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  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Sara Jacobs Grills Secretary Marco Rubio on President Trump’s Conflicts of Interest in UAE while Ignoring UAE’s Funding of Genocide in Sudan

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53)

    May 21, 2025

    Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51) grilled Secretary Marco Rubio on President Trump’s conflicts of interest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In recent weeks, the Trump Organization has announced plans to build an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, and President Trump’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, has secured a $2 billion deal with an Emirati company with deep ties to the government. Then the Trump Administration blew through a congressional hold on over $1.5 billion in arms sales to the UAE, which continues to arm and fund the Rapid Support Forces’ genocide in Sudan.

    Watch Rep. Sara Jacobs Here

    Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Mr. Secretary, I want to turn to the war in Sudan. This is, as you know, the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crisis, half a million people are facing famine. I saw firsthand the suffering when I visited Sudanese refugees in Chad.

    “Earlier this year and again yesterday, you reiterated that the Rapid Support Forces, a militia, is committing genocide in Sudan. Is that correct?” 

    Secretary Marco Rubio said: “We’re very concerned about what both sides are doing frankly, but the RSF in particular.” 

    Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Correct, I agree with that. You also said that, as part of that, all of our engagement with the UAE, we need to ‘raise the fact that they’re openly supporting an entity that is carrying out a genocide.’ And yet, President Trump continues to arm the UAE. In fact, he just blew through Ranking Member Meeks’ congressional hold on over $1 billion in arms sales, ignoring this Committee’s longstanding role as an independent check on major arms sales. Now, we can have a policy debate on the merits of whether to arm the UAE or not, despite this genocide. I had that conversation with Secretary Blinken. But actually, I want to talk about the events that led up to that decision. 

    “So on April 30th, the Trump Organization, which Donald Trump still owns, unveiled plans to build an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai. 

    “On May 1, Trump’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, secured a $2 billion deal with an Emirati company with deep ties to the government.

    “And only 11 days later, on May 12, your Department notified our committee that it would ignore Ranking Member Meeks’ holds on UAE arms sales.

    “Secretary Rubio, we have a President who is personally profiting from a deal with a foreign government-backed company at the same time he is selling lethal weapons to that same government. Isn’t that a clear conflict of interest?”

    Secretary Marco Rubio said: “I think no matter who is president, they would have to deal with the UAE. We have to. They’re a member of…

    Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “That’s not my question. We can have a policy debate about how we should engage with the UAE. I was just there a few weeks ago.

    Secretary Marco Rubio said: “You’re making claims about corruption. I’m trying to answer them. Any President in the United States – I don’t care who it is – has to deal with the UAE. They’re a member of the Abraham Accords, number one. They’ve been incredibly cooperative on a bunch of other issues. We don’t agree with them 100%. We have some concerns about some of the things they do. But this is called the balancing of our foreign policy. It is in our national interest to have a good relationship with the UAE. And sometimes they do things we don’t like.

    Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Secretary Rubio, I don’t disagree with you. I just visited the UAE a couple weeks ago and had these very same conversations there and I don’t think this is a complicated question. President Trump is personally profiting from a deal with a foreign government and selling weapons to that same government who is enabling a genocide. Policy aside, are you really saying you don’t think this is a conflict of interest?

    Secretary Marco Rubio said: “No, you’re making claims. The president’s family owns a business and they can conduct business anywhere in the world they want. The president has never once raised business deals in the UAE when talking about…Any President would have to have a relationship with the UAE.

    Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Secretary Rubio, that’s just silly. President Trump has retained his ownership of these companies and I have an image right here from World Liberty Financial’s website, so the idea that President Trump is not the face of the brand of this company on top of benefiting from them. And it literally says on the website that Mr. Trump and his family members own a 60% stake in this company. That’s silly. We can talk about the policy merits – that’s not what I’m asking you. I’m asking you a very simple question: do you believe that it’s a conflict of interest to have a president personally profiting from a deal with a foreign government while selling weapons to that same government who is enabling a genocide?

    Secretary Marco Rubio said: “I don’t…I don’t accept the premise of your question. I think this has nothing to do with personally benefiting from anything. This has to do with the fact that in order to conduct foreign policy in the Middle East, you’re going to have to deal with the UAE. You have to have deals in place with the UAE.

    Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Mr. Secretary, this is a clear conflict of interest. Anyone with any common sense can see that. The President is personally benefiting from billions of dollars in deals, and he doesn’t care at all about the people of Sudan who are experiencing famine and genocide.

    “It’s shocking to me that you can’t admit that. It’s clear to me that you seem more concerned about staying in Trump’s good graces than sticking up for human rights and American values that you once were a champion for. With that, I’m going to yield the rest of my time to Representative Olszewski.”

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Sherman’s Bipartisan Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act Passes House Financial Services Committee

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – On May 20th, the House Financial Services Committee voted to advance Congressman Brad Sherman’s (CA-32) bipartisan Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act, which he led along with Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), and Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (D-OR), clearing the way for its consideration on the House floor. 

    The Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act makes a technical correction to a federal securities rule allowing Business Development Companies (BDCs) to access additional capital to invest in America’s small and medium sized businesses. Business development companies play a vital role in supporting small businesses around the nation who otherwise would be unable to access capital to grow their businesses. 

    The most important thing that our financial institutions and capital markets do is provide capital for businesses, particularly small, medium-sized, and growing enterprises. These businesses are the engine of our economy, driving innovation, job creation, and regional economic development in ways that benefit every community. This bipartisan legislation will open the door for more investment in BDCs, thereby unlocking more capital for small and mid-sized businesses across the country. Importantly, it does so without rolling back investor protections or weakening existing SEC oversight.

    “I’m pleased that the House Financial Services Committee passed this bill with broad bipartisan support, clearing the way for a vote by the full House,” said Congressman Brad Sherman. “I thank Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters for their assistance in advancing this legislation and urge House Republican leadership to swiftly bring it to the floor so that America’s small businesses can access the capital they need to grow and succeed.”

    Senator David McCormick (R-PA) and Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) have also recently introduced an identical version of Congressman Sherman’s bill in the Senate signaling bipartisan bicameral support. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DelBene Introduces Legislation to Help Seniors Get Care They Need When They Need It

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

    Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Mike Kelly (PA-16), Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), and John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), and Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (KS) and Mark Warner (VA) introduced an updated Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act. The bipartisan, zero-cost legislation would help get seniors the care they deserve and allow health care providers to spend more time with patients by streamlining and modernizing the prior authorization process under Medicare Advantage.

    Prior authorization is a tool used by health plans to reduce unnecessary care by requiring health care providers to get pre-approval for medical services. However, the current system often results in multiple faxes or phone calls by clinicians, which takes precious time away from delivering care. Prior authorization continues to be the number one administrative burden identified by health care providers, and nearly three out of four Medicare Advantage enrollees are subject to unnecessary delays due to the practice.

    “While we’ve made progress streamlining prior authorization, this practice still results in too many seniors facing harmful delays in their care and providers spending too much time justifying common procedures instead of treating patients,” said DelBene. “Our bipartisan bill builds on that progress by bringing the system into the 21st century and ensuring seniors can access the timely, high-quality care they deserve. When seniors are fighting deadly illnesses, they shouldn’t have to fight their insurance company.”

    In 2025, 34.5 million people are enrolled in Medicare, including nearly 760,000 in Washington.

    In 2024, the Congressional Budget Office determined that the legislation would result in a zero cost to American taxpayers. Patients would receive better access to necessary care, and providers would see a significant regulatory burden.  

    In recent years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that Medicare Advantage plans ultimately approved 75% of requests that were originally denied. More recently, HHS released a report finding that MA plans incorrectly denied beneficiaries access to services even though they met Medicare coverage rules. The bill focuses on holding Medicare Advantage plans accountable and transparent to the American public.

    The bill would:

    • Establish an electronic prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans including a standardization for transactions and clinical attachments.
    • Increase transparency around Medicare Advantage prior authorization requirements and its use.
    • Clarify HHS’ authority to establish timeframes for e-prior authorization requests including expedited determinations, real-time decisions for routinely approved items and services, and other prior authorization requests.
    • Expand beneficiary protections to improve enrollee experiences and outcomes.
    • Require HHS and other agencies to report to Congress on program integrity efforts and other ways to further improve the e-prior authorization process.

    The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act unanimously passed the House in the 117th Congress and was cosponsored by a majority of members in the Senate and House of Representatives in the 118th Congress. The bill also received endorsements from over 500 national and state organizations representing patients, physicians, Medicare Advantage plans, hospitals, and other key stakeholders in the health care industry. 

    In January 2023, HHS finalized regulations that made many of the changes proposed in the legislation. The bill would codify these wins to ensure no future administration could undo them and make further improvements.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Peters Thanks EPA Administrator Zeldin for Commitment to Stop Cross-Border Sewage Pollution

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

    Washington D.C. – Today, at an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) thanked Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin for touring the U.S.-Mexico border in southern San Diego and for his commitment to address the scourge of cross-border wastewater pollution. This follows a joint announcement from the EPA and U.S. International Border and Water Commission (IBWC) this morning, that both agencies will speed up the first phase of the incremental expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) from two years to 100 days. This phase will increase the plant’s capacity to treat wastewater from 25 to 35 million gallons per day (mgd). The full project to repair and expand the dilapidated plant, for which Representative Peters and the San Diego delegation have secured $360 million in the last 18 months, will double treatment capacity to 50 mgd. 

    During the hearing, Rep. Peters stated, “I want to thank you for your recent visit to the South Bay and your tour of the Tijuana River Valley. This contamination issue remains, what I believe is one of the worst environmental catastrophes of the hemisphere and we are so encouraged by your commitment to working on a 100% solution… We’ve all worked really hard to get resources here — Republicans and Democrats. You have a partner here, and we’re happy to partner with you.”  

    During his opening remarks, EPA Administrator Zeldin stated, “[We] have issued immediate action items for Mexico to permanently and urgently end the Tijuana River sewage crisis that has plagued Southern California for decades.”  

    Last month, EPA Administrator Zeldin toured the South Bay at Rep. Peters’ invitation to see firsthand the ecological, economic, and health harms caused by this crisis.  

    Further Background: 

    Representative Peters has, for years, worked to address the cross-border pollution fouling San Diego’s coastal waters, including pushing for additional funding to fix and expand the dilapidated SBIWTP. The following are some recent actions: 

    2025 

    1. In March, Rep. Peters introduced legislation to authorize the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to accept funding from federal and non-federal entities for wastewater treatment, flood control projects, or other water conservation efforts. 

    2024 

    1. In January, Rep. Peters took to the House floor to demand that the President’s requested $310 million to fix and expand the dilapidated SBIWTP be included in any upcoming spending deal. 
    1. In February, Rep. Peters joined members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation to ask U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro about the effects of cross-border pollution on Navy operations. 
    1. In March, Rep. Peters celebrated the inclusion of $156 million, at his request, for the International Boundary and Water Commission’s (IBWC) construction budget in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations bill. The IBWC is the federal agency tasked with operating and maintaining the SBIWTP. 
    1. In May, Rep. Peters joined Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16) in a bipartisan request for $278 million for the IBWC’s construction budget in the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations bill. 
    1. In August, Rep. Peters hosted Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma on a tour of the broken wastewater treatment plant. 
    1. In September, Rep. Peters joined members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation to reiterate their call for a federal state of emergency declaration amid high levels of toxic gases. 
    1. In December, Rep. Peters and the Congressional delegation successfully fought to include an additional $250 million to fully repair and expand the capacity of the SBIWTP in the government funding bill. This brought the total amount of funds secured to $650 million. 

    2023 

    1. In June, Rep. Peters led a letter with other members of the San Diego Congressional delegation to the governor of Baja California urging accountability for the Mexican government’s commitments to build wastewater treatment infrastructure. 
    1. In July, members of the San Diego congressional delegation requested that the Environmental Protection Agency assist with directing environmental justice funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to help stop the flow of pollutants and urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to tour the broken plant. 
    1. Also in July, they sent a letter to President Biden and submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, calling on the administration to declare this crisis a federal emergency. 
    1. In August, he led two letters to the Office of Management and Budget and to OMB and the State Department, calling for urgent additional funding to confront this crisis.  
    1. In September, he proposed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill to boost U.S.- Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program funding. Additionally, he proposed two amendments to the Fiscal Year 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill to boost annual construction funding to the USIBWC to $100 million. 
    1. In October, Rep. Peters led a bipartisan letter to the Department of State demanding a complete account of how the SBIWTP fell into such a severe state of disrepair. 
    1. In December, he led a letter urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to include President Biden’s $310 million supplemental budget request to repair the SBIWTP in any upcoming funding package. 

    In previous years, Peters and colleagues have secured funding, introduced legislation, called for investigations, and arranged a visit by EPA Administrator Regan in response to the wastewater contamination crisis.  

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: US Department of Labor reaches settlement agreement with New Jersey commercial baker at Paterson facility

    Source: US Department of Labor

    PATERSON, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a New Jersey commercial baker to resolve litigation after a May 2024 follow-up investigation at the company’s Paterson facility found previously identified hazards had not been addressed.

    The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initially investigated Valenti’s Bakery LLC in June 2023, after an employee suffered partial finger amputations. OSHA conducted a May 2024 follow-up inspection to confirm the employer had corrected the previously cited hazards but instead found that the hazards remained at the facility. 

    The settlement agreement between OSHA and Valenti’s Bakery affirms the citations issued after the follow-up inspection, which included two willful, one repeat, six serious, and one failure-to-abate citation. The company has also agreed to pay a $180,000 penalty. 

    As part of the settlement, Valenti’s Bakery agreed to implement enhanced abatement measures, including:

    • Establishing an employee-management safety and health committee.
    • Retaining a third-party safety consultant to perform regular safety audits.
    • Posting safety and health signage and providing appropriate safety training in both English and Spanish.
    • Implementing a daily safety checklist and security cameras focused on improving exit route safety.
    • Implementing new engineering controls.
    • Performing spot checks to ensure use of proper lockout/tagout procedures.

    OSHA’s machine guarding and control of hazardous energy webpages provide information on how to limit worker exposures to machine hazards.

    Learn more about OSHA. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: XRP News: 7 Days Left: Secure Your $XDX Tokens Before XenDex Presale Ends and Listings Begin

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SYDNEY, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With just 7 days remaining, the countdown is on for investors to grab their share of $XDX tokens before the XenDex presale officially closes. With the soft cap already met and the hard cap nearly filled, XenDex is now in its final presale phase, and attention across the XRP community is intensifying.

    As excitement builds around XRP’s resurgence and long-term price potential, XenDex is positioning itself as the flagship DeFi platform on the XRP Ledger, offering real functionality, speed, and a sleek user experience for traders of all levels.

    Purchase XDX And Earn Rewards

    Recent market buzz suggests XRP may be on the path to new all-time highs, thanks to a wave of institutional support and favorable legal outcomes. Riding this momentum, XenDex is building the DeFi infrastructure XRP has been missing. Version 1 of the XenDex platform is actively in development, and a full mockup preview will be released soon, offering a live demo of its groundbreaking features.

    Why XenDex Stands Out

    XenDex offers a powerful suite of features in one seamless interface:

    • AI Copy Trading – Mirror top-performing trades in real time
    • Lending & Borrowing – Use assets as collateral or lend to earn rewards
    • Cross-Chain Trading – Swap XRP across Solana, Ethereum, and BNB
    • Staking & Yield Farming – Earn passive income through liquidity pools
    • DAO Governance – Vote on platform upgrades and proposals with $XDX

    Purchase $XDX At A low Price

    Presale buyers will receive exclusive early access to the XenDex platform upon launch.

    Final Presale Details

    • Soft Cap: Filled
    • Hard Cap: Nearly Filled
    • Price: 1.25 XRP = 10 XDX
    • Minimum Buy: 150 XRP

    Buy Now Before the Presale Ends: https://xendex.net/presale

    Confirmed Exchange Listings After Presale

    Some of the confirmed exchanges where $XDX has been confirmed to het listed on include, but not limited to; Binance, Gate.io, MEXC, BitMart, FirstLedger, MagneticX

    Thousands have already joined XenDex’s growing Telegram and Twitter communities. With supply dwindling and price pressure rising, this is the final chance to buy low before $XDX hits the open market in just a few days time..

    Join the XenDex Community

    Website: https://xendex.net
    Presale: https://xendex.net/presale
    Telegram: https://t.me/xendexcommunity
    Twitter/X: https://x.com/xendex_xrp
    Docs: https://xdxdocs.gitbook.io

    Contact:
    Frank Richards
    Frank@xendex.net

    Disclaimer: This is a paid post provided by XenDex. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

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    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/812a9822-03e0-4ce0-b44b-7d68ce8d0bfe

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Syncfusion® Debuts New Open-Source .NET MAUI Controls at Microsoft Build 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Syncfusion®, Inc., the enterprise technology provider of choice, today announced the release of its fourth set of open-source .NET MAUI controls at Microsoft Build 2025. These additions expand the Syncfusion Toolkit for .NET MAUI as part of the company’s continued investment in the .NET MAUI developer community.

    “Microsoft Build is an incredible event and an opportunity to engage directly with our fellow cross-platform developers,” said Daniel Jebaraj, CEO of Syncfusion. “As a trusted Microsoft collaborator, we are especially excited to debut our latest open-source .NET MAUI controls. We hope they’ll empower developers to build beautiful apps faster and with greater flexibility.”

    A Growing Ecosystem of Open-Source Tools for .NET MAUI
    With the latest release, the Syncfusion Toolkit for .NET MAUI now includes more than two dozen open-source controls that simplify the development of modern, responsive apps. New components in this release include:

    • Picker: Offers a customizable user interface for selecting one or more items from a list with support for multicolumn layouts and tailored pop-up views.
    • Date Picker: A flexible component that enables users to select a date using a structured, scrollable interface with customization options.
    • Time Picker: Provides an intuitive interface to select time values with a fully customizable format, layout, and time intervals.
    • Date Time Picker: Combines date and time selection in a single, customizable UI, allowing for precise scheduling.
    • Circular ProgressBar: Visualizes task progress in a circular format with smooth animations, segments, and customizable content at the center.
    • Linear ProgressBar:​​ Displays progress in a horizontal bar with support for buffer states, color ranges, and visual customizations.

    These controls are fully open source, designed to integrate seamlessly into AI-enhanced development workflows, and are available now.

    Syncfusion at Microsoft Build 2025
    In addition to showcasing its open-source .NET MAUI tools, Syncfusion is offering hands-on opportunities for developers to explore its full ecosystem of developer solutions—including the flagship Essential Studio® library of over 1,900 components and the Bold product line, which includes tools for data visualization, help desk support, and eSignature workflows.

    Syncfusion experts will be on-site to connect with developers, share product insights, and lead sessions, including:

    Attendees can visit Syncfusion at Booth 205 (Level 4 in the Hub) to experience live demos, learn more about the latest releases, and access exclusive giveaways—including the Microsoft MVP Spotlight Package.

    For full event details, visit the Syncfusion MS Build Showcase Page.

    About Syncfusion®, Inc.
    Headquartered in the technology hub of Research Triangle Park, N.C., Syncfusion®, Inc. delivers an award-winning ecosystem of developer control suites, embeddable BI platforms, and business software. Syncfusion was founded in 2001 with a single software component and a mission to support businesses of all sizes—from individual developers and start-ups to Fortune 500 enterprises. Though its pilot product, the Essential Studio® suite, has grown to over 1,900 developer controls, its mission remains the same. With offices in the U.S., India, and Kenya, Syncfusion prioritizes the customer experience by providing feature-rich solutions to help developers and enterprises solve complex problems, save money, and build high-performance, robust applications.

