Category: Canada

MIL-OSI: YieldMax™ ETFs Announces Distributions on CONY (102.91%), FIAT (100.78%), CVNY (86.83%), ULTY (81.75%), YMAX (67.85%), and Others

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax™ today announced distributions for the YieldMax™ Weekly Payers and Group C ETFs listed in the table below.

ETF Ticker¹	ETF Name	Distribution Frequency	Distribution per Share	Distribution Rate^2,4	30-Day SEC Yield³	ROC⁵	Ex-Date & Record Date	Payment Date
CHPY	YieldMax™ Semiconductor Portfolio Option Income ETF	*Weekly*	$0.6229	–	–	87.69%	5/1/25	5/2/25
GPTY	YieldMax™ AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF	*Weekly*	$0.2926	38.49%	0.00%	100.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
LFGY	YieldMax™ Crypto Industry & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF	*Weekly*	$0.4721	65.90%	0.00%	100.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
QDTY	YieldMax™ Nasdaq 100 0DTE Covered Call ETF	*Weekly*	$0.3362	43.92%	0.00%	100.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
RDTY	YieldMax™ R2000 0DTE Covered Call ETF	*Weekly*	$0.4696	56.41%	0.00%	100.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
SDTY	YieldMax™ S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call ETF	*Weekly*	$0.3110	38.70%	0.00%	100.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
ULTY	YieldMax™ Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF	*Weekly*	$0.0936	81.75%	2.21%	100.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
YMAG	YieldMax™ Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs	*Weekly*	$0.1010	35.45%	69.89%	79.99%	5/1/25	5/2/25
YMAX	YieldMax™ Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs	*Weekly*	$0.1744	67.85%	96.57%	73.04%	5/1/25	5/2/25
ABNY	YieldMax™ ABNB Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.6020	64.20%	3.62%	94.97%	5/1/25	5/2/25
AMDY	YieldMax™ AMD Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.3365	62.42%	2.97%	94.47%	5/1/25	5/2/25
CONY	YieldMax™ COIN Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.6510	102.91%	4.42%	96.77%	5/1/25	5/2/25
CVNY	YieldMax™ CVNA Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$2.6816	86.83%	2.44%	68.30%	5/1/25	5/2/25
FIAT	YieldMax™ Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.5618	100.78%	1.73%	0.00%	5/1/25	5/2/25
MSFO	YieldMax™ MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.5255	42.19%	3.75%	92.04%	5/1/25	5/2/25
NFLY	YieldMax™ NFLX Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.9230	64.06%	3.58%	95.72%	5/1/25	5/2/25
PYPY	YieldMax™ PYPL Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 Weeks	$0.5519	55.23%	4.19%	94.52%	5/1/25	5/2/25
Weekly Payers & Group D ETFs scheduled for next week: CHPY GPTY LFGY QDTY RDTY SDTY ULTY YMAG YMAX AIYY AMZY APLY DISO MSTY SMCY WNTR XYZY YQQQ

Standardized Performance and Fund details can be obtained by clicking the ETF Ticker in the table above or by visiting us at www.yieldmaxetfs.com

Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance current to the most recent month-end can be obtained by calling (833) 378-0717.

Note: DIPS, FIAT, CRSH, YQQQ and WNTR are hereinafter referred to as the “Short ETFs.”

Distributions are not guaranteed. The Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield are not indicative of future distributions, if any, on the ETFs. In particular, future distributions on any ETF may differ significantly from its Distribution Rate or 30-Day SEC Yield. You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from period to period and may be zero. Accordingly, the Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield will change over time, and such change may be significant.

Investors in the Funds will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions with respect to the underlying reference asset(s).

¹All YieldMax™ ETFs shown in the table above (except YMAX, YMAG, FEAT, FIVY and ULTY) have a gross expense ratio of 0.99%. YMAX, YMAG and FEAT have a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.99% for a gross expense ratio of 1.28%. FIVY has a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.59% for a gross expense ratio of 0.88%. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are indirect fees and expenses that the Fund incurs from investing in the shares of other investment companies, namely other YieldMax™ ETFs. ULTY has a gross expense ratio after the fee waiver of 1.30%. The Advisor has agreed to a fee waiver of 0.10% through at least February 28, 2026.

²The Distribution Rate shown is as of close on April 29, 2025. The Distribution Rate is the annual distribution rate an investor would receive if the most recent distribution, which includes option income, remained the same going forward. The Distribution Rate is calculated by annualizing an ETF’s Distribution per Share and dividing such annualized amount by the ETF’s most recent NAV. The Distribution Rate represents a single distribution from the ETF and does not represent its total return. Distributions may also include a combination of ordinary dividends, capital gain, and return of investor capital, which may decrease an ETF’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment. These Distribution Rates may be caused by unusually favorable market conditions and may not be sustainable. Such conditions may not continue to exist and there should be no expectation that this performance may be repeated in the future.

³The 30-Day SEC Yield represents net investment income, which excludes option income, earned by such ETF over the 30-Day period ended March 31, 2025, expressed as an annual percentage rate based on such ETF’s share price at the end of the 30-Day period.

⁴Each ETF’s strategy (except those of the Short ETFs) will cap potential gains if its reference asset’s shares increase in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset’s shares decrease in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF. Each Short ETF’s strategy will cap potential gains if its reference asset decreases in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset increases in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF.

⁵ROC refers to Return of Capital. The ROC percentage is the portion of the distribution that represents an investor’s original investment.

Each Fund has a limited operating history and while each Fund’s objective is to provide current income, there is no guarantee the Fund will make a distribution. Distributions are likely to vary greatly in amount.

Important Information

This material must be preceded or accompanied by the prospectus. For all prospectuses, click here.

Tidal Financial Group is the adviser for all YieldMax™ ETFs.

THE FUND, TRUST, AND ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY UNDERLYING REFERENCE ASSET.

Risk Disclosures (applicable to all YieldMax ETFs referenced above, except the Short ETFs)

YMAX, YMAG, FEAT and FIVY generally invest in other YieldMax™ ETFs. As such, these two Funds are subject to the risks listed in this section, which apply to all the YieldMax™ ETFs they may hold from time to time.

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

Referenced Index Risk. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index (or the Index ETFs). This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of companies that comprised the Index or an ETF that tracks the Index, even though it does not.

Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

Russell 2000 Index Risks. The Index, which consists of small-cap U.S. companies, is particularly susceptible to economic changes, as these firms often have less financial resilience than larger companies. Market volatility can disproportionately affect these smaller businesses, leading to significant price swings. Additionally, these companies are often more exposed to specific industry risks and have less diverse revenue streams. They can also be more vulnerable to changes in domestic regulatory or policy environments.

Call Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer periods.

Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.

Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Call Period.

Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (ARKK, TSLA, AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, META, GOOGL, NFLX, COIN, MSFT, DIS, XOM, JPM, AMD, PYPL, SQ, MRNA, AI, MSTR, Bitcoin ETP, GDX^®, SNOW, ABNB, BABA, TSM, SMCI, PLTR, MARA, CVNA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GPTY)

Artificial Intelligence Risk. Issuers engaged in artificial intelligence typically have high research and capital expenditures and, as a result, their profitability can vary widely, if they are profitable at all. The space in which they are engaged is highly competitive and issuers’ products and services may become obsolete very quickly. These companies are heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by loss or impairment of those rights. The issuers are also subject to legal, regulatory, and political changes that may have a large impact on their profitability. A failure in an issuer’s product or even questions about the safety of the product could be devastating to the issuer, especially if it is the marquee product of the issuer. It can be difficult to accurately capture what qualifies as an artificial intelligence company.

Technology Sector Risk. The Fund will invest substantially in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.

Risk Disclosure (applicable only to MARO)

Digital Assets Risk: The Fund does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than the Fund. Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to BABO and TSMY)

Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

Depositary Receipts Risk: The securities underlying BABO and TSMY are American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.

Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight.

Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting, and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GDXY)

Risk of Investing in Foreign Securities. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the securities of foreign issuers selected by GDX^®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities.

Risk of Investing in Gold and Silver Mining Companies. The Fund is exposed indirectly to gold and silver mining companies selected by GDX^®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies.

The Fund invests in options contracts based on the value of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX^®), which subjects the Fund to some of the same risks as if it owned GDX^®, as well as the risks associated with Canadian, Australian and Emerging Market Issuers, and Small-and Medium-Capitalization companies.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YBIT)

YBIT does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than YBIT.

Bitcoin Investment Risk: The Fund’s indirect investment in Bitcoin, through holdings in one or more Underlying ETPs, exposes it to the unique risks of this emerging innovation. Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, and its market is influenced by the changing Bitcoin network, fluctuating acceptance levels, and unpredictable usage trends.

Digital Assets Risk: Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility. Potentially No 1940 Act Protections. As of the date of this Prospectus, there is only a single eligible Underlying ETP, and it is an investment company subject to the 1940 Act.

Bitcoin ETP Risk: The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Bitcoin ETP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of the Bitcoin ETP, even though it does not. Bitcoin ETPs are subject, but not limited, to significant risk and heightened volatility. An investor in a Bitcoin ETP may lose their entire investment. Bitcoin ETPs are not suitable for all investors. In addition, not all Bitcoin ETPs are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Those Bitcoin ETPs that are not registered under such statute are therefore not subject to the same regulations as exchange traded products that are so registered.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to the Short ETFs)

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

Price Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the underlying reference asset. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the underlying reference asset, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of the underlying reference asset increases. If the value of the underlying reference asset increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses.

Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing (selling) strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in decreases in the value of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer periods.

Purchased OTM Call Options Risk. The Fund’s strategy is subject to potential losses if the underlying reference asset increases in value, which may not be offset by the purchase of out-of-the-money (OTM) call options. The Fund purchases OTM calls to seek to manage (cap) the Fund’s potential losses from the Fund’s short exposure to the underlying reference asset if it appreciates significantly in value. However, the OTM call options will cap the Fund’s losses only to the extent that the value of the underlying reference asset increases to a level that is at or above the strike level of the purchased OTM call options. Any increase in the value of the underlying reference asset to a level that is below the strike level of the purchased OTM call options will result in a corresponding loss for the Fund. For example, if the OTM call options have a strike level that is approximately 100% above the then-current value of the underlying reference asset at the time of the call option purchase, and the value of the underlying reference asset increases by at least 100% during the term of the purchased OTM call options, the Fund will lose all its value. Since the Fund bears the costs of purchasing the OTM calls, such costs will decrease the Fund’s value and/or any income otherwise generated by the Fund’s investment strategy.

Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings.

Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in decreases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Put Period.

Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, for any Fund that focuses on an individual security (e.g., TSLA, COIN, NVDA, MSTR), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YQQQ)

Index Overview. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization.

Index Level Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the Index level. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the Index level, the Fund is subject to the risk that the Index level increases. If the Index level increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses. The Fund may also be subject to the following risks: innovation and technological advancement; strong market presence of Index constituent companies; adaptability to global market trends; and resilience and recovery potential.

Index Level Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will benefit from decreases in the Index level experienced over the Put Period. This means that if the Index level experiences a decrease in value below the strike level of the sold put options during a Put Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and any Fund gains may significantly differ from the level of the Index losses over the Put Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in decreases in value experienced by the Index level over each Put Period, but has significant negative exposure to any increases in value experienced by the Index level over the Put Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the inverse of the performance of the Index level. The Fund’s ability to benefit from the Index level decreases will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Put Period to Put Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of component companies that comprise the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the Index level changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Put Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly inversely correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index level. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact that the value of the options contracts has on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the Index level will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than the inverse of the changes experienced by the Index level.

YieldMax™ ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with Tidal Financial Group, or YieldMax™ ETFs.

The MIL Network –

April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: INTERPOL targets stolen vehicle trafficking in West African police operation

Source: Interpol (news and events)

30 April 2025

More than 12,000 vehicles were inspected over two weeks, initiating new investigations and uncovering links with organized crime.

LYON, France: An international police operation targeting vehicle crime in West Africa has led to the detection of approximately 150 stolen vehicles and the seizure of more than 75 vehicles.

Coordinated by INTERPOL and carried out by national law enforcement agencies in 12 West African countries, the operation – codenamed ‘Safe Wheels’ – also initiated 18 new investigations and uncovered the involvement of two organized crime groups.

Most of the stolen vehicles detected through INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database were trafficked from Canada, while many had also been reported stolen in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

INTERPOL’s SMV database allows police in the Organization’s 196 member countries to run a check against a suspicious vehicle and find out instantly whether it has been reported as stolen.

In 2024, around 270,000 vehicles were identified as stolen globally through the SMV database.

David Caunter, Director of Organized and Emerging Crime at INTERPOL, said:

“Each year, hundreds of thousands of vehicles are stolen around the world, yet the initial theft is often only the beginning of a vehicle’s journey into the global criminal underworld.

“Stolen vehicles are trafficked across the globe, traded for drugs and other illicit commodities, enriching organized crime groups and even terrorists.

“INTERPOL’s SMV database is the strongest tool we have to track stolen vehicles and identify the criminals involved in this global trade.”

Stolen Canadian cars in Nigeria

During the two-week operational phase (17-30 March), law enforcement in participating countries established an average of 46 checkpoints each day to inspect a total of 12,600 vehicles, checking their details against INTERPOL’s SMV database.

Out of the vehicles seized or flagged as stolen, Toyota models were the most represented, followed by Peugeot and Honda.

Both land and sea routes were used to traffic stolen vehicles detected during the operation.

