2024, DOCCS expanded the regional recruitment initiative to Chemung, Dutchess and Franklin Counties which include Bare Hill, Elmira, Fishkill, Franklin, Green Haven and Upstate Correctional Facility.
        • Due to the success of this initiative it was expanded in November 2024 to Clinton and Ulster Counties which include Altona, Clinton, Eastern, Shawangunk, Ulster and Wallkill Correctional Facility.
    • In addition to continued efforts by the DOCCS recruitment team to pursue candidates for civilian positions at career fairs and community events, DOCCS has been very successful with recruitment via the HELPs program launched by the Department of Civil Service in April 2023.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Files Charges Against Los Angeles Real Estate Agent, Landlord for Price Gouging in Wake of Eaton Fire

    Source: US State of California

    In addition, DOJ has sent more than 700 price gouging warning letters to hotels and landlords

    LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the filing of charges against a Southern California real estate agent and a landlord for price gouging a victim who was evacuated due to the Eaton Fire. This investigation began when a complaint was filed with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) after the victim took steps to rent a Hermosa Beach home after the Governor’s Emergency Order, which protects against price gouging, went into effect. The investigation revealed that after the Emergency Order was in place, the defendants increased the rental price by 36%, which exceeded the 10% limit laid out in Penal Code section 396. The charge carries a potential penalty of a $10,000 maximum fine and the possibility of 12 months in jail. 

    “The California Department of Justice remains focused on putting a stop to price gouging,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Following the devastating fires in Southern California, I have been urging the public to report price gouging to local authorities, or to my office at oag.ca.gov/report or by reaching out to our hotline at (800) 952-5225. Today, we’ve announced price gouging charges against both a real estate agent and a landlord for price gouging in the wake of the Eaton Fire. DOJ will continue relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to capitalize off of the chaos and pain of Southern California’s natural disaster.”  

    As part of Attorney General Bonta’s work to protect Californians following the Southern California wildfires, DOJ has also sent more than 700 warning letters – and counting – to hotels and landlords who have been accused of price gouging. In addition, the office has more active criminal investigations into price gouging underway.
     
    Working alongside our District Attorneys, City Attorneys, and other law enforcement partners, DOJ has opened active investigations into price gouging as it continues to ramp up deployment of resources to Los Angeles County to investigate and prosecute price gouging, fraud, scams, and unsolicited low-ball offers on property during the state of emergency. DOJ has been working diligently to tackle this unlawful and unscrupulous conduct since a state of emergency was declared on January 7, 2025, and to further those efforts, the launch of a website dedicated to its response: oag.ca.gov/LAFires.
     
    California law – specifically, Penal Code section 396 – generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10%, the price a seller charged for an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. For items a seller only began selling after an emergency declaration, the law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds the seller’s cost of the item by more than 50%. This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, and gasoline. The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and long- and short-term rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business. 

    Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, injunctive relief, and mandatory restitution. The Attorney General and local prosecutors can enforce the statute.

    TIPS FOR REPORTING PRICE GOUGING, SCAMS, FRAUD AND OTHER CRIMES:

    1. Visit oag.ca.gov/LAfires or call our hotline at: (800) 952-5225.
    2. Include screenshots of all correspondence including conversations, text messages, direct messages (DMs), and voicemails
    3. Provide anything that shows what prices you were offered, when, and by whom.
    4. If you’re on a site like Zillow, you can also send screenshots of the price history and a link to the listing. 
    5. Include first and last names of the realtors, listing agents, or business owners you spoke to. Be sure to include phone numbers, email addresses, home and business addresses, websites, social media accounts.
    6. Don’t leave out any information that can help us find and contact the business or landlord.

    Californians who believe they have been the victim of price gouging should report it to their local authorities or to the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/LAfires. To view a list of all price gouging restrictions currently in effect as a result of proclamations by the Governor, please see here.