    Contact: Brittany Kearns
    Phone: 571-271-7211
    Email: brittany@crossroadsb2b.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero: A Commissioner’s Evaluation of Cases & Cooperation Credit

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    Throughout my career in federal law enforcement, I have been a proponent of the government providing incentives for self-reporting and cooperation.  There is public interest in a company finding its own violation of the law as fast as possible, stopping it, reporting it, and fixing it so that it never happens again.  The government also has an interest in conserving investigative and litigation resources while bringing accountability, and a company’s full cooperation assists in that interest. 
    To increase those incentives, I propose that the CFTC as an agency increase transparency in public documents about enforcement decisions in specific cases, rather than rely on public documents with limited information supplemented by individual Commissioner statements.  I am concerned that transparency and fair notice are often limited in public documents on how self-reporting, cooperation and remediation was weighed, which cuts against the government providing incentives. 
    I also provide this general explanation as to how one Commissioner evaluates cases and cooperation credit—an explanation that supplements the February 2025 CFTC Division of Enforcement Advisory on Self-Reporting, Cooperation and Remediation (“Advisory”), which is not binding on the Commission or any Commissioner. While this Advisory is focused on the monetary penalty part of a settlement, with a self-reporting and cooperation monetary credit derived from a formula based on a 10% to 55% reduction set by a matrix, my evaluation covers more than that, including monetary and non-monetary credit.
    While the incentive to self-report and cooperate includes a credit that may lower the penalty, there are non-monetary government determinations for each case that may also reflect credit that should be considered as incentives.  The government may decline to file charges.  Where charges are filed, the government may recognize a defendant’s self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation by limiting the charges, limiting other remedies, undertakings, or other outcomes, and through the language used in public documents. 
    The first step in my evaluation of a case is to determine whether the CFTC should settle a case or litigate.  This decision is less complex for new cases compared to pending litigation.  When filing new cases, the government should be prepared to litigate.  The decision to file a new case should not be whether a successful verdict is guaranteed, but instead whether there is merit to filing the case.  I have made decisions to support meritorious first-of-their-kind cases where success is not guaranteed, as evidenced by my law enforcement record. 
    The U.S. government’s decisions in pending litigation involve a more complex array of considerations.  With more than two decades of law enforcement experience representing the United States of America, I have always made decisions on pending litigation on the law, facts, and an analysis of litigation strategy and risk.  My experience has also shown me when it is best for the government to accept a plea or otherwise resolve a case.  This is particularly true in cases where litigation risk increased significantly over the course of the litigation, especially if it increased in a way that puts something larger at stake that should be protected.  An increased risk that a court may unnecessarily narrow the governing statute based on the facts before it is one example.          
    My evaluation of settlement terms is based on a number of factors that make up the total outcome of a case.  This includes whether the defendant is a recidivist or repeat defendant, the nature of the charges, who is charged, the nature of each remedy and undertaking, and the language used by the government in public documents. 
    The best way to provide incentives to cooperate is for the CFTC as an agency to increase transparency into how the CFTC evaluated each of those factors, rather than relying on limited discussion of those factors, supplemented by individual Commissioner statements.  For good reason, it is standard practice that the U.S. government speaks with one voice in pending litigation, rather than have federal leaders individually comment, which may risk prejudicing or undermining current and future legal positions and can be cited by current or future defendants. 
    It can be difficult to compare new cases to past precedent where it is not clear in the public documents what specific factors led to the evaluation of the past charges, penalty, other remedies, undertakings, and the language used.  This is not always because of government decisions.  Practitioners may say that they want more regulatory clarity, even while they advocate against “speaking orders,” limiting clarity. 
    Increasing transparency about the factors the CFTC weighed when evaluating the outcome of a case can strengthen the incentive for self-reporting and cooperation.  I appreciate that the Division of Enforcement intended to do so for the penalty outcome in the Advisory.  But I find that the evaluation is not so straightforward.  Rather than comment on individual cases, which I rarely do as I follow standard government practice that the government should speak with one voice, I seek to increase transparency by providing general insight into my own evaluation of a case, an evaluation shaped by over two decades of federal law enforcement experience.  
    I encourage all defendants seeking self-reporting and cooperation credit, as well as the CFTC Enforcement Division, to address all the potential factors and outcomes, rather than focusing on penalties alone.  As a Commissioner, the penalty is not where I start in my evaluation, and it is not always the most important factor to a defendant or the government.  Once I determine that settlement may be appropriate, the factors that I evaluate are:
    Factor 1: Recidivist, Repeat Defendant, Parallel Defendant
    As a Commissioner, my evaluation starts with whether the defendant is a recidivist or a repeat (or parallel) defendant of the CFTC or other government agencies.  While the notion of recidivism is briefly mentioned in the Advisory, it does not address whether or how a recidivist defendant would be treated.
    I would find it completely inconsistent with the history of CFTC enforcement and broader federal enforcement if the Enforcement Division recommended giving significant credit off a penalty to a recidivist even if they promptly self-reported the second or third violation, had the highest level of cooperation, and fully remediated.  That defendant should have fixed the problem after the first time, and I would question their credibility on remediation.   
    Moreover, the words “recidivist” or “recidivism” are too often narrowly defined, including in the Advisory, which refers on page 3 to “the same specific violation and facts and circumstances.”  A second or third violation rarely has the same specific facts and circumstances.  Moreover, limiting recidivism to the same specific violation leaves out similar activity that may have been raised by the CFTC, the SEC, DOJ, or other federal agency, or an exchange.  I will also look to see if the defendant is a repeat defendant before the CFTC, and I will review those cases, putting particular emphasis on similar conduct, particularly in recent history.  I expand that evaluation to other agency cases (SEC, DOJ, etc.) against the defendant, looking for similarities, recent conduct, or systemic or widespread failures. 
    It also matters whether the defendant is facing parallel federal cases.  It is appropriate for the CFTC to take into account penalties and other monetary remedies required by another agency, and where appropriate, provide credit.  Sometimes this credit is not clear from the public documents, as it is not actually listed as a credit, but instead taken into consideration in determining outcomes.
    Factor 2: The Harm Posed
    The government has a strong public interest in protecting individuals harmed by violations of CFTC laws and rules through accountability.  I evaluate cases by looking at the gravity of the violation, as well as any aggravating or mitigating factors. 
    Significant harm or risk of harm to individual victims should result in a strong resolution. This is especially true for harm to retail customers or vulnerable victims.  The rise in retail customers in CFTC-regulated markets may also mean that past precedent before the rise in retail may not be comparable.  A strong resolution is also appropriate for significant harm to end users, including for example farmers and agricultural producers. 
    Additionally, as a markets regulator, the CFTC has a strong public interest in bringing accountability and preventing significant harm or risk of harm to market integrity or financial stability.  Harm posed to markets or financial stability can ultimately impact individuals, as seen in the 2008 financial crisis or in artificially inflated prices due to market manipulation.   
    It is important to evaluate the purpose behind the laws and rules violated.[1]  There may also be a need to send a pronounced message about particular conduct or practices.   
    Factor 3: Scienter
    Scienter will play a substantial role in determining self-reporting and cooperation credit.  The higher the scienter, the stronger the need for accountability and deterrence in all the potential outcomes (charging decisions, language used in charging documents, penalties, other remedies and undertakings, etc.), which may limit cooperation credit. 
    I strongly disagree with the statement in the Advisory that “In extraordinary circumstances—for example where a person is the first to self-report pervasive fraud, manipulation, or abuse involving multiple parties, and also provides Exemplary Cooperation—the Division may recommend a declination.”  Such a statement is inconsistent with historical federal civil law enforcement where the first one in the door is often charged, albeit sometimes with a lesser charge or other outcome.  
    I would also find it challenging to assign significant self-reporting and cooperation credit in cases with a high level of scienter, particularly where there is significant harm.  Otherwise, a defendant could intentionally violate the law, benefit for some time and cause (or pose) significant harm, but then seek to limit culpability and accountability by promptly self-reporting, cooperating, and remediating. I would also find it challenging to assign significant self-reporting and cooperation credit in cases where the defendant engaged in obstruction, lying or concealment in an investigation or examination by the CFTC, SRO, exchange or other federal agency, on the same conduct, but later self-reported and cooperated.
    Scienter is not limited to intentional or willful conduct.  Federal laws establish different levels of scienter.  I will consider the levels of scienter as established by the law, in determining all outcomes of the case.  As one of the scienter considerations, it is important to evaluate the age of the rule.
    Recidivism is one factor that plays into the scienter determination, but there are others. Failure to put resources into systems and staff to ensure compliance is a choice even if the level of scienter for a specific violation does not rise to the level of intentional conduct. 
    Factor 4: The Nature of Charges and Who is Charged
    The nature of the charges and who is charged may reflect an unstated non-monetary credit for self-reporting, cooperation and remediation.  An important part of the evaluation of a case is whether the Enforcement Division could have recommended more charges, but pulled back, taking into consideration a defendant’s self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation.  Defendants should recognize the government’s decision to forego charges that it could have pursued as one of the most powerful incentives to self-report and cooperate, short of the government not bringing charges. 
    Charges against multiple companies and individuals are also part of the evaluation.  This is particularly true in cases with a high degree of scienter or in cases with widespread or longstanding illegal activity. The government’s decision not to pursue charges against multiple companies or individuals based on self-reporting and cooperation may also be recognized as a non-monetary credit.
    Factor 5: Acceptance of Responsibility
    The level of a defendant’s acceptance of responsibility is an important factor to consider in weighing self-reporting and cooperation credit.  This includes, as the Advisory discusses, the fullness of the self-reporting and cooperation. 
    Acceptance of responsibility also includes defendant admissions in appropriate cases, as discussed in the Advisory.  Practitioners in the CFTC space are aware of my statement on the public interest in increased accountability, transparency, and deterrence by the CFTC requiring defendants to admit wrongdoing in appropriate cases.  I created the Heightened Enforcement Accountability and Transparency test (the HEAT test) in September 2022.[2]  It has since become common practice for defendants to analyze the HEAT test in their materials to the Enforcement Division.  Since I announced the HEAT test, the Commission has required defendants to admit their wrongdoing in 57 cases.[3] 
    I evaluate all the above factors before I evaluate the appropriate penalty. 
    Factor 6: Accountability and Deterrence
    The goal of a penalty is accountability and deterrence.  Therefore, I look to determine the appropriate penalty necessary to achieve accountability and deterrence. 
    Accountability through a penalty reflects the seriousness of upholding the law, and the government’s interest in enforcing the law.  Deterrence includes specific deterrence—to deter that defendant from breaking the law again.  Therefore, the facts about that particular defendant matter.  It also includes general deterrence—deterring others who may be breaking the law now or in the future. 
    In determining the penalty necessary to achieve accountability and deterrence, past precedent is helpful if truly applicable.  Too often it is approached as a formulaic driver of the appropriate penalty. I find it unhelpful to see comparisons that count the number of violations and the number of years in each past case and compare those with the case before the Commission.[4]  Lost in that approach is the reasoning behind the penalty—accountability and deterrence—based on the facts and circumstances of the case before the Commission.   
    I would prefer to see a discussion and analysis on accountability in a section on the gravity of the specific violation by this defendant versus the gravity of other cases. The same law can be violated in different ways that carry different levels of gravity.  I would also prefer to see a discussion and analysis about the seriousness of upholding the specific law violated and a discussion and analysis of both specific and general deterrence.  In some cases, the CFTC may wish to send a pronounced deterrent message.  This may be the case when the CFTC starts seeing a pattern of violations or finds an egregious violation.   
    Additional transparency into the CFTC’s decision making in each case can help ensure that past precedent is understood and appropriately applied.[5]  As one example, in some cases, the Enforcement Division would have recommended a larger penalty, but for the financial condition or size of the company, inability to collect the penalty, or a parallel case.  In those instances, the CFTC and defendants should be cautious about using those cases as precedent and the CFTC should explain that.  If the explanation is sensitive, the CFTC could include a statement to the effect that due to extenuating circumstances, that case should not be viewed as precedential.
    The timing of a case also contributes to penalty calculation.  In some cases, the first enforcement cases soon after the implementation of a new rule had lower penalties, where the CFTC considered recent implementation of the rule as a mitigating factor, even if not publicly stated. That mitigation would decrease over time, resulting in higher penalties.  Swap data reporting cases are a good example.  For that reason, early cases are less comparable.  It’s less about the idea of ratcheting up the penalty over time. It’s more of an idea that in the beginning, the CFTC ratcheted down the penalty because of the mitigating factor that was later removed.   
    Factor 7: Other Remedies and Undertakings
    In evaluating all outcomes of the case, other remedies are often appropriate to achieve the goals of accountability and deterrence.  This includes statutory disqualifications, bans on future trading or other activity, a company holding individuals accountable, and other outcomes. Internally, I have often emphasized the importance of undertakings that are effectively designed to prevent future violations and requested additional undertakings.      
    The Enforcement Division may recognize self-reporting and cooperation by foregoing certain remedies or undertakings.  I have often seen the Enforcement Division not recommend undertakings where the defendant has either substantially remediated or offered a remediation plan.  I have also seen the Enforcement Division not recommend that the CFTC require a monitor where the Division trusts the defendant to follow through with its remediation plan.  These are examples of non-monetary cooperation credit that the CFTC should publicly recognize to increase transparency and incentives.
    Conclusion
    The bottom line is that it should be worthwhile for a defendant to self-report and cooperate with the U.S. government and the government should make that clear through the CFTC increasing transparency in public documents on specific cases.  I hope that this statement brings greater transparency to how one Commissioner evaluates cases and considers both monetary and non-monetary credits for self-reporting and cooperation in determining the total outcome in the case.  I propose that the CFTC as an agency increase transparency into the decision-making of outcomes (both monetary and non-monetary) in specific cases to increase the incentive for companies to self-report and cooperate. 

    [1] Recently I have heard practitioners discuss compliance-related rules effectively as non-serious foot faults, where there was no obvious harm. Many of these rules were put into place in the wake of the financial crisis, when the market and the government were in the dark.  I do not consider reporting failures or record keeping violations as foot faults. Without that reporting, the CFTC is limited in its core mission to oversee markets, including conducting surveillance to ensure market integrity and financial stability, and evaluating a defendant’s scienter.

    [3] I have also voted in favor of certain cases that did not include defendant admissions where the HEAT test weighed against requiring admissions.

    [4] I would expect the Enforcement Division to review the Enforcement Division memos to the Commission in relevant cases, not just the public order, to complete their analysis.  I would also encourage the Enforcement Division to address those factors in the public documents for cases going forward.

    [5] Additionally, I have often seen a defendant’s counsel not raise certain cases in their analysis of past precedent or cite to cases that are not directly on point.  As we are aware of and analyze past cases, I view that as a defendant giving up its opportunity to share their voice with the Commission.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Bulletin from the Annual general meeting

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    (OBS classification Regulatory news)

    On May 21, 2025, the annual general meeting of Virtune AB (publ) was held and below is a summary of the decisions that were made:

    • The meeting decided to adopt the income statement and balance sheet included in the annual report for the financial year 1 January – 31 December 2024.
    • The meeting decided to allocate the results in accordance with the board’s proposal included in the annual report.
    • The board members and the CEO were granted discharge from liability for the financial year 1 January – 31 December 2024.
    • It was decided to establish remuneration for the board in accordance with the nomination committee’s proposal.
    • It was decided, in accordance with the nomination committee’s proposal, that advisory consulting fees may be paid to the board for non-standard board work, which should also be reported for at the next annual genaral meeting.
    • It was decided, in accordance with the nomination committee’s proposal, that fees shall be paid to the auditor according to an approved account.
    • It was decided, in accordance with the nomination committee’s proposal, to re-elect the board members Christopher Kock, Erik Fischbeck, Laurent Kssis and Fredrik Djavidi. Erik Fischbeck was elected Chairman.
    • It was decided, in accordance with the Nomination Committee’s proposal, to re-elect the registered accounting firm Öhrlings Price WaterhouseCoopers AB as auditor for the period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, which has appointed the authorized public accountant Johan Engstam as the auditor in charge.
    • The meeting decided, in accordance with the Nomination Committee’s proposal, that the company’s Nomination Committee for the 2025 Annual General Meeting shall consist of the 3 largest shareholders as of November 30, 2025, and the Chairman of the Board, and adopted instructions for the Nomination Committee in accordance with the proposal.
    • It was decided to authorize the Board to decide on the issuance of shares, convertibles or warrants, according to the proposal submitted by the Board.
    • It was decided to authorize the Board to decide on the introduction of a new long-term incentive program for the Board and key personnel within Virtune AB, according to the proposal submitted by the Board.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Sophon Unveils zkTLS-Based Social Oracle to Integrate Private Web2 Data Onchain

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Sophon uses zkTLS to convert private Web2 credentials into verifiable on-chain assets without compromising privacy, enhancing user experiences and enabling new perspectives on applications.

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sophon, a platform built to power consumer crypto experiences, has unveiled its integration of zkTLS (zero-knowledge Transport Layer Security) as the foundation for a new class of personalized and privacy-preserving blockchain applications. At the center of this effort is the Social Oracle, a system that verifies off-chain personal data, such as achievements, credentials, and social influence, on-chain, while preserving user privacy.

    While many blockchain apps focus on financial primitives or public data, such as token prices, Sophon addresses a critical gap: securely and verifiably incorporating private Web2 data. Using zkTLS allows users to selectively authenticate data from platforms like games, streaming services, or brokerages, unlocking custom experiences in Web3 while keeping sensitive details off-chain.

    What zkTLS Enables

    zkTLS is a cryptographic enhancement of the widely used TLS protocol (the basis of HTTPS), enabling verifiable proof of private data exchanged between a client and a server. While standard TLS ensures secure transmission, zkTLS makes it possible to verify that communication without exposing its contents.

    Whether proving a Steam gaming record to access a new release, verifying income without disclosing complete bank statements, or authenticating social activity without linking personal accounts, zkTLS facilitates selective, minimal disclosure tailored to the use case.

    Introducing the Social Oracle

    Built on zkTLS, Sophon’s Social Oracle acts as a trust layer for consumer crypto. With the user’s consent, fragmented digital behaviors, such as gameplay stats or streaming activity, can be converted into reusable credentials recognized across multiple apps.

    Rather than building redundant verification systems, developers on Sophon can tap into this shared infrastructure to access authenticated user signals while maintaining compliance with data protection standards. For users, this means frictionless access to gated experiences, role-based rewards, and digital reputation systems, all while maintaining control over what data they choose to reveal.

    Diverse zkTLS Models, Unified Vision

    Sophon supports multiple zkTLS architectures — including MPC-TLS for decentralization, TEE-TLS for hardware-based speed, and Proxy-TLS for scalability — giving developers flexibility based on performance and security needs.

    By staying infrastructure-agnostic and integrating providers like Reclaim Protocol, Sophon can support use cases across social platforms, gaming, DeFi, and tokenized marketplaces. More than a product, Sophon is a platform designed to support an ecosystem of apps that benefit from a common, privacy-first data layer.

    Unlike isolated apps that bolt on zkTLS in narrow ways, Sophon merges modular cryptographic trust with cross-app interoperability, creating a more composable foundation for user-centric Web3.

    Turning Data Into Momentum

    Sophon’s ecosystem is built on a virtuous cycle: users share verifiable Web2 data through zkTLS, becoming a secure network asset. Apps respond to this data by offering tailored rewards, exclusive access, or identity-based experiences, making the platform more appealing to new users, who bring in even more authenticated data.

    This network effect strengthens the Social Oracle with every new credential. Over time, the system evolves from a verification tool into a living, portable layer of user identity, recognized and respected across apps. It’s a model that moves away from temporary airdrops or mercenary incentives, instead generating lasting value from genuine engagement.