In Lagos, during checks of freight containers purportedly from Canada, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) officers discovered six vehicles – Toyota and Lexus models – four of which showed clear signs of break-in.

Checks against INTERPOL’s SMV database confirmed that all six vehicles were reported stolen in Canada in 2024. Investigative collaboration is ongoing between the NCS and Canada’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau.

Nine law enforcement officers and experts from INTERPOL’s SMV Task Force, including an expert examiner from Canada, were also deployed to the region – in Benin, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – to support Operation Safe Wheels.

Operation Safe Wheels took place under the aegis of Project Drive Out – a new partnership between INTERPOL and the Government of Canada to target vehicle theft and the illegal trade of spare parts – and was made possible by Canadian funding.

INTERPOL member countries that participated in the operation were: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo.

MIL Security OSI –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI: FrontFundr Shatters Records, Releases 2024 Community Capital Report
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FrontFundr, Canada’s leading equity crowdfunding platform, today unveiled its 2024 Community Capital Report, showcasing a groundbreaking year that signals a major shift in Canada’s private investing landscape. In 2024, the platform facilitated an impressive $68.3 million in capital across 66 successful campaigns, more than doubling the amount raised in 2023. This milestone marks a turning point in how Canadians are engaging with private markets and demonstrates the growing appeal of equity crowdfunding.

Since its launch in 2015 through December 31, 2024, FrontFundr facilitated over $258 million in capital through nearly 28,000 investments through its online platform, solidifying its leadership in Canada’s fast-growing equity crowdfunding sector. The platform now holds an impressive 93% market share under the National Instrument 45-110 Startup Crowdfunding (prospectus) Exemption, underscoring its pivotal role in democratizing access to capital for early-stage companies.

Noteworthy campaigns in 2024 include Blossom Social, which raised $1.35 million in just 3.5 days, and Edison Motors, which secured $2.4 million in 2024 alone—setting new benchmarks for crowdfunding success in Canada.

“Equity crowdfunding is no longer a niche alternative; it’s becoming a central component of how Canadians invest in the future they want to build,” said Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Founder and CEO of FrontFundr. “Our growth reflects a broader movement toward the retailization of private markets, empowering the public to participate, providing emerging companies better access to capital, and creating a more inclusive financial system.”

Key highlights from the 2024 report include:
- Investor Growth: Women now represent 26% of investors; individuals aged 30–39 were the most active investors.
- Sector Leadership: Finance led with over $55 million raised, followed by strong growth in technology, cleantech manufacturing, and food & beverage.
- Regional Highlights: Ontario led with $35.6 million raised, followed by British Columbia and a resurgent Alberta, with notable growth across the Prairies.
- Strong Portfolio Performance: 87% of FrontFundr-funded companies remain active, with 13.7% achieving liquidity events—including notable 2024 exits from Hempalta and Liquid Wind.
- Platform Innovation: New features like a redesigned investment workflow, the launch of FrontFundr Elite Circle, and a partnership with StartEngine offering access to U.S. AI deals fueled a 17% increase in average investment size and a 97% increase in new investors.
Platform innovations—including a streamlined investment journey, the launch of FrontFundr Elite Circle, and a partnership with StartEngine to access U.S. Accredited Investor-only opportunities—helped boost average investment size by 17% and nearly double new investor sign-ups.

“This report captures a pivotal moment for Canada’s private markets,” said Trieste Reading, VP of Growth at FrontFundr. “2024 wasn’t just a breakout year for FrontFundr — it signaled a broader shift in how Canadians think about investing and ownership. Canadians are stepping up to back the businesses and causes they care about — and that’s changing the future of finance.”

The release of the 2024 Community Capital Report comes at a time of growing global momentum to expand access to private markets. This shift was underscored by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s 2025 annual letter, which called for democratizing private market opportunities so everyday investors—not just the wealthy—can benefit from the returns of economic growth. As FrontFundr approaches its 10th anniversary in 2025, the platform remains steadfast in its mission to open doors for all Canadians to invest in businesses that reflect their values and shape the future.

The full Community Capital Report 2024 is available at https://info.frontfundr.com/blog/community-capital-report-2024-from-slow-burn-to-a-breakout-year.

About FrontFundr
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The MIL Network –
April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ22: Treatment of waste lead-acid batteries

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LCQ22: Treatment of waste lead-acid batteries
Question:

     Under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (the Convention), member countries (Parties) are expected to treat and dispose of wastes as close as possible to their place of generation and to prevent and minimise the generation of wastes at source, and waste lead-acid batteries are hazardous waste regulated under the Convention. China is a Party to the Convention, the Convention is therefore applicable to Hong Kong as well. It has been reported that at present, most of the waste lead-acid batteries in Hong Kong were exported to other places (including Korea) after treatment, and those recycled locally only accounted for a small portion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the quantity of waste lead-acid batteries generated in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, as well as the respective quantities of waste lead-acid batteries preliminarily processed locally, exported to overseas advanced facilities for recycling (with a breakdown by export areas) and recycled locally;

(2) of the respective maximum annual treatment capacities of the facilities for (i) preliminary treatment and (ii) recycling of waste lead-acid batteries in Hong Kong;

(3) of the details of projects relating to waste lead-acid batteries subsidised by the Recycling Fund in the past three years (including but not limited to the amount of subsidy granted for each project and the content of the subsidy);

(4) of the current progress of the implementation of the Producer Responsibility Scheme on waste lead-acid batteries, as well as the recovery target for local waste lead-acid batteries after the implementation of the Scheme; and

(5) whether the authorities have formulated a contingency plan to cope with the situation where the collection of treated waste lead-acid batteries exported from Hong Kong will be suspended in the event of policy adjustments by Korea or other places; if so, of the specific proposals; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Handling of waste lead-acid batteries is strictly regulated under the Waste Disposal Ordinance, and the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation including registration as chemical waste producers, applications for chemical waste collection and disposal licences, reporting the quantities of waste lead-acid batteries produced, collected and disposed of, and regulating the transboundary movements of waste lead-acid batteries according to the Basel Convention (the Convention).

    Any person intending to export waste lead-acid batteries for recycling should apply to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for an export permit. Prior to issuing the permit, the EPD will obtain written consent from the relevant authority of the concerned state of import to ensure that the waste lead-acid batteries will be transported to an approved recycling facility in the destination location for recycling in an environmentally sound manner.

     The Convention encourages the Parties of the Convention to dispose of controlled waste within the country of origin as far as possible, but it does not prohibit the import or export of such waste under certain conditions, including that the state of import needs the waste as a raw material for recycling or recovery use. Currently, the waste lead-acid batteries exported from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region comply with the above principles. Under the permit control system, approval from the competent authority of the concerned state of import must be obtained prior to the export of waste lead-acid batteries, which must be recycled in facilities equipped with processing capacity in waste lead-acid batteries.

     The EPD will continue to combat illegal collection and disposal of waste lead-acid batteries, and promote proper disposal of waste lead-acid batteries and the relevant legal requirements to the trade.

     The reply to the question raised by the Hon Judy Chan is as follows:

(1) and (2) Currently, there are approximately 700 000 fuel-powered or gas-powered vehicles in Hong Kong, amounting to an estimation of around 3 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries generated annually. In addition to other applications including uninterruptible power supply systems (e.g. data centres and emergency lighting), non-road mobile machineries (e.g. forklifts), vessels, and emergency generators in industrial and commercial buildings, an additional 3 500 to 4 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries are generated each year. Thus, it is estimated that a total of 6 500 to 7 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries are generated in Hong Kong annually. In recent years, the number of electric vehicles in Hong Kong has been steadily increasing. There were 110 014 electric vehicles in Hong Kong in 2024, representing about 12.2 per cent of the total number of vehicles. As newly launched electric vehicles no longer use lead-acid batteries, it is expected that the quantity of waste lead-acid batteries generated will gradually decline in the future.

     Currently, there are eight licensed disposal facilities for disposal of waste lead-acid batteries, seven of which conduct preliminary treatment such as sorting, insulation, and packaging before exporting the waste lead-acid batteries to overseas facilities for recycling. According to the capacity stipulated in their licences, these seven facilities can collectively process up to approximately 42 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries annually. Another licensed facility located at the EcoPark in Tuen Mun processes waste lead-acid batteries into lead bullion by dismantling waste lead-acid batteries into lead grid and lead paste by means of high temperature smelting. The maximum annual disposal capacity (for lead bullion production) stipulated in its licence is about 8 000 tonnes.

     In the past three years, the quantities of waste lead-acid batteries treated locally and exported overseas are listed as follows:

Year
(3) Over the past three years (i.e. 2022 to 2024), the Recycling Fund approved a total subsidy of about $1.03 million for seven waste lead-acid batteries recyclers. The approved funding was to subsidise the purchase of equipment, such as packaging machine, scissor lift and electric pallet truck for enhancing their productivity, and provide a one-off subsidy to frontline recycling staff to help the recycling industry to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic.

(4) The Government has introduced the Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal of Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2025 (Amendment Bill) to the Legislative Council on April 2 this year to establish a common legislative framework for the producer responsibility schemes (PRSs) applicable to different products. After the passage of the Amendment Bill, we will extend PRSs to more products (including lead-acid batteries) as and when appropriate by means of subsidiary legislation.

The EPD has conducted consultations on the proposed PRS on lead-acid batteries from June 2023 to April 2025. We hitherto have met with more than 40 companies or organisations including trade associations of automotive batteries and tyres industry, traders of automotive parts, suppliers of uninterrupted power supplies, medical devices and forklifts, as well as engineering contractors and recyclers, with a view to considering the trade’s opinions when drawing up the implementation details. We will maintain a close communication with the trades and take into account their views for the sake of fine-tuning the operational details of the scheme as appropriate, including setting appropriate recycling targets in light of the prevailing circumstances.

(5) After proper treatment of waste lead-acid batteries, valuable lead materials can be recovered, which have considerable value in the international recycling market. Therefore, there is a market for purchasing waste lead-acid batteries for recycling. Apart from Korea, many countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico, Greece, and Canada, possess the capability to process waste lead-acid batteries and import them from other places for recycling purposes. The local recycling facility located at the EcoPark is also capable of treating locally generated waste lead-acid batteries. Therefore, even if certain places adjust their policies and cease importing treated waste lead-acid batteries, the market is still capable of handling them.
Issued at HKT 12:15

NNNN

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ebrington to mark 80th anniversary of Battle of the Atlantic surrender

Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

Ebrington to mark 80th anniversary of Battle of the Atlantic surrender

30 April 2025

One of the most significant moments in world history will be commemorated in Derry next month with a special event to mark 80 years since the surrender of the Battle of the Atlantic, and the end of a fierce struggle to protect vital shipping lines that claimed over 100,000 lives during World War II.

While the world reflects on the 80^th anniversary of VE Day, the occasion will be marked locally by looking back on the city’s role, and the moment when Derry made the headlines across the globe. On May 14^th 1945, the world looked on as the first eight German U-boats surrendered to Admiral Sir Max Horton at Lisahally and the German crew were marched through Ebrington Square, where there was relief and jubilation that the prolonged conflict had come to an end.

On May 17^th BOA80 in Ebrington Square will recreate scenes from the bustling international base of the 1940’s, as living history characters bring the historic surrender of the Nazi U-Boat fleet and the conclusion of World War II to life. There will also be live music and entertainment reflecting the huge cultural transformation of the time.

The event is organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council, looking back at a historic era when Derry was a major strategic command centre in the fight for control of the Atlantic Sea Routes. Lisahally was used for repairing and refuelling the Allied warships and served as one of the main escort bases for the northwest approaches. The collections on display and themes on the day will form part of a major gallery in the upcoming DNA Museum, and the event will be held just outside the buildings where DNA will be located.

Looking ahead to the BOA25 event, Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr said it was an opportunity to reflect on what was a pivotal moment in history. “Derry is a city steeped in history and often we forget its strategic importance during World War II, although in terms of global significance it played a huge role. The billeting of Allied servicemen here during that time also had a major cultural influence here in the city, where people mingled with the US and Canadian forces.

“There was much celebration when eventually the surrender was announced. At a time when we’re sadly all too aware of the devastating impacts of war, it’s important that we take lessons from the past and reflect on the importance of following alternative pathways towards peaceful resolution and diplomacy.”

Council’s Head of Culture, Aeidin McCarter, said the programme would recreate a sense of the historic significance of the occasion. “We want to give people a snapshot of the era by reenacting some of the events of the day, and the atmosphere of celebration as the city was freed from the shadow of the war. Through our living history characters we will retell the story and give people a glimpse of 1945 Derry through the music and fashion from the day.

“In the days before the event the Tower Museum team will also deliver a series of WII workshops for schools to raise awareness of the historic events and also the city’s vital role in bringing the conflict to an end. It will be an opportunity for people to view some of the Museum Service’s WWII collections and to step back in time to 1945 Derry as local people prepared to embrace peace after the turmoil of life during the war. Our team are excited to share the progress for the new DNA Museum on the day also.”

In advance of the event, on May 13^th from 10.30am – 12.30pm, Strathfoyle Library will host a special talk by local historians Pearse Henderson and David Jenkins to help set the scene, focusing on the impact of the surrender on the people living in the local area. People are encouraged to bring along artefacts from the time to help capture personal stories and memories of the historic time.

On the day itself, enjoy live performances of the music of the roaring 40’s and see how the fashion of the time began to reflect the international influence of the troops. Military vehicles including a replica spitfire will set the scene for the historic reenactments throughout he afternoon.

