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Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI: Apache Corporation Tree Grant Program Opens U.S. Applications for 2025-2026 Planting Season

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apache Corporation, a subsidiary of APA Corporation (Nasdaq: APA), today announced the opening of applications for the Apache Corporation Tree Grant Program’s 2025-2026 planting season. To receive tree grants, applicants must be based in the United States.

    Since 2005, the program has partnered with more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations and government agencies across the company’s U.S. operating areas. In 2023, the program surpassed the significant milestone of donating more than 5 million trees to U.S. partners and expanded internationally launching a similar program in Scotland, where the company also operates.

    “We maintain a legacy of supporting land conservation through our environmental stewardship initiatives,” said John J. Christmann IV, Apache’s chief executive officer. “Our award-winning Tree Grant Program is a key part of this as we focus on enhancing public green spaces through reforestation and environmental education. We have worked with a range of partners over the last 20 years to support conservation efforts, whether it is to enrich neighborhoods, preserve natural habitats, or restock areas affected by natural disasters. Our team at Apache is honored to collaborate with our tree grant partners to create a more sustainable world for future generations.”

    The program is open to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations and government agencies in Texas and Louisiana. Grant recipients must request a minimum of 50 one-gallon, three-gallon or five-gallon trees per project or a minimum of 1,000 bareroot seedlings. Additionally, recipients must agree to receive all awarded trees in a single delivery and are required to provide ongoing care and maintenance of the trees. Grant awards will be announced Oct. 1, 2025, and all trees must be received and planted or distributed no later than May 31, 2026.

    Last season, Apache donated more than 134,000 trees to 52 nonprofit partner organizations in the U.S., including carbon mitigation efforts with Houston Wilderness, an alliance of business, environmental and government interests protecting the Gulf Coast ecoregion, and In Alpine, Texas, BBCA is a nonprofit organization that serves local wildlife by nurturing relationships within shared environments to create inclusive, equitable and just approaches to conservation with communities in the region. The company also partnered with TPWD has provided outdoor recreational opportunities by managing and protecting wildlife, parklands and historic areas that are essential to the natural and cultural resources of Texas.

    For more information and to apply to the 2025-2026 Apache Tree Grant Program, please visit www.apachelovestrees.com to submit an application by the July 13, 2025, deadline. To view the Apache Tree Grant Program video and learn more, click here.

    About Apache

    Apache Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of APA Corporation (Nasdaq: APA), is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom. Apache’s parent corporation, APA Corporation, posts announcements, operational updates, investor information and press releases on its websitewww.apacorp.com.

    About Apache Corporation Tree Grant Program

    Founded in 2005, the Apache Corporation Tree Grant Program is a philanthropic initiative of Apache Corporation that donates trees to nonprofits and government entities in the company’s operational areas. The program focuses on grants that support large-scale conservation, protection of habitats for wildlife and native species, as well as the restoration and enhancement of public greenspaces. This award-winning environmental stewardship initiative has provided more than 5 million trees to over 1,000 to qualified partners in the U.S. In addition to the development and improvement of public parks and greenspaces, community partners often request trees to support a broad range of conservation efforts, including preservation of natural habitats and reforestation. To learn more about the program, visit www.apachelovestrees.com.

    APA-T

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Long-Time Fugitive Extradited to the United States to Face Charges for Orchestrating Mail Fraud Scheme Defrauding Elderly and Vulnerable Victims of Over $10 Million

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, N.J. – A German man was extradited from Italy and arrested for orchestrating a massive mail fraud scheme targeting elderly and otherwise vulnerable victims with false and fraudulent psychic solicitations, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Georg Ingenbleek, 58, a citizen of Germany, was indicted in 2020 and has been a fugitive. He was apprehended in Bolzano, Italy in 2024 and returned yesterday via Newark International Airport to face an indictment charging him with two counts of mail fraud. Ingenbleek made his initial appearance and arraignment on May 9, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail.

    According to the Indictment and statements made in court:

    From at least 2011 through 2016, Ingenbleek created numerous direct mail solicitations supposedly from world-renowned psychics, falsely and fraudulently claiming that the recipients were being contacted because they had been the subject of specific visions by the psychics, including visions that the recipients were going to receive large sums of money and good fortune. Many of the letters falsely promised that the psychic services being offered were free of charge. In fact, the letters were mass-produced using software and information provided by Ingenbleek to a direct mail marketing services company, Company-1, located in Piscataway, New Jersey, which Ingenbleek retained to print and mail the solicitations.

    Ingenbleek directed a second company, Company-2, to send fraudulent billing notices to the same victims that stated that the victims owed money for psychic services, which in many cases had been offered free of charge. The fraudulent billing notices were labeled “collection notices” and “invoices,” falsely representing that the victims owed late payment fees, and falsely stating that a psychic or astrology organization would refer the victim to a “collection agency” and take legal action if the victim did not send a check, usually for $20 to $50. Through his fraudulent psychic mailing campaign, Ingenbleek obtained more than $10 million dollars from victims.

    In September 2016, Ingenbleek directed representatives of Company-1 and Company-2 to destroy all materials related to his fraudulent psychic mailings in response to federal criminal investigations into his conduct and the conduct of other participants in the scheme. In one email, dated September 23, 2016, Ingenbleek told a representative of Company-2, “You cannot wait! I advise you urgently to get rid of the material! Use your own car, rent a truck, start today, work all weekend.”

    The mail fraud charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan; and special agents of HSI New York, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonzo, with the investigation leading to the charges, and HSI Rome and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for providing significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Italy.

    The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Fayer and Olta Bejleri of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

    The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    ###

    Defense counsel: Daniel Rashbaum, Esq., Miami, Florida.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Texas Company Charged with Aiding and Abetting Fraudulent Transactions Related to False Ethanol Sales

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –Today, Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the filing of a bill of information charging Plano, Texas-based MUREX MANAGEMENT, INC. (“MMI”), with aiding and abetting transactions that defrauded financial institutions, including the failed New Orleans-based First NBC Bank.

    According to the bill of information, MMI was the management company of an affiliate that engaged in ethanol marketing and logistics services. Additionally, Company A was the U.S.-based subsidiary of a foreign, publicly traded, company that operated ethanol production plants.

    According to the bill of information, beginning in 2013, Company A and its parent companies began to experience financial stress. In order to ameliorate cash flow issues and to manufacture additional financing for its debts, Company A initiated a strategy called “buy/sells” and targeted MMI to assist in this strategy. Company A’s plan called for both companies to create fictitious invoices purporting to be sales of ethanol between the two companies, which could then be sold as accounts receivable to unwitting buyers via a New Orleans-based online marketplace. This would provide cash flow for Company A and a profit to MMI. The unwitting buyers of these accounts receivable included financial institutions like First NBC Bank.

    The bill of information alleges that, between October 28, 2013 and September 18, 2015, Company A and MMI conducted approximately $1.2 billion in fraudulent “buy/sell” transactions, with MMI making a profit of approximately $6,073,049. Company A eventually defaulted on paying financial institutions for the accounts receivable that had been posted for auction by MMI. The defaulted auctions caused a loss of approximately $73,073,683.05 to First NBC Bank, and a loss of approximately $8,330,427.02 to a North Carolina bank.

    If convicted, MMI faces a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00, or twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss to any victim. It also will be required to pay restitution and a mandatory special assessment fee of $400.00.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the FDIC Office of Inspector General, Dallas Field Office, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, Houston Resident Office, that investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne of the Financial Crimes Unit and Nicholas D. Moses, Health Care Fraud Coordinator, handled this prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Video: AR & VR Saves Time & Money on Training

    Source: United States Department of Defense (video statements)

    —————
    Training @USNavy submariners is getting easier thanks to augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. Engineers at@NAVSEApa in Keyport, Wash., are using commercial gaming technology to produce simulations to teach sailors how to maintain the fleet.

    For more on the Department of Defense, visit: http://www.defense.gov
    —————
    Keep up with the Department of Defense on social media!

    Like the DoD on Facebook: http://facebook.com/DeptofDefense
    Follow the DoD on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DeptofDefense
    Follow the DoD on Instagram: http://instagram.com/DeptofDefense
    Follow the DoD on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/DeptofDefense

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvoiV29_WfM

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Organizing for our future

    Source: US International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

    We organize so that individual workers, through union representation, can bring their voices together and be heard.

     Tim Simmons, International President

    Unions exist to organize. Unions work because we organize. And unions organize, because it’s the only way for workers to hold companies’ feet to the fire and ensure safety, fair treatment, living wages and decent working conditions. 

    We organize so that individual workers, through union representation, can bring their voices together and be heard—so that through a collectively bargained, negotiated contract, management cannot ignore our voices. 

    Organizing is why workers at Doppelmayr OAC, who are now Local 549 Boilermakers, have a contract that includes yearly pay increases, medical premium payments and specifications on how reprimands are handled. Workers didn’t have those guarantees before. Organizing is why union Boilermakers at any industrial facility in the United States and Canada get a fair shake through defined and regimented grievance processes. 

    Organizing is why, in our Construction Sector Operations, all Boilermakers, no matter if they’re a man, woman or the best friend of a supervisor, go to work knowing their wages are fair and equal and knowing exactly what to expect on the job from the legally-binding contract that was agreed upon by our union and the contractors who employ them.

    We like to think we’re a long way from the grim days before unions existed; when children as young as 10 years old labored in textile mills; when worn-to-the-bones men and women worked grueling hours in sweatshops for mere pennies. We like to think horrors like the disgusting working conditions in the 1900’s Chicago stockyards or New York City’s tragic Triangle Shirtwaist fire are a faraway past. But even today, left to their own moral standards, companies unfortunately continue to prove they’ll put greed and profit above human decency, let alone simply doing the right thing. 

    Just a year ago at Siemens Mobility in Sacramento, California, workers endured high temperatures and poor ventilation that was so extreme, some became ill. Siemens’ welders were paid less than the hourly wage of California McDonald’s workers.

    The California Labor Federation reported revenue of $3 billion for Siemens Mobility.Yet, the company didn’t care about the inhumane working conditions, and they didn’t care that their workers—the very people they depend upon for the profits they enjoy—cannot afford the company-provided health insurance and sometimes work multiple jobs just to pay rent.

    How does this happen in 2025 in the United States of America? Because the workers aren’t unionized. They don’t have a voice. You can read on page 12 about our efforts to organize Siemens workers. We didn’t win the votes this time—this time—but we’ve set a solid path for success, and we will not give up on the future these hard-working men and women deserve. 

    Organizing is a top priority in the work we do as a union. We know there are workers, like those at Siemens, who desperately need a union. It’s our duty as part of the labor movement and as Boilermakers to help them organize. 

    Even as we build power for the workers we represent, we also build our union’s power by joining more and more workers to amplify our unified Boilermaker voice. And as we make our Boilermaker voice louder, we make our Boilermaker future brighter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA to Participate in Next Private Astronaut Mission Teleconference

    Source: NASA

    NASA will join a media teleconference hosted by Axiom Space at 10:30 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, May 20, to discuss the launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
    Briefing participants include:

    Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA
    Allen Flynt, chief of mission services, Axiom Space
    Sarah Walker, director, Dragon mission management, SpaceX
    Sergio Palumberi, mission manager, ESA (European Space Agency)
    Aleksandra Bukała, project manager, head of strategy and international cooperation, POLSA (Polish Space Agency)
    Orsolya Ferencz, ministerial commissioner of space research, HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit)

    To join the call, media must register with Axiom Space by 12 p.m., Monday, May 19, at:
    https://bit.ly/437SAAh
    The Ax-4 launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted no earlier than 9:11 a.m., Sunday, June 8, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
    During the mission aboard the space station, a four-person multi-national crew will complete about 60 research experiments developed for microgravity in collaboration with organizations across the globe.
    Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
    The first private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 1, lifted off in April 2022 for a 17-day mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. The second private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 2, also was commanded by Whitson and launched in May 2023 for eight days in orbit. The most recent private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 3, launched in January 2024; the crew spent 18 days docked to the space station.
    The International Space Station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy. NASA’s goal is to achieve a strong economy off the Earth where the agency can purchase services as one of many customers to meet its science and research objectives in microgravity. NASA’s commercial strategy for low Earth orbit provides the government with reliable and safe services at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars while also continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.
    Learn more about NASA’s commercial space strategy at:
    https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-space
    -end-
    Claire O’SheaHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1100claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
    Anna SchneiderJohnson Space Center, Houston281-483-5111anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov
    Alexis DeJarnetteAxiom Space, Houstonalexis@axiomspace.com

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Observes First Visible-light Auroras at Mars

    Source: NASA

    On March 15, 2024, near the peak of the current solar cycle, the Sun produced a solar flare and an accompanying coronal mass ejection (CME), a massive explosion of gas and magnetic energy that carries with it large amounts of solar energetic particles. This solar activity led to stunning auroras across the solar system, including at Mars, where NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover made history by detecting them for the first time from the surface of another planet.

    “This exciting discovery opens up new possibilities for auroral research and confirms that auroras could be visible to future astronauts on Mars’ surface.” said Elise Knutsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo in Norway and lead author of the Science Advances study, which reported the detection.
    Picking the right aurora
    On Earth, auroras form when solar particles interact with the global magnetic field, funneling them to the poles where they collide with atmospheric gases and emit light. The most common color, green, is caused by excited oxygen atoms emitting light at a wavelength of 557.7 nanometers. For years, scientists have theorized that green light auroras could also exist on Mars but suggested they would be much fainter and harder to capture than the green auroras we see on Earth.
    Due to the Red Planet’s lack of a global magnetic field, Mars has different types of auroras than those we have on Earth. One of these is solar energetic particle (SEP) auroras, which NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission discovered in 2014. These occur when super-energetic particles from the Sun hit the Martian atmosphere, causing a reaction that makes the atmosphere glow across the whole night sky.
    While MAVEN had observed SEP auroras in ultraviolet light from orbit, this phenomenon had never been observed in visible light from the ground. Since SEPs typically occur during solar storms, which increase during solar maximum, Knutsen and her team set their sights on capturing visible images and spectra of SEP aurora from Mars’ surface at the peak of the Sun’s current solar cycle.
    Coordinating the picture-perfect moment
    Through modeling, Knutsen and her team determined the optimal angle for the Perseverance rover’s SuperCam spectrometer and Mastcam-Z camera to successfully observe the SEP aurora in visible light. With this observation strategy in place, it all came down to the timing and understanding of CMEs.
    “The trick was to pick a good CME, one that would accelerate and inject many charged particles into Mars’ atmosphere,” said Knutsen.
    That is where the teams at NASA’s Moon to Mars (M2M) Space Weather Analysis Office and the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC), both located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, came in. The M2M team provides real-time analysis of solar eruptions to the CCMC for initiating simulations of CMEs to determine if they might impact current NASA missions. When the simulations suggest potential impacts, the team sends out an alert.
    At the University of California, Berkeley, space physicist Christina Lee received an alert from the M2M office about the March 15, 2024, CME. Lee, a member of the MAVEN mission team who serves as the space weather lead, determined there was a notable solar storm heading toward the Red Planet,which could arrive in a few days. She immediately issued the Mars Space Weather Alert Notification to currently operating Mars missions.
    “This allows the science teams of Perseverance and MAVEN to anticipate impacts of interplanetary CMEs and the associated SEPs,” said Lee.
    “When we saw the strength of this one,” Knutsen said, “we estimated it could trigger aurora bright enough for our instruments to detect.”
    A few days later, the CME impacted Mars, providing a lightshow for the rover to capture, showing the aurora to be nearly uniform across the sky at an emission wavelength of exactly 557.7 nm. To confirm the presence of SEPs during the aurora observation, the team looked to MAVEN’s SEP instrument, which was additionally corroborated by data from ESA’s (European Space Agency) Mars Express mission. Data from both missions confirmed that the rover team had managed to successfully catch a glimpse of the phenomenon in the very narrow time window available.
    “This was a fantastic example of cross-mission coordination. We all worked together quickly to facilitate this observation and are thrilled to have finally gotten a sneak peek of what astronauts will be able to see there some day,” said Shannon Curry, MAVEN principal investigator and research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder).
    The future of aurora on Mars
    By coordinating the Perseverance observations with measurements from MAVEN’s SEP instrument, the teams could help each other determine that the observed 557.7 nm emission came from solar energetic particles. Since this is the same emission line as the green aurora on Earth, it is likely that future Martian astronauts would be able to see this type of aurora.
    “Perseverance’s observations of the visible-light aurora confirm a new way to study these phenomena that’s complementary to what we can observe with our Mars orbiters,” said Katie Stack Morgan, acting project scientist for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “A better understanding of auroras and the conditions around Mars that lead to their formation are especially important as we prepare to send human explorers there safely.”

    More About Perseverance and MAVEN
    The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio and NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
    The MAVEN mission, also part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio, is led by LASP at CU Boulder. It’s managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and was built and operated by Lockheed Martin Space, with navigation and network support from NASA’s JPL.
    —
    By Willow ReedLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado Boulder
    Media Contact: 
    Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
    Headquarters, Washington
    202-358-1600
    karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov  
    Nancy N. JonesNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
    DC AgleJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-9011agle@jpl.nasa.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Doggett, Schakowsky, Warren and Wyden Push Congressional Leadership to Reject Medicaid Cuts, Crack Down on Medicare Advantage Upcoding

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

    Congressional Republicans’ current plan sets them up to slash hundreds of billions from Medicaid and CHIP; Lawmakers cite bipartisan support for cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare Advantage

    Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov

    Washington, D.C. – As Congress considers reconciliation legislation, Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), along with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee led their colleagues in writing to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, urging them to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare Advantage (MA) instead of forging ahead with cuts to Medicaid.

    “As Congress considers reconciliation legislation, we urge you to reject cuts to Medicaid, which are deeply unpopular and will rip away health care from millions of Americans,” wrote the lawmakers. “Where there is widespread agreement is the need to address waste, fraud, and abuse by private, for-profit insurance companies. We write to urge you to crack down on the growing threat to the Medicare program known as ‘upcoding.’”

    Upcoding is the practice by which private insurers in Medicare Advantage exaggerate the medical diagnoses of their enrollees to secure higher payments from the federal government. This results in wasteful spending in Medicare, overcharging seniors and taxpayers while adding tens of billions in costs to the federal government. Analysis from the non-partisan Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) found that upcoding is expected to increase Medicare payments to private health insurance companies by an estimated 10 percent, or $40 billion, in 2025.

    This waste, fraud, and abuse has been called out by both Democrats and Republicans. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz even noted that tackling this fraud “is relatively enjoyable to go after, because … we have bipartisan support.” Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has launched an inquiry into UnitedHealth’s billing practices in Medicare Advantage, and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) supports the No UPCODE Act, which would ban some of the most aggressive forms of upcoding by private insurers in the program.

    “The Wall Street Journal, MedPAC, Administrator Oz, and Congressional Republicans all seem to agree: wasteful spending in MA, driven by abusive upcoding practices, are a ‘more rational’  route to securing health care savings that will benefit the Medicare program and taxpayers,” continued the lawmakers. “Your directive to cut federal health care spending should come from reducing waste, fraud, and abuse like upcoding by for-profit insurance companies, not by cutting health care benefits for American families who rely on Medicaid to make ends meet.”

    Nevertheless, Congressional Republicans are forging ahead with plans to slash hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)  – which will put health and livelihoods at risk for the nearly 80 million Americans, including 37 million children, eight million people with disabilities, and seven million seniors covered by these programs

    “If there is no course correction that protects Medicaid, tens of millions of Americans will be kicked off their health care,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge you instead to listen to Administrator Oz and tackle real fraud, waste, and abuse by private, for-profit health insurers in MA.”

    The letters were also signed by Representatives Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Al Green (D-Texas), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Eleanor Homes Norton (D-D.C.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Maxwell Frost (D-Florida), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), as well as Senators Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

    The letters have been endorsed by the Center for American Progress, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Families USA, LeadingAge, P Street Project, Protect Our Care, and Public Citizen. 

    The full letter can be read here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Atlanta Attorney Sentenced in Syndicated Conservation Easement Tax Scheme

    Source: US State of California

    A Georgia attorney was sentenced today to 16 months in prison for obstructing the IRS in connection with his participation in the promotion of abusive syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.

    The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Vi Bui was an attorney and partner at Sinnott & Co., an Atlanta-based company. Beginning at least in 2012 and continuing through at least May 2020, Bui participated in a scheme to defraud the IRS by organizing, marketing, implementing, and selling illegal syndicated conservation easement tax shelters created and organized by co-conspirators Jack Fisher, James Sinnott, and others. Fisher and Sinnott were convicted at trial for their involvement in the scheme, and in January 2024, they were sentenced to 25 and 23 years in prison, respectively.

    The scheme entailed the creation of partnerships that purchased land and land-owning companies and then donated conservation easements over that land or the land itself. Appraisers generated fraudulent and inflated appraisals of the conservation easements. The partnerships then claimed a charitable contribution tax deduction based on the inflated value of the conservation easement, resulting in a fraudulent tax deduction flowing to the wealthy clients who purchased units in the partnership. Many of these clients joined the tax shelters after the donation of the interest in land and after the end of the relevant tax year. Bui knew that in order to make it appear that the participants had timely purchased their units in the tax shelters, Fisher, Sinnott, and others backdated and instructed others to backdate documents, including subscription agreements, checks, and other documents.

    Bui anticipated that the syndicated conservation easement transactions would be audited. In order to deceive the IRS, Bui and others took steps to make the partnerships appear as legitimate real estate development companies. They created and disseminated lengthy documents disguising the true nature of the transaction, instituted sham “votes” for what to do with the land that the partnership owned despite knowing that outcome was predetermined, and falsified paperwork such as appraisals and subscription agreements.

    In one instance, when investigators conducted an undercover operation in 2018, Bui, believing that the IRS was auditing an individual’s tax returns, prepared false documents related to a 2014 syndicated conservation easement tax shelter with the intent to make it appear that the documents were executed before the purported donation of the conservation easement in 2014 and before the 2014 tax returns had been filed.

    Bui earned substantial income for his role in the illegal scheme. He also used the fraudulent tax shelters to evade his own taxes, filing false personal tax returns from 2013 through 2018 that claimed false tax deductions from the illegal syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.

    In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Bui to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $8,250,244 in total restitution to the IRS.

    Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia made the announcement. They also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina for their assistance in the investigation of this matter.

    IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.

    Senior Litigation Counsel Richard M. Rolwing, and Trial Attorneys Parker Tobin, Jessica Kraft, and Nicholas Schilling of the Tax Division prosecuted the case, with support from Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal for the Northern District of Georgia. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Latta Votes to Strengthen Medicaid, Prioritize American Energy Dominance, and Reduce Fraud and Abuse in Federal Government

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green Ohio)

    Latta Votes to Strengthen Medicaid, Prioritize American Energy Dominance, and Reduce Fraud and Abuse in Federal Government

    Today, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) voted in favor of the Energy and Commerce budget reconciliation markup. Congressman Latta released the following statement:  

    “I’m pleased to have joined my Energy and Commerce colleagues in voting to strengthen Medicaid, prioritize American energy dominance, and reduce fraud and abuse in the Federal government through the reconciliation process. This legislation reflects our commitment to advancing fiscally responsible policies that prioritize effective and efficient use of American taxpayer dollars by fortifying the Medicaid system for generations to come, unleashing American energy while opening spectrum for auction, and refilling our strategic petroleum reserve. Not only does this bill support the rapid innovation of American industry, but it also ends spending on the Green New Deal-style waste. The previous administration weakened protections against fraud by limiting states’ ability to remove ineligible individuals from Medicaid and broadening coverage to include able-bodied, unemployed adults, taking away resources from those who truly need it. Our bill corrects Biden’s harmful spending and ensures that taxpayer dollars are prioritized for hard working Americans. I will continue to work with my colleagues and President Trump to use American taxpayer dollars effectively while making life easier, safer, and more affordable in Ohio and across the nation. The American people are counting on us, and we will deliver the results.” 

    NOTE: Reconciliation allows for expedited consideration of certain tax, spending, and debt limit legislation—nowhere in the resolution does it mention cuts to Social Security or Medicare, meaning such claims are misleading and misrepresent the actual intent of the process. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, under the Byrd Rule, social security cannot be changed through reconciliation.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Father and Son Sentenced for Role in International Market Manipulation Scheme Related to New Jersey Deli

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CAMDEN, N.J. – A father and son were sentenced on May 13, 2025, for their roles in orchestrating a large-scale market manipulation scheme related to two publicly traded companies, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Peter Coker, Sr., 82, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Peter Coker, Jr., 56, formerly of Hong Kong, China, had pleaded guilty, on December 19, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Coker, Sr. was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, including six months’ home detention, and fines totaling $500,000. Coker, Jr. was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and fines totaling $250,000.

    James Patten, 65, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina also previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and is awaiting sentencing.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    From 2014 through September 2022, Peter Coker Sr., Peter Coker Jr., and Patten conspired to enrich themselves through a scheme to manipulate securities prices via a pattern of coordinated trading, which injected inaccurate information into the marketplace, creating false impressions of supply and demand for these securities.

    As part of the securities fraud scheme, the defendants targeted two publicly traded companies—Hometown International Inc. and E-Waste Corp.—which both traded on the OTC Link Alternative Trading System, also known as the OTC Marketplace. The OTC Marketplace is an alternative trading system that contains three tiers of markets, which are largely based on the quality and quantity of the listed companies’ information and disclosures.

    Coker Sr., Coker Jr., and Patten took steps to gain control of both entities’ management and stock with the ultimate intention of entering reverse mergers, a transaction through which an existing public company merges with a private operating company. A successful reverse merger would allow the defendants to sell shares of each entity at a significant profit.

    In or around 2014, two New Jersey residents began the process of opening a local deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey. One of the individuals discussed his interest in opening the deli with Patten, a long-time friend, who suggested the creation of Hometown International, an umbrella corporation, under which the deli would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. Unbeknownst to the deli owners, after Hometown International was formed, Patten and his associates began positioning Hometown International as a vehicle for a reverse merger that would yield substantial profit to them.

    Around October 2019, Hometown International began selling shares on the OTC Marketplace. Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. furthered their scheme by gaining control of Hometown International’s management and its shares from the deli owners. Coker Sr., Coker Jr., and Patten took similar actions to gain control of E-Waste Corporation’s stock and management. The defendants also arranged for the transfer of millions of shares of stock to a number of nominee entities, including entities controlled by Coker Jr., in an effort to mask their control of the shares.

    In addition, the defendants transferred shares to family members, friends, and associates and gained control over their trading accounts by obtaining their log-in information to conceal the defendants’ involvement. The defendants then used those accounts to commit a number of coordinated trading events, often referred to as match and wash trades, to trade in Hometown International and E-Waste Corp.’s stock on both sides of the transaction.

    These tactics artificially inflated the price of Hometown International and E-Waste’s stock by giving the false impression that there was a genuine market interest in the stock. Their scheme had the ultimate impact of artificially inflating Hometown International’s stock by approximately 939 percent and E-Waste’s stock by approximately 19,900 percent.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked special agents from FBI Charlotte, FBI Los Angeles, FBI San Francisco, FBI Denver, and FBI Knoxville, for their assistance.

    The government is represented by Lauren E. Repole, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Webman of the Economic Crimes Unit. 

                                                                           ###

    Defense counsel:

    Peter Coker, Sr.: John Azzarello, Esq. (Morristown, New Jersey), William McGovern, Esq. (New York, New York)

    Peter Coker, Jr.: Zach Intrater and Marc Agnifilo (New York, New York)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: EPA Administrator Zeldin to Fischer: Congressional Action on Year-Round E15 Most Durable and Easiest Solution

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
    Fischer’s Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act the only permanent, nationwide solution to unleash power of year-round E15
     Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the need for a permanent legislative solution for the nationwide sale of year-round E15, who confirmed that Congressional action is the “most durable and easiest solution to this issue.”
    Fischer’s legislation, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, is the only permanent, nationwide solution to unleash the power of year-round E15.
    Click the image above to watch a video of Fischer’s questioning
    Click here to download audioClick here to download video
    On Securing a Permanent Nationwide Solution for Year-Round E15:
    Fischer: Administrator, a couple of months back, you and Secretary Rollins met with me and several of my colleagues about the importance of Congress passing a permanent, nationwide solution to allow for the year-round sale of E15, and I thank you.
    I thank you for acting on the emergency summertime waivers to allow for the year-round sale of E15 again this year. But certainly, this yearly exercise, it needs to be done permanently. We need to pass a solution, a permanent solution, and not have your agency have to go through this product every single year. 
    On President Trump’s Support of Nationwide Year-Round E15: 
    Fischer: The President tried to get E15 done permanently through regulation back in 2019, and he has maintained strong support for it since. I want people to understand the history here, Mr. Zeldin.
    We have effectively been operating under year-round E15 for the last six years through President Trump’s regulation and then yearly emergency waivers. Is that correct?Zeldin: Yes. 
    On Congressional Action to Make Permanent Year-Round E15:
    Fischer: Is it true that, despite President Trump’s best efforts, if we want real certainty here for consumers, Congress has to act. Is that correct?Zeldin: That is the most durable and easiest solution to this issue. 
    On Improving EPA Efficiency by Passing Fischer’s Year-Round E15 Legislation: 
    Fischer: Thank you. And lastly, having that permanent, nationwide legislative solution for the year-round E15 would certainly be a more efficient and effective use of EPA’s time and resources. Is that correct?Zeldin: Yes, Senator, as the Chair pointed out, I’ve been in the position a little over 100 days, and I have had many, many, many meetings about this topic. And a lot of passionate advocacy from, including you, Senator, and your colleagues and your constituents. If Congress was to finalize a long-term, durable solution, so much of that advocacy on your part, all of your time can be better spent fighting for other priorities of your constituents.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Honors Vermont Law Enforcement During National Police Week

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and 78 bipartisan senators this week in welcoming the Senate’s unanimous passage of their resolution designating May 12 through 17 as National Police Week. During National Police Week, Americans pay special tribute to the service and sacrifice of courageous officers and their families, especially our nation’s fallen heroes. 
    Every year, for more than six decades, Congress has passed a resolution in honor of law enforcement officers. The National Police Week resolution reiterates the Senate’s unwavering support for law enforcement officers across the United States.   
    “National Police Week is a time to reflect on the service of the men and women in Vermont—and across the country—who put their lives on the line to protect our communities. We are thankful everyday for Vermont’s law enforcement. We also honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty,” said Senator Welch. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in passing this bipartisan resolution, which renews our commitment to providing law enforcement officers and personnel with the resources needed to uphold their oath to serve our communities with valor and respect.” 
    “Law enforcement officers in Iowa and across the nation work tirelessly to protect and serve our communities. This week, and every week, we should give our thanks to the brave men and women in blue, who have sacrificed so much to ensure our safety,” said Senator Grassley. “As always, I’m proud to back the blue and will continue my efforts in Congress to protect and support our courageous officers.”  
    “Every day, our country’s law enforcement officers put their lives at risk to keep us safe. Officers and their families make great sacrifices in the name of service, including the tragic cases of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty. We’re grateful for their heroism, and we must make sure that officers serving with dignity and integrity have the support and resources they need to do their jobs,” said Senator Durbin. 
    Senators Welch, Grassley and Durbin are joined by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Thomas Tillis (R-N.C.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.).   
    Read and download the full text of the resolution. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sens. Scott, Coons Reintroduce Legislation to Remove Unnecessary Burdens on Nuclear Licensing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott
    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) reintroduced the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, which would boost the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by eliminating outdated processes currently required of the NRC when reviewing new nuclear reactor applications. More specifically, the bill removes the NRC’s mandatory hearing requirement created by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 without limiting opportunities for public engagement.
    “As we work to address efficiency and remove burdensome red tape, refining the NRC’s nuclear reactor license process will ensure South Carolina remains a leader in domestic nuclear energy production while also paving the way for other states to follow our lead,” said Senator Scott. “Our efforts will move us in the right direction for a more secure and robust energy future.”
    “To lower costs for consumers and combat climate change, we have to deliver reliable sources of clean and abundant power, including nuclear energy,” said Senator Coons.“The U.S has only opened a handful of new units in the last three decades, and with electrification and new data centers for artificial intelligence driving tremendous increases in demand for power, we need to remove unnecessary barriers to deploying our world-class nuclear energy technology. This bill takes an important step in cutting red tape that limits the expansion of nuclear construction.”
    “NIA applauds Senators Tim Scott and Chris Coons for introducing the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act. This bill removes the duplicative requirement for Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearings on uncontested reactor license applications. The legislation builds on NRC’s ongoing improvements in effectiveness and efficiency, while allowing for robust public engagement. Timely licensing is important to the successful commercialization of new nuclear technologies,” said Judi Greenwald, Executive Director of Nuclear Innovation Alliance. 
    “An efficient and predictable licensing process is key for companies considering new nuclear technologies,” said Niko McMurray, ClearPath Action’s Managing Director of International and Nuclear Policy. “Removing duplicative processes that do not limit opportunities for public engagement or negatively impact public health and safety allows the NRC staff to focus on what is important. The Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act strikes that balance.”
    “Mandatory hearings increase NRC Staff hours by 5-15% beyond the necessary safety and environmental reviews. Since many of these hearings are uncontested, they often involve merely rehashing already-examined topics and do not result in new findings or improve the protection of the public or the environment. This legislation will provide the NRC with the flexibility it previously requested, allowing it to focus resources on critical efforts while maintaining public engagement and retaining the option to hold a hearing when necessary,” said Adam Stein, Director of Nuclear Energy and Innovation of the Breakthrough Institute.
    “Nuclear energy is a key component to an all-of-the-above strategy. The process to build new nuclear power plants is outdated and must be rethought to ensure rapid deployment,” said Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) President Heather Reams. “CRES is proud to support Sen. Tim Scott’s bipartisan Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, a commonsense improvement that will streamline the approval process for nuclear reactors and save taxpayer dollars while still upholding the high licensing standards of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”
    The Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act is also supported by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Third Way, The Nuclear Company (TNC), and Conservatives for Clean Energy.
    The full text of the bill can be found here.
    Background:
    The NRC is currently required by law to hold a mandatory public hearing on every reactor license application towards the end of the licensing process, even after the NRC conducts statutorily required environmental and safety reviews that leave ample room for public engagement by stakeholders and interested citizens. 
    While these “mandatory hearings” provide the public with an opportunity to petition the NRC to intervene and contest the application, in many cases, the hearings are noncontroversial and go uncontested. In these situations where the applications go uncontested, the NRC is still required by statute to hold the hearing, devoting thousands of manhours to provide a public hearing with negligible impacts on the actual public.
    The original justification for an uncontested mandatory hearing was to provide an open forum in which the details of reactor project applications were aired publicly and debated. In 1957, when the mandatory hearing was created in statute, nuclear energy was undoubtedly in a “developmental” period, as the United States had zero commercial nuclear power reactors in operation. Today, the U.S. has over 90 commercial reactors operating in 54 nuclear power plants in 28 different states.
    Getting rid of this duplicative hearing requirement will create more efficiency at the NRC at a time when the agency’s resources should be streamlined by Congress in order to bring its licensing processes into the 21st century.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: $190M Raised: Canada’s Top 20 Moonshot Ventures™ of 2025 Unveiled After Closed-Door NACO Showcase

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Canada’s most promising early-stage companies officially unveiled today following a closed-door showcase at the NACO Summit, with ventures spanning AI, cleantech, healthtech, and space.

    OTTAWA, Ontario, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) today unveiled Canada’s Top 20 Moonshot Ventures™ of 2025—emerging companies led by bold entrepreneurs building transformative solutions across sectors.

    These ventures were selected through a rigorous, member-driven process. NACO invited its 100 member organizations—Canada’s leading angel groups, incubators, accelerators and early-stage venture capital funds—to each nominate one high-potential company. From this curated pool, 23 ventures were selected by NACO’s investment committee to take the Moonshots Stage™ at a closed-door NACO showcase held at the National Arts Centre during NACO Summit 2025. The audience featured top-tier angel investors, venture capitalists, and senior corporate leaders.

    “Ontario’s future depends on entrepreneurs, risk takers, and the investors who believe in them” said Premier Doug Ford, “That’s what makes events like this so important. As we face global economic uncertainty, Ontario’s innovators are leading the way, building new companies and creating jobs.”

    Collectively, the selected Moonshots companies have raised over $190 million to date. They represent the future of Canadian innovation—driving breakthroughs in AI, cleantech, healthtech, space, deeptech, consumer products, and more. Founders hailed from across the country, with companies based in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. The 2025 Moonshots cohort includes founders from diverse backgrounds, sectors, and regions—reflecting the inclusive strength and geographic breadth of Canada’s innovation economy.

    “These founders represent the bold ideas, entrepreneurial drive, and global ambition within Canada’s innovation economy,” said Claudio Rojas, CEO of NACO. “The Moonshots Venture Showcase is designed to elevate the country’s most promising ventures by connecting them with the capital and networks they need to scale. We are proud to spotlight these exceptional companies as they take bold steps toward transformative growth and impact.”

    Top 20 Moonshots Stage™ Ventures of 2025

    Organized by sector and listed alphabetically

    AI & Next Gen Computing

    • Dreamwell AI — Co-Founder and CEO Kazzy Khazaal (Nominated by Panache Ventures)
    • Inner Logic — Co-Founder and CEO Bryce Tully (Nominated by Maple Leaf Angels)

    AI & Bioelectronics

    • Panaxium — Founder and CEO Brad Schmidt (Nominated by Brampton Angels / Altitude Accelerator)

    Cleantech

    • BluWave-ai — Founder and CEO Devashish Paul (Nominated by Capital Angel Network)
    • Evercloak — Co-Founder and CEO Evelyn Allen (Nominated by Capital Angel Network)

    Cleantech & Trade

    • PemPem — Founder and CEO Joann de Zegher (Nominated by Anges Quebec)

    Consumer Packaged Goods & Retail

    • The Little Cacao Co. — Founder and CEO Suzie Yorke (Nominated by Maple Leaf Angels)

    Enterprise, Software, & Deeptech

    • Cinareo — Co-Founder and CEO Karen Elliott (Nominated by SheBoot)
    • Depix AI — Founder and CEO Philip Lunn (Nominated by TandemLaunch)
    • H2 Analytics — Founder and CEO Hugo Hodgett (Nominated by Invest Ottawa)

    Healthtech & Biotech

    • Arbutus Medical — Founder and CEO Lawrence Buchan (Nominated by ThresholdImpact)
    • Hyivy Health — Founder and CEO Rachel Bartholomew (Nominated by Women’s Equity Lab)
    • JVP Labs — Founder and CEO Paul Weber (Nominated by Golden Triangle Angel Network)
    • mDetect — Founder and CDO Dr. Irsa Wiginton (Nominated by KNDL, Kingston Economic Development Corporation)
    • MedInclude — Founder and CEO Seun Adetunji (Nominated by Communitech)
    • Sparrow Bio — Founder and VP Rachel Collier (Nominated by The Firehood)
    • Zilia — Founder and CEO Dr. Patrick Sauvageau (Nominated by Anges Quebec)

    Insurtech, Femtech, & AI

    • Flora Fertility — Co-Founder and CEO Laura McDonald (Nominated by Highline Beta)

    Robotics, IoT, and Hardware

    • Solace Power — Founder, COO and CFO Colin Ryan

    Space, Mining, and Oceans

    • Mission Control Space Services — Founder and CEO Ewan Reid (Nominated by GreenSky President’s Club)
    • Open Ocean Robotics — Founder and CEO Julie Angus (Nominated by Spring Activator)

    Supply Chain / Inventory Management

    • Moselle — Founder and CEO Lakhveer Jajj (Nominated by Highline Beta, Angel One Investor Network)

    Travel & Media

    • The Hotel Communication Network — Founder and CEO Kevin Bidner (Nominated by Keiretsu Forum Canada)

    About the Nominating Organizations

    Canada’s Top 20 Moonshots Ventures™ of 2025 are shaped by the insight and leadership of NACO’s national member network. These organizations—spanning angel groups, accelerators, incubators, and innovation hubs—play a vital role in identifying Canada’s most promising early-stage ventures.

    Each year, members are invited to nominate one high-potential Seed or Series A company they believe is ready for scale. This peer-driven process creates a national filter rooted in trust, experience, and proximity to innovation on the ground. The result is a curated group of ventures with strong traction, compelling leadership, and global ambition—brought together to engage with the country’s most sophisticated investors at the Moonshots Venture Showcase.

    About the Moonshots Stage™

    Launched in 2022, the Moonshots Stage™ is Canada’s premier platform for investment-ready Seed and Series A ventures. Unlike traditional pitch events, this showcase puts storytelling front and center—each founder delivers a personal, TED-style presentation designed to spark connection and catalyze opportunity with one of the most curated investor audiences in the country.

    Selected companies join the Moonshots Alumni Network™, a national peer community of ventures recognized for innovation, ambition, and global potential. It is a key pillar of NACO Summit, Canada’s most exclusive gathering of early-stage investors and innovation leaders.

    Learn more at nacosummit.com

    Media Contact:

    media@nacocanada.com / www.nacocanada.com

    About National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)

    Established in 2002, NACO is Canada’s professional association representing over 4,000 angel investors, serving as the national umbrella for more than 100 member organizations—including angel groups, venture funds, incubators, and accelerators. Collectively, NACO members have invested more than CAD $1.8 billion into over 2,000 Canadian ventures.

    Angel investors are individuals and funds deploying capital at the earliest stages of growth. They include limited partners (LPs) investing in venture funds, family offices backing pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, and individuals investing directly or through angel groups.

    High-growth companies backed by angel investment that went on to achieve significant global scale include Slack (British Columbia), Verafin (Newfoundland and Labrador), Wealthsimple (Ontario), Hopper (Québec), and Jobber and Neo Financial (Alberta). Recent standouts include CoLab (NL) and 7shifts (Saskatchewan). These successes illustrate how angel investment drives Canada’s pipeline of innovative ventures, fueling future global success stories.

    Learn more at nacocanada.com

    For media inquiries, contact:
    Claudio Rojas, CEO, National Angel Capital Organization
    Email: media@nacocanada.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05dbaabe-343b-48f0-981f-6280c5881a57

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: 2025 Civil Society Forum: African Development Bank and Civil Society Reaffirm Alliance for Africa’s Transformation

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

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, May 14, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The African Development Bank www.AfDB.org has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to collaborating with African civil society to advance the continent’s development agenda. This was a key message of the 2025 Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum, which was successfully held on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Abidjan.

    The forum, organized under the theme: “Celebrating the Contribution of Civil Society to Africa’s Development,” brought together over 150 participants at the Bank’s headquarters, with thousands more connected online across Africa and the diaspora.

    A Novel Action Plan to Deepen Engagement

    This edition of the CSO Forum marked a pivotal step in reinforcing a solid, transformative, and trust-based partnership between the African Development Bank and civil society organizations. This enduring alliance is essential for collectively serving African populations and achieving impactful development across the continent.

    The forum provided an opportunity for the Bank to present its Civil Society Engagement Action Plan (2024–2028), reaffirming its commitment to an inclusive and participatory development process.

    Zeneb Touré, Manager of the Civil Society and Community Engagement Division, presented the strategic framework to Beth Dunford, the African Development Bank Group’s Vice-President for Agriculture, Human, and Social Development, who accepted it on behalf of the institution’s President, Akinwumi Adesina.

    Demonstrating the Bank’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive partnership, Dunford shared the Action Plan with representatives of key civil society components: the Bank-Civil Society Committee, the Climate and Energy Coalition, and a continental network of women entrepreneurs’ associations.

    Augustine Njamnshi, a prominent voice in the civil society climate and energy movement, welcomed its adoption: “The approval of this Action Plan marks a historic turning point in our collaboration with the African Development Bank Group. Born from a shared vision, this document becomes our collective legacy. We express our sincere gratitude to the Bank for this profound act of trust.”

    Highlighting the essential role of civil society as an integral part of Africa’s progress, Kolyang Palebele, representative of the Platform of Farmers’ Organizations of Africa, expressed the spirit of collaboration, praising “the Bank’s unique power to unite the continent’s driving forces around a common vision of improving the lives of African people.” “Civil society is not on the margins of development dynamics; it is the very essence, its living memory and its engine for change,” Mr. Palebele stated.

    “Over the years, civil society engagement has become a cornerstone of the African Development Bank’s work. What was once an aspiration has become evolved into a structured, institutionalized, and results-oriented collaboration partnership.” Ms. Dunford emphasized.

    Empowering Communities Through Decentralized Engagement

    During the forum, an important session highlighted the progress made in decentralizing the Bank’s engagement with civil society. Successful experiences from the five regions of Africa were presented. This localized approach was strongly commended by the Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo, who appreciated a transformative cross-border initiative between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project has provided over 2.4 million people with access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, while strengthening community resilience and fostering cooperation.

    Fostering Mutual Accountability Through Open Dialogue

    The forum culminated in an unprecedented and frank dialogue between senior representatives from seven strategic departments of the Bank and leaders of civil society organizations. Discussions focused on crucial areas such as access to information, environmental and social safeguards, climate action, agriculture, gender equality, youth empowerment, and grievance mechanisms. This essential interaction highlighted a shared commitment to transparency, responsiveness, and mutual accountability in the pursuit of sustainable development outcomes.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A law change will expand who we remember on Anzac Day – the New Zealand Wars should be included too

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

    The New Zealand Wars memorial in new Plymouth. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Anzac Day has come and gone again. But – lest we forget – war and its consequences are not confined to single days in the calendar. Nor do we only remember those who fought at Gallipoli more than a century ago.

    This gradual expansion of the scope and meaning of April 25 is now about to grow further, with the Anzac Day Amendment Bill currently before parliament. Its goal is to make the commemoration “broader and more inclusive than it currently is”.

    Remembrance will soon include “other conflicts and persons who have served New Zealand in time of war or in warlike conflicts in the past and in the future that are not currently covered”.

    New Zealand personnel who served in United Nations missions, and who fought or died in training, will be recognised, as will civilians who served in war or warlike conflicts. Without doubt, it is an excellent initiative.

    The question is, does it go far enough? The obvious omission, if the new law is intended to be “broader” and include past wars, is the conflict that helped shape (and still shapes) the country we are today: the New Zealand Wars.

    Of course, including this pivotal period from 1843 to 1872 plays into the politics of today, given the land confiscations and other injustices the New Zealand Wars also represent. The question is whether their inclusion can avoid becoming a culture war in the process.

    How Anzac Day has grown

    The case for explicitly including the New Zealand Wars is strong. It is thought about 500 British and colonial troops, 250 of their Māori allies (sometimes known as kūpapa), and 2,000 Māori fighting against the Crown died in these conflicts.

    It was also during these wars that Australian and New Zealand military cooperation (the earliest form of Anzacs, in a sense) actually began. Around 2,500 Australian men enlisted for irregular New Zealand militia units, many encouraged by the offer of land grants in return for serving.

    Furthermore, Anzac Day has gradually grown over time to include wars and military conflicts beyond the tragedy in Turkey, first observed in 1916 when the government gazetted a half-day holiday (later made into a full public holiday in 1921) .

    The government again changed the law governing Anzac Day in 1949 to include World War II and the 11,500 New Zealand citizens who died in it. Significantly, it also added the South African/Boer War (which killed 59 New Zealanders), setting a precedent for bringing pre-first world war events into the frame.

    In 1966, Anzac Day’s scope grew again to recognise those “who at any time have given their lives for New Zealand and the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations”. This allowed commemorations to cover the Cold War period, during which New Zealanders were killed in the Malayan Emergency (15), Korea (38) and Vietnam (37).

    Remembering without prejudice

    The counterargument to including the New Zealand Wars in an expanded Anzac Day might be that we already have a dedicated day of observance: Te Pūtake o te Riri on October 28, the date the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand (precursor to the Treaty of Waitangi) was signed in 1835.

    First observed in 2018, the commemorations take place in different locations each year. And perhaps one day, young New Zealanders will talk about the events at Rangiriri, Gate Pā, Matawhero and Ngātapa in the same way they now talk about Gallipoli, Passchendaele, Crete and Monte Cassino.

    But the problem is that a two-tier system seems to have been created. Te Pūtake o te Riri was not made an official holiday and has struggled for wider recognition. While there is some public funding available, it is not on the scale of Anzac Day.

    Te Pūtake o te Riri can and will continue to evolve, and it’s focus on the causes and injustices of these conflicts should not be diminished.

    But an expanded and more inclusive Anzac Day, which recognises those who fought and died, would add another layer of meaning to a date long enshrined in the national calendar, similar to the way National Memorial Day in the United States encompasses their Civil War.

    We are now at a point in history when the injustices of the early colonial government have at least been acknowledged through the Treaty settlement process. It would make sense for the New Zealand Wars to be folded into the Anzac Day Amendment Bill.

    The words “lest we forget” should also apply to those who fell in the nation’s third most costly military conflict. That way we can remember all of the fallen, without prejudice.

    Public submissions on the Anzac Day Amendment Bill close on Thursday May 22.

    Alexander Gillespie 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. A law change will expand who we remember on Anzac Day – the New Zealand Wars should be included too – https://theconversation.com/a-law-change-will-expand-who-we-remember-on-anzac-day-the-new-zealand-wars-should-be-included-too-256682

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Andor showcases the power of music to oppose tyranny – an homage to the French Resistance

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Clare V. Church, Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London

    Warning: this article contains spoilers for Andor season two, up to episode nine.

    This week, many fans are diving into the final episodes of Andor season two on Disney+. Meanwhile, others are still reeling from last week’s powerful episode.

    Episodes seven through nine of the Star Wars spin-off show depicted the tragedy of the fictional Ghorman massacre and its political fallout. Set chronologically two years before Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the episodes present the peaks of the Galactic Empire’s oppressive rule over the planet Ghorman, which culminates in a mass slaughter of peaceful Ghor protesters in the capital city’s main plaza.

    Episode eight, Who Are You?, is a poignant portrayal of propaganda, collective resistance and military force.

    A particularly emotive scene comes when Lezine (Thierry Godard) – a member of a local rebel group called the Ghorman Front – begins to sing in the midst of the Ghor’s demonstration. Soon, all members of the peaceful protest join Lezine’s chorus in an act that signals not aggression, but community.

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    The moment echoes the French Resistance’s use of music to defy Nazi rule throughout the second world war. The French Resistance was a movement of civilians and combatants who opposed the German occupation of France.

    While the episode’s parallels to Earth-side conflicts throughout historical and modern eras do not start and stop with the French Resistance, it is worth unpacking these similarities further. Doing so reveals insights into the power of art — and specifically music – in fighting tyranny.

    The political parallels between Star Wars and Andor

    The Star Wars franchise has long been analysed for its political storytelling. The original trilogy, for instance, makes connections to the French Revolution, the second world war and the Vietnam war. There are overarching themes of colonialism, fascist dictatorship and guerrilla warfare.

    Andor is no exception. Showrunner Tony Gilroy uses two 12-episode seasons to narrate the birth of a rebellion and subsequent revolution. Critics and Star Wars pundits alike have commented on the show’s parallels to historical and contemporary conflicts, with think-pieces and social-media threads comparing season two’s plot points to the America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Russo-Ukrainian war and even the conflict in Gaza.

    The Ghor sing their anthem as an act of defiance in Andor season two, episode eight.

    The Ghorman massacre has become an especially explosive talking point given its significance to the overall series. At the start of season two, it becomes clear that the Galactic empire requires a mineral – kalkite – that is unique to Ghorman to supply its “energy initiative” (the Death Star).

    The empire subsequently launches a devastating propaganda campaign to turn the galaxy against the Ghor. This is done in anticipation of eventually carrying out a genocide against the planet’s people to clear the path for unimpeded mineral extraction. In turn, it is the Ghorman massacre that prompts Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) to publicly declare her opposition to the “monstrous” Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and lead the Rebel Alliance – as seen in the films Rogue One (2016) and Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).

    In the lead-up to the Ghorman massacre, some of the Ghor initiate an underground resistance against the empire’s forces – often haphazard and disjointed, but resilient all the same. Several storytelling devices are used to evoke the spirit of the French Resistance.

    For one, Gilroy casts French actors to play many of the Ghorman Front leaders, including Ewens Abid, Thierry Godard and Caroline Vanier. Second, the Ghor language is based on a combination of French phonetics and Italian grammar. Combined with the accents of the Ghor actors, it conjures the feeling of the French language, without directly using its vocabulary.

    The costuming of the Ghor is also suggestive of second world war France, as they don trench coats and berets.

    Music as a tool against tyranny

    In the episode, the protesters sing the Ghor national anthem: We Are The Ghor! Its lyrics yield imagery of the “valley” and “highland”, as well as call upon its nationals to “raise your eyes to homeland skies”, “call your kin to come and sing”, and “tight the weave and roll the sleeve”.

    Describing the creation of the anthem, composer Nicholas Britell remarked that his and Gilroy’s goal was to “create something that felt timeless and authentic, but which could also feel like an emotional rallying cry”.

    The French national anthem, La Marseillaise, has served a similar mandate since its adoption in 1795. It was used as a political tool of resistance throughout the second world war.

    French soldiers are shown singing La Marseillaise in a scene from Casablanca (1942).

    Upon Germany’s defeat of France in 1940, the Nazi occupiers swiftly banned French citizens from singing La Marseillaise. In November 1940, however, thousands of French students and civilians marched around the Arc de Triomphe while chanting the anthem in a show of defiance. To end the display of unity, occupying forces violently dispersed the demonstration, injuring and arresting many.

    Members of the French Resistance also gained a second anthem throughout the war, titled Le Chant des Partisans, which was composed and performed by Anna Marly. Like We Are The Ghor!, the tune evokes rural landscapes, hard workers and kin, as well as issues demands to its listeners-in-arms to “sing” as one.

    There are many accounts of Le Chant being used to oppose Nazi rule. It was played, for instance, over the radio to signal an incoming message for the French Resistance. It was also reportedly hummed between members of the Maquis during sabotage operations. One account even relays the story of French fighters who whistled the song while they were forced by the Germans to dig their own graves.

    The trailer for season two of Andor.

    These examples from history and fantasy demonstrate the power of music to oppose tyranny. While in itself an act of nonviolence, singing in a group is a tool of community building – an indispensable component of overcoming authoritarianism. Tellingly, in an interview with DECIDER, Andor creator Gilroy explained that authoritarianism is always “about the destruction of community”.

    When you sing along with the crowd at a beloved artist’s concert or belt the anthem ahead of a heated sports match, it is the joy of community that is felt – a feeling of oneness among a swath of strangers. It is therefore in this musical moment – reminiscent of not just the French Resistance but of all movements that have deployed music in defiance – that the fictional realm of Andor’s Who Are You? tragically tells the truth.

    For fans, it aptly brings to bear the unshakeable capacity of singing to combat oppression, be it here on Earth, or in a galaxy, far, far away.

    Clare V. Church 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. Andor showcases the power of music to oppose tyranny – an homage to the French Resistance – https://theconversation.com/andor-showcases-the-power-of-music-to-oppose-tyranny-an-homage-to-the-french-resistance-256522

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton to Lutnick: Chinese Networking Equipment Risks National Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton
     
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353May 14, 2025
    Cotton to Lutnick: Chinese Networking Equipment Risks National Security
    Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging the department to prohibit TP-Link equipment sales. This state-sponsored networking equipment company has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and poses a clear present danger to American national security.
    Additional signers of the bicameral letter are Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), James Risch (R-Idaho), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Rick Scott (R-Florida), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama). In the House, the letter was led by Congressman Riley Moore (West Virginia-02) and the signatories are Congressmen Gus Bilirakis (Florida-12), Abraham Hamadeh (Arizona-08), and John Rose (Tennessee-06).
    In part, Senator Cotton wrote: 
    “TP-Link’s pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe. TP-Link’s predatory pricing, coupled with its circumvention of tariffs, imminently threatens U.S. competition in a market critical to our national security. TP-Link has rapidly captured nearly 60 percent of the U.S. retail router and Wi-Fi system market while expanding the CCP’s cyber arsenal. The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure to pre-position itself for destructive attacks on Americans and communication channels with our allies.  
    For these reasons, Commerce should immediately prohibit future sales of TP-Link SOHO networking equipment in the United States. Each day we fail to act, the CCP wins while American competitors suffer, and American security remains at risk.”Full text of the letter may be found here and below. 
    The Honorable Howard LutnickSecretaryDepartment of Commerce1401 Constitution Avenue, NWWashington, D.C. 20230
    Dear Secretary Lutnick,
    We write in support of the Commerce Department’s investigation of TP-Link, a state-sponsored networking equipment company, and urge you to take swift action to prohibit further sales of TP-Link networking products in the United States. TP-Link’s deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), use of predatory pricing to eliminate trusted U.S. alternatives, and role in embedding foreign surveillance and destructive capabilities into our networks render it a clear and present danger.
    Chinese state actors have exploited TP-Link small and home office (SOHO) networking devices — including Wi-Fi routers, cellular gateways, and mobile hotspots — to wage cyber-attacks in the United States. CCP agents commonly exploit SOHO routers because those systems have ideal bandwidth and computing power for sustained cyber activities but lack additional layers of security common in enterprise networks. TP-Link is also subject to China’s National Security Law, giving the CCP access to U.S. systems before American authorities know a vulnerability exists. In fact, TP-Link is the only router company that refuses to engage in industry efforts to remediate Chinese state-sponsored botnets. 
    TP-Link’s pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe. TP-Link’s predatory pricing, coupled with its circumvention of tariffs, imminently threatens U.S. competition in a market critical to our national security. TP-Link has rapidly captured nearly 60 percent of the U.S. retail router and Wi-Fi system market while expanding the CCP’s cyber arsenal. The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure to pre-position itself for destructive attacks on Americans and communication channels with our allies.  
    For these reasons, Commerce should immediately prohibit future sales of TP-Link SOHO networking equipment in the United States. Each day we fail to act, the CCP wins while American competitors suffer, and American security remains at risk.
    We thank you for your ongoing work to secure and safeguard America’s Information and Communications Technology and Services supply chain. This work is critical to our national security, and we commend President Trump’s Executive Order 13873 to allow the Commerce Department to prohibit transactions in our country that pose unacceptable risk to American national security.     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman Honors Arkansas Law Enforcement Amid National Police Week

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman
    WASHINGTON––The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan resolution backed by Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 78 of their colleagues designating May 11-17 as National Police Week. The National Police Week resolution reiterates the Senate’s unwavering support for law enforcement officers across the United States.
    “Arkansans are eternally grateful to the men and women in blue who willingly put their lives on the line to protect us and our loved ones. We must always display our deep admiration and appreciation to these heroes who run towards danger to keep us safe and uphold law and order. I am proud to stand with my colleagues and show our support for law enforcement officers across our country,” Boozman said.
    “Law enforcement officers in Iowa and across the nation work tirelessly to protect and serve our communities. This week, and every week, we should give our thanks to the brave men and women in blue, who have sacrificed so much to ensure our safety. As always, I’m proud to back the blue and will continue my efforts in Congress to protect and support our courageous officers,” Grassley said. 
    “Every day, our country’s law enforcement officers put their lives at risk to keep us safe. Officers and their families make great sacrifices in the name of service, including the tragic cases of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty. We’re grateful for their heroism, and we must make sure that officers serving with dignity and integrity have the support and resources they need to do their jobs,” Durbin said.
    Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Angus King (I-ME), Ashley Moody (R-FL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rand Paul (R-KY), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jim Justice (R-WV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Katie Britt (R-AL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Barrasso (R-WY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jim Banks (R-IN), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ted Budd (R-NC), Gary Peters (D-MI), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mark Warner (D-VA), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Jon Husted (R-OH), James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Todd Young (R-IN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) joined Boozman, Grassley and Durbin as cosponsors of the resolution.
    The resolution names the 234 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty during 2024, including Stone County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Smith. Boozman and Cotton paid tribute to the fallen lawman on the Senate floor in January 2024.
    Earlier this year, Boozman joined nearly a dozen colleagues in introducing the Thin Blue Line Act to increase penalties for criminals who target law enforcement. The measure is supported by multiple law enforcement groups including the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Sheriffs’ Association and Fraternal Order of Police.
    Read the full resolution here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Chairs Hearing That Exposes Insurance Fraud by Major Corporations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)
    During a disaster management subcommittee hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) highlighted victims of recent natural disasters and the insurance companies that defrauded them.  
    “This isn’t charity that we’re talking about. [Americans] turn to their insurance companies because they pay premiums to those insurance companies. It’s a contract,” said Senator Hawley. “And unfortunately, time after time they find when disaster strikes–in their moment of utmost need–the insurance companies come back to them and they delay, and they deny, and they offer excuses, and they send out two adjusters and three adjusters and 15 adjusters and 25 adjusters, and they constantly change the estimates. And at the end of the day, they just won’t pay what is due. What is required. What is just.”
    The hearing featured homeowners whose property was severely damaged by recent storms, insurance adjuster whistleblowers who were pressured by companies to doctor reports to cut payouts, and the executive director of the American Policyholder Association, a consumer advocacy group that investigates fraud by insurance companies. 
    “When we needed Allstate the most, they failed us,” one disaster victim noted.
    “This is no longer about just a roof,” said another. “It’s about the failure of a system that leaves families vulnerable after catastrophic events.”
    Senator Hawley concurred.
    “It’s not like it’s happened to just one family,” he said. “It is a deliberate strategy to maximize profits.” 
    Senator Hawley also called out Allstate and State Farm for defrauding their policyholders and intimidating whistleblowers.
    “We’ve just heard testimony here–sworn testimony from multiple adjusters–that your company ordered them to delete or alter damage estimates to reduce payouts and to make you profits,” Senator Hawley said. “It sounds to me like you’re running a system of institutionalized fraud.”
    Senator Hawley has been drawing attention to insurance company victims since President Trump shed light on the issue during his January visit to North Carolina where he met with those impacted by Hurricane Helene. 
    Watch the full subcommittee hearing here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Skewers Trump’s Trade Policy in Senate Finance Committee Hearing 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today skewered the Trump Administration’s misguided trade policy, which has slowed economic growth, interrupted supply chains, and threatened access to markets for Vermont businesses, farms, and manufacturers. 
    “We’re getting hammered. Dairy is our big product, but we have a lot of vegetable growers. Our farmers get a lot of fertilizer from Canada and it’s going to go up like 25%. And I don’t care what the politics are of the farmer, whether they voted for Trump or voted for Harris—that’s a real hit, right?” asked Senator Welch. “Some of the issues, or the justification for tariffs, is to get the supply chain back here and I have some appreciation for that. But it’s not like, ‘the more we grow here, the better,’ right? We’re already doing that. We get higher costs, and that will make the markets more vulnerable. More farms will go out of business.”  
    Watch more here: 
    The Senate Finance Committee’s hearing featured testimony from representatives of the American Soybean Association, the Center for Strategic International Studies, the Semiconductor Industry Association, and AdvaMed. 
    This week, President Trump announced a new trade agreement with China that will temporarily reduce tariffs from 145% to 30%, while retaining several other newly imposed tariff categories. Even with this temporary reprieve, Americans still face an overall effective tariff rate of 17.8% —the highest since 1934.    
    Senator Welch has blasted Trump’s tariffs and trade war and shared stories from constituents about how President Trump’s economic policies have impacted their businesses, farms, and communities. Senator Welch has hosted roundtables in Stowe, Newport, St. Albans, and virtually, where he heard concerns and first-hand stories from Vermont and Canadian business leaders impacted by the trade war. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Takes Fight to Protect Georgia’s Clean Energy Jobs to Savannah

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Takes Fight to Protect Georgia’s Clean Energy Jobs to Savannah

    Senator Reverend Warnock returned to his hometown to continue his public pressure campaign urging Congressional Republicans to protect clean energy tax credits fueling an expected 42,000 Georgia clean energy jobs
    Senator Warnock released a comprehensive report on how Georgia risks losing up to 42,000 good-paying jobs if Washington Republicans repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Clean Energy Tax Credits

    Senator Warnock was instrumental in securing these clean energy tax credits which supercharged the clean energy economy and is expected to create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs in Georgia

    Since the tax credits were put into place, 51 clean energy projects worth over $28 billion have come to Georgia, largely centered in rural communities
    These jobs and investments are under threat from a Republican-controlled Washington

    Uncertainty over the IRA’s future and its incentives could lead to billions of lost investments and thousands of lost jobs, hurting Georgia’s workers, families, and economy

    ICYMI from Savannah Morning News: U.S. Senator Warnock takes fight for clean energy tax credits to Savannah

    Above: Senator Reverend Warnock uplifts his new report on Georgia’s clean energy economy during a press conference in Savannah
    Photo credit: Richard Burkhart, Savannah Morning News
    Savannah, GA – This week, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) brought the fight to protect up to 42,000 good-paying Georgia jobs to his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. The Senator continued to speak out against Congressional Republicans’ attempts to claw back clean energy tax credits, which would put thousands of jobs and billions in investments at risk.
    Senator Warnock held a press conference at the Georgia Ports Authority headquarters to uplift his new report that details how Georgia risks losing up to 42,000 good-paying jobs if Washington Republicans repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Clean Energy Tax Credits. The report found Georgia’s clean energy economy has led the nation following the 2022 passage of these tax credits while also providing a stark warning on the risks posed to Georgia’s clean energy jobs and project investments amid the economic uncertainty being fueled by the reckless actions and threats of the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans.
    The report and Savannah press conference comes as House Republicans laid out plans on Monday to phase out clean energy tax credits, slash spending on electric vehicles and renewable energy, and claw back other climate-related funds as part of the Washington Republicans’ attempt to pass a broad tax bill that would cut federal investments in our nation’s clean energy economy, alongside other cuts across the federal government, in order to offset a tax cut for the wealthiest earners in America. 
    Senator Warnock’s leadership was critical in crafting and passing the landmark climate legislation in 2022. Since these tax credits were signed into law, clean energy jobs and investments exploded across the country, but nowhere was that growth more potent than in Georgia. In less than three years, clean energy businesses have announced 51 new projects worth over $28 billion in Georgia. Investment in clean energy manufacturing, including batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicles has increased by a factor of ten. All these gains are at risk if Washington Republicans repeal the Clean Energy Tax Credits.
    Coverage of Senator Warnock’s Savannah press conference can be found below:
    Savannah Morning News: U.S. Senator Warnock takes fight for clean energy tax credits to Savannah
    U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock took his fight to save clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act to Savannah on Monday, holding a press conference touting the impacts of IRA credits to Georgia’s economy.
    Warnock’s office released a report last week that claimed the state is at risk of losing as many as 42,000 jobs and nearly $28 billion in investment if IRA credits were cut. The senator’s push comes as the U.S. Congress works through its budget reconciliation process, where some tax credits may face repeal.
    During the press conference Monday, which was held at the Georgia Ports Authority headquarters, Warnock put the onus on Georgia’s federal Republicans to fight for the credits.
    “Now it’s up to Georgia’s congressional Republicans to protect these clean energy credits,” Warnock said. “Let’s choose the people over politics. Let’s choose jobs over the games that so often get played in Washington, D.C. Let’s protect these jobs and protect these investments.”
    Select House Republicans sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee leadership in early March advocating for “targeted and pragmatic” changes to energy-related tax code. Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents Georgia’s coast and recently announced a bid for the U.S. Senate, signed onto the letter.
    Warnock said Monday that he is fighting to retain all of the IRA’s credits, citing statistics from his office’s report that every $1 in federal investment from the IRA yields another $4.50 in private investment. “We ought to keep all of them,” Warnock said. “Who are we compromising with, ourselves?”
    Savannah Morning News: U.S. Senator Warnock’s report says manufacturing jobs at risk if IRA is repealed
    Sen. Raphael Warnock wants the entire U.S. to know that Georgia has shown that “the future is green, the future is clean.”
    Unless, that is, the U.S. republican-led Congress decides to cut clean energy tax credits created by the President Joe Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Congress is set to go through its budget reconciliation process in coming months and Warnock has sounded the alarm with a report issued last week stating Georgia could be at risk of losing as many as 42,000 jobs and nearly $28 billion in investment if IRA credits were cut.
    Warnock believes Georgia has shown his republican colleagues that the U.S. does not have to “decide between the economy and the environment, that you can work on both of those things.”
    Warnock feels that his office’s report clearly outlines the consequences if the tax credits were to go away, especially for Georgia, which he called “the big winner” from the IRA. 
    A statement from his office’s report reads, “Overall post-IRA business investment in Georgia clean energy manufacturing has totaled nearly $16.4 billion, which is over 10 times greater than clean energy manufacturing investment in the previous two years.”
    WTOC: Senator Warnock pushes back against proposed repeal of clean energy tax credit 
    Congressional Republicans are considering repealing Clean Energy tax credits as a part of their proposed budget package. According to a new report by Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, nearly 42,000 jobs could be lost statewide if this happens.
    “I‘m here in my hometown of Savannah, Georgia to speak out about efforts to eliminate up to 42,000 good-paying jobs right here in Georgia. That includes 7,400 jobs right here…,” said Senator Raphael Warnock. The Senator said that without them, Georgia workers, families, and the economy would all take a hit.
    “It’s a job killer. It’s pure and simple. And, you know, I just hope we will center the people rather than the politics because the economics is clear,” said Senator Warnock. 
    Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. It was meant to create and expand clean energy programs statewide.
    According to the senator’s report, Georgia has been the top beneficiary of the IRA’s clean energy incentives. He’s calling out his republican colleagues in Congress, who are looking to repeal these tax credits.
    “Georgia Republicans have a choice to make. These credits have benefited their districts more than blue districts. And I think the people of Georgia are waiting to see if they are going to stand up for them,” said Senator Warnock. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Delivers Commencement Address to Paine College’s Class of 2025 in Augusta

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Delivers Commencement Address to Paine College’s Class of 2025 in Augusta

    On Sunday, Senator Reverend Warnock delivered the keynote commencement speech to Paine College’s Class of 2025 in Augusta, Georgia
    Senator Warnock encouraged the Class of 2025 to make their life’s project longer and larger than their lifespan, give themselves over to a mission that is larger than themselves
    Paine College is one of ten Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) in Georgia; Senator Reverend Warnock is a 1991 graduate of Morehouse College and is the only sitting U.S. Senators to graduate from an HBCU
    Senator Warnock has secured $664 million for Georgia’s HBCUs to date, part of $17 billion in federal investments championed by the Senator since 2021

    Above: Senator Warnock addresses the Class of 2025 at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia
    Photo credit: Rob Davis, Augusta Chronicle
    Augusta, Georgia – On Sunday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) delivered the commencement address for the Class of 2025 at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. Paine College is one of ten Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) across Georgia. The Senator commended Paine College for its rich history, academic excellence, and commitment to fostering Black leadership across industries. 
    During the college’s 143rd commencement ceremony, Senator Warnock, an alum of Atlanta’s Morehouse College and the only sitting U.S. Senator to graduate from an HBCU, urged the graduates to make their life’s project longer and larger than their lifespan and give themselves over to a mission that is larger than themselves. In a moment in which there are those in power trying to silence the voices of young people, Senator Warnock charged the graduates to not allow them to silence their voices or squash the activist spirit that fuels peaceful protest in pursuit of social change. 
    In recognition of his lifelong commitment to service, moral leadership, and the pursuit of social justice, Paine College awarded Senator Warnock the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters during the ceremony, as well as a plaque of appreciation for delivering the keynote address.

    Above: Senator Warnock and Paine College President Dr. Lester McCorn
    Photo credit: Rob Davis, Augusta Chronicle
    Additionally, the Senator highlighted the important role of HBCUs in helping shape the next generation of changemakers, as well as his work to successfully secure $664 million in federal funding for Georgia’s HBCUs, part of $17 billion in investments the federal government has delivered to HBCU campuses throughout the nation since the Senator came to the Senate. 
    Over the weekend, Senator Warnock also addressed the Class of 2025 at Virginia Union University, an HBCU in Richmond, Virginia. 
    Watch video of Senator Reverend Warnock’s address to Paine College’s Class of 2025 HERE.
    Key excerpts from media coverage of Senator Warnock’s commencement address can be found below:
    FOX 54: Sen. Warnock joins Paine College’s 2025 graduation ceremony
    The campus of Paine College was filled with cheers and tears Sunday as graduates turned over their tassels. […] The commencement had prominent speakers, from alumni Michael Thurmond to Senator Raphael Warnock.
    The senator was the lead commencement speaker, and emphasized the need for more funding in college education, specifically HBCUs.
    “Let’s face it, these kids are coming out of school at a difficult time in our nation, we’ve got to invest in higher education, invest in Technical and Community Schools. I’m an HBCU graduate, and what you get in these schools is a commitment to bringing head and heart to the work of community service, social change,” said Senator Warnock.
    The Augusta Press: Sen. Raphael Warnock speaks at Paine College convocation ceremony 
    Paine College’s HEAL Complex welcomed hundreds of visitors, Sunday morning, mostly the families of students, as it celebrated its 143rd Commencement Convocation.
    Sen. Warnock, a close friend of McCorn’s and a fellow Morehouse alumnus, would have normally been speaking from the pulpit in Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday. His exhortations to graduating students during his address were delivered with comparable enthusiasm.
    “As an HBCU (historically Black college/university) graduate, I know the unique history of places like Paine College. I know what you represent, I know the sacrifice that it took to get you here,” Warnock said.
    The senator referred to his own personal history in encouraging grads to persevere amid what he called “a difficult time in our nation.”
    “I wanted to recognize that it is difficult. Many of them had to work really hard, had to push against financial and other restraints just to get this far,” he said, alluding to his own work in Washington, including his membership in the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. “But I hope that my own story might be an example, a model, of how you keep pushing even when you don’t have the answers, and when you’re working and doing the work very often, help comes in unexpected places, and I’m trying to do that work every single day in the United States Senate.”
    WRDW: Sen. Warnock gives keynote speech at Paine College graduation
    Despite the rainy day, Paine College still celebrated its graduates Sunday. Hundreds of students walked across the stage today to celebrate their academic achievements, and on Mother’s Day, nonetheless. Senator Raphael Warnock was the keynote speaker at commencement.
    “America is great because of its diversity, and here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to fight for that kid who was me growing up in public housing down in Savannah, GA. But I’m also going to fight for the poor, white rural kid who’s growing up in communities that have been too long forgotten about and overlooked,” said Warnock. 
    He also talked about what he has done to help schools like Paine College thrive.
    Interested media can view photos of Paine College’s commencement ceremony in the Augusta Chronicle HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: US Department of Labor cites Georgia stone product manufacturer for exposing workers to respirable crystalline silica

    Source: US Department of Labor

    ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor follow-up inspection found that Art Stone-Granite & Marble Inc., a stone product manufacturer in Marietta, had failed to administer hearing conservation and respiratory protection programs identified previously on an April 2024 safety and health inspection.

    Five months after the initial inspection, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company with two repeat violations and 13 serious violations for not providing workplace protections for employees exposed to hazards such as silica dust and occupational related noise. The company will pay $120,000 in penalties, take action to correct the hazardous conditions, and put steps in place to prevent recurrence.

    For information on silica hazards, read OSHA’s fact sheet on respirable crystalline silica standard for general industry. OSHA’s National Emphasis Program for Respirable Crystalline Silica addresses the agency’s efforts to reduce worker exposures to silica. Employers can contact the agency for free compliance assistance and resources.

    The citation will be provided upon request.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $86M in Capital Funding for Non-profit Arts and Cultural

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced $86 million has been awarded through the New York State Council on the Arts’ Capital Projects Fund to support 134 projects in every region of the state. This investment in non-profit arts and cultural organizations across New York supports crucial building renovations, accessibility improvements and new spaces for creative and cultural work. Organizations outside of New York City received 75 percent of the awards, while 75 percent of the awards went to organizations with budgets under $3 million.

    “Our arts and culture sector is a powerhouse, inspiring the world with innovation and creativity,” Governor Hochul said. “By investing in our museums, our theaters and our arts centers, we enrich our communities, strengthen local economies and improve tourism all over the State.”

    NYSCA’s Capital Projects for Arts and Culture are strategic investments that empower organizations to better serve and engage their communities. They enable arts and cultural venues to become more physically accessible and sustainable, enhancing organizations’ abilities to connect with their audiences and become essential destinations for residents and visitors alike. Strong projects combine excellence in design with informed decisions that will serve and strengthen New York’s arts and cultural sector, stimulate local economies, catalyze investment in our communities, and help to ensure the vibrancy of our cultural organizations.

    NYSCA awards announced today include three grant categories: Small and Midsized Capital Improvement Grants, which range from $10,000-$2,000,000; Large Capital Improvement Grants, which range from $2 million-$10 million and focus on large-scale capital projects that prioritize community development and placemaking; and Capital Design Grants, a new opportunity that supports the development of mid-stage and advanced design documents to advance capital projects for arts and cultural nonprofits with awards of $50,000-$500,000. This year, NYSCA also increased the cap on no-match midsize grants to $99,000, greatly expanding access to these critical state dollars.

    NYSCA funding will support a variety of projects, including:

    Small Capital Improvement Grants

    Upper Jay Art Center (North Country)

    The Upper Jay Arts Center will replace its outdated and aging lighting system with a more energy efficient and flexible system, enabling the organization to improve safety and sustainability and better execute its artistic mission.

    New York State Old Tyme Fiddler’s Association, Inc. (Central New York)

    The project will replace the roof and make improvements to the door panels in the organization’s pavilion and drill a new well to provide a reliable source of potable water for the facility. The project will allow visitors and guests to enjoy an attractive, accessible, and safe venue to revel in the presentation of historical music.

    Stitch Buffalo (Western New York)

    This project will include essential site enhancements including soundproofing and improved security measures

    Mid-Sized Capital Improvement Grants

    Gateway Playhouse/Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County (Long Island)

    The Gateway Playhouse will add a 3,525 square-foot addition to its lobby, including a new grand entrance foyer with incorporated patron drop access, a large, multi-purpose gathering room with an updated bar and concession area, a box office and management office space, and a basement below the addition. A LULA elevator will improve access throughout the facility. The project also includes an expansion and renovation of Gateway’s parking facilities, and improvements to patron walkways.

    Klinkhart Hall Arts Center, Inc. (Mohawk Valley)

    This project will complete the first-floor theater, which will feature a stage extension, orchestra pit, restored original seating, new lighting and sound, floor stabilization, and mechanicals, as well as the completion of the basement classrooms.

    The Thomas Poole and Charles Scott Griesa Center Foundation – Veterans Repertory Theater (Mid-Hudson)

    The project will transform a historic bank building and former church into a professional mainstage theater specifically for performances that amplify the voices of military veterans in the American performing arts.

    Large Capital Improvement Grants

    Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance of NY (New York City)

    Inspired by the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan and the Community Visioning Report, the project will create an arts and cultural center that offers youth music education, celebrates local artists, and attracts tourists; provides workforce development opportunities to youth and community; supports small businesses and promotes the local economy; and activates Park Avenue with commercial and community facility uses that serve the neighborhood.

    Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (Finger Lakes)

    The GO Barn! Arts & Cultural Center is a new construction project designed to serve as a dynamic hub for arts, culture, and community engagement in Orleans County, including: a multipurpose arts and cultural center inspired by the historic Wells Barn design; a dedicated space for fiber arts, workshops, and artisan programming; and a greenhouse, designed to grow plants for fabric dyeing and art creation.

    Goodwill Theatre, Inc. (Southern Tier)

    The project will completely renovate the basement, 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of the 1899 Firehouse to adapt the structure into a 2-stage performance facility, increasing occupancy by 400% and drawing an additional estimated 45,000 patrons annually to the Village Johnson City’s Central Business District.

    Capital Design Grants

    Prattsville Art Project (Capital Region)

    The grant will support the completion of the design process for the transformation of the flood-damaged, unused barn on the Prattsville Art Center property into an open-air studio for the arts.

    Roberson Museum and Science Center (Southern Tier)

    The grant will support the completion of the design process for the Roberson Museum’s future renovation project, which seeks to enhance sustainability, modernize facilities, and optimize the care of exhibits and collections.

    A complete list of grantees is available online.

    New York State Council on the Arts Executive Director Erika Mallin said, “These transformative projects will improve their communities, increase tourism, expand accessibility, create jobs and strengthen New York’s position as the global epicenter of arts and culture. Thanks to the Governor and the Legislature’s continued support of this critical program, we are building a thriving future for our renowned creative sector, as they continue to deliver the measurable benefits of arts and culture all across the state.”

    State Senator Jose Serrano said, “The arts and cultural sector is vitally important for the spirit and economy of New York State and contributes greatly to job creation, cultural enrichment, and economic development in communities. I am happy that Governor Hochul and my colleagues in government are making this critical investment, and I congratulate NYSCA on today’s announcement and its continued commitment to supporting the arts in New York State.”

    Assemblymember Ron Kim said, “Capital projects are critical investments in our health and prosperity: creating jobs, enriching our communities and creating a stronger New York for our residents and visitors. Congratulations to all the grantees: we look forward to seeing these projects grow and expand all over our great state.”

    Since the NYSCA Capital Projects Fund began in 2018, the agency has awarded 607 capital grants, totaling $300 million, across all 10 state regions through the support of the Governor and Legislature. These projects increase employment capacity and advance cultural venues as tourism destinations, strengthening New York’s hospitality, food and beverage, and retail sectors. In addition to the Capital Projects Fund, NYSCA has awarded $62 million in non-capital grants to nearly 1500 arts organizations and more than 500 individual artists for FY 2025.

    Governor Hochul continues to make record investments to grow New York’s national-leading arts and cultural sector. The FY 2026 Enacted Budget includes over $81 million for NYSCA general operating support to non-profit organizations and individual artists, and another $80 million in capital funding to allow NYSCA to offer an additional round of grants for projects of all sizes, ranging from $10,000 to $10 million.

    About the New York State Council on the Arts
    The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, the Council on the Arts will award over $161 million in FY 2026, serving hundreds of arts organizations and artists across all 10 state regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York’s creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit www.arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA’s Facebook page, on X @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Strengthening support for renewable hydrogen to meet EU energy and climate targets – E-001831/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001831/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Dan-Ştefan Motreanu (PPE)

    The Commission has announced that the second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank attracted 61 project applications from 11 European Economic Area countries, requesting over EUR 4.8 billion in subsidies – four times the EUR 1.2 billion currently available under the EU’s Innovation Fund. The proposed projects represent an electrolyser capacity of 6.3 gigawatts and aim to produce 7.3 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen over ten years, corresponding to 7 % of the EU’s REPowerEU target for 2030.

    This strong interest highlights the growing momentum in the clean hydrogen sector and the urgent need for increased funding to bridge the gap between production costs and market prices. Contributions from Spain, Lithuania and Austria under the ‘auctions-as-a-service’ model further demonstrate the potential for complementary national support.

    However, with demand for subsidies significantly exceeding the available budget, there is a risk that many viable projects essential for achieving the EU’s decarbonisation and energy security goals will not be supported.

    In this context, what additional measures does the Commission intend to propose to strengthen financial support for renewable hydrogen, scale up production capacities and ensure the achievement of the EU’s 2030 clean energy targets?

    Submitted: 6.5.2025

    Last updated: 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Cutting red tape and the failure to extend the Omnibus provisions for SMEs to banking supervision and prudential requirements – E-001837/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001837/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Mario Mantovani (ECR), Denis Nesci (ECR)

    The proposed Omnibus package lays down provisions to relieve the administrative burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). SMEs would become exempt from the obligation to report on a series of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards linked to environmental sustainability.

    However, this lifting of reporting and due diligence obligations would not extend to EU banking supervision and prudential requirements. In particular, the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) and the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) would, regardless of the Omnibus exemption, continue to oblige SMEs to report on a series of ESG/ESR environmental sustainability factors and standards used to assess risk profiles in banking relations. Such an assessment would be particularly complicated and costly for SMEs, would require them to go to great lengths to provide the necessary information and could lead to difficulties in accessing credit for reasons that do not necessarily have any bearing on the way the company is managed. There is no point to the proposed Omnibus package if simplifications are not extended to the banking sector too.

    In view of this, given that the proposed Omnibus package lifts the obligation on SMEs to report sustainability metrics, does the Commission not think that it should provide for their exemption from ESG/ESR reporting obligations in the CRR and CRD with respect to banking supervision and prudential requirements?

    Submitted: 7.5.2025

    Last updated: 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Apple brings insights, ratings, and reviews from expert sources to Apple Maps

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple brings insights, ratings, and reviews from expert sources to Apple Maps

    UPDATE May 14, 2025

    Users can now view and search for restaurants and hotels in the U.S. with distinctions from MICHELIN Guide; The Infatuation and Golf Digest coming soon

    Starting today, Apple Maps makes it even easier for users to search and discover top-ranked restaurants, hotels, golf courses, and more, with the addition of rankings and insights from expert sources. Users can now view and search for MICHELIN-starred, Green Star, and Bib Gourmand restaurants — along with MICHELIN Key hotels — starting in the U.S., with support for additional regions coming in the future. Soon, rankings and insights from The Infatuation and Golf Digest will also be added to Maps, with more expert sources to follow.

    With this update, place cards will now reflect distinctions, descriptions, and images from expert sources. Additionally, for select hotels, users can now book directly from Maps, with the option to schedule restaurant reservations through MICHELIN and tee times through Supreme Golf coming soon.

    “MICHELIN Guide, The Infatuation, and Golf Digest are leading industry experts that consumers rely on for finding the best restaurants, hotels, and golf courses, and we’re excited to bring their valuable insights and accolades to our users in Apple Maps,” said David Dorn, Apple’s senior director of Internet Software and Services Product. “These new integrations make Maps an even more useful and seamless resource for users to discover great new places whether in their hometown or traveling somewhere new.”

    “We are pleased to bring MICHELIN Guide’s expertise to Apple Maps. The integration of MICHELIN Guide’s ratings, expert insights, and booking services into Apple Maps will significantly enhance global access to exceptional gastronomy and hospitality experiences,” said Gwendal Poullennec, MICHELIN Guide’s international director. “By bringing MICHELIN Guide’s restaurant and hotel distinctions into the Apple Maps app, we are providing travelers and food enthusiasts with easy and convenient access to MICHELIN’s curated recommendations and insights for their next memorable experience.”

    “Apple and The Infatuation share a commitment to high-quality content — and we are thrilled to soon bring our authentic, relatable, and curated restaurant recommendations to Apple Maps,” said Paul Needham, CEO of The Infatuation. “It’s important for us to meet users where they are, and we know Apple Maps is a key part of their daily lives, making this integration a natural fit.”

    “As the leading authority in golf course rankings and reviews, Golf Digest is proud to bring our trusted insights to Apple Maps,” said Meredith Bausback, Golf Digest’s vice president of Marketing & Audience Development. “This integration will soon empower golfers to discover and choose courses with the confidence that comes from decades of expert evaluation.”

    To use this feature, users can leverage search filters in Maps and find places with these distinctions. To explore more great places around the world, users can also view curated guides from MICHELIN Guide, The Infatuation, and Golf Digest.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI: Fiera Capital Corporation announces increase to previously announced bought deal offering of 7.75% Senior Subordinated Unsecured Debentures to $70 million

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MONTREAL, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fiera Capital Corporation (“Fiera Capital” or the “Company”) (TSX: FSZ) is pleased to announce that, due to strong demand, it has entered into a revised agreement with Scotiabank, CIBC Capital Markets, Desjardins Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets, as joint bookrunners, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters which also included National Bank Financial Inc., BMO Capital Markets, TD Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., iA Private Wealth Inc. and Raymond James Ltd. (collectively, the “Underwriters”), to increase the size of its previously announced bought deal offering of senior subordinated unsecured debentures due June 30, 2030  (the “Debentures”) at a price of $1,000 per Debenture (the “Offering”) to $70 million. Fiera Capital has also granted the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional $10.5 million aggregate principal amount of Debentures, on the same terms and conditions, exercisable in whole or in part, for a period of 30 days following closing of the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on or about June 3, 2025.

    The Debentures will bear interest at a rate of 7.75% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on June 30 and December 31 of each year, with the first interest payment on December 31, 2025. The December 31, 2025 interest payment will represent accrued interest from the closing of the Offering, to but excluding December 31, 2025. The Debentures will mature on June 30, 2030 (the “Maturity Date”).

    The Debentures will not be redeemable prior to June 30, 2028 (the “First Call Date”), except upon the occurrence of a change of control of the Company in accordance with the terms of the indenture (the “Indenture”) governing the Debentures. On and after the First Call Date and prior to June 30, 2029, the Debentures will be redeemable in whole or in part from time to time at the Company’s option at a redemption price equal to 103.875% of the principal amount of the Debentures redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, up to but excluding the date set for redemption. On and after June 30, 2029 and prior to the Maturity Date, the Debentures will be redeemable, in whole or in part, from time to time at the Company’s option at par plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, up to but excluding the date set for redemption. The Company shall provide not more than 60 nor less than 30 days’ prior notice of redemption of the Debentures.

    The Company will have the option to satisfy its obligation to repay the principal amount of the Debentures due at redemption or maturity by issuing and delivering that number of freely tradeable Class A subordinate voting shares (the “Class A Shares”) in accordance with the terms of the Indenture.

    The Debentures will not be convertible into Class A Shares at the option of the holders at any time.

    The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to fund the redemption of the Company’s 8.25% Senior Subordinated Unsecured Debentures due December 31, 2026 (the “2026 Debentures”) that the Company intends to effect on the first call-date, December 31, 2025, and for general corporate purposes. Pending such use, the net proceeds from the Offering will temporarily be used by the Company to reduce indebtedness under the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facility. The foregoing is not a redemption notice with respect to the 2026 Debentures. Any redemption of the 2026 Debentures will be made pursuant to a notice of redemption under the indenture governing those securities.

    The Debentures will be direct, senior subordinated unsecured obligations of the Company which will rank pari passu with one another and will rank (a) effectively subordinate to any existing and future secured indebtedness of the Company but only (other than with respect to the Senior Credit Facilities (as defined in the Indenture)) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such secured indebtedness, (b) subordinate to the obligations under the current and future Senior Credit Facilities (as defined in the Indenture), (c) pari passu with the Company’s existing 2026 Debentures and 6.00% Senior Subordinated Unsecured Debentures due June 30, 2027 and, except as prescribed by law, all existing and future unsecured indebtedness (other than the Senior Credit Facilities) that by its terms is not subordinated in right of payment to the Debentures, including indebtedness to trade creditors, and (d) senior to all existing and future unsecured indebtedness that by its terms is subordinated in right of payment to the Debentures, including any convertible unsecured subordinated debentures which may be issued by the Company in the future. In addition, the Debentures will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future indebtedness and other liabilities of the Company’s subsidiaries.

    A preliminary short form prospectus will be filed with securities regulatory authorities in all provinces of Canada. The Offering is subject to customary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

    The securities to be offered have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of such Act. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

    Legal advisors

    Legal advice is being provided to Fiera Capital by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. Legal advice is being provided to the Underwriters by Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to future events or, future performance reflecting management’s expectations or beliefs regarding future events, including, without limitation, business and economic conditions, outlook and trends, Fiera Capital’s growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, objectives, plans and strategic priorities, new initiatives, such as those related to sustainability and other statements that do not refer to historical facts. In particular, this press release includes forward-looking statements relating to the proposed timing of completion of the Offering and the anticipated use of the net proceeds of the Offering. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements may typically be identified by words and expressions such as “assumption, “continue”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “goal”, “guidance”, “likely”, “plan”, “objective”, “outlook”, “potential”, “foresee”, “project”, “strategy”, “target”, and other similar words or expressions or future or conditional verbs (including in their negative form), such as “aim”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “expect”, “foresee”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”, “seek”, “should”, “strive” and “would”.

    Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions, which make it possible for actual results or events to differ materially from management’s expectations and that predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations, conclusions or statements will not prove to be accurate. As a result, Fiera Capital does not guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, the failure or delay in satisfying any of the conditions to the completion of the Offering. Additional factors include, but are not limited to, market and general economic conditions, the nature of the financial services industry, and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Fiera Capital’s interim condensed and annual consolidated financial statements, and its latest Annual Report and Annual Information Form filed on www.sedarplus.ca. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document, and Fiera Capital assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

    About Fiera Capital Corporation

    Fiera Capital is a leading independent asset management firm with a growing global presence. The Company delivers customized and multi-asset solutions across public and private market asset classes to institutional, financial intermediary and private wealth clients across North America, Europe and key markets in Asia and the Middle East. Fiera Capital’s depth of expertise, diversified investment platform and commitment to delivering outstanding service are core to our mission of being at the forefront of investment management science to create sustainable wealth for clients. Fiera Capital trades under the ticker FSZ on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

    Headquartered in Montreal, Fiera Capital, with its affiliates in various jurisdictions, has offices in over a dozen cities around the world, including New York (U.S.), London (UK), Hong Kong (SAR) and Abu Dhabi (ADGM).

    Each affiliated entity (each an “Affiliate”) of Fiera Capital only provides investment advisory or investment management services or offers investment funds in the jurisdictions where the Affiliate is authorized to provide services pursuant to the relevant registrations, an exemption from such registrations and/or the relevant product is registered or exempt from registration.

    Fiera Capital does not provide investment advice to U.S. clients or offer investment advisory services in the U.S. In the U.S., asset management services are provided by Fiera Capital’s Affiliates who are investment advisers that are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or exempt from registration. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. For details on the particular registration of, or exemptions therefrom relied upon by, any Fiera Capital entity, please consult https://www.fieracapital.com/en/registrations-and-exemptions

    Additional information about Fiera Capital, including its Annual Information Form, is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca

    SOURCE Fiera Capital Corporation

    The information contained in press releases and company news is valid as of the date indicated. You should not assume that statements remain accurate or valid after the date.

    For more information: Analysts and investors, Marie-France Guay, Senior Vice President, Treasury and Investor Relations, Fiera Capital Corporation, 514 294-5878, mguay@fieracapital.com

    The MIL Network –