    Incentives Should Be Fun, Not Just Financial

    Many GameFi projects have faltered by prioritizing token rewards over user experience. Sophon flips this dynamic by rewarding meaningful activity, verified through zkTLS, not just with financial perks but access, recognition, and enjoyment.

    Whether unlocking an in-game item based on actual gameplay or gaining early access as a verified supporter, Sophon allows incentives to reflect earned identity rather than mere wallet activity.

    Making Blockchain Invisible, Benefits Obvious

    Due to privacy and verification constraints, Sophon’s zkTLS infrastructure already supports previously impractical apps. Users can verify Amazon Prime memberships to access curated marketplaces, prove brokerage balances to enhance DeFi yields, use airline miles for stock-based incentives, or authenticate multi-platform creator revenue for monetization tools. Even gaming platforms can now recognize off-chain achievements to mint items or establish player reputation.

    Crucially, Sophon removes the complexity typically associated with Web3. Instead of beginning with wallets, seed phrases, and technical onboarding, users start with platforms they already use and data they control. Sophon abstracts away the blockchain, letting trust and utility take center stage.

    Mainstream adoption won’t come from better blockchain explanations — it will come from making blockchain invisible while making its benefits undeniable.

    About Sophon

    Sophon is a consumer-focused platform designed to onboard the next generation of crypto users through everyday products that monetize and reward the data each of us naturally creates. Beyond just a blockchain, Sophon provides a complete operating system for crypto-powered experiences that functions as both a developer framework and user hub, delivering seamless interactions across gaming, social, AI and beyond.

    At the core of its architecture is zkTLS, a cryptographic enhancement of the standard TLS protocol that enables verifiable yet privacy-preserving data authentication. Built on this foundation, Sophon’s Social Oracle aggregates and transforms Web2 credentials, such as gaming history, financial records, and social activity, into reusable, trust-minimized proofs that can power personalized experiences across multiple decentralized applications. For developers, this creates powerful consumer insights that enable a whole new class of applications to be built onchain.

    Contact:
    Oskari Tempakka
    oskari@sophon.xyz

    Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Sophon. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/059f0146-dd74-489c-9259-f39296ef4c19

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jason P. Joseph, Assistant Professor of Urology, University of Florida

    Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative was started in honor of his son, Beau Biden, who died from brain cancer. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

    Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. But what does it mean for this type of cancer to be called aggressive?

    As a urologic surgeon who specializes in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer, I often explain to my patients that aggressiveness isn’t based on a single factor. Instead, it comes from understanding how abnormal the cancer cells look, known as the tumor’s grade; how far they’ve spread, known as the tumor’s stage; and their genetic fingerprint.

    Grade: Decoding cancer cell appearance

    One key piece of the puzzle is the cancer’s grade, which indicates the tumor’s potential to grow. After a prostate biopsy, a doctor specializing in examining tissues – a pathologist – grades the tumor by comparing the appearance of its cancer cells with that of normal prostate cells.

    Imagine healthy prostate cells as organized workers in a factory, each performing specific tasks. In contrast, high-grade cancer cells appear chaotic, growing and dividing rapidly.

    As prostate cancer grade increases, individual glands becomes less well formed and the cells more disordered.
    Salvi et al/Cancers, CC BY-SA

    For prostate cancer, doctors use what are called grade groups that range from 1 (least aggressive) to 5 (most aggressive). These groups are a simplification based on an older classification called a Gleason score. Biden’s Gleason 9 cancer falls into grade group 5, indicating the cells appear extremely abnormal with a strong potential for rapid growth and spread.

    While the cancer’s grade helps indicate how tumor cells might behave, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Some high-grade cancers can remain confined to the prostate for months or even years.

    To understand where the cancer is and how far it has advanced, doctors determine its stage.

    Stage: Mapping cancer location and spread

    A tumor’s stage describes if, and how far, cancer has spread beyond where it first formed. Doctors use physical exams, imaging scans and lab tests to stage prostate cancer.

    Medical professionals usually use a detailed system called TNM – short for tumor, nodes, metastasis – to classify a tumor’s stage. But prostate cancer stage can be broadly understood as:

    • Localized (stages 1-2): The cancer is only within the prostate. Think of a weed confined to a small garden bed. Many localized cancers, particularly if low-grade, may not be deemed aggressive and can often be safely monitored.

    • Locally advanced (Stage 3): The cancer has spread out from the prostate and is growing in very nearby tissues, like a weed sending roots into the surrounding lawn.

    • Metastatic (Stage 4): The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body. For prostate cancer, this often means lymph nodes, bones – as in Biden’s case – liver or lungs. This is like the weeds spreading seeds down the street and across town.

    A Stage 4 prostate cancer is considered advanced and aggressive because it has shown that it can travel and form new tumors.

    Doctors determine a cancer’s stage with careful testing.

    A tumor’s stage heavily influences treatment options and goals. For localized or some locally advanced cancers (Stage 1 to Stage 3), treatments such as surgery or radiation may aim for a cure. For metastatic cancer, a cure is usually not possible. Treatment focuses on controlling growth, managing symptoms and maintaining quality of life.

    Many prostate cancers rely on hormones called androgens as fuel for their growth. Therapies that block these hormones can be effective for some time – in most cases, years – especially for hormone-sensitive cancers like Biden’s.

    Fortunately, thanks to improved screening options and increased awareness, about 69% of prostate cancers are found when they are still confined to the prostate (Stage 1 to Stage 2). About 8% of new cases are metastatic at diagnosis.

    Genetics: Uncovering cancer’s DNA blueprint

    In addition to grade and stage, doctors are increasingly using a cancer’s genomic profile – its specific genetic makeup – both for deeper insights into its aggressiveness and potential treatment pathways.

    DNA acts like a detailed instruction manual for cells, dictating how they should grow and function as well as when they should stop dividing or die. In cancer, mutations act like typos in this genetic instruction manual, causing cells to ignore these normal controls, grow and spread.

    Genomic testing can identify these specific genetic alterations. This can be performed on the tumor tissue itself to identify changes called somatic mutations that occurred after you were born. Or it can be carried out through blood or saliva samples to detect changes you inherited called germline mutations.

    For men with early-stage prostate cancer, certain genomic tests on the tumor can help clarify the risk of the cancer progressing. This information is valuable in deciding whether active surveillance – closely monitoring the cancer without immediate treatment – is a safe approach, or whether more immediate treatment is warranted.

    In advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, identifying specific mutations is particularly critical. For instance, mutations in genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 – more commonly associated with breast and ovarian cancer risk – can also occur in prostate cancer. These mutations can make the cancer more aggressive but also potentially susceptible to a specific type of drug called a PARP inhibitor, especially if the cancer becomes resistant to hormone therapy.

    National guidelines now recommend genomic testing for all men with metastatic prostate cancer to look for these “actionable” mutations. This move toward personalized medicine means treatments can be increasingly tailored to the unique fingerprint of a patient’s cancer.

    Understanding cancer ‘aggressiveness’

    It’s essential to understand that “aggressive” isn’t just a simple label for cancer, but rather a multilayered evaluation. An aggressive-looking cancer caught early and confined to the prostate (Stage 1 and Stage 2) can have a nearly 100% five-year relative survival rate. However, if the same high-grade cancer has already spread widely (Stage 4), five-year relative survival drops significantly, to around 38%.

    This stark difference in survival rates highlights a critical point. To obtain the clearest picture of a cancer’s potential threat, a comprehensive assessment combines insights from multiple qualities of a tumor to help patients and their health care teams make informed decisions.

    Thankfully, advances in genomics, imaging and targeted therapies continue to improve how aggressiveness is defined, how its behavior is predicted and how treatment is personalized. This progress offers growing hope for better outcomes, even for patients with the most aggressive prostate cancers.

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

    – ref. What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains – https://theconversation.com/what-does-it-mean-for-bidens-prostate-cancer-to-be-aggressive-a-urologic-surgeon-explains-257100

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Joint statement by the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank

    Source: France-Diplomatie – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development

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    Published on May 21, 2025

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    We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable. Yesterday’s announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate. We call on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. This must include engaging with the UN to ensure a return to delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles. We call on Hamas to release immediately the remaining hostages they have so cruelly held since 7 October 2023.

    The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law. We condemn the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.

    Israel suffered a heinous attack on 7 October. We have always supported Israel’s right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate.

    We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.

    We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank. Israel must halt settlements which are illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.  We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions.

    We strongly support the efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It is a ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages and a long-term political solution that offer the best hope of ending the agony of the hostages and their families, alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza, ending Hamas’ control of Gaza and achieving a pathway to a two-state solution, consistent with the goals of the 18 June conference in New York co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France. These negotiations need to succeed, and we must all work towards the implementation of a two-state solution, which is the only way to bring long-lasting peace and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve, and ensure long-term stability in the region.

    We will continue to work with the Palestinian Authority, regional partners, Israel and the United States to finalize consensus on arrangements for Gaza’s future, building on the Arab plan. We affirm the important role of the High-level Two-State Solution Conference at the UN in June in building international consensus around this aim. And we are committed to recognising a Palestinian State as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end./.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China’s E-Bike Trade-In Program Generates Over 6 Million New Sales

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) — China’s trade-in program for electric bicycles has driven steady sales growth since early 2025, with about 6.08 million new electric bicycles sold as replacements under the program as of Tuesday, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

    According to the department, new electric bicycles worth a total of 17.82 billion yuan (about 2.48 billion US dollars) were sold during the reporting period.

    The trade-in program for e-bikes received a new boost after five government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, issued a joint notice in January to expand the program.

    To date, approximately 79,000 retail outlets, primarily individual and small businesses, have taken part in the initiative, indicating growing market interest.

    The Ministry of Commerce said the program is gaining momentum across the country, with sales of new electric bicycles in Jiangsu and Hebei provinces each exceeding 1 million units. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China issues directive to strengthen financial support for small and micro enterprises

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) — China will further boost financial support for small and micro enterprises by expanding supply and reducing financing costs, and improving the effectiveness and targeting of support measures, according to a directive issued by eight departments on Wednesday.

    The document, jointly released by the State Financial Supervision Administration, the People’s Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments, includes 23 specific measures to strengthen financing for small and micro enterprises.

    To expand the supply of financing for such companies, the country’s authorities are stepping up the issuance of first-time loans, unsecured loans, medium- and long-term loans, loans for legal entities and for private enterprises.

    According to the document, financial support for small and micro enterprises in the agricultural sector will be strengthened through the use of structural monetary instruments, including refinancing.

    It is indicated that China will also support small and micro enterprises in obtaining financing through the issuance of shares.

    To reduce the cost of financing small and micro enterprises, the authorities will guide banks to reasonably determine loan rates for such companies, while reducing additional fees.

    The directive also notes that the authorities will encourage banks to improve the efficiency of financing, simplify loan applications and streamline loan approval procedures. Additional support will be provided to small and micro enterprises of scientific, technical and innovative types, as well as those implementing new business models in the field of foreign trade. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC May 21, 2025 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    SPC AC 211631

    Day 1 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1131 AM CDT Wed May 21 2025

    Valid 211630Z – 221200Z

    …THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN
    NORTH CAROLINA…SOUTHERN GEORGIA/NORTHERN FLORIDA…AND THE
    OZARKS…

    …SUMMARY…
    The most likely areas for severe storms are across parts of far
    eastern North Carolina, the upper Ohio River Valley and parts of the
    Southeast this afternoon, in addition to the Ozarks this evening.

    …Eastern North Carolina/southern Virginia…
    In the wake of early morning convection, air mass
    recovery/destabilization will occur today in vicinity of the
    eastward-transitioning surface wave and in vicinity of the roughly
    west/east-oriented surface boundary located near/south of the
    Virginia/North Carolina border. Drying westerly low-level
    trajectories will exist to the south of the front and behind the
    surface wave, with severe-storm favorable ingredients/potential
    development tending to focus across far northeast North Carolina
    where moderate buoyancy will be maximized with strong westerlies
    aloft (40+ kt effective shear). While severe storm
    coverage/likelihood may not be as high as previously thought, some
    potential for large hail, damaging wind gusts and possibly a tornado
    will still exist on an isolated basis.

    …Ozarks/Mid-South…
    While rich boundary-layer moisture will remain confined across south
    Texas and Louisiana, a strengthening low-level baroclinic zone will
    focus near the Kansas/Oklahoma border east-southeast into the
    Mid-South. Guidance is rather consistent in developing at least
    elevated convection to the cool side of this zone by evening. This
    will be coincident with an intensifying mid-level speed max.
    Forecast soundings depict potentially very strong mid to upper-level
    speed shear within the slightly north of west flow regime. Coupled
    with steep mid-level lapse rates, this setup could yield a few
    elevated supercells capable of large hail and perhaps locally
    damaging winds.

    …Central Plains…
    A mid-level vorticity lobe initially over Wyoming this morning will
    dig east-southeastward into the lower Missouri Valley by early
    evening amidst west-northwesterly flow aloft. Heating will result in
    very steep 0-3 km lapse rates by mid afternoon with several hundred
    J/kg SBCAPE. Elongated hodographs will support quick-moving cells
    capable of an isolated risk for severe wind gusts during the late
    afternoon through around sunset (roughly 20-01z).

    …Upper Ohio Valley including PA/OH/WV border region…
    A corridor of modest boundary-layer heating is expected ahead of the
    primary surface cyclone drifting across northern Ohio toward Lake
    Erie. Coupled with cooling mid-level temperatures, weak
    surface-based buoyancy is expected by midday into the afternoon.
    Deep-layer shear will not be strong given proximity to the mid-level
    trough, but should be adequate for weak/transient mid-level
    rotation. With numerous thunderstorms expected, small to marginally
    severe hail and isolated damaging winds are anticipated. A brief
    tornado or two is also possible with storms near the warm front,
    before convection weakens as it moves east-northeastward into
    less-buoyant surface conditions.

    …North Florida and southern Georgia…
    Along the southeastward-moving cold front, moderate buoyancy is
    expected ahead of the front. A veered low-level wind profile will
    limit effective bulk shear, but scattered thunderstorms could yield
    multicells and perhaps a transient supercell. Isolated damaging
    winds and marginally severe hail are possible with the stronger
    storms. For additional short-term details, see Mesoscale Discussion
    920.

    …Far southern Louisiana/far southern Mississippi…
    Sufficient residual elevated buoyancy in the immediate post-frontal
    environment may allow for some storms to produce hail to near severe
    levels, mostly over just the next few hours this afternoon and on a
    very isolated basis.

    …Deep South Texas…
    A very moist and unstable air mass (2000-4000 J/kg MLCAPE later
    today) exists across the region, aside from some higher cloud cover
    spreading into the region via a slowly approaching and weakening
    convective complex south of the international border. Additional
    convection will likely develop in adjacent Mexico over the higher
    terrain this afternoon, and some of these storms may spread east
    across the lower Rio Grande Valley this evening. Isolated large hail
    and severe-caliber wind gusts may accompany these storms.

    ..Guyer/Jewell.. 05/21/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS01 PTSDY1 PRODUCT

    NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 1 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 2000Z

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bedner Growers, Inc. Recalls Cucumbers

    Source: US State of Rhode Island

    The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is advising consumers that Bedner Growers, Inc., voluntarily recalled cucumbers sold at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market between April 29, 2025, and May 14, 2025, and businesses should not sell or serve the recalled cucumbers. These products are associated with a multi-state salmonella outbreak. Currently, there are no Rhode Island cases associated with this recall.

    PRODUCT Cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers, Inc., and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., to retailers, distribution centers, wholesalers, and food service distributors from April 29, 2025, to May 19, 2025. Cucumbers distributed before this timeframe should be past shelf life and should no longer be available on the market.

    Cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages, with or without a label that may not bear the same brand, product name, or best by date. For distributors, restaurants, and retailers who have purchased these cucumbers, the products were labeled as either being “supers,” “selects,” or “plains”.

    On May 19, 2025, Bedner Growers, Inc., recalled cucumbers sold directly to consumers at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market and to its wholesale distributor. More information can be found in the recall notice.

    SYMPTOMS OF SALMONELLA INFECTION Illness usually occurs within 12 to 72 hours after eating food that is contaminated with Salmonella, and the symptoms usually last four to seven days. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Children younger than five, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

    STORES AFFECTED Some potentially contaminated cucumbers were available at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market in three Florida locations including Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach between April 29, 2025, and May 14, 2025. The recalled cucumbers were also sold to its wholesale distributor. FDA is aware that contaminated product is available at both restaurant and retail locations. FDA is working to determine where potentially contaminated product was distributed.

    RECOMMENDATIONS –Consumers: If you cannot tell if your cucumber was grown by Bedner Growers, throw it away. When eating out over the next week, ask if cucumbers were from Bedner Growers or Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc. –Consumers, restaurants, and retailers who purchased or received potentially contaminated products, including wholesale products, should carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that it touched. Follow FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. –Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have symptoms of a Salmonella infection after eating potentially contaminated cucumbers. –Restaurants, retailers, and distributors that purchased potentially contaminated recalled cucumbers between April 29, 2025, and May 19, 2025, should notify their customers of the potential health concern. –Retailers that have or had potentially contaminated product should clean and sanitize any areas that could have come into contact with potentially contaminated products. If potentially contaminated cucumbers were sold in bulk bins or displays, retailers should discard the contents of the bins and use extra care to clean and sanitize the bins before refilling. –Retailers that are unsure if they received this product may need to contact their supplier. If you are unable to determine whether or not potentially contaminated product was received, you should discard the contents of the bins and use extra care to clean and sanitize the bins before refilling.

    More information regarding this outbreak can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-cucumbers-may-2025

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: TRANSCRIPT: Governor Phil Scott Highlights Housing Legislation at Weekly Press Conference

    Source: US State of Vermont

    Montpelier, Vt. – At his weekly press conference Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott and Housing and Community Development Commissioner Alex Farrell emphasized the importance of passing legislation this session to address Vermont’s housing crisis.

    Governor Phil Scott: Good afternoon, thanks for being here today.

    Since I’ve been Governor, I’ve been sounding the alarm about our housing crisis. And I thought almost everyone in the building agreed that housing should be a top priority.

    That’s why in January; we presented a proposal to the legislature to help move the needle on the housing we desperately need which included important tools and regulatory changes.

    As a reminder, over the past several years we’ve invested hundreds of millions in housing. But it’s still too expensive and takes too long to build.

    That’s why regulatory reform is so important.

    Our proposals also included common sense solutions like expanding the Tax Increment Financing program to bring infrastructure funding to smaller communities who have fewer resources.

    We’ve also seen how costly permitting is because it’s difficult to navigate and time consuming, leading to project costs that skyrocket.

    The complicated process prevents many smaller developers from moving forward with projects  because it takes too long and doesn’t make financial sense.

    In last year’s “so called” housing bill, which was actually a conservation bill, one of the few helpful provisions were the interim Act 250 exemptions.

    But as helpful as they are, they’re going to expire next year. We’ve asked the legislature to extend those so communities have an opportunity to thrive and grow.

    Unfortunately, we’re seeing very little traction in our proposal to extend these.

    And finally, we asked the legislature to reform wetland permitting and appeals process which will help projects across the state, especially in Barre, Montpelier, and Plainfield, which all need our help as they continue to recover from recent flooding.

    Last session, despite many legislators campaigning on the need for more housing and regulatory reform, they didn’t follow through.

    So here we are, one year later and close to adjournment, and I’m concerned we once again aren’t going far enough to meet the moment.

    If housing is truly the priority we say it is, we need to follow through, and make sure all communities have the tools they need to grow.

    We can’t afford to nibble around the edges, especially when we need 41,000 more homes in 5 years – just to catch up.