    A copy of the complaint can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Guatemalan Citizen Pleads Guilty To Illegally Transporting Undocumented Aliens

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Fredi Herrera-Sontay (42, Guatemala) has pleaded guilty to being paid to transport an undocumented alien to further his illegal presence in the United States. Herrera faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

    According to the plea agreement, the U.S. Border Patrol received information that a grey truck with a Georgia license plate traveling southbound on I-75 was transporting undocumented aliens between Atlanta, Georgia, and South Florida. Border Patrol agents patrolling I-75 observed the truck and determined that Herrera was the registered owner and was illegally present in the United States. Agents stopped the vehicle in the early morning hours of January 29, 2025.

    Upon questioning, Herrera and a passenger in the truck stated that they were citizens of Guatemala. Neither of them had any documents establishing that they were legally authorized to be in the United States.

    Database checks for the vehicle reflected that it was purchased by Herrera on February 4, 2022, and that the mileage at the time of the purchase was 88,054. The vehicle’s odometer showed that the mileage at the time of the stop was 435,814, meaning that the vehicle had been driven 347,760 miles—or, on average, about 9,660 miles per month—since Herrera had purchased it.

    Both Herrera and the passenger were administratively arrested and transported to the Jacksonville Border Patrol Station for immigration processing. During processing, agents learned that Herrera had multiple previous immigration encounters and had been removed from the United States on July 11, 2018. No results returned for the passenger, indicating no prior encounters.

    During an interview, Herrera stated that that he was taking the passenger to Miami, for which he was paid $250, and that he was generally paid $250 for each person he transported. When he was asked how many times he had transported aliens, he replied that he did not know, that he did not have a clue how many times.

    This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Attorney’s Office Announces Departure of Jaime Esparza

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN ANTONIO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced today the departure of Jaime Esparza as U.S. Attorney.

    Esparza was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2022. He came to the Western District of Texas after serving as the District Attorney for the 34th Judicial District of Texas, in El Paso, from 1993 to 2020.

    As U.S. Attorney, Esparza led the handling of more than 41,000 federal criminal prosecutions—including immigration, drugs, firearm, white collar, and violent crime—and more than 10,000 civil cases in this southern border district. He made it a priority to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations, including gangs, cartels and smuggling organizations. He also led and elevated outreach programs to educate the public on the dangers of fentanyl and machinegun conversion devices, and to bring awareness to domestic violence issues, among others.

    Under Esparza’s leadership, the civil section defended the United States in numerous civil actions and sought and obtained civil penalties against numerous individuals and entities under the False Claims Act. Additionally, his team of asset recovery lawyers obtained millions of dollars in restitution for victims and forfeited millions of dollars in property that were used to commit crimes or were obtained with proceeds of crime.

    The Western District of Texas is comprised of 93,000 square miles, 68 counties, covers 660 miles of U.S./Mexico border, and has divisional offices in El Paso, Del Rio, Waco, San Antonio, Austin, Pecos-Alpine, and Midland-Odessa. Its civil and criminal attorneys practice in District, Magistrate, and Bankruptcy Courts throughout the District, as well as in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Under the Vacancy Reform Act, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman now serves as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.

    Leachman has been with the Western District of Texas for more than 30 years and has served in numerous roles, including as Senior Litigation Counsel, Chief of the Criminal Division, Chief of the El Paso Division, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Appellate and Major Crimes sections.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The beauty standard is intensifying. At what cost?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jordan Foster, Sociology, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, McMaster University

    Young women are engaging in increasingly intensive and expensive beauty practices and purchases, aspiring to new beauty standards. (Kevin Laminto /Unsplash), CC BY

    The internet is abuzz with talk of beauty and the lengths we’ll go to achieve it. From Lindsay Lohan’s recent transformation to Donatella Versace’s “new look”, those of us plugged in online can’t help but gab over the rise of better, less detectable and more precise plastic surgery.

    Achieved through a combination of invasive operations like face lifts and rhinoplasty as well as non-invasive procedures — like the injection of facial filler and facial neurotoxins like Botox — the contemporary beauty standard is increasingly intensive, costly and challenging to maintain. A hundred units of Botox, or its counterpart Dysport, could run clients up to $1,500 with effects diminishing in just four to six weeks.

