NewzIntel.com

Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI USA: H.R. 2625, Veterans Employment Readiness Yield Act of 2025

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    H.R. 2625 would replace the term “employment handicap” with “employment barrier” in title 38 of the U.S. Code, which governs veterans’ benefits.

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers programs that offer vocational rehabilitation assistance to veterans with service-connected disabilities that limit their ability to find employment. That limitation is referred to as a “handicap” under current law. Much of VA’s recently published materials concerning the vocational rehabilitation program have already replaced references to “handicap” with “barrier” or similar terms. CBO expects that the costs to update any additional material would be less than $500,000 over the 2025‑2035 period; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Paul B.A. Holland. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

    Phillip L. Swagel

    Director, Congressional Budget Office

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gillibrand, Warren, Wyden, Schumer Welcome Frank Bisignano To Social Security Administration With Nearly 200 Unanswered Questions, Push For Answers On Behalf Of Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand
    Lawmakers Sent Bisignano 17 Letters Previously Sent To Acting Commissioner Dudek
    Bisignano And The Trump Administration Could Cut Benefits For 3.8 Million New Yorkers Who Rely On Social Security
    U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to welcome newly-confirmed Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Frank Bisignano to the agency with copies of 17 letters — containing nearly 200 unanswered questions — that the lawmakers had previously sent to the SSA under Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek. The push is the latest in the Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room efforts to fight back against President Trump and Elon Musk’s attacks on Social Security.
    “As ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I am committed to protecting benefits for the 3.8 million New Yorkers and 69 million Americans who rely on Social Security to pay their bills, afford medical care, and put food on the table,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Recipients have been paying into the system their entire lives with the understanding that they will receive a return on their investment. The US government made a promise to our seniors to take care of them, and it’s our responsibility to make sure Commissioner Bisignano and the Trump administration keep that promise.”
    Since President Trump took office, Elon Musk and his team at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have worked to dismantle the Social Security Administration. Senate Democrats sent 17 letters to the SSA — helmed by then-Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek — pressing for answers and fighting back against the attack on Americans’ services and benefits.
    Following Senate Republicans’ vote to confirm Frank Bisignano last week, the lawmakers redelivered all 17 of these letters, along with a note pressing Bisignano to respond and answer for DOGE’s attacks on the SSA.  
    “We have not received responses to the vast majority of our questions. In fact, Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek has reportedly instructed staff to not respond to public or congressional inquiries. The limited answers we have received have been unsatisfactory,” wrote the lawmakers in their note to Bisignano.
    The lawmakers also highlighted their past requests for information from Bisignano — most of which went unanswered. 
    “You repeatedly claimed that, because you were not yet working at SSA, you did not have sufficient information to answer. You made these claims despite the fact that a former SSA employee whistleblower has reported that you have been participating extensively in high-level operational, management, and personnel decisions at SSA. Regardless of your previous claims, though, you have now been sworn in and have access to the information you claimed you need to provide us answers,” the lawmakers continued.
    Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
    The full text of the Senators’ letters can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE arrests former Massachusetts music teacher and Filipino man for sexually exploiting children

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a former private school music teacher and a Filipino man on charges alleging that the two produced videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minor boys in the Philippines.

    ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested Joshua DeWitte, 50, of Cambridge on May 8 and Christopher Allan Tisoy, 27, a Filipino national residing in Baltimore, Maryland on May 7. Both were charged with one count each of sexual exploitation of minors, attempt, and conspiracy.

    According to the charging documents, at the time of the alleged conduct, DeWitte was a music teacher at a local school in Massachusetts. Tisoy, a citizen of the Philippines who lawfully entered the United States in September 2024 on a H-1B Visa, is employed as a medical technologist at the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.

    According to the charging documents, in December 2024, DeWitte was allegedly identified as the owner of a Snapchat account that uploaded a file of suspected child sexual abuse material depicting the abuse of a boy who appears to be between approximately eight and 10 years old. Records obtained from Snapchat allegedly showed that, in September 2024, DeWitte engaged in multiple conversations that were sexual in nature with users who presented themselves as minors. In those conversations, it is alleged that DeWitte requested nude pictures from the purported minors; sent pictures of his penis to the purported minors; and discussed previous and potential in-person meetups for sexual relations with minors.

    Additionally, it is further alleged that DeWitte paid, and offered to pay, another Snapchat user to obtain and produce child pornography and to recruit minor boys for himself.

    Based on that information, state law enforcement obtained a search warrant for DeWitte’s Cambridge residence in January 2025. DeWitte was then arrested and charged in Cambridge District Court with six counts of disseminating obscene material to a child, one count of distribution of material depicting a child in a sexual act and one count of possession of child pornography. He was later released on conditions.

    According to the charging documents, HSI’s forensic examination of DeWitte’s cell phone seized at the time of his January 2025 arrest allegedly revealed a Telegram conversation between DeWitte and another user in which DeWitte allegedly shared three video files and stated, “I was in the Philippines. Most of my vids are from there and that’s where I was with a 10 yo and 12. 16 yo in Japan and Korea;” and “I have a contact there…He only records vids of the boys or arranges for my visit.”

    It is alleged that a separate Telegram conversation between DeWitte and Tisoy was located on DeWitte’s phone, in which they discussed four minor boys by name and arranged for the production of videos depicting the sexual exploitation of at least two minor boys in the Philippines.

    Specifically, it is alleged that in the conversations, DeWitte and Tisoy negotiated the terms of creating sexually explicit videos involving minors, including which minors should be involved; which sex acts the minors should perform; who should film, including whether a third party or one of the minors themselves should film; what angles should be filmed; and how much DeWitte should pay Tisoy for each video. The negotiation allegedly incorporated the sexual preferences of both DeWitte and Tisoy, with both agreeing on what they would each find sexually gratifying. Tisoy then allegedly relayed instructions to the minor victims to create a video.

    DeWitte allegedly paid Tisoy for each video Tisoy produced and sent. It is alleged that, between July 3, 2023, and Dec. 27, 2024, DeWitte sent 87 PayPal payments to Tisoy, in amounts ranging from $27 to $958, to film the sexual exploitation of minors in the Philippines — totaling to approximately $23,752.

    Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274 or contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

    The charge of sexual exploitation of minors, attempt, and conspiracy provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    The investigation was led by HSI New England’s Child Exploitation group with valuable assistance from the Cambridge Police Department, HSI Baltimore, the Maryland Department of State Police, and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

    The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    Report suspected child exploitation to the ICE Tip Line at 866-347-2423 or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE leads investigation as 4 Mexican nationals charged in international smuggling conspiracy bringing migrants from Canada into the US

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — Four Mexican nationals unlawfully residing in the United States were charged May 2 for their roles in an international human smuggling conspiracy that illegally brought aliens across the Canadian border to the United States for profit.

    Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 23, unlawfully residing in Kansas City, Kansas; Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 35, unlawfully residing in Oakwood, Georgia; Samuel Diaz-Perez, 26, unlawfully residing in Dublin, Ohio; and Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 32, unlawfully residing in Columbus, Ohio, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States and 25 counts of bringing aliens illegally to the United States for profit. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the defendants at multiple locations throughout the United States. They are currently detained. Ignacio Diaz-Perez and Salvador Diaz-Diaz had been previously removed from the United States.

    “These individuals acted in blatant disregard of our nation’s laws, allegedly smuggling hundreds of aliens into the United States for thousands of dollars each,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan. “They’re alleged to have repeatedly put the public at risk through dangerous vehicle chases with law enforcement further demonstrating their contempt for the law and safety of others. We work every day with our partners in the U.S. Border Patrol and are proud to support the security of our borders and uphold public safety in our communities.”

    “As alleged, these defendants illegally entered this country and then sought to smuggle hundreds of aliens per week to the United States from Mexico, Central America, and South America through the Canadian border,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendants instructed smuggled aliens to make testimonial videos touting the enterprise’s services. In reality, the defendants imperiled their human cargo and innocent American lives when they repeatedly engaged in life-threatening conduct, including multiple high-speed getaways from law enforcement.”

    According to court documents, the four defendants were part of an alien smuggling organization that has been operating for the last two years in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The four defendants, in exchange for money, conspired with others to smuggle hundreds of aliens per week from Mexico, Central America, and South America through Canada, into northern New York, including Franklin and Clinton Counties, as alleged in court documents. The aliens or their family members paid thousands of dollars to be smuggled into the United States. The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly facilitated the illegal travel of the aliens from Mexico to Canada and then across the northern border, where they were picked up and driven farther into the United States.

    On multiple occasions members of the alien smuggling organization led local and federal law enforcement officers on high-speed vehicle chases along the U.S. northern border, creating a grave public safety risk, according to court documents. For example, in April 2023, smugglers allegedly fled the Burke Border Patrol Station’s sector at a high rate of speed after setting off a border sensor. Border Patrol successfully stopped the vehicle and apprehended the smugglers, who were transporting seven adult aliens and three minors. In another incident, in May 2023, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office used a tire deflation device to stop a van carrying aliens after it allegedly failed to yield to both federal and state law enforcement. The smugglers and aliens allegedly fled on foot after the vehicle was disabled. As additionally alleged, in August 2023, a vehicle carrying aliens that was fleeing from Border Patrol drove into Plattsburgh, New York, where it drove erratically, passed vehicles in a congested traffic area, ran a red light, and struck a motorist at an intersection. The driver and six illegal aliens fled the accident scene on foot but eventually were apprehended.

    “This case demonstrates our relentless efforts to secure our northern border against the criminal organizations profiting from human smuggling and other illegal activities,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York. “We are grateful for our partnership with Joint Task Force Alpha as we work to dismantle these transnational criminal organizations and make our North Country communities safer.”

    “These charges are a testament to the hard work of the men and women of the United States Border Patrol and its partner agencies,” said Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector. “The days of catch-and-release are over, and the reality is clear; if you attempt to enter the United States illegally, if you attempt to smuggle or traffic human beings, you will be apprehended and you will face severe consequences.”

    HSI Rouses Point and U.S. Border Patrol Burke Station led U.S. investigative efforts, with substantial assistance from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. and CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kugler, Economic Outlook