    We need to address it now, because if we don’t, Vermont will fall further behind.

    Commissioner Alex Farrell: Thank you, Governor.  

    Today I am speaking not only as the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development, but also as a housing advocate. As the Governor said, we need to ask ourselves if we’re truly meeting the moment on housing.

    In January, the Governor and I shared his PATH for Vermont proposal – a robust housing package that paired the most efficient investments with various regulatory reforms and systems improvements.

    Now, I’d like to show how few of these proposals have made it into the primary housing bills. The red “Xs” signify proposals that did not move forward in either housing bill, orange labels indicate proposals that were reduced.

    As we enter the final weeks of the session, it is clear that none of the regulatory or appeals reform proposals will be included in housing legislation, and the proposed investments have been dramatically diminished.

    Regarding the proposed investments, I want to acknowledge the budgetary constraints that we faced this year, though it is important to recognize that the Governor presented a budget that kept us living within our means while still prioritizing strategic housing investments. As we enter a new era in which the massive influx of federal investment has not only dried up, but we enter a new phase of uncertainty, we are reminded that funding alone will not be enough to meet the moment on housing.

    We need to reform our regulatory systems and provide new tools. We need to provide communities, developers, and homebuilders with predictability. And we need to make sure that our zoning and land use laws enable housing of all types to be built in every community in the state.

    I am concerned by how often I heard the following phrase in legislative committees this year: “I know we have a housing crisis, BUT…” The words that follow “but” are almost always disappointing. Here are some examples:

    • “This committee doesn’t have jurisdiction over that issue”
    • “We would prefer to take that up next session”
    • “We didn’t realize that’s a priority”
    • “We don’t have enough time to resolve that this year”

    I’ll repeat that we presented this package in January, two months after voters spoke loud and clear that Vermont is becoming too expensive to afford. Adding more homes will increase the tax base, reducing pressure on those who are already paying property taxes.

    There is, however, a real opportunity in the Project-based TIF discussion. We presented this in January as a proposal to help rural communities invest in infrastructure to support housing development. Since then, the proposal has gone through many shifts and changes, including changing the name from SPARC, as proposed in our package, to CHIP – the Community & Housing Infrastructure Program. Name aside, this program presents a tremendous opportunity to support the creation of thousands of housing units.

    CHIP moved through the Senate and passed through that chamber productively and in a form that the administration and housing advocates supported and were excited about. CHIP then went through productive and nuanced conversations through the housing and commerce committees in the House. However, things went very wrong when this program moved to the House Committee on Ways and Means – supposedly one of its final legislative stops. This committee proposed an amendment which makes drastic changes to the program which drew concerns from the administration, builders, municipalities, housing advocates, and many legislators. The proposed changes would narrow the applicability of the program to such an extent that very few communities could use it. Recent efforts to modify the Ways & Means amendment have not made meaningful improvements.

    It is imperative that CHIP passes in a form that rural communities can benefit from. We cannot overcomplicate this tool – this housing infrastructure financing tool – out of a desire to layer on many other complex policy priorities. Our priority needs to remain housing.

    In justifying the proposed amendments, here are some things I heard which are deeply concerning to me:

    • “We are already building more housing than we have since the 1980s” – that’s not true. In the late 80s we were building about 4,800 homes a year. Now it’s about 2,300.
    • “Vermont’s housing is the envy of the nation” – all evidence suggests otherwise. In fact, a new study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds Vermont’s housing crisis is resulting in more than $700 million in lost economic output, $422 million less in personal income, and 6,800 jobs that would have been created if we had a place for those workers to live.
    • “We shouldn’t push to build 30,000 homes as fast as possible” – why shouldn’t we? We have decades of underbuilding to make up for.
    • “Let’s just wait for population decline to hit in the 2040s.” This is particularly galling since our housing crisis is contributing to our population decline and workforce challenges. Young Vermonters are leaving partly because they think they will never be able to own a home here.

    These comments make me worry that we are taking a step back in the conversation around housing in the state house. Just ask Vermonters if they feel we can declare our mission accomplished on housing.

    • Do Vermonters feel like they can buy a new home at an affordable price?
    • Do Vermont renters feel like they have options for quality rental housing at a price they can afford?

    The answer is a resounding “no”.

    Vermonters are asking us for bold action on housing, and I fear we are not meeting the moment. We stand ready to help – our proposals are drafted and would represent meaningful change. We are eager to be partners in this.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Griffith Chairs Hearing with EPA Administrator Zeldin

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

    Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, held a hearing titled “The Fiscal Year 2026 Environmental Protection Agency Budget.” The hearing, which featured Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, focused on the agency’s budget request for fiscal year 2026.

    Chairman Griffith delivered his opening statement on the EPA’s ongoing work to rein in burdensome regulations and advance the “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative. Click on link below.

    Later in the hearing, Chairman Griffith directed questions to Administrator Zeldin on his agency’s work. See below.

    BACKGROUND

    In the 118th Congress, Rep. Griffith chaired the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations.

    In 2024, Congressman Griffith chaired the hearing, “Fighting the Misuse of Biden’s Green Bank Giveaway.”

    Later in 2024, Rep. Griffith helped lead a letter with then-Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of the Energy and Commerce Committee pressing the EPA for answers regarding Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) awards.

    On April 11, 2025, Congressman Griffith joined Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and Congressman Gary Palmer in an investigation into eight GGRF grant recipients.

    In the 119th Congress, Congressman Griffith is serving his first term as chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment.

    The Environment Subcommittee’s first two hearings of the year focused on the EPA’s regulation of chemical manufacturing and the administration of the Brownfields Program. 

    Congressman Griffith recently announced EPA Brownfields grants coming to Virginia’s Ninth District. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CFTC Staff Issues Interpretation Regarding Certain Cross-Border Definitions

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    CFTC Staff Issues Interpretation Regarding Certain Cross-Border Definitions | CFTC

    /PressRoom/PressReleases/9077-25
    Skip to main content

    May 21, 2025

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Market Participants Division and Division of Market Oversight today issued an interpretative letter confirming the application of certain cross-border definitions to a proprietary trading firm organized in a foreign jurisdiction. 
    Specifically, based on the facts presented, the interpretative letter confirms that the proprietary trading firm:

    Is not a “person located in the United States” for purposes of the “foreign futures or foreign options customer” definition in Commission regulation 30.1(c);
    Is not a “participant located in the United States” for purposes of Commission regulation 48.2(c);
    Is a “foreign located person” for purposes of Commission regulation 3.10(c)(1)(ii); and
    Is not a “U.S. person” as defined by Commission regulation 23.23(a) and the Commission’s 2013 Interpretive Guidance and Policy Statement Regarding Compliance With Certain Swap Regulations. 

    The interpretation was issued in response to a request from the proprietary trading firm.

    -CFTC-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DOJ Press releases at OCI (Prior Years)

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    05/21/2019
    December 10, 2018: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation, Former Senior Executive Plead Guilty to Distributing Endoscopes After Failing to File FDA-Required Adverse Event Reports of Serious Infections

    03/26/2019
    March 30, 2018: KC Paramedic Indicted for Stealing Fentanyl, Morphine from Ambulances

    03/26/2019
    March 30, 2018: Counterfeit Cigarette Smuggler Sentenced to Prison

    03/20/2019
    April 4, 2018: Canadian Pharmacist Sentenced for Distributing Counterfeit and Adulterated Botox to Local Doctors

    03/20/2019
    March 27, 2018: Compounding Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for $10.5 Million Health Care Fraud

    03/20/2019
    March 27, 2018: Federal Jury Finds Three Guilty in Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy

    03/20/2019
    April 4, 2018: Fences Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar, Multi-State Criminal Theft Operations

    03/19/2019
    March 30, 2018: Lynn Man Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Role in Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    03/05/2019
    October 1, 2018: AmerisourceBergen Corp. to Pay $625 Million to Settle Civil Fraud Allegations Resulting from Its Repackaging and Sale of Adulterated Drugs and Unapproved New Drugs, Double Billing and Providing Kickbacks

    03/05/2019
    October 18, 2018: Pharmacist Indicted for Taking Drugs, Carrying Firearm in Violation of Court Order

    03/05/2019
    October 15, 2018: Leader of Fraudulent Prescription Conspiracy Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

    03/05/2019
    November 29, 2018: Two Practitioners Sentenced for Drug Crimes in Connection with HOPE Clinic

    03/05/2019
    December 4, 2018: Medical Device Maker ev3 Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $17.9 Million for Distributing Adulterated Device

    03/05/2019
    November 20, 2018: Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Counterfeit Cialis and Viagra into the United States

    03/05/2019
    November 19, 2018: Georgia Man Charged with Social Security and Wire Fraud

    03/05/2019
    October 22, 2018: Medical Equipment Company Agrees to Pay $5.25 Million to Resolve Allegations of Fraudulent Claims for Compounded Medical Creams

    03/05/2019
    October 15, 2018: Four Men and Seven Companies Indicted for Billion-Dollar Telemedicine Fraud Conspiracy, Telemedicine Company and CEO Plead Guilty in Two Fraud Schemes

    03/05/2019
    November 5, 2018: Nurse Sentenced for Taking Fentanyl for Personal Use

    03/05/2019
    November 28, 2018: Former Vice President of Insys Pharmaceuticals Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Scheme

    03/05/2019
    October 18, 2018: Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment In Shamo Case; Adds Distribution Of Fentanyl Count Resulting In Death

    03/05/2019
    November 29, 2018: Dietary Supplement Ingredient Importers Arrested in Connection with Large-Scale Smuggling and Money Laundering Scheme

    03/05/2019
    December 4, 2018: Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Consumer Products

    03/05/2019
    October 22, 2018: Oklahoma Orthopedic Company to Pay $455,000 to Settle Claims of False Medical Billing

    02/25/2019
    December 13, 2018: Floridian Pleads Guilty in Complex Fraud Scheme Related to the Processing of Credit Card Payments

    02/25/2019
    December 13, 2018: Owner and Four Former Employees of New England Compounding Center Convicted Following Trial

    02/25/2019
    December 7, 2018: VA Nurse Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining and Tampering with Opioid Prescriptions

    02/25/2019
    December 4, 2018: Des Moines Residents Sentenced for Felony Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Offense

    02/13/2019
    October 11, 2018: Two Companies Ordered to Pay More Than $7 Million for Adulterated and Misbranded Pet Food Ingredients

    02/13/2019
    October 4, 2018: Troutdale Doctor Sentenced for Purchasing and Administering Foreign-Sourced Botox and Juvaderm

    09/25/2018
    September 24, 2018: Board Certified Ophthalmologist Agrees to Civil Fraud Settlement in Medicare Fraud Investigation

    09/19/2018
    September 19, 2018: Springfield Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Sharing Patient Medical Files

    09/17/2018
    September 11, 2018: Columbus Pharmacist Sentenced for Health Care Fraud Scheme

    09/17/2018
    September 8, 2017: Galena Biopharma Inc. to Pay More than $7.55 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Related to Opioid Drug

    09/10/2018
    September 6, 2018: Cattle Company and Veterinarian Indicted for False Health Certificates on Livestock

    09/06/2018
    August 31, 2018: Former Home Health Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Patients’ Drugs

    09/04/2018
    August 30, 2018: Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Misbranded Prescription Horse Drugs

    08/30/2018
    August 28, 2018: Providence Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Oxycodone

    08/23/2018
    August 22, 2018: Louisiana Pharmacist Convicted of Trafficking and Selling Stolen Medication

    08/20/2018
    August 17, 2018: Unlicensed Pharmacy Technician Pleads Guilty to Working at New England Compounding Center

    08/16/2018
    August 16, 2018: Genesee County Physician and Two Others Charged with Health Care Fraud

    08/16/2018
    August 15, 2018: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Market Dietary Supplements

    08/06/2018
    August 3, 2018: Northwest ENT Associates, P.C. to Pay Approximately $1.2 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

    08/01/2018
    July 31, 2018: Three Canadians and their Company Sentenced for Wholesale Distribution of Misbranded Prescription Drugs and Money Laundering

    07/31/2018
    July 30, 2018: Two People Guilty of Distributing Tramadol Pills

    07/30/2018
    July 26, 2018: Miami-Dade Resident Charged in Connection with Performance of Illicit Silicone Injections

    07/24/2018
    July 23, 2018: Springfield EMT/Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Stealing Fentanyl, Morphine

    07/19/2018
    July 18, 2018: Medical Device Maker AngioDynamics Agrees to Pay $12.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

    07/17/2018
    July 17, 2018: Former President of Cumberland Distribution, Inc. Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for $50 Million Drug Diversion Scheme

    07/12/2018
    July 10, 2018: Pawtucket Woman Sentenced for Participation in Opioid Prescription Conspiracy

    07/11/2018
    July 10, 2018: VA Medical Center Nurse Indicted, Arraigned for Allegedly Tampering with and Stealing Prescription Opioids

    07/11/2018
    July 10, 2018: Former Des Moines Pharmacy Technician Sentenced for Illegally Tampering with Fentanyl

    07/11/2018
    July 10: 2018: Former Pharmacy Technician Indicted for Stealing Fentanyl, Morphine

    07/09/2018
    July 6, 2018: Vero Beach Orthopedic Surgeon Sentenced to Life in Prison Following Conviction for Fentanyl Analog Drug Conspiracy Resulting in Death

    07/09/2018
    July 6, 2018: Internet Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Selling $2.3 Million Worth of Non-FDA Approved and Misbranded Botox and Juvederm-Related Products

    07/05/2018
    July 3, 2018: Canton Man Indicted on Fentanyl and Firearms Charges

    06/28/2018
    June 28, 2018: Southern District of Florida Charges 124 Individuals Responsible for $337 Million in False Billing as Part of National Healthcare Fraud Takedown

    06/22/2018
    June 20, 2018: Fitchburg Woman and Saugus Man Sentenced for Roles in Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    06/18/2018
    June 15, 2018: Theranos Founder and Former Chief Operating Officer Charged in Alleged Wire Fraud Schemes

    06/05/2018
    June 5, 2018: Opioid Prescription Conspiracy Leader Pleads Guilty

    05/31/2018
    May 31, 2018: Notification of Stolen Fertility Drugs: Gonal-f® RFF Redi-ject® and Gonal-f® Multi-Dose

    05/21/2018
    May 21, 2018: Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme Involving the Reselling of Food Products That Were to Be Destroyed

    05/08/2018
    May 8, 2018: Notification of Stolen Octagam

    04/19/2018
    April 13, 2018: Canadian Drug Firm Admits Selling Counterfeit and Misbranded Prescription Drugs Throughout the United States

    04/19/2018
    April 12, 2018: Chinese Citizen Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud Related to Dietary Supplement Scheme

    04/19/2018
    April 6, 2018: New Hampshire Residents Sentenced for Participating in Scheme to Distribute Misbranded Drugs

    03/15/2018
    March 14, 2018: Meridian Nurse Practitioner Pleads Guilty to Obtaining Controlled Substances by Fraud

    03/14/2018
    March 12, 2018: Champaign, Illinois, Resident Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Producing and Selling Over 80,000 Homemade Tramadol Capsules to Customers without Verifying Prescriptions

    03/13/2018
    March 12, 2018: Pharmacist and Pharmacy Employee Sentenced for Involvement in Over $30 Million Health Care Fraud

    03/08/2018
    March 6, 2018: Monterey Park Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Injecting Foreign Substance into Woman for Buttocks Enhancement

    03/08/2018
    March 8, 2018: Four Individuals Indicted for Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods

    03/05/2018
    March 2, 2018: Woman Sentenced for Injecting Adulterated Liquid Silicone

    03/05/2018
    February 23, 2018: Lake Charles Veterinarian, Pharmacy Sentenced for In-Race Horse Doping Conspiracy

    03/01/2018
    February 28, 2018: Two Doctors Arrested Pursuant to Federal Indictment That Alleges Bogus Sleep Studies Helped 1-800-Get-Thin Fraudulently Bill Insurance Programs Over $250 Million Related to Lap-Band Surgeries

    02/27/2018
    February 27, 2018: Former President of Houston-Based Drug Company Convicted in $50 Million Drug Diversion Scheme

    02/22/2018
    February 21, 2018: Pharmacy Tech Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Tampering with Opioids for IV Fluid

    02/21/2018
    February 20, 2018: U.S. Attorney Announces 69-count Indictment Charging Owners, Managers and Physicians Associated with Hope Clinic

    02/21/2018
    February 14, 2018: Palmer Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs from Pakistan

    02/20/2018
    August 19, 2016: Pharmacy Owner and Medical Doctor Charged in an Internet Scheme to Dispense Medications to Customers without Valid Prescriptions

    02/14/2018
    February 14, 2018: Two Indian Citizens and India-based Corporation Sentenced for Conspiring to Smuggle Counterfeit Cigarettes

    02/12/2018
    February 8, 2018: Queensbury Oncologist and Spouse to Pay $500,000 for Submitting False Claims to Medicare for the Administration of Unapproved Cancer Drugs

    02/12/2018
    February 9, 2018: Tampa Resident Convicted for Involvement with Tricare Health Care Fraud Scheme

    02/05/2018
    February 5, 2018: Pennsylvania Firearms Dealer Sentenced To 100 Months Imprisonment

    02/05/2018
    November 25, 2018: Nevada Man Indicted for Distribution of Anabolic Steroids and Drug Misbranding

    02/05/2018
    February 5, 2018: Three Florida Residents Sentenced for Operating an Illegal Steroid and Counterfeit Prescription Drug Lab

    01/31/2018
    January 31, 2018: New England Compounding Center Pharmacist Sentenced for Role in Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/24/2018
    September 25, 2017: U.S. Attorney Charges Pharmacy Tech for Tampering with Opioids

    01/24/2018
    January 13, 2017: Two Louisiana Men Sentenced for Roles in On-line Pharmacy Scheme

    01/24/2018
    May 17, 2017: Gardner Man Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/24/2018
    December 6, 2016: Two Sentenced for Trafficking in Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/24/2018
    September 11, 2017: Knoxville Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the FDA

    01/24/2018
    December 9, 2016: Carroll County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Conspiracy Charge

    01/24/2018
    July 18, 2016: Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.