    Although women continue to make up the majority of clients seeking invasive and non-invasive beauty interventions, the number of men undergoing plastic surgery is on the rise. So too are the number of advertisements and beauty-focused messages targeting men.

    But while appearance pressures and beauty advertising are increasingly directed at men, the imperative to be beautiful has come at significant emotional and financial costs for women — and young women especially.

    Immersed in a celebrity-saturated and visually intensive media culture, young women today face pressures to purchase beauty products and services to manage or, better yet, perfect their appearance ad nauseam.

    Lindsay Lohan poses makeup-free with her dermatologist in Dubai.
    (Dr. Radmila Lukian/Instagram)

    Social media pressures

    I study beauty and its cultural forces, especially as they apply to young people online. My findings speak to the increasingly important role that beauty plays in shaping women’s opportunities for visibility in both online media and in the real world. Young women are engaging in increasingly intensive practices as they aspire to new beauty standards.

    I recently published an investigation with Josée Johnston, a sociologist at the University of Toronto, into the ways young people grapple with contemporary beauty standards. We looked at how their practices and purchases are compelled by current beauty standards.

    For many young women, the pressure to be — or become — beautiful is top of mind. And yet the beauty standard remains elusive and painfully out of reach for most of the women and girls we spoke with. Few can afford to keep up with costly and intensive interventions to the face and body.

    Relax, sculpt, lift: High-definition make-up

    About 20 years ago, a needle or surgical knife to the face was considered a rather extreme intervention in pursuit of beauty. These procedures were often risky, permanent and sometimes poorly done. Today, neither knife nor needle are very unusual for those seeking a more perfect face and body.

    Indeed, the injection of facial neurotoxins is among the fastest growing cosmetic procedure in Canada and the United States. The Academy of Plastic Surgeons suggests that nearly 4,715,716 procedures involving Botox were performed in 2023 alone. These numbers signal a wider shift in the production and maintenance of contemporary appearance standards, and the lengths we go to achieve them.

    Alongside these figures, an ever-greater number of bodily and facial features are scrutinized. And products and services are designed to offer “high-definition” beauty in bottles, from head and toe.

    Driven partly by our increasing preoccupation with celebrity images popularized by social media platforms, even everyday cosmetics like skin creams, bronzers and lip glosses are being marketed with promises to “relax,” “sculpt” or “lift” facial features. These purchases from the beauty counter are being marketed to consumers as if they can achieve a surgical degree of perfection.



    Read more:
    Praise for Kim Kardashian’s Skims ignores her family’s relationship with body augmentation

    Priced out, excluded or in debt

    Many young women are priced out of expensive treatements.
    (Alireza Mirzabegi/Unsplash), CC BY-SA

    Many young women we spoke with described invasive facial and bodily interventions as a central component of the contemporary beauty standard. They described these interventions as compulsory, leaving many women either priced out of the beauty market or in pursuit of beauty at great personal expense.

    Celebrity women can afford to purchase facial fillers and Botox to augment their appearance, such as relaxing fine lines and plumping their features. But the young women we spoke with said interventions such as these are “unattainable” for the average person, and unsustainable in the long term.

    Signs of resistance

    Many women we spoke with insist on the importance of appearance, especially as it relates to the likelihood of their success, and the success of other women. Few of these women made the same associations with men. In fact, many “successful” men were described by our interviewees as “plain,” “unremarkable” or “ordinary.”

    The pressure to beautify through intensive and costly procedures is part and parcel of a broader cultural and economic environment centred on appearance. One that, as University of London sociologist Rosalind Gill puts it, measures a woman’s success in terms of her looks.

    However, there are small and important signs of resistance. Young women do not approach beauty and its pressures uncritically. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Many of the young women we spoke with search for spaces to resist and challenge beauty messaging as well as the cultural imperative toward facial and bodily perfection. These spaces, though few and far between, make resistance challenging but not impossible.

