Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI USA: We expect rapid electricity demand growth in Texas and the mid-Atlantic

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    In-brief analysis

    July 31, 2025


    In our most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast nationwide U.S. retail electricity sales to ultimate customers will grow at an annual rate of 2.2% in both 2025 and 2026, compared with average growth of 0.8% between 2020 and 2024. The forecast reflects rapid electricity demand growth in Texas and several mid-Atlantic states, where the grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the PJM Interconnection, respectively. We expect electricity demand in ERCOT to grow at an average rate of 11% in 2025 and 2026 while the PJM region grows by 4%.

    After relatively little change in U.S. electricity demand between 2005 and 2020, retail sales of electricity have begun growing again, driven by rising demand in the commercial and industrial sectors. Developers have proposed numerous data centers and large manufacturing facilities that could consume significant amounts of electricity, and many of these projects are concentrated in the ERCOT and PJM regions. But, the timing of these facilities’ initial operations remains uncertain.

    We publish short-term forecasts for electricity sales to ultimate customers for each of the nine census divisions and for the entire United States. We directly incorporate ERCOT’s and PJM‘s monthly projections for power demand into our sales forecasts for the relevant regions. The portion of the power grid that ERCOT operates is located within the West South Central Census Division, which consists of Texas and three neighboring states: Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. In Texas, electricity is delivered to end-use customers by four large investor-owned utilities and several municipal utilities.


    We expect electricity demand within ERCOT to increase by 7% in 2025 and by 14% in 2026 when some large data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities come online. We expect retail electricity sales in the broader West South Central Census Division to grow by 5% this year and 9% in 2026.

    Dozens of utilities deliver electricity on the PJM Interconnection portion of the grid, which covers 13 states in parts of the Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, and East North Central Census Divisions. Within the area covered by PJM, the Northern Virginia market contains the highest concentration of data centers in the world, according to analysis conducted for Virginia’s state government. The growing demand for power by these new customers could increase electricity sales in PJM by 3% in 2025 and 4% in 2026.


    Principal contributor: Tyler Hodge

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI: Illumio Insights GA Delivers Industry’s First Solution to Contain Lateral Movement Across Hybrid, Multi-Cloud

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Illumio, the breach containment company, today announced the general availability of Illumio Insights, a powerful new product within the Illumio Platform. As the only platform that delivers a complete approach to reducing lateral movement risk, Illumio now combines AI-powered detection, real-time risk insights, and one-click containment with strategic segmentation for proactive protection. Built on an AI security graph, Illumio Insights transforms how security teams detect, prioritize, and contain threats across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

    During the private preview, early adopters uncovered a range of unexpected risks only made visible with Illumio Insights’ deep observability and behavior-based analytics. Among the most notable findings were widespread east-west traffic from unsanctioned geographies, misconfigured services exposing risky ports, and a surprising prevalence of unsanctioned usage of public LLMs.

    Building on these learnings, Illumio has introduced several additional powerful capabilities as part of the general availability release. New capabilities include:

    • Country Insights gives users a clear view of traffic and threats by geography, helping them quickly spot unusual activity and apply geo-specific policies to reduce risk.
    • Quarantine Dashboard enables one-click isolation of compromised systems, empowering teams to stop threats from spreading without needing advanced technical skills.
    • Resource View makes it even easier to investigate resources and enables teams to act fast to limit exposure.

    “Enterprises often struggle to maintain an accurate inventory of all devices, applications, and data flows across increasingly complex networks — especially with the rise of cloud services and hybrid environments,” said Dr. Chase Cunningham, DrZeroTrust. “Security graphs address this challenge by automatically ingesting data from diverse sources such as asset databases, cloud APIs, and network scans to build a dynamic, real-time map of infrastructure and dependencies. This living model not only enhances visibility but also strengthens security posture by revealing hidden risks and attack paths.”

    With these advancements, Illumio Insights delivers on its promise to help security teams detect, prioritize, and contain threats more effectively. It empowers teams to act on what they see with one-click containment, accelerating Zero Trust Segmentation at cloud scale. As part of Illumio’s breach containment platform, Insights helps organizations stop the spread of attacks before they escalate into full-blown disasters.

    “Illumio Insights makes a strong impression right out of the gate; it helps security teams manage complexity and emerging AI technologies to focus on what matters,” said Chris Konrad, Vice President Global Cyber, World Wide Technology. “Our clients gain actionable insights that build trust and drive better decisions because we are able to identify risks, swiftly.”

    “The biggest gap in cybersecurity today isn’t tools, it’s visibility. And that’s exactly what Illumio Insights delivers,” says Andrew Rubin, CEO and Founder of Illumio. “Illumio Insights changes the game. It gives security teams the visibility they’ve been missing, like what’s talking to what, where the risk is, and how to contain it fast. This isn’t about more alerts, it’s about actionable intelligence that helps organizations stay ahead of real threats.”

    Illumio Insights and Illumio Segmentation are integral components of the Illumio Platform, the first cybersecurity platform focused on breach containment. Illumio Insights helps organizations quickly identify and detect threats, while Illumio Segmentation contains breaches, protects critical assets, and enables instant response. Together, these solutions help identify and mitigate risks, contain attacks, and enhance overall cyber resilience.

    Visit Illumio at booth #5445 at Black Hat USA 2025 in Las Vegas, August 6–7, to see a live demo of Illumio Insights and learn more about Illumio’s breach containment offerings.

    Organizations can also sign up for a free trial or visit Illumio Insights to learn more. For ongoing updates and peer collaboration, cybersecurity professionals are invited to join the Illumiverse, Illumio’s community hub for exclusive insights and frontline threat intelligence.

    About Illumio  

    Illumio is the leader in ransomware and breach containment, redefining how organizations contain cyberattacks and enable operational resilience. Powered by an AI security graph, our breach containment platform identifies and contains threats across hybrid multi-cloud environments – stopping the spread of attacks before they become disasters.

    Recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Microsegmentation, Illumio enables Zero Trust, strengthening cyber resilience for the infrastructure, systems, and organizations that keep the world running.

    Contact: comms-team@illumio.com  

    The enthusiasm around Illumio Insights continues to grow. In addition to the perspectives shared earlier, here are more reactions from industry leaders and partners:

    Delisa Stone, Partner, Cyber Security, Cloud and Resilience at Deloitte Technology and Transformation:

    “Illumio Insights offers unparalleled visibility and granular segmentation capabilities that empower organizations to strengthen their cyber resilience. We recommend Illumio Insights to our clients seeking to enhance their security posture with a scalable, adaptive solution that aligns with evolving regulatory and operational demands.”

    Stuart McCulloch, Cyber Security Product Manager from BT Global Services UK:

    “So happy for Insights! Illumio is an amazing platform, and the data on traffic flows provides critical information to understand your environment. However, you had to know what to look for, which could be time-consuming. Insights is the capability which now cuts to the chase. It directs you to key data, allowing you to make faster decisions on actions you need to take to better protect your environment.”

    Rico Petrillo, Lead Service Fulfillment and Technology at Swisscom CDN & Edge Security:

    “Illumio Insights is a powerful addition that helps us quickly understand a customer’s environment and kickstart meaningful conversations around Zero Trust. It makes it easier to demonstrate value early in a project and supports smoother, more effective segmentation over time. This means better outcomes for our clients—from day one through ongoing operations.”

    Yann Bruneau, Chief Solutions Officer at Squad Cybersolutions:

    “As an Illumio integration partner, we’re excited about the game-changing potential of Illumio Insights and its AI-powered security graph that fundamentally transforms how our clients understand and respond to threats across hybrid environments. What impresses us most is how Insights cuts through the noise of complex cloud environments to identify real risks at scale, making it simple for our customers to prioritize what truly matters and act decisively.”

    Soumak Roy, Vice President – Cybersecurity at SDG Corporation:

    “Illumio Insights brings a new level of clarity to cloud security. By revealing east-west traffic patterns and lateral movement risks at cloud scale—without agents—it equips organizations to proactively secure dynamic, distributed environments and accelerate Zero Trust initiatives with confidence.”

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: New peace plan increases pressure on Israel and US as momentum grows for Palestinian statehood

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin

    A new vision for Middle East peace emerged this week which proposes the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the West Bank, the disarming and disbanding of Hamas and the creation of a unified Palestinian state. The plan emerged from a “high-level conference” in New York on July 29, which assembled representatives of 17 states, the European Union and the Arab League.

    The resulting proposal is “a comprehensive and actionable framework for the implementation of the two-state solution and the achievement of peace and security for all”.

    Signatories include Turkey and the Middle Eastern states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan. Europe was represented by France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK. Indonesia was there for Asia, Senegal for Africa, and Brazil, Canada and Mexico for the Americas. Neither the US nor Israel were present.

    Significantly, it is the first time the Arab states have called for Hamas to disarm and disband. But, while condemning Hamas’s attack on Israel of October 7 2023 and recalling that the taking of hostages is a violation of international law, the document is unsparing in its connection between a state of Palestine and an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza’s civilians.

    It says: “Absent decisive measures toward the two-state solution and robust international guarantees, the conflict will deepen and regional peace will remain elusive.”

    A plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will be developed by the Arab states and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – a Jeddah-based group which aims to be the collective voice of the Muslim world – supported by an international fund. The details will be hammered out at a Gaza Reconstruction and Recovery Conference, to be held in Cairo.

    It is a bold initiative. In theory, it could end the Israeli mass killing in Gaza, remove Hamas from power and begin the implementation of a process for a state of Palestine. The question is whether it has any chance of success.

    First, there appears to be growing momentum to press ahead with recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a comprehensive peace plan leading to a two-state solution. France, the UK and, most recently, Canada have announced they would take that step at the UN general assembly in September. The UK stated that it would do so unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and the commencement of a substantive peace process.




    Read more:
    UK and France pledges won’t stop Netanyahu bombing Gaza – but Donald Trump or Israel’s military could


    These announcements follow those made in May 2024 by Spain, Ireland and Norway, three of the other European signatories. By the end of September at least 150 of the UN’s 193 members will recognise Palestinian statehood. Recognition is largely symbolic without a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from both Gaza and the West Bank. But it is essential symbolism.

    For years, many European countries, Canada, Australia and the US have said that recognition could not be declared if there was the prospect of Israel-Palestine negotiations. Now the sequence is reversed: recognition is necessary as pressure for a ceasefire and the necessary talks to ensure the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.

    Israel accelerated that reversal at the start of March, when it rejected the scheduled move to phase two of the six-week ceasefire negotiated with the help of the US, and imposed a blockade on aid coming into the Strip.

    The Netanyahu government continues to hold out against the ceasefire. But its loud blame of Hamas is becoming harder to accept. The images of the starvation in Gaza and warnings by doctors, humanitarian organisations and the UN of an effective famine with the deaths of thousands can no longer be denied.

    Saudi Arabia and Qatar, behind the scenes and through their embassies, have been encouraging European countries to make the jump to recognition. Their efforts at the UN conference in New York this week are another front of that campaign.

    Israel and the Trump administration

    But in the short term, there is little prospect of the Netanyahu government giving way with its mass killing, let alone entering talks for two states. Notably neither Israel nor the US took part in the conference.

    Trump has criticised the scenes of starvation in Gaza. But his administration has joined Netanyahu in vitriolic denunciation of France and the UK over their intentions to recognise Palestine. And the US president has warned the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, that recognition of Palestinian statehood would threaten Canada’s trade deal with the US.

    In response to Trump’s concern over the images of starving children and his exhortation “We’ve got to get the kids fed,” Israel has airdropped a few pallets of aid – less than a truck’s worth. Yet this appears more of a public relations exercise directed at Washington than a genuine attempt to ease the terrible condition on the Strip.

    A small number of lorries with supplies from UN and humanitarian organisations have also crossed the border, but only after lengthy delays and with half still held up. There is no security for transport and delivery of the aid inside Gaza.

    A sacrifice for a state?

    So the conference declaration is not relief for Gaza. Instead, it is yet another marker of Israel’s increasing isolation.

    After France’s announcement, the Netanyahu government thundered: “Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy … A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel.”

    But while recognising Hamas’s mass killing of October 7 2023, most governments and their populations do not perceive Israel as attacking Hamas and its fighters. They see the Netanyahu government and Israeli military slaying and starving civilians.

    Even in the US, where the Trump administration is trying to crush sympathy for Palestine and Gazans in universities, non-governmental organisations and the public sphere, opinion is shifting.

    In a Gallup poll taken in the US and released on July 29, only 32% of respondents supported Israel’s actions in Gaza – an all-time low – and 60% opposed them. Netanyahu was viewed unfavourably by 52% and favourably by only 29%.

    Israel has lost its moment of “normalisation” with Arab states. Its economic links are strained and its oft-repeated claim to being the “Middle East’s only democracy” is bloodstained beyond recognition.

    This will be of no comfort to the people of Gaza facing death. But in the longer term, there is the prospect that this sacrifice will be the catalyst to recognise Palestine that disappeared in 1948.