    01/24/2018
    July 7, 2016: Johnston Resident Charged with Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering

    01/24/2018
    January 7, 2016: Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Narcotics from Hospital

    01/24/2018
    February 15, 2017: Hampton-Based Spice Dealer Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

    01/24/2018
    July 13, 2017: Four Charged in Counterfeit Body Building Steroid Conspiracy

    01/24/2018
    December 8, 2016: Pharmaceutical Executives Charged in Racketeering Scheme

    01/24/2018
    December 2, 2016: Woman Arrested For Injecting Adulterated Liquid Silicone

    01/24/2018
    September 20, 2017: Registered Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    June 28, 2017: Registered Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    June 27, 2016: Hampton-Based Spice Retailer and Wholesaler Pleads Guilty

    01/24/2018
    May 31, 2016: Worcester Nurse Indicted on Federal Drug Tampering Charges

    01/24/2018
    August 7, 2017: Notification of Stolen Sterile Prescription Injectable Products

    01/23/2018
    January 23, 2018: Two Indian Citizens and India-based Corporation Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle Counterfeit Cigarettes

    01/17/2018
    January 12, 2018: Owner of Seafood Company Charged in Atlantic Blue Crab Scam

    01/17/2018
    September 22, 2017: Drug Maker Aegerion Agrees to Plead Guilty; Will Pay More Than $35 Million to Resolve Criminal Charges and Civil False Claims Allegations

    01/16/2018
    June 30, 2017: Bath County Man Sentenced For Misbranding Drugs and Obstructing Justice

    01/16/2018
    June 21, 2017: Gardner Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/16/2018
    August 28, 2017: Costa Rican Defendant Appears in Federal Court to Face Fraud Charges

    01/16/2018
    July 17, 2017: Leader of $17 Million Health Insurance Fraud Scheme Ordered to Prison

    01/16/2018
    October 11, 2016: Foreign National Pleads Guilty To International Wire Fraud Scheme

    01/16/2018
    August 30, 2017: Two Charged in Federal Court with Smuggling Counterfeit Cigarettes

    01/16/2018
    May 31, 2017: Men Sentenced to Combined 60 Years for Selling Spice in Hampton Roads

    01/12/2018
    December 20, 2016: New England Compounding Center’s National Sales Director Pleads Guilty

    01/12/2018
    July 19, 2017: Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    March 13, 2017: Vice-President of SK Labs Found Guilty of Conspiracy, Mail Fraud Charges

    01/12/2018
    December 27, 2016: Providence Nurse Charged in Connection with Tampering with Oxycodone

    01/12/2018
    January 20, 2016: Businessman Sentenced for Marketing and Selling Unapproved Remedies for Cancer

    01/12/2018
    March 2, 2017: Bath County Man Convicted of Obstructing Justice and Selling Misbranded Products

    01/12/2018
    February 6, 2017: Arizona Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Pet Products with Counterfeit Labels

    01/12/2018
    January 17, 2017: Tampa-Area Medical Device Salesman Guilty of Selling Expired Lap-Band Devices

    01/12/2018
    August 1, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    June 2, 2016: Additional Criminal Charges Brought Against Indicted Penn National Horse Trainer

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Gloucester Woman Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Steroids and Launder Money

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Vitamin Shop Owner Guilty of Selling Misbranded Drugs and Controlled Substance

    01/12/2018
    August 15, 2016: Second Trafficker Convicted of Distributing Dangerous Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/12/2018
    July 17, 2017: Gloucester Woman Pleads Guilty to Her Role in Counterfeit Steroid Trafficking Scheme

    01/12/2018
    October 12, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims Bodies

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Westerly Resident to Plead Guilty to Trafficking Steroids, Money Laundering Charges

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2016: Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    September, 22, 2016 Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    August 2, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims’ Bodies

    01/12/2018
    December 13, 2016: Tampa Resident Indicted for Involvement with Tricare Health Care Fraud Scheme

    01/12/2018
    September 5, 2017: New Hampshire Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Involving Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    April 3, 2017: Printing and Packaging CEO Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit Labels and Packaging

    01/12/2018
    March 14, 2017: Woman Admits to Causing the Death of Another Person by Injecting Her with Liquid Silicone

    01/12/2018
    April 12, 2017: Former Medical Product Distributor Charged with False Statements about Hormone Shipments

    01/12/2018
    September 29, 2016: New York Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Illegally Manufacture Designer Steroids

    01/12/2018
    July 1, 2016: New Hampshire Couple Indicted On Two Counts Of Illegal Distribution Of Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2017:Woman Admits to Illegally Selling Prescription Drugs Not Approved for Use in the US

    01/12/2018
    June 22, 2016: Former Nurse Sentenced to 82 Months for Stealing and Tampering with Patient Medications

    01/12/2018
    June 13, 2017: Cherry Hill Doctor and Son Admit Defrauding Medicare, Agree To $1.78 Million Settlement

    01/12/2018
    December 19, 2016: New York Man Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Term for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements Online

    01/12/2018
    September 25, 2017: Pharmacy Manager Pleads Guilty to Illegal Prescription Drug Diversion and Money Laundering

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Tampa Woman Sentenced to Prison For Misbranded Drugs Used in Connection with Buttocks Injection

    01/12/2018
    March 28, 2017: Former Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Charged with Smuggling and Dispensing Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    September 12, 2017: Former Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Stealing Pain-killing Drugs, Replacing Vials with Water

    01/12/2018
    July 29, 2016: Majority Owner of NECC and Husband Plead Guilty to Illegal Cash Withdrawals Following Outbreak

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Printing and Packaging Business Owner Convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Veterinary Labels

    01/12/2018
    July 14, 2017: Senior Executives of Medical Drug Re-Packager Plead Guilty to Defrauding Healthcare Providers

    01/12/2018
    July 20, 2016: Former Acclarent, Inc. Executives Convicted of Crimes Related to the Sale of Medical Devices

    01/12/2018
    June 6, 2016: Pharmaceutical Companies To Pay $67 Million To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating To Tarceva

    01/12/2018
    February 16, 2017: Atlanta Man Convicted of Illegally Importing and Distributing Male Enhancement Products from China

    01/11/2018
    January 11, 2018: Former New Hampshire Pharmacist Pleads Guilty for Tampering with Narcotics at Bedford Pharmacy

    01/11/2018
    July 22, 2016: Medical Device Manufacturer Acclarent Inc. to Pay $18 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

    01/11/2018
    November 15, 2016: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to Fifteen Months in Prison for Distributing Contaminated Cheese

    01/11/2018
    September 25, 2017: Millions of Medicines Seized in Largest INTERPOL Operation Against Illicit Online Pharmacies

    01/11/2018
    January 3, 2017: Notification of Stolen Reckitt Benckiser Retail, Non-Prescription, Consumer Healthcare Products

    01/09/2018
    August 1, 2017: Radford Nurse Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients Sentenced in Federal Court

    01/09/2018
    November 4, 2016: Two Pakistani Nationals Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Ship Pharmaceuticals into the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 29, 2016: Eight Defendants Convicted For Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Counterfeit 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Three Florida Residents Arrested After Law Enforcement Discover Steroid and Fake Prescription Drug Lab

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2017: Counterfeiters Sentenced for Convictions in Nationwide Conspiracy to Distribute Fake 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    May 31, 2017: Drug Trafficking Organization Faces Indictment For Involvment In Manufacturing Fake Prescriptions Drugs With Fentanyl

    01/09/2018
    July 6, 2016: New Jersey Medical Device Manufacturer Admits Selling Contaminated Ultrasound Gel; Court Orders Permanent Injunction

    01/09/2018
    June 26, 2017: Owner of New England Compounding Center Sentenced for Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2016: Two Pharmacists Sentenced to Prison for Adulteration of Drugs in Connection with Alabama-Based Compounding Pharmacy

    01/09/2018
    February 14, 2017: Two Miami-Dade Women Charged in Connection with Their Operation of a Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    June 22, 2017: Pharmacy Owner and Director of Compliance Charged with Defrauding United States and Distributing Adulterated Drugs

    01/09/2018
    April 12, 2017: Owners of Two Los Angeles-Area Drug Wholesale Companies Arrested in $20 Million Federal ‘Structuring’ Conspiracy

    01/09/2018
    December 2, 2016: Former Police Officer Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to 8 Years in Prison for Selling Date Rape Drug

    01/09/2018
    February 7, 2017: Randallstown Woman Pleads Guilty to Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone into the Bodies of Victim Customers

    01/09/2018
    August 30, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison for Operating a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    March 28, 2017: 3 Canadians and their Vancouver Company Charged with Conspiring to Sell Foreign-Made Drugs to Western Pennsylvania Pharmacists

    01/09/2018
    March 9, 2017: Internet Business Owner Indicted for Selling Non-FDA Approved and Misbranded Versions of Botox and Juvederm Related Products

    01/09/2018
    June 8, 2017: Houston, Texas Man convicted of Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    February 16, 2017: Oncology Practice, Doctor and Practice Manager Pay $1.7 Million to Resolve Allegations They Billed Medicare for Illegally Imported Drugs

    01/09/2018
    June 27, 2017: Physician and Wife to Pay $1.2 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That They Billed Medicare and Medicaid for Unapproved Drugs

    01/09/2018
    December 13, 2016: O.C. Man Charged with Selling Pet Meds Without a Prescription, Some of Which Were Not Approved for Distribution in the United States

    01/09/2018
    September 6, 2017: Bronx Pharmacist Pleads Guilty To Illegally Selling Millions Of Prescription Pills On The Internet And Agrees To Forfeit $9 Million

    01/09/2018
    November 10, 2016: Nurse Who Operated Spa in Laguna Niguel Agrees to Plead Guilty to Illegally Dispensing Botox Not Approved for Use in United States

    01/09/2018
    March 30, 2017: Lincoln Mother and Son Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Misbranded Substances, Drug Paraphernalia, and Related Financial Crimes

    01/09/2018
    January 12, 2017: Baxter Healthcare Corporation to Pay More than $18 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Liability Relating to Sterile Products

    01/09/2018
    September 20, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison for Managing a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    May 23, 2017: Citizen of Pakistan and United Kingdom Sentenced For International Wire Fraud Scheme That Sold False Cures For Multiple Illnesses

    01/09/2018
    April 18, 2017: SCM True Air Technologies, of Ohio and Kentucky, and Its Former Company President – Guilty of Delivering Misbranded Medical Devices from Unregistered Facilities to a Georgia V.A. Medical Center and Obstructing an FDA Investigation into their Conduct

    01/09/2018
    November 28, 2016: Iowa Cancer Clinic and Oncologist to Pay More Than $176,000 To Settle False Claims Act Allegations They Recklessly Billed for Cancer Drugs That Were Unapproved, Misbranded, or Counterfeit and Improperly Upcoded Office Visit Claims

    01/09/2018
    September 9, 2016: Owner of Major Online Colored Contact Lens Business Pleads Guilty in Largest-Ever Investigation of Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lenses in the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 7, 2016: Medical Device Maker Biocompatibles Pleads Guilty to Misbranding and Agrees to Pay $36 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability and False Claims Act Allegations

    01/09/2018
    September 26, 2017: Houston, Texas Man Sentenced to 40 Months and a $95,000 Fine for Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    December 7, 2016: GNC Enters Into Agreement with Department of Justice to Improve Its Practices and Keep Potentially Illegal Dietary Supplements Out of the Marketplace

    01/09/2018
    September 27, 2017: Amerisourcebergen Specialty Group Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Drugs and is Sentenced to Pay $260 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability

    01/09/2018
    December 5, 2016: Medical Device Saleswoman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Charges Relating to the Transport of Stolen Medical Devices and Money Laundering

    01/09/2018
    May 26, 2017: Florida Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Causing the Death of One Victim and Hospitalization of Others by Injecting them With Liquid Silicone

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Owner of O.C. Pet Products Company Pleads Guilty to Selling Pet Meds without Prescriptions, Some of Which Were Not Approved for U.S. Sale

    09/17/2018
    September 8, 2017: Galena Biopharma Inc. to Pay More than $7.55 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Related to Opioid Drug

    01/24/2018
    September 25, 2017: U.S. Attorney Charges Pharmacy Tech for Tampering with Opioids

    01/24/2018
    January 13, 2017: Two Louisiana Men Sentenced for Roles in On-line Pharmacy Scheme

    01/24/2018
    May 17, 2017: Gardner Man Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/24/2018
    September 11, 2017: Knoxville Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the FDA

    01/24/2018
    February 15, 2017: Hampton-Based Spice Dealer Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

    01/24/2018
    July 13, 2017: Four Charged in Counterfeit Body Building Steroid Conspiracy

    01/24/2018
    September 20, 2017: Registered Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    June 28, 2017: Registered Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    August 7, 2017: Notification of Stolen Sterile Prescription Injectable Products

    01/17/2018
    September 22, 2017: Drug Maker Aegerion Agrees to Plead Guilty; Will Pay More Than $35 Million to Resolve Criminal Charges and Civil False Claims Allegations

    01/16/2018
    June 30, 2017: Bath County Man Sentenced For Misbranding Drugs and Obstructing Justice

    01/16/2018
    June 21, 2017: Gardner Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/16/2018
    August 28, 2017: Costa Rican Defendant Appears in Federal Court to Face Fraud Charges

    01/16/2018
    July 17, 2017: Leader of $17 Million Health Insurance Fraud Scheme Ordered to Prison

    01/16/2018
    August 30, 2017: Two Charged in Federal Court with Smuggling Counterfeit Cigarettes

    01/16/2018
    May 31, 2017: Men Sentenced to Combined 60 Years for Selling Spice in Hampton Roads

    01/12/2018
    July 19, 2017: Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    March 13, 2017: Vice-President of SK Labs Found Guilty of Conspiracy, Mail Fraud Charges

    01/12/2018
    March 2, 2017: Bath County Man Convicted of Obstructing Justice and Selling Misbranded Products

    01/12/2018
    February 6, 2017: Arizona Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Pet Products with Counterfeit Labels

    01/12/2018
    January 17, 2017: Tampa-Area Medical Device Salesman Guilty of Selling Expired Lap-Band Devices

    01/12/2018
    August 1, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Gloucester Woman Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Steroids and Launder Money

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Vitamin Shop Owner Guilty of Selling Misbranded Drugs and Controlled Substance

    01/12/2018
    July 17, 2017: Gloucester Woman Pleads Guilty to Her Role in Counterfeit Steroid Trafficking Scheme

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Westerly Resident to Plead Guilty to Trafficking Steroids, Money Laundering Charges

    01/12/2018
    September 5, 2017: New Hampshire Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Involving Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    April 3, 2017: Printing and Packaging CEO Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit Labels and Packaging

    01/12/2018
    March 14, 2017: Woman Admits to Causing the Death of Another Person by Injecting Her with Liquid Silicone

    01/12/2018
    April 12, 2017: Former Medical Product Distributor Charged with False Statements about Hormone Shipments

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2017:Woman Admits to Illegally Selling Prescription Drugs Not Approved for Use in the US

    01/12/2018
    June 13, 2017: Cherry Hill Doctor and Son Admit Defrauding Medicare, Agree To $1.78 Million Settlement

    01/12/2018
    September 25, 2017: Pharmacy Manager Pleads Guilty to Illegal Prescription Drug Diversion and Money Laundering

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Tampa Woman Sentenced to Prison For Misbranded Drugs Used in Connection with Buttocks Injection

    01/12/2018
    March 28, 2017: Former Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Charged with Smuggling and Dispensing Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    September 12, 2017: Former Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Stealing Pain-killing Drugs, Replacing Vials with Water

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Printing and Packaging Business Owner Convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Veterinary Labels

    01/12/2018
    July 14, 2017: Senior Executives of Medical Drug Re-Packager Plead Guilty to Defrauding Healthcare Providers

    01/12/2018
    February 16, 2017: Atlanta Man Convicted of Illegally Importing and Distributing Male Enhancement Products from China

    01/11/2018
    September 25, 2017: Millions of Medicines Seized in Largest INTERPOL Operation Against Illicit Online Pharmacies

    01/11/2018
    January 3, 2017: Notification of Stolen Reckitt Benckiser Retail, Non-Prescription, Consumer Healthcare Products

    01/09/2018
    August 1, 2017: Radford Nurse Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients Sentenced in Federal Court

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Three Florida Residents Arrested After Law Enforcement Discover Steroid and Fake Prescription Drug Lab

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2017: Counterfeiters Sentenced for Convictions in Nationwide Conspiracy to Distribute Fake 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    May 31, 2017: Drug Trafficking Organization Faces Indictment For Involvment In Manufacturing Fake Prescriptions Drugs With Fentanyl

    01/09/2018
    June 26, 2017: Owner of New England Compounding Center Sentenced for Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/09/2018
    February 14, 2017: Two Miami-Dade Women Charged in Connection with Their Operation of a Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    June 22, 2017: Pharmacy Owner and Director of Compliance Charged with Defrauding United States and Distributing Adulterated Drugs

    01/09/2018
    April 12, 2017: Owners of Two Los Angeles-Area Drug Wholesale Companies Arrested in $20 Million Federal ‘Structuring’ Conspiracy

    01/09/2018
    February 7, 2017: Randallstown Woman Pleads Guilty to Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone into the Bodies of Victim Customers

    01/09/2018
    August 30, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison for Operating a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    March 28, 2017: 3 Canadians and their Vancouver Company Charged with Conspiring to Sell Foreign-Made Drugs to Western Pennsylvania Pharmacists

    01/09/2018
    March 9, 2017: Internet Business Owner Indicted for Selling Non-FDA Approved and Misbranded Versions of Botox and Juvederm Related Products

    01/09/2018
    June 8, 2017: Houston, Texas Man convicted of Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    February 16, 2017: Oncology Practice, Doctor and Practice Manager Pay $1.7 Million to Resolve Allegations They Billed Medicare for Illegally Imported Drugs

    01/09/2018
    June 27, 2017: Physician and Wife to Pay $1.2 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That They Billed Medicare and Medicaid for Unapproved Drugs

    01/09/2018
    September 6, 2017: Bronx Pharmacist Pleads Guilty To Illegally Selling Millions Of Prescription Pills On The Internet And Agrees To Forfeit $9 Million

    01/09/2018
    March 30, 2017: Lincoln Mother and Son Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Misbranded Substances, Drug Paraphernalia, and Related Financial Crimes

    01/09/2018
    January 12, 2017: Baxter Healthcare Corporation to Pay More than $18 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Liability Relating to Sterile Products

    01/09/2018
    September 20, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison for Managing a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    May 23, 2017: Citizen of Pakistan and United Kingdom Sentenced For International Wire Fraud Scheme That Sold False Cures For Multiple Illnesses

    01/09/2018
    April 18, 2017: SCM True Air Technologies, of Ohio and Kentucky, and Its Former Company President – Guilty of Delivering Misbranded Medical Devices from Unregistered Facilities to a Georgia V.A. Medical Center and Obstructing an FDA Investigation into their Conduct

    01/09/2018
    September 26, 2017: Houston, Texas Man Sentenced to 40 Months and a $95,000 Fine for Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    September 27, 2017: Amerisourcebergen Specialty Group Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Drugs and is Sentenced to Pay $260 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability

    01/09/2018
    May 26, 2017: Florida Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Causing the Death of One Victim and Hospitalization of Others by Injecting them With Liquid Silicone

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Owner of O.C. Pet Products Company Pleads Guilty to Selling Pet Meds without Prescriptions, Some of Which Were Not Approved for U.S. Sale

    12/21/2017
    December 19, 2017: Senior Executives of Medical Drug Repackager Sentenced for Defrauding Healthcare Providers

    12/21/2017
    December 20, 2017: Fitchburg Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    12/18/2017
    December 18, 2017: Cherry Hill Doctor and Son Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Medicare

    12/14/2017
    December 12, 2017: Iserve Technologies, Inc. Pled Guilty in Connection with Guilty Pleas of Former Exec and Manager of Med-Fast Pharmacy Inc.