    Jordan Foster 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. The beauty standard is intensifying. At what cost? – https://theconversation.com/the-beauty-standard-is-intensifying-at-what-cost-244785

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch, Padilla Lead Colleagues from Disaster-Impacted States in Demanding Answers About Elon Musk and DOGE’s Access to Disaster Victims’ Personal Data

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led ten of their colleagues from disaster-impacted states in demanding answers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the potential security breach created by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has reportedly accessed the sensitive personal data of disaster victims. The Senators also requested more information on the procedures FEMA follows to protect data from misuse, and if DOGE’s unaccountable agents were in compliance with federal law. 
    Senators Welch and Padilla were joined by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). 
    “The United States has suffered from a growing number of natural disasters over the past several years—from severe flooding in Vermont and hurricanes in North Carolina, to catastrophic wildfires in Hawaii and California. In order to register for federal disaster assistance and receive help rebuilding their communities, our constituents have provided their personally identifiable information to FEMA. They did not do so with the expectation that their sensitive information would be turned over to unvetted, unaccountable DOGE agents,” the Senators wrote to Cameron Hamilton, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of FEMA Administrator. 
    “Mr. Musk has stated his desire to eliminate waste at FEMA. We agree the country must examine and thoughtfully consider reforms to the operation of FEMA. Our constituents have experienced first-hand the frustrating bureaucracies that hinder the federal disaster recovery process. Congress must take steps to equip FEMA and communities with the tools needed to better assist disaster victims after the storm has passed. We stand ready to work with anyone willing to fix it,” continued the Senators. “But such reforms do not require, or come close to justifying, the invasive measures DOGE has reportedly undertaken.” 
    The Senators concluded: “When disaster strikes, Americans should have confidence the government will safeguard their data, regardless of the Administration at the helm. Reports indicate you have breached that trust—perhaps in violation of federal privacy law.” 
    In their letter, the Senators requested responses to the following questions to understand the scope of that breach and the extent of FEMA’s compliance with federal law: 

    Please provide a complete list of individuals authorized by FEMA to access disaster victims’ data and records during the period between January 20, 2025, and February 14, 2025. Please indicate whether those individuals are employees of FEMA, the White House, DOGE, or another federal agency and specify the agency. If the individuals are not federal employees, please indicate that in your response.  

    What are the individuals specified above authorized to do with disaster victims’ data and records, and what types of data were obtained?  

    What procedures does FEMA follow to protect disaster victims’ data from misuse? Are DOGE-affiliated individuals required to follow those procedures?   

    How many Americans’ personally identifiable data has been accessed by DOGE-affiliated individuals? What vetting did these individuals undergo prior to their being granted access to FEMA systems? 

    Read the full text of the letter. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Travelers Rest man arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* chargesRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Reginald Fitzgerald Williams, Jr., 38, of Travelers Rest, S.C., on three charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with this investigation.

     

    Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Williams. Investigators state Williams produced child sexual abuse material.

     

    Williams was arrested on February 13, 2025. He is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment on each count.

     

     

    This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

     

    Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

     

     

     

    * Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant.  Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lexington County man arrested on Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor and related chargesRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Daniel Phillip Bush, 60, of Cayce, S.C., on three charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington Police Department made the arrest. Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.  

     

    Investigators state Bush solicited and traveled to meet a person he believed to be a minor for sex.

     

    Bush was arrested on February 12, 2025. He is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor (§16-15-342), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; and one count of attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor (§16-3-655(B)(1)).

     

     

    This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

     

    Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

     

     

     

    * Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant.  Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: African Union Summit: African Development Bank President Highlights a Decade of Economic Transformational Impact

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, February 18, 2025/APO Group/ —

    • “It’s been my greatest honor to serve you and Africa”—Adesina tells African leaders
    • Governments across Africa pay tribute to Adesina’s exceptional leadership
    • UN Secretary General Guterres says global financial architecture hampering Africa’s development, calls for reforms

    African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org/en) President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, delivered a compelling farewell address to Heads of State and Government at the 38th African Union Summit, highlighting a decade of remarkable achievements by the Bank in driving Africa’s economic transformation. Adesina’s participation at the august continental gathering in Addis Ababa ended on a high note as African leaders considered and endorsed four Bank-led initiatives including the drive to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, measuring Africa’s green wealth as part of its GDP, a $20 billion facility to provide Africa with a financial buffer and a roadmap for the continent to achieve inclusive growth and rapid sustainable development.