    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Scott Lucas 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. New peace plan increases pressure on Israel and US as momentum grows for Palestinian statehood – https://theconversation.com/new-peace-plan-increases-pressure-on-israel-and-us-as-momentum-grows-for-palestinian-statehood-262259

    MIL OSI Analysis

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: New peace plan increases pressure on Israel and US as momentum grows for Palestinian statehood

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin

    A new vision for Middle East peace emerged this week which proposes the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the West Bank, the disarming and disbanding of Hamas and the creation of a unified Palestinian state. The plan emerged from a “high-level conference” in New York on July 29, which assembled representatives of 17 states, the European Union and the Arab League.

    The resulting proposal is “a comprehensive and actionable framework for the implementation of the two-state solution and the achievement of peace and security for all”.

    Signatories include Turkey and the Middle Eastern states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan. Europe was represented by France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK. Indonesia was there for Asia, Senegal for Africa, and Brazil, Canada and Mexico for the Americas. Neither the US nor Israel were present.

    Significantly, it is the first time the Arab states have called for Hamas to disarm and disband. But, while condemning Hamas’s attack on Israel of October 7 2023 and recalling that the taking of hostages is a violation of international law, the document is unsparing in its connection between a state of Palestine and an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza’s civilians.

    It says: “Absent decisive measures toward the two-state solution and robust international guarantees, the conflict will deepen and regional peace will remain elusive.”

    A plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will be developed by the Arab states and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – a Jeddah-based group which aims to be the collective voice of the Muslim world – supported by an international fund. The details will be hammered out at a Gaza Reconstruction and Recovery Conference, to be held in Cairo.

    It is a bold initiative. In theory, it could end the Israeli mass killing in Gaza, remove Hamas from power and begin the implementation of a process for a state of Palestine. The question is whether it has any chance of success.

    First, there appears to be growing momentum to press ahead with recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a comprehensive peace plan leading to a two-state solution. France, the UK and, most recently, Canada have announced they would take that step at the UN general assembly in September. The UK stated that it would do so unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and the commencement of a substantive peace process.




    Read more:
    UK and France pledges won’t stop Netanyahu bombing Gaza – but Donald Trump or Israel’s military could


    These announcements follow those made in May 2024 by Spain, Ireland and Norway, three of the other European signatories. By the end of September at least 150 of the UN’s 193 members will recognise Palestinian statehood. Recognition is largely symbolic without a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from both Gaza and the West Bank. But it is essential symbolism.

    For years, many European countries, Canada, Australia and the US have said that recognition could not be declared if there was the prospect of Israel-Palestine negotiations. Now the sequence is reversed: recognition is necessary as pressure for a ceasefire and the necessary talks to ensure the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.

    Israel accelerated that reversal at the start of March, when it rejected the scheduled move to phase two of the six-week ceasefire negotiated with the help of the US, and imposed a blockade on aid coming into the Strip.

    The Netanyahu government continues to hold out against the ceasefire. But its loud blame of Hamas is becoming harder to accept. The images of the starvation in Gaza and warnings by doctors, humanitarian organisations and the UN of an effective famine with the deaths of thousands can no longer be denied.

    Saudi Arabia and Qatar, behind the scenes and through their embassies, have been encouraging European countries to make the jump to recognition. Their efforts at the UN conference in New York this week are another front of that campaign.

    Israel and the Trump administration

    But in the short term, there is little prospect of the Netanyahu government giving way with its mass killing, let alone entering talks for two states. Notably neither Israel nor the US took part in the conference.

    Trump has criticised the scenes of starvation in Gaza. But his administration has joined Netanyahu in vitriolic denunciation of France and the UK over their intentions to recognise Palestine. And the US president has warned the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, that recognition of Palestinian statehood would threaten Canada’s trade deal with the US.

    In response to Trump’s concern over the images of starving children and his exhortation “We’ve got to get the kids fed,” Israel has airdropped a few pallets of aid – less than a truck’s worth. Yet this appears more of a public relations exercise directed at Washington than a genuine attempt to ease the terrible condition on the Strip.

    A small number of lorries with supplies from UN and humanitarian organisations have also crossed the border, but only after lengthy delays and with half still held up. There is no security for transport and delivery of the aid inside Gaza.

    A sacrifice for a state?

    So the conference declaration is not relief for Gaza. Instead, it is yet another marker of Israel’s increasing isolation.

    After France’s announcement, the Netanyahu government thundered: “Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy … A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel.”

    But while recognising Hamas’s mass killing of October 7 2023, most governments and their populations do not perceive Israel as attacking Hamas and its fighters. They see the Netanyahu government and Israeli military slaying and starving civilians.

    Even in the US, where the Trump administration is trying to crush sympathy for Palestine and Gazans in universities, non-governmental organisations and the public sphere, opinion is shifting.

    In a Gallup poll taken in the US and released on July 29, only 32% of respondents supported Israel’s actions in Gaza – an all-time low – and 60% opposed them. Netanyahu was viewed unfavourably by 52% and favourably by only 29%.

    Israel has lost its moment of “normalisation” with Arab states. Its economic links are strained and its oft-repeated claim to being the “Middle East’s only democracy” is bloodstained beyond recognition.

    This will be of no comfort to the people of Gaza facing death. But in the longer term, there is the prospect that this sacrifice will be the catalyst to recognise Palestine that disappeared in 1948.


    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Scott Lucas 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. New peace plan increases pressure on Israel and US as momentum grows for Palestinian statehood – https://theconversation.com/new-peace-plan-increases-pressure-on-israel-and-us-as-momentum-grows-for-palestinian-statehood-262259

    MIL OSI Analysis

  • MIL-OSI Canada: FCAC calls on banks to improve handling of consumer complaints

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    July 31, 2025 
    Ottawa, Ontario

    Today, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) published the findings of a report on the complaint-handling procedures of small and medium-sized banks in its Supervisory Highlight: Thematic Review on Complaint Handling

    While the small and medium-sized banks that were assessed in FCAC’s review took steps towards meeting the new requirements for complaint handling under the Financial Consumer Protection Framework (the Framework), FCAC found several areas for improvement. 

    For example, the banks reviewed did not treat all expressions of dissatisfaction from consumers as complaints. FCAC also found that the banks did not always deal with complaints within the prescribed period of 56 calendar days after the day on which the complaint was received. In addition, complaint records submitted by the banks to FCAC often lacked required information. 

    Each of the banks involved in the review has been informed of the findings specific to their institution and is required to take corrective actions. FCAC will monitor their response to make sure that they comply with the complaint handling requirements.

    FCAC expects all federally regulated banks to review their complaint-handling procedures to assess their own compliance with the requirements and address any issues or deficiencies in a timely manner. 

    Consumers have the right to file a complaint if they have a problem with their bank. In 2022, the federal government strengthened the rules around complaint handling under the Framework to make the process more effective, timely and accessible for consumers. This includes introducing a 56-day timeline for banks to deal with complaints and establishing that banks must treat all expressions of dissatisfaction with a bank product or service as a complaint.

    FCAC supervises banks’ compliance with their complaint handling obligations. The Agency focused its most recent review on small and medium-sized banks because they were identified as being at a higher risk of having issues with implementing the new complaint handling measures under the Framework. 

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI Canada: FCAC calls on banks to improve handling of consumer complaints

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    July 31, 2025 
    Ottawa, Ontario

    Today, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) published the findings of a report on the complaint-handling procedures of small and medium-sized banks in its Supervisory Highlight: Thematic Review on Complaint Handling

    While the small and medium-sized banks that were assessed in FCAC’s review took steps towards meeting the new requirements for complaint handling under the Financial Consumer Protection Framework (the Framework), FCAC found several areas for improvement. 

    For example, the banks reviewed did not treat all expressions of dissatisfaction from consumers as complaints. FCAC also found that the banks did not always deal with complaints within the prescribed period of 56 calendar days after the day on which the complaint was received. In addition, complaint records submitted by the banks to FCAC often lacked required information. 

    Each of the banks involved in the review has been informed of the findings specific to their institution and is required to take corrective actions. FCAC will monitor their response to make sure that they comply with the complaint handling requirements.

    FCAC expects all federally regulated banks to review their complaint-handling procedures to assess their own compliance with the requirements and address any issues or deficiencies in a timely manner. 

    Consumers have the right to file a complaint if they have a problem with their bank. In 2022, the federal government strengthened the rules around complaint handling under the Framework to make the process more effective, timely and accessible for consumers. This includes introducing a 56-day timeline for banks to deal with complaints and establishing that banks must treat all expressions of dissatisfaction with a bank product or service as a complaint.

    FCAC supervises banks’ compliance with their complaint handling obligations. The Agency focused its most recent review on small and medium-sized banks because they were identified as being at a higher risk of having issues with implementing the new complaint handling measures under the Framework. 

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Helping Our Neighbors: USGS Surveys Primary Drinking Water Source for the Town of Falmouth

    Source: US Geological Survey

    USGS conducted a mapping survey of Long Pond in Falmouth, Massachusetts, at the request of the Town to determine the total water volume of the reservoir, as well as the water volumes available based on varying water surface elevations. Long Pond is Falmouth’s primary source of drinking water.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Carbajal Statement on Trump Administration Revoking Approval of Ocean Areas Designated for Wind Power

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

    Carbajal Statement on Trump Administration Revoking Approval of Ocean Areas Designated for Wind Power

    Washington, July 30, 2025

    U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) released the statement below following the Trump administration’s decision to revoke approval for millions of acres of ocean to be set aside for offshore wind development. 

    “This is another backwards policy decision by the Trump administration that will hurt our wind energy sector and the thousands of jobs it supports,” said Rep. Carbajal. “Wind power is no longer theoretical—it’s vital to our economy and energy security. Undermining renewables not only hurts American workers and businesses, it hands the future of clean energy to global competitors like China. This is an America Last policy approach.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: PREPARED REMARKS: Sanders Forces Vote to Stop Arms Sales to Israel Amid Starvation in Gaza

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, July 30 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today rose to force a vote on two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) to block offensive arms sales to Israel in light of the daily civilian massacres and unfolding famine created by the Netanyahu government’s policies. The JRD is the only formal mechanism available to Congress to prevent an arms sale noticed by the administration from advancing.

    Sanders’ remarks introducing the vote today, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched live HERE:

    M. President, let me begin by stating what this debate is about, and what it is not about. It is not about whether anyone in the Senate disagrees that Hamas is a terrorist organization, which began this war with a brutal terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages. Everyone agrees with that.

    The International Criminal Court was right to indict the leaders of Hamas as war criminals for those atrocities. There is also, I believe, no disagreement as to whether or not Israel had a right to defend itself, like any other country suffering an attack like that. Clearly, it did.

    And, in a certain sense, this debate is not really about Israel. It is about the United States of America, and whether we will abide by U.S. and international law, or whether we will continue to contribute billions of dollars to an extremist government in Israel, which has caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza. This debate is over whether or not the United States of America will have any moral credibility on the international scene. Whether or not we will be able, with a straight face, to condemn other countries who commit barbaric acts if we don’t stand up tonight. That is what we are debating.

    M. President, the vast majority of the American people and the world community understand that the Netanyahu government in Israel has gone well beyond defending itself from Hamas. Over the last 21 months, it has waged an all-out, illegal, immoral and horrific war of annihilation against the Palestinian people. 

    This war has already killed some 60,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 143,000 — most of whom are women, children and the elderly. In a population of just over two million, more than 200,000 people have been killed or wounded since this war began. That, M. President, is 10% of the population of Gaza. 

    M. President, to put that into scale so we as Americans can understand the enormity of what is happening there, if that kind of destruction happened in the United States — if 10% of our population were killed or wounded in war, it would mean that 34 million of us would have been killed or wounded.

    The toll on Gaza’s children is unspeakable, and it is literally hard to imagine. The United Nations reports that more than 18,000 children have been killed since this war began. Just this morning, the Washington Post published a list of all these children’s names, and I ask that these names be entered into the Congressional Record.

    I should mention that more than 12,000 of these children were under the age of 12, and more than 3,000 children in Gaza have had one or more limbs amputated. That is how this war has impacted the children in Gaza. But it’s not just the horrific loss of life that we are seeing.

    New satellite imagery shows that Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment has destroyed 70% of all structures in Gaza. The UN estimates that 92% of the housing units have been damaged or destroyed. Most of the population is now living in tents or other makeshift structures.

    And let us not forget, over the last 21 months, these people, most of whom are poor, have been displaced time and time again — told to go here, told to go there, moved around with often no possessions other than the clothing on their backs.

    M. President, the health care system in Gaza has been destroyed. Most of the territory’s hospitals and primary health care facilities have been bombed. More than 1,500 health care workers have been killed, as well as 336 UN staff.

    Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been totally devastated, including almost 90% of water and sanitation facilities. Raw sewage now runs all over Gaza. Most of the roads have been destroyed. Gaza’s educational system has been obliterated. Hundreds of schools have been bombed, as has every single one of Gaza’s 12 universities. And there has been no electricity in Gaza for 21 months. 

    M. President, all of this is a horror unto itself. But in recent months, the Netanyahu government’s extermination of Gaza has made an unspeakable and horrible situation even worse. 