    12/04/2017
    November 30, 2017: Lynn Man Pleads Guilty to Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    12/04/2017
    November 30, 2017: Paramedic Sentenced for Stealing Fentanyl from Ambulance Company

    12/04/2017
    November 28, 2017: Champaign, Illinois, Resident Guilty of Producing and Selling Over 80,000 Homemade Tramadol Capsules to Customers Without Verifying Prescriptions

    12/04/2017
    November 29, 2017: Knoxville Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud the FDA

    11/27/2017
    November 21, 2017: Williamsville Couple Pleads Guilty

    11/27/2017
    November 22, 2017: Former Pharmacy Compliance Director Pleads Guilty to Introducing Adulterated Drugs into Interstate Commerce and Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

    11/27/2017
    November 20, 2017: Vitamin Shop Owner Sentenced for Misbranded Drugs and Controlled Substance Conviction

    11/21/2017
    November 20, 2017:Queensbury Oncologist and Office Manager Plead Guilty in Connection with Administering Unapproved Drugs

    11/21/2017
    November 16, 2017: Palmer Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs from Pakistan

    11/20/2017
    November 7, 2017: Federal Jury Convicts Lake Charles Veterinarian, Pharmacy in Race Horse Doping Conspiracy

    11/06/2017
    November 3, 2017: Vero Beach Orthopedic Surgeon Charged in Drug Conspiracy Resulting in Death

    11/06/2017
    November 3, 2017: Five Charged in Alleged Opioid Prescription, Healthcare Fraud Scheme

    11/06/2017
    November 1, 2017: New York Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Misbranded Animal Drugs Containing Steroids

    11/01/2017
    November 1, 2017: FDA Supervisor and Local Businessman Charged in Bribery Scheme

    11/01/2017
    November 1, 2017: Pair Sentenced on Federal Conspiracy

    10/31/2017
    October 31, 2017: South Korean Maker of Contact Lenses, Company CEO Charged with Smuggling Products into U.S. by Failing to Declare Full Value

    10/31/2017
    March 28, 2017: Oakland Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Conspiracy to Manufacture Counterfeit Drugs

    10/30/2017
    October 27, 2017: Central Kentucky Pharmacist Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone and Money Laundering

    10/26/2017
    October 26, 2017: Founder and Owner of Pharmaceutical Company Insys Arrested and Charged with Racketeering

    10/26/2017
    October 25, 2017: Five Chinese Citizens and Four Chinese Companies Indicted in Scheme to Sell Mislabeled Dietary Supplements

    10/26/2017
    October 25, 2017: Supervisory Pharmacist of New England Compounding Center Convicted of Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    10/17/2017
    October 16, 2017: Omak, Washington Nurse Sentenced to Federal Prison for Adulterating and Misbranding Pain Medications

    10/10/2017
    October 4, 2017: Med-Fast Pharmacy Inc. and Former Exec Agree to Resolve Criminal and Civil Charges

    10/03/2017
    October 2, 2017: Compounding Pharmacy Owner Charged with $10 Million Health Care Fraud

    10/02/2017
    September 29, 2017: Randallstown Woman Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone Into The Bodies Of Victim Customers

    09/28/2017
    September 20, 2017: Pair Plead Guilty to Federal Conspiracy Charge

    08/29/2017
    August 28, 2017: Shrewsbury Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Counterfeit Steroid Scheme

    08/18/2017
    August 18, 2017: Former Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Steroids, Money Laundering

    07/18/2017
    July 6, 2017: North Olmsted Man Charged with Selling Misbranded Drugs

    07/03/2017
    June 28, 2017: Former VA Nurse Re-Sentenced for Stealing and Tampering with Patient Medications

    07/03/2017
    June 28, 2017: Distributor of Counterfeit Medications Arrested

    06/28/2017
    June 23, 2017: Monterey Park Woman Arrested on Federal Charges after Allegedly Injecting Foreign Substances into Woman for Buttocks Enhancement

    06/26/2017
    June 22, 2017: Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Removing Liquid Fentanyl from Ambulance

    06/19/2017
    June 16, 2017: Leawood Woman Charged With Importing Misbranded Drugs

    06/09/2017
    June 9, 2017: Providence Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Oxycodone

    04/24/2017
    April 19, 2017: Radford Nurse, Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients, Pleads Guilty

    04/13/2017
    April 12, 2017: Six Charged with Trafficking Counterfeit Steroids

    04/06/2017
    April 5, 2017: Worcester Nurse Sentenced for Drug Tampering

    03/30/2017
    March 22, 2017: Diamond Bar Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling ED Drugs that Were Sold as ‘Herbal Enhancement’ Products without Prescriptions

    03/27/2017
    March 22, 2017: Owner of New England Compounding Center Convicted of Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/19/2017
    January 18, 2017: Owner of Major Online Colored Contact Lens Business Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison in Largest-Ever Scheme to Import and Sell Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lenses Prosecuted in the United States

    01/19/2017
    January 13, 2017: Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Drugs

    01/17/2017
    January 11, 2017: Worcester Nurse Pleads Guilty to Drug Tampering

    02/20/2018
    August 19, 2016: Pharmacy Owner and Medical Doctor Charged in an Internet Scheme to Dispense Medications to Customers without Valid Prescriptions

    01/24/2018
    December 6, 2016: Two Sentenced for Trafficking in Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/24/2018
    December 9, 2016: Carroll County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Conspiracy Charge

    01/24/2018
    July 18, 2016: Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.

    01/24/2018
    July 7, 2016: Johnston Resident Charged with Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering

    01/24/2018
    January 7, 2016: Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Narcotics from Hospital

    01/24/2018
    December 8, 2016: Pharmaceutical Executives Charged in Racketeering Scheme

    01/24/2018
    December 2, 2016: Woman Arrested For Injecting Adulterated Liquid Silicone

    01/24/2018
    June 27, 2016: Hampton-Based Spice Retailer and Wholesaler Pleads Guilty

    01/24/2018
    May 31, 2016: Worcester Nurse Indicted on Federal Drug Tampering Charges

    01/16/2018
    October 11, 2016: Foreign National Pleads Guilty To International Wire Fraud Scheme

    01/12/2018
    December 20, 2016: New England Compounding Center’s National Sales Director Pleads Guilty

    01/12/2018
    December 27, 2016: Providence Nurse Charged in Connection with Tampering with Oxycodone

    01/12/2018
    January 20, 2016: Businessman Sentenced for Marketing and Selling Unapproved Remedies for Cancer

    01/12/2018
    June 2, 2016: Additional Criminal Charges Brought Against Indicted Penn National Horse Trainer

    01/12/2018
    August 15, 2016: Second Trafficker Convicted of Distributing Dangerous Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/12/2018
    October 12, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims Bodies

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2016: Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    September, 22, 2016 Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    August 2, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims’ Bodies

    01/12/2018
    December 13, 2016: Tampa Resident Indicted for Involvement with Tricare Health Care Fraud Scheme

    01/12/2018
    September 29, 2016: New York Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Illegally Manufacture Designer Steroids

    01/12/2018
    July 1, 2016: New Hampshire Couple Indicted On Two Counts Of Illegal Distribution Of Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    June 22, 2016: Former Nurse Sentenced to 82 Months for Stealing and Tampering with Patient Medications

    01/12/2018
    December 19, 2016: New York Man Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Term for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements Online

    01/12/2018
    July 29, 2016: Majority Owner of NECC and Husband Plead Guilty to Illegal Cash Withdrawals Following Outbreak

    01/12/2018
    July 20, 2016: Former Acclarent, Inc. Executives Convicted of Crimes Related to the Sale of Medical Devices

    01/12/2018
    June 6, 2016: Pharmaceutical Companies To Pay $67 Million To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating To Tarceva

    01/11/2018
    July 22, 2016: Medical Device Manufacturer Acclarent Inc. to Pay $18 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

    01/11/2018
    November 15, 2016: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to Fifteen Months in Prison for Distributing Contaminated Cheese

    01/09/2018
    November 4, 2016: Two Pakistani Nationals Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Ship Pharmaceuticals into the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 29, 2016: Eight Defendants Convicted For Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Counterfeit 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    July 6, 2016: New Jersey Medical Device Manufacturer Admits Selling Contaminated Ultrasound Gel; Court Orders Permanent Injunction

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2016: Two Pharmacists Sentenced to Prison for Adulteration of Drugs in Connection with Alabama-Based Compounding Pharmacy

    01/09/2018
    December 2, 2016: Former Police Officer Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to 8 Years in Prison for Selling Date Rape Drug

    01/09/2018
    December 13, 2016: O.C. Man Charged with Selling Pet Meds Without a Prescription, Some of Which Were Not Approved for Distribution in the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 10, 2016: Nurse Who Operated Spa in Laguna Niguel Agrees to Plead Guilty to Illegally Dispensing Botox Not Approved for Use in United States

    01/09/2018
    November 28, 2016: Iowa Cancer Clinic and Oncologist to Pay More Than $176,000 To Settle False Claims Act Allegations They Recklessly Billed for Cancer Drugs That Were Unapproved, Misbranded, or Counterfeit and Improperly Upcoded Office Visit Claims

    01/09/2018
    September 9, 2016: Owner of Major Online Colored Contact Lens Business Pleads Guilty in Largest-Ever Investigation of Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lenses in the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 7, 2016: Medical Device Maker Biocompatibles Pleads Guilty to Misbranding and Agrees to Pay $36 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability and False Claims Act Allegations

    01/09/2018
    December 7, 2016: GNC Enters Into Agreement with Department of Justice to Improve Its Practices and Keep Potentially Illegal Dietary Supplements Out of the Marketplace

    01/09/2018
    December 5, 2016: Medical Device Saleswoman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Charges Relating to the Transport of Stolen Medical Devices and Money Laundering

    12/15/2016
    December 13, 2016: Conagra Subsidiary Sentenced in Connection with Outbreak of Salmonella Poisoning Related to Peanut Butter

    12/13/2016
    December 9, 2016: Two South Florida Residents Charged with Conspiring to Misbrand and Sell Expired Gastric Banding Systems

    11/21/2016
    November 18, 2016: Palm Harbor Oncologist Convicted Of Buying Unapproved Cancer Medications From Foreign Sources And Defrauding Medicare

    11/08/2016
    November 4, 2016: University Hospital Nurse Arrested Following Grand Jury Indictment for Illegally Obtaining and Tampering with Fentanyl and Hydomorphone

    10/17/2016
    October 11, 2016: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing, Distributing Performance Enhancing Drugs

    09/26/2016
    September 9, 2016: Medical Device Saleswoman Convicted on Charges of Conspiring to Transport Stolen Medical Devices in Interstate Commerce, Money Laundering and Other Charges

    08/19/2016
    August 19,2016: North Carolina Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Providing Silicone Buttocks Injections Resulting in the Death of a Client

    07/26/2016
    July 25, 2016: Three Charged with Manufacturing, Distributing Performance Enhancing Drugs

    06/20/2016
    June 20, 2016: R.I. Businessman Pleads Guilty to Running International Scheme to Label and Sell Misbranded Drugs

    06/08/2016
    June 2, 2016: President of Pharmaceutical Companies Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Long-Running Scheme to Sell Misbranded and Unapproved Chemotherapy and Other Prescription Drugs

    05/27/2016
    May 26, 2016: Owner of “The Wholesale Source” Convicted for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements Online

    05/27/2016
    May 27, 2016: North Carolina Man Admits Receiving and Selling Misbranded Silicone for Buttocks Injections Resulting in the Death of a Client

    05/23/2016
    May 9, 2016: California Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Unapproved Drug in Rhode Island

    05/19/2016
    May 18, 2016: Woman Charged with Illegally Administering Silicone Injections

    05/16/2016
    May 13, 2016: Two Key Players in Illegal Online Pharmacy Scheme Sentenced to Prison

    05/16/2016
    May 12, 2016: Windsor Mill Woman Indicted for Allegedly Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone into the Bodies of Victim Customers

    05/09/2016
    May 9, 2016: Owner of Bodybuilding Drug Companies Sentenced for Selling Misbranded Drugs

    05/09/2016
    May 9, 2016: Lodi Oncologist and Office Administrator Pay $300,000 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

    05/06/2016
    May 5, 2016: Florida Man Sentenced To Prison For Illegal Diet Pill Scheme

    05/05/2016
    May 4, 2016: Former Buffalo Nurse Sentenced For Stealing Pain Medications Intended For Patients From Local Hospital

    05/04/2016
    April 28, 2016: Jury Convicts Former Police Officer For Selling Date Rape Drug

    05/04/2016
    May 3, 2016: Gainesville Physician Convicted of 162 Counts of Health Care Fraud

    05/02/2016
    April 29, 2016: Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest Of Black Market Distributor Of Diverted HIV Medications Worth Approximately $4 Million

    04/20/2016
    April 20, 2016: Norfolk Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Distributing Insulin

    04/14/2016
    April 7, 2016: Former Nurse Sentenced for Stealing Narcotics from Hospital

    04/06/2016
    April 4, 2016: Former Carlsbad Resident Jailed for Sale of Unapproved “Energy Wave” Medical Devices

    03/24/2016
    March 23, 2016: Federal Jury Convicts Destrehan Woman in Scheme to Sell Illegal and Mislabelled Diet Pills

    03/24/2016
    March 23, 2016: Detroit-Area Physician Sentenced to 45 Months in Prison for Role in $5.7 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

    03/21/2016
    March 18, 2016: Bookkeeper for Online Pharmacy Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Money Laundering

    03/11/2016
    March 8, 2016: Cincinnati Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.

    03/08/2016
    March 7, 2016: Tehachapi Doctor Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison for Defrauding Patients and Insurers by Implanting Unapproved IUDs

    03/08/2016
    March 4, 2016: First of Seven Defendants Who Operated Illegal Online Pharmacy Sentenced to Prison

    03/04/2016
    March 4, 2016: Mumbai, India, Man Sentenced on Misbranding Charge

    03/03/2016
    March 1, 2016: Principal of Dietary Ingredient Companies Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Fraud and Meth Precursor Scheme

    02/29/2016
    February 26, 2016: Florence Man Sentenced for Smuggling and Distributing Prescription Drugs

    02/25/2016
    February 17, 2016: Danville Man Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing and Distributing Illegal Dietary Supplements

    02/24/2016
    February 24, 2016: Former VA Nurse Pleads Guilty To Stealing Controlled Substance From Hospital Syringes

    02/24/2016
    February 17, 2016: Two Men Sentenced For Involvement in Scheme to Distribute Misbranded Drugs

    02/23/2016
    February 10, 2016: Las Vegas Resident Indicted For Running Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lens Operation

    02/19/2016
    February 17, 2016: United States And Vermont Doctor Resolve Matter Involving Non-FDA Approved Drugs And False Claims

    02/19/2016
    February 16, 2016: Swedish Medical Center Surgical Tech/Technologist Indicted by Federal Grand Jury in Denver on Charges of Tampering with a Consumer Product and Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Deceit

    02/19/2016
    February 10, 2016: Owner of Cancer Treatment Clinic Convicted of Providing Fraudulent Medical Treatments to Patients

    02/04/2016
    January 28, 2016: Federal Criminal Charges Filed Against Two Pharmacists for Adulteration of Drugs in Connection with Alabama-Based Compounding Pharmacy

    02/02/2016
    February 1, 2016: Pakistani Man Makes Appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver Following Indictment and Arrest for Sale and Distribution of New, Misbranded and Counterfeit Prescription Drugs

    02/02/2016
    February 1, 2016: Worcester Nurse Sentenced for Stealing Oxycodone from Patients

    02/02/2016
    January 22, 2016: Counterfeit Cigarette Smuggler Receives Jail Sentence

    02/02/2016
    January 5, 2016: Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison in Conspiracy to Distribute Over $6.6 Million in Contraband Cigarettes

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Microsoft leads global action that’s disrupting a favored cybercrime tool

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Microsoft leads global action that’s disrupting a favored cybercrime tool

    Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) and international partners are disrupting the leading tool used to indiscriminately steal sensitive personal and organizational information to facilitate cybercrime. On Tuesday, May 13, Microsoft’s DCU filed a legal action against Lumma Stealer (“Lumma”), which is the favored info-stealing malware used by hundreds of cyber threat actors. Lumma steals passwords, credit cards, bank accounts, and cryptocurrency wallets and has enabled criminals to hold schools for ransom, empty bank accounts, and disrupt critical services.

    Via a court order granted in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Microsoft’s DCU seized and facilitated the takedown, suspension, and blocking of approximately 2,300 malicious domains that formed the backbone of Lumma’s infrastructure. The Department of Justice (DOJ) simultaneously seized the central command structure for Lumma and disrupted the marketplaces where the tool was sold to other cybercriminals. Europol’s European Cybercrime Center (EC3) and Japan’s Cybercrime Control Center (JC3) facilitated the suspension of locally based Lumma infrastructure.

    Between March 16, 2025, and May 16, 2025, Microsoft identified over 394,000 Windows computers globally infected by the Luma malware. Working with law enforcement and industry partners, we have severed communications between the malicious tool and victims. Moreover, more than 1,300 domains seized by or transferred to Microsoft, including 300 domains actioned by law enforcement with the support of Europol, will be redirected to Microsoft sinkholes. This will allow Microsoft’s DCU to provide actionable intelligence to continue to harden the security of the company’s services and help protect online users. These insights will also assist public- and private-sector partners as they continue to track, investigate, and remediate this threat. This joint action is designed to slow the speed at which these actors can launch their attacks, minimize the effectiveness of their campaigns, and hinder their illicit profits by cutting a major revenue stream.

    Heat map detailing global spread of Lumma Stealer malware infections and encounters across Windows devices.
    Splash page displayed on 900+ domains seized by Microsoft. 

    What is Lumma?

    Lumma is a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS), marketed and sold through underground forums since at least 2022. Over the years, the developers released multiple versions to continually improve its capabilities. Microsoft Threat Intelligence shares more details around the delivery techniques and capabilities of Lumma in a recent blog.

    Typically, the goal of Lumma operators is to monetize stolen information or conduct further exploitation for various purposes. Lumma is easy to distribute, difficult to detect, and can be programmed to bypass certain security defenses, making it a go-to tool for cybercriminals and online threat actors, including prolific ransomware actors such as Octo Tempest (Scattered Spider). The malware impersonates trusted brands, including Microsoft, and is deployed via spear-phishing emails and malvertising, among other vectors.

    For example, in March 2025, Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a phishing campaign impersonating online travel agency Booking.com. The campaign used multiple credential-stealing malware, including Lumma, to conduct financial fraud and theft. Lumma has also been used to target gaming communities and education systems and poses an ongoing risk to global security, with reports from multiple cybersecurity companies outlining its use in attacks against critical infrastructure, such as the manufacturing, telecommunications, logistics, finance, and healthcare sectors.

    Example of phishing email impersonating Booking.com and fake CAPTCHA verification prompt. (Source:Microsoft – Phishing campaign impersonates Booking .com, delivers a suite of credential-stealing malware)

    The primary developer of Lumma is based in Russia and goes by the internet alias “Shamel.” Shamel markets different tiers of service for Lumma via Telegram and other Russian-language chat forums. Depending on what service a cybercriminal purchases, they can create their own versions of the malware, add tools to conceal and distribute it, and track stolen information through an online portal.

    Different tiers of service for Lumma, as well as Lumma’s logo used on marketing material. (Source: Darktrace – The Rise of MaaS & Lumma Info Stealer)

    In an interview with cybersecurity researcher “g0njxa” in November 2023, Shamel shared that he had “about 400 active clients.” Demonstrating the evolution of cybercrime to incorporate established business practices, he effectively created a Lumma brand, using a distinctive logo of a bird to market his product, calling it a symbol of “peace, lightness, and tranquility,” and adding the slogan “making money with us is just as easy.”

    Shamel’s ability to operate openly underscores the importance for countries worldwide to address the issue of safe havens and to advocate for the rigorous enforcement of due diligence obligations under international law.

    Continuing to work together to disrupt prolific cybercrime tools

    Disrupting the tools cybercriminals frequently use can create a significant and lasting impact on cybercrime, as rebuilding malicious infrastructure and sourcing new exploit tools takes time and costs money. By severing access to mechanisms cybercriminals use, such as Lumma, we can significantly disrupt the operations of countless malicious actors through a single action.

    Continued collaboration across industry and government remains imperative. We are grateful for the partnership with others across government and industry, including cybersecurity companies ESET, Bitsight, Lumen, Cloudflare, CleanDNS, and GMO Registry. Each company provided valuable assistance by quickly taking down online infrastructure.

    Finally, we know cybercriminals are persistent and creative. We, too, must evolve to identify new ways to disrupt malicious activities. Microsoft’s DCU will continue to adapt and innovate to counteract cybercrime and help ensure the safety of critical infrastructure, customers, and online users.

    Organizations and individuals can protect themselves from malware like Lumma by using multi-factor authentication, running the latest anti-malware software, and being cautious with attachments and email links. More information for security professionals can be found here.