    Adesina, who is also the Chairman of the Group’s Boards of Directors, underscored the impact of the Bank’s High 5s Agenda—Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa—which has impacted more than half a billion lives across the continent.

    “It has been an unprecedented partnership to advance the goal of the African Union towards achieving Agenda 2063: the Africa we want,” said Adesina who in February 2022, became the first president of the Bank Group to address the AU Summit.

    During the final day of the assembly, several African governments and AU officials paid tribute to Dr. Adesina for his exceptional leadership of the Bank and strong global advocacy for Africa, He ends his tenure as the Bank Group’s president on 1st September 2025.

    The February 15–16 Summit saw the election of Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf as Chairperson of the African Union Commission, taking over from Moussa Faki Mahamat. Algeria’s Ambassador, Salma Malika Haddadi, was elected the Commission’s Deputy Chairperson.

    Reflecting on his tenure at the helm of the African Development Bank, Dr. Adesina said the Bank has transformed 515 million lives, including 231 million women, over the past decade:

    • 127 million people gained access to better services in terms of health.
    • 61 million people gained access to clean water.
    • 33 million people benefited from improved sanitation.
    • 46 million people gained access to ICT services, and
    • 25 million people gained access to electricity.

    He cited the landmark Africa Energy Summit held in Tanzania in January, where 48 nations signed the Dar Es Salaam Declaration to adopt bold policies in support of an initiative by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to extend electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030. That meeting, attended by 21 heads of state, secured $48 billion in commitments from the two institutions and an additional $7 billion from other development partners.

    The Addis Ababa Summit endorsed the Dar Es Salaam Energy Declaration, the Baku Declaration by African Heads of State on Measuring the Green Wealth of Africa. The Assembly also adopted the African Financing Stability Mechanism, a groundbreaking initiative by the African Development Bank to provide $20 billion in debt refinancing for African nations alongside  the Strategic Framework on Key Actions to Achieve Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa report which  outlines key actions required to enable Africa to achieve, and sustain an annual growth rate of at least 7% of GDP over the next five decades.

    On food security, Adesina cited the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), the Dakar 2 Food Summit that mobilized $72 billion in 2023, and the $1.5 billion Africa Emergency Food Production Facility that was launched in May 2022 to avert a major food and fertilizer crisis triggered by global conflicts.

    “The African Development Bank accelerated food production in Africa. Over 101 million people became food secure. We mobilized $72 billion to implement the food and agriculture delivery compacts across the continent,” he stressed. With the support of the Bank, Ethiopia has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production within four years and is now a wheat-exporting nation.

    A Decade of Transformative Impact

    With a strong focus on job creation, the Bank has trained 1.7 million youth in digital skills and is rolling out Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks to drive youth-led economic growth. “Our goal is simple: create youth-based wealth across Africa,” Adesina reiterated.

    Additionally, the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative has provided $2.5 billion in financing to over 24,000 women-owned businesses, said Adesina.

    Over the past decade, the African Development Bank has invested over $55 billion in infrastructure, making it the largest multilateral financier of African infrastructure.

    The Bank has also prioritized healthcare, committing $3 billion in quality healthcare infrastructure and another $3 billion for pharmaceutical development, including establishing the Africa Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.

    Historic Financial Mobilization for Africa

    Under Adesina’s presidency, the Bank achieved its largest-ever capital increase, growing from $93 billion in 2015 to $318 billion currently. The most recent replenishment of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional window, raised a record $8.9 billion for Africa’s 37 low-income countries, setting the stage for a target of $25 billion for its upcoming 17th replenishment.

    The Africa Investment Forum, a joint effort with eight other partner institutions, has also mobilized over $200 billion in investment commitments, reinforcing Africa as a leading investment destination.

    As he bade farewell, the outgoing Bank chief expressed gratitude to the African Heads of State, the African Union Commission, regional economic communities, and the people of Africa for their unwavering support.

    “As today will be my final attendance of the AU Summit as President of the African Development Bank, I would like to use this opportunity to immensely thank your Excellencies Heads of State and Government for your extraordinary support over the past ten years. I am very grateful for your always being there for the African Development Bank—your Bank. I am very grateful for your kindness, friendship, and partnership as we forged global alliances to advance the continent’s interest around the world,” he said. 

    The 2025 Summit under the theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” drew global political leaders and other dignitaries, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.

    Guterres reiterated calls for reform of the international financial architecture, which is hampering the development of many African economies, beset by expensive debt repayments and high borrowing costs, which limits their capacity to invest in education, health and other essential needs.

    Prime Minister Mottley emphasized Africa’s strategic role in shaping global economic trends, particularly highlighting the continent’s control of 40% of the world’s minerals. She stressed the importance of addressing emerging challenges like artificial intelligence, urging African nations to take a proactive role in technological advancement rather than becoming “victims of technology.”

    She also underscored the urgency of removing artificial barriers between Africa and the Caribbean, calling for the elimination of transit visa requirements to boost trade and integration. Mottley echoed demands for reparatory justice, noting that both the Caribbean and Africa began their independence journey with “chronic deficits” in resources, fairness, and opportunity.

    Opening the Summit on Saturday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed urged continued unity among member countries in addressing the challenges.

    “In a world marked by rapid change and multiple challenges, we find ourselves at the crossroads of uncertainty and opportunity. This movement calls upon us to strengthen our collective resolve, embrace resilience and foster unity across Africa”, he said.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sens. Moran, Hickenlooper, Capito, Peters Reintroduce Bill to Boost Broadband Supply Chain Transparency

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) reintroduced their bipartisan Network Equipment Transparency (NET) Act to increase broadband supply chain transparency through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make certain federal broadband programs stay on track.
    Previous supply chain disruptions have delayed broadband infrastructure projects. A lack of transparency into the health of the telecommunications supply chain may contribute to future equipment shortages as federal broadband programs prioritize high-speed, reliable and accessible networks.
    “In this digital age, access to reliable internet can determine the success of farms, businesses and even health care in rural communities,” said Sen. Moran. “Adding transparency to the supply chains that support broadband infrastructure projects will help speed up the rollout of programs designed to increase internet activity for rural America.”
    “We wrote our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with the goal to connect every Coloradan to reliable, high-speed internet,” said Sen. Hickenlooper. “Supply chain disruptions shouldn’t delay the rollout of these projects. We don’t have time to waste.”
    “In order to effectively connect our communities, it’s critical that our federal agencies work to address any potential problems that would slow or hinder this process of deployment,” said Sen. Capito. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the NET Act, which will provide us with another tool to monitor the supply chain so these crucial projects can be executed in a timely manner.”
    “Resilient, efficient supply chains are essential to keeping prices low and ensuring Americans can get the products they need, and that includes broadband internet,” said Sen. Peters. “This bipartisan bill would fortify the investments we made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand high-speed, affordable internet by identifying issues in the broadband supply chain early, before they impact American businesses, workers, and consumers. I’ll continue to fight for high-speed internet access for all Michiganders.”
    This bill would require the FCC’s Communications Marketplace Report to describe to Congress the impact of supply chain disruptions on the timely completion or deployment of broadband infrastructure projects.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Our Pale Blue Dot

    Source: NASA

    Earth is but a tiny light blue dot in this 30th anniversary version of the iconic “Pale Blue Dot” image. The original photo, taken by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft on Feb. 14, 1990, is now 35 years old. Voyager 1 was 3.7 billion miles (6 billion km) away from the Sun, giving it a unique vantage point to take a series of photos that created a “family portrait” of our solar system. Voyager’s view was important to Carl Sagan and the Voyager Imaging Team; they felt this photo was needed to show Earth’s vulnerability and that our home world is just a tiny, fragile speck in the cosmic ocean.
    Learn more about this famous image of our home planet.
    Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    MIL OSI USA News –