Category: Americas

MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Simpson Cosponsors Bill to Address Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis in Indian Country

Source: US State of Idaho

Rep. Simpson Cosponsors Bill to Address Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis in Indian Country

Washington, June 17, 2025

WASHINGTON—Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson cosponsored the bipartisan Protection for Reservation Occupants Against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today (PROTECT) Act. This bill would expand Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) to allow tribal nations to prosecute non-Native offenders for drug trafficking. It would also allow tribal courts to execute warrants for electronic material to better combat drug traffickers and other criminals. This legislation is sponsored by Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Rick Larsen (D-WA).
“The growing drug threat and deadly fentanyl crisis have devastated Indian Country,” said Rep. Simpson. “Giving Tribal communities and law enforcement the tools and resources they need to protect their people is a common sense approach to tackling this crisis. One of my top priorities as Chairman of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee has been addressing Tribal needs, including bolstering public safety. I firmly believe that between President Trump’s efforts to secure the southern border and this legislation, we can help combat the spread of dangerous, illegal drugs in Indian Country.”
U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Tina Smith (D-MN) have introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
The full text of the legislation is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Anthem and BGO to develop purpose-built rental community in Coquitlam centre

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

COQUITLAM, British Columbia, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Anthem Properties and BGO announced today the formation of a partnership to develop a purpose-built rental, low-rise multi-family residential development on a 2-acre site located at 1184 Inlet Street, Coquitlam, BC. This marks the first joint venture between Anthem and BGO.

The redevelopment plan for the site consists of two six-storey woodframe buildings that will include 197 homes ranging from studios to spacious three-bedroom apartments. Located adjacent to Lafarge Lake, the project will offer residents excellent access to numerous parks, Douglas College, SkyTrain and West Coast Express, along with ample retail, dining, and services at Coquitlam Centre. The Property will provide tenants with an attractive amenity offering, including dog wash stations, bike storage, parcel storage, a fitness facility, party room, outdoor playground, urban agriculture plots, and BBQ areas. The tenant package will include 3,025 SF of amenity space, 173 parking stalls and 196 storage lockers.

“We look forward to a productive new partnership between Anthem and BGO to deliver a project that is well-positioned to meet the current market demands for well-located, low-rise rental housing in one of Metro Vancouver’s fastest growing cities,” said Jordan Carlson, Senior Vice President, Investment Group, Anthem Properties.

“We’re excited to add to our portfolio with the launch of this new development project for our Canadian Value-Add strategy in partnership with Anthem—a highly capable and experienced developer with deep local roots,” said Chetan Baweja, Managing Director, Head of Canadian Value-Add & Separate Accounts, BGO. “1184 Inlet Street is a compelling, amenity-rich, low-rise development that aligns perfectly with our strategy—well-located, community-focused, and built for high quality sustainable living. It reflects our strong conviction in the need for low-rise purpose-built rental housing and the enduring fundamentals driving demand in Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities region.”

The Property is designed and is expected to be 50% more energy-efficient than the 2018 BC Building Code standards, achieved through enhanced insulation, upgraded glazing, advanced air barriers, and high-performance energy-recovery ventilators.

Construction financing and municipal approvals have been secured, and the co-owners, with Anthem acting as the Development, Construction and Property Manager, are planning to commence construction immediately. Completion is anticipated for late 2027.

About Anthem Properties

Founded in 1991, Anthem is a real estate development, investment and management company of 850+ people driven by creativity, passion, and direct communication. Anthem has invested in, developed or managed – alone or in partnership – more than 400 residential and commercial projects across North America. Our growing residential portfolio includes 44,000 homes that are complete, in design or under construction, from mixed-use residential to townhome, rental and single-family homes. We own, co-own, manage or have previously owned 12 million square feet of retail, industrial and office space, and our land portfolio includes more than 60 communities, spanning 9,100 acres across Canada and the United States. We are Growing Places.

About BGO

BGO is a leading, global real estate investment management advisor and a globally-recognized provider of real estate services. BGO serves the interests of more than 750 institutional clients with approximately $86 billion USD of assets under management (as of March 31, 2025) and expertise in the asset management of office, industrial, multi-residential, retail and hospitality property across the globe. BGO has offices in 27 cities across thirteen countries with deep, local knowledge, experience, and extensive networks in the regions where we invest in and manage real estate assets on behalf of our clients in primary, secondary and co-investment markets.

BGO is a part of SLC Management, the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management business of Sun Life.

The assets under management shown above includes real estate equity and mortgage investments managed by the BGO group of companies and their affiliates, and as of 1Q21, includes certain uncalled capital commitments for discretionary capital until they are legally expired and excludes certain uncalled capital commitments where the investor has complete discretion over investment.

For more information, please visit www.bgo.com

MEDIA CONTACTS

Elisha McCallum
Vice President, Communications, Anthem Properties
Phone: 604.488.3612 Mobile: 778.668.0185
Email: emccallum@anthemproperties.com

Rahim Ladha Global Head of Communications, BGO
Email: media@bgo.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/af12d0e9-d7a1-4043-a6ef-04c55c519c45

The MIL Network –

June 18, 2025

MIL-OSI: ReconAfrica Announces Closing of C$19 Million Underwritten Offering, Including the Full Exercise of the Over-Allotment Option

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

**NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES**

CALGARY, Alberta, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (the “Company” or “ReconAfrica”) (TSXV: RECO) (OTCQX: RECAF) (Frankfurt: 0XD) (NSX: REC) is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced and upsized underwritten public offering (the “Offering”) of units of the Company (the “Units”) at a price of C$0.50 per Unit, including the full exercise of the over-allotment option, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$19 million.

The Offering was led by Research Capital Corporation as the lead underwriter and sole bookrunner, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, including Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Haywood Securities Inc. (collectively, the “Underwriters”).

BW Energy Limited (“BW Energy”) (OSE: BWE), directors and management of ReconAfrica and certain other investors, participated in the Offering for approximately C$4.7 million. The Units purchased by BW Energy are subject to a six-month lock-up agreement.

Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (“Common Share”) and one Common Share purchase warrant of the Company (“Warrant”). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.60‎ until June 17, 2027. The Warrants will commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) under the symbol “RECO.WT.A” on or about June 24, 2025, subject to final TSXV acceptance.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration activities, working capital and general corporate purposes. The primary exploration activity to be funded with net proceeds from the Offering will be the drilling of Prospect I, which has been named the Kavango West 1X well. Work on the access road and drill site is currently being completed while the Company awaits receipt of the remaining requisite permits. The rig mobilization to the Kavango West 1X location is scheduled in late June, with drilling to begin thereafter.

Kavango West 1X – High Potential Exploration Well

The Kavango West 1X exploration well will be the second test in the expansive Damara Fold Belt play. The prospect is a large fold identified on modern 2D seismic data which extends over 20 kilometers long by 5 kilometers wide and is expected to penetrate a thick Otavi carbonate reservoir section, which is the primary target in the play. The Kavango West 1X well will be drilled to a planned total depth of approximately 3,800 metres (12,500 feet) and is targeting 346 million barrels of gross unrisked (30 million barrels of gross risked) prospective light/medium crude oil resources on a 100% working interest basis, 312 million barrels^(1,2) net unrisked (27 million barrels net risked) to ReconAfrica’s 90% working interest as at the date of the NSAI report or 1,839 billion cubic feet of gross unrisked (133 Bcf risked) prospective natural gas resources on 100% working interest basis, 1,655 billion cubic feet⁽^1,²⁾ unrisked net (120 Bcf net risked) to ReconAfrica’s 90% working interest as at the date of the NSAI report), based on the most recent prospective resources report prepared by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (“NSAI”) as at December 31, 2024, filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca (the “NSAI Report”)⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾.

Damara Fold Belt Play Across 11.5 Million Acres in Namibia and Angola

The Damara fold belt trend is identified in the subsurface by a grid of 2D seismic data, and the Company has mapped 19 prospects and 4 leads on the Namibia side of the play. The Namibia area is estimated to hold 2.6 billion barrels^(1,2) of unrisked prospective light/medium crude oil resources and 157 million barrels^(1,2) of risked prospective light/medium crude oil resources from the Damara Fold Belt play prospects on PEL 73.

There is no certainty that any portion of the resources will be discovered. If discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. Prospective resources are those quantities of oil estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. Prospective resources are the arithmetic sum of multiple probability distributions. Unrisked prospective resources are estimates of the volumes that could reasonably be expected to be recovered in the event of the discovery and development of these prospects.
Not reflective of ReconAfrica’s current working interest of 70% of PEL 73.

Recently, the Company has entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels of Angola (ANPG) ‎for a joint exploration project in the Etosha-Okavango basin, located onshore in southeastern Angola. This agreement is a strategic addition to the Company’s asset portfolio, which creates an opportunity for early entry into onshore Angola at a low cost, with minimal work commitments. It complements ReconAfrica’s activities in Namibia and highlights the potential of the Damara Fold Belt and Rift Basin by adding 5.2 million contiguous acres in Angola to the existing 6.3 million acres in Namibia in the Damara Fold Belt and Rift Basin exploration plays.


Damara Fold Belt (Namibia) Best Estimate (2U) Prospective Light & Medium Crude Oil Resources (MMbbl)‎^(1)(2)(3)

	Unrisked			Risked


Play Area/Subclass	Gross (100%)	Company Gross⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	Net⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	Gross (100%)	Company Gross⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	Net⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾⁽³⁾
Damara
Prospects	2,566.1	2,309.5	2,194.0	156.5	140.9	133.8
Leads	123.2	110.9	105.3	4.1	3.7	3.5

Notes:

The “Company Gross” and “Net” figures in the table above are as set out in the Resource Report (as defined below) and have not been adjusted for the 20% working interest acquired by BW Energy from ReconAfrica pursuant to the strategic farm down that closed January 29, 2025. As of December 31, 2024 (and the effective date of the Resource Report, ReconAfrica owned a 90% working interest in PEL 73. ‎As of the date hereof, ReconAfrica holds a 70% working interest in PEL 73 (with BW Energy Limited holding a 20% working interest and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia ‎‎holding a ‎‎10% carried participating interest). “Net” includes a 5% deduction for royalties.
ReconAfrica engaged Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (“NSAI”), an independent qualified reserves ‎evaluator, to provide an updated prospective resource report ‎dated March 26, 2025 (with an effective ‎date of December 31, 2024) relating to the Company’s prospective resources (the “Resource Report”). ‎The ‎Resource Report focused solely on the Company’s interest in certain prospects and leads located in ‎the Damara Fold and Thrust Belt (Damara) play area and the Karoo Rift play area of PEL 73‎. ‎The preparation date of the Updated Report is ‎January 1‎, 2025. Prospective resources are the arithmetic sum of multiple probability distributions‎. See “Disclosure of Oil and Gas Information” for further information.
There is no certainty that any portion of the prospective resources will be discovered. If they are ‎discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to develop and produce any portion of ‎the prospective resources.‎

Additional Details on the Offering

The Offering was completed by way of a prospectus supplement to the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated February 29, 2024, filed in all of the provinces and territories of Canada, and the Units were sold outside of Canada on a private placement basis. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the base shelf prospectus are available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Directors and officers of the Company participated in the Offering and were issued an aggregate of 687,400 Units. Such participation in the Offering constitutes a “related party transaction” as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“61-101”). The Offering is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the securities issued to related parties nor the consideration for such securities exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to closing of the Offering as the participation of insiders of the Company in the Offering had not been confirmed at that time and the shorter time period was necessary in order to permit the Company to close the Offering in a timeframe consistent with usual market practice for transactions of this nature.

The Underwriters received a cash commission equal to 7.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering (other than from the sale of Units to BW Energy and purchasers on the president’s list, for which a 3.0% cash commission was paid), for an aggregate of C$1,124,936. In addition, the Underwriters were issued an aggregate of 2,124,472 broker warrants (the “Broker Warrants”), equal to 7.0% of the number of Units sold under the Offering (other than with respect to those sold to BW Energy and purchasers on the president’s list, for which no Broker Warrants were issued). In addition, the Underwriters received an advisory fee of C$95,000 (plus GST) and 121,380 advisory broker warrants on the same terms as the Broker Warrants. Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of C$0.50 until June 17, 2027.

This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification or registration under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

TSXV Final Approval of Certain Warrant Extensions

The TSXV has approved the application for extension of certain previously issued unlisted warrants announced by the Company in a news release on May 21, 2025. The warrants with an original expiry date of September 1, 2025, and an exercise price of C$1.40 per Common Share will be extended to March 1, 2027. The warrants with an original expiry date of July 18, 2025, and an exercise price of C$1.35 per Common Share will be extended to January 18, 2027. Warrant holders will not have to take any action in connection with the extensions. The exercise prices remain unchanged.

About BW Energy

BW Energy is a growth E&P company with a differentiated strategy targeting proven offshore oil and gas reservoirs through low risk phased developments. The Company has access to existing production facilities to reduce time to first oil and cashflow with lower investments than traditional offshore developments. The Company’s assets are 73.5% of the producing Dussafu Marine licence offshore Gabon, 100% interest in the Golfinho and Camarupim fields, a 76.5% interest in the BM-ES-23 block in, a 95% interest in the Maromba field in Brazil and a 95% interest in the Kudu field in Namibia, all operated by BW Energy.

BW Energy, 74% owned by BW Group Ltd., was created as the E&P arm of Oslo listed BW Offshore, a company with more than four decades of experience in operating advanced offshore production solutions and executing complex projects. Since its origin, BW Offshore has executed 40 FPSO and FSO projects.

About ReconAfrica

ReconAfrica is a Canadian oil and gas company engaged in the exploration of the Damara Fold Belt and Kavango Rift Basin in the Kalahari Desert of northeastern Namibia, southeastern Angola and northwestern Botswana, where the Company holds petroleum licences comprising ~13 million contiguous acres. In all aspects of its operations, ReconAfrica is committed to minimal disturbance of habitat in line with international standards and implementing environmental and social best practices in its project areas.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact:
Brian Reinsborough, President and Chief Executive Officer
Mark Friesen, Managing Director, Investor Relations & Capital Markets

Email: admin@reconafrica.com
IR Inquiries Email: investors@reconafrica.com
Media Inquiries Email: media@reconafrica.com

Tel: +1-877-631-1160

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian, United States and other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the expected use of proceeds from the Offering, the anticipated listing of the Warrants on the TSXV, spudding of the Kavango West 1X well following final completion of the access road and drill site preparation, receipt of all required permits and the rig being moved to the drilling location, which has been scheduled for late June 2025, the well being drilled to a planned total depth of approximately 3,800 metres (12,500 feet) and targeting 255 million barrels of unrisked prospective oil resources or 1,350 billion cubic feet of unrisked prospective natural gas resources, and the Company’s commitment to minimal disturbance of habitat, in line with best international standards and its implementation of environmental and social best practices in its project areas. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words “could”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “will”, “projected”, “estimated” and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on ReconAfrica’s current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company’s actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section in the Company’s annual information form (“AIF”) dated April 29, 2025 for the financial period ended December 31, 2024, available under the Company’s profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Actual future results may differ materially. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to ReconAfrica. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and ReconAfrica undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

Disclosure of Oil and Gas Information:

The Resource Report and the prospective resource estimates contained therein and in this press release were prepared by NSAI, an independent qualified reserves evaluator. The Resource Report was prepared in accordance with the definitions and guidelines of the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook maintained by the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (Calgary Chapter)‎ and National Instrument 51-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities.

Prospective resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially ‎recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by applying future development projects. Prospective ‎resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. Prospective ‎resources are further categorized according to the level of certainty associated with recoverable ‎estimates assuming their discovery and development and may be subclassified based on project ‎maturity. The prospective resources included in Resource Report and in this press release should not be construed as reserves or ‎contingent resources; they represent exploration opportunities and quantify the development potential in ‎the event a petroleum discovery is made. A geologic risk assessment was performed for these ‎prospects and leads, as discussed in the Form 51-101F1 — Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas Information (“Form 51-101F1”) dated April 29, 2025 and effective as of December 31, 2024‎, available under the Company’s profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Resource Report is also available under the Company’s profile at www.sedarplus.ca

The Resource Report does not include ‎economic analysis for these prospects and leads. Based on analogous field developments, it appears ‎that, assuming a discovery is made, the unrisked best estimate prospective resources in the Resource ‎Report have a reasonable chance of being economically viable. There is no certainty that any portion of ‎the prospective resources will be discovered. If they are discovered, there is no certainty that it will be ‎commercially viable to develop and produce any portion of the prospective resources.‎

For additional information concerning the risks and the level of uncertainty associated with recovery of the prospective resources detailed herein and in the Resource Report, the significant positive and negative factors relevant to the prospective resources estimates detailed herein and in the Resource Report and a description of the project to which the prospective resources estimates detailed herein and in the Resource Report applies are contained within the Form 51-101F1.

The prospective resources shown herein and in the Resource Report have been estimated using probabilistic methods and are dependent on a petroleum discovery being made. If a discovery is made and development is undertaken, the probability that the recoverable volumes will equal or exceed the unrisked estimated amounts is 90 percent for the low estimate, 50 percent for the best estimate, and 10 percent for the high estimate. Low estimate and high estimate prospective resources have not been included in the Resource Report. For the purposes of the Resource Report, the volumes and parameters associated with the best estimate scenario of prospective resources are referred to as 2U. The 2U prospective resources have been aggregated beyond the prospect and lead level by arithmetic summation; therefore, these totals do not include the portfolio effect that might result from statistical aggregation. Statistical principles indicate that the arithmetic sums of multiple estimates may be misleading as to the volumes that may actually be recovered.

The MIL Network –

June 18, 2025

MIL-OSI: Trusted Crypto Casinos: 2025 Player Preferences Exposed in New Research Release! By All iGaming
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Martinsburg, West Virginia, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — All iGaming experts have thoroughly tested a wide range of crypto gambling platforms to reveal the top-rated crypto casinos for 2025, featured in this exclusive report. The evaluation focused on key aspects such as licensing, security, game variety, bonus fairness, payout speed, and overall user experience to curate a list of the most trusted and rewarding platforms.

This guide is your roadmap to navigating the fast-evolving world of crypto gambling and discovering the best bitcoin casinos that suit your playing style and preferences.

>>> Leading Casinos Listed by All iGaming – Find Out Who’s The Winner

Why Crypto Casinos Are Revolutionizing Online Gambling

Crypto casinos are reshaping the iGaming industry in 2025 by offering unparalleled advantages over traditional online casinos. These platforms combine cutting-edge technology with player-centric features, making them the go-to choice for modern gamblers. All iGaming team has identified the key reasons why the best crypto casinos are dominating the market:
- Lightning-Fast Transactions
Speed is a defining feature of the best crypto casinos. Unlike traditional platforms, where withdrawals can take days due to banking delays, crypto casinos leverage blockchain technology for near-instant transactions. All iGaming’s top-rated platforms, such as those in our 2025 list, process payouts in as little as 8–30 minutes, ensuring players can access their winnings quickly. This efficiency makes trusted crypto casinos a favorite for those who value rapid cashouts.
- Cost-Effective Transactions
Cryptocurrency transactions are remarkably cost-efficient, with minimal fees compared to traditional banking methods, which can charge up to 10% for international transfers or card payments. The best crypto casinos, as vetted by All iGaming, often cover network fees, allowing players to keep more of their winnings. This affordability is especially beneficial for global players, as cryptocurrencies eliminate costly currency conversion fees, enhancing the value of every bet.
- Enhanced Privacy and Anonymity
Privacy is a major draw for players choosing the best crypto casinos. Many platforms offer no-KYC (Know Your Customer) registration, requiring only an email address for signup, enabling anonymous gameplay. By supporting privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Monero and ZCash, these casinos allow players to shield their transaction details, reducing data exposure risks. All iGaming prioritizes platforms that balance privacy with robust security, ensuring a safe gaming environment.
- Provably Fair Gameplay
A standout feature of the best bitcoin casinos is their use of provably fair games, which utilize blockchain technology to ensure transparency and fairness. Players can independently verify game outcomes, confirming randomness and addressing concerns about rigged results. Popular provably fair games like Crash, Dice, and Plinko are staples at All iGaming’s recommended casinos, fostering trust among players. This transparency sets crypto casinos apart from traditional platforms and is a key criterion in our evaluation process.
- Global Accessibility
Crypto casinos transcend geographical boundaries, making them accessible to players in regions with restrictive banking systems, such as parts of Asia or Africa. Cryptocurrencies bypass local currency barriers, and many platforms support VPN usage to enhance inclusivity.

All iGaming’s top picks ensure that players worldwide can enjoy trusted crypto casinos, regardless of local regulations, making them a truly global gaming solution.
- Booming Market Growth
The crypto gambling industry is experiencing explosive growth, with total bets reaching $26 billion in Q1 2025, nearly double the previous year’s volume. Industry projections estimate the crypto casino market will grow from $6.3 billion in 2023 to $55.3 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.29%.

All iGaming’s meticulous analysis ensures that only the most reliable and innovative platforms make our list, capitalizing on this booming market to deliver exceptional gaming experiences.

>>> Explore the Premier Crypto Casinos Rated by All iGaming!

How All iGaming Experts Reviewed and Ranked Crypto Casinos for 2025

To identify the best crypto casinos for 2025, All iGaming employed a comprehensive testing methodology, ensuring only the most trustworthy platforms are recommended. Our evaluation process focuses on the following critical criteria:

1. Licensing and Security

All iGaming endorses only casinos with valid licenses from reputable authorities like Curaçao or Malta. Platforms without clear licensing are excluded from our recommendations. We also prioritize advanced security measures, such as SSL encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA), to protect player data and funds.

Our top picks, including those in our 2025 list, are licensed by the Curaçao eGaming Commission and employ robust security protocols.

2. Diverse Game Offerings

The best crypto casinos offer expansive game libraries, including slots, table games, live dealer options, and provably fair titles. All iGaming favors platforms partnered with top-tier providers like Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming, and NetEnt to ensure high-quality gameplay. Our recommended casinos boast game catalogs exceeding 7,000 titles, catering to all player preferences.

3. Transparent Bonuses

Bonuses are a key attraction, but transparency is essential. All iGaming scrutinizes bonus generosity, wagering requirements (20x–40x), maximum bet limits, and clear terms. Only casinos with player-friendly promotions, such as wager-free spins or high-match bonuses, qualify for our list of the best crypto casinos.

4. Flexible Payment Methods

Support for multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and altcoins, is a must. All iGaming evaluates transaction speeds and fees, favoring platforms with instant withdrawals and minimal costs. Our top picks support a wide range of crypto and fiat payment methods to ensure flexibility.

5. Seamless User Experience

A user-friendly interface enhances the gaming experience. All iGaming tests platforms across desktop and mobile devices, assessing navigation, load times, and mobile compatibility. Casinos with intuitive interfaces and Telegram integration rank highly for convenience and accessibility.

6. Reliable Customer Support

Responsive support is crucial for resolving issues quickly. All iGaming contacts support teams to evaluate response times and assistance quality, prioritizing casinos with 24/7 live chat and clear communication. Our top platforms offer round-the-clock support to ensure player satisfaction.

7. Industry Reputation

Player feedback and industry standing are key indicators of reliability. All iGaming considers platforms with consistently positive reviews and no unresolved complaints. Our recommended casinos have earned high ratings and industry accolades, solidifying their status as trusted crypto casinos.

>>> Ready to Play? Find the Best Crypto Casinos Curated by All iGaming!

⚖️Legal Landscape of Crypto Casinos

The legality of crypto casinos varies by region, creating a complex regulatory environment. In jurisdictions like the UK and Malta, crypto casinos operate legally under licenses from authorities such as Curaçao. However, in countries with strict gambling or crypto laws, such as China or certain U.S. states, their status may be ambiguous.

All iGaming strongly recommends that players verify local regulations before engaging with crypto gambling sites. Choosing licensed platforms ensures compliance and enhances player safety. Our top picks display clear licensing information to prioritize trust and security.

️Game Selection at the Crypto Casinos

The best crypto casinos offer diverse game libraries that cater to all player types. All iGaming’s top-rated platforms feature thousands of games across multiple categories, ensuring a thrilling experience for everyone. Here’s a breakdown of the key offerings in 2025:

1. Slots

Slots dominate crypto casinos, with thousands of titles ranging from classic three-reel games to modern video slots with features like Megaways, cascading reels, and progressive jackpots. Popular games like Sweet Bonanza and Book of Dead offer high RTPs (95%–97%), while exclusive crypto-themed slots add a unique flair. All iGaming’s top picks feature over 6,000 slot titles from leading providers like Pragmatic Play and BGaming.

2. Table Games

Classic table games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and poker are available in multiple variants. European roulette offers better odds than American roulette, while poker variants like Texas Hold’em include side bets for bigger wins. Betting starts at $1, with high-stakes options for experienced players. All iGaming’s recommended casinos offer extensive table game selections.

3. Live Dealer Games

Live dealer games deliver an immersive casino experience with professional dealers streamed in real-time. Options include live blackjack, roulette, and game shows like Crazy Time, powered by providers like Evolution Gaming. Bets start as low as $0.20, making these games accessible to all budgets. All iGaming’s top platforms excel in offering high-quality live dealer experiences.

4. Provably Fair Games

Unique to crypto casinos, provably fair games like Crash, Dice, Mines, and Plinko allow players to verify outcomes on the blockchain. These fast-paced games combine transparency with engaging gameplay, appealing to trust-conscious players. All iGaming prioritizes platforms with robust provably fair offerings.

5. Specialty Games

Casual players enjoy specialty games like keno, bingo, scratch cards, and virtual sports. These low-stakes options, often under $1, offer instant results and simple fun, perfect for relaxed gaming sessions. All iGaming’s top casinos include a variety of specialty games to cater to diverse preferences.

>>> Find the Top Crypto Casinos with the Best Game Selection at All iGaming!

Bonuses and Promotions at Crypto Casinos

Bonuses are a major draw for players at the best crypto casinos, and All iGaming ensures that only platforms with transparent and player-friendly promotions make our list. Here’s a detailed look at the key bonus offerings in 2025:
- Welcome Bonuses
Most crypto casinos provide 100%-325 % match bonuses on initial deposits, up to 5 BTC, often paired with 50–250 free spins. All iGaming emphasizes casinos with reasonable wagering requirements (20x–40x) to ensure players can maximize bonus value.
- No Deposit Bonuses
Some of All iGaming’s top-rated crypto casinos offer no-deposit bonuses, such as small crypto amounts or free spins, allowing players to test platforms without risking funds. These bonuses typically carry higher wagering requirements (40x–60x), but they’re ideal for exploring new casinos.
- Reload Bonuses
Reload bonuses, ranging from 25%–100% up to $50–$300, reward subsequent deposits. These are often tied to weekly promotions or VIP status. All iGaming prioritizes casinos with frequent and fair reload bonuses to enhance player value.
- Cashback Offers
Cashback of 5%–20% on losses, often daily or weekly, is a common feature at crypto casinos. All iGaming’s top picks offer wagering in an instant, and MIRAX Casino. Here’s a detailed look at each platform’s unique features, payment methods, and bonuses.

>>> Maximize Your Winnings with All iGaming’s Expert Tips!

All iGaming’s Tips for Maximizing Your Crypto Casino Experience

To make the most of the best crypto casinos, All iGaming recommends the following strategies:
- Understand Terms: Read the bonus and withdrawal policies to avoid unexpected restrictions.
- Manage Funds: Set a budget and wager only what you can afford to lose to maintain responsible gambling habits.
- Use Bonuses Wisely: Leverage fair bonuses to extend playtime and increase winning potential.
- Choose Provably Fair Games: Prioritize transparent games to ensure trust and fairness.
- Test Support: Contact customer service before depositing to assess responsiveness and reliability.
- Secure Your Account: Use 2FA and trusted crypto wallets to protect your funds.
By following these tips, you can enjoy a safe and rewarding experience at All iGaming’s top-rated crypto casinos.

Responsible Gambling at Crypto Casinos

Responsible gambling is a priority at All iGaming’s recommended crypto casinos. Top platforms offer tools to help players stay in control, including:
- Deposit Limits: Cap daily, weekly, or monthly deposits to manage spending.
- Session Timers: Receive reminders to monitor playtime.
- Self-Exclusion: Temporarily or permanently block account access for a break from gambling.
- Support Resources: Access organizations like Gamblers Anonymous for additional help.
All iGaming encourages players to set limits early and monitor spending to keep gambling fun and safe. If gambling feels overwhelming, seek support immediately.

Are Crypto Casinos Worth It in 2025? According to All iGaming

Crypto casinos in 2025 are undeniably worth exploring, offering unmatched speed, privacy, and innovative features like provably fair games and generous bonuses. All iGaming’s rigorous testing ensures that only the most reliable and exciting platforms make our list, delivering secure and thrilling experiences for players worldwide.

However, choosing the right casino is crucial- verify licensing, review bonus terms, and check local laws to ensure compliance. By selecting All iGaming’s trusted crypto casinos, you can dive into the exhilarating world of crypto gambling with confidence.

>>> Start Your Crypto Journey with All iGaming’s Top Picks Today!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why did my balance suddenly change after a game ended?

ANS: Crypto values can fluctuate rapidly. If your casino wallet auto-converts to a stablecoin or fiat equivalent, price swings in BTC or ETH could impact your displayed balance. Also, game providers may round wins- check your transaction history for precise entries.

2. Can I reverse a mistaken crypto transaction?

ANS: Unfortunately, no. Blockchain transactions are irreversible. Always double-check the deposit address and amount before sending. If you sent funds to the wrong address, the casino can’t retrieve them- only the wallet owner can.

3. My bonus vanished after logging out. What happened?

ANS: Some promotions are time-limited or tied to a single session. If you didn’t meet the playthrough or exit during bonus rounds, the offer may expire. Always check the bonus countdown timer and wagering status under “Promotions” or “My Bonuses.”

4. What should I do if a game loads forever or says ‘Connecting to server’?

ANS: Clear your cache and cookies, try incognito mode, or switch browsers. If the issue persists, it could be a provider-side error- take a screenshot and report it to live chat so they can troubleshoot or credit your session.

5. Can I play from a country with restricted access using a VPN?

ANS: Technically, yes, but it’s risky. Many crypto casinos ban accounts caught using VPNs to bypass geo-restrictions, and winnings may be forfeited. Always check the Terms of Service- some platforms support VPNs explicitly, while others strictly prohibit them.

6. What if I accidentally claimed the wrong bonus?

ANS: Reach out to support immediately via live chat. Some casinos can reverse a mistakenly activated bonus if it hasn’t been used yet. Otherwise, you may need to meet the wagering requirements before claiming a different promo.

7. Why was my withdrawal converted into a different coin?

ANS: Some platforms automatically convert smaller altcoin balances into stablecoins or Bitcoin to streamline processing. You can usually set your preferred payout currency under account settings- be sure to check this before requesting a withdrawal.

8. Can I recover an abandoned session from another device?

ANS: Yes, most top-tier crypto casinos sync your sessions across devices. Just log in from your new device and reopen the game. Your state- whether mid-spin, bet placed, or free round active- should load automatically thanks to cloud sync.

9. What happens if I try to withdraw a bonus without meeting the wagering terms?

ANS: Your withdrawal may be blocked, or the bonus and any winnings from it could be removed. Always check the wagering progress bar- usually found in your account dashboard- to ensure you’ve met the requirements before cashing out.

10. Are mobile crypto casinos secure for real-money play?

ANS: Yes- if you’re playing at a licensed, reputable platform. Look for SSL encryption (padlock icon), two-factor authentication, and provably fair games. Avoid downloading sketchy apps from unofficial sources- stick to web-based mobile versions or apps from trusted links.

>>> Get Answers to All Your Questions at All iGaming!

Disclaimer

The information provided about the best crypto casinos is for informational purposes only. While All iGaming strives to offer accurate and up-to-date details, online gambling involves financial risks, and all players are encouraged to proceed responsibly. We recommend that users verify the licensing, security measures, and terms of service of any crypto casino before engaging in play. Gambling may be subject to legal restrictions in some regions, so it is your responsibility to ensure compliance with local laws. All iGaming does not endorse or promote any specific casino and strongly advises users to gamble responsibly.

Email: support@alligaming.com

Attachment
- All-Igaming-new
The MIL Network –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Researchers discover microplastics at all ocean depths

Source: US Government research organizations

New NSF-supported study helps inform efforts to safeguard fisheries and protect human health

Researchers with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation published a global benchmark of microplastic distribution in the ocean, revealing thousands of plastic specks even at the extreme depths of the Mariana Trench.

The study’s findings show that not only could fisheries take an economic hit, but humans could be at risk for exposure to contaminated seafood.

The team synthesized data from nearly 2,000 ocean sampling stations, mostly in northern ocean waters near larger populations between 2014 and 2024. “The discovery that microplastics are not just floating on the sea surface but also form a plastic smog, throughout the depths of the ocean, was surprising and concerning,” said Aron Stubbins, an author on the paper and professor at Northeastern University.

Abundant microplastic materials smaller than 5 micrometers — or about 100 times less than the width of a human hair — may be eaten by zooplankton, which in turn feed larger marine animals. Microplastics can disrupt marine food chains, causing health declines and potential drops in populations for fish and other marine creatures.

“Even when we are studying what we think of as completely natural processes in the ocean, we have to be aware of humankind’s influence,” said Henrietta Edmonds, an NSF program director.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Sparking curiosity in the future semiconductor workforce

Source: US Government research organizations

AI-powered virtual reality education expands access and supports engagement of high school and community college students, giving them practical skills in semiconductor manufacturing

The United States semiconductor industry is projected to have between 60,000 and 100,000 unfilled jobs by 2030. As the need for semiconductor technicians, engineers and scientists continues to increase, there is also a growing demand for innovative ways to train this anticipated workforce. But such training typically requires expensive clean rooms and advanced equipment, resources that many schools don’t have access to.

A team of researchers, which included high school and community college students, found a solution to this challenge by using artificial intelligence-powered virtual reality (VR) to create simulations as a cost-effective alternative for people to learn about the process of semiconductor fabrication. The results of their research, which is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Micro Nano Technology Education Center at Pasadena City College (PCC), in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine (UCI), are available in the Journal of Advanced Technological Education.

“Many students, especially those at underfunded schools, never get to see or touch the real semiconductor fabrication tools,” said Kristal Hong, a member of the research team and a computer science major at UCI. “I, myself, was a community college student without access to a cleanroom, so I know how that gap can dampen student enthusiasm.”

By using AI-powered VR to create cleanroom simulations, the team is offering a learning channel outside of traditional classrooms and labs for students who don’t have in-person access to semiconductor fabrications and for others who might never have considered the semiconductor field. This flexibility is crucial to growing the much-needed semiconductor workforce, Hong said. “If a student learns best by doing, VR can bridge the gap to help them grow and succeed, even when physical resources are scarce.”

Credit: Kristal Hong

Researchers from Pasadena City College wearing cleanroom gear while learning about semiconductor fabrication processes at UCI.

To create the virtual simulations, the researchers regularly toured the UCI Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility, taking pictures and videos, interacting with equipment, and learning from educators, including Guann Pyng “G.P.” Li, electrical engineering and computer science professor at UCI.

From this experience, the team manually generated a digital twin of the UCI cleanroom — a virtual representation of the real-world environment — by translating the semiconductor manufacturing process from the in-person lab into a simulation using VR, which has a similar feel to a video game. They then guided users step-by-step through the virtual semiconductor fabrication process. From there, the 29 study participants evaluated the simulation’s effectiveness.

Credit: Ishan Jha

Side-by-side image of the virtual spinner (left) and real spinner (right) used in the University of California, Irvine, Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility.

“This was a peer-to-peer learning experience, where the researchers created and consumed the content with the goal of making engaging simulations for their peers,” Li said. “With these virtual experiences, more learners will have a chance to understand how the semiconductor process takes place.”

Importantly, the researchers used the off-the-shelf GPT 4 application from OpenAI – a large language model used for natural language processing – to personalize the VR learning experience and increase the effectiveness of the virtual semiconductor training.

“If someone has a question, they can ask the AI and get an instant answer, just as if an instructor were standing beside them,” Hong said. “We plan to continue studying AI use in the lab and in VR to refine and improve the training experience over time.”

By using AI-powered VR, the team not only removed the physical and financial barriers to accessing semiconductor equipment, but they also found that this method provided an engaging format that kept students motivated and interested in the semiconductor field.

“Their excitement was palpable,” said Hong. “Study participants cheered when a process worked, and they would collaborate to troubleshoot virtual errors. It was eye‐opening to watch how quickly VR could transform a student’s perception of an otherwise abstract topic into something tangible and engaging.”

Credit: Ishan Jha

Study participants at Pasadena City College using VR headsets to virtually interact with UCI’s cleanroom.

By taking a fabrication environment and transporting it into a virtual environment, “it becomes much more accessible to younger students who have already been exposed to videogame-like scenarios,” said Ishan Jha, a high school student and member of the research team. “Participating in this research gives us [high schoolers] a taste of what’s happening in these industries [AI/VR and semiconductors], because a lot of us plan to attend college, and we want that prior exposure that will prepare us for success later on.”

The team sees the potential for scaling this cost-effective experience to more learners across the country. Mercer County Community College (MCCC) approached the PCC/UCI team with interest in creating similar AI-powered VR simulations. MCCC is now working with Princeton University to facilitate this effort.

Looking ahead, the team plans to replicate the project at additional institutions, expand partnerships to other universities and gather data from new participants with the goal to better understand if early VR exposure makes learners more likely to pursue semiconductor‐related internships or jobs, and how prepared they feel compared to peers without VR experience. And as AI capabilities continue to evolve, the team is considering additional ways to use generative AI to assist with their VR training simulations.

While observing the researchers in his lab, Li said it gave him great hope for the future of the AI and semiconductor workforce. “These students are the future of our nation,” Li said. “When they see something that inspires them, they want to really explore it. And even if they have no prior knowledge or experience in a semiconductor manufacturing room or if they have minimal knowledge of AI or VR, when they are engaged, they are motivated, and they can make a difference.”

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Training AI to see more like humans

Source: US Government research organizations

Supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Brown University researchers are teaching AI to see more like humans, opening doors to more accurate AI solutions.

At Brown University, an innovative new project is revealing that teaching artificial intelligence to perceive things more like people may begin with something as simple as a game. The project invites participants to play an online game called Click Me, which helps AI models learn how people see and interpret images. While the game is fun and accessible, its purpose is more ambitious: to understand the root causes of AI errors and to systematically improve how AI systems represent the visual world.

Over the past decade, AI systems have become more powerful and widely used, particularly in tasks like recognizing images. For example, these systems can identify animals, objects or diagnose medical conditions from images. However, they sometimes make mistakes that humans rarely do. For instance, an AI algorithm might confidently label a photo of a dog wearing sunglasses as a completely different animal or fail to recognize a stop sign if it’s partially covered by graffiti. As these models become larger and more complex, these kinds of errors become more frequent, revealing a growing gap between how AI and humans perceive the world.

Recognizing this challenge, researchers funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation propose to combine insights from psychology and neuroscience with machine learning to create the next generation of human-aligned AI. Their goal is to understand how people process visual information and translate those patterns into algorithms that guide AI systems to act in similar ways.

The Click Me game plays a central role in this vision. In the game, participants click on parts of an image they believe will be most informative for the AI to recognize. The AI only sees the parts of the image that have been clicked. Therefore, players are encouraged to think strategically about the most informative parts of the image rather than clicking at random to maximize the AI’s learning.

The AI-human alignment occurs at a later stage, during which the AI is trained to categorize images. In this “neural harmonization” procedure, the researchers force the AI to focus on the same image features that humans had identified — those clicked during the game — to make sure its visual recognition strategy aligns with that of humans.

What makes this project especially remarkable is how successfully it has engaged the public. NSF funding has allowed the team to attract thousands of people to participate in Click Me, helping it gain attention across platforms like Reddit and Instagram, and generating tens of millions of interactions with the website to help train the AI model. This type of large-scale public participation allows the research team to rapidly collect data on how people perceive and evaluate visual information.

At the same time, the team has also developed a new computational framework to train AI models using this kind of behavioral data. By aligning AI response times and choices with those of humans, the researchers can build systems that not only match what humans decide, but also how long they take to decide. This leads to a more natural and interpretable decision-making process.

The practical applications of this work are wide-ranging. In medicine, for instance, doctors need to understand and trust the AI tools that assist with diagnoses. If AI systems can explain their conclusions in ways that match human reasoning, they become more reliable and easier to integrate into care. Similarly, in self-driving cars, AI that better understands how humans make visual decisions can help predict driver behavior and prevent accidents. Beyond these examples, human-aligned AI could improve accessibility tools, educational software and decision support across many industries. Importantly, this work also sheds light on how the human brain works. By emulating human vision in AI systems, the researchers have been able to develop more accurate models of human visual perception than were previously available.

This initiative underscores why federal support for foundational research matters. Through NSF’s investment, researchers are advancing the science of AI and its relevance to society. The research not only pushes the boundaries of knowledge but also delivers practical tools that can improve the safety and reliability of the technologies we use daily.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: AMERICA/HAITI – The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic: people are not giving up hope for a better future

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Tuesday, 17 June 2025

MM

Pourcine-Pic Makaya (Agenzia Fides) – “Behind every number stands a person whose suffering is immeasurable: children, mothers, the elderly, many of whom have been forced to leave their homes more than once, often with only the clothes they were wearing, and who now live in conditions that are neither safe nor acceptable,” said Amy Pope, Director-General of the United Nations International Organization for Migration, following the release of the Report on June 11, which revealed that nearly 1.3 million people have currently been displaced from their homes due to violence in Haiti, the highest number in the country’s history, equal to 11.5 million.In the first quarter of 2025 alone, another 1,600 people were killed – and 1,000 injured – by criminal gangs, with several massacres claiming dozens of lives each. Port-au-Prince remains the epicenter of the crisis, but gang violence is spreading far beyond the capital, according to the IOM. Recent attacks in the northwestern departments of Centre and Artibonite are said to have forced hundreds of thousands of residents to flee, many of whom are now living in makeshift shelters under extremely precarious conditions. In Artibonite, the largest of the country’s 10 departments, the violence has displaced more than 92,000 people from their homes in the municipality of Petite Rivière alone, which has a population of around 200,000. The situation is even more alarming in the Centre department. In cities with fewer than 200,000 inhabitants, such as Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau, the number of displaced people has more than doubled from around 68,000 to over 147,000 within just two months. Many people now live without access to medical care, clean water, and schools, leaving already vulnerable families struggling to survive, according to the IOM. As more and more people are forced to flee the country, the number of spontaneously created camps for displaced persons continues to grow. Since December, the number of these camps has risen from 142 to 246.In this climate of suffering, pain, crisis, and abandonment, there is many initiatives to help the population. One of these is “Let’s Move for Haiti,” a race/walk in the Gesso-Stura River Park, that will be held on Wednesday, July 2, by a group of friends and supporters of Father Massimo Miraglio. The Italian Camillian missionary from Borgo San Dalmazzo near Cuneo has lived and worked in Haiti, one of the poorest regions in Central America, for almost 20 years. All proceeds from the event will benefit the project “A Network of Paths for Human and Economic Development,” which the missionary has been implementing for several months in the parish of Pourcine/Pic Makaya, where he is parish priest (see Fides, 25/9/2024). Father Massimo had announced the end of the first phase of cleaning and maintaining some paths to allow people to move more safely and quickly and to promote the economic and social development of the area (see Fides, 19/3/2025).”Today,” writes Father Massimo, “we are in the first days of the final exams for the 2024-25 school year at the elementary school of the Pourcine-Pic Makaya parish. Another year is coming to a close with satisfaction, but so much remains to be done.” In addition to the school, other projects initiated by the missionary continue, such as adult literacy classes, the guesthouse, the reintroduction of coffee cultivation, the bean plantations, the aqueduct, and the many community activities.According to the IOM report, it is estimated that almost half of Haiti’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance, primarily in the form of food, shelter, hygiene and healthcare, and access to basic services such as drinking water and electricity. Regarding security, the local police have been reinforced by several hundred soldiers from an international support mission led by the Kenyan military police and composed of troops from Central American and Caribbean countries.”Without immediate funding and access, millions of people will continue to be at risk,” said Amy Pope. The IOM representative believes that humanitarian assistance is essential, but it is not the only thing needed. “We must act now. The strength of the Haitian people is inspiring, but resilience cannot be their only refuge. This crisis must not become the new normal,” the IOM Director General concluded. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 17/6/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Justice Department Requires Safran to Divest Assets to Proceed with Acquisition of Raytheon Assets

Source: US State of North Dakota

The Proposed Settlement Requires a Substantial Divestiture Package That Will Preserve Competition for Critical Flight Control Components

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today that it will require Safran, S.A. and Safran USA Inc. (Safran) to divest its North American actuation business and related assets to resolve antitrust concerns arising from its proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of Collins Aerospace’s actuation and flight control business from RTX Corporation (RTX) (formerly Raytheon Technologies). The divestiture resolves concerns that the transaction would recombine assets that were divested as part of the Division’s settlement of United Technologies Corporation’s (UTC) acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018. UTC merged with Raytheon Company in 2020, forming Raytheon Technologies.

The Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the Division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Division’s competitive concerns.

“Today’s settlement is a structural solution to an acquisition that would have harmed competition for important aircraft components that are critical to passenger safety. The proposed divestiture to Woodward, an established provider in the aerospace industry, ensures that American customers will continue to benefit from competition, and the incentives of Woodward, the merging parties, and their customer base are aligned with the remedy’s success,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This settlement is another example of our commitment to transparency and relief that secures robust and enforceable commitments from the merging parties that account for industry dynamics. The Antitrust Division will apply heightened scrutiny to transactions that propose to recombine assets divested in response to the Division’s prior enforcement actions, taking appropriate consideration for changes in competitive conditions.”

As detailed in the complaint, Safran and RTX are two of the leading suppliers in the market for trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators (THSAs) for large aircraft. A THSA helps an aircraft maintain the proper altitude during flight and is critical to the safety and performance of the aircraft. Safran and RTX compete head-to-head to develop and sell this critical component. Without the proposed divestiture, Safran’s acquisition of RTX’s actuation and flight control business would likely result in higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation to the detriment of customers and American consumers. The proposed divestiture of Safran’s North American actuation business includes the assets Safran had acquired under the Division’s 2018 settlement with UTC and Rockwell Collins. Safran has since operated these assets as a viable competitor in the market for THSAs.

The proposed settlement requires Safran to divest its North American actuation business, including THSAs and secondary flight control actuators, and its Canada-based electronic control unit, to Woodward Inc., an American company with significant experience in the aerospace industry, including serving large aircraft manufacturers. The divestiture assets also include the tangible and intangible assets necessary to produce and sell THSAs, secondary flight control actuators, and electronic control units. Woodward is expected to hire certain key Safran employees that today support the divested business lines.

The Antitrust Division, the European Commission, and the Competition and Markets Authority cooperated closely throughout the course of their respective investigations.

Safran is a French multinational company with its headquarters in Paris, France. Safran produces a wide range of products for the aviation, space, and defense sectors. In 2024, Safran had revenues of approximately €27 billion.

RTX is an American multinational company, incorporated in Delaware and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. RTX is a major provider of aerospace and defense products and systems. In 2024, RTX had revenues of approximately $80 billion.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Soyoung Choe, Acting Chief, Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530 or via email at ATR.DIA.Information@usdoj.gov. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department Requires Safran to Divest Assets to Proceed with Acquisition of Raytheon Assets

Source: United States Attorneys General

The Proposed Settlement Requires a Substantial Divestiture Package That Will Preserve Competition for Critical Flight Control Components

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today that it will require Safran, S.A. and Safran USA Inc. (Safran) to divest its North American actuation business and related assets to resolve antitrust concerns arising from its proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of Collins Aerospace’s actuation and flight control business from RTX Corporation (RTX) (formerly Raytheon Technologies). The divestiture resolves concerns that the transaction would recombine assets that were divested as part of the Division’s settlement of United Technologies Corporation’s (UTC) acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018. UTC merged with Raytheon Company in 2020, forming Raytheon Technologies.

The Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the Division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Division’s competitive concerns.

“Today’s settlement is a structural solution to an acquisition that would have harmed competition for important aircraft components that are critical to passenger safety. The proposed divestiture to Woodward, an established provider in the aerospace industry, ensures that American customers will continue to benefit from competition, and the incentives of Woodward, the merging parties, and their customer base are aligned with the remedy’s success,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This settlement is another example of our commitment to transparency and relief that secures robust and enforceable commitments from the merging parties that account for industry dynamics. The Antitrust Division will apply heightened scrutiny to transactions that propose to recombine assets divested in response to the Division’s prior enforcement actions, taking appropriate consideration for changes in competitive conditions.”

As detailed in the complaint, Safran and RTX are two of the leading suppliers in the market for trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators (THSAs) for large aircraft. A THSA helps an aircraft maintain the proper altitude during flight and is critical to the safety and performance of the aircraft. Safran and RTX compete head-to-head to develop and sell this critical component. Without the proposed divestiture, Safran’s acquisition of RTX’s actuation and flight control business would likely result in higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation to the detriment of customers and American consumers. The proposed divestiture of Safran’s North American actuation business includes the assets Safran had acquired under the Division’s 2018 settlement with UTC and Rockwell Collins. Safran has since operated these assets as a viable competitor in the market for THSAs.

The proposed settlement requires Safran to divest its North American actuation business, including THSAs and secondary flight control actuators, and its Canada-based electronic control unit, to Woodward Inc., an American company with significant experience in the aerospace industry, including serving large aircraft manufacturers. The divestiture assets also include the tangible and intangible assets necessary to produce and sell THSAs, secondary flight control actuators, and electronic control units. Woodward is expected to hire certain key Safran employees that today support the divested business lines.

The Antitrust Division, the European Commission, and the Competition and Markets Authority cooperated closely throughout the course of their respective investigations.

Safran is a French multinational company with its headquarters in Paris, France. Safran produces a wide range of products for the aviation, space, and defense sectors. In 2024, Safran had revenues of approximately €27 billion.

RTX is an American multinational company, incorporated in Delaware and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. RTX is a major provider of aerospace and defense products and systems. In 2024, RTX had revenues of approximately $80 billion.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Soyoung Choe, Acting Chief, Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530 or via email at ATR.DIA.Information@usdoj.gov. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.

MIL Security OSI –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Red Cat Holdings Announces $46.75 Million Registered Direct Offering of Common Stock

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCAT) (“Red Cat” or “Company”), a drone technology company integrating robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations, announced today that the Company has entered into securities purchase agreements with certain institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 6,448,276 shares of common stock, pursuant to a registered direct offering, expected to result in gross proceeds of approximately $46.75 million, before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. The offering is expected to close on or about June 18, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use net proceeds from the offering for general corporate and working capital purposes, including but not limited to operating expenditures related to its new unmanned surface vessel division.

Northland Capital Markets is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction.

The offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-283242), which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 11, 2024. A final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the registered direct offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov. Additionally, when available, electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, from Northland Securities, Inc., 150 South Fifth Street, Suite 3300, Minneapolis, MN.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Red Cat Holdings, Inc.

Red Cat (Nasdaq: RCAT) is a drone technology company integrating robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations. Through two wholly owned subsidiaries, Teal Drones and FlightWave Aerospace, Red Cat has developed a leading-edge Family of Systems. This includes the flagship Black Widow™, a small unmanned ISR system that was awarded the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Program of Record contract. The Family of Systems also includes TRICHON™, a fixed wing VTOL for extended endurance and range, and FANG™, the industry’s first line of NDAA compliant FPV drones optimized for military operations with precision strike capabilities. Learn more at www.redcat.red.

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “aim,” “should,” “will” “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected timing of the offering and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the offerings, and our intended use of proceeds from the offering. Forward-looking statements are based on Red Cat Holdings, Inc.’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the Form 10-KT filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2025. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Red Cat Holdings, Inc. undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Contact:

INVESTORS:
E-mail: Investors@redcat.red

NEWS MEDIA:
Phone: (347) 880-2895
Email: peter@indicatemedia.com

The MIL Network –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Declining soil health is a global concern – here’s how AI could help

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nima Shokri, Professor, Applied Engineering, United Nations University

The arid Loess plateau landscape of northern China. yang1498/Shutterstock

One-third of the Earth’s land surface is already degraded. The UN estimates that more than 2.6 billion people are harmed by land degradation, with countries losing up to US$10.6 trillion (£7.8 trillion) a year because of damage to “ecosystem services”, including the benefits people get from nature such as water and food.

Unhealthy soil is a major contributor to land degradation. This can lead to loss of biodiversity, harm plants and animals, cause sand and dust storms and affect crop yields.

These consequences affect the regulation of the planet’s climate and water cycle, socioeconomic activities, food security and forced migration of people.

Emerging smart technologies such as artificial intelligence, satellite remote sensing and big data analysis offer a chance to protect our soils. These tools can help track soil health in real time. This will support farmers, landowners, government agencies and local communities in making better decisions to care for the soil.

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

As a professor of geo-hydroinformatics – a field that combines geoscience, hydrology and information technology – my research focuses on using AI, algorithms and advanced modelling tools to better analyse and predict soil health.

My team and I have developed the first global map of soil salinisation (accumulation of salt in soil) under various climate scenarios using AI-powered techniques. Soil salinisation is one of the leading contributors to soil degradation and can happen naturally or because of human activities, such as using salty irrigation water or poor drainage systems.

With increasing climate uncertainty, our models help identify regions most vulnerable to salinisation. Our AI-driven analysis predicts that by the year 2100, dryland regions in South America, southern and western Australia, Mexico, the southwestern US and South Africa will be key hotspots of soil salinisation.

In another key study, we used satellite data, AI and big data tools to investigate the interaction between soil salinity and soil organic carbon – an important part of healthy soil that stores nutrients, holds water and supports plants.

Part of this analysis revealed a general negative correlation between salinity levels and soil organic carbon content. As salinity increased, we found that the soil organic carbon content tended to decrease.

Our two studies underscore the transformative potential of AI technologies and big data analytics in understanding soil degradation. With a deeper understanding, land can be better managed through more effective mitigation policies and sustainable land use planning.

Restoration at scale

Large-scale land restoration can transform degraded soils. In the Loess plateau in China, centuries of deforestation and unsustainable farming have led to significant ecological challenges. Loess soils (a type not limited to this location in China, formed essentially by the accumulation of wind-blown dust) are easily eroded because they are made up of fine and loose particles.

Degradation here has led to more frequent floods, droughts and dust storms because soil degradation is often associated with compaction. This reduces the ability of soil to absorb and hold water.

In the 1990s, this prompted the Chinese government to invest in reforestation and sustainable agriculture. This led to the landmark Loess plateau watershed rehabilitation project, with the main goal of boosting farming and incomes on 15,600km² of land in the Yellow River’s tributary area. The total project cost of US$150 million, partly funded by the World Bank, was approved in 1994.

Elsewhere, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the EthioTrees project was launched in 2016 to tackle land degradation through community-based reforestation, enclosures to limit grazing, and reinvestment of funds generated through climate finance mechanisms.

Tree planting and other efforts have transformed the Tigray region of Ethiopia into a more fertile landscape.
Jon Duncan/Shutterstock

Despite challenges including drought and limited financial resources, these large-scale restoration projects have transformed the landscape and lives of people living there.

But the Loess plateau and Tigray projects have been complex and expensive. A lot of coordination between people across huge regions and in different sectors is required to ensure a successful, integrated approach. AI can take these successful but resource-intensive restoration efforts and help scale them up.

I’m also involved with a European Commission-funded project called AI4SoilHealth, which aims to advance the use of AI to monitor and quantify soil health across Europe. This project shows how data-driven initiatives can support more sustainable land management policies by providing timely, actionable information to governments, farmers and other stakeholders such as landowners, agribusiness companies and local communities.

By integrating satellite imagery with accurate data about soil properties in different locations, AI can help develop robust, scalable models that cross local boundaries. Knowing where best to invest money, resources and effort in scaling up soil health solutions will help protect people, businesses and ecosystems from extreme events in the future.

Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

Nima Shokri receives funding from European Commission for the AI4SoilHealth project.

– ref. Declining soil health is a global concern – here’s how AI could help – https://theconversation.com/declining-soil-health-is-a-global-concern-heres-how-ai-could-help-258847

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: The Inca string code that reveals Peru’s climate history

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sabine Hyland, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews

The author studying specimens. Author provided, CC BY

Five centuries ago, the Incas ruled the western half of South America with the help of a unique form of writing based on coloured and knotted cords. These strings, called khipus, recorded major events, tracked economic matters, and even encoded biographies and poetry, according to the Spanish chroniclers who witnessed their use.

Most khipus have knots that indicate numbers that we can “read”, but we’ve lost the ability to interpret what those numbers mean. Recent discoveries are bringing us closer to deciphering these mysterious strings. In a remote community set high in the Peruvian Andes, my team and I have found khipus that were used by villagers to track climate change.

Last year, I was invited to study the centuries-old khipus preserved in the village of Santa Leonor de Jucul in the Peruvian Andes. The 97 khipus conserved by villagers include the largest khipu in the world, which is over 68 metres long.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

An elderly ritual specialist, Don Lenin Margarito, told me that the khipus recorded the annual ritual offerings given at different sacred places in the surrounding landscape. Miniature pink ritual bags stuffed with coca leaves and tobacco hang from the cords, representing the sacred purpose of these ancient strings. Rather than communicating through knots, the Jucul khipus record data with different kinds of tassels.

For example, a tassel made of fuzzy beige llama tails indicates that an offering was performed at the sacred lake of Paccha-cocha, high in the mountains. The fluffiness of the llama tails is like a rain cloud, Don Lenin explained, representing the fact that offerings given at Paccha-cocha are thought to bring rain.

Different kinds of tassels indicate offerings made at other ritual sites, each one of which is thought to have its own effect on the local environment. Rituals involving the spirits of the dead, for instance, are thought to halt flooding.

If you look at one of the Jucul khipus and you see that there were a lot of offerings to Paccha-cocha that year, you know that this was a time of drought since the offerings were given to increase the rain.

When speaking with community members, we learned that the khipus used to be kept in public so that they could be consulted by the elders. Andean people of the past looked at these khipus as a record of the climate, and they studied them to understand the patterns of what was going on, just as we do today.

New methods

New methods for obtaining precise radiocarbon dates for khipus have been pioneered by a team headed by khipu researcher Ivan Ghezzi.

Efforts are now underway to get accurate radiocarbon dates for the Jucul khipus, which will provide a chronology of these climate-based offerings.

If we can chart the khipus and then date them, we will have a record of climate data from this region that was created by the local Andean people themselves. In their current state, the Jucul khipus are threatened by insects, mould and rodents. The British Museum recently granted funding to clean, preserve and display the khipus so that these precious objects from the Andean past will persevere into the future.

There are only five villages in the Peruvian Andes where ancestral khipus are kept. These rare archives offer tantalising clues about how khipus encoded information.

Research in other villages with living khipu traditions has led to breakthroughs in the significance of khipu colour patterns and phonology. Many Inka khipus possess tassels which we believe may reveal the subject matter of the associated khipu. If we could unlock the significance of the tassels on the Jucul khipus, it might allow us to interpret more precisely the meaning of Inca cords.

Sabine Hyland receives funding from the British Academy, the British Museum, the National Endowment for the Humanities (USA), the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, and the National Geographic Society.

– ref. The Inca string code that reveals Peru’s climate history – https://theconversation.com/the-inca-string-code-that-reveals-perus-climate-history-258528

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK turns the screw on Putin as allies unite behind Ukraine
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

UK turns the screw on Putin as allies unite behind Ukraine

The Prime Minister has ramped up economic pressure on Russia with a raft of new sanctions.
30 new UK sanctions hit Russian finance, military and energy targets

Prime Minister ramps up pressure at G7 Summit as Putin continues to avoid peace.

Comes after further devastating Russian attacks on Kyiv in the last few hours

The Prime Minister has ramped up economic pressure on Russia with a raft of new sanctions, as he galvanises support behind Ukraine at the G7 Summit in Canada today.

The 30 targets strike across Russia’s financial, military and energy sectors in response to Putin’s continued aggression. His repeated refusals to engage seriously in peace has redoubled the UK’s resolve to apply a stranglehold on the Russian economy.

The new sanctions crack down further on Putin’s shadow fleet, targeting 20 of his oil tankers. The UK is also tightening the net around those who enable Putin’s illicit oil trade, sanctioning Orion Star Group LLC and Valegro LLC-FZ, for their role in crewing and managing shadow fleet vessels.

Today’s action also targets Russia’s military capabilities, hitting the military agency leading the development of Russia’s underwater intelligence gathering operations (GUGI), protecting the UK from attacks on subsea infrastructure, restricting Putin’s war machine and increasing our security at home.

In addition, two UK residents Vladimir Pristoupa and Olech Tkacz operating a shadowy network of shell companies, have now been sanctioned for collectively funnelling over $120 million of electronics, many of which are on the Common High Priority goods list, to Russia.

These individuals, who live and own businesses in the UK, are responsible for supplying Russia with high tech electronics which are crucial to Putin’s war effort. The UK will not tolerate those who enable Putin to wage his illegal war, and today’s sanctions demonstrate there is nowhere to hide.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

“These sanctions strike right at the heart of Putin’s war machine, choking off his ability to continue his barbaric war in Ukraine.

“We know that our sanctions are hitting hard, so while Putin shows total disregard for peace, we will not hesitate to keep tightening the screws.

“The threat posed by Russia cannot be underestimated, so I’m determined to take every step necessary to protect our national security and keep our country safe and secure.”

Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said:

“With his continued attacks and needless bloodshed, it is clear that Putin has no interest in peace.

“Today’s sanctions show we will systematically dismantle his dangerous shadow fleet, starve his war machine, and support Ukraine to defend itself.

“The UK and our allies will not sit idly by whilst Putin’s cowardly inaction continues to cost lives.”

The UK also plans to move with partners to tighten the Oil Price Cap to hurt Russia’s oil revenues, while ensuring stability of the energy market.

We are determined to hit Putin where it hurts by striking at his oil revenues – the single most important source of funding for his barbaric war.

Additional infomation

GUGI is the common name for the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research within Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

A full list of today’s targets can be found here

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Share on Facebook (opens in new tab)

Share on Twitter (opens in new tab)

Updates to this page

Published 17 June 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Preserving Energy Ties with Canada

Source: US State of New York

arlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul participated in an economic development roundtable with Northeastern Governors and Canadian Premiers in Boston, Massachusetts.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor’s Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

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

First of all, thank you to Governor Maura Healey for inviting us here to the beautiful Massachusetts State House and convening the Northeastern Governors as well as the Eastern Canadian Premiers and Representatives. It’s an important conversation, and perhaps it should have started at the outset because we’re reminding ourselves of the shared interests, the common bond that exists between all of us.

It’s not just the tourism or the industries that the governor just spoke of — it’s our neighbors. These are relationships that have now been damaged because of rhetoric out of Washington as well as tariffs. Which, how do you spell tariff? It is nothing more than a T-A-X — tax. And Americans need to know that this is a tax on everything they buy, and it hurts our competitiveness and we stand to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs if these truly go into effect as envisioned.

So I always want to call out what this is all about as well as condemning the insults to our Canadian friends, and we want them to come back to our country, but we understand the anger that they feel. But I’m worried about families in New York State and the additional cost that they’re going to spend on everything, including energy.

Energy is now becoming a huge cost driver for our homes, and we have great relationships. Next year, we’ll power over one million homes with hydroelectric power from Quebec. That starts because you have a friendship, a relationship of trust and I’m very excited about announcing that I launched it in my very first days as Governor.

The electric grid is so important because we’re bringing Micron, we’re bringing semiconductor manufacturers, we’re bringing artificial intelligence companies that are going to be huge consumers of power. And I want to make sure that we continue being as competitive as we can.

But we have to use that, and Canada has been a friend of ours in providing this, so I don’t want any more rhetoric, tariffs or anything that’s going to set our relationship further back than it already has been. Now it’s time to start healing and having our own individual relationships between New York, our own states and the various provinces to secure our energy future regardless of what happens in Washington.

We have to operate as independent actors in this space and think of ourselves because clearly Washington is not, and I apologize. I have to get back to the great State of New York because it’s always complicated — something’s always complicated.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: CarGurus Report Finds Consumer Demand for Affordability and Fuel Efficiency Shaping Today’s Auto Market
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Mid-year auto market analysis reveals how tariffs and ongoing demand for affordability have influenced vehicle supply, pricing, and demand so far this year

BOSTON, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG), the No. 1 visited digital auto platform for shopping, buying, and selling new and used vehicles¹, today released its 2025 Mid-Year Auto Market Review. The analysis highlights the impact of tariff uncertainty, shifting inventory dynamics, and evolving consumer preferences on the new and used vehicle market.

“So far this year, the auto market has been shaped by dramatic shifts in consumer behavior fueled by shifting policies and economic uncertainty,” said Kevin Roberts, Director of Economic and Market Intelligence at CarGurus. “These pressures have amplified what car shoppers demand most: affordability and efficiency. While vehicle prices have mostly held steady despite tariffs, it remains to be seen how long the current balance of pricing and demand can last, especially as value-driven options become harder to find.”
- Tariff-driven sales surge has reduced affordable new inventory: New vehicle sales spiked 48% year-over-year in the days after the March tariff announcement as buyers raced to beat potential price increases. While sales demand has since normalized to more seasonal patterns, the affordable segment is showing lasting impacts. Listings for new cars under $30,000 have dropped by 15% since late March, with compacts and crossovers like the Honda Civic, Buick Encore GX, Jeep Compass, and Mazda CX-30 seeing the steepest declines.
- The average new vehicle price is holding steady: While over 60% of new vehicle listings today are post-tariff inventory, the average new car price has remained relatively stable at approximately $49,600. Model-level price changes tell a more nuanced story, with luxury SUVs seeing some of the largest price increases since tariffs went into effect in April and electric vehicles (EVs) posting the biggest price decreases.
- Aged new car inventory may offer value: Despite the Spring sales surge, 2024 and older model-year vehicles are maintaining a high share of inventory — approaching levels not seen since 2020. At mid-year, over 7% of new car listings were 2024 or older, with Ford trucks and SUVs among the top models with older model year supply, creating a chance for shoppers to find a potential deal on pre-tariff inventory.
- Used inventory reaches multi-year highs, but value has been redefined: Despite abundant used car supply, 3- to 4-year-old models — the sweet spot for value-conscious buyers — remain scarce and priced at a premium due to lingering effects of pandemic-era production disruptions. For those in the market for a used car under $20,000, options are increasingly older and higher mileage. At both ends of the age spectrum, however, fuel-efficient models (spanning hybrids, EVs, and compacts) lead the pack in demand.
- Hybrids stand out for pricing and demand: Hybrids continued to lead new vehicle sales growth in 2025, buoyed by strong demand and attractive pricing. Average list prices for new hybrids decreased by about $1,400 year-over-year, helping drive a 43% increase in retail sales compared to 2024. Notably, hybrid and gas models are now the most commonly cross-shopped combinations, as shoppers increasingly prioritize practicality and affordability.
For a deeper look at these trends and more, the full 2025 Mid-Year Review is available here: https://cargur.us/1dRcr8

About CarGurus, Inc.

CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG) is a multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles that is building upon its industry-leading listings marketplace with both digital retail solutions and the CarOffer online wholesale platform. The CarGurus platform gives consumers the confidence to purchase and/or sell a vehicle either online or in-person, and it gives dealerships the power to accurately price, effectively market, instantly acquire, and quickly sell vehicles, all with a nationwide reach. The company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms, and data analytics to bring trust, transparency, and competitive pricing to the automotive shopping experience. CarGurus is the most visited automotive shopping site in the U.S. ¹

CarGurus also operates online marketplaces under the CarGurus brand in Canada and the U.K. In the U.S. and the U.K., CarGurus also operates the Autolist and PistonHeads online marketplaces, respectively, as independent brands.

To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.com, and for more information about CarOffer, visit www.caroffer.com.

CarGurus^® is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc., and CarOffer^® is a registered trademark of CarOffer, LLC. All other product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

¹Similarweb: Traffic Report [Cars.com, Autotrader, TrueCar, CARFAX Listings (defined as CARFAX Total visits minus Vehicle History Reports traffic)], Q1 2025, U.S.

Media Contact:
Maggie Meluzio
Director, Public Relations & External Communications
pr@cargurus.com

Investor Contact:
Kirndeep Singh
Vice President, Investor Relations
investors@cargurus.com

The MIL Network –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: When developing countries band together, lifesaving drugs become cheaper and easier to buy − with trade-offs
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Resource Economics, UMass Amherst

Pooling procurement of drugs could increase the availability of essential treatments around the globe. narvo vexar/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Procuring lifesaving drugs is a daunting challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Essential treatments are often neither available nor affordable in these nations, even decades after the drugs entered the market.

Prospective buyers from these countries face a patent thicket, where a single drug may be covered by hundreds of patents. This makes it costly and legally difficult to secure licensing rights for manufacturing.

These buyers also face a complex and often fragile supply chain. Many major pharmaceutical firms have little incentive to sell their products in unprofitable markets. Quality assurance adds another layer of complexity, with substandard and counterfeit drugs widespread in many of these countries.

Organizations such as the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool have effectively increased the supply of generic versions of patented drugs. But the problems go beyond patents or manufacturing – how medicines are bought are also crucially important. Buyers for low- and middle-income countries are often health ministries and community organizations on tight budgets that have to negotiate with sellers that may have substantial market power and far more experience.

We are economists who study how to increase access to drugs across the globe. Our research found that while pooling orders for essential medicines can help drive down costs and ensure a steady supply to low- and middle-income countries, there are trade-offs that require flexibility and early planning to address.

Understanding these trade-offs can help countries better prepare for future health emergencies and treat chronic conditions.

Pooled procurement reduces drug costs

One strategy low-income countries are increasingly adopting to improve treatment access is “pooled procurement.” That’s when multiple buyers coordinate purchases to strengthen their collective bargaining power and reduce prices for essential medicines. For example, pooling can help buyers meet the minimum batch size requirements some suppliers impose that countries purchasing individually may not satisfy.

Compared with decentralized procurement, pooled procurement eases transactions by connecting buyers and sellers in groups.
Lucy Xiaolu Wang and Nahim Bin Zahur, CC BY-NC-ND

Countries typically rely on four models for pooled drug procurement:
- One method, called decentralized procurement, involves buyers purchasing directly from manufacturers.
- Another method, called international pooled procurement, involves going through international institutions such as the Global Fund’s Pooled Procurement Mechanism or the United Nations.
- Countries may also purchase prescription drugs through their own central medical stores, which are government-run or semi-autonomous agencies that procure, store and distribute medicines on behalf of national health systems. This method is called centralized domestic procurement.
- Finally, countries can also go through independent nonprofits, foundations, nongovernmental organizations and private wholesalers.
We wanted to understand how different procurement methods affect the cost of and time it takes to deliver drugs for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, because those three infectious diseases account for a large share of deaths and cases worldwide. So we analyzed over 39,000 drug procurement transactions across 106 countries between 2007 and 2017 that were funded by the Global Fund, the largest multilateral funder of HIV/AIDS programs worldwide.

We found that pooled procurement through international institutions reduced prices by 13% to 20% compared with directly buying from drug manufacturers. Smaller buyers and those purchasing drugs produced by only a small number of manufacturers saw the greatest savings. In comparison, purchasing through domestic pooling offered less consistent savings, with larger buyers seeing greater price advantages.

The Global Fund and the United Nations were especially effective at lowering the prices of older, off-patent drugs.

Trade-offs with pooled procurements

Cost savings from pooled drug procurement may come with trade-offs.

While the Global Fund reduced unexpected delivery delays by 28%, it required buyers to place orders much earlier. This results in longer anticipated procurement lead time between ordering and delivery – an average of 114 days more than that of direct purchases. In contrast, domestic pooled procurement shortened lead times by over a month.

Our results suggest a core tension: Pooled procurement improves prices and reliability but can reduce flexibility. Organizations that facilitate pooled procurement tend to prioritize medicines that can be bought at high volume, limiting the availability of other types of drugs. Additionally, the longer lead times may not be suitable for emergency situations.

With the spread of COVID-19, several large armed conflicts and tariff wars, governments have become increasingly aware of the fragility of the global supply chain. Some countries, such as Kenya, have sought to reduce their dependence on international pooling since 2005 by investing in domestic procurement.

But a shift toward domestic self-sufficiency is a slow and difficult process due to challenges with quality assurance and large-scale manufacturing. It may also weaken international pooled systems, which rely on broad participation to negotiate better terms with suppliers.

Scaling up drug production in low-income countries can be difficult.
Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo

Interestingly, we found little evidence that international pooled procurement influences pricing for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a major purchaser of HIV treatments for developing countries. PEPFAR-eligible products do not appear to benefit more from international pooled procurement than noneligible ones.

However, domestic procurement institutions were able to secure lower prices for PEPFAR-eligible products. This suggests that the presence of a large donor such as PEPFAR can cut costs, particularly when countries manage procurement internally.

USAID cuts and global drug access

While international organizations such as the Medicines Patent Pool and the Global Fund can address upstream barriers such as patents and procurement in the global drug supply chain, other institutions are essential for ensuring that medicines actually reach patients.

The U.S. Agency for International Development had played a significant role in delivering HIV treatment abroad through PEPFAR. The Trump administration’s decision in February 2025 to cut over 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts amounted to a US$60 billion reduction in overall U.S. assistance globally. An estimated hundreds of thousands of deaths are already happening, and millions more will likely die.

The World Health Organization warned that eight countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria and Ukraine, could soon run out of HIV treatments due to these aid cuts. In South Africa, HIV services have already been scaled back, with reports of mass layoffs of health workers and HIV clinic closures. These downstream cracks can undercut the gains from efforts to make procuring drugs more accessible if the drugs can’t reach patients.

Because HIV, tuberculosis and malaria often share the same treatment infrastructure – including drug procurement and distribution networks, laboratory systems, data collection, health workers and community-based services – disruption in the management of one disease can ripple across the others. Researchers have warned of a broader unraveling of progress across these infectious diseases, describing the fallout as a potential “bloodbath” in the global HIV response.

Research shows that supporting access to treatments around the world doesn’t just save lives abroad. It also helps prevent the next global health crisis from reaching America’s doorstep.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. When developing countries band together, lifesaving drugs become cheaper and easier to buy − with trade-offs – https://theconversation.com/when-developing-countries-band-together-lifesaving-drugs-become-cheaper-and-easier-to-buy-with-trade-offs-255383
MIL OSI Analysis –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Companies haven’t stopped hiring, but they’re more cautious, according to the 2025 College Hiring Outlook Report
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Murugan Anandarajan, Professor of Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems, Drexel University

Recent college grads face a tough job market in 2025, but employers are still hiring. sturti/E+ via Getty Images

Every year, I tell my students in my business analytics class the same thing: “Don’t just apply for a job. Audition for it.”

This advice seems particularly relevant this year. In today’s turbulent economy, companies are still hiring, but they’re doing it a bit more carefully. More places are offering candidates short-term work experiences like internships and co-op programs in order to evaluate them before making them full-time offers.

This is just one of the findings of the 2025 College Hiring Outlook Report. This annual report tracks trends in the job market and offers valuable insights for both job seekers and employers. It is based on a national survey conducted in September 2024, with responses from 1,322 employers spanning all major industries and company sizes, from small firms to large enterprises. The survey looks at employer perspectives on entry-level hiring trends, skills demand and talent development strategies.

I am a professor of information systems at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business in Philadelphia, and I co-authored this report along with a team of colleagues at the Center for Career Readiness.

Here’s what we found:

Employers are rethinking talent pipelines

Only 21% of the 1,322 employers we surveyed rated the current college hiring market as “excellent” or “very good,” which is a dramatic drop from 61% in 2023. This indicates that companies are becoming increasingly cautious about how they recruit and select new talent.

While confidence in full-time hiring has declined, employers are not stepping away from hiring altogether. Instead, they’re shifting to paid and unpaid internships, co-ops and contract-to-hire roles as a less risky route to identify talent and “de-risk” full-time hiring.

Employers we surveyed described internships as a cost-effective talent pipeline, and 70% told us they plan to maintain or increase their co-op and intern hiring in 2025. At a time when many companies are tightening their belts, hiring someone who’s already proved themselves saves on onboarding reduces turnover and minimizes potentially costly mishires.

For job seekers, this makes every internship or short-term role more than a foot in the door. It’s an extended audition. Even with the general market looking unstable, interest in co-op and internship programs appears steady, especially among recent graduates facing fewer full-time opportunities.

These programs aren’t just about trying out a job. They let employers see if a candidate shows initiative, good judgment and the ability to work well on a team, which we found are traits employers value even more than technical skills.

What employers want

We found that employers increasingly prioritize self-management skills like adaptability, ethical reasoning and communication over technical skills such as digital literacy and cybersecurity. Employers are paying attention to how candidates behave during internships, how they take feedback, and whether they bring the mindset needed to grow with the company.

This reflects what I have observed in classrooms and in conversations with hiring managers: Credentials matter, but what truly sets candidates apart is how they present themselves and what they contribute to a company.

Based on co-op and internship data we’ve collected at Drexel, however, many students continue to believe that technical proficiency is the key to getting a job.

In my opinion, this disconnect reveals a critical gap in expectations: While students focus on hard skills to differentiate themselves, employers are looking for the human skills that indicate long-term potential, resilience and professionalism. This is especially true in the face of economic uncertainty and the ambiguous, fast-changing nature of today’s workplace.

Technology is changing how hiring happens

Employers also told us that artificial intelligence is now central to how both applicants and employers navigate the hiring process.

Some companies are increasingly using AI-powered platforms to transform their hiring processes. For example, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia uses platforms like HireVue to conduct asynchronous video interviews. HR-focused firms like Phenom and JJ Staffing Services also leverage technologies such as AI-based resume ranking, automated interview scheduling and one-way video assessments.

Not only do these tools speed up the hiring process, but they also reshape how employers and candidates interact. In our survey, large employers said they are increasingly relying on AI tools like resume screeners and one-way video interviews to manage large numbers of job applicants. As a result, the candidate’s presence, clarity in communication and authenticity are being evaluated even before a human recruiter becomes involved.

At the same time, job seekers are using generative AI tools to write cover letters, practice interviews or reformat resumes. These tools can help with preparation, but overreliance on them can backfire. Employers want authenticity, and many employers we surveyed mentioned they notice when applications seem overly robotic.

In my experience as a professor, the key is teaching students to use AI to enhance their effort and not replace it. I encourage them to leverage AI tools but always emphasize that the final output and the impression it makes should reflect their own thinking and professionalism. The bottom line is that hiring is still a human decision, and the personal impression you make matters.

This isn’t just about new grads

While our research focuses on early-career hiring, these findings apply to other audiences as well, such as career changers, returning professionals and even mid-career workers. These workers are increasingly being evaluated on their adaptability, behavior and collaborative ability – not just their experience.

Many companies now offer project-based assignments and trial roles that let them evaluate performance before making a permanent hire.

At the same time, employers are investing in internal reskilling and upskilling programs. Reskilling refers to training workers for entirely new roles, often in response to job changes or automation, while upskilling means helping employees deepen their current skills to stay effective and advance in their existing roles. Our report indicates that approximately 88% of large companies now offer structured upskilling and reskilling programs. For job seekers and workers alike, staying competitive means taking the initiative and demonstrating a commitment to learning and growth.

Show up early, and show up well

So what can students, or anyone entering or reentering the workforce, do to prepare?
- Start early. Don’t wait until senior year. First- and second-year internships are growing in importance.
- Sharpen your soft skills. Communication, time management, problem-solving and ethical behavior are top priorities for employers.
- Understand where work is happening. Over 50% of entry-level jobs are fully in-person. Only 4% are fully remote. Show up ready to engage.
- Use AI strategically. It’s a useful tool for research and practice, not a shortcut to connection or clarity.
- Stay curious. Most large employers now offer reskilling or upskilling opportunities – and they expect employees to take initiative.
One of the clearest takeaways from this year’s report is that hiring is no longer a one-time decision. It’s a performance process that often begins before an interview is even scheduled.

Whether you’re still in school, transitioning in your career or returning to the workforce after a break, the same principle applies: Every opportunity is an audition. Treat it like one.

Murugan Anandarajan 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. Companies haven’t stopped hiring, but they’re more cautious, according to the 2025 College Hiring Outlook Report – https://theconversation.com/companies-havent-stopped-hiring-but-theyre-more-cautious-according-to-the-2025-college-hiring-outlook-report-257870
MIL OSI Analysis –
June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Observers of workplace mistreatment react as strongly as the victims − at times with a surprising amount of victim blaming

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jason Colquitt, Professor of Management, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame

Workplace mistreatment harms observers, too. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Picture this: On your way out of the office, you notice a manager berating an employee. You assume the worker made some sort of mistake, but the manager’s behavior seems unprofessional. Later, as you’re preparing dinner, is the scene still weighing on you – or is it out of sight, out of mind?

If you think you’d still be bothered, you’re not alone. It turns out that simply observing mistreatment at work can have a surprisingly strong impact on people, even for those not directly involved. That’s according to new research led by Edwyna Hill, co-authored by Rachel Burgess, Manuela Priesemuth, Jefferson McClain and me, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Using a method called meta-analysis – which takes results from many different studies and combines them to produce an overall set of findings – we reviewed the growing body of research on what management professors like me call “third-party perceptions of mistreatment.” In this context, “third parties” are people who observe mistreatment between a perpetrator and the victim, who are the first and second parties.

We looked at 158 studies published in 105 journal articles involving thousands of participants. Those studies explored a number of different forms of workplace mistreatment ranging from incivility to abusive supervision and sexual harassment. Some of those studies took part in actual workplaces, while others examined mistreatment in tightly controlled laboratory settings.

The results were striking: We found that observing a co-worker being mistreated on the job has significant effects on the observers’ emotions. In fact, we found that observers of mistreatment may be as affected by what happened as the people actually involved in the event.

These reactions fall along a spectrum – some helpful, others less so. On the encouraging side, we found that observers tend to judge perpetrators and feel empathy for victims. These reactions discourage mistreatment by creating a climate that favors the victim. On the other hand, we found that observers may also enjoy seeing their co-workers suffer – an emotion called “schadenfreude” – or blame the victim. These sorts of reactions damage team dynamics and discourage people from reporting mistreatment.

Why it matters

These findings matter because mistreatment in the workplace is disturbingly common – and even more frequently observed than experienced. One recent study found that 34% of employees have experienced workplace mistreatment firsthand, but 44% have observed it happening to someone else. In other words, nearly half of workers have likely seen a scenario like the one described at the start of this article.

Unfortunately, the human resources playbook on workplace mistreatment rarely takes third parties into account. Some investigation occurs, potentially resulting in some punishment for the perpetrator and some support for the victim. A more effective response to workplace mistreatment would recognize that the harm often extends beyond the victim – and that observers, too, may need support.

What still isn’t known

What’s needed now is a better understanding of the nuances involved in observing mistreatment. Why do some observers react with empathy, while others derive pleasure from the suffering of others? And why might observers feel empathy for the victim but still respond by judging or blaming them? Answering these questions is a crucial next step for researchers and leaders seeking to design more effective workplace policies.

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

Jason Colquitt 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. Observers of workplace mistreatment react as strongly as the victims − at times with a surprising amount of victim blaming – https://theconversation.com/observers-of-workplace-mistreatment-react-as-strongly-as-the-victims-at-times-with-a-surprising-amount-of-victim-blaming-255761

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: The hidden bias in college admissions tests: How standardized exams can favor privilege over potential

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Zarrina Talan Azizova, Associate Professor of Education, Health and Behavior, University of North Dakota

At first glance, calls from members of Congress to restore academic merit in college admissions might sound like a neutral policy.

In our view, these campaigns often cherry-pick evidence and mask a coordinated effort that targets access and diversity in American colleges.

As scholars who study access to higher education, we have found that when these efforts are paired with pressure to reinstate standardized tests, they amount to a rollback of inclusive practices.

A Department of Education letter sent to congressional offices from Feb. 14, 2025, stated that is “unlawful for an educational institution to eliminate standardized testing to achieve a desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity.” The letter also claimed that the most widely used admissions tests, the SAT and ACT, are objective measures of merit.

In our recent peer-reviewed article, we analyzed more than 70 empirical studies about the SAT’s and ACT’s roles in college admissions. Our work found several flaws in how these exams function, especially for historically underserved students.

Measuring college readiness

Supporters of admissions tests contend that they are objective tools for measuring whether students are ready for college-level coursework.
The Good Brigade/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Several elite universities – including Yale, Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – have reinstated SAT or ACT requirements, reversing test-optional policies that institutions expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These changes have reignited debates about how well these tests measure students’ academic preparedness and how colleges should weigh them in admissions decisions.

During a May 21, 2025, hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, some witnesses argued that using test scores allows colleges to admit students based on merit. Others maintained that test scores can function as barriers to higher education.

Our research shows that while these tests are statistically reliable – that is, they produce consistent results for students across subjects and during multiple attempts under similar conditions – they are not as valid as some argue.

High school grade-point averages are typically better predictors of students’ success in college than either test.

In addition, the tests are not equitable or similarly predictive for all students, especially given gender, race and socioeconomic demographics.

That is because they systematically favor those with more access to high-quality schooling, stable socioeconomic conditions and opportunities to engage with test prep coaches and courses. That test prep can cost thousands of dollars.

In short, both tests tend to reflect privilege more than potential.

For example, students from higher-income households routinely outperform their peers on the ACT and SAT.

This isn’t surprising, considering wealthier families can afford test prep services, private tutoring and test retakes. These advantages translate into higher scores and open doors to selective colleges and scholarship opportunities.

Meanwhile, students from low-income families often face challenges – such as less experienced instructors and less access to high-level science, math and advanced placement courses – that test scores do not factor in.

Reflecting deep inequities

In the U.S., high school GPA can be a better predictor than standardized tests of college success.
Clerkenwell/Vetta via Getty Images

In our published review, we found that these disparities aren’t incidental – they’re systemic.

Our review revealed long-standing evidence of bias in test design and differences in average scores along lines of race, gender and language background.

These outcomes don’t just reflect academic differences; they reflect inequities that shape how students prepare for and perform on these tests.

We also found that high school GPA outperforms standardized tests in predicting college success. GPA captures years of classroom performance, effort and teacher feedback. It reflects how students navigate real-world challenges, not just how they perform on a single timed exam.

For many students, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, grades can offer a better indication of how prepared they are for college-level work.

This issue matters because admissions decisions aren’t just technical evaluations – they are value statements. Choosing to center test scores in admissions rewards certain kinds of knowledge, experiences and preparation.

The American Council on Education defines equity as opportunities for success. It means building educational environments that recognize diverse forms of potential and equip all learners to thrive.

It’s worth noting that research on testing often focuses on elite institutions, where standardized test scores are more likely to be used as high-stakes screening tools. Our systematic review found that, even in elite schools, the tests’ ability to accurately predict college academic performance is often limited (moderate in statistical terms).

But most college students attend state universities, public regional universities, minority-serving institutions, or colleges that accept most applicants. Our study found that at these institutions, standardized test scores are even less likely to predict how students will do.

This may be because state universities and public regional universities are more likely to serve highly diverse student populations, including older, part-time and first-generation students and those who are balancing work and family responsibilities.

Where does higher ed go from here?

Prioritizing standardized tests in college admissions could close the doors of opportunity for some capable students.
David Schaffer/istock via Getty Images Plus

With the debate over the role of standardized tests in the admissions process, higher education stands at a crossroads: Will colleges yield to political pressure and narrow definitions of merit and ignore equity? Or will institutions reaffirm their mission by embracing broader, fairer tools for recognizing talent and supporting student success?

The answer depends on what values are prioritized.

Our research and that of others make it clear that standardized tests should not be the gatekeepers of opportunity.

If universities define merit on test scores alone, they risk closing the doors of opportunity to capable students.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The hidden bias in college admissions tests: How standardized exams can favor privilege over potential – https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-bias-in-college-admissions-tests-how-standardized-exams-can-favor-privilege-over-potential-256967

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: A radical proposal to abolish state government and strengthen American democracy

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Stephen Legomsky, John S. Lehmann University Professor Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis

Abolish all the states? Zoonar/Getty Images Plus

Get rid of states? Legal scholar Stephen Legomsky, who taught for 34 years at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, has just published a book, “Reimagining the American Union,” that proposes a radical idea: Abolish state government. The Conversation’s politics and democracy editor, Naomi Schalit – a former statehouse reporter herself – interviewed Legomsky about the provocative idea behind his book, in which he advocates moving most of the functions of state government down to the local level, closer to those represented and governed by it.

You propose abolishing states. Why?

The book is a thought experiment. The proposal I’m offering is long term. I realize we need states during the current political moment.

I think the states are the root cause of many, if not most, of the current dangers faced by U.S. democracy. I also see the states as a significant source of fiscal waste. We don’t need three levels of government – national, state and local – all regulating us and all taxing us. Two would do just fine. And after careful, detailed analysis, I concluded that every benefit ever claimed for state government could be achieved at least as well, and in many cases better, by the local governments.

I’m imagining the framers sitting in Independence Hall. And you go back in time and suggest to them not having states. I think most of them would drop dead at the thought, because it ultimately implies a much more powerful federal government. What would you say to them?

After they stop laughing, I would emphasize that I’m not proposing a wholesale transfer of power from the states to an all-powerful, all-knowing central government. Yes, some of the functions currently performed by the states could better be performed at the national level, but I’m proposing that the lion’s share devolve down to the local governments, which are even closer to the people they represent than the state legislatures can ever be.

Some of the most ardent Federalists, including Alexander Hamilton and James Wilson, referred to the states as “artificial beings” or “imaginary beings.” They accepted the states only because keeping them was politically essential to getting the required nine state ratifications, not because they thought states were a good idea.

George Washington’s working copy of the Constitution from Aug. 6, 1787.
National Archives, Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention

What functions would your plan hand over to the federal government?

A prime example is licensing. I looked up all the different occupations that require state licenses. I was astonished: practically every health care profession, barbers, engineers, lawyers, architects, the list is endless.

If you live near a state line, you can’t practice in both states unless you get two licenses. If you move to another state, you have to get another license. This seems silly. The human anatomy, human hair, engineering principles, don’t change as you cross from New York to New Jersey. Nor do we need 50 different state driver’s licenses; a single national license administered through local agencies would be more efficient.

You say states are the root cause of the greatest threats to American democracy. What are those threats?

The structural threats are those that are baked into the Constitution itself. The Electoral College is one. On five occasions, the Electoral College has awarded the presidency to the candidate whom the voters rejected nationwide. And there were many, many near misses where the popular vote loser almost became president, making many such future instances a statistical certainty.

Perhaps even more important, every state, no matter how large or how small, gets the same number of U.S. senators. In fact, a majority of the U.S. population is represented by only about 18% of the Senate. The minority gets the other 82%.

These counter-majoritarian defects in the elections of both presidents and senators have a ripple effect. They skew the composition, and thus the decisions, of the federal courts. Three of the current Supreme Court justices were appointed by President Donald Trump after he had lost the national popular vote; five of the current Supreme Court justices were confirmed by senators who collectively represented only a minority of the U.S. population.

Here’s one especially jarring statistic: From 1969 until today, the Democratic presidential nominees won the national popular vote in a slight majority of the elections. Yet, during the presidential terms that resulted from those elections, Republican presidents have gotten to make 15 of the 20 Supreme Court appointments.

The Constitution also gives the states broad powers to regulate and run national elections. State legislatures have used those powers to pass gerrymandering, voter suppression and other counter-majoritarian laws.

If you devolve these functions and services to localities, wouldn’t you end up with a mirror of the current state-level structure? Wouldn’t this just send a lot of state personnel down to the local level?

Yes, much of that structure would devolve. However, I see that as a good thing. Devolution is unavoidable in a country this size. Not everything can be done by the central government. The question for me is, do we need two levels of subordinate political subdivisions or one? One seems more efficient. And when problems are too big for one local government to handle on its own, it can partner with other local governments or with the national government, just as many local governments do today.

Abolishing state government means no more meetings of the state legislature, like this one in the Maine House of Representatives on Jan. 4, 2023, at the State House in Augusta.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

If there were no states to gerrymander or pass voter-suppression laws, wouldn’t some national government agency just do it instead?

Redistricting would be performed by a nonpartisan redistricting commission that I propose be made up of technicians, mainly demographers, statisticians and geographers, under broad, general principles enacted by Congress. That’s what almost every other democracy in the world does today.

Why did you write this book?

For a long time, I’ve been distressed about so many of the dangers to our democracy. So, one day, I found myself compiling what ended up becoming a fairly long mental list of all of my democracy-related grievances.

A list of grievances like in the Declaration of Independence!

That’s a nice analogy. And as I thought about that list, it suddenly struck me that the vast majority of these problems couldn’t occur without states. That got me thinking about whether we really need states in the first place.

If it’s just a thought experiment, something that’s not going to happen, why would you think it’s worthwhile spending time writing this?

And why would I be so vain as to think anybody would want to waste their time reading it?

And your answer is, ‘Because I’m an academic!’

It’s that, plus more. I do hope there’s some scholarly value in this. But I’m also writing for the long term. States are secure for now, but history teaches us that the more distant future is full of surprises.

Stephen Legomsky 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. A radical proposal to abolish state government and strengthen American democracy – https://theconversation.com/a-radical-proposal-to-abolish-state-government-and-strengthen-american-democracy-256955

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: The use of federal troops to quell Los Angles protests recalls militarized law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Justin Randolph, Assistant Professor of U.S. History, Texas A&M University

The National Guard and protesters stand off outside of a downtown jail in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

President Donald Trump activated 4,000 National Guard troops on June 10, 2025, to quell protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids – without the normal request from the state. He has also sent to Los Angeles hundreds of U.S. Marines, with the goal of protecting the unprecedented deportation operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If this all feels exceptional, it should. Governors typically activate their own state troops, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would do on June 11 ahead of expected immigration protests.

California quickly sued the president. A federal court has sided with the state, but an appeals court will weigh the Trump administration’s use of the U.S. code on armed services to activate the National Guard, which relies on protesters constituting either an “invasion” or “rebellion.”

“What we’re witnessing is not law enforcement – it’s authoritarianism,”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on June 10.

Protesters report violent responses from Los Angeles police, too. Nonetheless, Newsom’s invocation of authoritarianism is apt.

The last example of a president federalizing troops over the objection of a state government dates to Jim Crow segregation, a period marked by legal practices that routinely denied due process and citizenship rights to Black Americans in the South. In the 1960s, numerous Black freedom struggles took stands against this authoritarianism backed by militarized law enforcement.

As a scholar of U.S. history, I’ve just completed a book on Jim Crow policing and the ways Black Americans fought back against racist law and order. I think the militarization of policing in Los Angeles opens important questions about democracy and state violence.

Jim Crow dreams

During the Civil Rights Movement, the federal government activated National Guard troops over Southern state objections when those states would neither enforce court orders nor protect protesters.

In those cases, presidents protected people with the help of troops. In Trump’s case, he’s using troops to protect the government from protesters.

The Trump administration’s vision of law enforcement aims for the type of militarized authority that state governments institutionalized under Jim Crow policing. If your political enemy is perceived more like an enemy combatant, the rules of legal procedure, especially due process, might not apply. Policing becomes war.

When you see the words “Jim Crow,” your mind may jump to photos of racially segregated water fountains. But Jim Crow was far more than that. It was homegrown racial authoritarianism, or the repression of freedom of thought and action.

Before troops enforced civil rights, Black Southerners saw the National Guard as an enemy rather than a friend.

In the words of Ida B. Wells-Barnett after a white riot against Black residents in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1917, “The police were either indifferent or encouraged the barbarities. … The major part of the National Guard was indifferent or inactive. No organized effort was made to protect the Negroes or disperse the murdering groups.”

Eisenhower sends in the troops

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education changed things. It overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision that legalized racial segregation and ruled that segregated public school education was unconstitutional. This significantly altered the federal government’s responsibility in the South’s legal system of white supremacy.

The first test came in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Though numerous school districts across the South quietly desegregated, Southern governors such as Arkansas’ Orville Faubus resisted the planned desegregation of Little Rock Central High School.

Seven of nine Black students walk onto the campus of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., with a National Guard officer as an escort on Oct. 15, 1957.
AP Photo/File

Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to stop Black children at the door. For nearly three weeks, Guardsmen blocked the small group of Black students – known as the “Little Rock Nine” – who were supposed to attend the school before President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them to stand down.

Eisenhower deployed U.S. Army riot troops to Little Rock under the Insurrection Act. In the end, the Little Rock Nine began their studies at Central High despite the much-photographed spitting from the white mob that surrounded the school.

State troops, state rights

Next came the desegregation of interstate transportation.

In spring 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights advocacy group, sent buses of integrated passengers through the Deep South. White terrorists attacked Freedom Riders, as these activists became known, three times in Alabama.

But state authorities had learned from the Little Rock experience. Southern governors in Alabama and Mississippi deployed the National Guard themselves. This time they intended to only minimally protect Freedom Riders to block federal law enforcement. In Mississippi, police arrested and prison guards tortured Freedom Riders in the state penitentiary. Mob violence killed no one.

James Meredith, center, is escorted by federal marshals as he appears for his first day of class at the previously all-white University of Mississippi on Oct. 1, 1962.
AP Photo, File

The same was not true during the desegregation of public universities.

When U.S. marshals arrived to enforce the court order enrolling James Meredith at the University of Mississippi in September 1962, a white riot erupted. State law enforcement withdrew from the scene. Two men died, and many more were injured.

President John F. Kennedy federalized the Mississippi National Guard and sent them in to restore order. The next summer, he did the same in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to preemptively halt a riot at the University of Alabama.

The occasion became a publicity stunt for Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace. He temporarily blocked the entrance to Foster Auditorium, intent on stopping the court-ordered registration of three Black students.

“I stand before you here today in place of thousands of other Alabamians whose presence would have confronted you,” Wallace said to federal authorities. A National Guard general said, “Sir, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside under the orders of the President of the United States.”

A National Guard general informs Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace that the guard was under federal control, as the two meet at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on June 11, 1963.
AP Photo, File

Wallace also triggered the last federal use – until now – of the National Guard. Alabama’s Selma-to-Montgomery march began as a memorial to Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young Black civil rights activist who was killed by police on Feb. 26, 1965. The march became primarily a symbol for the year’s Voting Rights Act.

In an important change, President Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the National Guard to protect marchers. State troopers and sheriff’s deputies had terrorized marchers, including John Lewis, who was almost beaten to death on Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965.

Democracy is in the streets

The history of the National Guard in the South is an important part of what’s unfolding in Los Angeles and across the nation.

For most of the National Guard’s history in the South, political leaders used domestic military power to preserve the interests of racial authoritarians, not racial egalitarians. Little Rock, Tuscaloosa, Selma: Those moments when troops protected racial justice protesters at home stand out as some of America’s most hopeful moments.

Recent statements by Trump administration officials help illustrate how it envisions using military power in domestic law enforcement. On June 8, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to arrest rioters” – a request beyond the original order to protect ICE agents.

And on June 12, Noem said that “the military people that are working on this operation … are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country.”

The National Guard and Marines are reportedly protecting immigration enforcement. But what might happen if they directly interact with protests?

With diverse tactics, protesters are halting business as usual because they see a mass-deportation regime terrorizing and disappearing people in their communities. U.S. courts tend to agree with their analysis but seem powerless to enforce even basic due process rights for those detained by ICE.

These activists show the messy work of American social change. Their work may look like “anarchy” to even some Democrats. It may be maligned as “invasion” and “rebellion” by the Trump administration.

But the calls to constrain ICE follow an American tradition of fighting authoritarianism.

Justin Randolph 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. The use of federal troops to quell Los Angles protests recalls militarized law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement – https://theconversation.com/the-use-of-federal-troops-to-quell-los-angles-protests-recalls-militarized-law-enforcement-during-the-civil-rights-movement-258866

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston

This screenshot of an AI-generated video depicts Christopher Pelkey, who was killed in 2021. Screenshot: Stacey Wales/YouTube

Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road range incident in 2021. On May 8, 2025, at the sentencing hearing for his killer, an AI video reconstruction of Pelkey delivered a victim impact statement. The trial judge reported being deeply moved by this performance and issued the maximum sentence for manslaughter.

As part of the ceremonies to mark Israel’s 77th year of independence on April 30, 2025, officials had planned to host a concert featuring four iconic Israeli singers. All four had died years earlier. The plan was to conjure them using AI-generated sound and video. The dead performers were supposed to sing alongside Yardena Arazi, a famous and still very much alive artist. In the end Arazi pulled out, citing the political atmosphere, and the event didn’t happen.

In April, the BBC created a deep-fake version of the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie to teach a “maestro course on writing.” Fake Agatha would instruct aspiring murder mystery authors and “inspire” their “writing journey.”

The use of artificial intelligence to “reanimate” the dead for a variety of purposes is quickly gaining traction. Over the past few years, we’ve been studying the moral implications of AI at the Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and we find these AI reanimations to be morally problematic.

Before we address the moral challenges the technology raises, it’s important to distinguish AI reanimations, or deepfakes, from so-called griefbots. Griefbots are chatbots trained on large swaths of data the dead leave behind – social media posts, texts, emails, videos. These chatbots mimic how the departed used to communicate and are meant to make life easier for surviving relations. The deepfakes we are discussing here have other aims; they are meant to promote legal, political and educational causes.

Chris Pelkey was shot and killed in 2021. This AI ‘reanimation’ of him was presented in court as a victim impact statement.

Moral quandaries

The first moral quandary the technology raises has to do with consent: Would the deceased have agreed to do what their likeness is doing? Would the dead Israeli singers have wanted to sing at an Independence ceremony organized by the nation’s current government? Would Pelkey, the road-rage victim, be comfortable with the script his family wrote for his avatar to recite? What would Christie think about her AI double teaching that class?

The answers to these questions can only be deduced circumstantially – from examining the kinds of things the dead did and the views they expressed when alive. And one could ask if the answers even matter. If those in charge of the estates agree to the reanimations, isn’t the question settled? After all, such trustees are the legal representatives of the departed.

But putting aside the question of consent, a more fundamental question remains.

What do these reanimations do to the legacy and reputation of the dead? Doesn’t their reputation depend, to some extent, on the scarcity of appearance, on the fact that the dead can’t show up anymore? Dying can have a salutary effect on the reputation of prominent people; it was good for John F. Kennedy, and it was good for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

The fifth-century B.C. Athenian leader Pericles understood this well. In his famous Funeral Oration, delivered at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, he asserts that a noble death can elevate one’s reputation and wash away their petty misdeeds. That is because the dead are beyond reach and their mystique grows postmortem. “Even extreme virtue will scarcely win you a reputation equal to” that of the dead, he insists.

Do AI reanimations devalue the currency of the dead by forcing them to keep popping up? Do they cheapen and destabilize their reputation by having them comment on events that happened long after their demise?

In addition, these AI representations can be a powerful tool to influence audiences for political or legal purposes. Bringing back a popular dead singer to legitimize a political event and reanimating a dead victim to offer testimony are acts intended to sway an audience’s judgment.

It’s one thing to channel a Churchill or a Roosevelt during a political speech by quoting them or even trying to sound like them. It’s another thing to have “them” speak alongside you. The potential of harnessing nostalgia is supercharged by this technology. Imagine, for example, what the Soviets, who literally worshipped Lenin’s dead body, would have done with a deep fake of their old icon.

Good intentions

You could argue that because these reanimations are uniquely engaging, they can be used for virtuous purposes. Consider a reanimated Martin Luther King Jr., speaking to our currently polarized and divided nation, urging moderation and unity. Wouldn’t that be grand? Or what about a reanimated Mordechai Anielewicz, the commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, speaking at the trial of a Holocaust denier like David Irving?

But do we know what MLK would have thought about our current political divisions? Do we know what Anielewicz would have thought about restrictions on pernicious speech? Does bravely campaigning for civil rights mean we should call upon the digital ghost of King to comment on the impact of populism? Does fearlessly fighting the Nazis mean we should dredge up the AI shadow of an old hero to comment on free speech in the digital age?

No one can know with certainty what Martin Luther King Jr. would say about today’s society.
AP Photo/Chick Harrity

Even if the political projects these AI avatars served were consistent with the deceased’s views, the problem of manipulation – of using the psychological power of deepfakes to appeal to emotions – remains.

But what about enlisting AI Agatha Christie to teach a writing class? Deep fakes may indeed have salutary uses in educational settings. The likeness of Christie could make students more enthusiastic about writing. Fake Aristotle could improve the chances that students engage with his austere Nicomachean Ethics. AI Einstein could help those who want to study physics get their heads around general relativity.

But producing these fakes comes with a great deal of responsibility. After all, given how engaging they can be, it’s possible that the interactions with these representations will be all that students pay attention to, rather than serving as a gateway to exploring the subject further.

Living on in the living

In a poem written in memory of W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden tells us that, after the poet’s death, Yeats “became his admirers.” His memory was now “scattered among a hundred cities,” and his work subject to endless interpretation: “the words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living.”

The dead live on in the many ways we reinterpret their words and works. Auden did that to Yeats, and we’re doing it to Auden right here. That’s how people stay in touch with those who are gone. In the end, we believe that using technological prowess to concretely bring them back disrespects them and, perhaps more importantly, is an act of disrespect to ourselves – to our capacity to abstract, think and imagine.

Nir Eisikovits directs UMass Boston’s Applied Ethics Center, which receives funding from the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He’s also a data ethics advisor to mindguard.com

Daniel J. Feldman 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. AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries – https://theconversation.com/ai-reanimations-making-facsimiles-of-the-dead-raises-ethical-quandaries-256771

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Nostalgic foods and scents like fresh-cut grass and hamburgers grilling bring comfort, connection and well-being

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Chelsea Reid, Associate Professor of Psychology, College of Charleston

The foods and scents we associate with our childhoods can provide a meaningful source of comfort and connection. zeljkosantrac/E+ via Getty Images

Walking around my neighborhood in the evening, I am hit by the smells of summer: fresh-cut grass, hamburgers grilling and a hint of swimming pool chlorine. These are also the smells of summers from my adolescence, and they remind me of Friday evenings at the community pool with my friends and our families gathered around picnic tables between swims. The memories always brings a smile to my face.

As a social psychologist, I shouldn’t feel surprised to experience this warm glow. My research focuses on nostalgia – a sentimental longing for treasured moments in our personal pasts – and how nostalgia is linked to our well-being and feelings of connection with others.

Triggered by sensory stimuli such as music, scents and foods, nostalgia has the power to mentally transport us back in time. This might be to important occasions, to moments of triumph and – importantly – moments revolving around close family and friends and other important people in our lives.

As it turns out, this experience is good for us.

How the concept of nostalgia evolved

For centuries, nostalgia was considered unhealthy.

In the 1600s, a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer studied mercenaries in the Italian and French lowlands who longed desperately for their mountain homelands. Witnessing their weeping and despondency, he coined the term nostalgia and attributed it to a brain disease. Other thinkers of the time echoed this view, which persisted through the 18th and 19th centuries.

However, early thinkers made an error: They assumed that nostalgia was causing unpleasant symptoms. It may have been the reverse. Unpleasant experiences, such as loneliness and grief, can arouse nostalgia, which can then help people cope more effectively with these hardships.

Today, researchers view nostalgia as a predominantly positive, albeit bittersweet, emotional experience that serves as a source of psychological well-being. Importantly, this view has been supported by scientific research.

Part of what makes nostalgia so intense is the bittersweet blend of feelings that it brings up.

How nostalgia inspires connection and belonging

Nostalgia provides many benefits. It enhances feelings of optimism and inspiration and makes people view themselves more positively. When people feel nostalgic, they feel a greater sense that their lives are meaningful.

The social benefits of nostalgia are particularly well supported. Nostalgia increases empathy and the willingness of people to give to those around them, such as volunteering for community events and donating to charities.

Nostalgia also makes people feel more socially connected to their loved ones by enhancing feelings that they are loved by, connected to, protected by and trusting of others. Nostalgia helps people feel more secure in their close relationships and enhances relationship satisfaction.

While nostalgia is a universal experience, it is also deeply personal. The moments for which we are each nostalgic and the stimuli that might trigger our nostalgic memories can vary from one person to the next depending on the experiences that each of us have. But people within the same culture may find similar stimuli to be nostalgic for them. In a 2013 study, for instance, my team found that American participants rated pumpkin pie spice as the most nostalgia-evoking scent out of a variety of options.

Many nostalgia-inducing scents vary from person to person, but pumpkin pie spice may be one of the most evocative scents in the U.S.
Redjina Ph/Moment via Getty Images

The nostalgic power of scents and foods

In 1922, the French novelist Marcel Proust wrote about the strength of scents and foods to elicit nostalgia. He vividly described how the experience of smelling and eating a tea-soaked cake mentally transported him back to childhood experiences with his aunt in her home and village. This sort of experience is now often referred to as the Proust effect.

Science has confirmed what Proust described. Our olfactory system, the sensory system responsible for our sense of smell, is closely linked to brain structures associated with emotions and autobiographical memory. Smells combine with tastes to create our perception of flavor.

Foods also tend to be central to social gatherings, making them easily associated with these memories. For instance, a summer barbecue might feel incomplete to some without slices of juicy watermelon. And homemade pumpkin pie may be an essential dessert at many Thanksgiving tables. The watermelon or pie may then serve as what are known in social psychology as social surrogates, foods that serve as stand-ins for valued relationships due to their inclusion at past occasions with loved ones.

My research team and I wanted to know how people benefited from feeling nostalgic when they encountered the scents and foods of their pasts. We began in 2011 by exposing study participants to 33 scents and chose 12 of them for our study. Participants rated some scents, such as pumpkin pie spice and baby powder, as highly evocative of nostalgia, while rating others – such as money and cappuccino –as less evocative.

Those who experienced more nostalgia when smelling the scents experienced greater positive emotions, greater self-esteem, greater feelings of connection to their past selves, greater optimism, greater feelings of social connectedness and a greater sense that life is meaningful.

We came to similar conclusions when we studied nostalgia for foods. Foods seemed to be more strongly linked to nostalgia than either scents or music when comparing the amount of nostalgia our participants experienced for foods to what previous research participants experienced for scents and songs. More recently, we found that nostalgic foods are comforting and that people find nostalgic foods comforting because those nostalgic foods remind them of important or meaningful moments with their loved ones.

For some, a summer barbecue wouldn’t be complete without the smell and taste of juicy watermelon.
GMVozd/E+ via Getty Images

Balancing benefits and trade-offs

Although nostalgia can be associated with foods that should be eaten only in moderation – such as burgers and cookies – there are other ways to channel our nostalgia through foods.

We can have nostalgia with healthy foods. For instance, orange slices remind me of halftime at childhood soccer matches. And many people, including our research participants, feel intense nostalgia around watermelon. Other researchers have found that tofu is a nostalgic food for Chinese participants.

But when nostalgia does involve consumption of unhealthy foods, there are still other ways to experience it without the health trade-offs. We found that participants experienced the benefits of food-evoked nostalgia just from imagining and writing about the foods – no consumption necessary. Other researchers have found that drawing comforting foods can enhance well-being. Even consuming less healthy foods more mindfully helps people enjoy their food while reducing their caloric consumption.

Once seen as detrimental to our health, nostalgia provides us with an opportunity to reap numerous rewards. With nostalgic foods, we might be able to nourish both our bodies and our psychological health.

Chelsea Reid 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. Nostalgic foods and scents like fresh-cut grass and hamburgers grilling bring comfort, connection and well-being – https://theconversation.com/nostalgic-foods-and-scents-like-fresh-cut-grass-and-hamburgers-grilling-bring-comfort-connection-and-well-being-256192

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: When you lose your health insurance, you may also lose your primary doctor – and that hurts your health

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jane Tavares, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer of Gerontology, UMass Boston

Seeing the same doctor on a regular basis is good for your health. Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images

When you lose your health insurance or switch to a plan that skimps on preventive care, something critical breaks.

The connection to your primary care provider, usually a doctor, gets severed. You stop getting routine checkups. Warning signs get missed. Medical problems that could have been caught early become emergencies. And because emergencies are both dangerous and expensive, your health gets worse while your medical bills climb.

As gerontology researchers who study health and financial well-being in later life, we’ve analyzed how someone’s ties to the health care system strengthen or unravel depending on whether they have insurance coverage. What we’ve found is simple: Staying connected to a trusted doctor keeps you healthier and saves the system money. Breaking that link does just the opposite.

And that’s exactly what has us worried right now. Members of Congress are debating whether to make major cuts to Medicaid and other social safety net programs. If the Senate passes its own version of the tax-and-spending package that the House approved in May 2025, millions of Americans will soon face exactly this kind of disruption – with big consequences for their health and well-being.

How people end up uninsured

Someone can lose their health insurance for a number of reasons. For many Americans, coverage is tied to employment. Being fired, retiring before you turn 65 and become eligible to enroll in the Medicare program, or even getting a new job can mean losing insurance. Others wind up uninsured due to a different array of changes: moving to a different state, getting divorced or aging out of a parent’s plan after their 26th birthday.

And those who buy their own coverage may find that they can no longer afford the premiums. In 2024, average premiums on the individual market exceeded more than US$600 per month for many adults, even with subsidies.

Government-sponsored insurance programs can also leave you vulnerable to this predicament. The Senate is currently considering its own version of a tax-and-spending bill the House of Representatives passed in May that would make cuts and changes to Medicaid. If the provisions in the House bill are enacted, millions of Americans who get health insurance through Medicaid – a health insurance program jointly run by the federal government and the states that is mainly for people who have low incomes or disabilities – would lose their coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Medicaid was established in the 1960s, explains a scholar of the program’s history.

Consequences of becoming uninsured

Health insurance is more than a way to pay medical bills; it’s a doorway into the health care system itself. It connects people to health care providers who come to know their medical history, their medications and their personal circumstances.

When that door closes, the effects are immediate. Uninsured people are much less likely to have a usual source of care – typically a doctor or another primary care provider or clinic you know and trust. That relationship acts as a foundation for managing chronic conditions, staying current with preventive screenings and getting guidance when new symptoms arise.

Researchers have found that adults who go uninsured for even six months become significantly more likely to postpone care or forgo it altogether to save money. In practical terms, this means they’re less likely to be examined by someone who knows their medical history and can spot red flags early.

The Affordable Care Act, the landmark health care law enacted during the Obama administration, made the number of Americans without insurance plummet. The share of people without insurance fell from 16% in 2010 to 7.7% in 2023.

The people who got insurance coverage, particularly those who were middle age, saw big improvements in their health.

Researching the results

In research that looked at data collected from 2014 to 2020, we followed what happened to 12,000 adults who were 50 or older and lived across the nation.

Our research team analyzed how their experiences changed when they lost, and sometimes later regained, a regular source of care during those six years.

Many of the participants in this study had multiple chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The results were striking.

Those who didn’t see the same provider on a regular basis were far less likely to feel heard or respected by health care professionals. They had fewer medical appointments, filled fewer prescriptions and were less likely to follow through with recommended treatments.

Their health also deteriorated considerably over the six years. Their blood pressure and blood sugar levels rose, and they had more elevated indicators of kidney impairment compared with their counterparts who had regular care providers.

The longer they went without consistent health care, the worse these clinical markers became.

Warning signs

Preventive care is one of the best tools that both patients and their health care providers have to head off major health problems. This care includes screenings like cholesterol and blood pressure checks, mammograms, PAP smears and prostate exams, as well as routine vaccinations. But most people only get preventive care when they stay engaged with the health care system.

And that’s far more likely when you have stable and comprehensive health insurance coverage.

Our research team also examined what happened to preventive care based on whether the participants had a regular doctor. We found that those who kept seeing the same providers were almost three times more likely to get basic preventive services than those who did not.

Over time, these missed preventive care opportunities can add up to a big problem. They can turn what could have been a manageable issue into an emergency room visit or a long, expensive hospital stay.

For example, imagine a man in his 50s who no longer gets cholesterol screenings after losing insurance coverage. Over several years, his undiagnosed high cholesterol leads to a heart attack that could have been prevented with early medication. Or a woman who skips mammograms because of out-of-pocket costs, only to face a late-stage cancer diagnosis that might have been caught years earlier.

Waiting too long to deal with a health condition can mean you make a trip to the emergency room, increasing the cost of care for you and others.
FS Productions/Tetra images via Getty Images

Shifting the costs

Patients whose conditions take too long to be diagnosed aren’t the only ones who pay the price.

We also studied how stable care relationships affect health care spending. To do this, we linked Medicare claims cost data to our original study and tracked the medical costs of the same adults age 50 and older from 2014 to 2020. One of our key findings is that people with regular care providers were 38% less likely to incur above-average health care costs.

These savings aren’t just for patients – they ripple through the entire health care system. Primary care stability lowers costs for both public and private health insurers and, ultimately, for taxpayers.

But when people lose their health care coverage, those savings disappear.

Emergency rooms see more uninsured patients seeking care that could have been handled earlier and more cheaply in a clinic or doctor’s office. While hospitals are legally required to provide emergency care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, much of the resulting cost goes unreimbursed.

Hospitals foot the bill for about two-thirds of those losses. They pass the other third along to private insurance companies through higher hospital fees. Those insurers, in turn, raise their customers’ premiums. Larger taxpayer subsidies can then be required to keep hospitals open.

Seeing Medicaid as a lifeline

For the nearly 80 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid, the program provides more than coverage.

It contributes to the health care stability our research shows is critical for good health. Medicaid makes it possible for many Americans with serious medical conditions to have a regular doctor, get routine preventive services and have someone to turn to when symptoms arise – even when they have low incomes. It helps prevent health care from becoming purely crisis-driven.

As Congress considers cutting Medicaid funding by hundreds of billions of dollars, we believe that lawmakers should realize that scaling back coverage would break the fragile links between millions of patients and the providers who know them best.

Jane Tavares receives funding from from the SCAN Foundation, the RRF Foundation for Aging, and Milbank Memorial Fund .

Marc Cohen receives funding from the SCAN Foundation, the RRF Foundation for Aging and Milbank Memorial Fund .

– ref. When you lose your health insurance, you may also lose your primary doctor – and that hurts your health – https://theconversation.com/when-you-lose-your-health-insurance-you-may-also-lose-your-primary-doctor-and-that-hurts-your-health-258380

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Precise measurement standards have revolutionized museum science, helping nail down where artifacts are from

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Edward Vicenzi, Research Scientist, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution

Museums and their bountiful collections are research bastions. Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images

On a cool February morning in 1904, a spark ignited a fire in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Within hours, a raging inferno swept eastward across the harbor district, consuming everything in its path. By evening, the local firefighters were overwhelmed, and the city sent telegrams to the fire chiefs of major Northeastern cities pleading for help in battling the blaze.

Washington, Philadelphia and New York, along with other cities, responded quickly with dozens of engine companies. Yet when they arrived at the scene, many responders could not hook up to Baltimore’s hydrants since each city had its own threading standards to connect fire hoses.

The fire resulted in damages of over US$3.5 billion in today’s dollars. It created a call for a national standard of threads for hoses and fire hydrant outlets. These standards now improve emergency responses across the country – and the same concept of standardization allows for consistency and replicability in scientific research.

An illustration of the aftermath of the Great Baltimore Fire in February 1904.
Fred Pridham/Wikimedia Commons

In science, the ideal way to evaluate data is related to the concept driving the calls for uniform fire hose equipment. When scientists compare their results to those obtained in other laboratories, or with previously published data, the comparisons are most meaningful if all datasets were made with standardized practices and reference materials.

Museum scientists like us provide compelling insights into the natural world, prehistory and historical culture heritage. Like that of many other scientists, our work, and the measurements we take day to day, depends upon standard references.

Here we offer two fascinating stories from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute that highlight how scientific measurement standards allow for exciting new discoveries:

You are what you drink

In 2007, the New Mexico Bureau of Reclamation exhumed the remains of dozens of Civil War-era soldiers from the ruins of Fort Craig. They had been left behind when the fort was abandoned in 1885.

A historical view of Fort Craig, N.M.
Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico, CC BY-NC-SA

Anthropologists from the Smithsonian and the Bureau of Reclamation in New Mexico identified the remains as belonging to a diverse range of people – including a few dozen African American Buffalo Soldiers, a group that made up a relatively small percentage of the U.S. military at that time.

Historical records tell researchers that most of the military units at Fort Craig mobilized out of Kentucky and Virginia, but official records don’t always tell the full story. The group of project scientists, which included one of us, Christine France, needed a way to confirm the origin of these individuals and restore some identity to these forgotten soldiers.

The researchers decided to use stable isotope analysis on the bones. This technique counts the number of atoms of a particular element in the sample that have one or more extra neutrons – this is the “heavy” isotope – and compares it with the number of atoms that have a normal number of neutrons – this is the “light” isotope.

Drinking water in southern latitudes has more naturally occurring heavy oxygen atoms compared with northern latitudes. If a soldier’s bones had a relatively high ratio of the heavy to the light oxygen atoms, that soldier likely spent more time drinking water from the South.

Researchers have measured oxygen isotopes in other archaeological remains and in water all over North America, giving us a water “isotope map.” But matching the bone isotope values to the water map is like comparing apples to oranges, and every lab has subtle variations in its instruments. The scientists needed to normalize and calibrate the isotope ratios they had measured to a reference standard.

In this case, the standard was the average oxygen isotope value of ocean water, a convention that stable isotope researchers agreed upon as a consistent and readily available value. The researchers now had a uniform way to say how many more – or fewer – heavy oxygen isotopes the bones contained compared to the ocean water standard.

Other archaeology labs and the North American water isotope map use that same standard comparison, allowing them to directly compare all the bone isotope values to one another, and to the North American water isotope map.

Ultimately, the method helped the team identify several soldiers who came from quite far away to join the company, including individuals who likely grew up in the mid-Atlantic, New England and Southeast.

The exact circumstances that brought these soldiers together is lost to history. But the researchers’ ability to assign them geographic provenance with the help of reference standards gave them further insight into this pivotal time in U.S. history.

Volcanic glass mirrors

Humans have always been fascinated by looking at themselves in the mirror. In Mesoamerica – modern-day central and southern Mexico together with northern Central America – archaeologists have found convex round objects so finely polished that they have been termed mirrors.

But instead of using them for vanity, shamans from ancient times likely used them as a tool to access portals to other dimensions.

The oldest Preclassic mirrors (2000 BCE to 250 CE) were fashioned from polished iron ores, but later Postclassic period mirrors (900 CE to 1450 CE) were made from obsidian, a typically black silica-rich volcanic glass.

The collections at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian contain six large, rectangular obsidian mirrors, purchased in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their labels state they come from the “Valley of Mexico.”

Obsidian tablets, a view of both their front and back sides, found in the National Museum of the American Indian collections.
NMAI, Martinez et al (2022)

Archeologists rarely find rectangular obsidian mirrors like these at pre-Columbian dig sites. So, local artisans skilled in stone polishing likely made these unusually shaped objects upon request by Spanish invaders around the time of European contact. But which Mesoamerican culture did they come from?

Scientists from the Museum Conservation Institute, including two of us, Thomas Lam and Edward Vicenzi, and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, worked with staff at the National Museum of the American Indian on an effort to pinpoint which volcano created the obsidian in the mirrors.

The location of the obsidian source would indicate whether the Aztecs who controlled eastern central Mexico, or the Purépecha who controlled an area west of the Aztecs, produced the objects, as both had ample sources of obsidian in their territories.

To conduct such a study, the researchers required two types of reference materials: obsidian that had erupted from known volcanic locations, and a reference obsidian that scientists already knew the composition of to confirm the quality of the analysis.

The first reference obsidians, from known locations, told the researchers about the differences in geochemistry of the volcanoes in central Mexico. That information allowed them to match the mirror analyses to the known volcanic location analyses and their map coordinates. The second reference obsidian served as a quality control specimen for the analysis.

Museum Conservation Institute scientists used a nondestructive technique called X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to analyze ratios of elements in the obsidians. The process works by “exciting” atoms in the obsidian, and a spectrum of X-ray energies is given off as the atoms “relax.”

Scientists analyzed the obsidian shards to see which elements were present in them in which ratios, and where in Mexico obsidian contained similar elements at similar ratios.
Sharps et al. (2021)

The results showed that all the specimens came from a region controlled by the Purépecha, not the Aztecs. The museum curators updated their records describing the mirrors to include this new information about their origin.

Creating standards

Standardized measurement procedures and reference materials play a central role in museum science. Organizations dedicated to rigorous measurement science, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal government agency, help create some of these standards and research new measurement procedures.

Without their leadership, it would be far more difficult for researchers like us to produce high-quality data and discern the relationships between specimens in the natural and cultural heritage sciences. With quality measurement standards in our toolbox, we are finding new insights into human history and the natural world.

Edward Vicenzi is a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Material Measurement Laboratory.

Christine France and Thomas Lam do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Precise measurement standards have revolutionized museum science, helping nail down where artifacts are from – https://theconversation.com/precise-measurement-standards-have-revolutionized-museum-science-helping-nail-down-where-artifacts-are-from-254025

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Advancing protection from violence against women in conflict: civil society voices at the centre

Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

Headline: Advancing protection from violence against women in conflict: civil society voices at the centre

Participants of the three-day exchange on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses, Vienna, 9 June 2025. (OSCE) Photo details

From 9 to 11 June, 16 women human rights defenders and civil society representatives from Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina met in Vienna to highlight the urgent need to prioritize addressing violence against women and girls in post-conflict reconstruction and recovery efforts.
The three-day exchange built on previous meetings facilitated by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme in Sarajevo (2022), Vienna (2023), and Tbilisi (2024), fostering providing a platform for grassroots actors to share practical insights from their work in conflict-affected contexts. Discussions focused on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses.
Women activists from Syria and Colombia contributed their valuable cross-regional , offering insights into how rights-based recovery efforts are can be inclusive, effective, and responsive to the needs of women and girls.
“This exchange is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that gender justice and survivor-centred responses are integral to sustainable recovery,” said Dr. Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues. “The lessons we are gathering from grassroots actors are shaping how we support efforts to build back better with safety, dignity, and equality at the core.”
Participants engaged directly with high-level representatives of the OSCE and its participating States, advocating for flexible and sustained support to survivors of violence, increased investment in shelters and psychosocial and health services, and the continued recognition of women-led civil society as a critical force for stability and inclusion.
The exchange was organized by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme’s flagship WIN Project, which works to strengthen women’s participation in conflict prevention, mediation, and broader efforts related to comprehensive security. The June event in Vienna was supported by the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE, and co-hosted by Ambassador Svendsen Ellen.

MIL OSI Europe News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Advancing protection from violence against women in conflict: civil society voices at the centre

Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

Headline: Advancing protection from violence against women in conflict: civil society voices at the centre

Participants of the three-day exchange on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses, Vienna, 9 June 2025. (OSCE) Photo details

From 9 to 11 June, 16 women human rights defenders and civil society representatives from Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina met in Vienna to highlight the urgent need to prioritize addressing violence against women and girls in post-conflict reconstruction and recovery efforts.
The three-day exchange built on previous meetings facilitated by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme in Sarajevo (2022), Vienna (2023), and Tbilisi (2024), fostering providing a platform for grassroots actors to share practical insights from their work in conflict-affected contexts. Discussions focused on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses.
Women activists from Syria and Colombia contributed their valuable cross-regional , offering insights into how rights-based recovery efforts are can be inclusive, effective, and responsive to the needs of women and girls.
“This exchange is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that gender justice and survivor-centred responses are integral to sustainable recovery,” said Dr. Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues. “The lessons we are gathering from grassroots actors are shaping how we support efforts to build back better with safety, dignity, and equality at the core.”
Participants engaged directly with high-level representatives of the OSCE and its participating States, advocating for flexible and sustained support to survivors of violence, increased investment in shelters and psychosocial and health services, and the continued recognition of women-led civil society as a critical force for stability and inclusion.
The exchange was organized by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme’s flagship WIN Project, which works to strengthen women’s participation in conflict prevention, mediation, and broader efforts related to comprehensive security. The June event in Vienna was supported by the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE, and co-hosted by Ambassador Svendsen Ellen.

MIL OSI Europe News –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Novel Diagnostic Technology Disrupting Diabetic Retinopathy Market Generating Billions in Revenue Opportunities

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

PALM BEACH, Fla., June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – The global diabetic retinopathy market has shown a consistent growth in recent years and is expected to continue for the coming several years. According to a report, Grand View Research said that the global diabetic retinopathy market size was estimated at USD 9.48 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2025 to 2030. One of the main factors expected to fuel market expansion is the growing incidence of diabetes in older individuals and the rising prevalence of blindness caused by diabetes. The introduction of novel diagnostic technologies and treatments and the increased awareness are driving the market expansion. The report said: “Diabetes is a globally prevalent health concern. It can result in Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), which is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the retina. DR leads to blurred vision and vision loss in most cases. International Diabetes Federation estimates that 1 in 8 adults will be living with diabetes in 2050. It also states urbanization, an aging population, decreasing physical activity, and the growing prevalence of obesity are some of the key aspects contributing to the rise in type 2 diabetes. DR is a serious microvascular complication of type I and type II diabetes. It is often caused by prolonged high blood sugar levels that damage the blood vessels in the retina. It can progress to sight-threatening stages, which can cause blindness and visual impairment if not treated. According to a report published by the WHO, DR is responsible for 4.8% of the 37 million blindness cases in the world. The prevalence of this condition in the U.S. is expected to increase rapidly. Despite all the necessary measures adopted by the diabetic population, DR can lead to permanent blindness based on the disease stage and severity of the condition. Active healthcare/tech companies active in the markets include: Avant Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI), Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM), Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO), Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ: PODD), Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT).

Grand View Research continued: “Individuals with diabetes are at risk for diabetes-related eye diseases, such as cataracts, DR, macular edema, and glaucoma. DR is one of the main causes of blindness in the U.S. The same organization also states that up to 21.0% of type 2 diabetes patients have DR at the time of their initial diabetes diagnosis. In addition, a majority of them may develop DR over time. This condition is a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), nearly 11 million people in the U.S. are estimated to have DR by 2030. According to a CDC analysis, early detection and treatment can prevent more than 90.0% of diabetes-related visual impairment. Intensive blood glucose management can reduce the risk of DR by 27.0%; therefore, the rising prevalence of blindness is expected to be one of the major drivers of the diabetic retinopathy industry… significant R&D expenditure and new launches driven by research-based product developments are anticipated to facilitate market expansion. Technological advancements and new product launches fuel market growth.” It added: “The global market is characterized by a high degree of innovation owing to rapid technological advancements and an increase in research and development activities. Prominent players in the market are involved in a moderate level of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities, which can be attributed to factors such as the need to acquire new product development facilities, enhance capabilities, and expand product portfolios… In addition to meeting the growing demand, regional expansion provides companies with an opportunity to tap into previously untapped customer bases. This strategy enables them to strengthen their position in the market and increase their market shares.”

Avant Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI) JV Partner, Ainnova, Begins Diabetic Retinopathy Screenings with Leading Pharmacies – Avant Technologies, Inc. (“Avant” or the “Company”) and its JV partner, Ainnova Tech, Inc., (Ainnova), a leading healthcare technology company focused on revolutionizing early disease detection using artificial intelligence (AI), today announced that screenings for diabetic retinopathy begin this week in collaboration with Grupo Dökka and its leading pharmacy subsidiaries, Fischel Pharmacies and La Bomba Pharmacies located in Central America.

Both Fischel and La Bomba Pharmacies have asked their diabetic customers to schedule a free screening as part of a collaborative program where Ainnova will use its cutting-edge AI platform, Vision AI, to help identify changes in the retina using a quick and non-invasive scan of the patient’s retina.

Vinicio Vargas, Chief Executive Officer at Ainnova and a member of the Board of Directors of Ai-nova Acquisition Corp., a joint venture company created by both Avant and Ainnova, said of the benefits for the collaboration, “As we begin similar initiatives in Mexico, our goal is to close the patient care loop with timely treatment—connecting every step of the journey. We are integrating pharma, retail, ophthalmologists, and our technology into a unified experience, all driven by one incentive: the well-being of the diabetic patient. Projects like this allow us to validate the model across diverse populations and sectors as part of our strategy to reach the market in a smarter, more efficient way—where the biggest winners are the patients.”

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the main causes of vision loss in people with diabetes. Although, in its early stages, it may not present symptoms, it can be detected with a simple and quick screening. CONTINUED… Read this and more news for Avant Technologies at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-avai/

In other developments and happenings in the biotech market recently include:

Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM), a leading insulin delivery and diabetes technology company, recently announced an agreement to develop and commercialize integrated diabetes solutions that combine Abbott’s future dual glucose-ketone sensor with Tandem’s innovative insulin delivery systems to provide more options for people to manage their diabetes.

The Abbott sensor, currently under development, will combine glucose and ketone sensing technology that aims to help people living with diabetes detect early ketone rise to avoid life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis. “Integrating our advanced insulin delivery systems with Abbott’s future glucose-ketone sensor has the potential to help empower people with diabetes to take faster, more informed action to protect their health and improve outcomes,” said John Sheridan, president and chief executive officer. “We are excited to continue our partnership with Abbott and look forward to working with them to bring this new integration to customers in the future.”

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) recently announced that it will advance subcutaneous and oral amycretin into phase 3 development in weight management based on completed clinical studies. The decision to advance subcutaneous and oral amycretin into phase 3 is based on feedback received from regulatory authorities following end-of-phase 2 interactions for subcutaneous and oral amycretin in weight management.

“We are very pleased that the feedback from regulatory authorities has allowed us to take subcutaneous and oral amycretin in weight management to phase 3,” said Martin Lange, executive vice president for Development at Novo Nordisk. “We are excited about the amycretin molecule, and this marks an important step forward. We look forward to sharing more information on the design of the phase 3 programme.”

Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ: PODD), the global leader in tubeless insulin pump technology, recently announced that the Omnipod^® 5 App for iPhone is now compatible with the Dexcom G7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) System.

With this latest integration, the Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) System combines the benefits of tubeless AID and Dexcom’s latest diabetes management technology, all conveniently controlled from an iPhone.

“This integration represents a major milestone in our commitment to providing innovative solutions for diabetes management,” said Eric Benjamin, Insulet Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Customer Experience Officer. “With the addition of the Dexcom G7 sensor to the Omnipod 5 App for iPhone, our U.S. customers have more choice with fewer devices to keep track of, making it easier than ever to manage their diabetes.”

Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, recently announced MiniMed as the name for the planned New Diabetes Company following the intended separation. The name honors the company’s roots, reflecting its original name prior to its acquisition by Medtronic in 2001, and a deep 40-year history of being at the forefront of transforming diabetes care around the world.

“Our journey began in 1983, when visionary entrepreneur Alfred E. Mann founded MiniMed and revolutionized diabetes care with many first-of-its-kind innovations that pushed the boundaries of care and helped simplify life with diabetes for countless people around the world,” said Que Dallara, current EVP and President of Medtronic Diabetes and Chief Executive Officer designate of MiniMed. “We’re thrilled to honor this rich 40-year legacy with a name that carries deep meaning and trust. As we step forward into this new and exciting chapter, we’ll focus relentlessly on fulfilling our Mission to make diabetes more predictable so everyone can embrace life to the fullest.”

About FN Media Group:

At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases

Follow us on Facebook to receive the latest news updates: https://www.facebook.com/financialnewsmedia

Follow us on Twitter for real time Market News: https://twitter.com/FNMgroup

Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/financialnewsmedia/

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 expects to be compensated forty nine hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Avant Technologies, Inc. by a non-affiliated third party. 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.

Contact Information:

Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757

SOURCE: FN Media Group

The MIL Network –

June 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Locus Technologies Integrates with the Latest USGS Produced Water Database

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

The enriched software drives contextual business intelligence for the oil and gas industry

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Locus Technologies, the sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) compliance software leader, announced its new integration with the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Produced Waters Geochemical Database, simplifying compliance reporting for the oil and gas sector and enabling benchmarking against independent, scientifically validated data. Through this integration, geochemical records and water-related data from oil and gas wells across major U.S. basins—particularly those associated with hydraulic fracking—will be available to users of Locus Environmental Information Management (EIM) software, Locus GIS+, Locus Platform, and the company’s Produced Water App. The integration enriches geospatial analysis and accelerates strategic planning, placing an organization’s operational compliance and analytical data in the context of 100+ years of aggregated government records and 28 years of anonymized Locus data.

“This is a game changer for oil and gas companies as they responsibly manage produced water,” said Neno Duplan, founder and CEO of Locus Technologies. “We are positioning enterprises to focus their resources on substantive action plans rather than on aggregating siloed information. By leveraging open data intelligently, Locus continues to lead in delivering not just software—but the knowledge and context our customers need to succeed in today’s ESG- and CSRD-driven landscape.”

Locus software users tap chemistry sampling results from produced water and other deep formations from as early as 1905. The data spans 155 parameters, including metals, volatiles, gases, salts, radionuclides, and field readings, from 113,135 locations across the US and southern Canada. The publicly available dataset, released by USGS in December 2023, is the latest compilation and includes well descriptions, dates, rock properties, physical properties of the water, organic chemistry, and much more.

“It’s incredibly powerful, enabling customers to instantly generate visualizations of their data compared to USGS by region, depth, and chemistry, define regional chemical profiles and reuse thresholds, or flag anomalies in water quality trends – in seconds,” said Duplan. “We’ve aggregated the largest curated dataset available for AI and machine learning in the oil and gas water quality domain, and our integrated AI tools yield unprecedented insight and predictive power for Locus customers to manage their water metrics and quality.”

To learn more about Locus software and this integration, please visit http://www.locustec.com.

About Locus Technologies
Locus Technologies, the global environmental, social, governance (ESG), sustainability, and EHS compliance software leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to be credible with ESG reporting. From 1997, Locus pioneered enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) for EHS compliance, water management, and ESG credible reporting. Locus apps and software solutions improve business performance by strengthening risk management and EHS for organizations across industries and government agencies. Organizations ranging from medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises, such as Sempra, Corteva, Chevron, DuPont, Chemours, San Jose Water Company, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port of Seattle, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, have selected Locus. Locus is headquartered in Mountain View, California. For further information regarding Locus and its commitment to excellence in SaaS solutions, please visit http://www.locustec.com or email info@locustec.com.

Media Contact:
Brenda Mahedy
Locus Technologies
media@locustechnologies.net

The MIL Network –

June 18, 2025

Category: Americas

Restoration at scale

New methods

UK turns the screw on Putin as allies unite behind Ukraine

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said:

Additional infomation

Share this page

Updates to this page

Pooled procurement reduces drug costs

Trade-offs with pooled procurements

USAID cuts and global drug access

Employers are rethinking talent pipelines

What employers want

Technology is changing how hiring happens

This isn’t just about new grads

Show up early, and show up well

Why it matters

What still isn’t known

Measuring college readiness

Reflecting deep inequities

Where does higher ed go from here?

Jim Crow dreams

Eisenhower sends in the troops

State troops, state rights

Democracy is in the streets

Moral quandaries

Good intentions

Living on in the living

How the concept of nostalgia evolved

How nostalgia inspires connection and belonging

The nostalgic power of scents and foods

Balancing benefits and trade-offs

How people end up uninsured

Consequences of becoming uninsured

Researching the results

Warning signs

Shifting the costs

Seeing Medicaid as a lifeline

You are what you drink

Volcanic glass mirrors

Creating standards