    Tags: cyberattacks, cybersecurity

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Small Business Democrats Call Out Trump Admin for Turning Back on Small Businesses, Blocking Funding to Help Entrepreneurs Grow

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
    SBA is currently blocking funding that supports small businesses, plans to cut $167 million from future programs
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, along with his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, called on Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler to stop hurting small businesses and release entrepreneurial development program funding. 
    “Gutting counseling and training services for women, veterans, and underserved small businesses is not how we can grow our economy,” wrote the senators. “We strongly condemn the President’s budget and call on SBA to immediately release entrepreneurial development program funding owed to counseling and training providers.”
    SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs provide free or low-cost counseling and training to support the small business owners, specifically targeting veterans, women, and other underserved entrepreneurs. Last year alone, SBA counseled and trained more than 744,000 small businesses, supported the creation of 33,240 new businesses, and supported over one million jobs.
    The Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 cuts $167 million dollars from SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs and $111 million from the agency’s budget for the cost of staff and other administrative expenses. The proposed budget would eliminate 15 entrepreneurial development programs, which would mean the closure of more than 150 WBCs, 250 SCORE chapters, and 31 VBOCs.
    To better understand SBA’s budget plans and the extent to which entrepreneurial development program funding has been delayed or mismanaged, the lawmakers request written responses to the following questions no later than May 30:
    With the elimination of all but one of its entrepreneurial development programs under President Trump’s proposed budget, what is SBA’s plan to provide quality counseling and training to America’s 34 million small businesses?
    Why does the Administration believe that women and veteran entrepreneurs do not merit specialized assistance given the unique challenges they face?
    Why has SBA failed to distribute appropriated funding to its entrepreneurial development programs, specifically the SBDC, WBC, VBOC, and SCORE programs
    Please identify every payment, by program, to SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs that are currently past due.
    Please provide a detailed timeline for disbursement, by program, of the delayed payments identified in response to the previous question.
    Full text of the letter HERE and below.
    Dear Administrator Loeffler:
    Gutting counseling and training services for women, veterans, and underserved small businesses is not how we can grow our economy. As if the Trump Administration’s disastrous and destructive tariff policy had not caused enough harm to the nation’s entrepreneurs, the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget for the Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to eliminate the vast majority of SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs. Additionally, SBA is currently blocking funding Congress has already appropriated for these programs. We strongly condemn the President’s budget and call on SBA to immediately release entrepreneurial development program funding owed to counseling and training providers.
    SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs provide free or low-cost counseling and training to America’s 34 million small businesses, with specific assistance targeting veterans, women, and other underserved entrepreneurs. In FY 2024 alone, SBA counseled and trained more than 744,000 small businesses, supported the creation of 33,240 new businesses, and supported over one million jobs. SBA’s resource partners, which include Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), have long had bipartisan support and provide critical, costeffective assistance that catalyzes local economic growth. These programs work together to provide holistic aid to entrepreneurs in all states, creating an ecosystem of support for small businesses at every stage of development.
    On May 2, 2025, President Trump released a summary of his proposed budget for FY 2026 that cut $167 million dollars from SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs and $111 million from the agency’s budget for the cost of staff and other administrative expenses.
    Specifically, the proposed budget does away with 15 entrepreneurial development programs, which would mean the closure of more than 150 WBCs, 250 SCORE chapters, and 31 VBOCs. Only the SBDC program would survive. The President’s decision to eliminate dedicated veterans counseling services is particularly shocking. Although President Trump proposed $10 million in additional funding for SBDCs to serve veteran small businesses, that amount is still 46 percent less than SBA’s current level of funding for veteran services.
    Equally troubling are reports that the SBA is blocking previously appropriated funding from reaching its entrepreneurial development programs. The Senate Committee on Appropriations released a report exposing the wide variety of federal funding that President Trump, Elon Musk, and Russ Vought have illegally withheld. The report revealed that, under President Trump, SBA has failed to expend at least $30 million that Congress approved to carry out small business counseling and training programs. Additionally, the Administration has attempted to renege on contracts to grantees in the Regional Innovation Clusters (RIC) program, which provides direct support, accelerators, and other services to support small innovators. Of the 25 RIC awardees across the country, it appears that the Administration unjustifiably terminated at least 20 of their contracts.
    We are now five months into the second Trump presidency and it is unacceptable that the Trump SBA is incapable of properly managing its congressionally mandated responsibilities. Congress holds the power of the purse, and the executive branch must comply with the law, including duly enacted appropriations acts. SBA’s continued delays and cancellation of congressionally mandated spending not only goes against congressional intent but jeopardizes the viability of small businesses across the country.
    Federal funding is subject to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, meaning that the funds Congress appropriates to federal agencies cannot be temporarily withheld from obligation or expenditure without a presidential special message and cannot be cancelled without congressional approval. The Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required to report when a president has failed to disclose an impoundment to Congress. For this reason, GAO is currently investigating 39 federal agencies that are not expending appropriated funds. If SBA is unwilling or unable to release the funds appropriated for its entrepreneurial development programs, we will be requesting that GAO perform a formal review and pursue potential enforcement actions.
    We strongly reject President Trump’s budget proposal and demand that SBA release delayed payments to its entrepreneurial development programs. To better understand SBA’s budget plans and the extent to which entrepreneurial development program funding has been delayed or mismanaged, we request written responses to the following questions no later than May 30:
    With the elimination of all but one of its entrepreneurial development programs under President Trump’s proposed budget, what is SBA’s plan to provide quality counseling and training to America’s 34 million small businesses?
    Why does the Administration believe that women and veteran entrepreneurs do not merit specialized assistance given the unique challenges they face?
    Why has SBA failed to distribute appropriated funding to its entrepreneurial development programs, specifically the SBDC, WBC, VBOC, and SCORE programs
    Please identify every payment, by program, to SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs that are currently past due.
    Please provide a detailed timeline for disbursement, by program, of the delayed payments identified in response to the previous question.
    Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan Provides Nearly $1 Million to Support Young Entrepreneurs

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on May 21, 2025

    The Saskatchewan Young Entrepreneurs Bursary applications are now open, supporting business sustainability and growth across the province 

    Today, Minister of Trade and Export Development Warren Kaeding, along with Saskatchewan Chamber CEO Prabha Ramaswamy launched the new Young Entrepreneur Bursary that will support up to 57 local young entrepreneurs with bursaries of $5,000 to foster business development. 

    The province will provide Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce with $285,000 per year, for three years, plus administration costs to support entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years of age who have been in operation for 10 years or less. Applications open today through to July 14, 2025 and will be awarded in the fall. 

    “The New Young Entrepreneur Bursary promotes business development and innovation, creating opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs across our Province,” Kaeding said. “Collaboration between government and organizations like Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is an important component of Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan and our commitment to ensure the province remains one of the best places in Canada to start and grow a business.”

    The funding will be administered by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce with support from local chambers across the province. 

    “Saskatchewan’s future depends on the bold ideas and determination of its next generation of entrepreneurs,” Ramaswamy said. “The Young Entrepreneur Bursary Program ensures that emerging business leaders have the support they need to pursue their vision and contribute to a thriving provincial economy. We are proud to partner with the Government of Saskatchewan to reduce financial barriers and champion the growth of our province’s entrepreneurial talent.”

    The bursary will encourage the next generation of entrepreneurship and support economic development across the province, creating jobs and opportunities, while ensuring we continue to build resilient and vibrant communities for years to come.   

    Saskatchewan is committed to fostering a competitive business environment where all businesses can succeed. The Government of Saskatchewan supports small businesses through low tax rates, reduced red tape and streamlined regulations. This promotes growth and innovation that enhances the quality of life for people across the province. 

    The innovative businesses and government support across the province are vital to the province’s recent economic success. 

    Statistics Canada’s latest GDP numbers indicate that Saskatchewan’s 2024 real GDP reached an all-time high of $80.5 billion, increasing by $2.6 billion, or 3.4 per cent. This ranks Saskatchewan second in the nation for real GDP growth, and above the national average of 1.6 per cent. 

    Private capital investment in Saskatchewan increased last year by 17.3 per cent to $14.7 billion, ranking first among provinces. Private capital investment is projected to reach $16.2 billion in 2025, an increase of 10.1 per cent over 2024. This is the second highest anticipated percentage increase among the provinces.  

    For more information visit : https://saskchamber.com/initiatives/young-entrepreneur-bursary/

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson on Her Departure from the CFTC

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    It has been an honor and privilege to serve as a Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Having completed my full term, I have notified the President of my intent to step down as a CFTC Commissioner later this year. Although this is a difficult decision, I am proud of the work that I have accomplished and am deeply grateful for the chance to develop meaningful relationships with staff and current and former Commissioners during my tenure at the CFTC.
    I am exceptionally fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve our great nation and am honored that President Joseph R. Biden nominated me to serve in two critical roles as a financial market regulator. In addition to nominating me to serve a three-year term as a CFTC Commissioner in the fall of 2021, last summer, President Biden nominated me to serve as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the United States Department of the Treasury. 
    As a graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, the invitation to return to Washington, D.C. as a CFTC Commissioner resonated with my life-long commitment to be “in service of others.” When I accepted the nomination to serve as a CFTC Commissioner, I requested a three-year leave of absence from Emory University School of Law where I serve as Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law. On March 28, 2022, I was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. On March 30, 2022, not long after teaching my last class for the semester at Emory Law School, I was sworn in to serve as a CFTC Commissioner.
    This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the CFTC, a small-but-mighty agency that works daily to advance effective supervision and oversight in derivatives markets. In 1974, Congress passed and Former President Gerald Ford[1] signed into law the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act creating the CFTC. A few months later, on April 15, 1975, four of the first five Commissioners, including the first Chairman of the Commission, were sworn in to service.
    As the Commission celebrates this important milestone, I celebrated my third anniversary at the Commission. A few days after my third anniversary, my term expired.
    Our derivatives markets operate as a critical resource for price discovery, risk management, and hedging functions for many sectors in our economy but, most notably, the agriculture, energy, and financial services sectors. One of the greatest strengths of our federal government and, more specifically, the federal agencies that supervise many of the largest global financial market participants in the world, is the intellectual leadership of our regulators.[2] Over the last several decades significant events have tested the resilience of our markets. In each instance, the Commission and its regulations developed through robust engagement among the Commissioners—with the support of the Commission staff—have served to address liquidity and default risk management concerns and to enhance the integrity and stability of our derivatives markets.
    I have endeavored to support the Commission’s work through constructive, substantive engagement with my fellow Commissioners, Commission staff, and the diverse businesses that we supervise. I am deeply committed to encouraging the Commission to develop well-informed, research-based, data-driven regulatory solutions that are well-tailored and fit-for-purpose. Thoughtful, effective regulation ensures that our markets are resilient even during periods of significant or persistent challenges.
    It has been a privilege to serve alongside my fellow Commissioners and to have had the opportunity to work with the exceptional and indefatigable staff at the Commission. The Commission staff works tirelessly to support the Commission in tackling complex and consequential issues through careful and thoughtful deliberative processes. I am confident that the Commission will continue to do important work protecting investors and customers, combatting fraud and market manipulation, and ensuring market integrity and stability.
    A Survey of Service
    Serving in leadership at the Commission, I have enjoyed driving intellectual and policy developments on several critical issues facing our markets. I led the Commission by advancing proposed and final rules that enhance risk management for derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs), cyber-resilience, and effective recovery, resilience, and wind-down regulations.
    I have strongly advocated for careful reflection regarding the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial markets and advocated for a number of policies and strategies to enhance the Commission’s ability to better understand industry integration of AI, including information gathering; the creation of an inter-agency task force encouraging domestic and international harmonization and collaboration on guidance or policies addressing the adoption of AI; the creation of a CFTC AI Fraud and Market Manipulation Task Force; and efforts to ensure sufficient human capital and financial resources to enable the Commission staff to keep pace with rapidly-evolving AI technologies.
    In the wake of a crypto-crisis in the fall of 2022, I delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Digital Assets @Duke conference, where I called for the Commission to organize roundtables and convene discussions to better understand the type of regulatory interventions that may lead to effective supervision of rapidly developing and evolving decentralized finance markets.[3] I encouraged the Commission to begin a multi-stakeholder dialogue on digital asset markets that would help to prepare the Commission staff to create regulation to carry out a Congressional mandate and, at the same time, offer educational workshops on foundational issues such as corporate governance, resolution planning, and customer protection features of CFTC regulation.[4] These regulatory pillars are hardwired in our supervision and should be part of the regulatory architecture for any novel assets or markets that come under Commission supervision. Same risks, same rules. Moreover, these governance and operational guardrails have historically served to ensure that firms are able to withstand anticipated shocks (for example, by promoting enterprise risk management) and that markets remain resilient—even in times of significant distress. 
    I am proud to have served as Sponsor of the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC). I am grateful for the hard work of Alicia Crighton (Chair of the MRAC), the members of the MRAC, and the members of the MRAC Subcommittees—the Market Structure, Central Counterparty Risk & Governance, Interest Rate Benchmark Reform, Climate-Related Market Risk, and Future of Finance Subcommittees.
    As Sponsor of the MRAC, I led the Commission in taking on, in real-time, emerging cyber defense and cyber resilience concerns. In March of 2023, the MRAC hosted a first-of-its-kind hearing to examine cyber threats and potential solutions in derivatives markets. Over the last three years, the MRAC has submitted three sets of recommendations and a cutting-edge report to the Commission. The recommendations and report address system safeguards, critical third-party service providers and cyber resilience for institutions at the center of our market infrastructure; the efficacy of recovery, resilience, and wind-down policies for intermediaries in our markets; risk management related to the cash-futures basis trade; and a report on the state of the futures commission merchant market.
    The central tenants of the Commodity Exchange Act inform the CFTC’s mandate—to prevent fraud and market manipulation, protect investors and customers, and ensure the stability and integrity of our markets. In order to deter escalating or future misconduct, I have strongly supported efforts to ensure that the Commission upholds this mandate, enhances customer protection, and holds bad actors accountable.
    Artificial Intelligence in Financial Markets 
    While derivatives transactions in financial markets date back to ancient Greece, none of the Greek philosophers who lived two thousand years ago had the ability to generate a philosophical tome or literary masterpiece by simply typing a few questions into ChatGPT.[5]  Simply stated, today’s financial markets are evolving at an unprecedented and accelerated pace. I arrived at the Commission deeply committed to advancing the Commission’s understanding of AI and AI use cases relevant to our markets. During my tenure at the Commission, I partnered with leadership across the industry, government regulators, public interest advocates, academics, and Commission staff to initiate a dialogue on the increasing adoption of AI by our market participants as well as the incorporation of AI in regulatory oversight and supervision.
    Information-Gathering
    In January 2024, I rolled up my sleeves during a winter storm and worked in collaboration with talented CFTC senior staff to develop the Commission’s first request for comment on AI in CFTC-regulated markets.[6] Later in the year, I represented the Commission in the development of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s request for information on AI.[7] I also represented the Commission by serving in an association of federal regulators across government agencies engaged in understanding the implications of integrating AI in government supervision and regulation.
    In June of 2023, I joined a group of market regulators reflecting on the integration of AI in supervisory technology (SupTech) at the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Annual Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Days after IOSCO’s Annual Meeting in June 2023, I launched an annual international roundtable to explore AI and other novel technologies and the impact of these technologies on market structures with the former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón.[8] I have served as a keynote speaker at dozens of industry and trade association conferences as well as academic institutions including Yale, Stanford, Duke, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, the University of Chicago, and Cornell Law Schools, as well as Rice University’s Baker Institute, among other institutions where I have been fortunate to engage in thoughtful conversations with leading experts representing diverse viewpoints.
    My engagement with market participants, U.S. market and prudential regulators, and global market regulators around the world has left me with the impression that we are still in a learning phase and are continuing to develop more precise understandings of the power, potential, and limits of developed and developing applications of AI, including generative and agentic AI.    I have, however, advocated for a few accessible policy initiatives that the Commission should begin to take steps to introduce.
    An Inter-Agency Task Force – Collaboration and Coordination
    Over the last three years, I have advocated for AI policy priorities that must be at the center of the CFTC and other regulators’ policy agenda.[9] I have called for coordination among regulators to ensure that regulators are informed and have the depth of expertise to respond effectively to emerging technologies. I have asked the Commission and other financial market regulators to create an Inter-Agency AI Task Force to establish a pathway for open dialogue through deep dive, public and closed-door roundtables among the Commission, market participants, other market and prudential regulators, and public interest advocates.[10] Shortly after the announcement of my proposal, the Commission named its first Chief AI Officer.
    CFTC AI Fraud and Market Manipulation Task Force
    Our markets are faced with increasingly sophisticated forms of AI driven fraud. Evidence suggests that hackers are repurposing AI-based tools previously used in cyber defense tactics to identify weaknesses in networks and cybersecurity applications. These weaknesses open back doors for cyber-attacks. Generative AI may enable sophisticated actors to execute more convincing phishing campaigns. Deep fakes and similar campaigns may be more difficult to detect, especially for less sophisticated consumers and retail participants.
    I have encouraged the Commission to create an internal AI task force within the Division of Enforcement and introduce heightened civil monetary penalties in instances where bad actors use AI to engage in fraud or market manipulation. In conversations with regulators in jurisdictions around the world, I have advocated for regulators to better understand AI as a SupTech resource that may enhance our ability to more precisely target AI fueled cyber and fraud attacks that threaten to upend the integrity and stability of domestic and global financial markets causing severe market disruption.
    Human Capital and Financial Resources
    The CFTC continues to punch above its weight. The agency, however, must have both financial and human resources to keep pace as industry participants integrate increasingly complex iterations of AI. As our markets become more complex and reflect the incorporation of and reliance on novel technologies, the Commission must have the resources to effectively supervise more sophisticated markets. I believe that the Commission would benefit from increased resources dedicated to enabling several of the Divisions within the Commission to prepare for and meet the challenges of regulating innovative trading, clearing, and settlement technologies.[11]
    The Market Risk Advisory Committee
    In my role as Sponsor of the MRAC, I have convened stakeholders with diverse perspectives to address critical, complex issues facing our markets. Under my leadership and working in collaboration with industry executives representing exchanges, clearinghouses, futures commission merchants, as well as public interest advocates, academics, and many others, the MRAC examined many of the most pressing risks across our financial markets, including systemic issues that could threaten the stability of derivatives markets.
    During my time as Sponsor, the MRAC has focused on increasing concerns presented by cyber threats; the significance of critical third-party service providers such as cloud-based service providers; the introduction of artificial intelligence in market infrastructure and commercial and retail transactions; and novel and nascent issues that arise with the introduction of decentralized financial products such as digital assets or cryptocurrency and other emerging markets.
    In March of 2023, the MRAC hosted a first-of-its-kind post-mortem on the implications for markets following the cyberattack on back-office service provider ION. The hearing included presentations by Matthew Cronin of the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director; Tom Sexton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Futures Association; Walt Lukken, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Futures Industry Association; Julie Holzrichter of CME Group; Amanda Olear, Former Director of the Market Participants Division of the CFTC; Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President of FINRA; Ashwini Panse of Intercontinental Exchange; Suyash Paliwal, Former Director of the CFTC Office of International Affairs (OIA); and Senior Special Counsel Kirsten Robbins of the CFTC OIA, among others.[12]
    At the MRAC’s most recent meeting, the Committee voted to submit recommendations on many issues—a report and recommendation on the need to evaluate our regulations governing critical third party service providers (particularly in areas marked by concentration risks due to a limited number of competitive service providers); cyber resilience for derivatives clearing organizations; and best practices for managing market, liquidity, counterparty credit, and other risks related to the cash futures basis trade.[13] In addition to these significant contributions, the MRAC advanced important recovery and resolution proposals and published a cutting-edge report on concentration risk engendered by a decline in the market for futures commission merchant services over the last two decades.[14]
    The MRAC’s work on each of these critical questions will help the Commission to address emerging issues and enhance the Commission’s ability to promote the stability and integrity of derivatives markets.
    The Importance of Public Service
    I began my legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. I am thankful that the Judge was willing to take a chance on me; the Judge hired me as a second-year law student to serve as his law clerk upon my graduation from law school. Having spent the better part of his career as a federal prosecutor and later a federal judge, Judge Greenaway taught me to value public service and the importance of building relationships in the communities in which we serve. 
    I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to serve the CFTC community. Every well-developed proposed or final rule review, open or closed meeting briefing and engagement, advisory committee meeting agenda, and policy initiative advanced by my office benefited tremendously from the tireless work and commitment of my current and former staff. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who served my office in any counsel, policy advisor or law student intern role. I am also grateful to the incomparable executive assistants who supported the administrative functions of the office.
    About Commissioner Johnson
    Immediately prior to joining the Commission, Commissioner Johnson served as a tenured professor with an endowed professorship (Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law) and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Emory University School of Law. Commissioner Johnson also held a named professorship and served as Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Tulane University School of Law. Prior to law teaching, Commissioner Johnson served as a lawyer in private practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLC’s New York and London offices supporting the mergers and acquisitions, private credit and public and private capital markets practices. Upon leaving private practice, Commissioner Johnson joined J.P. Morgan Chase as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Treasury Services Division supporting private funds. Before attending law school, Commissioner Johnson served as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Asset Management Division.
    Commissioner Johnson is the co-author of two forthcoming books—The Cambridge University Press Handbook on Artificial Intelligence & The Law and Artificial Intelligence & The Law: Cases and Materials.  Her recent work examines the implications of emerging innovative technologies including distributed digital ledger technologies that enable the creation of digital assets or cryptocurrency as well as networked, centralized and decentralized transaction-enabling infrastructure. Her early scholarship focuses on financial market disruptions that may create systemic risk concerns, with particular emphasis on the origination of derivatives and other complex financial products as well as secondary market trading, clearing, and settlement. She has testified before Congress on the benefits and risks of integrating emerging technologies such as blockchain or distributed digital ledger technologies and AI in financial markets.[15]

    [3] Keynote Address of Commissioner Kristin Johnson at Digital Assets @ Duke Conference, Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and Duke Financial Economics Center, Mitigating Crypto-Crises: Applying Lessons Learned in Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (January 26, 2023), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opajohnson2.