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Reamonn. It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to speak in the beautiful country of Ireland and here at the Central Bank of Ireland. The histories of the U.S. and Ireland are intertwined. Our friendship is enduring, and our economies are closely tied. The Irish economy and the Bank stand as examples of the benefits of being open to international connections and the sharing of the best ideas and practices. I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet with my counterparts here and continue this great friendship. It is also wonderful to see many members of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). NABE and its members have made many important contributions to the field of economics; as such, I always enjoy speaking to this esteemed group.1
    I am particularly delighted to contribute to this conference on trade, technology, and policy. As an academic, part of my research has investigated the link between trade and productivity. And in my current role, I have highlighted these themes in several of my recent speeches, including the role of recent advancements in technology, such as artificial intelligence, as well as the role of business formation in terms of boosting U.S. productivity over the past few years.2 Today, I would like to focus my attention on the current outlook for the U.S. economy and how I am thinking about the path of monetary policy. Of course, given current developments, I will focus on the role played by trade policy and how it may affect the economy and productivity going forward.
    While the latest data show a resilient economy, I expect growth this year to be slower than last. Labor market conditions have been mostly stable. Inflation remains above the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) 2 percent target, and further progress on disinflation has been slow. Looking ahead, I am monitoring the effects of changing trade policies, as I see them as likely having a significant effect on the U.S. and global economies in the near future.
    Trade policies are evolving and are likely to continue shifting, even as recently as this morning. Still, they appear likely to generate significant economic effects even if tariffs stay close to the currently announced levels, and the uncertainty associated with these tariffs has already generated effects on the economy through front-loading, sentiment, and expectations. Let me start by describing how I see current economic conditions.
    Economic ActivityRegarding overall economic activity, it is currently hard to judge the underlying pace of growth of the U.S. economy, as the gross domestic product (GDP) release for the first quarter showed strong evidence of front-loading of imports ahead of tariffs. GDP contracted at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter after expanding 2.5 percent during 2024. However, the latest GDP figure likely overstates the deceleration in activity, as a 41.3 percent surge in imports apparently did not get fully picked up in the inventory data or other components of spending. The size of the swings in imports may make the measurement of activity more difficult.
    It is helpful to look at private domestic final purchases (PDFP), a measure of demand in the private sector: It rose at a rate of 3 percent in the first quarter—similar to the pace recorded last year. Still, the strength in PDFP also likely reflects some pull-forward of purchases by businesses and consumers to get ahead of tariffs.
    The Federal Reserve’s April Beige Book and conversations with contacts also point toward front-loading in auto sales or other high-end goods. However, the Beige Book and various indicators of consumer and business confidence also point to a downbeat tone about underlying economic activity down the road. For instance, the Beige Book notes that several Districts see a deterioration in demand for travel and other nonfinancial services and indicates that businesses may put investments on hold moving forward. Several other economic indicators that I track suggest some signs of declining economic activity in the future. For instance, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers index for April shows that new orders have been declining since February.
    Labor MarketOn the employment side of our mandate, conditions seem to be mostly stable. The most recent employment report showed that employers created 177,000 new jobs in April, in line with the average of the previous six months. The unemployment rate was 4.2 percent—still within the narrow and historically low range of 4 to 4.2 percent—where it has remained since May of 2024. In addition, the pace of layoffs remains modest. New applications for unemployment benefits have remained relatively stable at historically low levels. However, I am carefully watching other sources of data for any signs that the labor market could be shifting, given the broader uncertainty. Some forward-looking measures of layoffs have increased, such as the number of mentions of the word “layoff” in the Beige Book.
    In terms of the demand for workers, the U.S. Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that the vacancy rate—the number of vacant jobs as a percentage of total employment and vacant jobs—declined to 4.3 percent in March, the lowest in six months. The government data showed that the ratio of vacancies to the number of unemployed Americans was 1.0 in March, below its 2019 average of 1.2—also indicating the continuing easing of U.S. labor markets. Overall, job growth remains positive, and unemployment is still low, but I am watching a broad range of incoming readings carefully.
    InflationOn the other side of our dual mandate is inflation. After two years of notable progress following U.S. inflation reaching its pandemic-era peak, progress on disinflation has slowed since last summer. Inflation remains somewhat above the FOMC’s 2 percent goal. At the Fed, the inflation reading we track most closely is the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. The March report, released on April 30, showed that the 12-month change in the PCE price index was 2.3 percent; the core PCE price index—which excludes food and energy prices—rose 2.6 percent over the same period.
    To help me judge the path of future inflation, I pay careful attention to two subcategories of the index. One is core goods prices, which exclude volatile food and energy prices. The second is nonhousing market-based services, which are based on transactions such as car maintenance and haircuts, not imputed prices. Goods inflation was negative for most of 2024—as was the norm for several years before the pandemic—but it was positive early this year. In contrast, nonhousing market services inflation stayed elevated through March, coming in at 3.4 percent. That category often provides a good signal of inflationary pressures across all nonhousing services. Looking ahead, I find it critical to monitor not only the most up-to-date data but also the changing economic policies around the world.
    Economic Effects of Global Policy ChangesTo pause briefly, I would like to take a moment to discuss the Fed’s structure. The Fed operates independently from the elected government in Washington. We make our policies to best achieve the goals given to us by Congress of maximum employment and price stability. As such, it is not my role to comment on the policies offered by the U.S. government or any government around the world. Rather, I make assessments of the likely effects of these policies, observe the behavior of the U.S. and world economies, and develop views about the best U.S. monetary policy to achieve our dual-mandate goals.
    The U.S. is implementing policy changes in trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation, and other economies are also changing their policies in the areas of trade and fiscal spending, particularly in defense, which could stimulate aggregate demand. But given that the most important changes have occurred so far in the area of trade policy, today I would like to discuss some important economic channels through which changes in tariffs may affect the U.S. economy.
    Although higher tariffs on U.S. imported goods may affect our macroeconomy through many channels, some of which I will describe next, I think they will primarily act as a negative supply shock, raising prices and decreasing economic activity. While uncertainty remains about the ultimate level of the average tariff rate, currently announced average tariffs in the U.S. are still much higher than they were in the past many decades. If tariffs remain significantly larger relative to earlier in the year, the same is likely to be true for the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.
    How do I expect this to play out? In the near term, higher import costs will raise prices for both consumer goods and inputs to production. On their own, imported goods represent about 11 percent of U.S. GDP. However, given that several intermediate goods, such as aluminum and steel have been tariffed, and they affect costs in many sectors of the economy, prices of many goods and services are also likely to be affected. In addition, in conversations with business contacts, I have heard that firms are paying attention to the price sensitivity of consumers across the entire catalog of items sold and may spread price increases to less price-sensitive items to avoid reducing their profit margins. A Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey of Texas business executives found that 55 percent of respondents expect to pass through most or all of the costs from higher tariffs to customers.3 Of those expecting to pass on costs, 26 percent expect to pass through the higher tariff cost upon the announcement of tariffs, and 64 percent expect this pass-through to occur within the first three months after the tariffs take effect. That would suggest that price increases may be observed soon.
    Given these expected price increases, real incomes will fall, and operating costs will rise, which will lead consumers to demand fewer final goods and services and firms to demand fewer inputs. Ultimately, I see the U.S. as likely to experience lower growth and higher inflation. Over time, there could also be significant effects on productivity. As firms adjust to the higher input costs and lower demand, they may cut back on capital investment and shift to a less-efficient combination of inputs. Additionally, less-efficient domestic firms may increase their market share.4 All of this may result in a decrease in potential output growth, lowering the underlying pace of economic activity in the U.S.
    In addition to any direct effect from actual global policy changes, consumers, businesses, and market participants have reported high levels of uncertainty about which policies may be ultimately chosen and how long they will remain in place. In fact, in recent months, several measures of economic uncertainty have risen sharply.
    There are several types of measures that quantify economic uncertainty, with two types having gained prominence among economists closely monitoring the U.S. economic outlook.5 Some are based on financial market transactions, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index, popularly called the VIX. Others are based on the occurrence of certain keywords associated with the concept of uncertainty in newspapers of wide circulation, such as the economic policy uncertainty and trade policy uncertainty readings.6 These measures of uncertainty have reached historical highs in recent months. Similarly, I also saw the word “uncertainty” being highly cited in the Beige Book I reviewed before the FOMC’s policy meeting last week.7
    In times of heightened uncertainty, businesses may delay investment decisions, and consumers may increase precautionary savings and postpone discretionary purchases. Moreover, the economic research literature has documented that these decisions from businesses and consumers reverberate through the economy, pushing down aggregate demand. Firms, anticipating lower demand for their services and products, may post fewer job openings and cut back on investments to expand capacity. While the labor market has remained broadly resilient, the JOLTS data for March showed that job openings fell. Workers, therefore, may have a more difficult time finding employment, decreasing economy-wide income and aggregate demand.8 This lower aggregate demand may then exert downward pressure on inflation, though probably not by enough to offset the effect from the adverse supply shock that I previously mentioned. For example, recent data show that prices for accommodations and airfares have fallen, consistent with an increasing number of anecdotal reports of weaker consumer demand for discretionary travel services.
    I am also monitoring the effect of policy changes on another important channel: inflation expectations. For instance, consumers and businesses have reported tariffs as an important reason for having increased their near-term inflation expectations. Several surveys, including those from the Conference Board and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and New York, have found that consumers and businesses expect higher inflation one year from now. Another closely watched survey from the University of Michigan showed that one-year-ahead inflation expectations in April were higher than in the pandemic period. This increase in short-run expectations may give businesses more leeway to raise prices.
    Most longer-run measures, including those from the Philadelphia Fed’s Survey of Professional Forecasters and the New York Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations, show either stability or much smaller increases in inflation expectations, which does provide some comfort to me. Additionally, inflation compensation, which is based on yields from Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, has increased only for short-term maturities, such as one year ahead, and has shown stability in maturities over the five years starting five years from now. Still, I have taken note of the increase in longer-term inflation expectations from the Michigan survey, which reached the highest level since June 1991. Given these developments, I am keeping a close watch on inflation, because as I have indicated in the past, I believe it is critical to keep long-term inflation expectations very well anchored at 2 percent.
    Looking globally, international developments do not seem to be adding inflationary pressures to the U.S. Economic growth in most developed economies remains moderate, and domestic inflation in those countries has declined from elevated levels. In Europe, activity data point to modest growth as the region deals with headwinds stemming from past energy shocks and competitive pressures from elsewhere in the world. The New York Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index has been relatively stable since the beginning of the year. Oil prices have declined significantly since January.
    Monetary PolicyI have discussed a lot of data and developments with you today. To summarize, the U.S. economy has remained resilient up until now, with a still-stable labor market. Meanwhile, the disinflationary process has slowed. This comes against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty as households, businesses, and, indeed, monetary policymakers process the changes to economic policies that are happening around the world. Going forward, I will continue to closely monitor the direct effects of global economic policies on prices and employment, as well as the indirect economic effects from uncertainty, inflation expectations, and productivity.
    U.S. monetary policymakers on the FOMC met last week in Washington. At that meeting, the Committee voted to maintain its policy rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. Given the upside risks to inflation and given that I still view our policy stance as somewhat restrictive, I supported the decision to keep rates at that level. With inflation and employment potentially moving in opposite directions down the road, I will closely monitor developments as I consider the future path of policy.
    I view our current stance of monetary policy as well positioned for any changes in the macroeconomic environment. I remain committed to achieving both of our dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices.
    Thank you for your attention today—and thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you here in Dublin. It has been an honor and a privilege. I look forward to your questions.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See Adriana D. Kugler (2025), “Entrepreneurship and Aggregate Productivity,” speech delivered at the 2025 Miami Economic Forum, Economic Club of Miami, Miami, Florida, February 7. Also, see Adriana D. Kugler (2024), “A Year in Review: A Tale of Two Supply Shocks,” speech delivered at the Detroit Economic Club, Detroit, Michigan, December 3. Return to text
    3. The special questions included in the survey of Texas business executives is available on the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ website at https://www.dallasfed.org/research/surveys/tbos/2025/2504q#tab-all. Return to text
    4. For the effects of tariffs on productivity, see Marcela Eslava, John Haltiwanger, Adriana Kugler, and Maurice Kugler (2013), “Trade and Market Selection: Evidence from Manufacturing Plants in Colombia,” Review of Economic Dynamics, vol. 16 (January), pp. 135–58; Marcela Eslava, John Haltiwanger, Adriana Kugler, and Maurice Kugler (2004), “The Effects of Structural Reforms on Productivity and Profitability Enhancing Reallocation: Evidence from Colombia,” Journal of Development Economics, vol. 75 (December), pp. 333–71; and Davide Furceri, Swarnali A. Hannan, Jonathan D. Ostry, and Andrew K. Rose (2022), “The Macroeconomy after Tariffs,” World Bank Economic Review, vol. 36 (May), pp. 361–81. Return to text
    5. For a literature review on quantifying uncertainty, see Danilo Cascaldi-Garcia, Cisil Sarisoy, Juan M. Londono, Bo Sun, Deepa D. Datta, Thiago Ferreira, Olesya Grishchenko, Mohammad R. Jahan-Parvar, Francesca Loria, Sai Ma, Marius Rodriguez, Ilknur Zer, and John Rogers (2023), “What Is Certain about Uncertainty?” Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 61 (June), pp. 624–54. Return to text
    6. For more details on the economic policy uncertainty index, see Scott R. Baker, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis (2016), “Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 131 (November), pp. 1593–1636. For more details on the trade policy uncertainty index, see Dario Caldara, Matteo Iacoviello, Patrick Molligo, Andrea Prestipino, and Andrea Raffo (2020), “The Economic Effects of Trade Policy Uncertainty,” Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 109 (January), pp. 38–59. Return to text
    7. The April 2025 Beige Book is available on the Federal Reserve Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook202504-summary.htm. Return to text
    8. For studies documenting how uncertainty shocks may act as adverse aggregate demand shocks, see Sylvain Leduc and Zheng Liu (2016), “Uncertainty Shocks Are Aggregate Demand Shocks,” Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 82 (September), pp. 20–35, as well as Susanto Basu and Brent Bundick (2017), “Uncertainty Shocks in a Model of Effective Demand,” Econometrica, vol. 85 (May), pp. 937–58. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africans seeking resettlement in USA are not refugees – President Ramaphosa

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has refuted the classification of a group of South Africans as refugees, who are seeking resettlement in the United States of America. 

    The President was speaking during a Presidential panel at the African CEO Forum 2025 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on Monday. 

    He was asked by the panel facilitator, Larry Madowo, about his reaction to the 49 white South African ‘refugees’, who are currently on their way to the United States and will be received by the government of President Donald Trump. 

    “We’ve raised our own concern because those people who are being enticed to go to the United States do not fit the definition of a refugee. A refugee is someone who has to leave their country out of fear of political persecution, religious persecution or economic persecution, and they don’t fit that bill. They don’t fit that description.

    “Those people who have fled are not being persecuted. They are not being hounded. They are not being treated badly. They are leaving ostensibly because they don’t want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country, in accordance with our Constitution,” President Ramaphosa said. 

    He explained that he clarified to President Trump that these individuals are opposed to constitutional changes and do not represent the majority. 

    “I had a conversation with President Trump on the phone… [and] I [told him that] what [he has] been told by those people who are opposed to transformation back home in South Africa is not true. 

    “I told [President Trump] that we were well taught by Nelson Mandela and other iconic leaders like Oliver Tambo on how to continue to build a united nation out of the diverse groupings that we have in South Africa,” President Ramaphosa said. 

    President Ramaphosa went on to explain that South Africa is the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to settle and were never driven out. 

    “We are the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to stay, and we have never driven them out of our country…” he said.

    President Ramaphosa further emphasised South Africa’s commitment to unity and transformation, as taught by former President Nelson Mandela, and expressed a willingness to meet up with President Trump to discuss the matter further. 

    “…We intend to proceed with the implementation of our constitutional architecture, and I thought in my conversation with him, early in the morning, at four o’clock South African time, [that President Trump] understood that. I said I’d like to come and meet him so that we can discuss this matter further,” President Ramaphosa said. 

    He also noted that the US seems to have misunderstood the situation but is open to continued dialogue. 

    “…We think that the American government has got the wrong end of the stick here, but we’ll continue talking to them,” he said. 

    When asked whether Elon Musk would be part of his upcoming face-to-face meeting with the Trump administration, President Ramaphosa responded: “Well, I don’t know. They will determine whether Elon Musk is part of it or not. I will go with my own South African delegation.” 

    The Africa CEO Forum is the leading platform for CEOs of the largest continental and multinational companies, investors, Heads of State and Government, Ministers and representatives of financial institutions.

    President Ramaphosa is accompanied by the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe and the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. – SAnews.gov.za 

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Lamola hopes SA’s G20 Presidency will transform lives of the needy

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    South Africa is making significant progress in its historic Presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), having convened 51 meetings across various working groups since December 2024. 

    These meetings have addressed some of the most pressing challenges facing the global community and demonstrate a strong commitment to finding sustainable and innovative solutions through dialogue, collaboration, and cooperation.

    This is according to Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, who held a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday on South Africa’s G20 Presidency.

    The Minister emphasised that progress should not be measured by the number of meetings held but by the tangible improvements in citizens’ lives and the promotion of global solidarity.

    “Progress is not defined by the number of meetings we host or by the number of documents we deliver. Progress is defined by finding concrete and collective solutions to our challenges, and by how we improve the lives of all citizens, in particular the most vulnerable and most needy,” he said on Monday. 

    South Africa assumed the role of Presidency of the G20 on 1 December 2024, taking over from Brazil. 

    The nation is championing critical global priorities, including disaster resilience, debt sustainability for low-income countries, and a Just Energy Transition.

    “From the recent meetings, it is important to note that while there are divergences on some issues, as to be expected in multilateral engagements, there is still overwhelming support for South Africa’s priorities by G20 Members.

    “Furthermore, when our G20 Sherpa briefed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on our G20 priorities in March 2025, the meeting also expressed strong support for our G20 Presidency agenda.”

    Meanwhile, he highlighted South Africa’s G20 Presidency’s efforts to strengthen African agency in global governance. 

    This includes the need for Africa to address economic development, political instability, and governance weaknesses, stressing the importance of youth employment, digitalisation, and inclusive growth.

    The Presidency has established task forces on economic development, food security, and artificial intelligence governance.

    This year’s Presidency aims to promote solidarity, equality, and sustainability, advocating for equitable credit, climate financing, and debt relief.

    Lamola explained that the country’s Presidency is also undertaking a comprehensive review of the G20’s working methods, with plans to present findings at the upcoming summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre.

    The key focus areas include strengthening multilateral cooperation, addressing climate change, and promoting inclusive economic growth.

    “South Africa’s G20 Presidency stands firm in the belief that multilateral cooperation is not optional – it is imperative. Unilateral actions that undermine the rules-based order risk reversing decades of progress.”

    South Africa is also focusing on the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, advocating for reforms in global governance and sustainable development.

    “In the current geopolitical and geoeconomic global headwinds, there are high expectations on South Africa to deliver positive outcomes, advance innovative solutions to global challenges, and rebuild the trust of the international community in the G20.”

    The Minister has urged South Africans to take ownership of the Presidency. 

    “Engage with it, own it, and hold us accountable.” 

    In addition, he announced the release of “Africa’s Call” song by Ndu Shezi featuring Wav Choir that embodies and reflects the spirit of Ubuntu, African identity, and G20 Presidency’s mission. 

    “This anthem, now streaming globally, is a reminder that culture and our common humanity unite us even as we debate and sometimes disagree on policies. I invite all citizens to listen, share, and let their message of hope resonate in all communities across South Africa.” – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Glenda Gray, Distinguished Professor, Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Executive Director Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Chief Scientific Officer, South African Medical Research Council

    The loss of research capability means losing an understanding of how to prevent or treat HIV. Photo by sergey mikheev on Unsplash

    The Trump administration’s cuts to funding for scientific research have left many scientists reeling and very worried. At the National Institutes of Health in the US, which has an annual budget of US$47 billion to support medical research both in the US and around the world, nearly 800 grants have been terminated. The administration is considering cutting the overall budget of the National Institutes of Health by 40%.

    In South Africa, where tensions are running high with the new Trump administration over land reform and other diplomatic fault lines, scientists have had research grants from the National Institutes of Health suspended. Glenda Gray, who has been at the forefront of HIV/Aids scientific research for decades, assesses the impact of these cuts.

    How have the cuts affected your research? When did you start worrying?

    There was subliminal fear that started to percolate at the end of January. I said to my team, we need to start looking at our grants. We need to start looking at our exposure.

    The first institute to go under the Trump administration’s cuts was USAID. The multibillion-dollar agency that fought poverty and hunger around the world was the first to face the chop.

    As a result, a USAID-funded US$46 million consortium on HIV vaccine discovery and experimental medicine to evaluate first in Africa or first in human HIV vaccines was terminated.

    Then in mid-April, funding for a clinical trial in Soweto near Johannesburg in South Africa was marked as “pending”. The unit was involved in trials for HIV vaccines. On top of that,  four global research networks on HIV/Aids prevention and treatment strategies were told by the National Institutes of Health in the US that they could no longer spend any money in South Africa. The Soweto unit was affiliated with those networks.

    So basically you can’t start new studies in South Africa?

    There is a great deal of uncertainty. I’m sitting on many calls, working out how we survive in the next couple of months.

    I’m going from bankrupt to absolutely bankrupt in terms of our ability to do work.

    We’ve been doing scenario planning, looking at all our contingencies, but it’s very hard to know exactly what you’re doing until you have the relevant documentation in front of you.

    To all intents and purposes for the next period, South Africa is eliminated from the National Institutes of Health networks and its scientific agenda.

    How is the South African government responding?

    The government doesn’t have the kind of money to replace the substantial amount of finances that we got through the National Institutes of Health competitive processes. However scientists have been working together with the Medical Research Council, Treasury and various government departments to plot the best way forward.

    Everyone’s been writing grant proposals, speaking to the Gates Foundation, speaking to the Wellcome Trust, looking at public-private partnerships, talking to other philanthropists. But the bottom line is that funding is never going to be at the kind of level that will replace the research infrastructure that we’ve got.

    To get money from the National Institutes of Health we had to compete with all scientists all over the world. This wasn’t just aid being doled out to us.

    Where does this leave the future of research in South Africa for HIV vaccine trials?

    South Africa has been able to contribute to global guidelines to improve care. The loss of research capability means that you lose the knowledge or the value of understanding HIV prevention, HIV vaccines or therapeutics.

    We in South Africa have the infrastructure, we have the burden of disease, the sciences, the regulator and ethical environment and the ability to answer these questions. And so it’s going to take the world a lot longer to answer these questions without South Africa.

    If we slow down research, we slow down HIV vaccine research, we slow down cures and we slow down other HIV prevention methodologies.

    And so basically you slow down the process of knowledge generation.

    What does it feel like to be a scientist right now in South Africa?

    South African scientists are resilient. We’ve had to weather many storms, from the explosion of HIV to Aids denialism … watching people die, getting people onto treatment, having vaccine trials that have failed.

    You have to be resilient to be a scientist in this field.

    It’s going to be very hard to bring the fight against HIV/Aids back to the current level again.

    It feels now like we are deer in the headlights because we don’t know how to pivot.

    This is an edited transcript of an interview with Professor Gray aired in a podcast produced by The Conversation UK. You can listen to the full podcast here.

    Glenda Gray receives funding from US-NIH which is currently being evaluated. .

    – ref. US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost – https://theconversation.com/us-funding-cuts-have-crippled-our-hiv-work-whats-being-lost-255645

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Glenda Gray, Distinguished Professor, Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Executive Director Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Chief Scientific Officer, South African Medical Research Council

    The Trump administration’s cuts to funding for scientific research have left many scientists reeling and very worried. At the National Institutes of Health in the US, which has an annual budget of US$47 billion to support medical research both in the US and around the world, nearly 800 grants have been terminated. The administration is considering cutting the overall budget of the National Institutes of Health by 40%.

    In South Africa, where tensions are running high with the new Trump administration over land reform and other diplomatic fault lines, scientists have had research grants from the National Institutes of Health suspended. Glenda Gray, who has been at the forefront of HIV/Aids scientific research for decades, assesses the impact of these cuts.

    How have the cuts affected your research? When did you start worrying?

    There was subliminal fear that started to percolate at the end of January. I said to my team, we need to start looking at our grants. We need to start looking at our exposure.

    The first institute to go under the Trump administration’s cuts was USAID. The multibillion-dollar agency that fought poverty and hunger around the world was the first to face the chop.

    As a result, a USAID-funded US$46 million consortium on HIV vaccine discovery and experimental medicine to evaluate first in Africa or first in human HIV vaccines was terminated.

    Then in mid-April, funding for a clinical trial in Soweto near Johannesburg in South Africa was marked as “pending”. The unit was involved in trials for HIV vaccines. On top of that,  four global research networks on HIV/Aids prevention and treatment strategies were told by the National Institutes of Health in the US that they could no longer spend any money in South Africa. The Soweto unit was affiliated with those networks.

    So basically you can’t start new studies in South Africa?

    There is a great deal of uncertainty. I’m sitting on many calls, working out how we survive in the next couple of months.

    I’m going from bankrupt to absolutely bankrupt in terms of our ability to do work.

    We’ve been doing scenario planning, looking at all our contingencies, but it’s very hard to know exactly what you’re doing until you have the relevant documentation in front of you.

    To all intents and purposes for the next period, South Africa is eliminated from the National Institutes of Health networks and its scientific agenda.

    How is the South African government responding?

    The government doesn’t have the kind of money to replace the substantial amount of finances that we got through the National Institutes of Health competitive processes. However scientists have been working together with the Medical Research Council, Treasury and various government departments to plot the best way forward.

    Everyone’s been writing grant proposals, speaking to the Gates Foundation, speaking to the Wellcome Trust, looking at public-private partnerships, talking to other philanthropists. But the bottom line is that funding is never going to be at the kind of level that will replace the research infrastructure that we’ve got.

    To get money from the National Institutes of Health we had to compete with all scientists all over the world. This wasn’t just aid being doled out to us.

    Where does this leave the future of research in South Africa for HIV vaccine trials?

    South Africa has been able to contribute to global guidelines to improve care. The loss of research capability means that you lose the knowledge or the value of understanding HIV prevention, HIV vaccines or therapeutics.

    We in South Africa have the infrastructure, we have the burden of disease, the sciences, the regulator and ethical environment and the ability to answer these questions. And so it’s going to take the world a lot longer to answer these questions without South Africa.

    If we slow down research, we slow down HIV vaccine research, we slow down cures and we slow down other HIV prevention methodologies.

    And so basically you slow down the process of knowledge generation.

    What does it feel like to be a scientist right now in South Africa?

    South African scientists are resilient. We’ve had to weather many storms, from the explosion of HIV to Aids denialism … watching people die, getting people onto treatment, having vaccine trials that have failed.

    You have to be resilient to be a scientist in this field.

    It’s going to be very hard to bring the fight against HIV/Aids back to the current level again.

    It feels now like we are deer in the headlights because we don’t know how to pivot.

    This is an edited transcript of an interview with Professor Gray aired in a podcast produced by The Conversation UK. You can listen to the full podcast here.

    – US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost
    – https://theconversation.com/us-funding-cuts-have-crippled-our-hiv-work-whats-being-lost-255645

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King Works with Bipartisan Group to Strengthen Civilian Defense Workforce in Maine

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), has joined a bipartisan group of colleagues and introduced legislation to strengthen the civilian defense workforce in Maine and address workforce shortages. Their bill, the Defense Workforce Integration Act would leverage existing programs and best practices within the Department of Defense (DoD) to retain the talent and motivation of those who desire to serve but are classified as “medically disqualified.”
    “The armed services and the State of Maine have worked together for generations to protect our nation and — in Maine — maintain the best built ships in the fleet for the fight,” said Senator King. “But our continued shared success relies on the many hundreds of Maine men and women that work the docks and in support of our defense. Changing Department of Defense best practices to allow more Maine people to contribute is not only good for our state’s economy, but also critical for our national security. Through the Defense Workforce Integration Act, we will continue to support our shipbuilders and civilian defense workforce so we can maintain superiority on the world stage.”
    As defense workforce shortages grow in crucial areas like manufacturing, cybersecurity and defense logistics, the Defense Workforce Integration Act would activate a pool of candidates who are ineligible for military service for reasons ranging from diseases of organs to mental health conditions:
    For applicants who cannot join the military, the legislation directs DoD to enable military personnel managers to provide individuals that are medically disqualified with information about civilian employment opportunities in the following areas: the defense industrial base, cybersecurity, intelligence, research and development of defense technologies, national emergency and disaster preparedness and any other non-military role the Secretary of Defense considers in the national security interest. 
    For servicemembers disqualified early in their careers, the legislation expands on existing Air Force best practices by establishing Army and Navy personnel management programs to execute “warm hand-offs” to DoD civilian hiring authorities for personnel who become medically disqualified during their initial accession and training pipelines. 
    For personnel leaving the military after serving honorably, the legislation leverages existing Navy transition assistance programs to expand awareness of critical civilian roles at Military Sealift Command and workforce training programs for shipbuilders to enhance our civilian maritime workforce. 
    In addition to Senator King, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Seapower Subcommittee, Senator King has championed funding for both Bath Iron Works (BIW) and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). Recently, Senator King and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan discussed the importance of utilizing lessons from the private sector to maintain best practices for ship designing, building, and maintenance. They also discussed the top three priorities for our nation’s shipbuilding capacity: “workforce, workforce, workforce.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Premier’s statement on Vesak

    Premier David Eby has issued the following statement to recognize Vesak:

    “Today, Buddhists in B.C. and around the world commemorate the birth, enlightenment and passing into Nirvana of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. 

    “Vesak, also known as Buddha Day or Buddha Purnima, is the most sacred Buddhist festival. It is a time for reflection, celebration and giving back to the community. Buddhists mark the occasion by visiting temples, participating in rituals and doing acts of charity.

    “Vesak invites us all to reflect on the universal teachings of Buddha – including compassion, generosity and mindfulness – and how we can integrate them into our daily lives. Today is also an opportunity to learn more about the Buddhist faith and reflect on the many contributions the Buddhist community makes to our province.

    “I wish everyone who is celebrating a joyful and peaceful Vesak.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Stefanik Honors Police Officers During National Police Week

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (21st District of New York)

    Stefanik Honors Police Officers During National Police Week | Press Releases | Congresswoman Elise Stefanik

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lightweight Liberal Enters Iowa Gubernatorial Race

    Source: US Republican Governors Association

    The following text contains opinion that is not, or not necessarily, that of MIL-OSI –

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican Governors Association (RGA) issued the following statement in response to Democrat Rob Sand entering the Iowa gubernatorial race:

    “Democrats’ media darling Rob Sand is just another extreme liberal, supporting guys playing in girls’ sports and opposing President Trump’s agenda. Sand would turn Iowa into Tim Walz’s Minnesota: higher taxes and radical liberal values,” said Republican Governors Association Communications Director Courtney Alexander. “Iowans want a governor who will protect their values and tax dollars, not one who needs his rich family to be named the ‘Influencer of Iowa Democrats’ by the New York Times.”

    Snapshot of Rob Sand’s record:

    • Supports biological men playing in girls’ sports and using taxpayer dollars to pay for radical gender transition surgeries
    • Opposed Gov. Kim Reynolds using law enforcement to help secure the border in Texas
    • Failed to uncover $27 million in misallocated funds
    • Called President Trump a “Madman” and “Bigoted”
    • Promoted by Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, and Co-Chaired Joe Biden’s Iowa campaign
    • Defended AOC’s “Green New Deal”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. and Royal Moroccan Armed Forces Launch African Lion 25 in Morocco

    Source: United States AFRICOM

    AFRICOM logo PNG_release thumbnail.png

    U.S. and Royal Moroccan Armed forces officially began the Morocco portion of African Lion 25, the largest annual joint military exercise on the African continent, with training events beginning this week across multiple regions of the Kingdom of Morocco.

    African Lion 25 (AL25) demonstrates the enduring strategic military partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States. The exercise features joint operations involving ground, air, and combined staff components, designed to strengthen regional security, promote interoperability, and build readiness across allied and partner forces.

    “Exercise African Lion 25 exemplifies the robust and enduring defense partnership between the United States and Morocco, showcasing our shared commitment to regional stability and security,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Seward Matwick, the defense attaché for U.S. Embassy Rabat. “Through this joint effort, we enhance our operational readiness and strengthen the bonds of cooperation with our Moroccan counterparts and other participating nations.”

    This year’s Morocco-based activities include field training exercises (FTX), a planning exercise (PLANEX), and live-fire drills, along with humanitarian and academic exchanges focused on enhancing multinational coordination and operational effectiveness. The Kingdom of Morocco is hosting the largest concentration of activities for this iteration of African Lion, reaffirming its role as a cornerstone of regional security cooperation.

    AL25 further deepens the U.S.-Morocco defense partnership through the National Guard’s State Partnership Program. The Utah National Guard—Morocco’s official state partner since 2003— will play a direct role in the humanitarian civic assistance exchange during this year’s exercise.

    AL25 serves as a practical demonstration of U.S. Africa Command’s (USAFRICOM) ability to project power across Africa. From strategic airlift to sustainment operations, the exercise tests and validates the Army’s expeditionary logistics network. 

    African Lion demonstrates our ability to project combat power across Africa,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Hannah K. Williams, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) G4 exercise chief. “The strategic lift, reception, and onward movement of forces and materiel required to support this exercise not only highlight our logistical capabilities, but also our commitment to global readiness. We don’t just move—we position ourselves to respond rapidly and decisively alongside our partners.”

    “Our logistics teams and Moroccan counterparts have developed a seamless working rhythm over the years,” added U.S. Army Maj. Jonathan F. Alvis, SETAF-AF logistics planner for AL25 in Morocco. “Exercises like African Lion show that we don’t just plan together, we solve problems together, under pressure and in real time.”

    Participating nations include Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Israel, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

    “Morocco is a strategic partner that for the last 21 years has been the primary host for Exercise African Lion, their steadfast support, multinational inclusion, and unwavering support make the exercise successful year after year. They remain a vital and trusted partner in our shared pursuit of stability and security in the region,” said Eldridge Browne, Chief of Exercises for SETAF-AF. “African Lion showcases how we train, deploy, and operate together as a combined and joint all domain force.”

    AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by USAFRICOM with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win.

    For media inquiries or to request interviews or embed opportunities, contact:

    SETAF-AF Public Affairs: setaf_mediarelations@army.mil

    DVIDS Feature Page: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/AfricanLionEx

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department Announces Results of Operation Restore Justice: 205 Child Sex Abuse Offenders Arrested in FBI-Led Nationwide Crackdown, Including Five in the Eastern District of Michigan

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    DETROIT – Today, the Department of Justice announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators.  The operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sexual abuse offenders in the nationwide crackdown.  The coordinated effort was executed over the course of five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Department’s Criminal Division, and United States Attorney’s Offices around the country.

    “The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”

    “Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation, and the FBI will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten. By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children.”

    “We are called to protect the most vulnerable members of our community, our children,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.  “Our office will bring the full force of the law against those who exploit innocent children. We are firmly committed to working alongside our federal, state, and local partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute anyone who seeks to hurt our children.”

    “Operation Restore Justice demonstrates the strength of our law enforcement partnerships,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Members of the FBI Detroit Field Office’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, along with the Macomb County FBI Gang and Violent Crime Task Force, greatly appreciate the coordinated efforts and support from our law enforcement partners, including ICE HSI, U.S. Border Patrol, CBP Air and Marine Operations, Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby Township Police Department, Royal Oak Police Department, Belleville Police Department, Westland Police Department, and Centerline Police Department. This operation led to multiple arrests across eastern Michigan, underscoring our commitment to protecting and strengthening community safety.”

    Those charged in the Eastern District of Michigan were:

    Adarius Carr, 36, of Belleville.  Carr is charged in a criminal complaint with distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.  The complaint alleges that Carr communicated with a convicted sex offender over an Internet-messaging service. The two discussed their sexual interest in children and exchanged images and videos of child pornography.

    Aroul Kaliamurthy, 53, of Westland, Michigan. Kaliamurthy was charged in a criminal complaint with transportation, possession, and access with intent to view child pornography.  It is alleged that Kaliamurthy traveled to North Carolina where he took hidden camera videos of a naked prepubescent child. Kaliamurthy is alleged to have possessed these electronic devices as well as images of child pornography on his cell phone and personal computers and brought them back to the Eastern District of Michigan.

    Scott Rocky, 57, of Centerline.  Rocky was charged in a criminal complaint with receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography.  The complaint alleges that Rocky shared approximately 4141 files believed to be child pornography with other internet users over peer-to-peer software.

    Amor Pedro Martinez, 26, of Ecorse.  Martinez was charged in a criminal complaint with receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography.  According to the criminal complaint, Martinez is alleged to have engaged in sexually explicit conversations on a messaging application with other individuals and received child pornography on this application from another user.

    Whitney Williams, 38.  Williams was charged in a criminal complaint with sex trafficking of a minor. According to the criminal complaint, Williams is alleged to have advertised, rented hotel rooms and transported a minor victim to engage in commercial sex acts.

    Others arrested around the country are alleged to have committed various crimes including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking. In Minneapolis, for example, a state trooper and Army Reservist was arrested for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material while wearing his uniforms. In Norfolk, VA, an illegal alien from Mexico is accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sex. In Washington, D.C., a former Metropolitan Police Department Police Officer was arrested for allegedly trafficking minor victims.

    In many cases, parental vigilance and community outreach efforts played a critical role in bringing these offenders to justice. For example, a California man was arrested about eight hours after a young victim bravely came forward and disclosed their abuse to FBI agents after an online safety presentation at a school near Albany, N.Y.

    This effort follows the Department’s observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April and underscores the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face. While the Department, including the FBI, investigates and prosecutes these crimes every day, April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preventing these crimes, seeking justice for victims, and raising awareness through community education.

    The Justice Department is committed to combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.

    The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.

    Other online resources:

    Violent Crimes Against Children

    How we can help you: Parents and caregivers protecting your kids

     

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

     

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department Announces Results of Operation Restore Justice: 205 Child Sex Abuse Offenders Arrested in FBI-Led Nationwide Crackdown, Including Seven in the Western District of Michigan

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

              May 7, 2025 – Today, the Department of Justice announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators.  The operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sexual abuse offenders in the nationwide crackdown.  The coordinated effort was executed over the course of five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Department’s Criminal Division, and United States Attorney’s Offices around the country.

              “The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”

              “Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation, and the FBI will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten. By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children.”

              Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge advised that “With this operation, we are amplifying the message that the Department is fully committed to securing justice for the most innocent of victims: children in our communities.”

              “Operation Restore Justice highlights the importance of collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The members of the FBI Grand Rapids WEBCHEX Task Force and the Lansing Resident Agency appreciate the vital support from our partners, including the Michigan State Police, Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office, Norton Shores Police Department, Grand Rapids Police Department, Lansing Police Department, and the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office. This coordinated effort led to numerous arrests across western Michigan and in Arkansas and Tennessee, with crucial assistance from the FBI Little Rock (Texarkana Resident Agency) and Nashville (Knoxville Resident Agency) Field Offices. Operation Restore Justice demonstrates our shared commitment to public safety in Michigan and throughout the United States.”

              In the Western District of Michigan, seven individuals were arrested and charged with federal crimes: Christian Vanderveen, of Comstock Park; Paul Masko, of Grand Haven; Terry Hopkins, of Muskegon Heights; Martell Scott-Ware, of Grand Rapids; Shauntelle Blackmon, of Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Joesph Brandon, of Knoxville, Tennessee; and George Edward Lebaron, of Egelston Township.

    *  Christian Vanderveen, 24, of Comstock Park, was charged by Complaint with Sexual Exploitation of a Child. According to court documents, Vanderveen repeatedly requested sexually explicit images from a minor who was under the age of thirteen. Evidence obtained from his cell phone revealed the sexually explicit media, as well as Vanderveen’s requests. In an interview with law enforcement, Vanderveen admitted to this conduct.

    If convicted, Vanderveen faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of 30 years.

    This case was investigated by the Michigan State Police and FBI.

    # # #

    *  Paul Masko, of Grand Haven, was indicted for three counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child.  Each charge is punishable by a minimum of 15 years, and a maximum of 30 years, in prison.

    Masko was a teacher at a public school in Muskegon County.  The indictment alleges that Masko gave his phone to a minor victim and directed the minor to take pictures of explicit images of the minor on the minor’s cell phone.

    This case was investigated by the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department, the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, and the FBI.

    # # #

    * Terry Hopkins, of Muskegon Heights, was indicted for possession of child pornography.

    Hopkins was previously convicted of possession of child sexually abusive material on two occasions and criminal sexual conduct with a minor.  As a result, he is subject to an enhanced sentence if convicted – a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

    This case was investigated by the Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Corrections, and the FBI.

    # # #

    * Martell Scott-Ware, 29, of Grand Rapids and Shauntelle Blackmon, 23, of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, were indicted on criminal charges related to alleged sexual exploitation of a child. The grand jury also returned a separate charge accusing Blackmon alone of sex trafficking of a child.

    According to court documents, Scott-Ware and Blackmon are charged with persuading a minor female under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, which Scott-Ware and Blackmon then recorded. Blackmon also allegedly recruited and offered the same minor for commercial sexual activity, both in the Western District of Michigan and in Arkansas.

    If convicted, Scott-Ware and Blackmon each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison on their charge of sexual exploitation of a child. Blackmon faces a separate mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison on the sex trafficking charge.

    The Michigan State Police and FBI investigated this case.

    # # #

    * Joseph Brandon, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was arrested by criminal complaint on charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child.  According to court documents, Brandon formed an agreement with a man in Michigan to use social media accounts to produce and trade child pornography.

    If convicted, Brandon faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of 30 years.

    This FBI investigated this case

    # # #

    *  George Edward Lebaron, of Egelston Township, was arrested by criminal complaint on charges related to alleged coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

    According to court documents, Lebaron is charged with establishing an online relationship with a 14-year-old girl and coercing and inducing her to send him naked pictures of herself.  Lebaron asked another minor girl to also send him naked pictures.  Lebaron was previously convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree for a victim under 13 years old.

    If convicted, Lebaron faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison if convicted of coercion and enticement.  If convicted of receipt of child pornography, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.  If convicted of possession of child pornography, Lebaron faces a mandatory minimum of 10 year and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

    The FBI is investigating this case.

    # # #

              Others arrested around the country are alleged to have committed various crimes including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking. In Minneapolis, for example, a state trooper and Army Reservist was arrested for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material while wearing his uniforms. In Norfolk, VA, an illegal alien from Mexico is accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sex. In Washington, D.C., a former Metropolitan Police Department Police Officer was arrested for allegedly trafficking minor victims.

              In many cases, parental vigilance and community outreach efforts played a critical role in bringing these offenders to justice. For example, a California man was arrested about eight hours after a young victim bravely came forward and disclosed their abuse to FBI agents after an online safety presentation at a school near Albany, N.Y.

              This effort follows the Department’s observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, and underscores the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face. While the Department, including the FBI, investigates and prosecutes these crimes every day, April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preventing these crimes, seeking justice for victims, and raising awareness through community education.

              The Justice Department is committed to combating child sexual exploitation. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

              The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.

              The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.

    Other online resources:

    Electronic Press Kit

    Violent Crimes Against Children

    How we can help you: Parents and caregivers protecting your kids

    A complaint and an indictment are merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Dan Goldman Demands AG Bondi Release Promised Jeffrey Epstein Files, Share Whether President Trump Has Intervened in Case to Hide Extensive Relationship with Epstein

    Source: US Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10)

    DOJ’s Extended Delay Raises Serious Questions Over Whether President Trump is Burying Files Due to His Well-Documented Association with the Child Sex Offender 

    Promised Report is Now 2 Months Late, Despite FBI Assigning Dozens of Agents to Process It 

    Read the Letter Here 

    Watch Rep. Goldman’s Exclusive Interview Here 

    Washington, D.C – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi today demanding that she promptly release the Jeffrey Epstein Files in full, as well as inform Congress whether President Trump has intervened or delayed the release of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) report due to his well-documented and extensive relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. 

    “I write to express my grave concern about what appears to be a concerted effort by you to delay and even prevent the release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files in their entirety – potentially at the direction of the sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Congressman Goldman wrote. 

    Following the broadly ridiculed release of The Epstein Files: Part 1 on February 27, 2025, AG Bondi demanded that the FBI deliver the complete Epstein Files within 24 hours to DOJ, as well as a comprehensive report from FBI Director Patel within 14 days. It has now been 74 days since Bondi issued those directives, yet the Department has not released the report despite months-old reporting that the FBI Field Office in New York has delayed other investigations to review and redact information for public release. The Congressman questioned if this delay may be related to President Trump’s long-running relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. 

    “The convergence of your unexplained delay in releasing the Epstein Files, the reporting nearly two months ago that numerous FBI agents were working overtime to redact the materials, President Trump’s well-documented affiliation with Epstein, and his view that the Department of Justice is his personal law firm raises serious questions about whether President Trump has intervened to prevent the public release of the Epstein Files in order to hide his own embarrassing and potentially criminal conduct,” Congressman Goldman continued. 

    Attorney General Bondi’s oath of office requires her to represent the United States’ interest without fear or favor, not protect the President’s embarrassing or even criminal behavior from being made public. Congressman Goldman requested that Attorney General Bondi inform Congress of whether the White House or Donald Trump himself has sought to intervene in the case in any way, as well as to provide a detailed timeline for the release of the Epstein Files. 

    “I look forward to your response to this matter of intense public interest. Both Congress and the American people are eager for you to follow through on your promise of transparency about the Epstein Files,” the Congressman concluded. 

    Read the full letter here or below: 

    Dear Attorney General Bondi, 

    I write to express my grave concern about what appears to be a concerted effort by you to delay and even prevent the release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files in their entirety – potentially at the direction of the sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.  

    On February 27, 2025, to much fanfare, the Department of Justice under your leadership released a trove of already-public documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein 

    case titled The Epstein Files: Phase 1. This document dump, which was redacted ostensibly to “protect victims,” was sold to the American people as a fulfillment of President Trump’s promise of government transparency. It was rightly met, however, with widespread ridicule from across the political spectrum as a ham-handed attempt to gaslight the American people. 

    Shortly after the underwhelming ‘Phase 1’ release, you sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel attempting to pin blame on the FBI’s New York field office for the missing material. In that letter, also dated February 27, 2025, you demanded that the FBI deliver, within 24 hours, “the full and complete Epstein files…including all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained.” You went on to clearly state that, “[t]here will be no withholdings or limitations to my or your access.” You further demanded a “comprehensive report” from the FBI Director “within 14 days.” Director Patel subsequently indicated his intent to comply with your request in a post on X: “There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned.” 

    It is now 74 days past the issuance of both your 24-hour demand and 14-day deadline for a comprehensive report, yet you have provided no additional materials nor an explanation for the delay. Reporting from March 21, 2025, indicates that the FBI field office in New York, presumably at your direction, delayed other investigations in order to work around the clock to review and redact information contained in the Epstein Files for release.3 Although you stated on May 8, 2025, that “[t]here are thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn,” which would require redaction to protect the victims’ identities, it simply cannot take this long for dozens of agents working around the clock to make the necessary redactions. 

    Further, extensive reporting has revealed that President Donald Trump had a lengthy and close relationship with both Jeffrey Epstein and Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, including being named in Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs as having flown on Epstein’s private jet at least seven times between 1993 and 1997. In 2002, President Trump was quoted as saying, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy… He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”5 Moreover, Epstein’s personal address book, leaked in 2009 by an Epstein employee, contained 14 phone numbers for President Trump, his wife, Melania, and members of his staff. 

    The convergence of your unexplained delay in releasing the Epstein Files, the reporting nearly two months ago that numerous FBI agents were working overtime to redact the materials, President Trump’s well documented affiliation with Epstein, and his view that the Department of Justice is his personal law firm raises serious questions about whether President Trump has intervened to prevent the public release of the Epstein Files in order to hide his own embarrassing and potentially criminal conduct. 

    As a former 10-year DOJ prosecutor, I remind you that, as Attorney General, your oath of office requires you to represent the United States’ interest without fear or favor, not President Trump’s personal interest. That obligation to the American people requires the immediate release in their entirety of the Epstein Files in your possession, subject to appropriate redactions related to victims and minors. To be clear, there is no proper basis to redact the name, identify, or likeness of President Trump. 

    If you have been directed to redact instances of President Trump’s name or likeness that are included in the Epstein Files, then your oath of office and your commitment to transparency requires you to inform the American people of that directive. As part of Congress’ oversight authority provided by the Constitution of the United States, I request that you respond, in writing, to the following questions no later than June 2, 2025: 

    1. Are you or the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in possession of all of the Epstein Files in the FBI’s custody and control? 

    1. Have the necessary redactions of victims’ identities and likenesses been completed? If not, why not?  

    1. Has the name, identity or likeness of President Donald Trump been redacted? If so, why?  

    1. Have you, OAG, or any other member of the DOJ been contacted by President Trump, anyone working in the White House, or another agent of President Trump’s about the Epstein Files?  

    1. If so, did they request that you or your staff prevent the release of the Epstein Files? 

    1. Did they request that you redact the name, identity or likeness of President Trump from the Epstein Files prepared to be released publicly pursuant to your previous promise?  

    1. If not, why haven’t you released the Epstein Files as you promised to do in February?  

    1. If you do still intend to release the Epstein Files, please provide a detailed timeline of your plan to do so. 

    I look forward to your response to this matter of intense public interest. Both Congress and the American people are eager for you to follow through on your promise of transparency about the Epstein Files. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: ALR Miner Launches Next-Gen Cloud Mining Platform, Empowering Global Users with Secure and Scalable Crypto Earning Solutions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Monmouth, Monmouthshire, May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ALR Miner celebrates its seventh anniversary and continues to lead the new wave of legal, green, and safe cloud mining. sign up and get $12, with special anniversary benefits for both new and existing users.

    Against the backdrop of the growing maturity of the global blockchain and digital currency industry, ALR Miner, the world’s leading cloud mining platform, celebrates its seventh anniversary today. As a crypto technology company legally registered and compliantly operated in the UK, ALR Miner has always adhered to the core concepts of technology-driven, safety-first, green, and low-carbon since its establishment in 2018, and is committed to providing global users with cloud mining services with low thresholds, stable returns, and controllable risks.

    To celebrate its seventh anniversary, ALR Miner officially launched the “5.18 Anniversary Series of Activities,” launching several limited-time benefits, including a $12 mining experience bonus for new users upon registration, doubled mining rewards for all currencies on the platform, and multiple rewards for inviting friends, etc., to give back to millions of loyal users around the world for their long-term support and trust.

    Legal and compliant, with British qualifications, and global operations
    As a technology-based company headquartered in the UK, ALR Miner was registered and established by ALR FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED and provides cryptocurrency cloud computing services by relevant British laws and regulations. The platform also actively responds to the compliance guidelines of major global regulators, including the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to ensure that the business is stable, safe and transparent.

    ALR Miner has branches or cooperative nodes in many countries and regions around the world, supports multi-currency and cross-time zone operations, and deploys mining resources through green data centres around the world. The platform adopts a high-level security protection system, combined with cold and hot wallet separation and a multi-authentication mechanism to maximise the security of user assets.

    Green and low-carbon, promote a new model of sustainable mining
    At present, the world is highly concerned about the energy consumption and carbon emissions caused by cryptocurrency mining. As an industry pioneer, ALR Miner has completed the transition to a green and clean energy mining model. Most of the computing power resources come from environmentally friendly mines driven by hydropower, wind power, and solar power, especially in Northern Europe, Canada, and other regions. Established green computing power hubs.

    In addition, ALR Miner introduces an AI-driven mining scheduling system to dynamically optimise mining resource allocation, improve energy utilisation, and reduce power consumption to implement the sustainable development vision of the blockchain industry.

    Sign up and get $12 to start your mining journey

    In order to encourage more users to understand the world of digital assets safely and with a low threshold, ALR Miner has launched a new user benefit of $12 for free registration. You can start your mining journey without recharging and automatically generate income every day. Users can choose to participate in mining mainstream currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Filecoin (FIL) and easily enjoy the distribution of on-chain income.

    The platform has a simple interface, convenient operation, support for multiple languages and multiple payment methods, and a mobile synchronisation experience, and it is the common choice of novices and senior miners around the world.

    The 5.18 7th Anniversary Celebration is launched, and multiple rewards are given away for a limited time.

    On the occasion of the 7th anniversary of the platform, ALR Miner launched the “5.18 Anniversary Celebration” special feedback event, which covers new and old users. The specific content includes:

    Register to get $12 experience money, and you can start automatic mining income.

    Mining income increase: the income ratio of all currencies during the event is increased to 120% of the original plan.

    Invite friends to enjoy double returns: both the inviter and the invitee can get additional computing power and experience money rewards.

    Exclusive anniversary red envelopes and airdrop activities: covering USDT, FIL, platform tokens, limited NFTsother diverse prizes;

    Limited subsidies for active old users: the platform will count the recharge records of old users and issue anniversary subsidies.

    All activities will last until June 18, 2025. Users can obtain detailed participation methods through the official website or official social platforms.

    Moving towards the future: Building a globally trusted digital asset service platform
    ALR Miner has achieved remarkable achievements in the past seven years – the number of platform users has exceeded 5 million, the cumulative mining income has exceeded US$200 million, and the cooperative mines are spread across Europe, America and Asia. In the future, ALR Miner will continue to deepen its global compliance layout, expand more green energy computing resources, and plan to introduce more intelligent asset management tools to support users to upgrade from “mining income” to “asset appreciation”.

    The person in charge of the platform said: “ALR Miner always adheres to the principles of technology empowerment and user first. In the next five years, our goal is to build a more robust, secure, green and open global digital asset infrastructure network, and truly realize a mining economic ecology that everyone can participate in and everyone can benefit from.”

    About ALR Miner

    ALR Miner is a global cloud mining platform headquartered in London, UK, dedicated to providing one-stop, secure and transparent cryptocurrency mining services to global users. Since its establishment in 2018, ALR Miner has served more than 100 countries and regions around the world and has accumulated more than US$200 million in stable income for users. The platform takes “legality, environmental protection, and efficiency” as its core operation, promotes global users to participate in the digital asset industry more conveniently, and helps the popularisation and implementation of the blockchain ecosystem.

    Media Contact:
    Name: Olivia Miller
    Email: info@alrminer.com
    Address: Singleton Court Business Park, Wonastow Road,
    Monmouth, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom, NP25 5JA
    Web: https://alrminer.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Video: President Trump Holds a Press Conference with the Secretary of Health and Human Services

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

    The White House

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Ftw_VuedA

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Global: If you really want to close the US trade deficit, try boosting innovation in rural manufacturing

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Distinguished Professor, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, & Interim Head, Department of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

    President Donald Trump has long been preoccupied by the trade deficit — the gap between what the U.S. sells to the rest of the world and what it buys from it. He recently declared the issue a national emergency and used trade deficit data to calculate so-called “reciprocal tariffs” targeting nearly 100 countries. Although those specific tariffs are now on pause, Trump’s concern with the trade deficit persists.

    As an economist, I know there are two basic ways for a country to reduce a trade deficit: import less or export more. While Trump has focused on the former strategy, a more productive path may lie in the latter – especially by looking at untapped opportunities in rural America.

    Economists have long studied the differences between rural and urban regions. But while research shows that urban areas tend to be more technologically advanced, fast-growing and economically dynamic, economists have historically paid less attention to how regional differences affect export performance.

    New research is starting to fill that gap. Economists recently found that urban businesses export significantly more than rural ones – a difference with significant implications for national trade.

    The urban-rural export gap

    Looking at data from the Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey as well as trade statistics from 2017 to 2020, researchers used econometric techniques to measure the urban-rural export gap. They also examined two categories of potential causes – “explained” and “unexplained.”

    The first is due to differences in what economists call “endowments” – for example, a region’s digital infrastructure, its access to renewable energy and its opportunities for high-tech employment. These endowments can be observed and therefore explained.

    The second is due to what economists call “structural advantage.” This refers to attributes of a region that matter for export performance but can’t be observed and, as a result, remain unexplained.

    They found that most of the urban-rural export gap is due to explained differences. That means rural businesses could close the export gap if they were provided with similar endowments – meaning comparable access to renewable energy, similar digital infrastructure and analogous opportunities for high-tech employment – to their urban counterparts.

    Even more strikingly, the unexplained component was negative – which means rural businesses outperform expectations given their characteristics. That suggests rural regions have significant untapped export potential.

    Several factors collectively account for the urban export advantage. First, urban regions have a greater concentration of highly educated science and technology workers. Urban businesses also tend to be larger and more tech-savvy, and because they have better access to broadband, they use cloud technology more frequently. Urban areas also have more foreign-born business owners who may leverage their international networks.

    However, many of these differences suggest possible policy solutions. For instance, since cloud adoption depends on broadband availability, it follows that investing in digital infrastructure could boost rural exports. Also, rural manufacturers, especially in sectors like metals manufacturing, show comparable or higher export intensity per worker than their urban counterparts. So encouraging rural manufacturing would be one way to reduce the urban-rural export gap.

    Rethinking trade and rural development

    I think this research has important policy implications.

    First, it shifts some of the focus away from other countries as the root cause of the trade deficit. And second, it bolsters the case for what economists call “place-based policies” targeting specific geographic areas – as opposed to “people-based policies,” which provide support directly to individuals.

    Even though many economists dislike place-based policies, they are increasingly attracting both academic and governmental attention.

    The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act had special significance to rural areas.

    During the Biden administration, three major laws – the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – directed significant federal funds to rural areas. About 43% of funds from those laws – or US$440 billion – was designated as either “rural relevant” or as “rural stipulated,” meaning the funds were either geographically targeted or designed to address disproportionately rural challenges.

    Such massive investments in rural regions have led researchers and policymakers to question whether rural export underperformance stems from differences in observable endowments – in other words, things like access to broadband – or from inherent disadvantages that are much harder to deal with.

    In my view, this research provides compelling evidence that much of the urban-rural export gap is due to unequal distribution of productive assets, rather than inherent rural disadvantages. With appropriate investments in digital infrastructure, human capital and support for export-capable industries, America’s rural regions could play a much larger role in global trade. These findings also suggest the value of continued federal support for rural development efforts.

    In other words, if the U.S. wants to shrink its trade deficit, one answer could be more innovation in rural manufacturing.

    Amitrajeet A. Batabyal 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. If you really want to close the US trade deficit, try boosting innovation in rural manufacturing – https://theconversation.com/if-you-really-want-to-close-the-us-trade-deficit-try-boosting-innovation-in-rural-manufacturing-255851

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Smartwatches promise all kinds of quality-of-life improvements − here are 5 things users should keep in mind

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James Gilmore, Associate Professor of Media and Technology Studies, Clemson University

    That smarts! Photo by Lorena Sopena/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Smartwatches and other wearable devices can feel almost magical. Strap on a Fitbit, Apple Watch or Samsung Gear and you’re suddenly presented with a stream of data generated by – and about – your body: step counts, heart rate, blood oxygen level, calories burned and more.

    Wearables offer tools that help people monitor and understand their bodies and, so the promise goes, improve their lives. Apple CEO Tim Cook has even said the technology company aspires to save your life.

    As a professor who studies technology, I’ve spent the past decade researching smartwatches and other wearables. My new book, “Bringers of Order: Wearable Technologies and the Manufacturing of Everyday Life,” considers the gap between what these products promise and what they actually do.

    Wearables rely on complicated sets of sensors and computer systems to create data for each user. As these devices become more common – and more complex – I worry that people may be tempted to think less about how they work. As a result, they might accept data at face value without considering how it was generated, whether it’s accurate, or even if it could put them at risk.

    So to get the maximum value from wearable technologies, it’s worth reflecting on the differences between what these devices seem to do and what’s actually happening behind the screen. Here are a few key points to remember.

    1. Steps aren’t really steps

    Wearable fitness trackers gained popularity in the early 2010s for their ability to count steps and measure things such as distance, calories burned and flights of stairs climbed. While it’s tempting to think so-called step counts reflect the number of times a wearer’s feet have completed the action of taking a step, that is not the case.

    In reality, a combination of sensors and algorithms work together to produce a data point called “a step.” In most instances, something called an accelerometer measures change in the wearable’s velocity. This is checked against an algorithm, which provides an automatic assessment of whether enough velocity has been reached to count as a step. These components measure how much the wearable moves, not the person. Shaking one’s wrist very quickly can sometimes create a “step,” while walking in place might not count steps.

    2. Some skin tones don’t ‘work’ as well as others

    Blood oxygen sensors have become incorporated into many smartwatches. They use a process called photoplethysmography, which uses tiny green LED lights on the underside of a smartwatch to track how blood flows through your wrist.

    In 2022, a lawsuit alleged Apple was perpetuating racial bias, as its blood oxygen sensors didn’t work as well on darker skin. The case was dismissed, partly because these limitations of blood oxygen sensors have been known to researchers and medical practitioners for years. In other words, it is accepted that some features will not work as well for some people.

    3. Your location may not be a secret

    There’s an entire industry made up of people called data brokers who buy large datasets from technology companies and then sell them to advertisers, market analysts or other groups that may be interested in acquiring them.

    While some companies have taken more steps to reduce or eliminate the sharing of data with third parties, and government agencies have offered strategies for users to limit location sharing, others may still share data among affiliates and service providers.

    It’s important to check all settings for options to reduce or eliminate data sharing. Otherwise, your private information might not remain private for long. In 2018, for example, the exercise app Strava released a “heat map” showing the running and cycling routes of all its users through the location data it had collected – and accidentally disclosed the location of multiple secret military bases around the world.

    4. Wearables for consumers aren’t medical grade

    With wearables, as with other tech, it’s important to look carefully at the terms of use.

    Most devices include boilerplate language about how the data they provide the wearer should be used recreationally and not replace formal diagnostics from doctors. Even though Apple has received FDA clearance for some of its health testing features and they may be quite useful for monitoring purposes, if you’re relying on data for health purposes, it’s important to consult a doctor.

    5. Wearables can’t predict the future

    OK, maybe this seems like it should be obvious. But it’s not.

    Oura Ring, which pioneered measurements such as “restfulness” that try to measure how well you sleep, recently added a “symptom radar” to try to detect when you might be getting sick.

    These technologies use sensors such as heart rate monitors and thermometers to detect changes in a wearer’s baseline. While these sickness forecasts may be helpful, they’re like weather reports for the body, detecting changes in the body’s internal atmosphere using available sensors and algorithms. Any claim to predict the future is based on looking for patterns in information from the past.

    While wearable tech can offer powerful insights, understanding how devices work is crucial for making sense of the data they produce. A little skepticism goes a long way: It can challenge inflated promises and protect users. In the end, wearables are best understood as interesting but imperfect tools − not magic wands.

    James Gilmore 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. Smartwatches promise all kinds of quality-of-life improvements − here are 5 things users should keep in mind – https://theconversation.com/smartwatches-promise-all-kinds-of-quality-of-life-improvements-here-are-5-things-users-should-keep-in-mind-251754

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Population explosions and declines are related to the stability of the economy and the environment

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ken G. Drouillard, Professor, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and Director of the School of the Environment, University of Windsor

    A country’s population is affected by, and in turn affects, environmental and economic issues. (Shutterstock)

    For 200 years, we’ve been warned of unchecked population growth and how it leads to environmental instability. On the other hand, today some countries face decreasing populations, alongside increasing proportions of elderly people, causing economic instability.

    These two facets of population crises — explosions and declines — are occurring in different parts of the world, and have a global impact on the environment and on economies. Discussions about achieving economic and environmental sustainability must consider population changes, technology and the environment, given these concepts are closely interwoven.

    Population explosions and declines are related to both environmental and economic instability; some countries make reactionary choices that trade off short-term domestic economic progress over the environment.

    The crisis of population explosions

    In 1798, English economist Thomas Malthus warned of a population explosion, inferring that population growth will outstrip agricultural production. Malthus’s ideas became re-popularized by American scientist Paul R. Ehrlich in his book published at the height of population growth in the 1960s. Both predicted that a population explosion would cause shortages in resources and escalating environmental damage.

    Like Malthus, Ehrlich was criticized for a crisis “that never happened” because human ingenuity, a byproduct of population, overcomes the worst fears of environmentalists. This counter-argument relies on technological advances making more efficient use of resources while lowering the environmental impacts.

    This is best exemplified by efficiency gains of agriculture that have continued to feed a growing world. Ehrlich’s predictions of cumulative environmental damage are best illustrated by the growing intensity of climate change and species loss as the global population continues to grow even though the current growth rate is slower than it was in the 1960s.

    A graph reflecting how population growth, species diversity and global temperature correlate over time.
    (K. Drouillard), CC BY

    Unified growth theory describes how economies change over the long term. It starts with a period of slow technological progress, low income growth and high population growth. Over time, these conditions give way to a modern growth phase, where technology improves quickly, income rises steadily and population growth slows as societies go through a demographic transition towards stable population sizes.

    Technological progress positively contributes to national economies over the long term. However, early adoption of green technology often relies on finance and government incentives that may imply short-term economic burdens. Yet when green technology is implemented and coupled to slowing population growth, it leads to decreasing national environmental footprints that pave a way towards joint environmental and economic sustainability.

    The crisis of population declines

    Declining populations cause inverted age pyramids with larger numbers of elderly people. These shifting demographics cause economic instability. They also constrain technological progress and social security.

    Population declines work against the gains described by unified growth theory. Presently, 63 countries have reached their peak population and 48 more are expected to peak within 30 years. Fears of population decline are also being forecast at the global scale.

    The global population is predicted to peak between the mid-2060s to 2100, stabilizing at 10.2 billion from its present 8.2 billion.

    In their book, Empty Planet, political scientist Darrell Bricker and political commentator John Ibbitson warn that zero population growth will happen even faster. They argue once a country decreases its fertility to below replacement (2.1 children per woman), the social reinforcements of increasing urbanization, costs of raising children and increased empowerment over family planning make it almost impossible to increase the birth rate.

    For highly affluent countries, the per capita GDP is decreasing as the proportion of elderly in the population increases. Although this pattern doesn’t hold when less affluent countries are added, the figure demonstrates tangible economic impacts for countries grappling with aging populations.

    A graph showing the percentage of elderly people in a country’s population, correlated with GDP and adjusted for inflation.
    (K. Drouillard), CC BY

    Simultaneous explosions and declines

    Affluent nations facing decline can react to economic instability in ways that counter global economic and environmental sustainability.

    In the past, affluent nations were the drivers of green technology. However, economic instability from population declines can cause reluctance to invest, adopt and share green technology crucial for mitigating environmental damage at the global scale.

    The issue is compounded by the fact that many countries overlook how their own decline in population growth contributes to economic instability. They instead focus on short-term solutions to their economic situation that may include unsustainable resource use.

    Left unaddressed, the real issue of population decline becomes unresolved, allowing social anxieties against immigration and global trade to grow. This can exacerbate the issue halting technology sharing, slowing economic growth and increasing economic inequality and environmental damage.

    The above is exemplified by policies now being implemented by the United States. Where immigration was previously used as a backstop against low fertility, growing cultural backlash to immigration pressures rooted in anxiety about economic uncertainties have generated new policies causing the deportation of millions of immigrants and closing borders. This will most likely accelerate a population decline in the U.S., as highlighted by a Congressional Budget Office report.

    At the same time, the U.S. is shifting its energy policy away from increased shares of renewable, green energy sources back to a focus on fossil fuels that will worsen climate damage.

    Climate damage costs are currently two per cent of global GDP, and may increase to between two to 21 per cent of some countries’ incomes by the end of the century. The growing applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and its high energy use will add to climate damage. AI may also contribute to the economic challenges related to population decline if it replaces, rather than supports, labour.

    Finally, tariff wars add new barriers against green technology sharing.

    Canada’s lowered immigration

    Canada, which already has a low fertility rate and is reacting to the U.S. trade war, has its own challenges. This year, immigration targets were decreased by 19 per cent. The lack of support for and subsequent removal of the carbon tax and possible extension of pipeline infrastructure could generate similar delays in the transition away from fossil fuels.



    Read more:
    Who really killed Canada’s carbon tax? Friends and foes alike

    In the most recent federal election, discussions about environmental policy were largely side-tracked by economic issues.

    Our research indicates that Canada and other affluent nations need to establish longer-term solutions to economic instabilities that mitigate environmental damage while promoting sustainable national and global economies.

    The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals offer pathways for economic, social and environmental sustainability. However, realizing these goals requires society to fully acknowledge the intertwined relationships between population growth, economy, environment and international technology-sharing in ways that transcend short-term national interests and reactionary policies.

    The past decade has seen strong momentum from social and natural sciences as well as international organizations, business and civil society. Unfortunately, the current climate of economic uncertainty is halting this progress — unless the public can force broader discussions about sustainable approaches back into the political sphere.

    Ken G. Drouillard receives funding from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canadian Water Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, St. Clair River Conservation Authority and North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plans.

    Claudio N. Verani receives/has received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF), and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

    Marcelo Arbex has received funding from University of Windsor UW-SSHRC Explore.

    – ref. Population explosions and declines are related to the stability of the economy and the environment – https://theconversation.com/population-explosions-and-declines-are-related-to-the-stability-of-the-economy-and-the-environment-253302

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Colossal Bioscience’s attempt to de-extinct the dire wolf is a dangerously deceptive publicity stunt

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By David Coltman, Professor, Western University

    Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based biotech company, made headlines this April after falsely claiming to resurrect the extinct dire wolf. The company presents this as a breakthrough for conservation biology. However, our team of conservation geneticists at the University of Western Ontario — along with many other academics views it as a dangerous deception.



    Read more:
    ‘Return’ of the dire wolf is an impressive feat of genetic engineering, not a reversal of extinction

    Colossal’s so-called dire wolf is not a resurrected species. It’s a genetically modified grey wolf. Its creation is a publicity stunt designed to generate profit, with serious consequences.

    TIME reports on claims that Colossal Biosciences has brought back the dire wolf.

    Jenga approach to conservation

    Conservation aims to safeguard ecosystems by preserving the networks of interaction between animals and their environment. Human activity has caused widespread habitat loss, driving extinction rates to levels estimated to be about 1,000 times higher than the natural background rate. We are living through a biodiversity crisis, and conservation remains our only real defence against further declines.

    Colossal proposes de-extinction to combat this crisis, using a Jenga-block metaphor to explain their approach. The ecosystem is a Jenga tower, with each species representing a block — and losing a species weakens the structure, pushing it closer to collapse. Colossal Biosciences proposes that inserting a de-extinct species where a block was lost could help restore ecosystem stability and prevent collapse.

    The premise isn’t entirely flawed; in some cases, introducing an animal into an unstable ecosystem to fill a lost ecological role can help restore balance. This is similar to reintroducing a species to an area where it once lived, which is a well-established conservation strategy.

    Conservation and cloning

    Likewise, cloning technology has the potential to aid in meaningful conservation projects. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has successfully used the technology to help restore the black-footed ferret, a species once considered extinct.

    Every year scientists release 150 to 200 black-footed ferrets into their native habitat, with cloned individuals and their future offspring expected to strengthen the species’ chances of survival.

    The flaw in Colossal’s plan is that the animals they focus on — Ice Age megafauna like the mammoth and dire wolf — no longer belong to any modern ecosystem. Most of the species they once interacted with disappeared, along with their habitats, roughly 10,000 years ago.

    These synthetic animals are the wrong shape for our unstable Jenga tower. Forcing them into the gap might make the ecosystem more likely to collapse.

    ‘Frankensheep’: A cautionary tale

    A warning tale of misused cloning technology comes from Montana rancher Arthur Schubarth, who illegally cloned hybrid bighorn sheep — “Frankensheep” — for trophy hunting. His operation not only exploited endangered species for profit, but also triggered outbreaks of infectious disease, demonstrating the risks that unchecked cloning technology poses to wildlife and ecosystems.

    One of the most damaging aspects of Colossal’s announcement is the perpetuation of a decades-old myth that technology will save us. It would be comforting to believe we can genetically engineer our way out of the current biodiversity crisis, but that is not our reality.

    Introducing Ice Age animals would have unpredictable and potentially damaging consequences. And even if we focused on more suitable animals — those whose ecosystems still exist and could benefit from de-extinction — we could never keep pace with the current rate of biodiversity loss.

    Colossal’s de-extinction project also doesn’t tackle the forces driving extinction like climate change, habitat loss, exploitation, pollution and invasive species.

    That’s not the story Colossal wants the public to understand. They brand themselves as leaders in conservation to sell content — catchy memes, viral videos, photoshoots with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin and banter with Elon Musk about his future pet woolly mammoth.

    Concerning implications

    Valued at US$10.2 billion, Colossal is now contacting zoos about putting its pups on display.

    The Toronto Zoo and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums have issued warnings against participating in the development or display of de-extinct animals. Still, some zoos may jump at the opportunity to boost ticket sales by offering the public a glimpse of this sci-fi spectacle.

    As Colossal profits from marketing its greenwashed construct and hints at the creation of “Pleistocene Parks,” it is still unclear what this technology really means for the future of conservation.

    Worse still, the de-extinction myth provides a guise for undermining habitat protection.

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has already cited Colossal’s announcement as justification for weakening the Endangered Species Act.

    Proposed changes to the act would give industrial activities greater freedom to destroy the habitats endangered species depend on — at a time when habitat loss remains the leading threat to species. A project marketed to rescue biodiversity could, instead, help speed up its decay.

    We are deeply concerned about the implications of Colossal’s announcement, but we hope this moment drives more public interest and funding toward the difficult and less glamorous work that needs to be done to protect habitat and conserve biodiversity. The fanfare around Colossal’s genetic engineering feat should not distract from the global biodiversity crisis, which remains truly dire.

    David Coltman receives funding from NSERC, Genome Canada and Ontario Genomics.

    Carson Mitchell, Liam Alastair Wayde Carter, and Tommy Galfano do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Colossal Bioscience’s attempt to de-extinct the dire wolf is a dangerously deceptive publicity stunt – https://theconversation.com/colossal-biosciences-attempt-to-de-extinct-the-dire-wolf-is-a-dangerously-deceptive-publicity-stunt-255046

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Space law doesn’t protect historical sites, mining operations and bases on the Moon – a space lawyer describes a framework that could

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michelle L.D. Hanlon, Professor of Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi

    Craters in the lunar surface are visible in this photo taken during the Apollo 11 mission. NASA via AP

    April 2025 was a busy month for space.

    Pop icon Katy Perry joined five other civilian women on a quick jaunt to the edge of space, making headlines. Meanwhile, another group of people at the United Nations was contemplating a critical issue for the future of space exploration: the discovery, extraction and utilization of natural resources on the Moon.

    At the end of April, a dedicated Working Group of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space released a draft set of recommended principles for space resource activities. Essentially, these are rules to govern mining on the Moon, asteroids and elsewhere in space for elements that are rare here on Earth.

    As a space lawyer and co-founder of For All Moonkind, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting human heritage in outer space, I know that the Moon could be the proving ground for humanity’s evolution into a species that lives and thrives on more than one planet. However, this new frontier raises complex legal questions.

    Space, legally

    Outer space – including the Moon – from a legal perspective, is a unique domain without direct terrestrial equivalent. It is not, like the high seas, the “common heritage of humankind,” nor is it an area, like Antarctica, where commercial mining is prohibited.

    Instead, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty – signed by more than 115 nations, including China, Russia and the United States – establishes that the exploration and use of space are the “province of all humankind.” That means no country may claim territory in outer space, and all have the right to access all areas of the Moon and other celestial bodies freely.

    The fact that, pursuant to Article II of the treaty, a country cannot claim territory in outer space, known as the nonappropriation principle, suggests to some that property ownership in space is forbidden.

    Can this be true? If your grandchildren move to Mars, will they never own a home? How can a company protect its investment in a lunar mine if it must be freely accessible by all? What happens, as it inevitably will, when two rovers race to a particular area on the lunar surface known to host valuable water ice? Does the winner take all?

    As it turns out, the Outer Space Treaty does offer some wiggle room. Article IX requires countries to show “due regard” for the corresponding interests of others. It is a legally vague standard, although the Permanent Court of Arbitration has suggested that due regard means simply paying attention to what’s reasonable under the circumstances.

    First mover advantage – it’s a race

    The treaty’s broad language encourages a race to the Moon. The first entity to any spot will have a unilateral opportunity to determine what’s legally “reasonable.” For example, creating an overly large buffer zone around equipment might be justified to mitigate potential damage from lunar dust.

    On top of that, Article XII of the Outer Space Treaty assumes that there will be installations, like bases or mining operations, on the Moon. Contrary to the free access principle, the treaty suggests that access to these may be blocked unless the owner grants permission to enter.

    Both of these paths within the treaty would allow the first person to make it to their desired spot on the Moon to keep others out. The U.N. principles in their current form don’t address these loopholes.

    The draft U.N. principles released in April mirror, and are confined by, the language of the Outer Space Treaty. This tension between free access and the need to protect – most easily by forbidding access – remains unresolved. And the clock is ticking.

    The Moon’s vulnerable legacy

    The U.S. Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon by 2028, China has plans for human return by 2030, and in the intervening years, more than 100 robotic missions are planned by countries and private industry alike. For the most part, these missions are all headed to the same sweet spot: the lunar south pole. Here, peaks of eternal light and deep craters containing water ice promise the best mining, science and research opportunities.

    Regions of the lunar south pole, left, and north pole, right, contain water in the form of ice (blue), which could be useful for space agencies hoping to set up lunar bases.
    NASA

    In this excitement, it’s easy to forget that humans already have a deep history of lunar exploration. Scattered on the lunar surface are artifacts displaying humanity’s technological progress.

    After centuries of gazing at our closest celestial neighbor with fascination, in 1959 the Soviet spacecraft, Luna 2, became the first human-made object to impact another celestial body. Ten years later, two humans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, became the first ever to set foot upon another celestial body.

    More recently, in 2019, China’s Chang’e 4 achieved the first soft landing on the Moon’s far side. And in 2023, India’s Chandrayaan-3 became the first to land successfully near the lunar south pole.

    These sites memorialize humanity’s baby steps off our home planet and easily meet the United Nations definition of terrestrial heritage, as they are so “exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.”

    The international community works to protect such sites on Earth, but those protection protocols do not extend to outer space.

    Astronaut footprints are still intact on the lunar surface because the Moon doesn’t have weather. But nearby spacecraft or rovers could kick up dust and cover them.
    AP Photo

    The more than 115 other sites on the Moon that bear evidence of human activity are frozen in time without degradation from weather, animal or human activity. But this could change. A single errant spacecraft or rover could kick up abrasive lunar dust, erasing bootprints or damaging artifacts.

    Protection and the Outer Space Treaty

    In 2011, NASA recommended establishing buffer, or safety zones, of up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) to protect certain sites with U.S. artifacts.

    Because it understood that outright exclusion violates the Outer Space Treaty, NASA issued these recommendations as voluntary guidelines. Nevertheless, the safety zone concept, essentially managing access to and activities around specific areas, could be a practical tool for protecting heritage sites. They could act as a starting point to find a balance between protection and access.

    The U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space recently proposed new principles for space resource use.
    United States Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, CC BY-NC-ND

    One hundred and ninety-six nations have agreed, through the 1972 World Heritage Convention, on the importance of recognizing and protecting cultural heritage of universal value found here on Earth.

    Building on this agreement, the international community could require specific access protocols — such as a permitting process, activity restrictions, shared access rules, monitoring and other controls — for heritage sites on the Moon. If accepted, these protective measures for heritage sites could also work as a template for scientific and operational sites. This would create a consistent framework that avoids the perception of claiming territory.

    At this time, the draft U.N. principles released in April 2025 do not directly address the opposing concepts of access and protection. Instead, they defer to Article I of the Outer Space Treaty and reaffirm that everyone has free access to all areas of the Moon and other celestial bodies.

    As more countries and companies compete to reach the Moon, a clear lunar legal framework can guide them to avoid conflicts and preserve historical sites. The draft U.N. principles show that the international community is ready to explore what this framework could look like.

    Michelle L.D. Hanlon is affiliated with For All Moonkind, a not-for-profit organization committed to protecting human cultural heritage in outer space starting with the Apollo lunar landing sites.

    – ref. Space law doesn’t protect historical sites, mining operations and bases on the Moon – a space lawyer describes a framework that could – https://theconversation.com/space-law-doesnt-protect-historical-sites-mining-operations-and-bases-on-the-moon-a-space-lawyer-describes-a-framework-that-could-255757

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: TRANSCOM Reveals 30+ Missions to Guantanamo Bay, Costing Over $20 Million since January 2025, In Break from Precedent

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    May 12, 2025

    Text of QFR Response (PDF)

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren released responses she received from the United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), one of the commands of the Department of Defense (DoD), regarding its role in sending passengers and cargo to the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.

    The responses from TRANSCOM revealed:

    • “USTRANSCOM conducted 31 military and contract airlift missions to the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay between January 20, 2025, and March 25, 2025. These missions transported 715 passengers and 1016.9 short tons of cargo.”

    • “As of 08 April, USTRANSCOM has flown a total of 46 flights on military aircraft in support of migrant deportation flights. The flights total 802.5 hours at an average cost of $26,277 per flight hour.”

    • Over just a couple of months, Atlas Air, Delta, Omni Air, United Airlines, and Sun Country made over $1.6 million just from flying to Guantanamo Bay to assist migrant operations.

    • “In anticipation of U.S. presence and increased capacity at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay,” DoD has increased the number of flights to the Naval Station.

    “Every American should be outraged by Donald Trump wasting military resources to pay for his political stunts that do not make us safer,” said Senator Warren. “U.S. servicemembers did not sign up for this abuse of power.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Nurturing overall cooperation between China, Latin America

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

    An aerial drone photo taken on March 12, 2024 shows the BYD battery factory in Manaus, capital of Amazonas state, Brazil. [Xinhua]

    Invoked by the 18th-century English writer Samuel Johnson, the phrase “From China to Peru” once conjured images of distant lands bound only by imagination. Today, it sketches a far more concrete arc — marked by shipping lanes, megaports and logistics corridors — linking China and Latin America across the Pacific.

    This transformation has gathered pace over the past decade, thanks in large part to the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, a cooperative mechanism launched under the aegis of Chinese President Xi Jinping. What Xi once described as “a young seedling” has since taken firm root.

    Ten years on, this mechanism has matured into a key platform for South-South collaboration that has drawn China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) into a closer partnership across political, economic, cultural and other domains.

    The forum’s fourth ministerial meeting is set to take place on Tuesday in Beijing. Xi will address its opening ceremony and unveil new initiatives and measures to promote closer ties.

    Qiu Xiaoqi, the Chinese government’s special representative for Latin American affairs, said the upcoming meeting is expected to deliver a message of peace, development and cooperation amid global turbulence, charting a new chapter in China-LAC relations.

    TOP-LEVEL DESIGN

    China and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are fellow developing nations that hold common political aspirations, face similar development tasks, and can benefit from complementary economic strengths.

    Spanning one-fifth of the world’s land area and accounting for a quarter of the global population and economy, China and the LAC combined represent one of the most dynamic and promising regions on the planet.

    “Our shared aspiration for independence, development and rejuvenation has brought us closer together,” Xi said.

    Since the turn of the century, ties between the two sides have grown rapidly. Both sides realized they needed something more than the traditional one-on-one tango — a broader framework for cooperation.

    During the CELAC summit in Cuba in early 2014, Latin American and Caribbean leaders expressed support for such a framework. Xi welcomed the move, saying that “the time is ripe.”

    In July 2014, Xi flew half the globe for his second visit to the region as head of state. He was heading for a BRICS summit in Brazil, state visits to some countries in the region, and a historic moment — the first meeting between leaders of China and Latin America and the Caribbean.

    In the Brazilian capital Brasilia, the leaders announced the establishment of the China-CELAC Forum, an institutional framework to advance the vision of building a China-LAC community with a shared future.

    At the meeting, Xi laid out the guiding principles for this comprehensive cooperative partnership — equality, mutual benefit and common development. Backing his proposal was a roadmap driven by trade, investment and finance.

    Six months later, the inaugural ministerial meeting of the forum was held in Beijing, turning the vision of an overall cooperation platform covering China and all 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean into reality.

    Observers said this marked a new phase of China-LAC ties, where China’s cooperation with the region as a whole complements and strengthens its bilateral relations with individual regional countries.

    Xi proposed principles for the forum’s growth — equal partnership, shared wins, flexibility and pragmatism, and openness and inclusivity.

    Comparing it to a seedling just breaking through the soil, he said that “the forum needs the dedication and cultivation of both sides for it to grow bigger and stronger.”

    In the decade that has followed, Xi has provided consistent support to nurture this forum. At each of the three previous ministerial meetings, he offered clear guidance that helped shape the forum’s development at key moments in its evolution.

    Under the guidance of Xi and his Latin American and Caribbean counterparts, the forum now hosts a constellation of institutional interactions such as ministerial meetings, dialogues among foreign ministers, coordinators’ meetings, and a growing number of specialized sub-forums ranging from digital technology to poverty reduction.

    Chai Yu, director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Xi has led by example in advancing the forum’s development, which is key to deepening political trust and building consensus on cooperation.

    COMMON DEVELOPMENT

    Chancay, a modest city on the Peruvian coast, has been transformed into a megaport equipped with towering cranes and unmanned trucks.

    Last November, Xi and his Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte inaugurated the port via video link from the capital Lima, marking the launch of South America’s first smart port.

    Built in just three years through Chinese-Peruvian collaboration, the port shortens the shipping time across the Pacific by nearly one-third, reduces logistics costs by 20 percent, and is expected to create over 8,000 direct jobs.

    Boluarte lauded the project as a bold stride toward “deeper integration and shared prosperity with China” and “a gateway opening Latin America to the vibrant promise of the Asia-Pacific.”

    Chancay’s story is the latest episode in the booming cooperation under the China-CELAC Forum. Across the region, more than 200 Chinese infrastructure projects have been launched — generating over 1 million jobs.

    In Brazil, an ultra-high-voltage transmission project has overcome challenges in delivering clean hydropower over vast distances from the Amazon. In Jamaica, a Chinese-built highway has cut cross-island travel time by more than half, while in Bolivia, satellite collaboration has enabled free television access for half a million households.

    Visitors learn about coffee beans at the booth of Honduras at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China’s Shanghai, Nov. 6, 2023. [Xinhua]

    Numbers tell a compelling story. Trade between China and the region reached 518.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, doubling the figure recorded a decade ago. By 2023, Chinese investment in the region had exceeded 600 billion dollars. These figures have exceeded the goals announced by Xi when he and Latin American and Caribbean leaders met in 2014 to plan for closer cooperation.

    As the second-largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, China now has more free trade agreements in the region than anywhere outside Asia.

    One such deal with Chile has turned premium cherries into a symbol of thriving cross-Pacific commerce. In 2024, Chile’s cherry exports surged 51.4 percent to 3.57 billion dollars — with over 90 percent going to China.

    “The Chinese market has created a positive ripple effect in Chile, generating jobs across the supply chain, from harvesting to packaging,” said Hernan Garces Gazmuri, a Chilean cherry producer who moved his family to Shanghai for greater business opportunities.

    As Pavel Aleman, a Cuban scholar from the University of Havana, pointed out, China-LAC cooperation is mutually beneficial in essence, with China’s economic vitality fueling Latin America’s development, while the region plays a vital role in supporting China’s continued growth.

    “Deeper cooperation between the two sides can help offset the impact of tariff barriers and effectively counter global risks,” he said.

    Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought China into closer partnership with countries across the vast Pacific. To date, more than 20 countries in the region have joined the Belt and Road cooperation framework, and 10 countries have signed cooperation plans with China under the initiative.

    Xi once described Latin America as a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road — an essential pillar of the BRI. He emphasized China’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with the region, aligning development strategies and promoting shared growth.

    “As we roll out the blueprint for the BRI, we strive to forge a route of cooperation across the Pacific, in order to draw closer the two lands of abundance of China and Latin America and the Caribbean,” Xi said in his congratulatory message to the second ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum.

    Beyond trade and investment, collaboration between China and this region has also deepened in the fields of science, technology and environmental protection. China has supported joint Earth-resource satellite programs with Brazil, contributing to efforts aimed at curbing deforestation and preserving biodiversity in the Amazon.

    Xi said China and Latin America and the Caribbean should promote joint development to contribute to strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth of the global economy.

    HEART-TO-HEART CONNECTIONS

    Xi has long believed that strong state-to-state relations are built on people-to-people connections. Over his six trips to the region as head of state, he made a point of engaging with everyday people despite tight schedules.

    In Costa Rica, Xi visited the home of a coffee grower who showed him around his house and plantation. Over a cup of coffee, Xi chatted with the family and shared that he, too, had rural beginnings — having spent years working the land in his youth.

    A girl learns Chinese calligraphy at the 4th edition of the Chinese New Year cultural festival at the National Arts Center in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, Jan. 25, 2025. [Xinhua]

    His engagement has ignited vibrant people-to-people exchanges, with cultural festivals, youth projects and journalist initiatives flourishing under the China-CELAC Forum.

    To date, China has provided the region with 17,000 government scholarships and 13,000 training opportunities. It has signed 26 educational cooperation agreements or memoranda of understanding with 19 countries and established 68 Confucius Institutes or Confucius Classrooms in the region.

    Connections between China and the region have also been strengthened through practical measures — such as the launch of new direct air routes and the inclusion of more Latin American countries in China’s 240-hour visa-free transit program.

    As many countries in the region now officially celebrate the Chinese New Year, a growing number of Chinese travelers have headed to Latin America in recent years — some for business, others as tourists drawn by the region’s stunning landscapes and rich cultural diversity.

    These efforts have brought China and the region closer than ever, said Qiu, the Chinese government’s special representative for Latin American affairs.

    Both China and Latin America are home to ancient histories and flourishing civilizations. For Xi, civilizations grow richer and more colorful through exchanges and mutual learning.

    In 2013, at Mexico’s Chichen Itza, Xi explored ancient Maya ruins with archaeologist Jose Huchim Herrera. Amid stepped pyramids and temples, he inquired about the features of the ruins, such as the meaning of carved reliefs.

    His questions revealed a deep curiosity about the host civilization, said Huchim Herrera.

    In a signed article published last November ahead of his visit to Peru, Xi highlighted a cultural connection by pointing out the resemblance between the Incan gold masks unearthed in Peru and those discovered at the Sanxingdui archaeological site in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

    That same month, a joint exhibition in the ancient city of Cusco showcased dazzling gold artifacts, bronze statues, jade treasures and wooden relics from Sichuan’s Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites, captivating nearly 10,000 Peruvian visitors.

    Daniel Grimaldi, executive director of the think tank Chile 21, praised exchanges between Chinese and Latin American civilizations for opening new channels of communication. Such interactions, he said, strengthen ties through mutual respect and open dialogue, while supporting both sides on their shared journey toward modernization.

    As Xi has said, in a globalization and information age, the Pacific is no barrier but rather a bond and a bridge. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI: Orbit International Corp. Reports 2025 First Quarter Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    First Quarter 2025 Net Loss of $2,152,000 ($0.65 loss per share) v. Net Loss of $751,000 ($0.22 loss per share) in Prior Year Comparable Period

    First Quarter 2025 EBITDA, as adjusted, was a loss of $1,949,000 ($0.59 loss per share) v. loss of $551,000 ($0.16 loss per share) in Prior Year Comparable Period

    Backlog at March 31, 2025 was $13.3 million compared to $12.0 million at December 31, 2024

    HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Orbit International Corp. (OTC PINK:ORBT) today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    First Quarter 2025 vs. First Quarter 2024

    • Net sales were $4,726,000, as compared to $6,175,000.
    • Gross margin was 12.4%, as compared to 30.8%.
    • Net loss was $2,152,000 ($0.65 loss per share), as compared to a net loss of $751,000 ($0.22 loss per share).
    • Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, fair value adjustment on contingent liabilities and other non-current liability, and stock-based compensation (EBITDA, as adjusted) was a loss of $1,949,000 ($0.59 loss per share), as compared to a loss of $551,000 ($0.16 loss per share).
    • Backlog at March 31, 2025 was $13.3 million compared to $12.0 million at December 31, 2024.

    Mitchell Binder, President and CEO of Orbit International commented, “The first quarter for 2025 was a very challenging quarter for our Company. Our net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2025, was $2,152,000 ($0.65 loss per share) compared to a net loss of $751,000 ($0.22 loss per share) for the prior comparable period. EBITDA, as adjusted, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, was a loss of $1,949,000 ($0.59 loss per share) compared to a loss of $551,000 ($0.16 loss per share) in the prior comparable period. Our current first quarter operating results were negatively affected by significantly lower sales incurred by our Orbit Electronics Group (“OEG”) inclusive of our Simulator Product Solutions LLC (“SPS”) subsidiary. In particular, we incurred an operating loss at our Orbit Instrument division due to a gap in our delivery schedules. Our Orbit Instrument division has historically been our best performing operating unit with strong operating leverage. However, it was adversely affected by contract delays in the second half of 2024 and a temporary pause in certain production contracts as our engineering team worked with our customers for next generation enhancements. The Orbit Power Group (“OPG”), which makes up the remainder of our legacy business, recorded operating income that was relatively flat for the first quarter.

    Binder added, “Operating results for SPS were adversely impacted by lower sales during the quarter as a consequence of reduced bookings in the second half of 2024 due to contract delays that were eventually awarded in 2025. Bookings were also negatively affected by ongoing opportunities that have not yet finalized in 2025 and certain lost opportunities, primarily due to lack of funding or our customer losing awards to competitors. Bookings for SPS in 2025 have since improved from the second half of 2024. In addition, aside from certain costs mentioned above, general and administrative costs at SPS, in general, have stabilized. We had incurred significant infrastructure costs in 2023 and 2024 in order to support SPS’ sales increase since the Company’s acquisition of the SPS business in 2022. At the time of the SPS acquisition, we anticipated the need to invest in infrastructure and internal controls in order to bring SPS up to the standards of a public company. We believe that our cost structure at SPS is now aligned to support our growth.”

    Binder noted, “Operating results for SPS were also burdened by more than $200,000 ($0.06 loss per share) of expenses incurred by SPS for fees paid to an outside engineering firm in order to modify legacy drawings, along with bill of material part identification, that was developed prior to the acquisition, as well as legal fees incurred in connection with the litigation associated with the termination of the former President of SPS.”

    Mr. Binder added, “Our sales for the three months ended March 31, 2025, decreased significantly to $4,726,000 compared to $6,175,000 from the prior comparable period. This decrease in sales was primarily attributable to lower sales at our OEG and despite higher sales at our OPG. As previously mentioned, the lower sales at our OEG were attributable to lower bookings in the second half of 2024 due primarily to contract delays which is an inherent risk in contracting with the U.S. government and its prime contractors.”

    Mr. Binder further added, “Our gross margin for the three months ended March 31, 2025, decreased to 12.4% compared to 30.8% in the prior year comparable period. The decrease in gross margin during the three months ended March 31, 2025, was attributable to a significantly lower gross margin at our OEG due to decreased sales resulting in a higher percentage attributable to overhead and other fixed costs; and a slightly lower OPG gross margin due to product mix and despite slightly higher sales.”

    Mr. Binder added, “For the three months ended March 31, 2025, selling, general and administrative expenses were $2,717,000, compared to $2,643,000, an increase of $74,000, primarily due to higher expenses from SPS and slightly higher corporate expenses. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses at SPS increased principally due to more than $200,000 of expenses incurred for (i) an outside engineering firm engaged to modify legacy drawings as well as bill of material part identification that was developed prior to the acquisition and (ii) legal fees incurred in connection with the litigation associated with the termination of the former President of SPS. The engineering firm was needed in order to conform drawing documentation to the actual manufacturing procedures to build the product as well as to comply with inventory internal controls. This was in addition to over $200,000 in engineering fees that were incurred in the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase in corporate expenses was primarily due to (i) all audit fees for our 2024 audit being billed in the first quarter of 2025 whereas prior years audit fees were distributed during all the quarters and (2) slightly increased payroll costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses at our OEG (exclusive of SPS), and our OPG did not materially change. We expect that the outside engineering fees at SPS will decrease significantly, beginning the second quarter of 2025 and corporate expenses should also decrease beginning the second quarter due to the absence of any audit fees for the remainder of the year.”

    Mr. Binder continued, “Backlog at March 31, 2025, was approximately $13,300,000 compared to approximately $12,000,000 at December 31, 2024, an increase of approximately 10.8%. This increase in backlog is reflective of a general increase in bookings from our OEG, inclusive of SPS and despite a decrease in bookings from our OPG during the quarter. In 2024, for our OPG, bookings for our VPX power supplies increased by 91.5% over the prior comparable period and represented the highest amount of VPX bookings in any previous calendar year. We are hopeful that the momentum of continued bookings for our VPX power supplies will continue in 2025. Bookings for our OEG, inclusive of SPS, improved in the first quarter of 2025 and are expected to continue to improve, as many anticipated follow-on awards expected in the second half of 2024 were delayed, resulting in a poor second half of bookings for the segment. Some of these orders were received in the first quarter of 2025 and are now expected to continue to be received in the first half of 2025. Contract delays are an inherent part of doing business with the U.S. Government.”

    David Goldman, Chief Financial Officer, noted, “At March 31, 2025, our cash and cash equivalents aggregated approximately $0.7 million and our financial condition continued to remain solid as evidenced by our 2.5 to 1 current ratio. We have access to a $4,000,000 line of credit (“LOC”) with our bank and have borrowed $900,000 under the LOC as of March 31, 2025. Our book value per share at March 31, 2025 was $4.69, which compares to $5.34 at December 31, 2024 and $5.54 at December 31, 2023. (Note: book value per share does not include any additional value for our partially reserved deferred tax asset.) To offset future federal and state taxes resulting from profits, we have approximately $2.4 million and $0.4 million in available federal and New York State net operating loss carryforwards, respectively.”

    Mr. Binder added, “Because our revenues are tied to delivery schedules specified in our contracts, it is often difficult to judge our performance on a quarterly basis. Our operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2025 resulted from weak bookings in the second half of 2024 that emanated from contract delays that led to a significant gap in first quarter delivery schedules. Some of these contracts were awarded in the first quarter and some represent ongoing opportunities that we have not yet finalized with our customer. We reported at year end that these contract delays would adversely affect our operating performance in the first half of 2025. Although, we expect an improvement in the second quarter operating results, we expect the results to still be somewhat affected by the 2024 contract delays. Because of the improved bookings in the first quarter and our expectation of improved bookings throughout our operating units and barring unforeseen delays, we expect these awards to fill in our delivery schedules and lead to an improvement to operating results in the second half of 2025.”

    Mr. Binder concluded, “We continue to evaluate the impact of tariff announcements and are evaluating their impact on the cost of our products and, in particular, our VPX power supplies, which recorded significant sales growth in 2024 and is expected to be the driver of the growth of our OPG in the future. We are addressing the tariffs in a number of ways, including a pass through to our customers, adjusting our pricing, negotiating with our vendors or seeking out alternative sources. We’ve been proactive in moving certain of our foreign vendors to countries that are not expected to be materially affected by tariffs.”

    Orbit International Corp., through its Electronics Group, is involved in the development and manufacture of custom electronic device and subsystem solutions for military, industrial and commercial applications through its production facilities in Hauppauge, New York and Carson, CA. Orbit’s Power Group, also located in Hauppauge, NY, designs and manufactures a wide array of power products including AC power supplies, frequency converters, inverters, VME/VPX power supplies as well as various COTS power sources.

    Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company including, statements regarding our expectations of Orbit’s operating plans, deliveries under contracts and strategies generally; statements regarding our expectations of the performance of our business; expectations regarding costs and revenues, future operating results, additional orders, future business opportunities and continued growth, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although Orbit believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved.

    Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond Orbit International’s ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact Orbit International and the statements contained in this news release can be found in Orbit’s reports posted with the OTC Disclosure and News service. For forward-looking statements in this news release, Orbit claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Orbit assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    CONTACT   
    David Goldman 
    Chief Financial Officer 
    631-435-8300 

    (See Accompanying Tables)

     
    Orbit International Corp.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (in thousands, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
     
        Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    (unaudited)
          2025       2024  
             
    Net sales   $ 4,726     $ 6,175  
             
    Cost of sales     4,138       4,275  
             
    Gross profit     588       1,900  
             
    Selling general and administrative expenses     2,717       2,643  
             
    Interest expense     19       5  
             
    Other (income) expense, net     (7 )     (14 )
             
    Loss before income taxes     (2,141 )     (734 )
             
    Income tax provision     11       17  
             
    Net loss   $ (2,152 )   $ ( 751 )
             
             
    Basic loss per share   $ (0.65 )   $ (0.22 )
             
    Diluted loss per share   $ (0.65 )   $ (0.22 )
             
    Weighted average number of shares outstanding:        
    Basic     3,327       3,343  
    Diluted     3,327       3,343  
             
     
    Orbit International Corp.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (in thousands, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
     
     
        Three Months Ended
    March 31,
          2025       2024  
             
    EBITDA (as adjusted) Reconciliation        
    Net loss   $ (2,152 )   $ (751 )
    Income tax expense     11       17  
    Depreciation and amortization     170       165  
    Interest expense     19       5  
    Fair value adj-contingent liabilities & other non-current liability    

    –

    		      

    10

    		  
    Stock-based compensation     3       3  
    EBITDA (as adjusted) (1)   $ (1,949 )   $ (551 )
             
    EBITDA (as adjusted) Per Diluted Share Reconciliation        
    Net loss   $ ( 0.65 )   $ (0.22 )
    Income tax expense     0.00       0.01  
    Depreciation and amortization     0.05       0.05  
    Interest expense     0.01       0.00  
    Fair value adj-contingent liabilities & other non-current liability    

    0.00

    		      

    0.00

    		  
    Stock-based compensation     0.00       0.00  
    EBITDA (as adjusted) per diluted share (1)   $ (0.59 )   $ (0.16 )

    (1) The EBITDA (as adjusted) tables presented are not determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Management uses EBITDA (as adjusted) to evaluate the operating performance of its business. It is also used, at times, by some investors, securities analysts and others to evaluate companies and make informed business decisions. EBITDA (as adjusted) is also a useful indicator of the income generated to service debt. EBITDA (as adjusted) is not a complete measure of an entity’s profitability because it does not include costs and expenses for interest, depreciation and amortization, income taxes, fair value adj.-contingent liabilities and other non-current liability and stock-based compensation. EBITDA (as adjusted) as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly named measures reported by other companies.

        Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    Reconciliation of EBITDA, as adjusted,
    to cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities (1)    		    

                  2025

    		      

    2024

    		  
                     
    EBITDA (as adjusted)   $ (1,949 )   $ (551 )
    Income tax expense     (11 )     (17 )
    Interest expense     (19 )     (5 )
    Fair value adj-contingent liabilities and other non-current liability     –       (10 )
    Stock-based compensation     7       7  
    Net change in operating assets and liabilities     1,353       1,230  
    Cash flows (used in) provided by operating activities   $ ( 619 )   $ 654  
     
    Orbit International Corp.
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
     
      March 31, 2025
    (unaudited)    		   December 31, 2024
    ASSETS      
    Current assets:      
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 696,000     $ 1,355,000  
    Accounts receivable, less allowance for credit losses   2,152,000       3,935,000  
    Inventories   9,068,000       8,884,000  
    Contract assets   1,029,000       643,000  
    Other current assets   376,000       428,000  
           
    Total current assets   13,321,000       15,245,000  
           
    Property and equipment, net   1,147,000       1,192,000  
    Right of use assets, operating leases   2,122,000       2,297,000  
    Right of use assets, financing leases   67,000       77,000  
    Goodwill   3,515,000       3,515,000  
    Intangible assets, net
    Deferred tax asset    		   2,262,000
    100,000    		       2,322,000
    100,000    		  
    Other assets   52,000       53,000  
           
    Total assets $ 22,586,000     $ 24,801,000  
           
    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
    Current liabilities:      
    Accounts payable $ 1,000,000     $ 878,000  
    Accrued expenses   975,000       990,000  
    Notes payable   86,000       99,000  
    Lease liabilities, operating leases   716,000       717,000  
    Lease liabilities, financing leases   39,000       38,000  
    Contingent liability   1,362,000       1,362,000  
    Line of credit   900,000       850,000  
    Customer advances   282,000       296,000  
           
    Total current liabilities   5,360,000       5,230,000  
           
    Notes payable, net of current portion   69,000       83,000  
    Lease liabilities, operating leases   1,498,000       1,678,000  
    Lease liabilities, financing leases   31,000       41,000  
           
    Total liabilities   6,958,000       7,032,000  
           
    Stockholders’ Equity      
    Common stock   352,000       351,000  
    Additional paid-in capital   17,181,000       17,171,000  
    Treasury stock   (1,224,000 )     (1,224,000  
    Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)   (681,000 )     1,471,000  
           
    Stockholders’ equity   15,628,000       17,769,000  
           
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 22,586,000     $ 24,801,000  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Calorie counts on menus and food labels may not help consumers choose healthier foods, new research shows

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Deidre Popovich, Associate Professor of Marketing, Texas Tech University

    Fitness apps make it easy to track the number of calories in a meal. d3sign/Moment via Getty Images

    Knowing the calorie content of foods does not help people understand which foods are healthier, according to a study I recently co-authored in the Journal of Retailing. When study participants considered calorie information, they rated unhealthy food as less unhealthy and healthy food as less healthy. They were also less sure in their judgments.

    In other words, calorie labeling didn’t help participants judge foods more accurately. It made them second-guess themselves.

    Across nine experiments with over 2,000 participants, my colleague and I tested how people use calorie information to evaluate food. For example, participants viewed food items that are generally deemed healthier, such as a salad, or ones that tend to be less healthy, such as a cheeseburger, and were asked to rate how healthy each item was. When people did not consider calorie information, participants correctly saw a big gap between the healthy and unhealthy foods. But when they considered calorie information, those judgments became more moderate.

    In another experiment in the study, we found that asking people to estimate the calorie content of food items reduced self-reported confidence in their ability to judge how healthy those foods were − and that drop in confidence is what led them to rate these food items more moderately. We observed this effect for calories but not for other nutrition metrics such as fat or carbohydrates, which consumers tend to view as less familiar.

    This pattern repeated across our experiments. Instead of helping people sharpen their evaluations, calorie information seemed to create what researchers call metacognitive uncertainty, or a feeling of “I thought I understood this, but now I’m not so sure.” When people aren’t confident in their understanding, they tend to avoid extreme judgments.

    People’s calorie needs vary widely.

    Because people see calorie information so often, they believe they know how to use it effectively. But these findings suggest that the very familiarity of calorie counts can backfire, creating a false sense of understanding that leads to more confusion, not less. My co-author and I call this the illusion of calorie fluency. When people are asked to judge how healthy a food item is based on calorie data, that confidence quickly unravels and their healthiness judgments become less accurate.

    Why it matters

    These findings have important implications for public health and for the businesses that are investing in calorie transparency. Public health policies assume that providing calorie information will drive more informed choices. But our research suggests that visibility isn’t enough – and that calorie information alone may not help. In some cases, it might even lead people to make less healthy choices.

    This does not mean that calorie information should be removed. Rather, it needs to be supported with more context and clarity. One possible approach is pairing calorie numbers with decision aids such as a traffic light indicator or an overall nutrition score, which both exist in some European countries. Alternatively, calorie information about an item could be accompanied by clear reference points explaining how much of a person’s recommended daily calories it contains – though this may be challenging because of how widely daily calorie needs vary.

    Our study highlights a broader issue in health communication: Just because information is available doesn’t mean it’s useful. Realizing that calorie information can seem easier to understand than it actually is can help consumers make more informed, confident decisions about what they eat.

    What still isn’t known

    In our studies, we found that calorie information is especially prone to creating an illusion of understanding. But key questions remain.

    For example, researchers don’t yet know how this illusion interacts with the growing use of health and wellness apps, personalized nutrition tools or AI-based food recommendations. Future research could look at whether these tools actually help people feel more sure of their choices – or just make them feel confident without truly understanding the information.

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

    Deidre Popovich 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. Calorie counts on menus and food labels may not help consumers choose healthier foods, new research shows – https://theconversation.com/calorie-counts-on-menus-and-food-labels-may-not-help-consumers-choose-healthier-foods-new-research-shows-256054

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: In death penalty cases, the quest for justice is not America’s highest value

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

    Between 1976 and 2015, 80% of Louisiana’s capital sentences were later reversed. Bernd Obermann/Getty Images

    Jimmie Christian Duncan learned in April 2025 that a Louisiana judge had dismissed his capital murder conviction and he would no longer face the prospect of execution. In 1998, a jury convicted Duncan of murdering his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, and he had been on death row ever since.

    Louisiana has a long and troubled death penalty history. From 1976 to 2015, 80% of the state’s capital sentences were reversed on appeal, and 12 people have been exonerated from its death row.

    But the Bayou State is not the only death penalty state with a wrongful conviction problem. Death row exonerations – when someone is released after being sentenced – have become more common in the United States. More than 200 people have been freed in the past half-century.

    DNA evidence has been involved in only a handful of those cases, but not Duncan’s. Most of the others have happened when defense lawyers discovered new evidence of faulty eyewitness identification, or when prosecutorial misconduct cast doubt on the legality of the conviction.

    Duncan’s case stands out because it was the first successful use of Louisiana’s 2021 factual innocence statute. Under that law, reconsideration of convictions can be based on new facts rather than just constitutional or legal violations of a defendant’s rights.

    As Louisiana District Judge Alvin Sharp explained in his April 2025 opinion in Duncan’s case, “To possibly be successful on a ‘factual innocence’ claim, a Petitioner shall present new, reliable, and non-cumulative evidence that would be legally admissible at trial and that was not known or discoverable at or prior to trial…”

    In overturning Duncan’s conviction, Sharp highlighted new understandings about the unreliability of so-called bite mark analysis that played a key role in Duncan’s case. He also cited the testimony of “a very compelling witness” who testified that the child’s death was “accidental drowning,” not homicide.

    It might seem odd that it took the factual innocence statute in 2021 to make what Sharp did possible. But as a death penalty scholar, I believe it’s the latest reminder that, even in capital cases, the quest for justice has not always been the United States’ highest value.

    The shadow of Herrera v. Collins

    States such as Louisiana have enacted factual innocence statutes because there is no nationwide, constitutional bar to executing people who are factually innocent. More than three decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court turned back a challenge to the constitutionality of executing people who might not have committed the crime for which they were sentenced to death.

    In February 1992, 10 years after his conviction, Leonel Herrera filed a writ of habeas corpus – a legal action used to challenge the legality of a person’s imprisonment. Herrera said he had new evidence showing he had not committed the murder for which he had been sentenced to death.

    Herrera’s lawyers argued that executing a factually innocent person would violate the Eighth Amendment, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. He also said it would violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process of law.

    Herrera wanted the courts to consider affidavits given long after Herrera’s conviction. Those affidavits claimed that Raul Herrera, Leonel Herrera’s brother, had said before he died that he, not Leonel, was guilty of the killing for which Leonel had been convicted.

    But the Supreme Court refused to consider that evidence.

    A 6–3 majority concluded that evidence of actual innocence was “not relevant … absent some other constitutional violation.” This ruling means that so long as applicable legal procedures are followed, it doesn’t matter whether the outcome is correct.

    In 1992, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of executing people who might not have committed the crime for which they were sentenced to death.
    AP Photo/Alex Brandon

    Making a place for actual innocence

    Not surprisingly, death penalty abolitionists were appalled by the outcome in Herrera’s case. They saw it as condoning the execution of the innocent.

    And in 2013, the Supreme Court opened the door for litigating actual innocence claims under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which restricts prisoners’ habeas corpus rights.

    The court allowed prisoners who can show proof of innocence to file a habeas petition even after the normal time limit for filing one. But it did not say that executing the innocent would violate the Constitution.

    States have responded to this by enacting laws that allow people convicted of crimes to bring actual innocence claims, based on newly discovered DNA evidence.

    In 2012, Massachusetts passed a law allowing prisoners to seek “forensic or scientific analysis” of evidence in support of a claim of “factual innocence of the crime for which the person has been convicted.”

    Five other states – Louisiana, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and Utah – have passed laws allowing post-conviction actual innocence claims, even without DNA evidence.

    Under the Louisiana statute that Duncan invoked, “A petitioner who has been convicted of an offense may seek post-conviction relief on the grounds that he is factually innocent of the offense for which he was convicted.”

    In Louisiana, new evidence can be “scientific, forensic, physical, or nontestimonial documentary evidence.” Under some conditions, testimonial evidence is also admissible to prove innocence in post-conviction cases.

    Someone seeking such relief must prove “by clear and convincing evidence that, had the new evidence been presented at trial, no rational juror would have found the petitioner guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

    A prison warden discusses the gurney used for lethal injections at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola in September 2009.
    AP Photo/Judi Bottoni

    Opposition to actual innocence

    Many people oppose allowing convicted criminals to reopen their cases, even if they are, like Duncan, on death row.

    In the Herrera case, for example, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said that doing so would have a “very disruptive effect … on the need for finality in capital cases.”

    It looks like Louisiana will again be weighing the value of finality and justice in capital cases.

    Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wants to see its actual innocence law repealed, calling it a “woke, hug-a-thug policy” and arguing that “once a verdict has been finalized, there are no more ‘get out of jail free’ cards.”

    A bill in the Louisiana Legislature to change the law has been introduced in the 2025 legislative session.

    The stakes could not be higher.

    As former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun wrote in his Herrera dissent, “Just as an execution without adequate safeguards is unacceptable, so too is an execution when the condemned prisoner can prove that he is innocent. The execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder.”

    Louisiana will soon have to decide how close it is willing to come to producing that tragic result.

    Austin Sarat 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. In death penalty cases, the quest for justice is not America’s highest value – https://theconversation.com/in-death-penalty-cases-the-quest-for-justice-is-not-americas-highest-value-256042

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From defenders to skeptics: The sharp decline in young Americans’ support for free speech

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jacob Mchangama, Research Professor of Political Science and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech, Vanderbilt University

    Support among young people for allowing controversial or offensive speech has dropped sharply. J Studios/Getty Images

    For much of the 20th century, young Americans were seen as free speech’s fiercest defenders. But now, young Americans are growing more skeptical of free speech.

    According to a March 2025 report by The Future of Free Speech, a nonpartisan think tank where I am executive director, support among 18- to 34-year-olds for allowing controversial or offensive speech has dropped sharply in recent years.

    In 2021, 71% of young Americans said people should be allowed to insult the U.S. flag, which is a key indicator of support for free speech, no matter how distasteful. By 2024, that number had fallen to just 43% – a 28-point drop. Support for pro‑LGBTQ+ speech declined by 20 percentage points, and tolerance for speech that offends religious beliefs fell by 14 points.

    This drop contributed to the U.S. having the third-largest decline in free speech support among the 33 countries that The Future of Free Speech surveyed – behind only Japan and Israel.

    Why has this support diminished so dramatically?

    Shift from past generations

    In the 1960s, college students led what was called the free speech movement, demanding the right to speak freely about political matters on campus, often clashing with older, more censorious generations.

    Sociologist Jean Twenge has tracked changes in attitudes using data from the General Social Survey, a biennial survey conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.

    Since the 1970s, this survey has asked Americans whether controversial figures – racists, communists and anti-religionists – should be allowed to speak. Support for such rights generally increased from the Greatest Generation, born between 1900-1924, to Gen X, born between 1965-1979.

    But Gen Z, those born between 1995-2004, has reversed that trend. Despite the fact that the Cold War, which pitted the communist Soviet Union and its allies against the democratic West, ended more than three decades ago, even support for the free speech rights of communists has declined.

    Political drift and cultural realignment

    At the same time, some data suggests that young Americans may be drifting rightward politically.

    A Harvard Institute of Politics poll in late 2024 found that men ages 18–24 now identify as slightly more conservative than those ages 25–29. Another Gallup survey showed that Gen Z teens are twice as likely as millennials to describe themselves as more conservative than their parents were at the same age.

    This shift may help explain changes in speech attitudes.

    Today’s young Americans may be less likely to instinctively defend speech aligned with liberal or progressive causes. For example, support among 18- to 29-year-olds for same-sex marriage, generally considered a liberal or progressive cause, fell from 79% in 2018 to 71% in 2022, according to Pew Research.

    Attitudes toward hate speech

    The Future of Free Speech study found that younger Americans are especially hesitant to defend speech that offends minority groups.

    Only 47% of those ages 18 to 34 said such speech should be allowed, compared with 70% of those over 55.

    Similarly, tolerance for religiously offensive speech was 57% among younger respondents, down from 71% in 2021.

    This concern over harmful or bigoted speech is not new. A 2015 Pew survey found that 40% of millennials believed the government should be able to prevent offensive speech about minorities.

    More recently, a 2024 report by the nonpartisan free speech advocacy group FIRE found that 70% of U.S. college students supported disinviting speakers perceived as bigoted. Over a quarter said violence could be acceptable to stop campus speech in some cases.

    Broader implications

    Why does this matter?

    The First Amendment protects unpopular speech. It does not just shield offensive ideas, but it safeguards movements that once seemed fringe. Whether it’s civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights or anti-war protests, history shows that ideas seen as dangerous or radical in one era often become widely accepted in another.

    Today’s younger Americans will soon shape policies in universities, media, government, tech and the public square. If a growing share believes speech should be regulated to prevent offense, that could signal a shift in how free speech is interpreted and enforced in American institutions.

    To be sure, support for free speech in principle remains strong. The Future of Free Speech report found that 89% of Americans said people should be allowed to criticize government policy. But tolerance for more provocative or offensive speech appears to be eroding, especially among young people.

    This raises questions about whether these changes reflect a life-stage effect − will today’s young people become more speech-tolerant as they age? Or are we seeing a deeper generational shift?

    The data suggests Americans across all generations still value free speech. But for younger Americans, especially, that support seems increasingly conditional.

    Jacob Mchangama receives funding from The John Templeton Foundation. He is affiliated with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

    – ref. From defenders to skeptics: The sharp decline in young Americans’ support for free speech – https://theconversation.com/from-defenders-to-skeptics-the-sharp-decline-in-young-americans-support-for-free-speech-254953

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