    From March 2 to May 19, Israel did not allow a single shipment of humanitarian aid into Gaza — no food, no water, no fuel and no medical supplies for a distressed population of two million people over a period of 11 weeks. Since then, Israel has allowed a trickle of aid to get into Gaza, but nowhere near enough to meet the enormous needs of a population besieged for so long. 

    M. President, when you cut off all food to a population, what happens is not surprising. People starve to death. And that is exactly what Israeli policy has deliberately done — it is causing mass starvation and famine.

    Children and other vulnerable people are dying in increasing numbers. In the last two weeks, dozens of young children have died from starvation. Starving mothers cannot breastfeed their infants, and no formula is available, and certainly no clean water to make it, in any case. Hospitals have run out of nutritional treatments, and doctors and nurses who are already treating the desperate, they themselves are going hungry and are fainting from hunger. 

    The World Food Programme says that the food crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row.” 

    Just yesterday, the gold-standard UN-backed food monitoring group, the IPC, issued a new report saying: “The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.”  

    When mass death from starvation begins, it is difficult to reverse. Aid groups say it will soon be too late to stop a wave of preventable deaths in Gaza, all of which is the direct result of the Israeli government’s policies. 

    M. President, what I’m going to describe now is gruesome, but I think it is important for us to understand what is happening to the children in Gaza.

    Mark Brauner, an American doctor who spent in two weeks in Gaza in June described the situation: “a lot of the children have already passed the point of no return where their physiology has eroded to the point where even refeeding could potentially cause death itself. The gut lining has started to auto-digest and it will no longer have adequate absorptive capacity for water or for nutrition. Death is unfortunately imminent for probably thousands of children.”

    That’s an American physician who was in Gaza in June.

    M. President, what the extremist Netanyahu government is doing now is not an effort to win a war. There is no military purpose in starving thousands and thousands of children. Let us be clear: This is not an effort to win a war, this is an effort to destroy a people.

    Having already killed or wounded more than 200,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, the extremist Israeli government is using mass starvation to engineer the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. They are trying to drive a desperate people out of their homeland, to God knows where. 

    This is not my speculation; this what Israeli ministers and officials are saying themselves.

    A few months ago, the Finance Minister vowed that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed.” Just last week, another current Israeli minister said: “All Gaza will be Jewish… the government is pushing for Gaza being wiped out. Thank God, we are wiping out this evil.” Another Likud member of the Knesset and former minister called for “Erasing all of Gaza from the face of the earth.”

    And in the West Bank, we see this agenda being carried out clearly and methodically, with more than 500,000 Israeli settlers now illegally occupying land integral to any future Palestinian state. Earlier this month, the Knesset even approved a non-binding motion in favor of formally annexing the West Bank.

    This slow-motion annexation is backed by violence: Israeli security forces and settler extremists have killed thousands of Palestinians in recent years. Israeli settlers brutally beat a young American to death earlier this month, the seventh American killed in the West Bank since 2022. Despite a demand from President Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, no one has been held accountable for these deaths.

    M. President, people around the world are outraged by what is going on in Gaza right now, and countries are increasingly demanding that Netanyahu’s government stop what they are doing.

    France and Canada have said they will recognize a Palestinian state. The United Kingdom has said it will do so, as well, if Israel does not immediately end this war and surge humanitarian aid. And at the UN last month, 149 countries voted for a ceasefire resolution condemning the use of starvation as a weapon of war and demanding an end to Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid. But it is not just the international community. 

    Just yesterday, Gallup, one of the best polling organizations in our country, released a new poll that shows that just 32% of Americans support Israel’s military action in Gaza, while 60% oppose it. To my Democratic colleagues here in the Senate, I would point out that only 8% of Democrats support this war, and just 25% of independents. And to my Republican colleagues, I would point out that more and more Republicans are beginning to speak out against the atrocities of this war and the fact that billions of billions of taxpayer dollars are going to a government in Israel waging an illegal war. 

    Further, M. President, a recent Economist/YouGov poll shows that just 15% of the American people support increasing military aid to Israel, while 35% support decreasing military aid to Israel or stopping it entirely. Just 8% of Democrats support increasing military aid to Israel. 

    M. President, the American people are haunted by the images coming out of Gaza.

    These are desperate children with pots in their hands, crying, begging for food in order to stay alive. That’s what the American people are seeing every night on TV, on the internet and in the newspapers. These are emaciated children, their bodies, in some cases, barely more than skeletons. The American people are seeing miles and miles of rubble where cities and towns once stood. They are seeing innocent people shot down while they wait on line to get food while they are starving.

    M. President, despite these war crimes, carried out daily in plain view, the United States has provided more than $22 billion for Israel’s military operations since this war began. One estimate, based on Brown University research, calculates that the United States has paid for 70% of the Gaza war. In other words, American taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb schools, kill civilians and support the cruelty of Netanyahu and his criminal ministers. And that, M. President, is why I have brought these two resolutions of disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel. 

    S.J.Res.34 would prohibit the U.S.-taxpayer financed $675.7 million sale of thousands of 1,000-pound bombs and many thousands of JDAM guidance kits.

    And S.J.Res.41 would prohibit the sale of tens of thousands of fully automatic assault rifles.

    These arms sales clearly violate the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act, which prohibit sending arms to countries that violate international law by killing civilians and blocking humanitarian aid — and very few people doubt that that is exactly what Israel is doing. If you want to obey the law, vote for these resolutions. 

    The rifles in question will go to arm a police force overseen by far-right, extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has long advocated for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from the region, who was convicted of support for terrorism by an Israeli court, and who has distributed weapons to violent settlers in the West Bank. Ben-Gvir has formed new police units comprised of extremist settlers and has boasted about how many weapons he has distributed to vigilante settlers in the West Bank. And you want to give him more rifles? That’s what one of these resolutions is about.

    These are rifles the Biden administration held back over fears they would be used by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank to terrorize Palestinians and push them from their homes and villages.

    M. President, U.S. taxpayers have spent many, many billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government. Enough is enough. 

    Americans want this to end. They do not want to be complicit in an unfolding famine and daily civilian massacres. And we here in Congress tonight have the power to act. No more talks, no more great speeches. But tonight, we have the power to act — the power to force Netanyahu and his extremist government to end this slaughter.

    The time is long overdue for Congress to use the leverage we have — tens of billions in arms and military aid — to demand that Israel end these atrocities.

    At a time when Israeli soldiers are shooting civilians trying to get food aid on a near-daily basis, when extremist settlers are pushing Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank, and when Gaza is witnessing mass starvation as a result of Israeli government policy, the United States should not and must not be providing more weapons to enable these atrocities. 

    M. President, whatever happens tonight, history will condemn those who fail to act in the face of these horrors.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Helps Lead Effort Calling for Large‑Scale Expansion of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Return of Hostages, and Resumption of Negotiations to End the War

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D‑NV) joined Senators Schiff, Schatz, and Schumer in leading a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff raising alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis and starvation in Gaza. The letter urges a large‑scale expansion of humanitarian aid, calls for immediately bringing all the hostages home, endorses  a return to the negotiating table to end the war, and supports a permanent end to Hamas rule in Gaza.
    “The acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza is also unsustainable and worsens by the day. Hunger and malnutrition are widespread, and, alarmingly, deaths due to starvation, especially among children, are increasing,” wrote the Senators. “The ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ has failed to address the deepening humanitarian crisis and contributed to an unacceptable and mounting civilian death toll around the organization’s sites. To prevent the situation from getting even worse, we urge you to advocate for a large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance and services throughout the Gaza Strip, including through the use of experienced multilateral bodies and NGOs that can get life-saving aid directly to those in need and prevent diversion.” 
    “The Israeli hostages, held in Gaza by Hamas since their brutal attack on Israel on October 7th, have suffered far too long, as have their families. It is imperative that those still living be brought home as soon as possible, before more perish as the war drags on. And it is essential that the remains of those presumed killed – including Americans Omer Neutra and Itay Chen – be reunited with their loved ones. After many months of despair, it is long past time to bring all of the hostages home,” wrote the Senators. 
    The full text of the letter is available HERE.
    Senator Rosen has been leading the push for Hamas to release the remaining hostages and has been calling for increased humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza. As Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Near East, Senator Rosen led a hearing focused on the Middle East, where she raised the importance of humanitarian access and a negotiated ceasefire that brings the hostages home. Earlier this year, she traveled to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, and Iraq, discussing the war in Gaza and humanitarian aid in several of her diplomatic engagements. Senator Rosen also led a bipartisan, bicameral resolution demanding the safe release of hostages still held by Hamas. In January, she applauded the agreement between Israel and Hamas to pause fighting and secure hostage releases.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Padilla Questions Former AG Eric Holder on Republican Push for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas During Spotlight Forum on Voter Suppression

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

    WATCH: Padilla Questions Former AG Eric Holder on Republican Push for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas During Spotlight Forum on Voter Suppression

    Office of Special Counsel Confirms Hatch Act Investigation Following Padilla Letter

    Holder: “It’s both a sign of weakness and a sign of fear … The President and his party are afraid of the voters, and they are trying to manipulate the maps in Texas so that they can rig the election in 2026.”

    WATCH: Padilla questions Attorney General Holder and Professor Levitt on Republican power grab for five additional Texas congressional seats
     
    Watch the full spotlight forum, including witness opening statements and questioning, here.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former Secretary of State, convened a spotlight forum titled “Protecting the Future of American Democracy: Fighting a Surge in Voter Suppression.” During the forum, he questioned former Attorney General Eric Holder and Loyola Law School Professor Justin Levitt on the Trump Administration’s efforts in Texas and other states to implement mid-decade racial redistricting for partisan political purposes.

    The spotlight forum — co-led by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — came as Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives released their new gerrymandered maps, caving to pressure from political appointees at Trump’s White House and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in an effort to create five additional Republican congressional seats.

    Padilla highlighted his recent letter to the independent Office of Special Counsel demanding an investigation into senior Trump Administration officials for carrying out the President’s partisan scheme to racially gerrymander Texas and other states, calling it “a clear violation of the Hatch Act.” In response to Padilla’s letter, the Hatch Act Unit at the Office of Special Counsel confirmed they will open a file to address this potential violation.

    While questioning Attorney General Holder, Padilla called the Trump-directed Texas redistricting “nothing short of a power grab” and emphasized that Republicans are “trying to tip the scales because they’re afraid of the response of the people in the 2026 election” to their extreme agenda. Holder further underscored the stakes of the Trump Administration’s partisan attempt at a racial gerrymander and highlighted an ongoing lawsuit on Texas’ previous gerrymander. He emphasized that nearly 90 percent of Texas’ population growth that recently granted them additional congressional seats came from people of color moving to Texas, yet the state previously added two majority white congressional districts.

    • PADILLA: Attorney General Holder, what is your reaction to seeing a President of the United States — it’s not a dog whistle, it’s not saying the quiet part out loud, they’re using bull horns now — publicly call for partisan advantage through mid-decade racial gerrymandering and redistricting from the White House grounds, and is the Department of Justice appropriate to be party to this?
    • HOLDER: Yeah. I mean, it’s both a sign of weakness and a sign of fear, as I indicated before. The President and his party are afraid of the voters, and they are trying to manipulate the maps in Texas so that they can rig the election in 2026, and people need to understand: this is not just a Texas problem. I mean, you know, the margin in the House of Representatives is now, I guess, three seats or so. What they’re trying to get is five seats out of Texas with the thought that that will be an insurance policy to somehow keep an unpopular party with unpopular policies, unpopular candidates in power in the United States House of Representatives. And to have a President of the United States make that kind of statement, I mean, it’s not, it’s as you say. He’s saying the quiet part out loud. He’s not saying that there’s a basis for this other than just “give me five seats so that I will have those protections that we need.” […]
    • HOLDER: I think this is all about power. It’s all about the acquisition and the maintenance of power. It’s about the fear that they have of the people. And I think that this body, this committee and all Americans have to do all that we can to oppose that which they are trying to do, which is, at base, fundamentally un-American.

    Padilla also asked Professor Levitt about the Trump Administration’s potential Hatch Act violations as a result of their partisan redistricting push. Levitt called the redistricting attempt “flatly unlawful,” emphasizing the Supreme Court’s 9-0 ruling that excessive partisan gerrymanders are unconstitutional and criticizing the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s recent letter to Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The DOJ letter purports that they have “serious concerns regarding the legality” of four majority-minority districts represented by Democrats, giving Texas a pretext for their gerrymander, despite the state previously defending their district lines and arguing for several years that they had utilized a race-blind process for developing them.

    • PADILLA: In addition to the disregard, disrespect to voters of this whole exercise, as I mentioned in my opening statement, there’s a genuine significant concern about Hatch Act violations when the President of the United States and those around him are clearly utilizing their position and resources for partisan political purposes. Professor Levitt, are we on track here? Can you share your thoughts?
    • LEVITT: Yeah, lamentably, I think we are, Ranking Member Padilla. To have the Texas legislators violate their oaths of office by acting unconstitutionally and unlawfully to erect an excessive partisan gerrymander — the Supreme Court said nine to nothing in 2019 that excessive partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. It is inconsistent with democratic principles. So, to have a number of Texas legislators about to violate their own oaths that they have sworn is alarming. I share Attorney General Holder’s concern that to have that cheer-led from the lawn of the White House and from the Department of Justice is even more alarming. It is both unconstitutional and unlawful. You have passed, Congress has passed, laws that prohibit the use of public office, including the offices in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for any partisan purpose. And the letter that was sent to Texas that Texas relied on a month after disclaiming exactly the same arguments was such shoddy pretext that it is impossible to understand that letter as anything other than a partisan act, and issued from the Department of Justice that’s flatly unlawful.

    Video of Padilla’s first round of questioning is available here, and his second round of questioning is available here.

    Padilla’s opening remarks from today’s spotlight forum are available here.

    In addition to Attorney General Holder and Professor Levitt, Democratic Senators also heard today from North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Allison Riggs and Vet Voice Foundation Chief Executive Officer Janessa Goldbeck on systematic attacks on the right to vote.

    Read Attorney General Eric Holder’s opening testimony here.

    Read Professor Justin Levitt’s opening testimony here and his full written testimony here.

    Read Associate Justice Allison Riggs’ opening testimony here.

    Read Vet Voice CEO Janessa Goldbeck’s opening testimony here. The Rules Committee Democrats’ spotlight forum series continues to underscore the dangers of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attacks on election security, integrity, and funding required to smoothly administer elections and protect American democracy. The first spotlightforum in May focused on Congressional Republicans’ Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order, both of which threaten to disenfranchise millions of eligible American citizens.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Veterans Legislation Passes Out of Committee, Heads to Senate Floor for Final Vote

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) legislation, the Veterans Homecare Choice Act—which aims to expand care options for veterans by allowing caregiver registries to qualify for the Community Care Network (CCN)—passed out of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The legislation would give veterans greater flexibility in choosing home health services—such as nursing care, health aides, or companion support—from independent professionals. The legislation effectively reverses limitations introduced by the 2018 VA MISSION Act, restoring access to homecare providers operating through caregiver registries and enabling reimbursement through the VA.

    “When our country’s heroes need medical care in their own homes, they should be able to decide what kind of service is best for them,” said Sen. Tuberville. “This bill fixes an obvious error that’s forcing veterans into one-size-fits-all homecare programs instead of giving them the options they deserve. Having care in the home is an important and personal decision. I’m glad to see this legislation pass out of committee and head to the floor for a vote.Veterans deserve the freedom to choose a homecare provider they trustand they are one step closer to being able to make that decision.”

    In addition to the Veterans Homecare Choice Act, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed the Veterans ACCESS Act, which included elements of the Ensuring Continuity in Veterans Health Act, legislation Sen. Tuberville introduced earlier this year. The Ensuring Continuity in Veterans Health Actallows veterans to continue accessing community care for services they already receive, prevents disruptions for veterans receiving specialized treatments from community care providers, and provides veterans with the most convenient providers.

    MORE:

    Tuberville, Moran Introduce Legislation to Give Cost-of-Living Increase to Veterans

    Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Help Disabled Veterans

    Tuberville, VA Secretary Doug Collins Discuss Streamlining Processes to Improve Outcomes for Veterans

    Tuberville, Lee Introduce Legislation to Repurpose Woke USAID Funding to Improve Veterans’ Homes

    Tuberville, Boozman Introduce Legislation to Support Defrauded Veterans

    Tuberville Reintroduces Legislation to Expand Treatment Options for Veterans

    Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Ensure Community Care Access for Veterans

    Tuberville, Moran Introduce Legislation to Improve Access to Care for Veterans

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: DelBene Underscores Risks to Medicare & Medicaid at Redmond Senior Care Facility

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

    Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) visited Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living as part of a National Day of Action to raise awareness about harmful cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. DelBene met with facility staff to discuss how the recently passed Big Ugly Bill is already affecting care and creating uncertainty for providers and patients alike.

    The Big Ugly Bill slashed over $1 trillion from the U.S. health care system, putting more than 15 million Americans at risk of losing health coverage and triggering deep cuts to both Medicare and Medicaid. In Washington state, hospitals could lose an estimated $662 million annually. The bill also weakened Medicare through a half-trillion-dollar sequester and stricter eligibility rules for immigrants, while reducing Medicaid payments to providers and putting more than 500 nursing homes nationwide at risk of closure.

    “Medicare and Medicaid are lifelines for Washington seniors, working families, and people with disabilities. Congress should be strengthening, not dismantling, these vital programs,” said DelBene. “I heard directly from caregivers and residents today who are worried about what these cuts mean for their future. I’ll keep fighting to protect access to affordable, high-quality care for every Washingtonian.”

    “By slashing Medicaid, we aren’t just cutting a budget line- we are cutting off lifelines for seniors who depend on skilled nursing care to survive with dignity. These are not just numbers on a page- they are people, families, and futures,” said Sravanthi Dasari, DPT, Administrator for Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living.

    “If we can’t provide adequate therapy, that stroke patient may never walk again. If we can’t maintain proper staffing ratios, that confused resident might fall and break a hip,” said Victor, MDS Coordinator for Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living. “These aren’t just statistics in a budget – they’re real people whose highest level of functioning and quality of life depend on the assessments I complete and the funding those assessments generate. Medicare and Medicaid funding doesn’t just pay bills; it preserves hope and human dignity.”

    “The Big Beautiful Bill will be devastating for everyone, especially for nursing home residents which will end up having ramifications for every US citizen, because the quality of health care will be diminished and people will end up leaving the profession,” said Joe Pergamo DPT/DOR for Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living. “Thank you for being a voice for the unheard population. The time to act is now so we could prevent what will be devastating to people who rely on health care services. It would end up having ripple effects and long-lasting decline. People will end up going without much needed healthcare and as a result get weaker and sicker.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI China: Brazil defeat China to reach Men’s VNL Finals semis

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Host China lost 3-1 to world No. 4 Brazil in the quarterfinal as the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals kicked off on Wednesday.

    Li Yongzhen (L) of China competes during the match between China and Brazil at the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Men’s Finals in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province, July 30, 2025. (Photo by Suo Xianglu/Xinhua)

    This year’s VNL Finals follow a single-elimination format. China joined the top seven teams from the preliminary round in the fight for the title.

    Brazil, the tournament favorite, finished the preliminary phase with an 11-1 record and had previously swept China 3-0 in the Chicago leg in June.

    China made a strong start, overcoming an early deficit in the first set to win 31-29. Key contributions came from Wen Zihua, Yu Yuantai and Li Yongzhen, with China scoring six blocks – while Brazil did not record any.

    “I’m more than satisfied, I mean I am proud of the team,” said China head coach Vital Heynen. “At the beginning of the VNL, we could not defend, but today we were amazing. I’ve never seen them fighting like today.”

    In the second set, China led 17-14 but then conceded nine consecutive points. Despite calling two timeouts, the team was unable to turn the tables and lost the set 19-25.

    Brazil took control in the third set with a 25-16 win, then sealed the match in the fourth, pulling away late to secure a 25-21 victory. Brazil’s Alan Souza scored a match-high 26 points, while Wen Zihua led China with 15.

    “The only problem is we don’t know how to win,” Heynen admitted. “I see big steps forward, but we have to be very fair that Brazil is many steps in front of us. That is clear, but I go out of the VNL with a very nice feeling. We were fighting and that was the most important. Sport is about giving everything. My guys were giving everything. That’s what I want!”

    Looking ahead to the World Championship in the Philippines starting September 12, Heynen remained optimistic: “We have another seven weeks to get better, and then we’ll see. If we play like this [today] and we lose, I have no problem with anything, because this is the way we have to play.”

    Earlier on Wednesday, Italy defeated Cuba 3-1 to advance to the semifinals. France will face Slovenia and Japan will take on Poland in the remaining quarterfinals on Thursday. 

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Sweden and US strengthen cooperation on research, innovation and education

    Source: Government of Sweden

    To improve the conditions for cooperation between Swedish and American universities, research institutions and businesses on research, innovation and education, Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States of America.

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI Europe: New climate finance goal adopted at COP29

    Source: Government of Sweden

    After long negotiations, the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 concluded on 24 November 2024 with a decision on a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG). The NCQG encompasses USD 300 billion annually. However, decisions on other negotiating points were postponed to next year’s COP30 in Brazil.

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vasquez condemns Gaza starvation policy, calls for end to military aid to Israel until ceasefire is reached

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 30, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) released the following statement on the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza. 

    “The intentional starvation of innocent children in Gaza is undeniable and abhorrent. It is unacceptable that President Netanyahu openly denies the effect of his own cruel actions in a way that clearly flies in the face of what millions around the world have seen with their own eyes. This stark violation of human rights calls on us to do everything we can to protect the lives of these innocent children.”

    “The administration must use every diplomatic tool possible to put an end to this atrocity and immediately pause all military assistance until a ceasefire is reached. Additionally, sanctions must be placed on Israeli officials who have ordered or condoned the killing of innocent civilians. The United States must hold those who have contributed to the killing of innocent people — including children — accountable, and President Trump must use his power to bring an end to this conflict and humanitarian crisis,” said Vasquez.

    As the first member of the New Mexico delegation to call for a ceasefire, Rep. Vasquez has continued to push the administration to ensure innocent civilians in Gaza are not subjected to mass starvation and indiscriminate killing on the American taxpayer’s dime. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray, Health Insurance Marketplace Experts Lay Out How Republicans’ Refusal to Extend Health Care Tax Credits Will Spike Premiums & Health Care Costs for Millions

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    KFF: Individual market insurers are requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years; Out-of-pocket premium payments will go up by 75 percent if the tax credits expire

    In Washington state, expiration of health care tax credits will kick 80,000 people off health coverage

    Senator Murray has been fighting for months to extend tax credits that help working families afford health care and has introduced legislation to make them permanent

    ***Watch full press conference HERE; download HERE***

    Washington, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a virtual press conference with Jeanne Lambrew, Director of Health Care Reform at The Century Foundation and a former senior official in the Obama administration official who worked on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and Washington Health Benefit Exchange CEO Ingrid Ulrey, to discuss—and sound the alarm on—how Republicans’ refusal to extend critical ACA tax credits that help families and small businesses who purchase their own health insurance on the marketplace will spike premiums and raise health care costs for people in Washington state and across the country.

    At the end of this year, enhanced premium tax credits Congress enacted to lower the cost of health care for working people who buy health insurance on their own are set to expire. For months, Republicans have refused to extend them, including recently as part of their partisan reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—which was explicitly designed to extend expiring tax credits, and included trillions of dollars in tax breaks for billionaires.

    If Republicans continue to refuse to extend the health care tax credits, 22 million Americans across the country—including more than 216,000 people in Washington state—will see their health care costs and premiums skyrocket in January. The expiration of these tax credits is estimated to drive up out-of-pocket premium payments by an average of over 75 percent for Americans who rely on ACA health plans for coverage, and these higher costs will push 4.2 million people off their health coverage over the next decade—including an estimated 80,000 people in Washington state. Right now, health insurers and state regulators are finalizing premium rates for next year, and marketplace insurers are requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years. In Washington state, health insurers have already requested to hike their rates by one fifth—people who purchase health insurance through the marketplace may see their premiums rise between 4.7 percent and 23.6 percent, depending on the plan. A fact sheet from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange on the enhanced premium tax credits and what their expiration would mean for people in Washington state is HERE.

    “While the health care tax credits Republicans refused to extend may not expire until the end of the year, insurers are setting their rates right now, and when credits expire—rates go higher. Marketplace insurers are right now requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years. In Washington state, health insurers have already requested to hike their rates by over 20 percent, in no small part because of what Republicans have done—or rather, refused to do,” said Senator Murray. “When premiums spike next year, I am going to make sure everyone knows it’s because Republicans chose to make health care more expensive. Not on accident. Not for reasons unknown. But because Republicans decided to do nothing and let costs skyrocket. Because Republicans decided we can afford to shovel trillions of dollars towards tax breaks for billionaires, but we can’t afford to help working families get health care.”

    Senator Murray played a critical role in passing the enhanced premium tax credits in the American Rescue Plan in 2021 and extending them in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, and she has been fighting for months to make sure these important health care tax credits don’t expire, including cosponsoring legislation—the Health Care Affordability Act—that would make them permanent.

    “The expiring ACA Marketplace tax credits are critical to keeping meaningful coverage within reach for millions of Americans,” said Jeanne Lambrew, Director of Health Care Reform at The Century Foundation and a former senior official in the Obama administration official who worked on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Unless Republicans come to the table to lower costs for families by extending these tax credits, Americans across the country are going to see their premiums skyrocket—especially in rural areas and places where access to health care is already challenging.”

    Enhanced premium tax credits help more than 216,000 Washingtonians afford health coverage and are especially important for older and rural residents, small business owners and self-employed people in our state. If Congress allows them to expire, people will be angry and upset by steep premium increases starting in January 2026. Many will drop coverage and everyone in our state will feel the pain of ripple effects across our health care system and economy,” said Ingrid Ulrey, Chief Executive Officer for Washington Health Benefit Exchange. “These tax credits work. They help make coverage more affordable for working people, families and small businesses all over the state.”

    Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

    “Thank you all for joining me today. You know, Republicans have been trying to tell some big fat lies about their big, awful bill, especially when it comes to health care.

    “So, we are here to set the record straight, and to give America a stark warning. When Republicans lined up behind Trump, and jammed through a bill they hardly liked, and hardly even read—they didn’t just vote to throw trillions of dollars in tax cuts at some of the richest people in the world, they also voted to throw working families to the wolves and throw America’s health care into chaos.

    “From cutting Medicaid, something they first said they weren’t doing and now are pretending they want to undo. To shuttering hospitals, something they first said would not happen and then said they could cover with a Band-Aid.

    “To approving Trump’s sabotage of the ACA marketplace something that will kick millions of families off their coverage.

    “To refusing to extend health care tax credits, something that will send premiums skyrocketing, and push another 4.2 million people off their insurance.

    “Let’s be clear about just how big of a deal that is. Right now, these tax credits—passed entirely by Democrats—are saving millions of people across the country hundreds of dollars a month!

    “In Washington state, we have over 200,000 people—who are saving around $1,300 a year on average.

    “But instead of extending that support for working class families, instead of putting health care first, Republicans put billionaires first.

    “And now families are going to be the one stuck footing the cost for Republicans’ big, ugly bill. And unfortunately, the consequences of Republican actions—which they keep trying to deny—are coming sooner than Republicans might think.

    “Because, while the health care tax credits they refused to extend may not expire until the end of this year, insurers are setting their rates right now, and when credits expire—rates go higher.

    “Marketplace insurers are right now requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years.

    “In Washington state, health insurers have already requested to hike their rates by over 20 percent, in no small part because of what Republicans have done—or rather, refused to do.

    “Combined with Republican ACA sabotage? That could push as many as 150,000 people off their health care coverage across our state. To say nothing of the people who will get pushed off Medicaid in 2027 and beyond.

    “This is going to be catastrophic—which is why it’s so important we sound the alarm for families about what is coming down the pike.

    “And I want to sound the alarm for Republicans too—if you don’t come to the table ASAP to fix this, you are not going to be able to spin your way out of this reality.  

    “When over 15 million people lose their health care due to Republican health care cuts and sabotage, you are not going to convince them everything is A-Okay.

    “When hospitals shutter because Republicans gutted their funding, you can’t just pretend everything is sunshine and nothing is wrong.

    “When insurance companies jack up premiums across the country and millions of families lose the health care tax credits that saved them thousands of dollars because Republicans refused to lift a finger, you’re not going to get by, by sticking your heads in the sand.

    “You are the ones who put American health care on this collision course. You may try to ignore the warnings, you may try to ignore the voices back home speaking out, but you’re not going to be able to avoid the responsibility.

    “When premiums spike next year, I am going to make sure everyone knows it’s because Republicans chose to make health care more expensive.

    “Not on accident. Not for reasons unknown. But because Republicans decided to do nothing and let costs skyrocket.

    “Because Republicans decided we can afford to shovel trillions of dollars towards tax breaks for billionaires, but we can’t afford to help working families get their health care.

    “They couldn’t be more wrong.

    “So, I’m really glad to be joined today by two speakers who are experts on the ACA tax credits and they can lay out what their expiration will mean for families in Washington state and across the country.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Speaks Out Against Nomination of Radical, Unqualified Conspiracy Theorist Joe Kent Ahead of Confirmation Vote to Lead National Counterterrorism Center

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks on Senate Floor***

    Washington, D.C. Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke out on the Senate floor against the nomination of Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Senator Murray slammed Kent for his lack of experience and long history of promoting conspiracy theories and white supremacist views, and urged her colleagues to vote against his nomination.

    Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on the Senate Floor, are below:

    “Thank you, M. President.

    “The National Counterterrorism Center plays a crucial role keeping our country safe. The agency is responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence to help protect our nation from terrorist threats. It is sober, serious work that requires a level head and a commitment to putting the mission before politics.

    “Which is why I am deeply alarmed that Republicans are charging ahead to put it under the thumb of a conspiracy theorist who espouses white supremacist views, and is patently unqualified for this important role in just about every way imaginable. You are supposed to pick people with qualifications, but just about everything we know about Joe Kent is disqualifying for this role and alarming.

    “There’s his track record chumming it up with white supremacists, from discussing campaign strategy with avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes, to giving an interview to a guy who has defended Hitler, to rallying with the founder of a far-right paramilitary group, and let’s not forget the Proud Boy that he hired as a consultant!

    “And it’s not just his connections, there’s his own deeply bigoted statements like: claiming Islam is ‘based on conquest at its core,’ and pushing racist ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric.

    “That is alarming stuff. Let’s be frank here: These are white supremacist views—and they should have absolutely no place in our federal government.

    “And then there is his track record of politicizing intelligence, like when he was caught red handed pushing to change intelligence reports—facts be damned—so they would agree with Trump and attack Biden.

    “Joe Kent also has a track record of peddling conspiracies and attacking law enforcement, from saying our country is at war with ‘leftist cabal,’ or calling to completely defund the FBI and ATF, agencies that keep Americans safe from foreign and domestic threats, or pushing the offensive and false conspiracy that the January 6th insurrection was somehow a deep state plot.

    “You want to know who in the federal government was behind the insurrection? How about we start with man in the White House who promised to march to the Capitol with them? How about we start with the President who calls rioters patriots? How about we start with the guy who pardoned violent cop beaters—en masse?

    “If you cannot be honest with the American people about January 6th—you have no business being trusted with protecting our democracy. It should be that simple.

    “And let’s not forget—Joe Kent was on the infamous Signal-gate chat—where classified attack plans were discussed with no regard for security, or law, not to mention the safety of our servicemembers.

    “You know what he had to say about that? He said no classified information was discussed. That was the answer he gave at his Senate confirmation hearing.

    “Now it’s obvious that answer was a complete lie. Last week, the Pentagon’s watchdog confirmed there was classified information in that Signal chat.

    “So, was Kent being intentionally dishonest? Or does he not understand what classified information is?

    “Either way—it is completely disqualifying. Which—as I think I’ve made clear—is pretty much the pattern here. 

    “So here is my warning to Republicans, confirming someone like Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center makes about as much sense as putting Donald Trump in charge of releasing the Epstein files after all that we have learned.

    “We have all the evidence we could ever need—in the public record, right now—that he is not going to do the right thing. And we have no reason to believe he will do this important, high-stakes, work in a serious, impartial manner—let alone a competent one.

    “So, M. President, I am here to urge all of my colleagues to join me in doing exactly what people back in Washington state have done each time they were asked to trust Joe Kent, vote no.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Hochul is a Guest on ‘inside City Hall’

    Source: US State of New York

    arlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” with Errol Louis. The Governor discussed Monday night’s tragic shooting in Midtown Manhattan, the need to implement stronger gun safety legislation nationwide, federal cuts to medicaid and provided a response to redistricting.

    AUDIO: The Governor’s interview is available in audio form here.

    A rush transcript of the Governor’s interview is available below:

    Errol Louis, NY1: Governor Hochul is here. She joins us to talk more about that. Welcome back to the program — good to see you.

    Governor Hochul: Good to see again as well, Errol.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Governor, were State Police or investigators part of the response to the shooting?

    Governor Hochul: We always offer our assistance. We call immediately and certainly NYPD had it under control. But we are there on the periphery.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Your New York City office is really a short walk from 345 Park Ave. Does your building and the neighborhood as a whole feel safe?

    Governor Hochul: Yes, but it’s very much on everyone’s minds since this horrific massacre of four innocent people in New York. Even I walked into my office the day after, and I look at the security guards and I think about what must be going through their minds right now to know that this happened so incredibly, brazenly beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined.

    So, I feel safe where I am. I mean, this is an event the likes of which we’ve never seen here. The last mass shooting in New York City was 25 years ago, so I don’t want people to think this is a regular occurrence. I mean, no one would ever possibly think that, but it does shake that sense of security that everybody should have getting off the subway, walking into their office building, walking past the guards, and you should have the confidence to know you’re going to make it safely.

    I think there’s a lot of people right now who are just feeling really anxious about it. I can feel the — not just the sadness throughout the city, but also the, “Am I going to be okay?”

    I was speaking to one of the victim’s spouses and his advice to me was, “Go home and hug your husband because you don’t know how long you have each other,” and I think that’s a reminder as New Yorkers of never taking for granted the fact that we have people in our lives we cherish, and when they’re gone, there’s nothing more devastating.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Absolutely. You are calling for reinstituting the assault weapons ban that America had for about a decade or so. You are also — I think I heard you talking about how New York laws, if applied nationally or in other states, would really cut down on a lot of these kinds of tragedies.

    Governor Hochul: Absolutely. We have the toughest gun laws in the nation. I have added to them, especially after something we spoke about a number of times, which is the massacre of 10 individuals in my hometown of Buffalo. I went back and toughened our laws and raised the age for acquisition of guns and furthered the red flag laws, expanding them. We now have 4,300 guns that have been taken out of the hands of people who could have used them to harm themselves or others — that’s how you prevent these tragedies.

    So other states could do this — we’ve banned assault weapons, there’s no high capacity magazines — but as long as other states do it and someone can cross our state lines by simply getting into a vehicle, we are not safe. And if every state on their own followed what we’re doing, they can also claim to be safe states.

    We also have the lowest homicide rate using guns of anywhere in the nation of the large states — it’s extraordinary. The laws are working. The data proves there are more people walking our streets that are alive today because our gun laws have protected them.

    Now, every state could manage the way we have, but also with respect to the assault weapons, there needs to be a national ban. It is within the realm of possibility. We had it for an entire decade, and Bill Clinton put it in motion in 1994 and George Bush let it lapse in 2004. And at that moment, we knew that we were more vulnerable to mass casualty events in our schools and at concerts, grocery stores or even in office buildings because of that action. Let’s restore it once again.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. There’s been a lot of political development since 2004 and there’s a large constituency out there, so we’ll see where that goes. Let me switch to a different topic.

    The Republican-controlled Legislature in Texas is proposing a mid-decade redistricting. Normally you wait 10 years and then you do it after the census, but they’re proposing new lines — they were really released today — that would make five Democratic seats majority Republican. Basically, they’re trying to sort of really improve the politics and change, possibly, the control of the House or secure control of the House of Representatives. You’ve suggested that New York might do something similar.

    Governor Hochul: What they’re doing is outlandish. They’re not playing by the rules, but a state like New York who has played by the rules should not be at disadvantage when another state and Donald Trump, at his direction, is basically disenfranchising communities of color represented by Democrats and putting them under Republican control, who, as we know, will never represent their interests. They won’t fight for health care, they won’t fight for nutrition programs, they won’t save them from the Big Ugly Bill which is hurting our country.

    So New York, I’m looking at all of our options — we do have options. I’ve had many conversations at high levels and I’ll be announcing what our plans are going forward. But we’re not going to sit down and just take this, that’s not who we are. We have to fight back, we have to fight back hard, and, as I’ve said, all is fair in love and war. You want to play by new rules, then we’ll get new rules.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay, fair enough. Speaking of new rules, there’s a question on the ballot this fall for New York City voters asking whether or not we should change our municipal elections to coincide with the presidential election. I was wondering if you have an opinion about that.

    Governor Hochul: We did this at the state level because there’s not usually a lot of interest in the local election for supervisors and mayors and councilmembers — that’s the world I come out of. I was 14 years as a local official and they used to call it the “off-years,” and the “on-years” were presidential or when the governor runs, which always has a higher turnout.

    It is so important to me that we get more people participating in this process, and I do believe that if all the elections were shifted to the presidential year, there would be a lot of interest. People can process multiple elections at the same time, they can think about who they want for their local officials as well as the President, and it gives an opportunity for a party like the Democrats to have one coherent, strong message to help carry our candidates from the bottom on to the top.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Let me ask you about that, though. Let’s take you back to Kathy Hochul as Mayor of Hamburg, right? I mean if you are dealing with where to put the municipal waste water treatment center and there’s also conversations going on about war and peace and tariffs and everything else, isn’t there a concern — or a likelihood, frankly — that local issues will just get tossed?

    Governor Hochul: No. One of the reasons I think that there’s not the voter participation that we should have in a country like the United States of America — it is a privilege to vote, people shed blood for this right, it was denied to people of color for so many decades — for a hundred years — and people won that right. I want more people to exercise it. And what happens is in a non-presidential election, non-governor’s election year, there’s not as much attention. New York is a little bit different, but there’s not as much attention on this and I do believe that more people will turn out and participate.

    More people vote for president than any election out of this cycle. Why wouldn’t we want those people to also be able to select who their leaders are at the local level? We wish everybody would participate all four years but they don’t, so let’s acknowledge human nature.

    And I also think there’s something that goes on — it’s election fatigue. People need a break, otherwise it’s nonstop campaigning all-year-round for four straight years. And I think when you sometimes have special elections, and vacancies, and the mayor — we have school board races at different times — it’s very confusing to people. So let’s just simplify it and have one big election.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. And you’re comfortable being part of that as Governor?

    Governor Hochul: Absolutely.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay, very interesting. We’ll see how that works out. While we’re talking about national issues, one result of the bill that President Trump just signed into law, the Essential Medicaid Plan that covers 1.6 million New Yorkers is being cut back. My understanding is that on January 1, an estimated 700,000 people are going to get kicked off that plan and they’ll have to go to the state-only Medicaid program, which will cost the State almost $3 billion. Is there a contingency in place for that, or is this going to be part of the next Budget?

    Governor Hochul: No, well, we have the time because the number of people who will be affected will be actually more 2027. So it’ll be — in our ‘26 function when we do our ‘27 Budget, we’ll be able to address it then. But, look at what we’re being asked to do.

    The Republicans can make all the cuts they want, save money for themselves and push it out onto the State — something that has always been a shared responsibility and expecting our residents to pay for something that they never had to before. So it’s hard to put this on the State. We receive about $93 billion in assistance from the federal government every year — we can’t make all that up. What we can do is be strategic about this.

    We don’t want people to go hungry in our state — that’s not going to happen. We want people to have health care, it’s critically important, so we’re going to have to prioritize our spending, but we can do that. There’s no urgency right now. I’m not sure for sure that we won’t come back in a special session, but I want people to understand it would not make a difference because what we would do this fall can be done in January or during the Budget process, because these cuts are not going to take place until later

    I want people to understand why there’s not the urgency to go have a special session today. for example.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Let me switch topics. We’ve been reporting that the State Office of Cannabis Management has notified over 150 dispensaries — including 88 here in the city — that they’re out of compliance, that there are laws that require them to be at least 500 feet from schools, and churches and so forth.

    The source of the problem seems to be that it was calculated wrong — the measurements were calculated wrong. What’s the fix that’s needed?

    Governor Hochul: The Legislature, when they wrote the legislation, decided to have 500 feet away from the property line. Some campuses of schools are quite large, so it does push out the opportunity for these businesses quite a bit further out.

    The State Liquor Authority, for example, has it be 500 feet from the front door, which is how it was applied by, interestingly, the previous individuals running Office of Cannabis Management who are no longer there. We went in and did an audit to see what was not working there and this was uncovered that they had applied the law incorrectly.

    But I don’t think it should be born on the backs of these people — so many of them, their life savings, they’re going to these businesses. They’ve worked hard to go through the lengthy process to be licensed and then to have a location. So I have said we are going to stand up for them. These are entrepreneurs, they’re small business owners — many from communities of color — and this is their shot to have a chance to be successful. So, we’re not going to let anything happen to them. We’ll make them whole, and I have got to go back to the Legislature and get them persuaded to change the law to be consistent with what we do for liquor stores, for example.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Got it. And would a solution also possibly include grandfathering in the ones that are already opening up.

    Governor Hochul: I’d like to do that, yes. Yeah, no, absolutely. I don’t want them hurt. They’re part of our community already, they’re working hard, they waited a long time for this, and, basically, I don’t want them screwed.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. Look, we’ve got a lot more to think about as we get closer to the elections. Have you settled on a candidate? I think during the primary when I asked you about it, you said, “We’ll let New York City Democrats figure out who their nominee is and then we’ll figure it out.”

    Governor Hochul: That’s right.

    Errol Louis, NY1: So now that there is a nominee —

    Governor Hochul: I’m having very interesting conversations right now. So, there’s no urgency. The election is in November; it is the last day of July, almost August. We’ll be deciding our path forward, but it’s important to me to have a working relationship, whomever the Mayor is.

    I have said to individuals, “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy, you pick.” I can be a strong supporter — with Mayor Adams, I have been; $1 billion for City of Yes so we can build more housing. I’m paying overtime, the state is paying overtime so our subways are safer at night for the NYPD to be there.

    So, I’ve always been a strong partner. I also represent the 8.3 million people who call New York home. I have an apartment here, I’m here all the time. I’m walking the streets. I have the same complaints — like, why isn’t the garbage picked up here?

    Errol Louis, NY1: Sure.

    Governor Hochul: Why is there a scaffold building, scaffolding everywhere — it’s maddening. So I understand, but relationships are important and I think it’s important for me to have those talks in advance, any decisions I make.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. Be sure to let us know when you have decided.

    Governor Hochul: We will.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Thanks so much for coming by. Great to see you.

    Governor Hochul: Good to see you, Errol.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Bipartisan Bills Exposing Boondoggles and Secret Spending Advance out of Committee Unanimously

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

    WASHINGTON – A pair of U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) bills to expose billion dollar boondoggles and secret spending in Washington advanced unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    “Today is a great day for taxpayers and a horrific day for waste and shady bureaucrats,” said Ernst. “We are $37 trillion in debt and cannot afford to waste more than $160 billion or lose track of billions of dollars. We are now one step closer to protecting the American people from being forced to write blank checks to failed and runaway projects.”

    Watch Senator Ernst’s full remarks here.
    Ernst’s Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act requires that any taxpayer-funded project more than $1 billion over budget or more than five years behind schedule is made public and scrutinized. The advancement of the bill comes after she released a groundbreaking report showing that cost overruns from just 13 boondoggles are costing taxpayers $160 billion more than promised.
    Her Stop Secret Spending Act will boost transparency in Washington by requiring all spending to be publicly disclosed. Currently, billions of dollars in spending is hidden from public disclosure by bureaucrats labeling it as an “Other Transactions Agreement,” including more than $18 billion last year.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Following Her Advocacy, Ernst Praises USDA Moving Closer to Heartland

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

    WASHINGTON – Following her work exposing out-of-office bureaucrats and advocating for D.C. headquarters to be moved out of the beltway bubble, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) praised Secretary Rollins’ major announcement to reorganize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
    During today’s Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden thanked Ernst for her continuous leadership and noted that USDA does not meet the congressionally mandated threshold of 60% occupancy. He made clear that the USDA reorganization is adhering to the will of Congress and will benefit our farmers and rural communities.
    Ernst went on to point out the nearly vacant USDA South Building and highlighted her FOR SALE Act to put this building and others on the chopping block.

    Watch Senator Ernst’s remarks here.
    “The Senate must pass my FOR SALE Act to dispose of underutilized buildings, including the Ag South Building, and to return the money from those sales to the taxpayers. We need more of these agencies to follow Secretary Rollins’ and USDA’s lead,” said Ernst.
    Ernst also called out Secretary Vilsack for lying to her last year about the true utilization rate of USDA’s headquarters – particularly by denying the accuracy of a government-issued report about low staff attendance and stating a whistleblower report describing the buildings as a ghost town “isn’t even close to correct.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Joins Durbin and Entire Senate Democratic Caucus in Reintroducing John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    July 30, 2025

    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Reverand Raphael Warnock (D-GA), along with the rest of her Senate Democratic colleagues, in reintroducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation that would update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965 that have been eroded in recent years by federal court rulings. The legislation would strengthen our democracy by re-establishing preclearance for jurisdictions with a pattern of voting rights violations, protecting minority communities subject to discriminatory voting practices and defending election workers from threats and intimidation. It is named in honor of voting rights champion and former Congressman John Lewis.

    The right to vote is a fundamental pillar of our democracy,” said Duckworth. “Our democracy is stronger when every voice is heard, yet Trump and Republicans are continuing to build unnecessary barriers to prevent people from voting—especially in communities of color—and undermining the protections that civil rights leaders like John Lewis fought for. Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to help safeguard this pillar of democracy and protect the freedom to vote.”

    This legislation is especially relevant in Texas where, following historic disapproval of Congressional Republicans’ tax bill, Texas state lawmakers are looking to add five additional Republicans. The move comes in direct response to President Trump’s fears that voters may flip the House in the 2026 midterms.

    In the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Shelby County decision in 2013—which gutted the federal government’s ability under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prevent discriminatory changes to voting laws and procedures—states across the country have unleashed a torrent of voter suppression schemes that have systematically disenfranchised tens of thousands of American voters. The Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich delivered yet another blow to the Voting Rights Act, by making it significantly harder for plaintiffs to win lawsuits under the landmark law against discriminatory voting laws or procedures.

    Along with Duckworth, Durbin and Warnock, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jack Reed (D-RI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Gary Peters (D-MI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tina Smith (D-MN), Angus King (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

    A copy of the bill text is available on Senator Duckworth’s website.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Coons, Schmitt, colleagues introduce bipartisan bill reauthorizing the construction of a memorial honoring commitment and service of EMS members

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) introduced a bipartisan bill to extend the deadline for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring the nation’s EMS professionals. This extension is necessary to ensure EMS personnel, who have dedicated their career to providing life-saving care, receive long-overdue recognition in the nation’s capital. The bill is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).

    “Every day, emergency medical technicians are the first line of support when lives in their communities are in danger, sometimes throwing themselves into dangerous and deadly situations to begin treatment,” said Senator Coons. “These first responders deserve to be commemorated in our nation’s capital, and I’ll continue to work to ensure that the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial is completed. This bipartisan bill would mean that EMS organizations have the time they need to build a memorial worthy of them, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass it into law.”

    “EMTs and paramedics in Missouri, and across the United States, work tirelessly during emergencies, often putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives. Thanks to this legislation, our emergency medical service providers will have a well-deserved national memorial that reminds the public of their commitment to service and honors those who have died in the line-of-duty,” said Senator Schmitt.

    “Every single day, emergency medical services first responders are saving lives throughout the nation,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m proud to join my colleagues on this effort to create a memorial to recognize the heroic Americans who are first on the scene, providing medical care in our communities.”

    “As a doctor, I have seen the tight coordination of EMS first responders making sure that someone who has a problem outside the hospital survives and gets well once more. They deserve to be honored with a permanent tribute in our nation’s capital,” said Dr. Cassidy.

    “EMS workers put their lives on the line every single day to protect families and save lives,” said Senator Warren. “We owe them our deep respect and thanks for their selfless service.”

    “Wyoming’s EMS professionals commit themselves to delivering critical, life-saving services throughout our rural state, frequently facing personal danger,” said Senator Lummis. “This bipartisan bill extends the deadline for establishing a National EMS Memorial in Washington, D.C., ensuring these courageous individuals receive the long overdue recognition they deserve in our nation’s capital. I look forward to the opportunity to visit this memorial and honor their extraordinary service someday.”

    A companion bill in the House of Representatives is led by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.). The bill is endorsed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the American Ambulance Association (AAA), and the International Association of EMS Chiefs (IAEMSC).

    “NAEMT commends Senator Schmitt and Senator Coons for introducing legislation to reauthorize the EMS Memorial in Washington, D.C.,” said NAEMT President Chief Chris Wray. “The permanent creation and placement of the National EMS Memorial should remain a top priority for all of us, elected officials and EMS leaders alike. Much like our fire service and law enforcement colleagues, honoring those who died in the line of duty, in service to others and their communities, with a proper memorial is the least we can do to pay appropriate respect to these heroes. I urge you to join me and my fellow EMS professionals in supporting this incredibly important project. Let’s make sure we never forget the ultimate price paramedics, EMTs, and other EMS personnel have paid by honoring their ultimate sacrifice.”

    “The American Ambulance Association sincerely thank Senators Coons and Schmitt for reintroducing legislation to reauthorize the National EMS Memorial in our nation’s capital,” said AAA President Jamie Pafford-Gresham. “Paramedics, EMTs and other EMS professionals provide vital and often lifesaving 9-1-1 emergency and interfacility medical care to our communities and we should properly acknowledge their profession.”

    “The proposed extension of this legislative authority through November 3, 2032, represents both a timely and vital step toward ensuring that the courage, compassion, and sacrifice of our EMS professionals are permanently recognized in our nation’s capital,” said IAEMSC President Scott Cormier. “EMS clinicians—often the first to respond in times of crisis—have long stood as unsung heroes within the public safety community. Their commitment to saving lives in the face of disaster and danger merits a place of national remembrance alongside our fire and law enforcement counterparts.”

    The original bill introduced in 2018, titled the National Emergency Medical Services Commemorative Work Act, authorized the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in D.C. within seven years of enactment. However, the Foundation’s authority to create a memorial expired before the project could be completed due to delays caused by COVID-19 and other challenges. The new legislation would extend the authorization through 2032.

    The memorial will be fully funded by the foundation rather than taxpayer, and any extra funds will be returned to the federal government after the project wraps up.

    You can read the full text of the bill here.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lummis Praises President’s Working Group Report on Digital Assets

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wyoming Cynthia Lummis

    July 30, 2025

    Washington, D.C. –  U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) Chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, released the following statement applauding the impactful efforts of the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets to continue to secure America’s position as the global financial services leader. 

    “I’m overjoyed we finally have a president who understands the transformative power of digital assets and distributed ledger technology to build America’s financial future,” said Lummis. “I’ve been working on many of the proposals found in President Trump’s report since I took office in 2021, and I look forward to partnering with him to deliver on these transformational policies.”

    Since taking office, Senator Lummis has led the charge on the following policies contained in the President’s Working Group report:

    • Senator Lummis has consistently pressured the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks for their failure to follow existing Federal law on providing master accounts to eligible depository institutions engaged in digital asset activities, resulting in the withdrawal of President Biden’s nominee for Vice Chair of Supervision at the Fed, Sarah Bloom Raskin.
    • She has also been the top advocate on Capitol Hill to end Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and ensure that Federal banking regulators do not discriminate against crypto companies—exposing a secret instruction from the Federal Reserve to consider reputation risk and “controversial commentary” in regulating banks engaged in crypto activities.
    • Building off of Wyoming 2019 legislation, Senator Lummis introduced legislation creating a financial technology sandbox for digital asset companies in 2022, and is currently working on a similar proposal as part of the Senate Banking Committee’s comprehensive market structure legislation.
    • She is also the leading advocate on Capitol Hill to integrate digital assets into our nation’s tax code, having introduced legislation in 2022, 2023 and 2025 to create a de minimis exemption for small digital asset purchases, end the double taxation of digital asset miners and stakers, close the wash sale loophole, enable mark to market accounting and end the unfair application of the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT). 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI: Euronet Worldwide Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results – Highlighted by 13% Operating Income Growth

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Digital growth strategy accelerated with the announced acquisition of leading credit card issuing platform
    • Ren signs agreement with top tier United States bank
    • Money Transfer expands digital remittance through Google partnership
    • Money Transfer enters Japanese market with acquisition of Kyodai Remittance
    • Operating margin expansion of 112 basis points

    LEAWOOD, Kan., July 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Euronet (“Euronet” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EEFT), a global leader in payments processing and cross-border transactions, announced today second quarter 2025 financial results.

    Euronet reports the following consolidated results for the second quarter 2025 compared with the same period of 2024:

    • Revenues of $1,074.3 million, a 9% increase from $986.2 million (6% increase on a constant currency1 basis).
    • Operating income of $158.6 million, an 18% increase from $134.3 million (13% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Adjusted EBITDA2 of $206.2 million, a 16% increase  from $178.2 million (11% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Net income attributable to Euronet of $97.6 million, or $2.27 diluted earnings per share, compared with $83.1 million, or $1.73 diluted earnings per share.
    • Adjusted earnings per share3 of $2.56, a 14% increase from $2.25. 

    See the reconciliation of non-GAAP items in the attached financial schedules.   

    “I’m very pleased with the business’ constant currency operating profit growth of 13% and the margin expansion of 112 basis points—on its own, this is exciting.  But, I’m more excited about our accomplishments to further our digital strategy through the acquisition of a leading credit card issuing platform – CoreCard – and the signing of a Ren agreement with one of the top three banks in the United States. 

    The acquisition of CoreCard fits nicely with our Ren platform. As described in a separate press release, this is not just a credit issuing platform, it’s a platform serving leading brands in the US, processing at scale, tried and tested. This premier product gives us yet more opportunity to go after the $10 billion issuing market where the market growth rates are much stronger outside the United States, which aligns strongly with our global business where more than 75% of our revenues are from outside the United States.  Moreover, another exciting aspect of the issuing business is its margin opportunity, nearing 50 percent.  It’s these kinds of initiatives that have contributed to our 20-year double digit growth rate and will continue to drive future growth – focused on digital payments.  This acquisition is directly in line with our strategy to shift a stronger mix of our business toward the digital economy. 

    Not only did we advance our digital agenda with the credit issuing platform, we just signed an agreement with one of the top three banks in the United States for the deployment of our Ren ATM operating and switching product.  While we have had many successes with Ren outside the US, this is not just the first agreement in the US we’ve signed, but it is with super impressive top-tiered bank – a real testament to the value proposition of Ren”, said Michael J. Brown, Euronet’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

    Segment and Other Results

    The EFT Processing Segment reports the following results for the second quarter 2025 compared with the same period or date in 2024:

    • Revenues of $338.5 million, an 11% increase from $305.4 million (6% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Operating income of $84.6million, a 6% increase from $79.9 million (1% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Adjusted EBITDA of $110.6 million, a 5% increase from $105.0 million (no change on a constant currency basis).
    • Total of 57,326 installed ATMs as of June 30, 2025, a 5% increase from 54,736. We operated 56,760 active ATMs as of June 30, 2025, a 5% increase from 54,005 as of June 30, 2024.

    Constant currency revenue, operating income, and adjusted EBITDA growth in the second quarter 2025 was driven by market expansion, growth across most existing markets and the addition of access fees and an increase in interchange fees in certain markets. 

    The epay Segment reports the following results for the Q2 2025 compared with the same period or date in 2024:

    • Revenues of $280.1 million, a 7% increase from $260.9 million (5% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Operating income of $31.1 million, a 19% increase from $26.2 million (17% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Adjusted EBITDA of $32.8 million, a 17% increase from $28.0 million (15% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Transactions of 1,107 million, consistent with prior year.
    • POS terminals of approximately 721,000 as of June 30, 2025, a 3% increase from 703,000.
    • Retailer locations of approximately 354,000 as of June 30, 2025, a 4% increase from 340,000.

    Constant currency revenue growth was driven by continued payments and digital media growth. Operating income and adjusted EBITDA grew faster than revenue, driven by a shift in product mix and effective operating expense management. Transaction growth from payments and digital media was offset by a decrease in low margin mobile transactions in India.

    The Money Transfer Segment reports the following results for the Q2 2025 compared with the same period or date in 2024:

    • Revenues of $457.9 million, a 9% increase from $421.8 million (6% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Operating income of $65.6 million, a 39% increase from $47.3 million (33% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Operating margin expansion of 296 basis points
    • Adjusted EBITDA of $71.6 million, a 33% increase from $54.0 million (28% increase on a constant currency basis).
    • Total transactions of 46.1 million, a 4% increase from 44.3 million.
    • Total digital transactions of 5.8 million, a 29% increase from 4.5 million.
    • Network locations of approximately 631,000 as of June 30, 2025, an 8% increase from approximately 586,000.

    Constant currency revenue growth was primarily driven by growth in cross-border transactions, partially offset by a decrease in intra-US transactions. Direct-to-consumer digital transactions grew by 29%, reflecting continued consumer demand for digital products. Operating income and adjusted EBITDA growth outpaced revenue growth due to gross margin expansion and leverage of scale. Additionally, the Money Transfer segment continued to expand both its market footprint through the acquisition of a 60% interest in Kyodai Remittance as well as its industry leading global payments network to now reach 4.1 billion bank accounts, 3.2 billion wallet accounts and 631,000 payment locations.

    Corporate and Other reports $22.7 million of expense for the second quarter 2025 compared with $19.1 million for the second quarter 2024. The increase in corporate expenses is largely from the increase in long-term share-based compensation.

    Balance Sheet and Financial Position
    Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on hand was $1,329.3 million as of June 30, 2025, compared to $1,393.6 million as of March 31, 2025. Total indebtedness was $2,438.1 million as of June 30, 2025, compared to $2,202.5 million as of March 31, 2025. Availability under the Company’s revolving credit facilities was approximately $884.2 million as of June 30, 2025. 

    The change in net cash is the result of cash generated from operations, working capital fluctuations and share repurchases of $2.3 million shares for $247 million during the second quarter.

    Outlook
    Taking into consideration recent trends in the business and the global economy, the Company anticipates its 2025 adjusted EPS will grow 12% to 16% year-over-year, consistent with its 10- and 20-year compounded annualized growth rates. This outlook does not include any changes that may develop in foreign exchange rates, interest rates or other unforeseen factors.

    Non-GAAP Measures
    In addition to the results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company presents non-GAAP financial measures, such as constant currency financial measures, operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted earnings per share. These measures should be used in addition to, and not a substitute for, revenues, operating income, net income and earnings per share computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors regarding the Company’s performance and overall results of operations. These non-GAAP measures are also an integral part of the Company’s internal reporting and performance assessment for executives and senior management. The non-GAAP measures used by the Company may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies. The attached schedules provide a full reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure.

    The Company does not provide a reconciliation of its forward-looking non-GAAP measures to GAAP due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for GAAP and the related GAAP and non-GAAP reconciliation, including adjustments that would be necessary for foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and other charges reflected in the Company’s reconciliation of historic numbers, the amount of which, based on historical experience, could be significant.  

    (1) Constant currency financial measures are computed as if foreign currency exchange rates did not change from the prior period. This information is provided to illustrate the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on the Company’s results when compared to the prior period.

    (2) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income excluding, to the extent incurred in the period, interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation, amortization, share-based compensation and other non-cash purchase accounting adjustments, non-operating or non-recurring items that are considered expenses or income under U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA represents a performance measure and is not intended to represent a liquidity measure.

    (3) Adjusted earnings per share is defined as diluted U.S. GAAP earnings per share excluding, to the extent incurred in the period, the tax-effected impacts of: a) foreign currency exchange gains or losses, b) share-based compensation, c) acquired intangible asset amortization, d) non-cash income tax expense, e) non-cash investment gain f) other non-operating or non-recurring items and g) dilutive shares relate to the Company’s convertible bonds. Adjusted earnings per share represent a performance measure and is not intended to represent a liquidity measure. 

    Conference Call and Slide Presentation
    Euronet Worldwide will host an analyst conference call on July 31, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. The call may also include discussion of Company developments on the Company’s operations, forward-looking information, and other material information about business and financial matters. The conference call and accompanying slide show presentation will be accessible via webcast by following the link posted on http://ir.euronetworldwide.com.  Participants wanting to access the conference call by telephone should dial (800)715-9871 (USA) or (646)307-1963 (international).

    A webcast replay will be available beginning approximately one hour after the event at http://ir.euronet worldwide.com and will remain available for one year.

    About Euronet Worldwide, Inc.
    A global leader in payments processing and cross-border transactions, Euronet moves money in all the ways consumers and businesses depend upon. This includes money transfers, credit/debit processing, ATMs, point-of-sale services, branded payments, currency exchange and more. With products and services in more than 200 countries and territories provided through its own brand and branded business segments, Euronet and its financial technologies and networks make participation in the global economy easier, faster and more secure for everyone. Visit the company’s website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

    Starting in Central Europe in 1994, Euronet now supports an extensive global real-time digital and cash payments network that includes 57,326 installed ATMs, approximately 1.2 million EFT point-of-sale terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 69 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 721,000 point-of-sale terminals at approximately 354,000 retailer locations in 64 countries; and a global money transfer network of approximately 631,000 locations serving 200 countries and territories with digital connections to 4.1 billion bank accounts, 3.2 billion digital wallet accounts and 4.0 billion Visa debit cards through Visa Direct payments. Euronet serves clients from its corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 67 worldwide offices. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
    This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements and other forward-looking statements in this document by words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “can,” “could,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “predict,” “project,” “future,” “potential,” “intend,” “plan,” “assume,” “believe,” “forecast,” “look,” “build,” “focus,” “create,” “work,” “continue,” “target,” “poised,” “advance,” “drive,” “aim,” “forecast,” “approach,” “seek,” “schedule,” “position,” “pursue,” “progress,” “budget,” “outlook,” “trend,” “guidance,” “commit,” “on track,” “objective,” “goal,” “strategy,” “opportunity,” “ambitions,” “aspire” and similar expressions, and variations or negative of such terms or other variations thereof. Words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, or events identify forward-looking statements. 

    Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such statements regarding the transactions contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement’), dated as of July 30, 2025, by and among CoreCard, Euronet and Genesis Merger Sub Inc. (the “Transaction”), including the expected timing of the closing of the Transaction; future financial and operating results; benefits and synergies of the Transaction; future opportunities for the combined company; the conversion of equity interests contemplated by the Merger Agreement; the issuance of common stock of Euronet contemplated by the Merger Agreement; the expected filing by Euronet with the SEC of the Registration Statement and the proxy statement/prospectus; the ability of the parties to complete the proposed Transaction considering the various closing conditions and any other statements about future expectations that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All such forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates, expectations and ambitions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are beyond the control of Euronet and CoreCard, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the Transaction, including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required governmental and regulatory approvals of the Transaction; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive agreement; the possibility that CoreCard’s shareholders may not approve the Transaction; the risk that the parties may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the Transaction in a timely manner or at all; risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the Transaction; the risk that any announcements relating to the Transaction could have adverse effects on the market price of Euronet’s common stock; the risk that the Transaction and its announcement could have an adverse effect on the parties’ business relationships and business generally, including the ability of CoreCard or Euronet to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with their suppliers and customers, and on their operating results and businesses generally; the risk of unforeseen or unknown liabilities; customer, shareholder, regulatory and other stakeholder approvals and support; the risk of potential litigation relating to the Transaction that could be instituted against CoreCard or its directors and/or officers; the risk associated with third party contracts containing material consent, anti-assignment, transfer or other provisions that may be related to the Transaction which are not waived or otherwise satisfactorily resolved; the risk of rating agency actions and Euronet’s ability to access short- and long-term debt markets on a timely and affordable basis; the risk of various events that could disrupt operations, including: conditions in world financial markets and general economic conditions; inflation; the war in Ukraine and the related economic sanctions; and military conflicts in the Middle East.

    These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed Transaction, will be described in the Registration Statement that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed Transaction. While the list of factors presented here and the list of factors to be presented in the Registration Statement are considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in each company’s filings with the SEC, including each company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as it may be updated from time to time by quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, all of which are available at the SEC’s website http://www.sec.gov. Euronet regularly posts important information to the investor relations section of its website. Any forward-looking statements made in this release speak only as of the date of this release. Except as may be required by law, neither Euronet nor CoreCard intends to update these forward-looking statements and undertakes no duty to any person to provide any such update under any circumstances.

    Important Information for Investors and Stockholders
    In connection with the proposed transaction, Euronet plans to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”), which will include a proxy statement of CoreCard that also constitutes a prospectus of Euronet, and any other documents in connection with the transaction. After the Registration Statement has been declared effective by the SEC, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to the holders of common stock of CoreCard. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF CORECARD AND EURONET ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT EURONET, CORECARD, THE TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. The registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Euronet or CoreCard with the SEC, when filed, will be available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, investors and stockholders may obtain free copies of documents that are filed or will be filed with the SEC by Euronet, including the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus, on Euronet’s website at https://ir.euronetworldwide.com/for-investors, and may obtain free copies of documents that are filed or will be filed with the SEC by CoreCard, including the proxy statement/prospectus, on CoreCard’s website at https://investors.CoreCard.com/. The information included on, or accessible through, Euronet’s or CoreCard’s website is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

    No Offer or Solicitation
    This press release is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to appropriate registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

    Participants in the Solicitation
    Euronet and CoreCard and their respective directors, executive officers and other employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from CoreCard’s shareholders in connection with the proposed Transaction. A description of participants’ direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed Transaction when it is filed with the SEC. Information regarding Euronet’s directors and executive officers is contained in the definitive proxy statement, dated April 4, 2025, for its 2025 annual meeting of stockholders, and in Euronet’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. Information regarding CoreCard’s directors and executive officers is contained in CoreCard’s definitive proxy statement, dated April 14, 2025, for its 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, and CoreCard’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. Additional information regarding ownership of Euronet’s securities by its directors and executive officers, and of ownership of CoreCard’s securities by its directors and executive officers, is included in each such person’s SEC filings on Forms 3 and 4. These documents and the other SEC filings described in this paragraph may be obtained free of charge as described above under the heading “Important Information for Investors and Stockholders.”

     EURONET WORLDWIDE, INC.
     Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
     (in millions)
      As of    
      June 30,   As of
      2025   December 31,
      (unaudited)   2024
    ASSETS          
    Current assets:          
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,329.3   $ 1,278.8
    ATM cash   937.4     643.8
    Restricted cash   40.3     9.2
    Settlement assets   1,547.1     1,522.7
    Trade accounts receivable, net   328.4     284.9
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets   353.8     297.1
    Total current assets   4,536.3     4,036.5
               
    Property and equipment, net   365.0     329.7
    Right of use lease asset, net   152.5     132.1
    Goodwill and acquired intangible assets, net   1,160.4     1,048.1
    Other assets, net   340.7     288.1
    Total assets $ 6,554.9   $ 5,834.5
               
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY          
    Current liabilities:          
    Settlement obligations $ 1,547.1   $ 1,522.7
    Accounts payable and other current liabilities   898.3     842.3
    Current portion of operating lease obligations   55.0     48.3
    Short-term debt obligations   1,434.8     812.7
    Total current liabilities   3,935.2     3,226.0
               
    Debt obligations, net of current portion   1,002.3     1,134.4
    Operating lease obligations, net of current portion   100.8     87.4
    Capital lease obligations, net of current portion   1.0     1.4
    Deferred income taxes   64.4     71.8
    Other long-term liabilities   87.8     84.3
    Total liabilities   5,191.5     4,605.3
    Total equity   1,363.4     1,229.2
    Total liabilities and equity $ 6,554.9   $ 5,834.5
     EURONET WORLDWIDE, INC.
     Consolidated Statements of Operations
     (unaudited – in millions, except share and per share data)
       Three Months Ended
       June 30,
      2025     2024  
    Revenues $ 1,074.3     $ 986.2  
               
    Operating expenses:          
    Direct operating costs, exclusive of depreciation   620.6       580.8  
    Salaries and benefits   173.5       158.0  
    Selling, general and administrative   87.8       79.4  
    Depreciation and amortization   33.8       33.7  
    Total operating expenses   915.7       851.9  
    Operating income   158.6       134.3  
               
    Other income (expense):          
    Interest income   6.2       5.9  
    Interest expense   (28.2 )     (20.1 )
    Foreign currency exchange loss, net   (5.7 )     1.5  
    Other income   0.4       0.8  
    Total other expense, net   (27.3 )     (11.9 )
    Income before income taxes   131.3       122.4  
               
    Income tax expense   (33.6 )     (39.2 )
    Net income   97.7       83.2  
    Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests   (0.1 )     (0.1 )
    Net income attributable to Euronet Worldwide, Inc. $ 97.6     $ 83.1  
    Add: Interest expense from assumed conversion of convertible notes, net of tax   0.1       1.0  
    Net income for diluted earnings per share calculation $ 97.7     $ 84.1  
    Earnings per share attributable to Euronet          
    Worldwide, Inc. stockholders – diluted $ 2.27     $ 1.73  
               
    Diluted weighted average shares outstanding   42,954,631       48,700,270  
     EURONET WORLDWIDE, INC.
    Reconciliation of Net Income to Operating Income (Expense) to Operating Income (Expense) and Adjusted EBITDA
     (unaudited – in millions)

    .

      Three months ended June 30, 2025
      EFT
    Processing
    epay Money
    Transfer
    Corporate
    Services
    Consolidated
    Net income                         $ 97.7
    Add: Income tax expense                           33.6
    Add: Total other expense, net                           27.3
    Operating income (expense) $ 84.6   $ 31.1   $ 65.6   $ (22.7 )   $ 158.6
    Add: Depreciation and amortization   26.0     1.7     6.0     0.1       33.8
    Add: Share-based compensation               13.8       13.8
    Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, share-based
    compensation (Adjusted EBITDA)
    $ 110.6   $ 32.8   $ 71.6   $ (8.8 )   $ 206.2

    .

      Three months ended June 30, 2024
      EFT
    Processing
    epay Money
    Transfer
    Corporate
    Services
    Consolidated
    Net income                         $ 83.2
    Add: Income tax expense                           39.2
    Add: Total other expense, net                           11.9
    Operating income (expense) $ 79.9   $ 26.2   $ 47.3   $ (19.1 )   $ 134.3
    Add: Depreciation and amortization   25.1     1.8     6.7     0.1       33.7
    Add: Share-based compensation               10.2       10.2
    Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, share-based
    compensation (Adjusted EBITDA) (1)
    $ 105.0   $ 28.0   $ 54.0   $ (8.8 )   $ 178.2


    (1)
    Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that should be considered in addition to, and not a substitute for, net income computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

     EURONET WORLDWIDE, INC.
     Reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings per Share
     (unaudited – in millions, except share and per share data)
     
      Three Months Ended
      June 30,
      2025     2024  
    Net income attributable to Euronet Worldwide, Inc. $ 97.6     $ 83.1  
    Foreign currency exchange loss (gain)   5.7       (1.5 )
    Intangible asset amortization (1)   4.7       6.5  
    Share-based compensation (2)   13.8       10.2  
    Income tax effect of above adjustments (3)   (13.7 )     4.3  
    Non-cash investment gain (4)   (0.4 )      
    Non-cash GAAP tax expense (5)   3.0       1.9  
    Adjusted earnings (6) $ 110.7     $ 104.5  
    Adjusted earnings per share – diluted (6) $ 2.56     $ 2.25  
    Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (GAAP)   42,954,631       48,700,270  
    Effect of adjusted EPS dilution of convertible notes   (176,123 )     (2,781,818 )
    Effect of unrecognized share-based compensation on diluted shares
    outstanding
      406,912       420,305  
    Adjusted diluted weighted average shares outstanding   43,185,420       46,338,757  

    (1) Intangible asset amortization of $4.7 million and $6.5 million are included in depreciation and amortization expense of $33.8 million and $33.7 million for both the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, in the consolidated statements of operations.

    (2) Share-based compensation of $13.8 million and $10.2 million are included in salaries and benefits expense of $173.5 million and $158.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively, in the consolidated statements of operations.

    (3) Adjustment is the aggregate U.S. GAAP income tax effect on the preceding adjustments determined by applying the applicable statutory U.S. federal, state and/or foreign income tax rates. 

    (4) Non-cash investment gain of $0.4 million is included in other income in the consolidated statement of operations.

    (5) Adjustment is the non-cash GAAP tax impact recognized on certain items such as the utilization of certain material net deferred tax assets and amortization of indefinite-lived intangible assets.

    (6) Adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share are non-GAAP measures that should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, net income and earnings per share computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. 

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Hassan Statement on the War in Gaza

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan released the following statement on the war in Gaza, reiterating her position about the horrific humanitarian crisis and that the Trump Administration must continue to work towards a ceasefire agreement to end the war:

    “The humanitarian situation in Gaza long ago crossed a crisis point and is both horrifying and outrageous. I voted against today’s joint resolutions because blocking these arms sales would not end the starvation but would embolden Hamas and undermine Israel’s security. Yet while I remain steadfast in my support for Israel’s right to defend itself, I also strongly believe that Israel can and must do more, now, to end the suffering in Gaza. All parties, including the United States, must focus on working together to get food into Gaza as the most urgent priority, and then to reach a negotiated ceasefire that returns the hostages, ramps up humanitarian aid, ends Hamas’s reign of terror, and puts an end to this war. That is the only way we can build a future where the Israeli and Palestinian people live together, side-by-side, in peace.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy Joins President Trump at White House, Applauds Effort to Modernize Health System to Put Patients First

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

    (Click here to see President Trump shout out Senator Cassidy at the event)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined President Trump at the White House promoting the administration’s new effort to modernize our health care system, improving care for American patients. Cassidy was also joined at the event by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Mehmet Oz.
    “President Trump and I are aligned: it’s time to modernize our health care system to put patients first,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The administration’s new effort will deliver faster, smarter care to patients and reduce administrative burdens on providers. That’s Making America Healthy Again.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Economics: New Development Bank and SANRAL sign ZAR7 billion loan agreement for South Africa Roads Infrastructure

    Source: New Development Bank

    Johannesburg, South Africa – on July 22, 2025, The New Development Bank (NDB) and the South African National Roads Agency Soc Limited (SANRAL) have today signed a landmark loan agreement worth ZAR7 billion to finance the rehabilitation and expansion of key national road segments. This strategic partnership reflects a shared commitment to modernizing South Africa’s transport infrastructure, reducing logistics costs, and boosting economic growth.

    The loan agreement will fund critical upgrades including the widening of highways, rehabilitation of bridges, and improvement of intersections along major freight corridors. These infrastructure enhancements are expected to significantly reduce travel times, improve road safety, and facilitate smoother movement of goods and people across the country.

    To optimise financial efficiency, the loan is denominated in South African Rand (ZAR), which helps reduce debt financing charges by mitigating currency risk and aligning repayment obligations with local revenue streams.

    South Africa’s transport sector plays a vital role in the national economy, and efficient road networks are essential for supporting trade, tourism, and job creation. By investing in the modernization of its road infrastructure, SANRAL aims to lower transportation costs for the majority of road users in South Africa, enhance connectivity between urban and rural areas, and stimulate inclusive economic development.

    This financing aligns with the New Development Bank’s mission to support sustainable infrastructure projects that foster regional integration and economic resilience. As Mr. Monale Ratsoma, Chief Financial Officer, explained, “This loan agreement with SANRAL demonstrates the New Development Bank’s commitment to partnering with South Africa in building resilient and efficient infrastructure that drives economic transformation. We are proud to support projects that will improve the quality of life for millions of South Africans.”

    From SANRAL’s perspective, Reginald Demana, Chief Executive Officer, emphasised, “The investment from the New Development Bank is a vital step towards upgrading our national road network. It will enable us to deliver safer, more reliable roads that underpin economic growth and social development.

    The signing ceremony took place in Johannesburg at NDB’s Africa Regional Office and was attended by senior officials from both organisations, highlighting the strong cooperation between the New Development Bank and South African government agencies.
    Background Information

    New Development Bank

    NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.

    For more information on NDB, please visit www.ndb.int

    South African National Roads Agency LTD

    The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) is an independent, statutory company. South Africa’s Ministry of Transport is the sole shareholder and owner of SANRAL. Its mandate focuses on building and maintaining roads to enhance connectivity and development in South Africa.

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders Statement on Majority of Democratic Caucus Supporting Effort to Block Arms Sales to Israel

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, July 30 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today released the following statement after forcing a vote on the floor of the United States Senate to block the sale of arms to Israel:

    By a vote of 27-17, the members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted to stop sending arms shipments to a Netanyahu government which has waged a horrific, immoral, and illegal war against the Palestinian people.

    The tide is turning. The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza.

    The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.

    MIL OSI USA News