    [4] See Kristin N. Johnson, Commissioner, CFTC, Federal Reserve of Chicago Financial Markets Group Fall Conference, Investing in Investor Protection (Nov. 16, 2022), available on file with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; see also Nahiomy Alvarez, Nomaan Chandiwalla, Alessandro Cocco, 2022 Financial Markets Group Fall Conference–Recap, https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/blogs/ chicago-fed-insights/2023/2022-fmg-fall-conference-recap (Feb. 6, 2023).

    [5] Kristin N. Johnson, Regulating Cryptocurrency Secondary Market Trading Platforms, 1/8/2020 U. Chi. L. Rev. Online 1 (2020).

    [7] See U.S. Department of the Treasury, Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services (Dec. 2024), https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Financial-Services.pdf (Treasury December Report).

    [15] In April of 2021, Commissioner Johnson testified before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. In July of 2019, she testified before the House Financial Services Committee Artificial Intelligence Task Force on the implications of integrating artificial intelligence in financial technology (fintech) platforms. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden Reveals Which Phone Companies Protect Privacy by Telling Customers About Government Surveillance

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    May 21, 2025
    Wyden Inquiry Also Finds Wireless Carriers Did Not Follow Through on Requirement to Notify Senate of Surveillance Demands
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today revealed which wireless carriers protect the privacy of their customers by notifying them about government surveillance requests for their information, in a letter he sent to his colleagues today. He urged senators to choose a phone company that will notify them about government surveillance requests. 
    “If law enforcement officials, whether at the federal, state, or even local level, can secretly obtain Senators’ location data or call histories, our ability to perform our constitutional duties is severely threatened,” Wyden wrote. “This kind of unchecked surveillance can chill critical oversight activities, undermine confidential communications essential for legislative deliberations, and ultimately erode the legislative branch’s co-equal status.”
    Wyden referenced a 2024 report by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General, which revealed that during the first Trump Administration, the DOJ secretly obtained the phone records of several members of Congress and dozens of congressional staff, both Republican and Democrats, as part of a leak investigation.
    Wyden learned that the largest phone companies — Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile — failed to establish systems to notify senators about government surveillance requests in violation of their contracts with the Senate. He urged senators and staff to consider switching mobile carriers for their campaign and personal phones to carriers that will notify them about government surveillance demands.
    “While AT&T and Verizon only provide notice of surveillance of phone lines paid for by the Senate, T-Mobile has informed my staff that it will provide notice for Senators’ campaign or personal lines flagged as such by the [Senate Sergeant at Arms],” Wyden wrote. “Three other carriers — Google Fi Wireless, U.S. Mobile, and Cape — have policies of notifying all customers about government demands whenever they are allowed to do so. The latter two companies adopted these policies after outreach from my office.”
    Beyond members of Congress, journalists, political activists, people seeking reproductive health care and other law-abiding Americans who could be targeted by the government all have reason to be concerned about secret surveillance of their communications and location data.  Wyden’s office also surveyed phone carriers to learn which companies notify their customers about surveillance. His findings are summarized in the chart below. While it is the norm among tech companies to notify customers about government demands, absent a gag order issued by a judge, most phone companies choose to not notify their customers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China opposes unjustified European sanctions against Chinese companies – Chinese Foreign Ministry

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) — China strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed the European Union’s groundless sanctions against Chinese enterprises, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday.

    Mao Ning made the statement at a regular briefing for journalists, commenting on a new package of restrictions against Russia announced by the European Union and Great Britain. This time, the sanctions list also includes companies from China and the United Arab Emirates.

    Speaking about the Ukrainian crisis, the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry noted that China is firmly committed to advancing peace talks. China has never provided lethal weapons to the parties to the conflict and strictly controls the export of dual-use goods, she recalled.

    Normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises should not be disrupted or affected, Mao Ning stressed, noting that most countries, including European countries and the United States, continue to trade with Russia.

    The European side must stop applying double standards to trade and economic cooperation with Russia and harming the legitimate interests of Chinese companies. China will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests, the Chinese diplomat added. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW: 267,788 Bay Staters Slated to Lose Health Coverage Under GOP Reconciliation Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, highlighted a new report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee that found 267,788 Massachusetts residents would lose health coverage if the health provisions of the Republican reconciliation package are passed into law.
    “Republicans claim they’re targeting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid, but 267,788 Massachusetts residents aren’t line items to be slashed. They’re children with complex medical needs, seniors in nursing homes, and working families doing their best to stay healthy and make ends meet,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “These are our neighbors, not numbers on a spreadsheet in Washington that can be used to pay for tax cuts for billionaire campaign donors. Donald Trump’s so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ is nothing more than a cruel attack on the care they rely on to survive.”
    According to the Joint Economic Committee, Republican cuts to the Affordable Care Act will result in 100,800 Massachusetts residents losing coverage. Additionally, their decision to cut $715 billion from Medicaid will result in 166,978 Massachusetts residents losing health coverage through MassHealth. The full analysis, including congressional district-level data, can be accessed HERE.
    Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up House Republicans’ reconciliation package that will cut $715 billion from Medicaid and eliminate health coverage for at least 13.7 million Americans. Democrats on the Committee offered multiple amendments to prevent these cuts from moving forward, but all of them were rejected by Republicans along party line votes.
    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How male anatomy became the default in medicine – and why that’s a problem

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol

    Imagine waking up from surgery to discover that the implants designed to save your life were too large, too rigid, and never meant for someone like you. Imagine arriving at the emergency department with chest pain, only to be sent home because your symptoms don’t match the “classic” heart attack signs taught to doctors.

    Picture taking a routine dose of medication and experiencing severe side-effects, only to learn that the drug was never tested on women during its clinical trials. Or recovering from a fracture, only to find that the rehabilitation plan you’re following doesn’t align with how your bones heal.

    This isn’t the story of a medical mishap. It’s the consequence of centuries of anatomical science using one model for every body: the male.

    From textbooks to medical devices, the female form has often been an afterthought, leading to treatments that don’t fit, symptoms that go unnoticed, and lives put at risk. How did anatomical science come to overlook half the population? And what are the consequences of this oversight today?

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    To understand how this situation came about, we must go back to the roots of modern anatomy.

    Early anatomical texts, such as those by Andreas Vesalius in the 16th century, were based almost exclusively on male bodies. Female anatomy was included only when it differed in obvious reproductive ways, often cloaked in language that presented the female form as a deviation or inversion of the male norm.

    By the 19th century, with the institutionalisation of medical schools and dissection, anatomical teaching still relied predominantly on male cadavers. This wasn’t simply due to availability. It was also cultural.

    The male body was perceived as universal, rational, and worthy of study, while the female body was seen as variable, emotional, and biologically preoccupied with reproduction. The “ideal body”, in anatomical terms, was male.

    Even when women were studied, it was often through a lens of pathology or deviation: hysteria, wandering wombs, and fragile constitutions – the femme fragile.

    This historical lens cast a long shadow: well into the 20th century, and in many respects still today, anatomical models, surgical techniques, and medical training continue to prioritise the male form.

    When ‘normal’ doesn’t fit

    The implications of this anatomical bias are not just theoretical. They affect everyday clinical practice and outcomes. For example, women experiencing heart attacks often report symptoms like fatigue, nausea, or jaw pain – symptoms not listed in the “typical” presentation historically taught to doctors. As a result, they are more likely to be misdiagnosed or dismissed, leading to higher mortality rates.



    Read more:
    Are heart attack symptoms sexist?

    Orthopaedic implants, such as hip and knee replacements, have also been shown to potentially underperform in women, in part because they were designed around male bone dimensions and joint angles.

    Even crash test dummies – the silent arbiters of car safety design – were based on male physiology until disturbingly recently. When a “female” dummy was finally introduced, it was essentially a scaled-down man, not a biologically accurate model. Women’s bodies are still not standard or required in car safety tests.

    Then there’s the world of pharmaceuticals. Until the early 1990s, women were routinely excluded from clinical trials due to concerns about hormonal fluctuations and potential pregnancy risks. As a result, the dosage, metabolism, and side-effect profiles of countless medications were understood only in male bodies – sometimes with dangerous consequences.

    In 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration halved the recommended dose of the sleep aid zolpidem (Ambien) for women after discovering that they were far more affected by it than men. Something that could have been predicted had women been included in the initial studies.

    Artificial joints underperform in women – because they’re based on male anatomy.
    Sylvie Pabion Martin/Shutterstock.com

    Anatomy and inclusion

    Bones, muscles, blood vessels, fat distribution, and even immune responses vary between sexes. Female skeletons are generally lighter, with different angles in the pelvis and knees. Tendons and ligaments respond differently to stress and hormones, affecting injury risk and recovery.

    Pain perception and response to analgesics differ, too. Not just because of socialisation, but because of real, measurable differences in anatomy and neurobiology.

    Anatomical diagrams in textbooks still depict male figures as standard, with female anatomy relegated to the reproductive chapter.

    Simulation models for surgical training rarely reflect the full range of female body types or internal variation. If the first step of medicine is to know the body, we must ask: whose body are we really teaching?

    Change is coming. More researchers are calling for sex-disaggregated data in studies, and journals increasingly require it

    New generations of anatomists, doctors, and designers are beginning to challenge the one-body-fits-all paradigm. We’re finally starting to build a model of medicine that sees all bodies clearly, from the inside out.

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

    – ref. How male anatomy became the default in medicine – and why that’s a problem – https://theconversation.com/how-male-anatomy-became-the-default-in-medicine-and-why-thats-a-problem-255648

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Universal vaccines could reshape how we fight future outbreaks – but a broad approach is needed

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Antony Black, Lecturer, Life Sciences, University of Westminster

    raker/Shutterstock.com

    Every year, the race begins anew. Scientists scramble to track mutating viruses, pharmaceutical companies reformulate vaccines and public health systems brace for another season of jabs and logistics.

    This relentless cycle is our frontline defence against threats like flu and COVID – but it comes at a steep price. Globally, billions are poured into strain and variant surveillance, vaccine development and distribution, leaving already-stretched health systems — particularly in lower-income countries – struggling to keep pace.

    That’s why scientists have long aimed to develop universal vaccines – ones that protect against all major forms of a virus, including both seasonal and pandemic types. But designing these vaccines has proved to be tricky.

    The difficulty lies in the way viruses mutate. Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) change rapidly, allowing them to escape the immune system’s memory responses triggered by past infections or vaccinations. To make a universal vaccine, researchers must identify parts of the virus that stay the same across different strains and variants – known as “conserved regions”.

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    These conserved regions are harder for the immune system to recognise, so scientists are developing strategies to enhance the body’s response to them. One approach removes the rapidly mutating parts of the virus from the vaccine entirely, helping the immune system focus on the parts that don’t change.

    Another strategy involves “mosaic” vaccines, which combine elements from many virus strains to trigger a broad, protective immune response.

    Several technologies used to deliver these vaccines are at various stages of development. For example, mRNA vaccines use lab-made strands of messenger RNA (a type of genetic material) to instruct cells to produce viral proteins to trigger an immune response.

    Another type relies on “viral vectors” – harmless viruses that deliver genetic material into human cells to stimulate immunity. Both types of vaccines were gamechangers during the COVID pandemic.

    Other technologies include nanoparticles, which use synthetic biological particles to improve delivery and immune response. And “virus-like particles”, which trigger immune responses by imitating the structure of viruses, but don’t contain any genetic material.

    Researchers are also using powerful computational tools to design vaccines that could work across multiple strains.

    These platforms aren’t just being explored for flu and COVID – similar efforts are underway for other fast-evolving viruses, such as HIV.

    Cash injection

    Earlier this month, the US government announced a US$500 million (£377 million) investment to accelerate research into universal vaccines. After years of underfunding, experts say this backing is long overdue – especially following the COVID pandemic, which temporarily shifted focus to emergency vaccine production.

    The rapid development of COVID vaccines showed how targeted funding and global collaboration can lead to scientific breakthroughs. A similar approach could now help bring universal vaccines closer to reality by supporting early research, funding clinical trials and improving manufacturing and distribution systems.

    However, the investment has not been without controversy. Some scientists have raised concerns that the funding may be overly directed toward a narrow set of researchers or outdated methods, rather than being open to the most promising technologies.

    Critics argue that a broad, flexible portfolio of vaccine strategies – rather than a single approach – is the key to success.

    Ultimately, the goal of a universal vaccine is not just scientific. It’s also practical and global: reducing the burden on health systems, lowering costs and transforming how the world responds to future outbreaks.

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

    – ref. Universal vaccines could reshape how we fight future outbreaks – but a broad approach is needed – https://theconversation.com/universal-vaccines-could-reshape-how-we-fight-future-outbreaks-but-a-broad-approach-is-needed-256656

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel allows a ‘limited’ amount of aid back into Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is desperate

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Schiffling, Deputy Director of the HUMLOG (Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research) Institute, Hanken School of Economics

    After 11 weeks of blockading the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Israeli government asked the UN to resume “limited” aid deliveries on May 18. The move came amid growing international outrage over what the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has called a “policy of siege and starvation” in Gaza that “makes a mockery of international law”.

    Israel cleared nine aid trucks on Monday, May 19, only five of which entered Gaza. The Israeli military says closer to 100 trucks were inspected the following day. But, according to the UN, none of this aid has been distributed yet.

    It also goes without saying that even 100 aid trucks per day will not satisfy the desperate needs of Gaza’s 2.1 million inhabitants. The British, French and Canadian leaders have criticised Israel’s decision to allow a “basic amount of food” to enter the territory as “wholly inadequate”.

    The blockade has caused the already desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza to deteriorate further. Food security experts from the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform say the entire territory is now facing crisis levels of food insecurity, with 22% of the population at risk of starvation.

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    The World Food Programme ran out of supplies in Gaza in late April. Other organisations have had the same problem. This has caused 60% of community kitchens, which many Gazans rely on for a daily meal, to close down. Many food items are now unavailable and diets are extremely limited, largely consisting of bread and pulses.

    Prices of what little food is available have also skyrocketed. The price of wheat flour, for example, has risen by more than 4,000% since the start of the 11-week long blockade. And with 90% of households in Gaza experiencing financial hardship, it is impossible for many people to buy essentials.

    Cooking oil is no longer available and firewood has become scarce. The majority of people now burn waste, making cooking unsafe and unhealthy. On top of this, the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse and access to clean drinking water is very limited.

    At the same time, the efforts of humanitarian organisations to combat malnutrition have nearly come to a standstill because they lack necessary supplies. Malnutrition makes people more susceptible to disease.

    Militarising aid delivery

    The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it was necessary to resume aid to Gaza because Israel’s allies would not tolerate “images of mass starvation”. The move has still been criticised by some Israeli politicians, with hardline defence minister Israel Katz calling it a “grave mistake”.

    For now, aid will enter Gaza through established mechanisms. But the US and Israel are backing a proposal for a new aid delivery system involving private companies. The system will be managed by a newly formed independent American aid organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which expects to become operational by the end of May.

    The GHF plans to set up what it is calling “secure distribution sites” in southern and central Gaza. From these sites, it will distribute food, hygiene kits and medical supplies initially to 1.2 million people – eventually scaling-up operations to cover the whole population. The GHF says it will coordinate with the IDF but that its sites will be protected by private military contractors.

    While the GHF claims to have secured funding and be in the process of procuring large amounts of goods, no details are currently available to the public on this massive undertaking. The plan has received widespread criticism and has been rejected by the UN.

    The main criticism of the plan is that it violates so-called humanitarian principles. It is generally accepted that humanitarian action is based upon four main principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

    The principle of humanity states that suffering must be addressed wherever it is found, with a special focus on the most vulnerable people. Neutrality means that, in an armed conflict, humanitarian aid should not favour any side.

    Impartiality requires that humanitarian aid is provided based solely on need without any discrimination. And independence means that humanitarian objectives should be autonomous of political, economic, military or other objectives.

    Humanitarian bodies argue that the GHF’s plan does not stand up to these principles. It would force people to travel long distances to acquire heavy aid goods, so excludes those who are less mobile and more vulnerable.

    Meanwhile, humanitarian organisations have rejected the plan as a “humanitarian cover for a military strategy of control and dispossession”. They have raised concerns that the limited number of food distribution sites, as well as their location, could encourage the forced displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza.

    Satellite images showing the construction of sites in Gaza that are expected to be used as aid distribution centres also suggest they will be close to Israeli military bases. While private security contractors will secure the distribution sites, the mere presence of military forces so close by may make people hesitant to approach for fear of being targeted.

    UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations have refused to participate in the proposed plan. Any involvement with a plan that is allegedly aligned with Israel’s military strategy could undermine the ability of the UN to play a meaningful humanitarian role in Gaza in the future. And it would also be seen as an endorsement of the militarisation of aid delivery around the world.

    As humanitarian experts point out, there is already an established system for providing aid to Gaza. Humanitarian organisations have the people, distribution networks and the necessary goods – 160,000 pallets full of them – in place. Almost 9,000 aid trucks are ready to be dispatched across the border as soon as Israel allows it.

    During the ceasefire earlier in 2025, UN agencies and humanitarian organisations demonstrated how quickly they could scale-up a predictable and accountable delivery of aid to those in need all across Gaza. This can be done again.

    The authors 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. Israel allows a ‘limited’ amount of aid back into Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is desperate – https://theconversation.com/israel-allows-a-limited-amount-of-aid-back-into-gaza-where-the-humanitarian-situation-is-desperate-257137

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –