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Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI Global: Grilling with lump charcoal: Is US-grown hardwood really in that bag?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Adriana Costa, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Bioproducts, Mississippi State University

    When you’re getting ready to cook, do you know what’s burning underneath? Alexandr Baranov/iStock/Getty Images Plus

    People dedicated to the art of grilling often choose lump charcoal – actual pieces of wood that have been turned into charcoal – over briquettes, which are compressed charcoal dust with other ingredients to keep the dust together and help it burn better.

    The kinds of wood used to make lump charcoal affect how it burns and how the food tastes when grilled. Dedicated grillers are often willing to pay a premium for higher heat, no additives, particular flavors and the cleaner burn they get from particular wood species in lump charcoal.

    Buyers probably expect the label to accurately report how much charcoal they are getting, what kind of wood it is, and where the wood was grown.

    A spot-check I helped conduct on lump charcoal for sale in the U.S. has revealed that the information on the label does not always match what is inside the bag. Customers might not know what they are actually buying, potentially affecting their purchasing choices and even their grilling experience.

    Origin matters

    Charcoal is made from wood heated in a low-oxygen environment to remove water and volatile compounds. This process leaves behind a carbon-rich material that burns hotter and more cleanly than raw wood, making it ideal for grilling.

    The origin of the trees used affects charcoal’s ecological sustainability. Some charcoal produced in Mexico, Paraguay and Brazil has been linked to deforestation and unsustainable logging practices. Charcoal from hardwood trees harvested in the U.S. is generally considered to be more sustainable.

    We decided to investigate more deeply what consumers are actually getting when they buy a bag of lump charcoal.

    We looked at a range of products, some of which were labeled as from the U.S., some from other countries and others that did not specify a country of origin.

    We purchased one bag each of 15 major U.S. lump charcoal brands online. We did not identify the specific producers. Instead, we wanted to give an overall sense of the products available on the market and evaluate how closely product claims on the packaging matched what was actually in the bags.

    Kinds of charcoal we found

    We determined the type of wood the charcoal was made from by examining each lump under a microscope or handheld magnifying lens and matching the patterns in the wood structure with the ones in our collection.

    Identifying the species allowed us to broadly infer the origin of the charcoal based on where those kinds of trees typically grow.

    Nearly half of all the lump charcoal we examined was oak or mesquite, which are both hardwoods that grow in North America, including in the U.S. and Mexico.

    In two out of five bags claiming their charcoal had come from the U.S., 15% or more of the material was actually tropical woods, such as ipe, which are not native to the U.S. These woods may have been harvested unsustainably. Other species we found included pine and sweet gum, which perform poorly as grilling woods.

    Much of the tropical wood was in small fragments, which made us think it might have been intentionally used as cheap filler.

    We found one bag that was labeled “One ingredient: Oak hardwood” that contained no oak at all. Instead, it was a mix of at least six tropical woods.

    At left, a cross section of a piece of red oak lump charcoal under magnification, beside a cross section of a piece of raw red oak wood.
    Wiedenhoeft and Costa

    What else was in the bag?

    We also discovered concerns related to product weight and the quantity of extraneous material in the bags. The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act is a U.S. law that requires product containers to carry labels that accurately describe the contents. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has specific methods for measuring and characterizing contents of packaged goods.

    These requirements do allow some variations in weight, but nearly half the bags we examined were underfilled, and one-third were far enough underweight that their label claims fell outside what is legally acceptable.

    Also, in every bag we found bark and tiny charcoal fragments, which burn quickly and unevenly. Six bags had rocks in them. Without those extra materials, all 15 bags were underweight, and none gave buyers as much effective grilling fuel as they promised.

    So when consumers pay more for what they think is a premium charcoal product, they may, in fact, be getting nothing of the sort.

    Adriana Costa has received funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, McIntire Stennis, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.

    – ref. Grilling with lump charcoal: Is US-grown hardwood really in that bag? – https://theconversation.com/grilling-with-lump-charcoal-is-us-grown-hardwood-really-in-that-bag-258157

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: The Government of Canada announces funding for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal as it celebrates its 45th anniversary this summer

    Source: Government of Canada News

    MONTRÉAL, June 26, 2025

    The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, today announced funding for the 45th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

    Totalling $700,000, the funding will enable the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal—one of the world’s largest musical events—to once again present a lineup full of exciting discoveries, showcasing both established and emerging talented artists.

    Through its impressive lineup of shows—most of them free and presented in the Quartier des spectacles—the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal attracts more than 1.2 million participants each year for unique performances.

    The federal government is proud to support our country’s cultural scene, which makes Canada strong and our communities vibrant, and to help our artists and culture shine at home and internationally. 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Utah Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program Out of Over $628,000

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    Click Here to Sign Up for SBA OIG Email Updates on Recent Investigative Cases, Audit Oversight Reports, and General News

    Click Here to View the Original U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release

    A Utah entrepreneur was sentenced today to 18 months’ imprisonment after he fraudulently obtained $628,307 from a COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan in 2021 by submitting a fraudulent loan application in the name of his business.

    The COVID-19 PPP Loans were provided to small businesses for funding to meet specific obligations, including payroll and rent during the pandemic.

    Marcelo Federico Torre, 42, of Draper, Utah, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and possession of stolen mail on April 10, 2025. In addition to his sentence, and credit for time served, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups sentenced Torre to three years’ supervised release and ordered him to pay $628,307 in restitution. Torre also forfeited a money judgement in the amount of $628,307.

    According to court documents and statements made at Torre’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, from April 27, 2021 to May 5, 2021, Torre fraudulently submitted a PPP Loan application through U.S. Bank for approximately $628,307 on behalf of his company, Offerworks Inc., a company he owned and controlled. By fraudulently submitting the Loan application, he lied to U.S. Bank and the United States government in order to be approved for the PPP Loan. Some of the false statements Torre made on the PPP Loan application included that his company, Offerworks Inc., had been in operation as of February 15, 2020, when it had not; his company had 37 employees, when it did not; and that Offerworks Inc., had an average monthly payroll of $251,323 in 2020, when it did not.

    “The amount of money Mr. Torre stole from the U.S. government and taxpayers, which was intended to keep businesses open and provide salaries for employees and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, is significant and his fraud and will not go unpunished,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah. “It is our hope Mr. Torre’s sentence will deter him and others who seek to take criminal advantage of government programs meant to help honest and hardworking business owners and their employees during a crisis.”

    The case was investigated jointly by the U.S. Postal Investigation Service, Draper City Police Department, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office, Salt Lake City Police Department, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

    Assistant United States Attorney Todd C. Bouton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

    Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at Justice.gov/OPA/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Utah Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program Out of Over $628,000

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    Click Here to Sign Up for SBA OIG Email Updates on Recent Investigative Cases, Audit Oversight Reports, and General News

    Click Here to View the Original U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release

    A Utah entrepreneur was sentenced today to 18 months’ imprisonment after he fraudulently obtained $628,307 from a COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan in 2021 by submitting a fraudulent loan application in the name of his business.

    The COVID-19 PPP Loans were provided to small businesses for funding to meet specific obligations, including payroll and rent during the pandemic.

    Marcelo Federico Torre, 42, of Draper, Utah, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and possession of stolen mail on April 10, 2025. In addition to his sentence, and credit for time served, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups sentenced Torre to three years’ supervised release and ordered him to pay $628,307 in restitution. Torre also forfeited a money judgement in the amount of $628,307.

    According to court documents and statements made at Torre’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, from April 27, 2021 to May 5, 2021, Torre fraudulently submitted a PPP Loan application through U.S. Bank for approximately $628,307 on behalf of his company, Offerworks Inc., a company he owned and controlled. By fraudulently submitting the Loan application, he lied to U.S. Bank and the United States government in order to be approved for the PPP Loan. Some of the false statements Torre made on the PPP Loan application included that his company, Offerworks Inc., had been in operation as of February 15, 2020, when it had not; his company had 37 employees, when it did not; and that Offerworks Inc., had an average monthly payroll of $251,323 in 2020, when it did not.

    “The amount of money Mr. Torre stole from the U.S. government and taxpayers, which was intended to keep businesses open and provide salaries for employees and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, is significant and his fraud and will not go unpunished,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah. “It is our hope Mr. Torre’s sentence will deter him and others who seek to take criminal advantage of government programs meant to help honest and hardworking business owners and their employees during a crisis.”

    The case was investigated jointly by the U.S. Postal Investigation Service, Draper City Police Department, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office, Salt Lake City Police Department, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

    Assistant United States Attorney Todd C. Bouton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

    Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at Justice.gov/OPA/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: LIS Technologies Inc. Announces Top Sponsorship of the East Tennessee Economic Council’s Nuclear Opportunities Workshop 2025 Conference

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Chief Technology Officer Dr Viktor Chikan is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion alongside other leading enrichment executives.

    Oak Ridge, Tennessee, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LIS Technologies Inc. (“LIST” or “the Company”), a proprietary developer of advanced laser technology and the only USA-origin and patented laser uranium enrichment company, today announced that it is the Nuclear Luminary sponsor of the upcoming Nuclear Opportunuties Workshop (NOW) 2025 Conference, to be held at the Knoxville Convention Center, on July 22-23, 2025.

    CTO Dr Viktor Chikan will take part in a panel discussion titled, “Nuclear Fuels – Enrichment and Fabrication,” which is scheduled to take place at 1:15pm on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025.

    Figure 1 – LIS Technologies Inc. Announces Top Sponsorship of the East Tennessee Economic Council’s Nuclear Opportunities Workshop 2025 Conference.

    “Following a successful and informative experience at the NOW 2024 conference, I’m pleased that Viktor is returning for this year’s conference and join a panel focused on strengthening America’s nuclear-fuel supply chain,” said Christo Liebenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of LIS Technologies Inc. “Establishing our headquarters in Tennessee has shown us the depth of nuclear talent within the state, and I look forward to Viktor updating attendees on LIST’s progress in revitalizing the nation’s only patented laser-uranium-enrichment process to support the existing nuclear energy industry and help usher in the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors.”

    About LIS Technologies Inc.

    LIS Technologies Inc. (LIST) is a USA based, proprietary developer of a patented advanced laser technology, making use of infrared lasers to selectively excite the molecules of desired isotopes to separate them from other isotopes. The Laser Isotope Separation Technology (L.I.S.T) has a huge range of applications, including being the only USA-origin (and patented) laser uranium enrichment company, and several major advantages over traditional methods such as gas diffusion, centrifuges, and prior art laser enrichment. The LIST proprietary laser-based process is more energy-efficient and has the potential to be deployed with highly competitive capital and operational costs. L.I.S.T is optimized for LEU (Low Enriched Uranium) for existing civilian nuclear power plants, High-Assay LEU (HALEU) for the next generation of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Microreactors, the production of stable isotopes for medical and scientific research, and applications in quantum computing manufacturing for semiconductor technologies. The Company employs a world class nuclear technical team working alongside leading nuclear entrepreneurs and industry professionals, possessing strong relationships with government and private nuclear industries.

    In Dec 2024, LIS Technologies Inc. was selected as one of six domestic companies to participate in the Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) Enrichment Acquisition Program. This initiative allocates up to $3.4 billion overall, with contracts lasting for up to 10 years. Each awardee is slated to receive a minimum contract of $2 million.

    For more information please visit: LaserIsTech.com

    For further information, please contact:
    Email: info@laseristech.com
    Telephone: 800-388-5492
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    Forward Looking Statements

    This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For LIS Technologies Inc., particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following which are, and will be, exacerbated by any worsening of global business and economic environment: (i) risks related to the development of new or advanced technology, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, development of competitive technology, loss of key individuals and uncertainty of success of patent filing, (ii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations and (iii) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to commercially deploy a competitive laser enrichment technology, (iv) risks related to the impact of government regulation and policies including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in this and our other filings with the SEC. Only after successful completion of our Phase 2 Pilot Plant demonstration will LIS Technologies be able to make realistic economic predictions for a Commercial Facility. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Rising Demand for Drones for Commercial & Military Applications Becoming a Booming Revenue Opportunity

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery service providers have been offering innovative opportunities for businesses in the construction & agriculture industries and widening their potential application base to enable predictive and actuation capabilities. These capabilities offer significant advantages, such as quality improvements, risk mitigation, and cost reduction, thereby providing a competitive advantage to adopters. Drones and their sensors provide companies with significant data, multiplying applications and capabilities within their business processes. Analyzing the obtained information improves predictive/preventive maintenance and operational intelligence. Companies increasingly adopt data management platforms to process and analyze information for detecting and classifying notable events and creating reports. A report from Grand View Research said that the global drone data services market size is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 39.0% through 2030. The market growth is attributed to the increasing need for drone information analysis amongst businesses worldwide to perform various critical tasks remotely, such as automated mapping, cadastral surveying, corridor surveying, volumetric calculations, and LiDAR mapping. Active Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRO), EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH).

    The Grand View Research report said: “Drone data service providers are expected to gain prominence by empowering companies globally to utilize UAV imagery better. This can be achieved by converting it into actionable information in simple 3D models, Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and orthomosaic maps. An increasing number of companies are now seeking to enter the UAV software space and develop software to provide aerial imagery analysis and mapping solutions for the commercial sector. Businesses worldwide are increasingly using drones across a wide range of industries. Farmers are utilizing maps generated with drone software to identify areas of damage & crop variation, diagnose the potential causes for damages, such as pests, equipment malfunctioning, and irrigation problems, and prescribe solutions such as variable-rate nitrogen applications. The 3D modeling & DEM segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 40.5% during the forecast period. The advancements in drone technology have enabled the collection of high-resolution aerial data, which can be processed to create detailed and precise 3D models and DEMs. It has significantly enhanced the accuracy and efficiency of data analysis and decision-making processes in industries that rely on geospatial information.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) Signs Offer to Acquire North Carolina Land Surveying Company to Expand State Operations and Government Customers – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS, announces it has signed an offer to acquire a well-established North Carolina-based land surveying company with a strong government customer base. The proposed acquisition expands operations in the state when combined with a previously announced proposed land survey acquisition with operations in North Carolina. With over three decades of success serving government agencies, municipal governments, construction companies, and real estate developers, this strategic acquisition would significantly advance the company’s regional market penetration as well as growth in the US Southeast.

    “This proposed acquisition aligns with our strategy to build a robust, scalable, national Drone as a Service business while empowering strong regional and local hubs and recurring revenue opportunities,” said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO. “We plan to embed AI-powered drone technology into critical land survey workflows providing unparalleled speed and precision. Land surveys are a first step to innovating multiple legacy businesses and inefficient processes with our DaaS model and our drones.”

    The land survey company offers comprehensive services include boundary surveys, topographic and site planning surveys, ALTA (American Land Title Association) / ACSM (American Congress on Surveying and Mapping) surveys, construction staking, and other essential survey solutions for permitting, financing, and construction across city, county, and commercial sectors.

    ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service (DaaS) business model offers both business and government customers reduced costs and convenience to utilize drones to streamline legacy processes and manual tasks such as inspections, surveying, maintenance, precision agriculture and inventory management ─ there is no need to purchase drone hardware and software, find a drone pilot, manage maintenance and operation, or acquire regulatory approvals. The model also offers scalability to use more often or less often based on business needs and utilizes ZenaDrone’s multifunction AI autonomous drones.

    The company has closed five acquisitions across the US to date as part of its DaaS business model and strategy and has announced it plans to complete 20 more acquisitions in the next 12 months. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the markets include:

    Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), a leading provider of private industrial wireless networks and commercial drone and automated data solutions, recently announced that its subsidiary, American Robotics Inc., has entered into a strategic partnership with Mistral Inc. (“Mistral”), a Maryland-based business development and defense contracting firm. The agreement focuses on joint marketing, sales, and integration of the Optimus drone system and Iron Drone Raider into the United States defense and homeland security markets.

    Under the agreement, Mistral will support American Robotics’ business development by opening sales channels through its well-established relationships with U.S. governmental buyers, including federal, state, local law enforcement, military, and homeland security entities. The initial term of the agreement is three years, with an automatic renewal option and a structured success fee model based on realized sales.

    AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) (“AeroVironment” or the “Company”) recently reported financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended April 30, 2025.

    Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Highlights Were: Record fourth quarter revenue of $275.1 million and fiscal year revenue of $820.6, up 40% and 14% year-over-year, respectively; Fourth quarter and fiscal year net income of $16.7 million and $43.6 million, respectively and record fourth quarter and fiscal year non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $61.6 million and $146.4 million, respectively; and Record fiscal year bookings of $1.2 billion

    “AeroVironment finished out fiscal year 2025 with a remarkable fourth quarter, which included record revenue, significantly higher profits and a robust backlog nearly double that from fiscal year 2024,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The investments we’ve consistently made in our multi-generational Uncrewed Systems and Loitering Munition Systems products coupled with our strong execution, continue to pay off, as evidenced by significantly higher demand and key strategic wins leading to a record $1.2 billion in total bookings throughout this fiscal year.”

    Nawabi continued, “Our acquisition of BlueHalo further advances our leadership position within the defense-technology sector by adding a complementary portfolio of innovative products and capabilities aligned to our customers’ highest priorities. With integrated solutions across every domain of modern warfare, enhanced innovation and domestic manufacturing scale, we believe we are well positioned to meet the rising demand across the globe and drive strong growth and value creation in fiscal year 2026 and beyond.”

    AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRO) recently announced that Company executives, including Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria and CEO and Co-Founder Joe Burns, attended the 55th edition of the Paris Air Show, which took place from June 16 to June 22, 2025, in Paris, France.

    Shares of AIRO common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “AIRO” on June 13, 2025. AIRO’s market debut comes amid strong historical financial performance for the Company and underscores its commitment to an integrated portfolio of cutting-edge technologies, including the development of fully autonomous AI-enabled surveillance drones, eVTOL hybrid and electric cargo aircraft, advanced avionics systems and comprehensive flight operations training solutions. In 2024, AIRO achieved over $86 million in revenue, reflecting growth of more than 100% from the previous year. This increase is attributed to an increase in drone shipments and support revenue driven by market entry strategies to target NATO member countries.

    “The strength of AIRO lies in its diversified yet complementary portfolio of products and services, all centered around a unified aerospace and defense ecosystem,” said Executive Chairman, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria. “AIRO’s complementary business segments, with strategic locations in the US, Canada, and Europe, provide unparalleled access for our global client base. With significant year-over-year revenue and EBITDA growth, we believe our offerings are essential for both current and future operational landscapes.”

    EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), the world’s leading Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) technology platform company, recently announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd. (“Gotion”), a leading innovator in power battery solutions. Building on a power system framework agreement signed in December 2023, this enhanced collaboration marks a significant step forward in powering the electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft. Under the upgraded partnership, the two companies will jointly advance the development of power systems for EHang’s flagship EH216 series of pilotless eVTOL aircraft, with plans to extend their collaboration to future aircraft models. By leveraging cutting-edge battery technologies, the partnership aims to accelerate the advancement of a safe, intelligent, and sustainable low-altitude transportation ecosystem and contribute to the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy.

    As part of the agreement, Gotion will deliver a customized battery solution tailored to the EH216 series. At the core of the solution is Gotion’s newly developed 46-series cylindrical battery cell, which offers high energy density and robust power output. The next-generation battery system is expected to significantly enhance the EH216 series aircraft in flight range, thrust performance, and operational safety — further improving the aircraft’s efficiency across a variety of use cases and strengthening its readiness for future scaled commercial deployment.

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Rising Demand for Drones for Commercial & Military Applications Becoming a Booming Revenue Opportunity

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery service providers have been offering innovative opportunities for businesses in the construction & agriculture industries and widening their potential application base to enable predictive and actuation capabilities. These capabilities offer significant advantages, such as quality improvements, risk mitigation, and cost reduction, thereby providing a competitive advantage to adopters. Drones and their sensors provide companies with significant data, multiplying applications and capabilities within their business processes. Analyzing the obtained information improves predictive/preventive maintenance and operational intelligence. Companies increasingly adopt data management platforms to process and analyze information for detecting and classifying notable events and creating reports. A report from Grand View Research said that the global drone data services market size is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 39.0% through 2030. The market growth is attributed to the increasing need for drone information analysis amongst businesses worldwide to perform various critical tasks remotely, such as automated mapping, cadastral surveying, corridor surveying, volumetric calculations, and LiDAR mapping. Active Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRO), EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH).

    The Grand View Research report said: “Drone data service providers are expected to gain prominence by empowering companies globally to utilize UAV imagery better. This can be achieved by converting it into actionable information in simple 3D models, Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and orthomosaic maps. An increasing number of companies are now seeking to enter the UAV software space and develop software to provide aerial imagery analysis and mapping solutions for the commercial sector. Businesses worldwide are increasingly using drones across a wide range of industries. Farmers are utilizing maps generated with drone software to identify areas of damage & crop variation, diagnose the potential causes for damages, such as pests, equipment malfunctioning, and irrigation problems, and prescribe solutions such as variable-rate nitrogen applications. The 3D modeling & DEM segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 40.5% during the forecast period. The advancements in drone technology have enabled the collection of high-resolution aerial data, which can be processed to create detailed and precise 3D models and DEMs. It has significantly enhanced the accuracy and efficiency of data analysis and decision-making processes in industries that rely on geospatial information.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) Signs Offer to Acquire North Carolina Land Surveying Company to Expand State Operations and Government Customers – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS, announces it has signed an offer to acquire a well-established North Carolina-based land surveying company with a strong government customer base. The proposed acquisition expands operations in the state when combined with a previously announced proposed land survey acquisition with operations in North Carolina. With over three decades of success serving government agencies, municipal governments, construction companies, and real estate developers, this strategic acquisition would significantly advance the company’s regional market penetration as well as growth in the US Southeast.

    “This proposed acquisition aligns with our strategy to build a robust, scalable, national Drone as a Service business while empowering strong regional and local hubs and recurring revenue opportunities,” said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO. “We plan to embed AI-powered drone technology into critical land survey workflows providing unparalleled speed and precision. Land surveys are a first step to innovating multiple legacy businesses and inefficient processes with our DaaS model and our drones.”

    The land survey company offers comprehensive services include boundary surveys, topographic and site planning surveys, ALTA (American Land Title Association) / ACSM (American Congress on Surveying and Mapping) surveys, construction staking, and other essential survey solutions for permitting, financing, and construction across city, county, and commercial sectors.

    ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service (DaaS) business model offers both business and government customers reduced costs and convenience to utilize drones to streamline legacy processes and manual tasks such as inspections, surveying, maintenance, precision agriculture and inventory management ─ there is no need to purchase drone hardware and software, find a drone pilot, manage maintenance and operation, or acquire regulatory approvals. The model also offers scalability to use more often or less often based on business needs and utilizes ZenaDrone’s multifunction AI autonomous drones.

    The company has closed five acquisitions across the US to date as part of its DaaS business model and strategy and has announced it plans to complete 20 more acquisitions in the next 12 months. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the markets include:

    Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), a leading provider of private industrial wireless networks and commercial drone and automated data solutions, recently announced that its subsidiary, American Robotics Inc., has entered into a strategic partnership with Mistral Inc. (“Mistral”), a Maryland-based business development and defense contracting firm. The agreement focuses on joint marketing, sales, and integration of the Optimus drone system and Iron Drone Raider into the United States defense and homeland security markets.

    Under the agreement, Mistral will support American Robotics’ business development by opening sales channels through its well-established relationships with U.S. governmental buyers, including federal, state, local law enforcement, military, and homeland security entities. The initial term of the agreement is three years, with an automatic renewal option and a structured success fee model based on realized sales.

    AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) (“AeroVironment” or the “Company”) recently reported financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended April 30, 2025.

    Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Highlights Were: Record fourth quarter revenue of $275.1 million and fiscal year revenue of $820.6, up 40% and 14% year-over-year, respectively; Fourth quarter and fiscal year net income of $16.7 million and $43.6 million, respectively and record fourth quarter and fiscal year non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $61.6 million and $146.4 million, respectively; and Record fiscal year bookings of $1.2 billion

    “AeroVironment finished out fiscal year 2025 with a remarkable fourth quarter, which included record revenue, significantly higher profits and a robust backlog nearly double that from fiscal year 2024,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The investments we’ve consistently made in our multi-generational Uncrewed Systems and Loitering Munition Systems products coupled with our strong execution, continue to pay off, as evidenced by significantly higher demand and key strategic wins leading to a record $1.2 billion in total bookings throughout this fiscal year.”

    Nawabi continued, “Our acquisition of BlueHalo further advances our leadership position within the defense-technology sector by adding a complementary portfolio of innovative products and capabilities aligned to our customers’ highest priorities. With integrated solutions across every domain of modern warfare, enhanced innovation and domestic manufacturing scale, we believe we are well positioned to meet the rising demand across the globe and drive strong growth and value creation in fiscal year 2026 and beyond.”

    AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRO) recently announced that Company executives, including Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria and CEO and Co-Founder Joe Burns, attended the 55th edition of the Paris Air Show, which took place from June 16 to June 22, 2025, in Paris, France.

    Shares of AIRO common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “AIRO” on June 13, 2025. AIRO’s market debut comes amid strong historical financial performance for the Company and underscores its commitment to an integrated portfolio of cutting-edge technologies, including the development of fully autonomous AI-enabled surveillance drones, eVTOL hybrid and electric cargo aircraft, advanced avionics systems and comprehensive flight operations training solutions. In 2024, AIRO achieved over $86 million in revenue, reflecting growth of more than 100% from the previous year. This increase is attributed to an increase in drone shipments and support revenue driven by market entry strategies to target NATO member countries.

    “The strength of AIRO lies in its diversified yet complementary portfolio of products and services, all centered around a unified aerospace and defense ecosystem,” said Executive Chairman, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria. “AIRO’s complementary business segments, with strategic locations in the US, Canada, and Europe, provide unparalleled access for our global client base. With significant year-over-year revenue and EBITDA growth, we believe our offerings are essential for both current and future operational landscapes.”

    EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), the world’s leading Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) technology platform company, recently announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd. (“Gotion”), a leading innovator in power battery solutions. Building on a power system framework agreement signed in December 2023, this enhanced collaboration marks a significant step forward in powering the electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft. Under the upgraded partnership, the two companies will jointly advance the development of power systems for EHang’s flagship EH216 series of pilotless eVTOL aircraft, with plans to extend their collaboration to future aircraft models. By leveraging cutting-edge battery technologies, the partnership aims to accelerate the advancement of a safe, intelligent, and sustainable low-altitude transportation ecosystem and contribute to the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy.

    As part of the agreement, Gotion will deliver a customized battery solution tailored to the EH216 series. At the core of the solution is Gotion’s newly developed 46-series cylindrical battery cell, which offers high energy density and robust power output. The next-generation battery system is expected to significantly enhance the EH216 series aircraft in flight range, thrust performance, and operational safety — further improving the aircraft’s efficiency across a variety of use cases and strengthening its readiness for future scaled commercial deployment.

    About FN Media Group:

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    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty one hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

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    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing shortage

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Eran Ben-Joseph, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

    The U.S. Housing Corporation built nearly 300 homes in Bremerton, Wash., during World War I. National Archives

    In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in just two years.

    These weren’t hastily erected barracks or rows of identical homes. They were thoughtfully designed neighborhoods, complete with parks, schools, shops and sewer systems.

    In just two years, this federal initiative provided housing for almost 100,000 people.

    Few Americans are aware that such an ambitious and comprehensive public housing effort ever took place. Many of the homes are still standing today.

    But as an urban planning scholar, I believe that this brief historic moment – spearheaded by a shuttered agency called the United States Housing Corporation – offers a revealing lesson on what government-led planning can achieve during a time of national need.

    Government mobilization

    When the U.S. declared war against Germany in April 1917, federal authorities immediately realized that ship, vehicle and arms manufacturing would be at the heart of the war effort. To meet demand, there needed to be sufficient worker housing near shipyards, munitions plants and steel factories.

    So on May 16, 1918, Congress authorized President Woodrow Wilson to provide housing and infrastructure for industrial workers vital to national defense. By July, it had appropriated US$100 million – approximately $2.3 billion today – for the effort, with Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson tasked with overseeing it via the U.S. Housing Corporation.

    Over the course of two years, the agency designed and planned over 80 housing projects. Some developments were small, consisting of a few dozen dwellings. Others approached the size of entire new towns.

    For example, Cradock, near Norfolk, Virginia, was planned on a 310-acre site, with more than 800 detached homes developed on just 100 of those acres. In Dayton, Ohio, the agency created a 107-acre community that included 175 detached homes and a mix of over 600 semidetached homes and row houses, along with schools, shops, a community center and a park.

    Designing ideal communities

    Notably, the Housing Corporation was not simply committed to offering shelter.

    Its architects, planners and engineers aimed to create communities that were not only functional but also livable and beautiful. They drew heavily from Britain’s late-19th century Garden City movement, a planning philosophy that emphasized low-density housing, the integration of open spaces and a balance between built and natural environments.

    Milton Hill, a neighborhood designed and developed by the United States Housing Corporation in Alton, Ill.
    National Archives

    Importantly, instead of simply creating complexes of apartment units, akin to the public housing projects that most Americans associate with government-funded housing, the agency focused on the construction of single-family and small multifamily residential buildings that workers and their families could eventually own.

    This approach reflected a belief by the policymakers that property ownership could strengthen community responsibility and social stability. During the war, the federal government rented these homes to workers at regulated rates designed to be fair, while covering maintenance costs. After the war, the government began selling the homes – often to the tenants living in them – through affordable installment plans that provided a practical path to ownership.

    A single-family home in Davenport, Iowa, built by the U.S. Housing Corporation.
    National Archives

    Though the scope of the Housing Corporation’s work was national, each planned community took into account regional growth and local architectural styles. Engineers often built streets that adapted to the natural landscape. They spaced houses apart to maximize light, air and privacy, with landscaped yards. No resident lived far from greenery.

    In Quincy, Massachusetts, for example, the agency built a 22-acre neighborhood with 236 homes designed mostly in a Colonial Revival style to serve the nearby Fore River Shipyard. The development was laid out to maximize views, green space and access to the waterfront, while maintaining density through compact street and lot design.

    At Mare Island, California, developers located the housing site on a steep hillside near a naval base. Rather than flatten the land, designers worked with the slope, creating winding roads and terraced lots that preserved views and minimized erosion. The result was a 52-acre community with over 200 homes, many of which were designed in the Craftsman style. There was also a school, stores, parks and community centers.

    Infrastructure and innovation

    Alongside housing construction, the Housing Corporation invested in critical infrastructure. Engineers installed over 649,000 feet of modern sewer and water systems, ensuring that these new communities set a high standard for sanitation and public health.

    Attention to detail extended inside the homes. Architects experimented with efficient interior layouts and space-saving furnishings, including foldaway beds and built-in kitchenettes. Some of these innovations came from private companies that saw the program as a platform to demonstrate new housing technologies.

    One company, for example, designed fully furnished studio apartments with furniture that could be rotated or hidden, transforming a space from living room to bedroom to dining room throughout the day.

    To manage the large scale of this effort, the agency developed and published a set of planning and design standards − the first of their kind in the United States. These manuals covered everything from block configurations and road widths to lighting fixtures and tree-planting guidelines.

    A single-family home in Bremerton, Wash., built by the U.S. Housing Corporation.
    National Archives

    The standards emphasized functionality, aesthetics and long-term livability.

    Architects and planners who worked for the Housing Corporation carried these ideas into private practice, academia and housing initiatives. Many of the planning norms still used today, such as street hierarchies, lot setbacks and mixed-use zoning, were first tested in these wartime communities.

    And many of the planners involved in experimental New Deal community projects, such as Greenbelt, Maryland, had worked for or alongside Housing Corporation designers and planners. Their influence is apparent in the layout and design of these communities.

    A brief but lasting legacy

    With the end of World War I, the political support for federal housing initiatives quickly waned. The Housing Corporation was dissolved by Congress, and many planned projects were never completed. Others were incorporated into existing towns and cities.

    Yet, many of the neighborhoods built during this period still exist today, integrated in the fabric of the country’s cities and suburbs. Residents in places such as Aberdeen, Maryland; Bremerton, Washington; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Watertown, New York; and New Orleans may not even realize that many of the homes in their communities originated from a bold federal housing experiment.

    Homes on Lawn Avenue in Quincy, Mass., that were built by the U.S. Housing Corporation.
    Google Street View

    The Housing Corporation’s efforts, though brief, showed that large-scale public housing could be thoughtfully designed, community oriented and quickly executed. For a short time, in response to extraordinary circumstances, the U.S. government succeeded in building more than just houses. It constructed entire communities, demonstrating that government has a major role and can lead in finding appropriate, innovative solutions to complex challenges.

    At a moment when the U.S. once again faces a housing crisis, the legacy of the U.S. Housing Corporation serves as a reminder that bold public action can meet urgent needs.

    This article is part of a series centered on envisioning ways to deal with the housing crisis.

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

    – ref. Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing shortage – https://theconversation.com/believe-it-or-not-there-was-a-time-when-the-us-government-built-beautiful-homes-for-working-class-americans-to-deal-with-a-housing-shortage-253512

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Stay safe, plan ahead for Canada Day weekend

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    As people make plans for the Canada Day weekend, it’s important to be prepared and stay safe as warm temperatures, dry conditions and wildfire risk continue in many parts of the province.

    People are encouraged to stay vigilant and up to date on local fire bans and restrictions and have an emergency plan in place that is shared with friends and family.

    People heading outdoors this weekend are reminded to plan ahead, carry safety gear and follow all instructions from local governments and First Nations. Before you head out, check ahead for road closures, evacuation alerts, evacuation orders and any fire prohibitions in effect.

    British Columbia continues to face prolonged drought in many regions, and below-average precipitation is contributing to increased wildfire and water supply concerns. Everyone is encouraged to use water efficiently and follow any local watering restrictions.

    Several open-burning prohibitions are in place around the province and will be updated as conditions change. People planning to have campfires should do so safely, following any local prohibitions. Avoid having a campfire when it’s windy, choose a proper fire pit or make a ring of rocks at least three metres from trees, shrubs, structures and debris, and do not leave a campfire unattended.

    The BC Wildfire Service relies on the public for reporting wildfires quickly. Approximately 40% of new fires are reported by the public. If you see smoke or flames, report it immediately by calling *5555 on a cellphone or 1 800 663-5555, toll-free.

    The BC Wildfire Service mobile app allows people to report new wildfires and submit photos, which helps BC Wildfire Service make informed decisions. People can use the app for the most up-to-date information on the current wildfire situation, road conditions, evacuation information and weather forecasts.

    If you’re in a high-risk wildfire area, now is the time to get prepared. Create an emergency plan, pack a grab-and-go bag for each household member, including pets, and create an Emergency Support Services (ESS) profile through your BC Services Card app or at ess.gov.bc.ca. People are advised to make sure their home or tenant insurance includes wildfire protection, which can help with expenses like temporary accommodation and meals if there is a need to evacuate.

    Check your insurance policy to understand what evacuation supports are available through your coverage. If you’re unsure, call your insurance provider or the Insurance Bureau of Canada at 1 844 227-5422 or visit: https://www.ibc.ca/

    People are encouraged to follow instructions and evacuate immediately if a local government or First Nation issues an order. Emergency Support Services (ESS) are available to evacuees who need help covering the cost of their basic needs, such as food, lodging and other essentials.

    People can also reduce risk around the home with a few simple FireSmart steps:

    • clear dry leaves and debris from around your property
    • move propane tanks and other flammables at least 10 metres from structures
    • keep grass cut short
    • close doors and windows
    • water trees, shrubs and plants regularly, following local water restrictions
    • consider more fire-resistant plants for landscaping

    People travelling in B.C. are encouraged to know before they go. You can plan ahead and get the latest road conditions and updates here: https://www.drivebc.ca/

    Drivers on routes throughout the province this summer should expect higher-than-average traffic volumes and plan accordingly. General tips for a safe trip include:

    • allowing additional time to get to your destination due to more people on roads
    • making sure your vehicle is ready for the drive by having a full tank of gas or charged battery, checking engine oil, washer fluid, lights and tires, including the spare
    • packing food and water for passengers and pets
    • planning breaks at rest areas: https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/restareas/?zoom=5&loc=-126.600000%2C54.589121
    • watching for motorcyclists and sharing the road with cyclists and other users
    • obeying all posted speed limits and driving with caution, especially during bad weather
    • leaving the phone alone while behind the wheel, and
    • ensuring all passengers always use seatbelts.​

    Learn More:

    For BC Wildfire Service information and updates, visit: https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/dashboard

    For more information about fire prohibitions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/fire-bans-and-restrictions

    For up-to-date information about road conditions, visit: https://www.drivebc.ca/

    For more information about rest areas during driving, visit: https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/restareas

    For detailed guidance on what happens before, during and after an evacuation order, visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/evacuation-recovery/evacuee-guidance

    For the latest information on evacuation alerts and evacuation orders in B.C., visit: https://EmergencyInfoBC.ca
    Or follow @EmergencyInfoBC on X

    To register with Emergency Support Services, visit: https://ess.gov.bc.ca/

    For information on how to prepare for emergencies, including information about emergency kits, household emergency plans and hazard-specific guides, visit: https://PreparedBC.ca 

    For more information on how to FireSmart your home, visit: https://firesmartbc.ca

    For backcountry safety checklists and trip planning resources, visit: https://www.adventuresmart.ca/

    For more information about drought, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/drought

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines: FDA Safety Communication – FDA Approves Required Updated Warning in Labeling Regarding Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following Vaccination

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    AUDIENCE: Pediatrics, Pharmacy, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Cardiology
    ISSUE: FDA has required and approved updates to the Prescribing Information for Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) manufactured ModernaTX, Inc. to include new safety information about the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
    Specifically, FDA has required each manufacturer to update the warning about the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis to include information about

    the estimated unadjusted incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis following administration of the 2023-2024 Formula of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and
    the results of a study that collected information on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cardiac MRI) in people who developed myocarditis after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

    FDA also required each manufacturer to describe the new safety information in the Adverse Reactions section of the Prescribing Information and in the Information for Recipients and Caregivers.   
    The Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers and for Recipients and Caregivers for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19, which are authorized for emergency use in individuals 6 months through 11 years of age, have also been updated to include the new safety information in alignment with the Comirnaty and Spikevax Prescribing Information and Information for Recipients and Caregivers.
    BACKGROUND: Information about myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining outside the heart) following vaccination with these mRNA COVID-19 vaccines has been included in the labeling since 2021. FDA closely monitors the safety of all vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, during postmarket use.
    RECOMMENDATION: 

    Suspected adverse events may be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which is co-managed by the FDA and the CDC.

      [6/25/2025 – FDA Safety Communication – FDA]

    Content current as of:
    06/25/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines: FDA Safety Communication – FDA Approves Required Updated Warning in Labeling Regarding Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following Vaccination

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    AUDIENCE: Pediatrics, Pharmacy, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Cardiology
    ISSUE: FDA has required and approved updates to the Prescribing Information for Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) manufactured ModernaTX, Inc. to include new safety information about the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
    Specifically, FDA has required each manufacturer to update the warning about the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis to include information about

    the estimated unadjusted incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis following administration of the 2023-2024 Formula of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and
    the results of a study that collected information on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cardiac MRI) in people who developed myocarditis after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

    FDA also required each manufacturer to describe the new safety information in the Adverse Reactions section of the Prescribing Information and in the Information for Recipients and Caregivers.   
    The Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers and for Recipients and Caregivers for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19, which are authorized for emergency use in individuals 6 months through 11 years of age, have also been updated to include the new safety information in alignment with the Comirnaty and Spikevax Prescribing Information and Information for Recipients and Caregivers.
    BACKGROUND: Information about myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining outside the heart) following vaccination with these mRNA COVID-19 vaccines has been included in the labeling since 2021. FDA closely monitors the safety of all vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, during postmarket use.
    RECOMMENDATION: 

    Suspected adverse events may be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which is co-managed by the FDA and the CDC.

      [6/25/2025 – FDA Safety Communication – FDA]

    Content current as of:
    06/25/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Three Faculty Members Named Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The University of Connecticut has named three outstanding faculty members as Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors for the 2024–2025 academic year. This distinction is the highest honor the university confers on faculty and recognizes exceptional achievement in research, teaching, and service.

    This year’s honorees are:

    • Dr. Peter C. Albertsen, Division of Urology, School of Medicine
    • Professor Anne C. Dailey, School of Law
    • Dr. Luyi Sun, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering

    The Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor title is awarded annually following a university-wide nomination process and a rigorous review by a faculty and student committee. Final selections are approved by the UConn Board of Trustees, which confirmed this year’s awardees at its June 25, 2025 meeting.

    “These faculty have each made a remarkable impact not only through their scholarship, but also through their commitment to their students and colleagues,” said Anne D’Alleva, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Their work strengthens our community, advances their fields, and reflects the excellence that defines UConn.”

    Dr. Peter C. Albertsen

    Dr. Peter C. Albertsen is a globally respected urologic oncologist whose research and leadership have transformed the understanding and management of prostate cancer. A faculty member at UConn Health since 1987, Dr. Albertsen’s work has shaped national and international treatment guidelines and spared tens of thousands of men from unnecessary surgery and radiation.

    (UConn Photo)

    He earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Princeton University and his medical degree from Columbia University. He completed his surgical residency at Harvard and his urology training at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins. He also holds a master’s degree in medical administration and preventive medicine from the University of Wisconsin.

    Dr. Albertsen was among the first to use population-based data to challenge prevailing assumptions about PSA screening and prostate cancer aggressiveness. His landmark publications, including a seminal article in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), demonstrated that many prostate cancers grow slowly and do not require immediate treatment. These findings helped launch a global shift toward active surveillance, now a widely accepted standard of care. He has played key leadership roles in major trials in both the U.S. and the U.K., including serving as Chair of the Cause of Death Committee for the PLCO and ProtecT trials.

    He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and editorials, with over 17,000 citations and an h-index of 63, placing him in the top tier of urologic researchers. His research has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and other leading journals, and has been supported by more than $5 million in external funding.

    As UConn’s Urology Residency Program Director for over 30 years, Dr. Albertsen has trained more than 60 residents, many of whom have gone on to leadership roles in academic medicine and beyond. He is widely praised for his dynamic and discussion-based teaching style and for his long-standing mentorship of medical students and residents.

    Dr. Albertsen has served in numerous leadership roles at UConn Health and nationally, including as Associate Dean for Clinical Research and Planning, Division Chief of Urology, and Trustee of the American Board of Urology. He continues to provide exceptional patient care, including to underserved and correctional populations, and is often sought out by colleagues for their own care.

    His many honors include the Eugene Fuller Triennial Prostate Award and the Distinguished Contribution Award from the American Urological Association, as well as honorary membership in both the AUA and the German Urological Association. Dr. Albertsen’s research, clinical care, and mentorship have had an enduring impact on the field of urology and the lives of countless patients, making him a most deserving recipient of the University of Connecticut’s highest faculty honor.

    Professor Anne C. Dailey

    Professor Anne Dailey, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Intellectual Life and the Ellen Ash Peters Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law, is a nationally recognized scholar whose work bridges constitutional law, family law, and psychoanalytic theory. A member of the UConn faculty since 1988, Professor Dailey has made transformative contributions to legal scholarship, education, and public service, with far-reaching influence across disciplines and institutions.

    (UConn Photo)

    She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where she served as an Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, she completed a judicial clerkship with Judge José Cabranes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. She has since become a pioneering figure in integrating psychoanalytic theory into legal analysis, most notably through her acclaimed book Law and the Unconscious: A Psychoanalytic Perspective, published by Yale University Press. This work received three prestigious honors: the Book Prize from the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Book Prize from the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis, and the Faculty Book Award from the UConn Humanities Institute.

    Professor Dailey’s scholarship is widely cited and influential. Her co-authored articles The New Law of the Child and The New Parental Rights, and her sole authored In Loco Reipublicae, all published in top-tier law journals, have shaped the national discourse on children’s constitutional rights, state responsibility for families, and evolving family structures. She is a member of the American Law Institute and the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and Humanities.

    She has held visiting faculty appointments at Yale, Harvard, and Penn Law Schools and has been named an Erikson Scholar at the Austen Riggs Center and a Fellow at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

    Professor Dailey is a dedicated and inspiring teacher of family law and constitutional law. She is also a deeply valued mentor to students and junior faculty, and her efforts have helped elevate the national profile of the UConn School of Law.

    Professor Dailey’s scholarly distinction, interdisciplinary innovation, and enduring contributions to teaching and service make her a truly worthy recipient of the University of Connecticut’s highest faculty honor.

    Dr. Luyi Sun

    Dr. Luyi Sun is a globally recognized materials scientist and professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut, where he also holds a joint appointment in the Institute of Materials Science. Since joining UConn in 2013, he has led an internationally renowned research program focused on nanostructured hybrid materials for functional, environmental, and energy-related applications.

    (UConn Photo)

    Dr. Sun’s prolific contributions to science are evidenced by over 310 peer-reviewed journal articles in high-impact publications such as Nature Communications, Science Advances, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Advanced Materials. His work has earned more than 23,000 citations and an h-index of 83, and has been highlighted by MIT Technology Review, Smithsonian Magazine, and New Scientist, among many others. He is the inventor or co-inventor of 28 issued U.S. patents and more than 50 corresponding foreign patents, seven of which have been commercialized/licensed. The materials and devices invented in his lab have been featured in global exhibitions, including at the Material ConneXion Library in New York and the Penn Museum.

    Dr. Sun is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Society of Plastics Engineers. He has also been recognized with the Morand Lambla Award from the Polymer Processing Society and was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

    A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Sun has taught rigorous and interdisciplinary courses such as Thermodynamics and Polymer Processing, and has advised dozens of Ph.D. students, M.S. students and postdoctoral researchers, and more than 160 undergraduate research assistants. His students have gone on to successful careers in academia and industry, and many have received prestigious fellowships and national honors.

    Dr. Sun has also demonstrated sustained leadership in academic and professional service. As Director of the UConn Polymer Program from 2018 to 2021, he expanded faculty engagement and strengthened the program’s profile. He has held leadership roles in national scientific organizations and organized more than 80 symposia around the world. His editorial work includes serving as Associate Editor of Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials.

    Due to his outstanding record of research innovation, teaching, mentorship, and professional service, Dr. Luyi Sun strongly merits recognition as a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Maris-Tech Secures New Purchase Order for Innovative AI-Powered Surveillance Solution for the Defense Industry

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Marks Entry into a New Market Segment with Advanced Threat Detection Capabilities

    Rehovot, Israel, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maris-Tech Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTEK, MTEKW) (“Maris-Tech” or the “Company”), a global leader in video and artificial intelligence (“AI”) – based edge computing technology, today announced that it has received a $100,000 purchase order for a new surveillance solution to be designed for the defense sector.

    This innovative solution will be based on the Company’s Jupiter-AI edge solution and will be integrated into an advanced military surveillance system to allow real-time threat detection and monitoring. This order marks the Company’s entry into a new field, extending its technology to new market segments.

    “We believe that this order is a strong indication of the market’s growing confidence in our ability to address a wide variety of operational needs,” said Israel Bar, Chief Executive Officer of Maris-Tech. “It also represents an important step into a new segment for us, which broadens the scope of our video and AI-powered edge computing solutions, as well as our presence in the defense industry.”

    About Maris-Tech Ltd.

    Maris-Tech is a global leader in video and AI-based edge computing technology, pioneering intelligent video transmission solutions that conquer complex encoding-decoding challenges. Our miniature, lightweight, and low-power products deliver high-performance capabilities, including raw data processing, seamless transfer, advanced image processing, and AI-driven analytics. Founded by Israeli technology sector veterans, Maris-Tech serves leading manufacturers worldwide in defense, aerospace, Intelligence gathering, homeland security (HLS), and communication industries. We’re pushing the boundaries of video transmission and edge computing, driving innovation in mission-critical applications across commercial and defense sectors.

    For more information, visit https://www.maris-tech.com/

    Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect”,” “may”, “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it is discussing the innovative solution to be developed pursuant to the purchase order and integration of the solution into an advanced military surveillance system to allow real-time threat detection and monitoring and the timing of delivery thereof; the Company’s expansion of its technology to new market segments; the Company’s ability to address a wide variety of operational needs; and the broadening of the scope of the Company’s video and AI-powered edge computing solutions, as well as its future presence in the defense industry. The Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: its ability to successfully market its products and services, including in the United States; the acceptance of its products and services by customers; its continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for its products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; its ability to successfully develop new products and services; its success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; its ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 28, 2025, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

    Investor Relations:

    Nir Bussy, CFO
    Tel: +972-72-2424022
    Nir@maris-tech.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Maris-Tech Secures New Purchase Order for Innovative AI-Powered Surveillance Solution for the Defense Industry

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Marks Entry into a New Market Segment with Advanced Threat Detection Capabilities

    Rehovot, Israel, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maris-Tech Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTEK, MTEKW) (“Maris-Tech” or the “Company”), a global leader in video and artificial intelligence (“AI”) – based edge computing technology, today announced that it has received a $100,000 purchase order for a new surveillance solution to be designed for the defense sector.

    This innovative solution will be based on the Company’s Jupiter-AI edge solution and will be integrated into an advanced military surveillance system to allow real-time threat detection and monitoring. This order marks the Company’s entry into a new field, extending its technology to new market segments.

    “We believe that this order is a strong indication of the market’s growing confidence in our ability to address a wide variety of operational needs,” said Israel Bar, Chief Executive Officer of Maris-Tech. “It also represents an important step into a new segment for us, which broadens the scope of our video and AI-powered edge computing solutions, as well as our presence in the defense industry.”

    About Maris-Tech Ltd.

    Maris-Tech is a global leader in video and AI-based edge computing technology, pioneering intelligent video transmission solutions that conquer complex encoding-decoding challenges. Our miniature, lightweight, and low-power products deliver high-performance capabilities, including raw data processing, seamless transfer, advanced image processing, and AI-driven analytics. Founded by Israeli technology sector veterans, Maris-Tech serves leading manufacturers worldwide in defense, aerospace, Intelligence gathering, homeland security (HLS), and communication industries. We’re pushing the boundaries of video transmission and edge computing, driving innovation in mission-critical applications across commercial and defense sectors.

    For more information, visit https://www.maris-tech.com/

    Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect”,” “may”, “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it is discussing the innovative solution to be developed pursuant to the purchase order and integration of the solution into an advanced military surveillance system to allow real-time threat detection and monitoring and the timing of delivery thereof; the Company’s expansion of its technology to new market segments; the Company’s ability to address a wide variety of operational needs; and the broadening of the scope of the Company’s video and AI-powered edge computing solutions, as well as its future presence in the defense industry. The Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: its ability to successfully market its products and services, including in the United States; the acceptance of its products and services by customers; its continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for its products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; its ability to successfully develop new products and services; its success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; its ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 28, 2025, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

    Investor Relations:

    Nir Bussy, CFO
    Tel: +972-72-2424022
    Nir@maris-tech.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Rwanda: African Development Bank kickstarts pioneering cable car project in Kigali

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

    The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has approved a grant of $500,000 to undertake a feasibility study into the first phase of a cable car transport network in Kigali, that will be sub-Saharan Africa’s first aerial urban transit system.

    The funds, to be sourced from the Bank Group’s Urban and Municipal Development Fund (https://apo-opa.co/45CiDm9), are expected to help pave the way for the Kigali Urban Cable Car Project, a 5.5 km mobility initiative valued at $100 million and promising to ease the city’s traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and connect underserved communities to jobs and essential services.

    The Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF) is a trust fund hosted by the African Development Bank, which provides direct support to cities, to mobilize funding and technical assistance, develop partnerships, city engagement, project identification and investment.

    Phase 1 of the project will comprise two critical transit corridors: Nyabugogo Taxi Park to the Central Business District (CBD) Hub; and the Kigali Convention Center to Kigali Sports City, connecting public landmarks such as Amahoro Stadium, BK Arena, and the newly developed Zaria Court.

    The feasibility study is expected to position the project to attract international investment, including through platforms such as the Africa Investment Forum (AIF). The UMDF provided funding for the feasibility of another project in the country, the Kigali Urban Transport Improvement project, to help attract critical investment.

    Construction is expected to begin in late 2026, with commissioning scheduled for 2028. Once complete, the cable car will convey over 50,000 passengers a day on a 15-minute end-to-end journey, integrating into the city’s existing transport infrastructure.

    African Development Bank Group president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said: “This transformative project aligns perfectly with the Bank’s vision for sustainable, green climate-resilient urban mobility infrastructure, and with the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy, which focuses on urbanization, and the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), a global partnership initiative driven by the African Development Bank Group, Africa50 and the African Union. By financing Rwanda’s urban cable car system, we are investing in a scalable model of low-carbon, inclusive public transport that cities across Africa can emulate.”

    The project is anchored in Rwanda’s Green Taxonomy, E-mobility Strategy, and Climate and Nature Finance Strategy (CNFS) and aligns closely with Rwanda’s national climate objectives, which target a 38% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

    The project implementation is expected to follow a Public-Private Partnership model, according to  Imena Munyampenda, the Director General of Rwanda Transport Development Agency.  

    The feasibility study plans to draw lessons from successful cable car systems in La Paz, Bolivia, and Singapore. The system will prioritize access for the disabled, employment opportunities for girls, women and low-income residents; and job creation, capacity building and technology transfer.

    “This pioneering feasibility study is a game-changing milestone,” said Solomon Quaynor, African Development Bank’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization. “Through the UMDF, AfDB is laying the foundation for an investment-ready green infrastructure asset that offers both impact and returns.”

    Blended Financing

    The $100 million funding structure will comprise a strategic mix of grants, concessional loans, blended finance, and technical assistance. The UMDF grant will fund an assessment of the project’s viability gap.

    The Rwandan government, the African Development Bank Group, and other development partners, will collaborate to offer blended financing, along with commercial funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Africa50, the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), as well as private investors and the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA). 

    – on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

    Media Contact:
    Janet Onyango
    African Development Bank Group 
    media@afdb.org

    Media files

    Download logo

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Nuclear emergency exercise concludes to test international response to simulated reactor accident

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency –

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with more than 75 countries and 10 international organizations, successfully completed a 36-hour exercise that tested global preparedness and response arrangements for a severe nuclear accident scenario at the Cernavoda NPP in Romania. The ConvEx-3 (2025) exercise started on 24 June and concluded at 17:45 CET on 25 June.

    Such exercises are conducted every three to five years and are based on simulated events at a nuclear facility in the host IAEA member state.

    The exercise simulated a significant release of radioactive material, requiring participating countries and organizations to make decisions in real time, exchange information, inform the public and coordinate protective measures, including aspects of medical response and cross-border logistics.

    “ConvEx-3 (2025) demonstrated the power of international cooperation in nuclear emergency preparedness,” said Carlos Torres Vidal, Director of the IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre. “By working together under realistic scenarios, we are strengthening our collective capacity to protect people and the environment.”

    Among the main innovations in this year’s exercise program were the following.

    Enhanced regional cooperation: Recognizing the cross-border consequences of severe nuclear accidents, neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova coordinated protective measures to ensure a coherent cross-border response. Integrating nuclear security scenarios: Simulations also included tests related to physical security and cybersecurity threats, reflecting new and evolving risks. Enhanced crisis communication testing: An enhanced social media simulator was used to evaluate and improve public communication strategies. Deploying international assistance missions: As part of the IAEA Response and Assistance Network (RANET) Expert groups from Bulgaria, Canada, Lithuania, Moldova, the United States, Sweden and France carried out a number of joint operations, including the use of air and ground-based radiation monitoring equipment.

    The exercise highlighted the importance of timely information sharing, accurate assessments and forecasts, and effective public communication in the event of nuclear emergencies.

    ConvEx-3 exercises are conducted every three to five years to evaluate and strengthen emergency response mechanisms established in accordance with Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident And Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency.

    In the coming weeks, the IAEA will gather feedback from all participants to identify good practices and areas for improvement, contributing to the continued strengthening of global nuclear emergency preparedness. The final report of the exercise will be taken into account in preparation for the upcoming International Conference “Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies”, which is scheduled for December this year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    A selection of photos from the ConvEx3 exercise is available at this link.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Venezuelan National Residing Unlawfully in the U.S. Indicted on Federal Charges

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    TOLEDO, Ohio – A federal grand jury has returned a four-count indictment charging Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra, 24, a Venezuelan national residing in Perrysburg, Ohio, with possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States, making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and making or using false writings or documents.

    According to the indictment, the defendant is accused of submitting a false date of birth to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on federal applications for Temporary Protective Status and Employment Authorization Documents in 2024 and 2025.

    In the original criminal complaint and underlying affidavit filed May 22, 2025, investigators learned that Perrysburg Schools reported to the Perrysburg Police Department that they received information that Labrador-Sierra, a student attending Perrysburg High School, was actually a 24-year-old man who enrolled under false pretenses.

    The grand jury further charges that Labrador-Sierra was in possession of a Taurus G3C 9mm, semiautomatic pistol, which he did not have lawful status to purchase or own in the United States, and that he submitted false information on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473 to purchase the firearm. Among the alleged false statements the defendant submitted that were intended and likely to deceive the licensed firearms dealer at the point of sale, were that:

    • He was a United States citizen or national.
    • He was not illegally or unlawfully in the United States.
    • He was not an alien who had entered the United States under a nonimmigrant visa.

    If convicted, Labrador-Sierra faces up to 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by an alien; 10 years in prison for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm; and up to five years in prison for making or using false writings or documents.

    This case is being investigated by the City of Perrysburg Police Department, United States Border Patrol−Sandusky Bay Station, the FBI Toledo Field Office, and the ATF, with assistance from the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office.

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert N. Melching and Tracey Tangeman for the Northern District of Ohio, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Dobson.

    This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with knowledge and information about this matter, please call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or visit fbi.gov/tips.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alex Schwartz, Professor of Urban Policy, The New School

    Thousands of American families that can’t find affordable apartments are stuck living in extended-stay motels. Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    If there’s one thing that U.S. politicians and activists from across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that rents are far too high.

    Many experts believe that this crisis is fueled by a shortage of housing, caused principally by restrictive regulations.

    Rents and home prices would fall, the argument goes, if rules such as minimum lot- and house-size requirements and prohibitions against apartment complexes were relaxed. This, in turn, would make it easier to build more housing.

    As experts on housing policy, we’re concerned about housing affordability. But our research shows little connection between a shortfall of housing and rental affordability problems. Even a massive infusion of new housing would not shrink housing costs enough to solve the crisis, as rents would likely remain out of reach for many households.

    However, there are already subsidies in place that ensure that some renters in the U.S. pay no more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The most effective solution, in our view, is to make these subsidies much more widely available.

    A financial sinkhole

    Just how expensive are rents in the U.S.?

    According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a household that spends more than 30% of its income on housing is deemed to be cost-burdened. If it spends more than 50%, it’s considered severely burdened. In 2023, 54% of all renters spent more than 30% of their pretax income on housing. That’s up from 43% of renters in 1999. And 28% of all renters spent more than half their income on housing in 2023.

    Renters with low incomes are especially unlikely to afford their housing: 81% of renters making less than $30,000 spent more than 30% of their income on housing, and 60% spent more than 50%.

    Estimates of the nation’s housing shortage vary widely, reaching up to 20 million units, depending on analytic approach and the time period covered. Yet our research, which compares growth in the housing stock from 2000 to the present, finds no evidence of an overall shortage of housing units. Rather, we see a gap between the number of low-income households and the number of affordable housing units available to them; more affluent renters face no such shortage. This is true in the nation as a whole and in nearly all large and small metropolitan areas.

    Would lower rents help? Certainly. But they wouldn’t fix everything.

    We ran a simulation to test an admittedly unlikely scenario: What if rents dropped 25% across the board? We found it would reduce the number of cost-burdened renters – but not by as much as you might think.

    Even with the reduction, nearly one-third of all renters would still spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Moreover, reducing rents would help affluent renters much more than those with lower incomes – the households that face the most severe affordability challenges.

    The proportion of cost-burdened renters earning more than $75,000 would fall from 16% to 4%, while the share of similarly burdened renters earning less than $15,000 would drop from 89% to just 80%. Even with a rent rollback of 25%, the majority of renters earning less than $30,000 would remain cost-burdened.

    Vouchers offer more breathing room

    Meanwhile, there’s a proven way of making housing more affordable: rental subsidies.

    In 2024, the U.S. provided what are known as “deep” housing subsidies to about 5 million households, meaning that rent payments are capped at 30% of their income.

    These subsidies take three forms: Housing Choice Vouchers that enable people to rent homes in the private market; public housing; and project-based rental assistance, in which the federal government subsidizes the rents for all or some of the units in properties under private and nonprofit ownership.

    The number of households participating in these three programs has increased by less than 2% since 2014, and they constitute only 25% of all eligible households. Households earning less than 50% of their area’s median family income are eligible for rental assistance. But unlike Social Security, Medicare or food stamps, rental assistance is not an entitlement available to all who qualify. The number of recipients is limited by the amount of funding appropriated each year by Congress, and this funding has never been sufficient to meet the need.

    By expanding rental assistance to all eligible low-income households, the government could make huge headway in solving the rental affordability crisis. The most obvious option would be to expand the existing Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8.

    The program helps pay the rent up to a specified “payment standard” determined by each local public housing authority, which can set this standard at between 80% and 120% of the HUD-designated fair market rent. To be eligible for the program, units must also satisfy HUD’s physical quality standards.

    Unfortunately, about 43% of voucher recipients are unable to use it. They are either unable to find an apartment that rents for less than the payment standard, meets the physical quality standard, or has a landlord willing to accept vouchers.

    Renters are more likely to find housing using vouchers in cities and states where it’s illegal for landlords to discriminate against voucher holders. Programs that provide housing counseling and landlord outreach and support have also improved outcomes for voucher recipients.

    However, it might be more effective to forgo the voucher program altogether and simply give eligible households cash to cover their housing costs. The Philadelphia Housing Authority is currently testing out this approach.

    The idea is that landlords would be less likely to reject applicants receiving government support if the bureaucratic hurdles were eliminated. The downside of this approach is that it would not prevent landlords from renting out deficient units that the voucher program would normally reject.

    Homeowners get subsidies – why not renters?

    Expanding rental assistance to all eligible low-income households would be costly.

    The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, estimates it would cost about $118 billion a year.

    However, Congress has spent similar sums on housing subsidies before. But they involve tax breaks for homeowners, not low-income renters. Congress forgoes billions of dollars annually in tax revenue it would otherwise collect were it not for tax deductions, credits, exclusions and exemptions. These are known as tax expenditures. A tax not collected is equivalent to a subsidy payment.

    Only about 25% of eligiblge households receive rental assistance from the federal government.
    Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    For example, from 1998 through 2017 – prior to the tax changes enacted by the first Trump administration in 2017 – the federal government annually sacrificed $187 billion on average, after inflation, in revenue due to mortgage interest deductions, deductions for state and local taxes, and for the exemption of proceeds from the sale of one’s home from capital gains taxes. In fiscal year 2025, these tax expenditures totaled $95.4 billion.

    Moreover, tax expenditures on behalf of homeowners flow mostly to higher-income households. In 2024, for example, over 70% of all mortgage-interest tax deductions went to homeowners earning at least $200,000.

    Broadening the availability of rental subsidies would have other benefits. It would save federal, state and local governments billions of dollars in homeless services. Moreover, automatic provision of rental subsidies would reduce the need for additional subsidies to finance new affordable housing. Universal rental assistance, by guaranteeing sufficient rental income, would allow builders to more easily obtain loans to cover development costs.

    Of course, sharply raising federal expenditures for low-income rental assistance flies in the face of the Trump administration’s priorities. Its budget proposal for the next fiscal year calls for a 44% cut of more than $27 billion in rental assistance and public housing.

    On the other hand, if the government supported rental assistance in amounts commensurate with the tax benefits given to homeowners, it would go a long way toward resolving the rental housing affordability crisis.

    This article is part of a series centered on envisioning ways to deal with the housing crisis.

    Alex Schwartz has received funding from the Catherine and John D. MacArthur Foundation. Since 2019 he has served on New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board. He has a relative who works for The Conversation.

    Kirk McClure received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis? – https://theconversation.com/what-if-universal-rental-assistance-were-implemented-to-deal-with-the-housing-crisis-257213

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alex Schwartz, Professor of Urban Policy, The New School

    Thousands of American families that can’t find affordable apartments are stuck living in extended-stay motels. Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    If there’s one thing that U.S. politicians and activists from across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that rents are far too high.

    Many experts believe that this crisis is fueled by a shortage of housing, caused principally by restrictive regulations.

    Rents and home prices would fall, the argument goes, if rules such as minimum lot- and house-size requirements and prohibitions against apartment complexes were relaxed. This, in turn, would make it easier to build more housing.

    As experts on housing policy, we’re concerned about housing affordability. But our research shows little connection between a shortfall of housing and rental affordability problems. Even a massive infusion of new housing would not shrink housing costs enough to solve the crisis, as rents would likely remain out of reach for many households.

    However, there are already subsidies in place that ensure that some renters in the U.S. pay no more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The most effective solution, in our view, is to make these subsidies much more widely available.

    A financial sinkhole

    Just how expensive are rents in the U.S.?

    According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a household that spends more than 30% of its income on housing is deemed to be cost-burdened. If it spends more than 50%, it’s considered severely burdened. In 2023, 54% of all renters spent more than 30% of their pretax income on housing. That’s up from 43% of renters in 1999. And 28% of all renters spent more than half their income on housing in 2023.

    Renters with low incomes are especially unlikely to afford their housing: 81% of renters making less than $30,000 spent more than 30% of their income on housing, and 60% spent more than 50%.

    Estimates of the nation’s housing shortage vary widely, reaching up to 20 million units, depending on analytic approach and the time period covered. Yet our research, which compares growth in the housing stock from 2000 to the present, finds no evidence of an overall shortage of housing units. Rather, we see a gap between the number of low-income households and the number of affordable housing units available to them; more affluent renters face no such shortage. This is true in the nation as a whole and in nearly all large and small metropolitan areas.

    Would lower rents help? Certainly. But they wouldn’t fix everything.

    We ran a simulation to test an admittedly unlikely scenario: What if rents dropped 25% across the board? We found it would reduce the number of cost-burdened renters – but not by as much as you might think.

    Even with the reduction, nearly one-third of all renters would still spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Moreover, reducing rents would help affluent renters much more than those with lower incomes – the households that face the most severe affordability challenges.

    The proportion of cost-burdened renters earning more than $75,000 would fall from 16% to 4%, while the share of similarly burdened renters earning less than $15,000 would drop from 89% to just 80%. Even with a rent rollback of 25%, the majority of renters earning less than $30,000 would remain cost-burdened.

    Vouchers offer more breathing room

    Meanwhile, there’s a proven way of making housing more affordable: rental subsidies.

    In 2024, the U.S. provided what are known as “deep” housing subsidies to about 5 million households, meaning that rent payments are capped at 30% of their income.

    These subsidies take three forms: Housing Choice Vouchers that enable people to rent homes in the private market; public housing; and project-based rental assistance, in which the federal government subsidizes the rents for all or some of the units in properties under private and nonprofit ownership.

    The number of households participating in these three programs has increased by less than 2% since 2014, and they constitute only 25% of all eligible households. Households earning less than 50% of their area’s median family income are eligible for rental assistance. But unlike Social Security, Medicare or food stamps, rental assistance is not an entitlement available to all who qualify. The number of recipients is limited by the amount of funding appropriated each year by Congress, and this funding has never been sufficient to meet the need.

    By expanding rental assistance to all eligible low-income households, the government could make huge headway in solving the rental affordability crisis. The most obvious option would be to expand the existing Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8.

    The program helps pay the rent up to a specified “payment standard” determined by each local public housing authority, which can set this standard at between 80% and 120% of the HUD-designated fair market rent. To be eligible for the program, units must also satisfy HUD’s physical quality standards.

    Unfortunately, about 43% of voucher recipients are unable to use it. They are either unable to find an apartment that rents for less than the payment standard, meets the physical quality standard, or has a landlord willing to accept vouchers.

    Renters are more likely to find housing using vouchers in cities and states where it’s illegal for landlords to discriminate against voucher holders. Programs that provide housing counseling and landlord outreach and support have also improved outcomes for voucher recipients.

    However, it might be more effective to forgo the voucher program altogether and simply give eligible households cash to cover their housing costs. The Philadelphia Housing Authority is currently testing out this approach.

    The idea is that landlords would be less likely to reject applicants receiving government support if the bureaucratic hurdles were eliminated. The downside of this approach is that it would not prevent landlords from renting out deficient units that the voucher program would normally reject.

    Homeowners get subsidies – why not renters?

    Expanding rental assistance to all eligible low-income households would be costly.

    The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, estimates it would cost about $118 billion a year.

    However, Congress has spent similar sums on housing subsidies before. But they involve tax breaks for homeowners, not low-income renters. Congress forgoes billions of dollars annually in tax revenue it would otherwise collect were it not for tax deductions, credits, exclusions and exemptions. These are known as tax expenditures. A tax not collected is equivalent to a subsidy payment.

    Only about 25% of eligiblge households receive rental assistance from the federal government.
    Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    For example, from 1998 through 2017 – prior to the tax changes enacted by the first Trump administration in 2017 – the federal government annually sacrificed $187 billion on average, after inflation, in revenue due to mortgage interest deductions, deductions for state and local taxes, and for the exemption of proceeds from the sale of one’s home from capital gains taxes. In fiscal year 2025, these tax expenditures totaled $95.4 billion.

    Moreover, tax expenditures on behalf of homeowners flow mostly to higher-income households. In 2024, for example, over 70% of all mortgage-interest tax deductions went to homeowners earning at least $200,000.

    Broadening the availability of rental subsidies would have other benefits. It would save federal, state and local governments billions of dollars in homeless services. Moreover, automatic provision of rental subsidies would reduce the need for additional subsidies to finance new affordable housing. Universal rental assistance, by guaranteeing sufficient rental income, would allow builders to more easily obtain loans to cover development costs.

    Of course, sharply raising federal expenditures for low-income rental assistance flies in the face of the Trump administration’s priorities. Its budget proposal for the next fiscal year calls for a 44% cut of more than $27 billion in rental assistance and public housing.

    On the other hand, if the government supported rental assistance in amounts commensurate with the tax benefits given to homeowners, it would go a long way toward resolving the rental housing affordability crisis.

    This article is part of a series centered on envisioning ways to deal with the housing crisis.

    Alex Schwartz has received funding from the Catherine and John D. MacArthur Foundation. Since 2019 he has served on New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board. He has a relative who works for The Conversation.

    Kirk McClure received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis? – https://theconversation.com/what-if-universal-rental-assistance-were-implemented-to-deal-with-the-housing-crisis-257213

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Yelp’s addition of a ‘Black-owned’ tag led to a slight drop in business ratings in Detroit

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Bui, Assistant Professor of Information and Digital Studies, University of Michigan

    Yelp’s Black-owned tag was designed to help business owners like Don Studvent attract more customers. His restaurant closed in 2018 after nine years in business. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

    When the online review platform Yelp added a “Black-owned” tag in 2020, it boosted the visibility of Black-owned restaurants in Detroit. It also caused their ratings to drop, according to our recent study.

    Both local and nonlocal reviewers who showed awareness of a restaurant’s Black ownership rated restaurants 3.03 stars on average. Those who did not acknowledge Black ownership gave a rating of 3.78 stars on average. The tag seems to have caused the average rating to drop by attracting more reviewers who were aware of Black ownership.

    Why it matters

    Technology companies often introduce new features and tools to influence user behavior and make their platforms more usable.

    Although Yelp intended to support Black communities with the Black-owned tag, the design intervention was harmful to Black restaurant owners in Detroit because Yelp failed to consider platform and community-based factors that significantly shape user interactions.

    Yelp’s user base is predominantly white, educated and affluent. Making Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants more visible to Yelp users may have amplified cross-cultural interactions and frictions. For example, non-Black users sometimes mentioned “slower” and “rude” service as justifications for lower ratings. Close readings of these reviews hinted at intercultural and communicative clashes.

    And even businesses that don’t select the tag are identified within searches as Black-owned, based on user reviews and relevant links. Yelp doesn’t provide a way for the business to opt out of these search results.

    How we did our work

    To examine the local impacts of Yelp’s Black-owned tag, we collected over 250,000 Yelp reviews of Black- and non-Black-owned restaurants in Detroit and Los Angeles.

    We identified Black-owned restaurants through community-sourced lists for Detroit and Los Angeles and then generated a random sample for the non-Black-owned restaurants.

    We then identified reviews that explicitly noted “Black ownership” for closer analysis.

    Detroit’s Black-owned businesses saw a greater loss in business compared with “ownership-unreported” restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means they also potentially had more to gain from the new tag.

    We found the awareness of Black ownership on Yelp significantly increased following Yelp’s addition of the Black-owned tag in June 2020. A year after the tag was added, reviews in Detroit mentioned Black ownership 4.3% more often than a year before it was rolled out.

    Detroit Black-owned restaurants also saw a small temporary spike in their number of reviews, largely around the time Yelp added the Black-owned tag. At the same time, the restaurants’ average star ratings dropped from 3.91 to 3.88. In contrast, non-Black-owned restaurants’ ratings stayed relatively steady at 3.90.

    This metric is an aggregate of all Detroit restaurants’ Yelp reviews over their entire existence, so a .03-star rating change is small but significant.

    Even minor changes to star ratings affect the number of diners restaurants attract, their earning potential and the likelihood they will sell out of food.

    Adding obstacles in digital platforms serves to reproduce and amplify inequalities these businesses already face, rather than alleviate them. For example, Black-owned businesses have a harder time getting loans and are relatively underrepresented in Michigan as a whole.

    These findings may seem surprising given that Detroit is a majority Black city. However, Black users on Yelp are a minority. Keeping in mind the skewed user base of Yelp, we hypothesize the lower reviews for businesses featuring a Black-owned tag reflect existing racial and digital divides in the city.

    Generally, our study provides additional evidence that digital interventions are not “one-size-fits-all,” nor is digital visibility inherently positive for all businesses.

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

    This research was supported by a research grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

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

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

    – ref. Yelp’s addition of a ‘Black-owned’ tag led to a slight drop in business ratings in Detroit – https://theconversation.com/yelps-addition-of-a-black-owned-tag-led-to-a-slight-drop-in-business-ratings-in-detroit-256306

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Yelp’s addition of a ‘Black-owned’ tag led to a slight drop in business ratings in Detroit

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Bui, Assistant Professor of Information and Digital Studies, University of Michigan

    Yelp’s Black-owned tag was designed to help business owners like Don Studvent attract more customers. His restaurant closed in 2018 after nine years in business. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

    When the online review platform Yelp added a “Black-owned” tag in 2020, it boosted the visibility of Black-owned restaurants in Detroit. It also caused their ratings to drop, according to our recent study.

    Both local and nonlocal reviewers who showed awareness of a restaurant’s Black ownership rated restaurants 3.03 stars on average. Those who did not acknowledge Black ownership gave a rating of 3.78 stars on average. The tag seems to have caused the average rating to drop by attracting more reviewers who were aware of Black ownership.

    Why it matters

    Technology companies often introduce new features and tools to influence user behavior and make their platforms more usable.

    Although Yelp intended to support Black communities with the Black-owned tag, the design intervention was harmful to Black restaurant owners in Detroit because Yelp failed to consider platform and community-based factors that significantly shape user interactions.

    Yelp’s user base is predominantly white, educated and affluent. Making Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants more visible to Yelp users may have amplified cross-cultural interactions and frictions. For example, non-Black users sometimes mentioned “slower” and “rude” service as justifications for lower ratings. Close readings of these reviews hinted at intercultural and communicative clashes.

    And even businesses that don’t select the tag are identified within searches as Black-owned, based on user reviews and relevant links. Yelp doesn’t provide a way for the business to opt out of these search results.

    How we did our work

    To examine the local impacts of Yelp’s Black-owned tag, we collected over 250,000 Yelp reviews of Black- and non-Black-owned restaurants in Detroit and Los Angeles.

    We identified Black-owned restaurants through community-sourced lists for Detroit and Los Angeles and then generated a random sample for the non-Black-owned restaurants.

    We then identified reviews that explicitly noted “Black ownership” for closer analysis.

    Detroit’s Black-owned businesses saw a greater loss in business compared with “ownership-unreported” restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means they also potentially had more to gain from the new tag.

    We found the awareness of Black ownership on Yelp significantly increased following Yelp’s addition of the Black-owned tag in June 2020. A year after the tag was added, reviews in Detroit mentioned Black ownership 4.3% more often than a year before it was rolled out.

    Detroit Black-owned restaurants also saw a small temporary spike in their number of reviews, largely around the time Yelp added the Black-owned tag. At the same time, the restaurants’ average star ratings dropped from 3.91 to 3.88. In contrast, non-Black-owned restaurants’ ratings stayed relatively steady at 3.90.

    This metric is an aggregate of all Detroit restaurants’ Yelp reviews over their entire existence, so a .03-star rating change is small but significant.

    Even minor changes to star ratings affect the number of diners restaurants attract, their earning potential and the likelihood they will sell out of food.

    Adding obstacles in digital platforms serves to reproduce and amplify inequalities these businesses already face, rather than alleviate them. For example, Black-owned businesses have a harder time getting loans and are relatively underrepresented in Michigan as a whole.

    These findings may seem surprising given that Detroit is a majority Black city. However, Black users on Yelp are a minority. Keeping in mind the skewed user base of Yelp, we hypothesize the lower reviews for businesses featuring a Black-owned tag reflect existing racial and digital divides in the city.

    Generally, our study provides additional evidence that digital interventions are not “one-size-fits-all,” nor is digital visibility inherently positive for all businesses.

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

    This research was supported by a research grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

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

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

    – ref. Yelp’s addition of a ‘Black-owned’ tag led to a slight drop in business ratings in Detroit – https://theconversation.com/yelps-addition-of-a-black-owned-tag-led-to-a-slight-drop-in-business-ratings-in-detroit-256306

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James L. Gibson, Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, Washington University in St. Louis

    Polarization has led many people to feel they’re being silenced. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

    For decades, Americans’ trust in one another has been on the decline, according to the most recent General Social Survey.

    A major factor in that downshift has been the concurrent rise in the polarization between the two major political parties. Supporters of Republicans and Democrats are far more likely than in the past to view the opposite side with distrust.

    That political polarization is so stark that many Americans are now unlikely to have friendly social interactions, live nearby or congregate with people from opposing camps, according to one recent study.

    Social scientists often refer to this sort of animosity as “affective polarization,” meaning that people not only hold conflicting views on many or most political issues but also disdain fellow citizens who hold different opinions. Over the past few decades, such affective polarization in the U.S. has become commonplace.

    Polarization undermines democracy by making the essential processes of democratic deliberation – discussion, negotiation, compromise and bargaining over public policies – difficult, if not impossible. Because polarization extends so broadly and deeply, some people have become unwilling to express their views until they’ve confirmed they’re speaking with someone who’s like-minded.

    I’m a political scientist, and I found that Americans were far less likely to publicly voice their opinions than even during the height of the McCarthy-era Red Scare.

    A supporter of Donald Trump tries to push past demonstrators in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023.
    AP Photo/Nathan Howard

    The muting of the American voice

    According to a 2022 book written by political scientists Taylor Carlson and Jaime E. Settle, fears about speaking out are grounded in concerns about social sanctions for expressing unwelcome views.

    And this withholding of views extends across a broad range of social circumstances. In 2022, for instance, I conducted a survey of a representative sample of about 1,500 residents of the U.S. I found that while 45% of the respondents were worried about expressing their views to members of their immediate family, this percentage ballooned to 62% when it came to speaking out publicly in one’s community. Nearly half of those surveyed said they felt less free to speak their minds than they used to.

    About three to four times more Americans said they did not feel free to express themselves, compared with the number of those who said so during the McCarthy era.

    Censorship in the US and globally

    Since that survey, attacks on free speech have increased markedly, especially under the Trump administration.

    Issues such as the Israeli war in Gaza, activist campaigns against “wokeism,” and the ever-increasing attempts to penalize people for expressing certain ideas have made it more difficult for people to speak out.

    The breadth of self-censorship in the U.S. in recent times is not unprecedented or unique to the U.S. Indeed, research in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere have reported similar increases in self-censorship in the past several years.

    How the ‘spiral of a silence’ explains self-censorship

    In the 1970s, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, a distinguished German political scientist, coined the term the “spiral of silence” to describe how self-censorship arises and what its consequences can be. Informed by research she conducted on the 1965 West German federal election, Noelle-Neumann observed that an individual’s willingness to publicly give their opinion was tied to their perceptions of public opinion on an issue.

    The so-called spiral happens when someone expresses a view on a controversial issue and then encounters vigorous criticism from an aggressive minority – perhaps even sharp attacks.

    People rally at the University of California, Berkeley, to protest the Trump administration on March 19, 2025.
    AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez

    A listener can impose costs on the speaker for expressing the view in a number of ways, including criticism, direct personal attacks and even attempts to “cancel” the speaker through ending friendships or refusing to attend social events such as Thanksgiving or holiday dinners.

    This kind of sanction isn’t limited to just social interactions but also when someone is threatened by far bigger institutions, from corporations to the government. The speaker learns from this encounter and decides to keep their mouth shut in the future because the costs of expressing the view are simply too high.

    This self-censorship has knock-on effects, as views become less commonly expressed and people are less likely to encounter support from those who hold similar views. People come to believe that they are in the minority, even if they are, in fact, in the majority. This belief then also contributes to the unwillingness to express one’s views.

    The opinions of the aggressive minority then become dominant. True public opinion and expressed public opinion diverge. Most importantly, the free-ranging debate so necessary to democratic politics is stifled.

    Not all issues are like this, of course – only issues for which a committed and determined minority exists that can impose costs on a particular viewpoint are subject to this spiral.

    The consequences for democratic deliberation

    The tendency toward self-censorship means listeners are deprived of hearing the withheld views. The marketplace of ideas becomes skewed; the choices of buyers in that marketplace are circumscribed. The robust debate so necessary to deliberations in a democracy is squelched as the views of a minority come to be seen as the only “acceptable” political views.

    No better example of this can be found than in the absence of debate in the contemporary U.S. about the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis, whatever outcome such vigorous discussion might produce. Fearful of consequences, many people are withholding their views on Israel – whether Israel has committed war crimes, for instance, or whether Israeli members of government should be sanctioned – because they fear being branded as antisemitic.

    Many Americans are also biting their tongues when it comes to DEI, affirmative action and even whether political tolerance is essential for democracy.

    But the dominant views are also penalized by this spiral. By not having to face their competitors, they lose the opportunity to check their beliefs and, if confirmed, bolster and strengthen their arguments. Good ideas lose the chance to become better, while bad ideas – such as something as extreme as Holocaust denial – are given space to flourish.

    The spiral of silence therefore becomes inimical to pluralistic debate, discussion and, ultimately, to democracy itself.

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

    – ref. Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues – https://theconversation.com/self-censorship-and-the-spiral-of-silence-why-americans-are-less-likely-to-publicly-voice-their-opinions-on-political-issues-251979

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James L. Gibson, Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, Washington University in St. Louis

    Polarization has led many people to feel they’re being silenced. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

    For decades, Americans’ trust in one another has been on the decline, according to the most recent General Social Survey.

    A major factor in that downshift has been the concurrent rise in the polarization between the two major political parties. Supporters of Republicans and Democrats are far more likely than in the past to view the opposite side with distrust.

    That political polarization is so stark that many Americans are now unlikely to have friendly social interactions, live nearby or congregate with people from opposing camps, according to one recent study.

    Social scientists often refer to this sort of animosity as “affective polarization,” meaning that people not only hold conflicting views on many or most political issues but also disdain fellow citizens who hold different opinions. Over the past few decades, such affective polarization in the U.S. has become commonplace.

    Polarization undermines democracy by making the essential processes of democratic deliberation – discussion, negotiation, compromise and bargaining over public policies – difficult, if not impossible. Because polarization extends so broadly and deeply, some people have become unwilling to express their views until they’ve confirmed they’re speaking with someone who’s like-minded.

    I’m a political scientist, and I found that Americans were far less likely to publicly voice their opinions than even during the height of the McCarthy-era Red Scare.

    A supporter of Donald Trump tries to push past demonstrators in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023.
    AP Photo/Nathan Howard

    The muting of the American voice

    According to a 2022 book written by political scientists Taylor Carlson and Jaime E. Settle, fears about speaking out are grounded in concerns about social sanctions for expressing unwelcome views.

    And this withholding of views extends across a broad range of social circumstances. In 2022, for instance, I conducted a survey of a representative sample of about 1,500 residents of the U.S. I found that while 45% of the respondents were worried about expressing their views to members of their immediate family, this percentage ballooned to 62% when it came to speaking out publicly in one’s community. Nearly half of those surveyed said they felt less free to speak their minds than they used to.

    About three to four times more Americans said they did not feel free to express themselves, compared with the number of those who said so during the McCarthy era.

    Censorship in the US and globally

    Since that survey, attacks on free speech have increased markedly, especially under the Trump administration.

    Issues such as the Israeli war in Gaza, activist campaigns against “wokeism,” and the ever-increasing attempts to penalize people for expressing certain ideas have made it more difficult for people to speak out.

    The breadth of self-censorship in the U.S. in recent times is not unprecedented or unique to the U.S. Indeed, research in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere have reported similar increases in self-censorship in the past several years.

    How the ‘spiral of a silence’ explains self-censorship

    In the 1970s, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, a distinguished German political scientist, coined the term the “spiral of silence” to describe how self-censorship arises and what its consequences can be. Informed by research she conducted on the 1965 West German federal election, Noelle-Neumann observed that an individual’s willingness to publicly give their opinion was tied to their perceptions of public opinion on an issue.

    The so-called spiral happens when someone expresses a view on a controversial issue and then encounters vigorous criticism from an aggressive minority – perhaps even sharp attacks.

    People rally at the University of California, Berkeley, to protest the Trump administration on March 19, 2025.
    AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez

    A listener can impose costs on the speaker for expressing the view in a number of ways, including criticism, direct personal attacks and even attempts to “cancel” the speaker through ending friendships or refusing to attend social events such as Thanksgiving or holiday dinners.

    This kind of sanction isn’t limited to just social interactions but also when someone is threatened by far bigger institutions, from corporations to the government. The speaker learns from this encounter and decides to keep their mouth shut in the future because the costs of expressing the view are simply too high.

    This self-censorship has knock-on effects, as views become less commonly expressed and people are less likely to encounter support from those who hold similar views. People come to believe that they are in the minority, even if they are, in fact, in the majority. This belief then also contributes to the unwillingness to express one’s views.

    The opinions of the aggressive minority then become dominant. True public opinion and expressed public opinion diverge. Most importantly, the free-ranging debate so necessary to democratic politics is stifled.

    Not all issues are like this, of course – only issues for which a committed and determined minority exists that can impose costs on a particular viewpoint are subject to this spiral.

    The consequences for democratic deliberation

    The tendency toward self-censorship means listeners are deprived of hearing the withheld views. The marketplace of ideas becomes skewed; the choices of buyers in that marketplace are circumscribed. The robust debate so necessary to deliberations in a democracy is squelched as the views of a minority come to be seen as the only “acceptable” political views.

    No better example of this can be found than in the absence of debate in the contemporary U.S. about the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis, whatever outcome such vigorous discussion might produce. Fearful of consequences, many people are withholding their views on Israel – whether Israel has committed war crimes, for instance, or whether Israeli members of government should be sanctioned – because they fear being branded as antisemitic.

    Many Americans are also biting their tongues when it comes to DEI, affirmative action and even whether political tolerance is essential for democracy.

    But the dominant views are also penalized by this spiral. By not having to face their competitors, they lose the opportunity to check their beliefs and, if confirmed, bolster and strengthen their arguments. Good ideas lose the chance to become better, while bad ideas – such as something as extreme as Holocaust denial – are given space to flourish.

    The spiral of silence therefore becomes inimical to pluralistic debate, discussion and, ultimately, to democracy itself.

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

    – ref. Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues – https://theconversation.com/self-censorship-and-the-spiral-of-silence-why-americans-are-less-likely-to-publicly-voice-their-opinions-on-political-issues-251979

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jake Scott, Clinical Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, Stanford University

    Public health experts worry that factually inaccurate statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threaten the public’s confidence in vaccines. Andrew HarnikGetty Images

    In the four months since he began serving as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made many public statements about vaccines that have cast doubt on their safety and on the objectivity of long-standing processes established to evaluate them.

    Many of these statements are factually incorrect. For example, in a newscast aired on June 12, 2025, Kennedy told Fox News viewers that 97% of federal vaccine advisers are on the take. In the same interview, he also claimed that children receive 92 mandatory shots. He has also widely claimed that only COVID-19 vaccines, not other vaccines in use by both children and adults, were ever tested against placebos and that “nobody has any idea” how safe routine immunizations are.

    As an infectious disease physician who curates an open database of hundreds of controlled vaccine trials involving over 6 million participants, I am intimately familiar with the decades of research on vaccine safety. I believe it is important to correct the record – especially because these statements come from the official who now oversees the agencies charged with protecting Americans’ health.

    Do children really receive 92 mandatory shots?

    In 1986, the childhood vaccine schedule contained about 11 doses protecting against seven diseases. Today, it includes roughly 50 injections covering 16 diseases. State school entry laws typically require 30 to 32 shots across 10 to 12 diseases. No state mandates COVID-19 vaccination. Where Kennedy’s “92 mandatory shots” figure comes from is unclear, but the actual number is significantly lower.

    From a safety standpoint, the more important question is whether today’s schedule with additional vaccines might be too taxing for children’s immune systems. It isn’t, because as vaccine technology improved over the past several decades, the number of antigens in each vaccine dose is much lower than before.

    Antigens are the molecules in vaccines that trigger a response from the immune system, training it to identify the specific pathogen. Some vaccines contain a minute amount of aluminum salt that serves as an adjuvant – a helper ingredient that improves the quality and staying power of the immune response, so each dose can protect with less antigen.

    Those 11 doses in 1986 delivered more than 3,000 antigens and 1.5 milligrams of aluminum over 18 years. Today’s complete schedule delivers roughly 165 antigens – which is a 95% reduction – and 5-6 milligrams of aluminum in the same time frame. A single smallpox inoculation in 1900 exposed a child to more antigens than today’s complete series.

    Jonas Salk, the inventor of the polio vaccine, administers a dose to a boy in 1954.
    Underwood Archives via Getty Images

    Since 1986, the United States has introduced vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus and human papillomavirus. Each addition represents a life-saving advance.

    The incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b, a bacterial infection that can cause pneumonia, meningitis and other severe diseases, has dropped by 99% in infants. Pediatric hepatitis infections are down more than 90%, and chickenpox hospitalizations are down about 90%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinating children born from 1994 to 2023 will avert 508 million illnesses and 1,129,000 premature deaths.

    Placebo testing for vaccines

    Kennedy has asserted that only COVID-19 vaccines have undergone rigorous safety trials in which they were tested against placebos. This is categorically wrong.

    Of the 378 controlled trials in our database, 195 compared volunteers’ response to a vaccine with their response to a placebo. Of those, 159 gave volunteers only a salt water solution or another inert substance. Another 36 gave them just the adjuvant without any viral or bacterial material, as a way to see whether there were side effects from the antigen itself or the injection. Every routine childhood vaccine antigen appears in at least one such study.

    The 1954 Salk polio trial, one of the largest clinical trials in medical history, enrolled more than 600,000 children and tested the vaccine by comparing it with a salt water control. Similar trials, which used a substance that has no biological effect as a control, were used to test Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal, rotavirus, influenza and HPV vaccines.

    Once an effective vaccine exists, ethics boards require new versions be compared against that licensed standard because withholding proven protection from children would be unethical.

    How unknown is the safety of widely used vaccines?

    Kennedy has insisted on multiple occasions that “nobody has any idea” about vaccine safety profiles. Of the 378 trials in our database, the vast majority published detailed safety outcomes.

    Beyond trials, the U.S. operates the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, the Vaccine Safety Datalink and the PRISM network to monitor hundreds of millions of doses for rare problems. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System works like an open mailbox where anyone – patients, parents, clinicians – can report a post-shot problem; the Vaccine Safety Datalink analyzes anonymized electronic health records from large health care systems to spot patterns; and PRISM scans billions of insurance claims in near-real time to confirm or rule out rare safety signals.

    These systems led health officials to pull the first rotavirus vaccine in 1999 after it was linked to bowel obstruction, and to restrict the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 after rare clotting events. Few drug classes undergo such continuous surveillance and are subject to such swift corrective action when genuine risks emerge.

    The conflicts of interest claim

    On June 9, Kennedy took the unprecedented step of dissolving vetted members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the expert body that advises the CDC on national vaccine policy. He has claimed repeatedly that the vast majority of serving members of the committee – 97% – had extensive conflicts of interest because of their entanglements with the pharmaceutical industry. Kennedy bases that number on a 2009 federal audit of conflict-of-interest paperwork, but that report looked at 17 CDC advisory committees, not specifically this vaccine committee. And it found no pervasive wrongdoing – 97% of disclosure forms only contained routine paperwork mistakes, such as information in the wrong box or a missing initial, and not hidden financial ties.

    Reuters examined data from Open Payments, a government website that discloses health care providers’ relationships with industry, for all 17 voting members of the committee who were dismissed. Six received no more than US$80 from drugmakers over seven years, and four had no payments at all.

    The remaining seven members accepted between $4,000 and $55,000 over seven years, mostly for modest consulting or travel. In other words, just 41% of the committee received anything more than pocket change from drugmakers. Committee members must divest vaccine company stock and recuse themselves from votes involving conflicts.

    A term without a meaning

    Kennedy has warned that vaccines cause “immune deregulation,” a term that has no basis in immunology. Vaccines train the immune system, and the diseases they prevent are the real threats to immune function.

    Measles can wipe immune memory, leaving children vulnerable to other infections for years. COVID-19 can trigger multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Chronic hepatitis B can cause immune-mediated organ damage. Preventing these conditions protects people from immune system damage.

    Today’s vaccine panel doesn’t just prevent infections; it deters doctor visits and thereby reduces unnecessary prescriptions for “just-in-case” antibiotics. It’s one of the rare places in medicine where physicians like me now do more good with less biological burden than we did 40 years ago.

    The evidence is clear and publicly available: Vaccines have dramatically reduced childhood illness, disability and death on a historic scale.

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

    – ref. I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong – https://theconversation.com/im-a-physician-who-has-looked-at-hundreds-of-studies-of-vaccine-safety-and-heres-some-of-what-rfk-jr-gets-wrong-259659

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jake Scott, Clinical Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, Stanford University

    Public health experts worry that factually inaccurate statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threaten the public’s confidence in vaccines. Andrew HarnikGetty Images

    In the four months since he began serving as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made many public statements about vaccines that have cast doubt on their safety and on the objectivity of long-standing processes established to evaluate them.

    Many of these statements are factually incorrect. For example, in a newscast aired on June 12, 2025, Kennedy told Fox News viewers that 97% of federal vaccine advisers are on the take. In the same interview, he also claimed that children receive 92 mandatory shots. He has also widely claimed that only COVID-19 vaccines, not other vaccines in use by both children and adults, were ever tested against placebos and that “nobody has any idea” how safe routine immunizations are.

    As an infectious disease physician who curates an open database of hundreds of controlled vaccine trials involving over 6 million participants, I am intimately familiar with the decades of research on vaccine safety. I believe it is important to correct the record – especially because these statements come from the official who now oversees the agencies charged with protecting Americans’ health.

    Do children really receive 92 mandatory shots?

    In 1986, the childhood vaccine schedule contained about 11 doses protecting against seven diseases. Today, it includes roughly 50 injections covering 16 diseases. State school entry laws typically require 30 to 32 shots across 10 to 12 diseases. No state mandates COVID-19 vaccination. Where Kennedy’s “92 mandatory shots” figure comes from is unclear, but the actual number is significantly lower.

    From a safety standpoint, the more important question is whether today’s schedule with additional vaccines might be too taxing for children’s immune systems. It isn’t, because as vaccine technology improved over the past several decades, the number of antigens in each vaccine dose is much lower than before.

    Antigens are the molecules in vaccines that trigger a response from the immune system, training it to identify the specific pathogen. Some vaccines contain a minute amount of aluminum salt that serves as an adjuvant – a helper ingredient that improves the quality and staying power of the immune response, so each dose can protect with less antigen.

    Those 11 doses in 1986 delivered more than 3,000 antigens and 1.5 milligrams of aluminum over 18 years. Today’s complete schedule delivers roughly 165 antigens – which is a 95% reduction – and 5-6 milligrams of aluminum in the same time frame. A single smallpox inoculation in 1900 exposed a child to more antigens than today’s complete series.

    Jonas Salk, the inventor of the polio vaccine, administers a dose to a boy in 1954.
    Underwood Archives via Getty Images

    Since 1986, the United States has introduced vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus and human papillomavirus. Each addition represents a life-saving advance.

    The incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b, a bacterial infection that can cause pneumonia, meningitis and other severe diseases, has dropped by 99% in infants. Pediatric hepatitis infections are down more than 90%, and chickenpox hospitalizations are down about 90%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinating children born from 1994 to 2023 will avert 508 million illnesses and 1,129,000 premature deaths.

    Placebo testing for vaccines

    Kennedy has asserted that only COVID-19 vaccines have undergone rigorous safety trials in which they were tested against placebos. This is categorically wrong.

    Of the 378 controlled trials in our database, 195 compared volunteers’ response to a vaccine with their response to a placebo. Of those, 159 gave volunteers only a salt water solution or another inert substance. Another 36 gave them just the adjuvant without any viral or bacterial material, as a way to see whether there were side effects from the antigen itself or the injection. Every routine childhood vaccine antigen appears in at least one such study.

    The 1954 Salk polio trial, one of the largest clinical trials in medical history, enrolled more than 600,000 children and tested the vaccine by comparing it with a salt water control. Similar trials, which used a substance that has no biological effect as a control, were used to test Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal, rotavirus, influenza and HPV vaccines.

    Once an effective vaccine exists, ethics boards require new versions be compared against that licensed standard because withholding proven protection from children would be unethical.

    How unknown is the safety of widely used vaccines?

    Kennedy has insisted on multiple occasions that “nobody has any idea” about vaccine safety profiles. Of the 378 trials in our database, the vast majority published detailed safety outcomes.

    Beyond trials, the U.S. operates the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, the Vaccine Safety Datalink and the PRISM network to monitor hundreds of millions of doses for rare problems. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System works like an open mailbox where anyone – patients, parents, clinicians – can report a post-shot problem; the Vaccine Safety Datalink analyzes anonymized electronic health records from large health care systems to spot patterns; and PRISM scans billions of insurance claims in near-real time to confirm or rule out rare safety signals.

    These systems led health officials to pull the first rotavirus vaccine in 1999 after it was linked to bowel obstruction, and to restrict the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 after rare clotting events. Few drug classes undergo such continuous surveillance and are subject to such swift corrective action when genuine risks emerge.

    The conflicts of interest claim

    On June 9, Kennedy took the unprecedented step of dissolving vetted members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the expert body that advises the CDC on national vaccine policy. He has claimed repeatedly that the vast majority of serving members of the committee – 97% – had extensive conflicts of interest because of their entanglements with the pharmaceutical industry. Kennedy bases that number on a 2009 federal audit of conflict-of-interest paperwork, but that report looked at 17 CDC advisory committees, not specifically this vaccine committee. And it found no pervasive wrongdoing – 97% of disclosure forms only contained routine paperwork mistakes, such as information in the wrong box or a missing initial, and not hidden financial ties.

    Reuters examined data from Open Payments, a government website that discloses health care providers’ relationships with industry, for all 17 voting members of the committee who were dismissed. Six received no more than US$80 from drugmakers over seven years, and four had no payments at all.

    The remaining seven members accepted between $4,000 and $55,000 over seven years, mostly for modest consulting or travel. In other words, just 41% of the committee received anything more than pocket change from drugmakers. Committee members must divest vaccine company stock and recuse themselves from votes involving conflicts.

    A term without a meaning

    Kennedy has warned that vaccines cause “immune deregulation,” a term that has no basis in immunology. Vaccines train the immune system, and the diseases they prevent are the real threats to immune function.

    Measles can wipe immune memory, leaving children vulnerable to other infections for years. COVID-19 can trigger multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Chronic hepatitis B can cause immune-mediated organ damage. Preventing these conditions protects people from immune system damage.

    Today’s vaccine panel doesn’t just prevent infections; it deters doctor visits and thereby reduces unnecessary prescriptions for “just-in-case” antibiotics. It’s one of the rare places in medicine where physicians like me now do more good with less biological burden than we did 40 years ago.

    The evidence is clear and publicly available: Vaccines have dramatically reduced childhood illness, disability and death on a historic scale.

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

    – ref. I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong – https://theconversation.com/im-a-physician-who-has-looked-at-hundreds-of-studies-of-vaccine-safety-and-heres-some-of-what-rfk-jr-gets-wrong-259659

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Israel-Iran war recalls the 2003 US invasion of Iraq – a war my undergraduate students see as a relic of the past

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andrea Stanton, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies & Faculty Affiliate, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver

    American troops topple a statue of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003, in Baghdad. Gilles Bassignac/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

    After 12 days of trading deadly airstrikes, Israel and Iran confirmed on June 24, 2025, that a ceasefire is in effect, one day after President Donald Trump proclaimed the countries reached a deal to end fighting. Experts are wondering how long the ceasefire, which does not contain any specific conditions, will hold.

    Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats alike have debated whether the Trump administration’s decision to bomb Iran’s three nuclear facilities on June 22 constituted an unofficial declaration of war – since Trump has not asked Congress to formally declare war against Iran.

    The United States’ involvement in the fighting between Iran and Israel, which Israel started on June 12, has also sparked concerned comparisons with the eight-year war the U.S. waged in Iraq, another Middle Eastern country.

    The U.S. invaded Iraq more than 20 years ago in March 2003, claiming it had to disarm the Iraqi government of weapons of mass destruction and end the dictatorial rule of President Saddam Hussein. U.S. soldiers captured Saddam in December 2003, but the war dragged on through 2011.

    A 15-month search by U.S. and United Nations inspectors revealed in 2004 that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction to seize.

    The Trump administration, bolstered by the Israeli government, has claimed that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons represents an imminent, dangerous threat to Western countries and the rest of the world. Iran says that its nuclear development program is for civilian use. While the International Atomic Energy Agency, an independent organization that is part of the United Nations, monitors Iran and other countries’ nuclear development work, Iran has not complied with recent IAEA requests for information about its nuclear program.

    Trump has also called for regime change in Iran, writing on his Truth Social media platform on June 22 that he wants to “Make Iran Great Again”, though he has since walked back that plan. The case of U.S. involvement in Iraq might offer some lessons in this current moment.

    The start and cost of the Iraq War

    The conflict between Western powers and Iraq dragged on until 2011. More than 4,600 American soldiers died in combat – and thousands more died by suicide after they returned home.

    More than 288,000 Iraqis, including fighters and civilians, have died from war-related violence since the invasion.

    The war cost the U.S. over $2 trillion.

    And Iraq is still dealing with widespread political violence between rival religious-political groups and an unstable government.

    Most of these problems stem directly or indirectly from the war. The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the war that followed are defining events in the histories of both countries – and the region. Yet, for many young people in the United States, drawing a connection between the war and its present-day impact is becoming more difficult. For them, the war is an artifact of the past.

    I am a Middle East historian and an Islamic studies scholar who teaches two undergraduate courses that cover the 2003 invasion and the Iraq War. My courses attract students who hope to work in politics, law, government and nonprofit groups, and whose personal backgrounds include a range of religious traditions, immigration histories and racial identities.

    The stories of the invasion and subsequent war resonate with them in the same way that stories of other past events do – they’re eager to learn from them, but don’t see them as directly connected to their lives.

    Former President George W. Bush formally declared war on Iraq in a televised address on March 19, 2003.
    Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

    A generational shift

    Since I started teaching courses related to the Iraq War in 2010, my students have shifted from millennials to Generation Z. The latter were born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. There has also been a change in how these students understand major early 21st-century events, including the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

    I teach this event by showing things like former President George W. Bush’s March 19, 2003, televised announcement of the invasion.

    I also teach it through the flow of my lived experience. That includes remembering the Feb. 15, 2003, anti-war protests that took place in over 600 cities around the world as an effort to prevent what appeared to be an inevitable war. And I show students aspects of material culture, like the “Iraqi most wanted” deck of playing cards, distributed to deployed U.S. military personnel in Iraq, who used the cards for games and to help them identify key figures in the Iraq government.

    The millennial students I taught around 2010 recalled the U.S. invasion of Iraq from their early teen years – a confusing but foundational moment in their personal timelines.

    But for the Gen-Z students I teach today, the invasion sits firmly in the past, as a part of history.

    Why this matters

    Since the mid-2010s, I have not been able to expect students to enroll in my course with personal prior knowledge about the invasion and war that followed. In 2013, my students would tell me that their childhoods had been defined by a United States at war – even if those wars happened far from U.S. soil.

    Millennial students considered the trifecta of 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq to be defining events in their lives. The U.S. and its allies launched airstrikes against al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, less than a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. This followed the Taliban refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden, the architect of 9/11.

    By 2021, my students considered Bush’s actions with the same level of abstract curiosity that they had brought to the class’s earlier examination of the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, which said that a country could request help from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by another country, and was used to justify U.S. military involvement in Lebanon in 1958.

    On an educational level, this means that I now provide much more background information on the first the Gulf War, the 2000 presidential elections, the Bush presidency, the immediate U.S. responses to 9/11 and the Afghanistan invasion than I had to do before. All of these events help students better understand why the U.S. invaded Iraq and why Americans felt so strongly about the military action – whether they were for or against the invasion.

    The Iraq invasion lost popularity among Americans within two years. In March 2003, 71% of Americans said that the U.S. made the right decision to use military force in Iraq.

    That percentage dropped to 47% in 2005, following the revelation that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Yet those supporters continued to strongly endorse the invasion in later polls.

    In 2018, just over half of Americans believed that the U.S. failed to achieve its goals, however those goals might have been defined in Iraq.

    An Iraqi family flees past British tanks from the city of Basra in March 2003.
    Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images

    A new set of priorities

    Older Americans age 65 and up are more likely than young people to prioritize foreign policy issues, including maintaining a U.S. military advantage.

    Younger Americans – age 18 to 39 – say the top issues that require urgency are providing support to refugees and limiting U.S. military commitments abroad, according to a 2021 Pew research survey.

    Generation Z members are also less likely than older Americans to think that the U.S. should act by itself in defending or protecting democracy around the world, according to a 2019 poll by the think tank Center for American Progress.

    They also agree with the statement that the United States’ “wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan were a waste of time, lives, and taxpayer money and they did nothing to make us safer at home.” They prefer that the U.S. use economic and diplomatic means, rather than military intervention, to advance American interests around the world.

    Israel’s conflict with Iran may not flare again and give way to more airstrikes and violence. If the countries resume fighting, however, their conflict threatens to draw in Lebanon, Qatar and other countries in the Middle East, as well as likely the U.S. – and to drag on for a long time.

    This is an update from a story originally published on March 15, 2023.

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

    – ref. Israel-Iran war recalls the 2003 US invasion of Iraq – a war my undergraduate students see as a relic of the past – https://theconversation.com/israel-iran-war-recalls-the-2003-us-invasion-of-iraq-a-war-my-undergraduate-students-see-as-a-relic-of-the-past-259652

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Zicheng Cheng, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications, University of Arizona

    Are you in an echo chamber on TikTok? LeoPatrizi/E+ via Getty Images

    People on TikTok tend to follow accounts that align with their own political beliefs, meaning the platform is creating political echo chambers among its users. These findings, from a study my collaborators, Yanlin Li and Homero Gil de Zúñiga, and I published in the academic journal New Media & Society, show that people mostly hear from voices they already agree with.

    We analyzed the structure of different political networks on TikTok and found that right-leaning communities are more isolated from other political groups and from mainstream news outlets. Looking at their internal structures, the right-leaning communities are more tightly connected than their left-leaning counterparts. In other words, conservative TikTok users tend to stick together. They rarely follow accounts with opposing views or mainstream media accounts. Liberal users, on the other hand, are more likely to follow a mix of accounts, including those they might disagree with.

    Our study is based on a massive dataset of over 16 million TikTok videos from more than 160,000 public accounts between 2019 and 2023. We saw a spike of political TikTok videos during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. More importantly, people aren’t just passively watching political content; they’re actively creating political content themselves.

    Some people are more outspoken about politics than others. We found that users with stronger political leanings and those who get more likes and comments on their videos are more motivated to keep posting. This shows the power of partisanship, but also the power of TikTok’s social rewards system. Engagement signals – likes, shares, comments – are like a fuel, encouraging users to create even more.

    Why it matters

    People are turning to TikTok not just for a good laugh. A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that almost 40% of U.S. adults under 30 regularly get news on TikTok. The question becomes what kind of news are they watching, and what does that mean for how they engage with politics.

    The content on TikTok often comes from creators and influencers or digital-native media sources. The quality of this news content remains uncertain. Without access to balanced, fact-based information, people may struggle to make informed political decisions.

    TikTok is not unique; social media generally fosters polarization.

    Amid the debates over banning TikTok, our study highlights how TikTok can be a double-edged sword in political communication. It’s encouraging to see people participate in politics through TikTok when that’s their medium of choice. However, if a user’s network is closed and homogeneous and their expression serves as in-group validation, it may further solidify the political echo chamber.

    When people are exposed to one-sided messages, it can increase hostility toward outgroups. In the long run, relying on TikTok as a source for political information might deepen people’s political views and contribute to greater polarization.

    What other research is being done

    Echo chambers have been widely studied on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but similar research on TikTok is in its infancy. TikTok is drawing scrutiny, particularly its role in news production, political messaging and social movements.

    TikTok has its unique format, algorithmic curation and entertainment-driven design. I believe that its function as a tool for political communication calls for closer examination.

    What’s next

    In 2024, the Biden/Harris and Trump campaigns joined TikTok to reach young voters. My research team is now analyzing how these political communication dynamics may have shifted during the 2024 election. Future research could use experiments to explore whether these campaign videos significantly influence voters’ perceptions and behaviors.

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

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

    – ref. Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds – https://theconversation.com/using-tiktok-could-be-making-you-more-politically-polarized-new-study-finds-258791

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Uranium enrichment: A chemist explains how the surprisingly common element is processed to power reactors and weapons

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By André O. Hudson, Dean of the College of Science, Professor of Biochemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Yellowcake is a concentrated form of mined and processed uranium. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, CC BY

    When most people hear the word uranium, they think of mushroom clouds, Cold War standoffs or the glowing green rods from science fiction. But uranium isn’t just fuel for apocalyptic fears. It’s also a surprisingly common element that plays a crucial role in modern energy, medicine and geopolitics.

    Uranium reentered the global spotlight in June 2025, when the U.S. launched military strikes on sites in Iran believed to be housing highly enriched uranium, a move that reignited urgent conversations around nuclear proliferation. Many headlines have mentioned Iran’s 60% enrichment of uranium, but what does that really mean?

    As a biochemist, I’m interested in demystifying this often misunderstood element.

    What is uranium?

    Uranium holds the 92nd position on the periodic table, and it is a radioactive, metallic element. Radioactivity is a natural process where some atoms – like uranium, thorium and radium – break down on their own, releasing energy.

    The German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth initially identified uranium in 1789, and he named it after the newly discovered planet Uranus. However, its power was not unlocked until the 20th century, when scientists discovered that uranium atoms could split via a process known as nuclear fission. In fission, the nucleus of the atom splits into two or more nuclei, which releases large amounts of energy.

    Uranium is found almost everywhere. It is in rocks, soil and water. There are even traces of uranium in plants and animals – albeit tiny amounts. Most of it is found in the Earth’s crust, where it is mined and concentrated to increase the amount of its most useful radioactive form, uranium-235.

    The enrichment dilemma

    Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium, which is a version of an element that has the same basic identity but weighs a little more or less. Think about apples from the same tree. Some are big and some are small, but they are all apples – even though they have slightly different weights. Basically, an isotope is the same element but with a different mass.

    Unprocessed uranium is mostly uranium-238. It only contains approximately 0.7% uranium-235, the isotope that allows the most nuclear fission to occur. So, the enrichment process concentrates uranium-235.

    Enrichment can make uranium more useful for the development of nuclear weapons, since natural uranium doesn’t have enough uranium-235 to work well in reactors or weapons. The process usually contains three steps.

    Centrifuges spin the uranium to separate out its isotopes.

    The first step is to convert the uranium into a gas, called uranium hexafluoride. In the second step, the gas gets funneled into a machine called a centrifuge that spins very fast. Because uranium-235 is a little lighter than uranium-238, it moves outward more slowly when spun, and the two isotopes separate.

    It’s sort of like how a salad spinner separates water from lettuce. One spin doesn’t make much of a difference, so the gas is spun through many centrifuges in a row until the uranium-235 is concentrated.

    Uranium can typically power nuclear plants and generate electricity when it is 3%-5% enriched, meaning 3%-5% of the uranium is uranium-235. At 20% enriched, uranium-235 is considered highly enriched uranium, and 90% or higher is known as weapons-grade uranium.

    The enrichment level depends on the proportion of uranium-235 to uranium-238.
    Wikimedia Commons

    This high grade works in nuclear weapons because it can sustain a fast, uncontrolled chain reaction, which releases a large amount of energy compared with the other isotopes.

    Uranium’s varied powers

    While many headlines focus on uranium’s military potential, this element also plays a vital role in modern life. At low enrichment levels, uranium powers nearly 10% of the world’s electricity.

    In the U.S., many nuclear power plants run on uranium fuel, producing carbon-free energy. In addition, some cancer therapies and diagnostic imaging technologies harness uranium to treat diseases.

    Enriched uranium is used for nuclear power.
    Raimond Spekking/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    In naval technology, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers rely on enriched uranium to operate silently and efficiently for years.

    Uranium is a story of duality. It is a mineral pulled from ancient rocks that can light up a city or wipe one off the map. It’s not just a relic of the Cold War or science fiction. It’s real, it’s powerful, and it’s shaping our world – from global conflicts to cancer clinics, from the energy grid to international diplomacy.

    In the end, the real power is not just in the energy released from the element. It is in how people choose to use it.

    André O. Hudson receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Uranium enrichment: A chemist explains how the surprisingly common element is processed to power reactors and weapons – https://theconversation.com/uranium-enrichment-a-chemist-explains-how-the-surprisingly-common-element-is-processed-to-power-reactors-and-weapons-259646

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Uranium enrichment: A chemist explains how the surprisingly common element is processed to power reactors and weapons

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By André O. Hudson, Dean of the College of Science, Professor of Biochemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Yellowcake is a concentrated form of mined and processed uranium. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, CC BY

    When most people hear the word uranium, they think of mushroom clouds, Cold War standoffs or the glowing green rods from science fiction. But uranium isn’t just fuel for apocalyptic fears. It’s also a surprisingly common element that plays a crucial role in modern energy, medicine and geopolitics.

    Uranium reentered the global spotlight in June 2025, when the U.S. launched military strikes on sites in Iran believed to be housing highly enriched uranium, a move that reignited urgent conversations around nuclear proliferation. Many headlines have mentioned Iran’s 60% enrichment of uranium, but what does that really mean?

    As a biochemist, I’m interested in demystifying this often misunderstood element.

    What is uranium?

    Uranium holds the 92nd position on the periodic table, and it is a radioactive, metallic element. Radioactivity is a natural process where some atoms – like uranium, thorium and radium – break down on their own, releasing energy.

    The German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth initially identified uranium in 1789, and he named it after the newly discovered planet Uranus. However, its power was not unlocked until the 20th century, when scientists discovered that uranium atoms could split via a process known as nuclear fission. In fission, the nucleus of the atom splits into two or more nuclei, which releases large amounts of energy.

    Uranium is found almost everywhere. It is in rocks, soil and water. There are even traces of uranium in plants and animals – albeit tiny amounts. Most of it is found in the Earth’s crust, where it is mined and concentrated to increase the amount of its most useful radioactive form, uranium-235.

    The enrichment dilemma

    Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium, which is a version of an element that has the same basic identity but weighs a little more or less. Think about apples from the same tree. Some are big and some are small, but they are all apples – even though they have slightly different weights. Basically, an isotope is the same element but with a different mass.

    Unprocessed uranium is mostly uranium-238. It only contains approximately 0.7% uranium-235, the isotope that allows the most nuclear fission to occur. So, the enrichment process concentrates uranium-235.

    Enrichment can make uranium more useful for the development of nuclear weapons, since natural uranium doesn’t have enough uranium-235 to work well in reactors or weapons. The process usually contains three steps.

    Centrifuges spin the uranium to separate out its isotopes.

    The first step is to convert the uranium into a gas, called uranium hexafluoride. In the second step, the gas gets funneled into a machine called a centrifuge that spins very fast. Because uranium-235 is a little lighter than uranium-238, it moves outward more slowly when spun, and the two isotopes separate.

    It’s sort of like how a salad spinner separates water from lettuce. One spin doesn’t make much of a difference, so the gas is spun through many centrifuges in a row until the uranium-235 is concentrated.

    Uranium can typically power nuclear plants and generate electricity when it is 3%-5% enriched, meaning 3%-5% of the uranium is uranium-235. At 20% enriched, uranium-235 is considered highly enriched uranium, and 90% or higher is known as weapons-grade uranium.

    The enrichment level depends on the proportion of uranium-235 to uranium-238.
    Wikimedia Commons

    This high grade works in nuclear weapons because it can sustain a fast, uncontrolled chain reaction, which releases a large amount of energy compared with the other isotopes.

    Uranium’s varied powers

    While many headlines focus on uranium’s military potential, this element also plays a vital role in modern life. At low enrichment levels, uranium powers nearly 10% of the world’s electricity.

    In the U.S., many nuclear power plants run on uranium fuel, producing carbon-free energy. In addition, some cancer therapies and diagnostic imaging technologies harness uranium to treat diseases.

    Enriched uranium is used for nuclear power.
    Raimond Spekking/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    In naval technology, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers rely on enriched uranium to operate silently and efficiently for years.

    Uranium is a story of duality. It is a mineral pulled from ancient rocks that can light up a city or wipe one off the map. It’s not just a relic of the Cold War or science fiction. It’s real, it’s powerful, and it’s shaping our world – from global conflicts to cancer clinics, from the energy grid to international diplomacy.

    In the end, the real power is not just in the energy released from the element. It is in how people choose to use it.

    André O. Hudson receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Uranium enrichment: A chemist explains how the surprisingly common element is processed to power reactors and weapons – https://theconversation.com/uranium-enrichment-a-chemist-explains-how-the-surprisingly-common-element-is-processed-to-power-reactors-and-weapons-259646

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: UConn Health Recognized for Responsible Antibiotic Use

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    A commitment to responsible use of antibiotics earns UConn Health’s John Dempsey Hospital the designation of “Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence” from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

    Certificate from the Infectious Diseases Society of America

    With this designation, the IDSA recognizes institutions that have established stewardship programs, led by infectious diseases physicians and pharmacists, to advance science in antimicrobial resistance, and that have surpassed high standards aligned with evidence-based national guidelines.

    “Evolving antimicrobial resistance patterns and the introduction of new therapeutics have made antibiotic prescribing more challenging than ever,” says Kevin Chamberlin, UConn Health’s chief pharmacy officer. “This Center of Excellence designation is a testament to the sound antimicrobial stewardship we practice that protects our limited options for our most vulnerable patients.”

    John Dempsey Hospital is one of four hospitals in Connecticut designated as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence, and among fewer than 200 hospitals in the world that have earned the distinction since the ISDA started this program in 2017.

    Core criteria include implementation of stewardship protocols by integrating best practices to slow the emergency of resistance, optimize the treatment of infections, reduce adverse events associated with antibiotic use, and address other challenging areas of antimicrobial stewardship.

    “This shows that we are using multidisciplinary collaboration to ensure that we’re using antibiotics in the most quality way and optimizing those antibiotics across care, both on the inpatient and outpatient side,” says Gillian Kuszewski ’03 (PHARM), ’05 Pharm.D., university director of UConn Health’s pharmacy residency programs.

    Kuszewski co-leads UConn Health’s antibiotic stewardship program with Dr. David Banach ’06 MD, MPH, infectious diseases physician and UConn Health’s hospital epidemiologist, and Jeffrey Aeschlimann ’93 (PHARM), a UConn School of Pharmacy faculty member and clinician in UConn Health’s pharmacy practice.

    From left: Dr. David Banach, Gillian Kuszewski, and Jeffrey Aeschlimann lead UConn Health’s antibiotic stewardship program. (Photo by Chris DeFrancesco, UConn Health)

    “Antibiotic stewardship is a global health priority,” Banach says. “The goal of using the right antibiotic for the right patient at the right time for the right duration is really becoming recognized as a key public health measure, both for reducing resistance and also reducing antibiotic-associated side effects and adverse events like C. diff.”

    C. diff, or Clostridioides difficile infection, is one of the most common health care-associated infections. It is highly contagious and difficult to treat.

    “One of the important things the stewardship program does is minimize unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which has been shown to also decrease C. diff rates in hospitals and health care settings,” Aeschlimann says.

    While this is the first time UConn Health has applied for this ISDA designation, antimicrobial stewardship has been a priority going back more than a decade, predating regulatory requirements. Aeschlimann and Dr. Kevin Dieckhaus, who today is chief of UConn Health’s Division of Infectious Diseases, started the antibiotic stewardship committee in 2013. Since then, it has grown to include representation from throughout the institution, including microbiology lab professionals, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, informatics specialists, infection preventionists, and students, residents and fellows.

    “We’ve always been doing these things along the way, and we felt now was the right time to sit down and formally submit an application,” Kuszewski says. “We’ve always done extremely well with our program when regulatory bodies like the Joint Commission come to visit. From a regulatory perspective, we’ve consistently received really good feedback from them on our antimicrobial stewardship activities.”

    She says the committee has established protocols, policies, and workflows to guide and support front-line providers in making the best choices.

    “We’ve supported, for example, processes to make sure that even after the patient leaves the emergency department, they’re on the right antibiotic based on follow-up information that we get from cultures,” Kuszewski says.

    “We have the collaborations between those who prescribe antibiotics and those who have expertise to offer and help support optimal prescribing,” Banach says.

    And the committee’s guidance has made its way into the electronic health record system to provide an additional resource for prescribers.

    “We try to develop either order sets or clinical pathways or popups, whatever we think might work best, to guide clinicians to pick the right antibiotic choice,” Aeschlimann says.

    Another strategy is to prioritize documentation of allergies to help inform prescribing decisions.

    “They can choose an antibiotic with the least risk of a negative outcome,” Kuszewski says. “Penicillin allergy documentation often leads to unnecessary use of certain antibiotics that come with greater risks. Perhaps a penicillin might cause some temporary stomach upset for a patient and is not really a true allergy. Clarifying this documentation in a patient’s medical record can help providers determine which antibiotic carries the least risk in treating an infection.”

    Kuszewski notes that UConn Health leadership has been supportive of the antimicrobial stewardship efforts since the beginning.

    “Not only are we following standards, but we’re also seeing better outcomes,” she says. “We also have results that show that we’re using less broad-spectrum antibiotics than what we’re expected to use, and our C. diff rates are down. The outcomes are actually tangible. It’s not just what we say we’re doing, but we’re seeing good results.”

    MIL OSI USA News –