May 17^th is also National Drawing Day, and local artist Chris Walker will be on site at Ebrington to help visitors capture the day in a series of live sketching sessions. Chris will focus on some of the historic buildings, bridges and sculptures across Ebrington Square, helping budding artists learn to sketch, understand composition and pick up some tips. Bookings are not required and all materials will be provided.

BOA80 will begin at 12noon – entry is free and all are welcome

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN Presents Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN

Source: ASEAN

Jakarta, 30 April 2025 – Ambassador Sitsangkhom Sisaketh presented his Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today, formally commencing his tenure as Lao PDR’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN.

The credential ceremony was followed by a courtesy call, during which Secretary-General Dr. Kao congratulated Ambassador Sitsangkhom Sisaketh on his new appointment and expressed confidence in his ability to contribute meaningfully to ASEAN Community-building and integration efforts. He underscored that the Ambassador’s extensive experience in ASEAN affairs would serve as a valuable asset to the work of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR).

Secretary-General Dr. Kao also commended Lao PDR for its steadfast commitment and valuable contributions to ASEAN, especially during its most recent ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024. He acknowledged Lao PDR’s important role as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Canada Dialogue Relations for the 2024-2027 cycle, notably in efforts to strengthen and deepen the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership, as well as in the finalisation of the ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action (2026-2030) and ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA) by 2025.

Ambassador Sitsangkhom Sisaketh is Lao PDR’s fifth Permanent Representative to ASEAN since the CPR’s establishment in 2009. He previously served as the Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has played a key role in advancing ASEAN’s strategic initiatives over the years.

Secretary-General Dr. Kao reaffirmed the ASEAN Secretariat’s readiness to support Ambassador Sitsangkhom Sisaketh and the Permanent Mission of Lao PDR to ASEAN in Jakarta, emphasising the importance of continued collaboration between the CPR and the ASEAN Secretariat to achieve ASEAN’s goals and objectives, including the upcoming adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its four Strategic Plans this year./.

The post Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN Presents Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

MIL OSI Economics –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI: CREDIT AGRICOLE S.A. ANNOUNCES FULL REDEMPTION OF the outstanding principal amount of its GBP Undated Deeply Subordinated Additional Tier 1 Fixed Rate Resettable Notes issued on April 8, 2014 (ISIN: XS1055037920)
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

                                           Montrouge, 30 April 2025

CREDIT AGRICOLE S.A. ANNOUNCES FULL REDEMPTION OF
the outstanding principal amount of its
GBP Undated Deeply Subordinated Additional Tier 1
Fixed Rate Resettable Notes issued on April 8, 2014
(ISIN: XS1055037920)*

Crédit Agricole S.A. (the “Issuer”) announces today the full redemption (the “Redemption”) with effect on June 30, 2025 (the “Redemption Date”) of the outstanding principal amount of its GBP Undated Deeply Subordinated Additional Tier 1 Fixed Rate Resettable Notes (the “Notes”) which amount as of today to GBP103,316,000 (ISIN: XS1055037920).

The Notes were issued on April 8, 2014 with a principal amount of GBP500,000,000 on the basis of the terms and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”) included in the prospectus dated April 2, 2014 which was granted the visa n° 14-123 by the Autorité des marchés financiers on April 2, 2014 (the “Prospectus”). The Notes are governed by English law, which, following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, has become a third country law. The Terms and Conditions do not include a contractual recognition of bail-in clause and, as a result, the Notes will cease to qualify as Additional Tier 1 capital on June 28, 2025, upon expiry of the grandfathering applicable to the Notes in accordance with Article 494b(1) of the Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 26, 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms (as amended) (the “CRR Regulation”).

On May 20, 2021, the Issuer launched an exchange offer inviting the eligible holders of the Notes to exchange their Notes for an equivalent principal amount of its new Undated Deeply Subordinated Additional Tier 1 Fixed Rate Resettable GBP Notes (the “New Notes”) (the “Exchange Offer”). The Exchange Offer was intended to offer eligible holders of the Notes the opportunity to receive New Notes for which the economic terms were substantially similar to those of the Notes, with the exception of, in addition to certain technical modifications aimed at aligning the Terms and Conditions with market practice (i) the replacement of the LIBOR linked mid-swap rate by a SONIA linked mid-swap rate in the context of the discontinuation of the LIBOR rate used for securities denominated in pounds sterling, and (ii) modifications aimed at enabling the New Notes to qualify as Additional Tier 1 capital under banking regulations in force at that date, notably through the introduction of a contractual bail-in recognition clause. As a result of the Exchange Offer, the Notes were exchanged up to an aggregate principal amount of GBP 396,684,000 against New Notes.

The Notes that were not exchanged in the context of the Exchange Offer and that are still outstanding as of today, i.e a principal amount of GBP103,316,000, will cease to qualify as Additional Tier 1 capital on June 28, 2025, upon expiry of the grandfathering applicable to the Notes in accordance with article 494(b)(1) of the CRR Regulation. Therefore a Capital Event will occur on June 28, 2025 enabling the Issuer, pursuant to Condition 7.3 (Redemption Upon the Occurrence of a Capital Event) of the Terms and Conditions, to redeem the outstanding principal amount of such Notes (i.e. GBP103,316,000).

In accordance with Condition 7.3 (Redemption Upon the Occurrence of a Capital Event) of the Terms and Conditions, the Notes will be redeemed at their par value, together with any accrued interest thereon (the “Redemption Amount”) and such Redemption Amount shall become due and payable on the Redemption Date. As of such date, in accordance with Condition 5.2 (Accrual of Interest) of the Terms and Conditions, each Note shall cease to bear interest unless the Redemption Amount is improperly withheld or refused.

The holders of the Notes will receive formal notice of the Redemption in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.

The Issuer has requested and obtained the prior permission of the European Central bank to redeem the Notes early.

For further information on Crédit Agricole S.A., please see Crédit Agricole S.A.’s website: https://www.credit-agricole.com/en/finance.

DISCLAIMER

This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell the Notes in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any other jurisdiction. The distribution of this press release in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.

No communication or information relating to the redemption of the Notes may be distributed to the public in a country where a registration obligation or an approval is required. No action has been or will be taken in any country where such action would be required. The redemption of the Notes may be subject to specific legal and regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions; Crédit Agricole S.A. accepts no liability in connection with a breach by any person of such restrictions.

This press release is an advertisement; and none of this press release, any notice or any other document or material made public and/or delivered, or which may be made public and/or delivered to the holders of the Notes in connection with the redemption of the Notes is or is intended to be a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 14 June 2017 (as amended, the “Prospectus Regulation”). No prospectus will be published in connection with the redemption of the Notes for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation.

This press release does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute an offer to the public of Notes by Crédit Agricole S.A. nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer in any jurisdiction, including France.

* The ISIN number is included solely for the convenience of the holders of the Notes. No representation is being made as to the correctness or accuracy of the ISIN number as contained herein.

CRÉDIT AGRICOLE S.A. PRESS CONTACT

Alexandre Barat                             + 33 1 57 72 12 19                                      alexandre.barat@credit-agricole-sa.fr
Olivier Tassain                               + 33 1 43 23 25 41                                      olivier.tassain@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Find our press release on: www.credit-agricole.com – www.creditagricole.info

Crédit_Agricole Groupe Crédit Agricole créditagricole_sa

Attachment
- CASA_Call AT1 GBP 30 June 2025_Press release
The MIL Network –
April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI: High Arctic Overseas Announces 2024 Fourth Quarter Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAW

CALGARY, Alberta, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — High Arctic ‎Overseas Holdings Corp. (TSXV: HOH) (“High Arctic Overseas” or the “Corporation”) has released its financial and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2024. The Corporation’s audited consolidated financial statements (the “Financial Statements”) and management’s discussion & analysis (“MD&A”) for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, will be available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. All amounts are denominated in United States dollars (“USD”), unless otherwise indicated.

The common shares of the Corporation began trading on the TSXV on August 16, 2024 under the trading symbol HOH.

Mike Maguire, Chief Executive Officer commented on the Corporation’s fourth quarter 2024 financial and operating results:

“We have finished the spin-out transaction and have established High Arctic Overseas Holdings Corp. with dedicated Management and have trimmed our recurring G&A on a go forward basis. We have maintained the Corporation’s cash balance thanks to solid contribution from our manpower services & equipment rentals.

The Corporation is now well placed to participate meaningfully in anticipated future drilling activity, with a resilient core business. Our experience combined with ideal drilling equipment for the challenging PNG environment positions us well.

We are heartened by announced LNG developments including key environmental approvals for Papua LNG and positive public statements by the PNG Prime Minister following meetings with senior executives from the major project participants in January.

I remain excited about our prospects to play a strategic role servicing the major projects anticipated in PNG over the second half of the decade.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Adjusted EBITDA for the Quarter and full year of ($482) and $4,290 as a result of low drilling activity and costs associated with the close out of the spin-out.
Significant adjustments to inventory carrying value as a result of confirmation of the terms of contracts which resulted in a one-time positive non-cash impact to earnings of $3.4 million;
Post the spin-out we have established independent management team and expect to see General and Administrative costs normalise moving forward; and
Exited the quarter with a strong liquidity position with a working capital balance of $20.6 million which includes a cash balance of $14.9 million and no debt.

2024 FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Drilling rig 103 remained suspended and drilling rigs 115 and 116 remained cold-stacked. Manpower services and rental services continued with other customers. Operating margins decreased from 32.2% in Q4 2023 to 28.6% in Q4 2024. The net result was a substantial reduction to revenue and the generation of a significantly lower EBITDA in the quarter:
- Revenue for the quarter of $2,421, a decrease of $10,112 or 81% compared to Q4 2023 at $12,533, and
- Adjusted negative EBITDA of $482, decrease of $3,418 or 116% compared to Q4 2023 at $2,936.

The reduced revenue generating activities in Q4 2024 were offset by the significant adjustments to inventory and reported obligations that were the result of renegotiated terms of contracts related to spares inventory, this resulted in:
- Net income of $1,806 in Q4 2024 compared to net income of $1,907 realized in Q4 2023.

2024 YEAR TO DATE RESULTS

Drilling Rig 103 operated through into Q2 2024 when drilling was suspended at which point it was cold stacked. Manpower services and rentals with other customers continued at similar run rates through the remainder of 2024. Operating margins improved from 2023 of 33.2% to 37.7% in 2024 as a result of reduced material and supply costs and higher proportional contribution from higher margin rentals.
- Revenue for 2024 was $24,075, a reduction of $19,305 or 45% compared to 2023,
- Adjusted EBITDA for 2024 was $4,290, a 60% reduction compared to 2023 as a result of general and administrative costs not reducing proportionally to revenue, and
- General and administrative costs were impacted by additional expenses related to the Arrangement.

The reduced operating activities combined with the Q4 2024 significant adjustments to inventory and reported obligations drove the following results for the Corporation:
- Net income of $2,857 for 2024 compared to a net loss of $8,623 for the same period 2023 which included an impairment charge of $15,200.
Improved liquidity with a working capital balance of $20.6 million, which includes a cash balance of $14.9 million.

Since the Corporation and HAES-Cyprus were both wholly-owned by HWO, the transfer of all of the outstanding ordinary shares of HAES-Cyprus to the Corporation was deemed a common control transaction. The Corporation’s Financial Statements are presented under the continuity of interests basis. Financial and operational results contained within this Press Release present the historic financial position, results of operations and cash flows of HAES-Cyprus for all prior periods up to August 12, 2024, under HWO’s control. The financial position, results of operations and cash flows from April 1, 2024 (the date of incorporation of the Corporation) to August 12, 2024, include both HAES-Cyprus and the Corporation on a combined basis and from August 12, 2024, forward include the results of the Corporation on a consolidated basis upon completion of the Arrangement.

For reporting purposes in the Financial Statements, the MD&A and this Press Release, it is assumed that the Corporation held the PNG business prior to August 12, 2024, and as such, information provided includes the financial and operating results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, including all comparative periods.

In the above results discussion, the three months ended December 31, 2024 may be referred to as the “quarter” or “Q4 2024” and the comparative three months ended December 31, 2023 may be referred to as “Q4 2023”. References to other quarters may be presented as “QX 20XX” with X/XX being the quarter/year to which the commentary relates. Additionally, the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 may be referred to as “YTD” or “YTD 2024”. References to other twelve-month periods ended December 31 may be presented as “YTD 20XX” with XX being the year to which the twelve-month period ended December 31 commentary relates.

FOURTH QUARTER 2024 SELECT FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL RESULTS OVERVIEW

	Three months ended Dec 31,				Year ended Dec 31,
(thousands of USD except per share amounts)	2024		2023		2024	2023
Operating results
Revenue	2,421		12,533		24,075	43,380
Net income (loss)	1,806		1,907		2,857	(8,623	)
Per share (basic and diluted) ⁽¹⁾	$0.14	$0.16		$0.23		($0.69	)
Operating margin ⁽²⁾	693		4,037		9,069	14,416
Operating margin as a % of revenue ⁽²⁾	*28.6*%		32.2%		*37.7*%	33.2%
EBITDA ⁽²⁾	2,887		2,975		7,733	11,211
Adjusted EBITDA ⁽²⁾	(482)		2,936		4,290	10,797
Adjusted EBITDA as a % of revenue ⁽²⁾	*(19.9*%)		23.4%		*17.8*%	24.9%
Operating income (loss) ⁽²⁾	(1,264)		2,240		455	4,575
Per share (basic and diluted) ⁽¹⁾	($0.10	$0.18		$0.04		$0.37
Cash flow from operations:
Cash flow from operating activities	248		6,131		10,112	8,906
Per share (basic & diluted) ⁽¹⁾	$0.02	$0.49		$0.81		$0.71
Funds flow from operating activities ⁽²⁾	2,667		2,929		6,770	10,273
Per share (basic & diluted) ⁽¹⁾	$0.21	$0.24		$0.54		$0.83
Capital expenditures	62		93		652	1,080

(thousands of USD)					As at Dec 31, 2024	As at Dec 31, 2023
Financial position:
Working capital ⁽²⁾					20,602	20,335
Cash and cash equivalents					14,930	10,958
Total assets					35,287	43,374
Shareholder’s equity					30,953	33,112
Per share (basic) ⁽¹⁾				$2.48		$2.66
Per share (fully diluted) ⁽¹⁾				$2.47		$2.66
Weighted average common shares outstanding (000’s) ⁽¹⁾					12,448	12,448
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding (000’s) ⁽¹⁾					12,539	12,448

⁽¹⁾For the purposes of computing per share amounts, the number of common shares outstanding for the periods prior to the Arrangement is deemed to be the number of shares issued by the Corporation to the shareholders of HWO upon completion of the Arrangement. For the period after the Arrangement, the number of shares outstanding in the computation of per share amounts is the total issued shares of the Corporation on August 12, 2024, and any common shares issued subsequent to August 12, 2024. See the “Overview” section of this MD&A and the Corporation’s Financial Statements as at and for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 for additional details.
⁽²⁾Operating margin, EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), Adjusted EBITDA, Operating income (loss), Funds flow from operating activities and Working capital do not have a standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. See “Non IFRS Measures” in this MD&A for calculations of these measures.

Operating Results

	Three months ended Dec 31,		Year ended Dec 31,
(thousands of USD, unless otherwise noted)	2024	2023	2024	2023
Revenue	2,421	12,533	24,075	43,380
Operating expense	(1,728)	(8,496)	(15,006)	(28,964)
Operating margin⁽¹⁾	693	4,037	9,069	14,416
*Operating margin (%)*	*28.6*%	32.2%	*37.7*%	33.2%

⁽¹⁾See “Non-IFRS Measures”

Revenues totaled $2,421 and $24,075 for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to $12,533 and $43,880 for the comparative periods in 2023. Revenues for the year ended 2024 and Q4 2024, as compared to the prior year comparative periods, were negatively impacted as a result of reduced overall utilization of Rig 103. Customer-owned Rig 103 was utilized for 8 months during 2023 versus the first 5.5 months in 2024. Despite reduced drilling activity in 2024 compared to 2023, the Corporation was able to maintain a consistent level of activity related to the provision of skilled personnel for key customers in PNG. Operating margin as a percentage of revenues increased from 2023 to 2024, largely as a result of reduced material and supply costs associated with the recommencement of Rig 103 during fiscal 2023 and a higher proportional contribution by higher margin rentals in 2024.

The Corporation owns two heli-portable drilling rigs (Rigs 115 and 116) which remain preserved and maintained ready for deployment.

	Three months ended Dec 31,				Year ended Dec 31,
(thousands of USD except per share amounts)	2024		2023		2024		2023
Operating results
Revenue	2,421		12,533		24,075		43,380
Net income (loss)	1,806		1,907		2,857		(8,623)
Per share (basic and diluted) ⁽¹⁾	$0.14	$0.16		$0.23		($0.69)
Operating margin ⁽²⁾	693		4,037		9,069		14,416
Operating margin as a % of revenue ⁽²⁾	*28.6*%		32.2%		*37.7*%		33.2%
EBITDA ⁽²⁾	2,887		2,975		7,733		11,211
Adjusted EBITDA ⁽²⁾	(482)		2,936		4,290		10,797
Adjusted EBITDA as a % of revenue ⁽²⁾	*(19.9*%)		23.4%		*17.8*%		24.9%
Operating income (loss) ⁽²⁾	(1,264)		2,240		455		4,575
Per share (basic and diluted) ⁽¹⁾	($0.10	$0.18		$0.04		$0.37
Cash flow from operations:
Cash flow from operating activities	248		6,131		10,112		8,906
Per share (basic & diluted) ⁽¹⁾	$0.02	$0.49		$0.81		$0.71
Funds flow from operating activities ⁽²⁾	2,667		2,929		6,770		10,273
Per share (basic & diluted) ⁽¹⁾	$0.21	$0.24		$0.54		$0.83
Capital expenditures	62		93		652		1,080

(thousands of USD)					As at Dec 31, 2024		As at Dec 31, 2023
Financial position:
Working capital ⁽²⁾					20,602		20,335
Cash and cash equivalents					14,930		10,958
Total assets					35,287		43,374
Shareholder’s equity					30,953		33,112
Per share (basic) ⁽¹⁾				$2.48		$2.66
Per share (fully diluted) ⁽¹⁾				$2.47		$2.66
Weighted average common shares outstanding (000’s) ⁽¹⁾					12,448		12,448
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding (000’s) ⁽¹⁾					12,539		12,448

⁽¹⁾For the purposes of computing per share amounts, the number of common shares outstanding for the periods prior to the Arrangement is deemed to be the number of shares issued by the Corporation to the shareholders of HWO upon completion of the Arrangement. For the period after the Arrangement, the number of shares outstanding in the computation of per share amounts is the total issued shares of the Corporation on August 12, 2024, and any common shares issued subsequent to August 12, 2024. See the “Overview” section of this Press Release and the Corporation’s Financial Statements as at and for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 for additional details.
⁽²⁾Operating margin, EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), Adjusted EBITDA, Operating income (loss), Funds flow from operating activities and Working capital do not have a standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. See “Non IFRS Measures” in this Press Release for calculations of these measures.

Operating Results

	Three months ended Dec 31,		Year ended Dec 31,
(thousands of USD, unless otherwise noted)	2024	2023	2024	2023
Revenue	2,421	12,533	24,075	43,380
Operating expense	(1,728)	(8,496)	(15,006)	(28,964)
Operating margin⁽¹⁾	693	4,037	9,069	14,416
*Operating margin (%)*	*28.6*%	32.2%	*37.7*%	33.2%

⁽¹⁾See “Non-IFRS Measures”

The Corporation owns two heli-portable drilling rigs (Rigs 115 and 116) which remain preserved and maintained ready for deployment.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

	Three months ended Dec 31,		Year ended Dec 31,
(thousands of USD)	2024	2023	2024	2023
Cash provided by (used in) operations:
Operating activities	248	6,131	10,112	8,906
Investing activities	(62)	(93)	(652)	(1,080)
Financing activities	(113)	(179)	(5,487)	(714)
Effect of exchange rate changes	(1)	–	(1)	–
Increase (decrease) in cash	72	5,859	3,972	7,112

(thousands of USD, unless otherwise noted)	As at Dec 31, 2024	As at Dec 31, 2023
Current assets	24,706	30,090
Working capital⁽¹⁾	20,602	20,335
Working capital ratio⁽¹⁾	6.0:1	3.1:1
Cash and cash equivalents	14,930	10,958

⁽¹⁾See “Non-IFRS Measures”

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cashflows from Operating Activities
For the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, cash generated from operating activities was $248 (Q4 2023 $6,131) and $10,112 (YTD-2023 $8,906), respectively. The change in operating cash flow was largely driven by changes in working capital related to the timing of drilling activity in the respective years with a cash drawdown in 2023 as operations ramped up and a cash harvesting in 2024 as operations were ceased.

Cashflows from Investing Activities
For the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, the Corporation’s cash used in investing activities was $62 (Q4 2023 $93) and $652 (YTD-2023 $1,080), respectively. Cash outflows associated with investing activities were directed towards capital expenditures on rental assets. The reduction in capital expenditures in 2024 is due to reduced customer activity. The Corporation will continue to seek opportunities to invest in additional capital assets, in particular where it can do so under take-or-pay agreements.

Cash flows from Financing Activities
For the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, the Corporation’s cash used in financing activities was $113 (Q4 2023 $179) and $5,487 (YTD-2023 $714) respectively. Excluding the impact of a $5,000 dividend paid by HAES-Cyprus to HWO prior to the completion of the Arrangement transaction, cash outflows associated with finance activities were directed towards lease obligation payments.

Outlook
Consistent with the outlook provided by the Corporation in the third quarter of 2024, the outlook for the Corporation’s core business in PNG for 2025 remains subdued. The Corporation’s 2024 fourth quarter and annual results were impacted by the completion of customer drilling activity during the second quarter of 2024, with Rig 103 being relocated to the customer’s forward base location and cold-stacked. With no near-term drilling activity currently anticipated, the Corporation expects equipment rental and manpower to be the primary revenue generating activity for 2025. Quarterly revenues for 2025 are anticipated to be consistent with third and fourth quarters of 2024.

The Corporation remains engaged with its principal customer on planning for future drilling activity and continues to focus on enhancing and optimizing its existing rental fleet deployment and manpower solutions offerings.

The Corporation also continues to pursue business expansion opportunities in PNG, actively engaging with potential customers for its services in PNG and the wider region while also taking actions to protect its capability to realize the future potential of the business.

Our rationale for a business strategy focussed on PNG is unchanged. Papua New Guinea possesses substantial deposits of natural resources including significant reserves of oil and natural gas and has emerged as a reliable low-cost energy exporter to Asian markets, particularly for liquefied natural gas (“LNG”). A significant investment in the country’s oil and gas industry was evidenced by the successful construction of the PNG-LNG project in 2014, with the primary partners in the venture being customers of the Corporation. In the period following, the Corporation’s predecessor company committed to the purchase and upgrade of drilling rigs 115 and 116 and expansion of the Corporation’s fleet of rentable equipment including camps, material handling equipment and worksite matting. These investments contributed to a substantive lift in revenues and earnings as PNG enjoyed its highest period of exploration and development activity.

Since the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, there has been a substantive reduction in drilling services in PNG. This follows some consolidation among the active exploration and production companies and evolving political and economic influences. In the longer term, High Arctic believes PNG is on the precipice of a new round of large-scale projects in the natural resources sector. ‎The next significant ‎LNG project currently being planned is Papua-LNG a project lead by the French oil and gas super-major TotalEnergies, with a final investment decision anticipated in late 2025. There is an expectation for increased drilling activity through the latter half of this decade, ‎not only to develop wells for the supply of gas to the Papua-LNG export facility, but also to explore for and ‎appraise other discoveries. The signing of a fiscal stability agreement between the P’nyang gas field joint venture and the government of PNG is another positive signal for that expansionary project to follow Papua-LNG.

The Corporation is strategically positioned to support these developments, given its dominant position for drilling and associated services in PNG, existing work relationships with the operating companies, and proximity to the proposed sites of operation. The Corporation’s drilling rigs 115 and 116 are portable by helicopter and have been maintained and preserved for future use.

There are a number of other petroleum projects and substantive nation-building projects including infrastructure, ‎electrification, telecommunications and defence projects planned for the development of PNG. ‎These ‎projects will require access to transport and material handling machinery, quality worksite and temporary ‎road mats and a substantive amount of labour including skilled equipment operators, qualified tradespeople and engineers, ‎geoscientists and other professionals. ‎High Arctic’s business continues to position itself to be a meaningful supplier of services, equipment and manpower for this market.

NON-IFRS MEASURES
This Press Release contains references to certain financial measures that do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and may not be comparable to the same or similar measures used by other companies. High Arctic Overseas uses these financial measures to assess performance and believes these measures provide useful supplemental information to shareholders and investors. These financial measures are computed on a consistent basis for each reporting period and include Oilfield services operating margin, EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), Adjusted EBITDA, Operating loss, Funds flow from operating activities, Working capital and Net cash. These do not have standardized meanings.

These financial measures should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), cash from operating activities, current assets or current liabilities, cash and/or other measures of financial performance as determined in accordance with IFRS.

For additional information regarding non-IFRS measures, including their use to management and investors and reconciliations to measures recognized by IFRS, please refer to the Corporation’s Q3 2024 MD&A, which is available online at www.sedarplus.ca.

About High Arctic ‎Overseas Holdings Corp.

High Arctic Overseas is a market leader in Papua New Guinea providing drilling ‎and specialized well completion services, manpower solutions and supplies rental equipment including rig matting, camps, material ‎handling and drilling support equipment.

For further information, please contact:

Mike Maguire
Chief Executive Officer
1.587.320.1301

High Arctic Overseas Holdings Corp.
Suite 2350, 330–5th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 0L4
www.higharctic.com
Email: info@higharctic.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “seek”, “propose”, “estimate”, “expect”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Corporation’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Corporation’s actual results, performance, or achievements to vary from those described in this Press Release.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this Press Release as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Specific forward-looking statements in this Press Release include, among others, statements pertaining to the following: future energy projects including drilling activity and LNG projects in PNG; the Corporation’s ability to participate in the energy industry in PNG; potential future contracts with existing or new customers of the Corporation; future infrastructure and defence projects in PNG and the ability of the Corporation to participate in same; the Corporation’s expectations related to financial and operational results in 2025, including the expectation that the equipment rental and manpower services portion of the Corporation’s business will be the primary revenue generating activity for fiscal 2025; the timing and ability of the Corporation to put its own administrative infrastructure in place; the ability of the Corporation to expand its geographic customer base outside of PNG; and the deploying idle heli-portable drilling rigs 115 and 116 and securing future work with other exploration companies in PNG.

With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release, the Corporation has made assumptions regarding, among other things: general economic and business conditions; the role of the energy services industry in future phases of the energy industry; the outlook for energy services both globally and within PNG; the impact of conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; the timing and impact on the Corporation’s business related to potential new large-scale natural resources projects and increased drilling activity in PNG; the impact, if any, related to existing or future changes to government regulations by the government of PNG; the impact, if any, on the Corporation’s future financial and operational results related to non-resource development opportunities in PNG; market fluctuations in commodity prices, and foreign currency exchange rates; restrictions on repatriation of funds held in PNG; expectations regarding the Corporation’s ability to manage its liquidity risk, raise capital and manage its debt finance agreements; projections of market prices and costs; factors upon which the Corporation will decide whether or not to undertake a specific course of operational action or expansion; the Corporation’s ongoing relationship with its major customers; customers’ drilling intentions; the Corporation’s ability to position itself to be a significant supplier of services, equipment and manpower for other resource and non-resources based projects in PNG; the Corporation’s ability to invest in additional capital assets, including the impact on the Corporation’s future financial and operational results; the impact, if any, of geo-political events, changes in government, changes to tariff’s or related trade policies and the potential impact on the Corporation’s ability to execute on its 2025 business plan and strategic objectives; the Corporation’s ability to: maintain its ongoing relationship with major customers; successfully market its services to current and new customers; devise methods for, and achieve its primary objectives; source and obtain equipment from suppliers; successfully manage, operate, and thrive in an environment which is facing much uncertainty; remain competitive in all its operations; attract and retain skilled employees; and obtain equity and debt financing on satisfactory terms and manage liquidity related risks. While the Corporation considers these assumptions to be reasonable, the assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies.

A description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the Corporation’s disclosure documents on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. These statements are given only as of the date of this Press Release. The Corporation does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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

The MIL Network –

April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Senator Coons condemns President Trump’s disastrous first 100 days in speech on Senate floor

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) delivered a floor speech tonight criticizing President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, describing a period marked by weakened global alliances, harsh cuts to foreign aid, and an overhaul of key federal agencies.
Today marks the 100th day of President Trump’s second term, and Senator Coons’ early review of his presidency is that he has made Americans less prosperous and less secure, both at home and abroad. Trump has disrupted long-standing diplomatic relationships and global partnerships by recklessly imposing tariffs on nearly every country and asserting that he will take over Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. Our closest allies and partners have responded with unease and outright resistance. In his speech, Senator Coons remarked on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s victory in Canada’s national election yesterday, an outcome viewed as a rejection of Trump’s policies.
He also expressed concern over the administration’s dismantling of foreign aid and health programs, warning that it makes Americans less safe and creates an opportunity for our adversaries like China. Additionally, Senator Coons highlighted his visit to Taiwan this month to bolster U.S.-Taiwan relations and stand against China’s attempts to limit Taiwan’s role on the global stage.
Senator Coons also called for Congress to reassert its constitutional responsibilities as Trump pushes the boundaries of executive power.
A video and transcript of Senator Coons’ comments are available below.
WATCH HERE
Senator Coons: In a hundred days – in a hundred days – what can a president accomplish?
The last hundred days, President Trump has made Americans less safe, less prosperous, and less free.
He has chosen to move us in a direction at home and abroad that is the opposite of what those who voted for him expected, and that is aligned with what those of us who worked against him feared.
What I’ve heard my whole life, whether in business or in foreign policy, as a lawyer or in my community as a local elected official – folks need trust, and they need predictability. Businesses say they need predictability in order to decide what to invest in, who to hire, where to grow. Other countries around the world say that they need to know they can trust us, that they can rely on us. And in the last hundred days, President Trump has shattered both of them. I’m going to speak for a few minutes about foreign policy because so many of my colleagues in my caucus have stood to talk about the disastrous cuts led by Elon Musk and DOGE, and the ways they’ve impacted Americans all over the country.
But if you think about our reputation globally –statement after statement, tweet after tweet by President Trump has puzzled, concerned, even alarmed our allies. He’s going to invade Greenland, a NATO ally. He’s going to take back the Panama Canal. He’s going to take over the Gaza Strip and make it ‘Mar-a-Gaza.’ He’s going to turn Canada into the 51st State. One of my Republican colleagues said, ‘don’t pay so much attention to what he says, look what he does.’ Well, lots of our partners and allies looked at what he has done by imposing tariffs on allies and partners, and recoiled.
In an election in Canada last night, where Trump was the issue, [they] elected a new prime minister, Mark Carney, who ran on a platform of standing up to America, of standing up to Donald Trump. Look, folks, the actions he’s taken, in slashing foreign aid, in abandoning decades-old bipartisan programs around the world that save lives, and that help other countries to trust and rely on us, have weakened us abroad and created openings for our pacing threat – the People’s Republic of China. I was recently in the Philippines, a nation that faces more natural disasters than any country on Earth – more typhoons, more earthquakes, more volcanoes. And for decades, they’ve relied on the United States and the help of USAID, volunteers, nonprofits – coordinated through our government – to respond to these disasters. It has built a long and close partnership of trust. Gone.
I was recently in Taiwan, a country looking to decide whether they can rely on us should China make real their threats to reunite Taiwan with the mainland by force. Can they trust us? Well, what I’m going to say is that in a hundred days, President Trump has shown weakness in Europe and created openings for China. We have long relied on a global network of allies and partners to keep us safe and strong, to make us prosperous, and to build our role in the world. China doesn’t have that. They have nervous neighbors and client states, countries that can’t count on them and view them as predatory. Yet, now through the actions of President Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE, and the silence and collaboration of Republicans in this chamber, even our closest, most trusted allies, like Canada, question whether they can count on us.
Back to the Reagan days, Republicans have talked about ‘peace through strength.’ What we’ve seen from Donald Trump in a hundred days: ‘weakness through chaos.’ A hundred days in, he’s not stopping Putin, he’s preparing to sell out Ukraine and Europe to Putin. A hundred days in, he’s not deterring Xi Jinping––he’s backing down every time he says he’s going to stand up to him. At the end of the day, these first hundred days have shown that we are weaker. The world is less stable. Americans are less safe.
And I have to say, Madam President, a hundred days is more than enough time for my Republican colleagues to have seen enough, to stand up to this president, and to restore the role of this Senate and return our position of strength to the world. Thank you.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI: DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. Announces Purchase of Two Megawatts of AI Data Center Infrastructure

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (OTCQB: DMGGF) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) (“DMG” or the “Company”), a vertically integrated blockchain and data center technology company, announces it has signed a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) for two megawatts of Prefabricated Data Center (“PDC”) infrastructure for a confidential consideration with the same undisclosed counterparty (“Counterparty”) with which it has an MOU signed in February 2025 to purchase 10 megawatts of PDC infrastructure.

This asset purchase payment is in lieu of the previously disclosed US$5M upfront payment with the balance of the to-be-agreed-upon price based on future DMG revenue resulting from artificial intelligence (AI) computing off-take agreements. The Company intends to move the two megawatts of purchased PDC units to either its Christina Lake data center, Malahat Nation lands and/or a temporary storage location in the coming months. DMG intends to acquire the remaining available PDC infrastructure under the original 10-megawatt MOU terms.

Since the signing of the MOU, DMG has made progress with respect to engaging Canadian government entities and enterprises for off-take agreements. DMG has up to 180 days to demonstrate progress towards reaching off-take agreements to maintain its exclusivity towards closing a definitive agreement to acquire the balance of the available PDC units. DMG will issue an additional news release related to the final structure and terms of the potential transaction, and other material information if and when it becomes available.

DMG intends to deploy the PDC units at one or more locations, as the PDC infrastructure can be partitioned into smaller units due to its modular nature. While the infrastructure forms the basis for an AI data center, it does not include medium-voltage power distribution, battery storage or backup power generation, the configuration and amount of which have yet to be determined. Additionally, the PDC is not facilitated with computing, networking nor storage systems, all of which will need to be installed to realize revenue from potential AI off-take agreements.

DMG’s CEO Sheldon Bennett stated, “This purchase gives us the foundational capacity to begin moving forward on our AI infrastructure strategy and is appropriately sized, as we believe it is likely that Canadian Sovereign and Private AI installations are likely to start modest in size compared to the large US hyperscalers. Owning this infrastructure gives a unique time to market advantage, which is critical as Canadian government and enterprise entities scramble to protect themselves against international geopolitical forces beyond their control. We also believe this purchase is the most capital efficient way for which we can begin to build a critical mass of AI infrastructure, helping us to maximize our return to shareholders.”

DMG Operational Update

In line with prior guidance, DMG has energized approximately two megawatts of additional hydro mining capacity and has reached 2.0 EH/s hashrate. It expects to energize the remaining two megawatt balance of its 6 megawatt hydro mining deployment plan in the coming week and reach 2.1 EH/s. As the increasing network difficulty has resulted in decreased profitability and the Company has observed heat sensitivity for its Bitmain T21 fleet, DMG may choose to downclock at least a portion of its fleet, which may result in a net fleet hashrate modestly below 2.1 EH/s.

Systemic Trust Company Update

DMG announces that Alvin Leung has been appointed as the acting Chief Executive Officer of Systemic Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of DMG, with effect as of April 25, 2025. The Company accepted Lawrence Truong’s resignation as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of System Trust Company.

About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.

DMG is a publicly traded and vertically integrated blockchain and data center technology company that manages, operates and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the digital asset and artificial intelligence compute ecosystems. Systemic Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of DMG, is an integral component of DMG’s carbon-neutral Bitcoin ecosystem, which enables financial institutions to move bitcoin in a sustainable and regulatory-compliant manner.

For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: www.dmgblockchain.com
Follow @dmgblockchain on X and subscribe to DMG’s YouTube channel.

For further information, please contact:

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Sheldon Bennett, CEO & Director
Tel: +1 (778) 300-5406
Email: investors@dmgblockchain.com
Web: www.dmgblockchain.com

For Investor Relations:
investors@dmgblockchain.com

For Media Inquiries:
Chantelle Borrelli
Head of Communications
chantelle@dmgblockchain.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information or statements based on current expectations. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include the execution of a definitive agreement for the PDC and the timing thereof, the expected benefits and outcomes of the PDC including the potential AI computing off-take agreements, adding computing, networking and storage systems to the PDC infrastructure, all of which will need to be installed to realize revenue from potential AI off-take agreements, energize the remaining two megawatt balance of its 6 megawatt hydro mining, increase hashrate subject to any potential downclocking at least a portion of its fleet, the Company’s strategy for growth, the planned monetization of certain product and service offerings, developing and executing on the Company’s products, services and business plans, the launch of products and services, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Company’s technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information.

Future changes in the Bitcoin network-wide mining difficulty or Bitcoin hashrate may materially affect the future performance of DMG’s production of bitcoin, and future operating results could also be materially affected by the price of bitcoin and an increase in hashrate and mining difficulty.

Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as “may”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” and “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, market and other conditions, volatility in the trading price of the common shares of the Company, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoin; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG’s bitcoin; DMG’s relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG’s facilities; DMG’s ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers’ needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG’s business. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to the Company’s filings on www.sedarplus.ca. In addition, DMG’s past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of viruses and diseases on the Company’s ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoin from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMG’s products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, adverse weather or climate events, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, equipment failures, decrease in the price of Bitcoin, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

The MIL Network –

April 30, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 30, 2025

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 30, 2025.

Locked up for life? Unpacking South Australia’s new child sex crime laws
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Xanthe Mallett, Criminologist, CQUniversity Australia Melnikov Dmitriy/Shutterstock It’s election time, which means the age old “tough on crime” rhetoric is being heralded by many politicians aiming to score votes. Opposition leader Peter Dutton is pushing for a national public sex offender register. Currently only Western Australia has

Why do dogs eat poo? A canine scientist explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Cobb, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne nygi/Unsplash When miniature dachshund Valerie was captured after 529 days alone in the wilds of Australia’s Kangaroo Island, experts speculated she survived partly by eating other animals’ poo. While this survival tactic may have saved

On ‘moral panic’ and the courage to speak – the West’s silence on Gaza
Palestinians do not have the luxury to allow Western moral panic to have its say or impact. Not caving in to this panic is one small, but important, step in building a global Palestine network that is urgently needed, writes Dr Ilan Pappé ANALYSIS: By Ilan Pappé Responses in the Western world to the genocide

Sick of eating the same things? 5 ways to boost your nutrition and keep meals interesting and healthy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle Loquellano/Pexels Did you start 2025 with a promise to eat better but didn’t quite get there? Or maybe you want to branch out from making the same meal every week or the same lunch for work

Peace in our time? Why NZ should resist Trump’s one-sided plan for Ukraine
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MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Markey, Huffman, Fitzpatrick Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect the Arctic Refuge

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Washington (April 29, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.), today reintroduced the Arctic Refuge Protection Act, legislation that will restore critical protections to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—the nation’s largest national wildlife refuge—by designating the Coastal Plain ecosystem as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System. This legislation would permanently halt any new oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, and drilling on the Coastal Plain, and would safeguard the subsistence rights of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples who depend upon the Arctic Refuge.
“Trump’s reopening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas is another attempt to revive his old and failed promise of a fictional financial windfall from leasing the Refuge—all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. The urgency to protect the wilderness of the Coastal Plain and the Refuge more broadly and reaffirm the sovereignty of Arctic Indigenous peoples is paramount—my Arctic Refuge Protection Act would do just that,” said Senator Markey. “We must put a law on the books to affirm these lands are not for sale and defend the Arctic landscape—a sacred home for Indigenous peoples, including the Gwich’in and Inupait—from Trump’s disastrous business plan.”
“What we choose to protect says everything about who we are. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is too special to destroy, and we have a responsibility to keep it that way,” said Ranking Member Huffman. “The Refuge is one of the last truly wild places left on the planet — home to caribou herds, polar bears, migratory birds, and breathtaking landscapes. But it’s more than that. It’s about standing with the Gwich’in people, who’ve spent generations protecting this land, living with the caribou herds, and preserving a way of life that predates the fossil fuel industry by thousands of years and continues to this day. Now, President Trump wants to turn the Arctic Refuge into a corporate cash grab, a place where oil companies could frack up the tundra while trampling tribal sovereignty and leaving Americans with nothing but spills and broken promises. This land belongs to the American people and to the Gwich’in, not to Big Oil.”
“Protecting the Arctic Refuge is not only an environmental imperative—it’s a strategic one. This land holds immense ecological value, cultural significance, and climate importance. Reckless development would endanger wildlife, violate Indigenous rights, and yield little economic return. As Co-Chair of the World Wildlife, Oceanic, Environmental and Biodiversity Caucus, I’m proud to support this legislation to protect one of America’s last wild frontiers—because conservation is not a cost, it’s a long-term investment in our security, economy, and planet,” said Representative Fitzpatrick.
“The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a pristine, million-year-old ecosystem unlike anything else we have in the United States, which is why it should be permanently protected,” said Senator Cantwell. “The future of the Arctic is in tourism, and with new sea routes opening up the real value of this land is conservation, not exploitation.”
“The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of our country’s most unique and beautiful areas of land. We must work with our indigenous communities to protect our wildlife, and the environment put at risk by oil and gas development in this spectacular refuge. Rather than catering to the interests of the oil companies, we must focus our efforts on diversifying our energy sources with renewable energy and prevent further harm to the environment,” said Senator Schiff.
“We commend our congressional champions for taking a stand to protect one of America’s last great wild places. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain is not only a sanctuary for wildlife—it is sacred land for the Gwich’in and a symbol of our nation’s commitment to conservation. Selling off this land for oil and gas is not only destructive, it’s bad economics. The last Arctic Refuge lease sale was a failure, proving there is no real demand—only a handout to billion-dollar corporations at the expense of taxpayers. This legislation is a crucial step in permanently protecting this irreplaceable landscape from exploitation. Now, more than ever, Congress must prioritize our public lands and Indigenous rights by restoring protections to the Arctic Refuge and ensuring this land remains unexploited for generations to come,” said Kristen Miller, Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League.
“We applaud the leadership of Sen. Markey and Reps. Huffman and Fitzpatrick for reintroducing the Arctic Refuge Protection Act,” said Mary Glaves, Alaska Coordinator for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “For hunters and anglers, the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain is the birth place of wild pursuits of caribou, waterfowl, and iconic fish species including Dolly Varden and Arctic Char. The abysmal interest in both the 2020 and 2025 lease sales demonstrates the bad economics of drilling in the Arctic Refuge. The wetlands and rivers weave together one of the last truly wild landscapes that are essential for the North American heritage of hunting and fishing and subsistence for local Alaskan communities. The Arctic Refuge is a national treasure that should be protected as such through a wilderness designation.”
“The Arctic Refuge is no place for drilling. It is a sanctuary for caribou, musk oxen, polar bears, wolves, and other wildlife. The Arctic Refuge Protection Act is a clear acknowledgment of that fact. Even the biggest players in the oil industry recognized that drilling in the Refuge was an absurd proposition when they failed to show up for recent lease sales,” said Alexandra Adams, Chief Policy Advocacy Officer at NRDC. “This bill would end an ongoing threat to this treasured place by forever barring industrialization of the Refuge.”
Background
The Arctic Refuge is one of the last truly wild places left in America. The Coastal Plain is the calving ground of the Porcupine caribou herd, the source of the Indigenous Gwich’in people’s way of life and subsistence for generations. It also provides a critical denning habitat for threatened Southern Beaufort Sea populations of polar bears. Oil and gas exploration, seismic testing, and all of the infrastructure that comes with oil drilling – from roads to pipelines to pumpjacks – would threaten polar bears in their dens, disrupt caribou and bird migration patterns, and result in significant and irreversible harm to the unique Arctic Refuge habitat and the Indigenous communities who depend on it.
For the Gwich’in people, who refer to the Coastal Plain as “Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit” or the Sacred Place Where Life Begins, this land is more than wildlife habitat. It is cultural identity, food security, and a foundation for traditions that span millennia into the current day. The caribou herd is central to their traditions and survival, and industrial development in the region threatens not just an ecosystem, but an entire way of life. The Gwich’in, which span across Alaska and Canada, have been united in their opposition to drilling in the Refuge for decades and have called on the federal government to uphold its trust responsibilities and protect these lands permanently.
Developing the Refuge’s unproven oil and gas reserves would also pose a serious danger to the climate, locking in decades of emissions in a region already warming four times faster than the global average.
For decades, the Refuge’s coastal plain has been targeted for highly speculative oil and gas drilling. In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act established an oil and gas leasing program along with a requirement that the Department of the Interior conduct two lease sales in the coastal plain before the end of 2024. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate at the time, these lease sales would result in $1.82 billion in revenue over 10 years. Seven years later, those projections have proven wildly inaccurate.
The first lease sale brought in only $14.4 million in bids on 11 tracts, a far cry from the nearly $2 billion in estimated revenue. Major oil companies didn’t participate in the sale, and most major financial institutions have pledged not to finance drilling there. The most recent lease sale in January of this year generated no interest. Despite the lack of interest or activity, the risk of development and drilling in the Arctic Refuge remains.
On his first day in office, President Trump restarted the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program and reinstated seven leases from the state development corporation, which were previously canceled by the Biden administration. Congressional Republicans may once again use oil and gas leasing to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, despite its catastrophic failure to raise revenue in 2017.
The Senate bill is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The House bill is cosponsored by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Madeline Dean (D-Pa.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.), George Latimer (D-N.Y.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).
The bill was endorsed by National Audubon Society, Gwich’in Steering Committee, Alaska Wilderness League, Trustees for Alaska, The Wilderness Society, League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, World Wildlife Fund, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Environment America.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 30, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Peace in our time? Why NZ should resist Trump’s one-sided plan for Ukraine

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago

GettyImages Getty Images

Is it possible to reconcile increased international support for Ukraine with Donald Trump’s plan to end the war? At their recent meeting in London, Christopher Luxon and his British counterpart Keir Starmer seemed to think so.

Starmer thanked New Zealand for its “support” for a “coalition of the willing” that would safeguard the implementation of a potential peace deal concluded by the Trump administration.

But unless something drastically changes in the near future, all the signs point to the US president envisaging a Ukraine peace settlement on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s terms.

According to that view, peace can only be achieved if Ukraine is prepared to accept that territories wholly or partially annexed by Russia now belong to Moscow.

In 2014, Russia seized Crimea on the Black Sea. Following the illegal 2022 invasion, Russia claimed four parts of eastern and southern Ukraine as its own – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and the Zaporizhzhia region.

At the same time, Trump’s peace deal includes a provision that rules out NATO membership for Ukraine. This meets a key Russian demand that seeks to deny Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its own security arrangements.

According to Trump, Putin’s major concession is the promise that Russia will not annex the rest of Ukraine – something Moscow has been trying to do for the past three years.

To accept this, however, liberal democracies such as New Zealand and Britain would be tacitly signalling they share common values and interests with the Trump administration and its apparent enthusiasm for a geopolitical partnership with Putin’s dictatorship.

And in some ways, Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative is a bigger challenge for New Zealand than it is for Britain.

Keir Starmer and Christopher Luxon speak to the media during a visit to a UK military base training Ukrainian troops, April 22.
Getty Images

Lessons of the past

Like Britain, New Zealand fought in two world wars in the 20th century to advance, among other things, certain key international principles. These included state sovereignty and a prohibition on the use of force to change borders, principles subsequently enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

But unlike Britain, New Zealand is a relatively small state that does not have a veto in the UN Security Council to protect its interests. Consequently, it is even more dependent on an international rules-based order for its security and prosperity.

For New Zealand, Trump’s current Ukraine peace plan is a clear and present danger because it would set such a terrible precedent.

Under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons (left over from when it was part of the Soviet Union) in return for assurances from Russia, the US and UK that recognised Ukrainian independence and the inviolability of its existing borders.

The Trump administration’s plan, however, insists Ukraine must accept the illegal and partial dismemberment of its territory to attain peace with Russia.

Rewarding Russian aggression in this way is tantamount to a failure to learn the historical lessons of the 20th century. In particular, it seems to forget the period during the 1930s when Britain tried in vain to appease an expansionist Nazi regime in Germany.

Trump’s peace plan basically endorses the idea that “might is right” and that it is fine for great powers or big countries to steal land from smaller countries.

Adjusting NZ foreign policy

In Trump’s top-down world view, multilateral institutions and international law are regarded as superfluous at best and an enemy at worst.

In such a world, relatively small powers such as New Zealand, with “no cards to play” at the top table, must either submit to the dominance of great powers (including the US) or suffer the consequences.

Moreover, there is a real risk that Trump’s stance toward Putin’s regime will be viewed as weakness by China, Russia’s most important backer. This could embolden Beijing to increasingly assert itself in the Indo-Pacific, including the Pacific Islands region, where New Zealand has core strategic interests.

Trump’s plan for Ukraine brings into sharp focus what has already been evident from other recent trends: a domestic slide toward autocracy in Washington, the unilateral imposition of tariffs, and territorial threats against close allies Canada and Denmark.

As European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put it, “The West as we knew it no longer exists.”

The transactional nature of Trump’s leadership – including that peace in Ukraine can be bought with mineral rights and territorial trade-offs – suggests the US can no longer be relied on to provide a security guarantee for liberal democracies in Europe or elsewhere.

The current New Zealand government needs to find the self-confidence and resolve to admit Trump is backing Putin’s imperial project in Ukraine. And it needs to adjust its foreign policy accordingly.

This does not mean Wellington should weaken its traditional friendship with the US.

On the contrary, many Americans might expect and welcome the prospect of New Zealand clearly and publicly standing against their president’s dangerous alignment with an authoritarian regime at Ukraine’s expense.

Robert G. Patman 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. Peace in our time? Why NZ should resist Trump’s one-sided plan for Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/peace-in-our-time-why-nz-should-resist-trumps-one-sided-plan-for-ukraine-255495

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: IAM Union Members Bringing the Fight to Capitol Hill at 2025 Legislative Conference

Source: US GOIAM Union

Approximately 400 IAM Union activists have converged on the nation’s capital for the 2025 IAM Legislative Conference, held April 29 through May 1. At a time of growing economic uncertainty, political upheaval, and ongoing attacks on working people, IAM members are making their voices heard in the halls of Congress.

Delegates from across the United States are using the three-day conference to engage directly with policymakers, pressing them to take action on a wide range of legislative priorities. From protecting collective bargaining rights for federal workers to strengthening retirement and healthcare security, from defending domestic manufacturing to passing the long-stalled Rail Safety Act, and other critical issues, IAM members are making clear demands for a pro-worker agenda.

The conference officially opened with powerful remarks from IAM International President Brian Bryant, IAM Canadian Territory General Vice President David Chartrand, and IAM National Political and Legislative Director Hasan Solomon. Each leader underscored the urgency of the moment and the stakes for working families across North America.

IAM International President Brian Bryant opened the conference by welcoming delegates and calling attention to the growing threats facing working people, many of which, he noted, are coming directly from the White House.

“What happens here in Washington, D.C. – and in every state across the country – affects all of us, every second of every day,” said Bryant. “Elected officials can strengthen – or weaken – our collective bargaining rights, our pay, our healthcare, our retirement, our democracy, and so much more. We’re not fighting for Republican or Democratic issues – we’re fighting for IAM Union issues.”

“This week is all about fighting for our union and our members, it’s about showing that the power of the people is always more powerful than the people in power, and it’s about taking this country back for working people instead of billionaires,” continued Bryant.

IAM members will hear from policymakers, union allies in Congress, and policy experts throughout the week. Scheduled speakers will address topics ranging from domestic policy to defending democracy and countering corporate influence in government.

In his remarks, IAM Canadian Territory General Vice President David Chartrand spoke to the shared economic challenges and responsibilities between the United States and Canada, especially amid increasing tensions with China, as the need for cooperation to preserve national security and economic stability.

“We need to work together to make sure there’s fairness in the workplace,” said Chartrand.

IAM National Political and Legislative Director Hasan Solomon also addressed delegates, highlighting the IAM’s growing influence on Capitol Hill and the need for grassroots activism to hold elected officials accountable.

“We are here to take care of business,” said Solomon. “This week, we are here to hold our elected officials accountable.”

The IAM Legislative Conference is a vital opportunity for members to engage in the political process, share their personal stories with lawmakers, and shape the future of the labor movement. As economic pressures continue to mount and corporate interests tighten their grip on the political system, IAM delegates are delivering a clear message: the needs of working people must come first.

As the week continues, IAM members will meet with dozens of House and Senate offices, ensuring that the voices of workers are heard loud and clear.

It’s almost time!

The 2025 IAM Legislative Conference is bringing together passionate IAM Union members ready to make a difference on Capitol Hill.
⁰#IAM2025 #UnionStrong pic.twitter.com/7wfSdPnxoK

— IAM Union (@IAM_Union) April 29, 2025

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MIL OSI USA News –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: King Delivers his Own ‘Declaration of Conscience’ Nearly 75 Years after Former Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
To watch the floor speech, click here
WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today spoke on the Senate floor to commemorate the 75th anniversary of former U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s (R-ME) ‘Declaration of Conscience’ speech. The speech, delivered on June 1, 1950, would be the defining moment in which a Republican stood up to her own party in defense of American democracy.
More specifically, King called on his colleagues in both parties to remember her legacy and “…stop thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and start thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques-techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”
More on former U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith can be found here. The original Declaration of Conscience speech transcript can be found here.
The full transcript of Senator King’s floor speech from this afternoon is below.
+++
Mr. President,
Almost 75 years ago, the junior Senator from Maine rose in this chamber to deliver a speech from her heart about a crisis then facing our country, a crisis not arising from a foreign adversary but from within.
A crisis that threatened the values and ideals at the base of the American experiment. Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s ‘Declaration of Conscience’ turned out to be one of the most important speeches of the Twentieth Century and defined her for the ages as a person of extraordinary courage and principle. Here she is with her famous red rose which always wore on her lapel.
Now, I should admit up front that I worked for the candidate Bill Hathaway who defeated Smith in 1972, but Smith and I made it up years later when I was producing a documentary on her life for Maine PBS. In fact, as we began the project, I was so worried that she might resent my having worked for her opponent, so I sent her a letter confessing my role in her last campaign.
Her response was pure Margaret Smith:
“Dear Angus King, it is perfectly alright with me that you once worked for Mr. Hathaway. Yours sincerely, Margaret Chase Smith.”
Simple as that. In working together on the documentary, she shared some fascinating background on the famous speech, including that she drafted it by hand at her kitchen table in her hometown of Skowhegan, Maine over Memorial Day weekend of 1950.
After returning to Washington a couple of days later, she steeled her resolve and headed to the Senate floor. As luck would have it, when she got in the trolly from the Russell building, there next to her sat Senator Joe McCarthy who was the subject of the speech.
“Why are you looking so serious, Margaret?” he asked. “Because I’m on my way to make a speech, Joe, and you’re not going to like it.”
Smith told me that she was so nervous about the speech and the breach it would make in her relationship with Senator McCarthy—this was the height of the Red Scare of the early fifties, remember—that she told her chief aide, Bill Lewis, who was up in the press gallery, not to hand out the copies of the speech to the press until she started speaking on the floor, because she was afraid she might lose her nerve.
But she went through with it, and the rest is, quite literally, history.
Here is how Margaret Chase Smith began that speech—
“Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership either in the legislative branch or the executive branch of our government.”
Remember these are Margaret Chase Smith’s words 75 years ago. She continued,
“I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some real soul searching and to weigh our consciences as to the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America and the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges.”
Later in the speech, here is one of her conclusions,
“It is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom.”
I think that’s very important Mr. President. She said,
“It is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques – techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”
Senator Smith’s speech had plenty of criticism of the Democratic Administration of that time, but the real focus of her urgent plea to her colleagues was the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy (whom she never mentioned by name) who had embarked upon an anti-communist crusade in a manner that threatened the principles of free speech and the rule of law embedded in our values as a nation—and in our Constitution. In other words it wasn’t McCarthy’s anti-communism she objected to, it was the manner in which he carried it out.
Mr. President, I fear that we are at a similar moment in history. And while today’s ‘serious national condition’ is not involving the actions of one of our colleagues, it is involving those of the President of the United States.
Echoing Senator Smith, today’s crisis should not be viewed as a partisan issue; this is not about Democrats or Republicans, or immigration or tax policy, or even the next set of elections; today’s crisis threatens the idea of America and the system of government that has sustained us for more than two centuries.
Again, this is not about the President’s agenda (although yes, I disagree with most of it), it’s about the manner in which he is pursuing it—which includes ignoring the Constitution and the rule of law—and it’s this roughshod non-process that endangers all of us, his detractors and supporters alike.
What’s at stake is simple and, in fact, was the driving force behind the basic design of our Constitution—the grave danger to any society is the concentration of power in one set of hands.
The paradox at the heart of the structure of any democratic government is that power is given to the government to protect and serve the people, but at the same time the people must be protected from that same power being used against them. Madison put it clearly in the 51st Federalist:
“But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”
Precautions that go beyond regular elections. And the most important of those “auxiliary precautions” is the explicit separation of powers between the executive and the legislature, at the heart of our Constitution better known as checks and balances. My fear is this phrase has become such a cliche that we don’t recognize it as the fundamental premise of our Constitutional system.
There’s nothing new about the recognition of the danger of concentrated power; the ancient Romans summed it up with a question: “Quis custodiet, ipsos custodes?” or “Who will guard the guardians?”
Another way to put this is a universal principle of human nature, “All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
It’s important to emphasize that the danger I am describing isn’t based upon institutional jealousy, a loss of the prerogatives of the Senate, or the politics of Democrats and Republicans; it’s about the violation of the very deliberate division of power between the legislature and the executive which as I said is the heart of the Constitution. It’s there for a reason to see that power is not concentrated in one set of hands. It is the most important bulwark between our citizens and—let’s call it what it is—tyranny.
Again, Madison warned us in no uncertain terms, this time in the 47th Federalist:
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” Madison’s word, “Tyranny.” And later in the same essay, “There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person.”
“There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person.”
And yet, this “accumulation of all powers” is exactly what is happening today, before our very eyes. Although many in this body unfortunately seem determined to ignore it, deliberately ignore it, the evidence is everywhere: from the elimination of Congressionally-established agencies to the withholding of appropriated funds (an appropriations bill is a law, by the way. It is not a suggestion to the executive about where he or she should spend money, but a law) to issuing executive orders purporting to be law in place of legislation to sidestepping if not ignoring court orders:
This President is engaged in the most direct assault on the Constitution in our history, and we in this body, at least thus far, are inert—and therefore complicit.
It’s worth pausing for a moment to look at the terms of Article II which outlines the powers and responsibilities of the President. At the outset, it must be remembered that the Declaration of Independence was directed specifically at the depredations of the British King, and later, that the Framers had recently come through a brutal eight-year war against that same king. It is clear that a monarchy was exactly what the Framers were trying to avoid in the structure of the new government and it explains the limited powers granted to the President in Article II.
So, let’s look at Article II. In light of this anti-monarchical intent, Article II only gives the President one-and-half unilateral powers—the power to issue pardons and the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in wartime, but even this latter is constrained by the reservation to the Congress of the power to declare war.
With these two exceptions, all the other powers granted to the President—appointment of judges and federal officials, making treaties with other countries, vetoing legislation—are all bounded in some respect by the requirement of Congressional assent. I want to repeat, Article II is not a broad grant of authority to the president, it is anything but. It’s a restriction on the powers of the president.
And here is the most important phrase in Article II. The principal responsibility of the President, however, is spelled out explicitly in Article II—the chief executive “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
It doesn’t say that only the laws he agrees with, or that he has any power whatsoever to make laws; his job is simply to execute the laws passed by Congress, without exception—a responsibility this President is spectacularly failing to meet. To take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
And while this is the most serious breach of our Constitutional order, the Administration has also taken a series of apparently unconnected actions, which, taken together, spell out our rapid path toward one-man rule, or tyranny as Madison would say.
In the style of the Declaration of Independence, here’s a partial list, only where the Declaration says “he” it’s referring to the King as the King of England; “he” as used in my list, however, refers to the President:
He has enabled the random firing of personnel throughout the government without regard to the importance of the job or the qualifications of the individual, which has severely compromised the ability of the affected agencies to carry out the purposes Congress intended, the very antithesis of faithfully executing the laws; the very antithesis of faithfully executing the laws.
He has enabled the dismemberment of agencies providing essential services to the American people, most particularly in the Social Security and Veterans Administrations, by people who literally don’t know what they are doing, again in violation of his responsibility to faithfully execute the laws creating those agencies and programs;
He has systematically, early in the Administration, fired independent Inspectors General throughout the government—whose job it is to find fraud, corruption and malfeasance in agency programs—in clear violation of federal law and apparent intent to govern without constraints;
He has used the power of the government to threaten, intimidate, and extort private law firms for the supposed offense of representing clients he doesn’t like, an exercise of governmental power nowhere found in the Constitution, and a clear violation of the very structure of our legal system;
He has used the power of the government to threaten and intimidate former government officials based upon actions and statements with which he disagrees, thereby sending the message throughout the government that pleasing the President is more important than telling the truth. Again, he has no such power under the Constitution, and the result of this abuse of his office is the opposite of faithfully executing the laws;
He has openly threatened media platforms—particularly television networks—with license revocation or other punishment for airing content he doesn’t like, in clear violation of the First Amendment, one of the fundamental bulwarks of our freedoms. For a president of the United States to threaten a media firm with revocation of their license or other forms of punishment for content he doesn’t like, that’s the antithesis of the First Amendment. The compromise of the free press has been a sign of incipient despotism throughout history—right up to the present day;
He has used the power of the government (including the impoundment of Congressionally appropriated funds and threatening tax-exempt status) to threaten and intimidate private universities in order to force them to adopt policies to his liking, again, a power found nowhere in the Constitution, nowhere in Article II;
He has enabled a national program of arrest and deportation of individuals in this country with no due process whatsoever, and even when it is admitted that at least one such individual was sent to a foreign prison by mistake, he has refused to make any effort to return that person to his home despite court orders—including an unanimous order of the United States Supreme Court—that he do so; this entire process is a violation of the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments and certainly isn’t consistent with his obligation to faithfully execute the laws.
He has openly suggested the possibility of sending U.S. citizens to a foreign prison for undefined crimes, thereby placing them outside the reach of our criminal justice system, including the Constitutionally guaranteed right to counsel;
He has abused the limited powers delegated to him by Congress in connection with tariffs and trade by declaring emergencies where none exist and single-handedly plunging our economy into chaos and risk of inflation, unemployment, and possible recession—a perfect example of the dangers of one-man rule. The Constitution specifically delegates to the congress in Article I, Section VII, Clause III, the power over trade and commerce among Nations. Congress delegated that power to the president under certain limited circumstances, that of an emergency, not that a president can define an emergency however he wants. I live in Maine. We are on the border of Canada. There is no emergency that justifies the imposition of tariffs with Canada. If he wants to propose a tariff against Canada, Britain, or any other country, he should come here because that’s our responsibility. We should debate it and chances are we would come up with a more rational solution than the one the made several weeks ago;
He has attempted to cut off funds to a single state—my own—because he took personal umbrage at our Governor’s refusal to bend to his policy preference which was inconsistent with the law of our state. Our Governor’s position was not on the issue of trans-athletes, it was on the issue of state and local control. The basic bedrock of our representative form of government.
Tellingly, during that exchange, he said, “We are the law,” a statement more suitable to a king and one which is wholly inconsistent with our form of government. By the way, Mr. President, an Executive Order is not law despite what the President seems to think. This “We are the Law” comment is a clear statement of an intent to govern as a sovereign without regard to the Constitution or the rule of law;
In a field that I have some special knowledge of, he has compromised national security by dismantling those agencies charged with defending our nation against the clear and present danger of cyber-attacks and firing many of those individuals—with no stated cause—who are best suited to mount such a defense;
He has further compromised national security by alienating our allies with his unlawful and indiscriminate imposition of tariffs which has severely undermined confidence in our country, again acting far in excess of the limited power over trade delegated by Congress. Mr. President, I have served for the past 12 years on Intelligence and Armed Services, and I have come to realize that our asymmetric advantage in the world is allies. China has customers, we have allies. To alienate our allies, without good reason, with no emergency, with no consultation with congress, with no consultation with the Foreign Affairs committee, with no consultation with anybody as far as I can tell, is a serious compromise of our national security, both in terms of our intelligence capabilities, but also who will come our aid in a time of trouble
Mr. President, this is not a complete list, but it does present a disturbing and dangerous pattern—that this President is attempting to govern as a monarch, unbound by law or Constitutional restraint, not as a President subject to the constraints of the Constitution and the rule of law.
Again, this not about his policies—whether they be mass deportations or trans athletes, trade and tariffs, or the appropriate levels of staffing in the federal government—no, the issue before us—and we can no longer avoid it—is the manner in which he is pursuing those policies which violates both the spirit and the express terms of our founding document.
And again, this is not about observing the boundaries prescribed by the Constitution just to check the appropriate boxes; this is about observing those boundaries to protect ourselves and our people from the abuse that inevitably—inevitably—flows from the unbridled concentration of power.
To those who like the policies of the President and are therefore willing to ignore the unconstitutional means of effectuating them, I (and history) can only say, watch out:
Today, the target may be the undocumented or federal workers, but tomorrow (perhaps under a different King-President), it could be you.
Once this power is concentrated into one set of hands, it’s going to be very difficult to get it back and it can turn that power against anybody who displeases the monarch. So what can we do? What are the guardrails and how can we buttress and support them?
The first guardrail is the Congress itself, the part of our government actually empowered to define policy, appropriate funds, and oversee the actions of the executive. But unfortunately, the majority in Congress has thus far wholly abdicated these fundamental responsibilities and, thus far, has shown little inclination to even recognize the danger, let alone take action to confront it.
We could reclaim our power, however, by pulling back the trade authority (there’s a bill to do that), instituting vigorous oversight of the activities of DOGE to determine to what extent their actions compromise congressional intent, or holding the President’s nominees and his prized tax bill until he ceases his attempts to make policy unilaterally, including impounding congressionally authorized and appropriated funds.
You know, do our job.
The second guardrail is the courts which are generally holding up their end of the Constitutional bargain, but they read the press just as we do and need to know that we are ready to reassume our powers and responsibilities. As easy as it may be for us to rely entirely on the courts to save us, that’s a cop-out; reclaiming power must be a joint project.
The final guardrail is the people, who more and more are speaking up—in rallies, in correspondence with us, in town meetings, and in conversations at the grocery store.
But their only real power, the midterm elections, don’t happen for 19 months, and in the meantime, the burden falls back to us.
I don’t think we have 19 months; given what’s happened in the first 100 days, we need to act now, before the awesome power of the United States’ government is consolidated into one set of hands. When that happens, there may be no going back.
No, we can’t escape the responsibility of our oath. Each of us swore, swore mind you, to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;” [and that we would] “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” The same being the Constitution.
Clearly, the Framers knew there might someday be “domestic” enemies of the Constitution and made it our sacred obligation to defend the Constitution from them.
(I should mention that Joe McCarthy primaried Senator Smith a few years after her speech as punishment to standing up to him, but to no avail, she cruched her opposition and won going away).
So, with thanks to Margaret Chase Smith for her example and inspiration, this is my ‘Declaration of Conscience.’ I don’t relish this moment, but feel I have no choice but call out the clear implications—and dangers—of what is happening.
What is happening day by day before our eyes; to do otherwise, to keep silent, would be to compromise what I have believed about our country since my first civics class in high school and, at about the same time, when I watched my dad risk his career to fight for justice and the rule of law.
And so, here I stand.
Abraham Lincoln came to the Congress in the midst of the Civil War—at a time when our forebears—like us—were reluctant to face the responsibilities that had been thrust upon them. At that critical moment, this is what Abraham Lincoln said:
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.”
Mr. President, I deeply hope that in the midst of our fiery trial, we will choose honor—and the Constitution.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: More campsites, new facilities opening at China Beach
Source: Government of Canada regional news

People visiting Juan de Fuca Park can soon enjoy more campsites, and new accessible washrooms and showers at China Beach Campground.

“For so many people, camping is a way to connect with family and friends, and spend time together in nature,” said Tamara Davidson, Minister of Environment and Parks. “That’s why we’re building more capacity with new, accessible campsites on Vancouver Island as more people choose to vacation within Canada and support our economy.”

Thirteen new campsites have been added to the popular campground, bringing the total number of campsites to 125. Eight of the new campsites are drive-in tent sites; the remaining five sites are walk-in. Two accessible-shower and flush-toilet buildings are also part of the project, which incorporates universal design standards where possible.

BC Parks has carried out the expansion project for China Beach campground in collaboration with the Pacheedaht First Nation, on whose territory Juan de Fuca Park is located.

The campground is scheduled to open May 15. Reservations for the new sites open May 1 for arrivals between May 15 and Sept. 1, 2025. After that, reservations will be available on a four-month rolling window.

In addition to the 13 new sites, 33 campsites (22 drive-in and 11-walk in) were added to the campground in spring 2024 as part of the $2.3-million expansion. Upgrades will also be made in fall 2025 to the nearby day-use parking area at China Beach to better accommodate the increasing number of visitors. The new parking area will have approximately 45 new stalls, a dedicated space for RVs and a turnaround area for large vehicles. A service centre with a pit toilet, bike racks and an information shelter is also part of the project.

“I’m pleased that BC Parks is delivering opportunities for more people to enjoy the natural environment at our doorstep by providing additional campsites and parking expansions at China Beach campground and day-use area,” said Dana Lajeunesse, MLA for Juan de Fuca-Malahat. “I was fortunate to have spent my childhood here and I have many fond memories of all the spectacular beaches in the area. BC Parks are more popular than ever, and I’m happy to see more opportunities for families and friends to enjoy more of what B.C. has to offer.”

The China Beach Campground and day-use parking-lot expansion is part of a five-year, $21.5-million investment to increase and improve opportunities for outdoor recreation throughout British Columbia. Upgrades include new campsites and trails, improvements to existing facilities and accessibility improvements.

Quick Facts:
- Juan de Fuca Park encompasses 1,528 hectares on Vancouver Island’s rugged southwest coast.
- The park includes campgrounds, day-use areas, beaches, and the popular 47-kilometre Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, which will remain closed for the summer while undergoing repairs.
- A phased reopening is expected for sections of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail and backcountry campsites as repairs are completed.
- Since 2017, more than 2,000 campsites have been added to BC Parks and recreation sites.
- Of the 10,700 campsites BC Parks manages, approximately half are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Learn More:

To reserve the new campsites, visit https://camping.bcparks.ca or call 1 800 689-9025

For more information about Juan de Fuca Park, visit https://bcparks.ca/juan-de-fuca-park/

For information about BC Parks, visit: https://bcparks.ca/

MIL OSI Canada News –
April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI: Hampton Financial Corporation Announces 2nd Quarter Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

TORONTO, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hampton Financial Corporation (“Hampton” or the “Company”, TSXV: HFC) today announced its financial results for the 2^nd quarter ended February 28^th, 2025.

Second Quarter ended February 28^th, 2025.

IFRS results highlights:

– Q2 Revenue of $2,854,000; an increase of 53% year-over-year
–  Q2 Net Loss of $(1,312,000) or $(0.02) per share;

Fiscal results (IFRS results adjusted for non-cash Items) highlights:

–  Q2 Adjusted Net Loss of $(421,000) or $(0.01) per share;
–  Q2 EBITDA of $(690,000) vs $(441,000) in the comparative quarter last year

Summary of Corporate Developments:

Our 2^nd quarter results reflect some improvement which is being felt across across the Capital Markets industry. Corporate finance transactions have improved slightly over the first half of our fiscal year but are still well below 2023 levels. While 2025 is showing some signs of improvement, the year ahead for our core business remains unclear. That said we intend to move ahead with a number of initiatives to further expand our business portfolio, while growing our existing Wealth Management, Commercial Lending and Capital Markets businesses.

“The second quarter results continue to demonstrate the industry-wide challenges faced during the fall of 2024, but we are beginning to see some selective improvements. Capital Markets activities have started to improve as interest rates have stabilized, so we are hopeful for a stronger second half of the year. We remain optimistic for the balance of the fiscal year,” said Hampton Executive Chairman & CEO Peter Deeb.

Copies of Hampton’s unaudited interim financial statements and its Management’s Discussion & Analysis for the three and six months ended February 28, 2025, can be accessed on SEDAR+ at www.sedar.com.

Supplementary to the Company’s February 21, 2025 press release announcing the reinvestment of debenture redemption proceeds, the purchase by Peter Deeb of the 255,050 subordinate voting shares of the Company constitutes a ‘related party transaction’ as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders In Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”) but is exempt from the shareholder approval and formal valuation requirements under MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the securities issued was less than 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

About Hampton Financial Corporation

Hampton is a unique private equity firm that seeks to build shareholder value through long-term strategic investments.

Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hampton Securities Limited (“HSL”), Hampton is actively engaged in family office, wealth management, institutional services and capital markets activities. HSL is a full-service investment dealer, regulated by CIRO and registered in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Quebec. In addition, the Company, through HSL, provides investment banking services, which include assisting companies with raising capital, advising on mergers and acquisitions, and aiding issuers in obtaining a listing on recognized securities exchanges in Canada and abroad and HSL’s Corporate Finance Group provides early stage, growing companies the capital, they need to create value for investors. HSL continues to develop its Wealth Management, Advisory Team and Principal-Agent programs which offers to the industry’s most experienced wealth managers a unique and flexible operating platform that provides additional freedom, financial support, and tax effectiveness as they build and manage their professional practice.

Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Oxygen Working Capital (“OWC”) the company offers factoring and other commercial financing services to clients across Canada.

The Company is exploring opportunities to diversify its sources of revenue by way of strategic investments in both complimentary business and non-core sectors that can leverage the expertise of its Board and the diverse experience of its management team.

For more information, please contact:

Olga Juravlev
Chief Financial Officer
Hampton Financial Corporation
(416) 862-8701

Or

Peter M. Deeb
Executive Chairman & CEO
Hampton Financial Corporation
(416) 862-8651

The TSXV has in no way approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. This press release does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction outside of Canada. The securities being offered have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to a U.S. person absent registration or pursuant to an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. There will be no public offering of securities in the United States.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “should”, “hopeful”, “recovery”, “anticipate”, “achieve”, “could”, “believe”, “plan”, “intend”, “objective”, “continuous”, “ongoing”, “estimate”, “outlook”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project” or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes.

Forward-looking statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors beyond the Company’s ability to predict or control which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements herein. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results may vary, and vary materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements herein. Accordingly, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements herein and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking statements herein are made only as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

The MIL Network –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: Enhance Interoperability

Source: United States Department of Defense (video statements)

Members of the@UsAirforce 435th Contingency Response Group and Royal Canadian Air Force enhance interoperability during exercise Agile Bison 25-1 at Chièvres Air Base, Belgium.

#airforce #military #usa

For more on the Department of Defense, visit: http://www.defense.gov

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m9tBOjcSno

MIL OSI Video –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Mark Carney won: Here are the key economic priorities for his new government

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Berhane Elfu, Lecturer in Finance, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

The Liberal Party led by Mark Carney has secured a fourth consecutive term in government. This victory has come at a time when Canada is facing an unprecedented threat to its economic security and sovereignty from United States President Donald Trump.

In an election defined by concerns over Trump’s erratic tariff policy and talk of making Canada a 51st state, voters decided Carney was the leader best equipped to deal with these challenges.

Carney previously served as governor of the Bank of Canada, where he guided the country through the 2008 global financial crisis. He later became the first non-British person to head the Bank of England, helping guide the United Kingdom through Brexit, one of the biggest shocks to the British economy in decades.

Read more:
Game change Canadian election: Mark Carney leads Liberals to their fourth consecutive win

Now the world is facing similar financial shocks from Trump’s trade war. The on-again, off-again nature of Trump’s tariff policy could inflict significant damage to the global economy — even more to the American economy — and cause irreparable damage to its reputation as a rational entity in international trade.

In the face of the ill-advised and self-defeating U.S. tariffs, the new Canadian government should take prudent, urgent and bold steps to strengthen the nation’s economy. Here are major and important economic priorities for the government to reshape the economy and spur much-needed economic growth.

Stabilize and strengthen the national economy

As a primary act, the new government should stabilize the Canadian economy from the tariff shocks. It must continue to develop carefully calibrated retaliations to Trump’s tariffs.

The revenue raised from the tariffs should be used to compensate those directly affected by them, using a multi-pronged mechanism that includes training, increased employment insurance benefits and additional transfers to low-income households to reduce the impact of tariffs on food costs.

Read more:
U.S. tariffs are about to trigger the greatest trade diversion the world has ever seen

Currently, a series of provincial regulations restrict the goods and services that cross Canada’s provincial borders daily. The new government should urgently remove longstanding interprovincial trade barriers.

According to a report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, removing these impediments could boost the economy by up to $200 billion annually. Similarly, a study by the International Monetary Fund indicates the effect of these barriers is equivalent to a 21 per cent tariff.

Removing interprovincial trade barriers would significantly offset the negative effects of Trump’s tariffs on the Canadian economy, and provide a boost to the “Buy Canadian” movement.

Carney seems to have made this a priority already, which is promising. In March, he said he aims to have “free trade by Canada Day” among provinces and territories.

Streamlining natural resource projects

Canada is a natural resource superpower. However, for natural resources and critical minerals to be extracted efficiently, regulatory processes need to be streamlined by cutting red tape and duplicative assessments.

The federal government and the provinces should agree to a single environmental assessment that meets the standards of both jurisdictions.

Additionally and importantly, respectful, genuine and meaningful consultations must be undertaken by project proponents and governments with the relevant Indigenous communities to address their concerns, respect their rights and safeguard their economic well-being in the development of the natural resources projects.

Carney has said he will uphold the principle of free, prior and informed consent when it comes to initiating resource extraction projects and make it easier for Indigenous communities to become owners of said projects.

A similar approach should also guide the construction of infrastructure projects such as pipelines and ports, which play a crucial role in facilitating Canada’s exports.

Boost Canada’s productivity through innovation

A country’s ability to raise living standards for its people mostly depends on its capacity to improve its productivity. Economist Paul Krugman once stated, “productivity is not everything, but, in the long run, it is almost everything.”

Canada’s productivity is lagging, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Read more:
Canada is lagging in innovation, and that’s a problem for funding the programs we care about

The new Canadian government should take steps to boost the nation’s productivity by increasing direct expenditures on research and development. Additional funding should be allocated to higher institutions of learning, and incentivizing businesses to spend more on research and development through significant tax credits.

Although research and development spending continues to grow in Canada, as a percentage to GDP, it is the second lowest among G7 nations. Boosting investments will drive innovation, spur economic growth and ensure Canada remains competitive on the global stage.

Dealing with U.S. tariffs

One of the government’s primary tasks will be preparing meticulously for trade negotiations with the U.S. to address the threat of tariffs and reach a “win-win” trade deal. Given Trump’s highly unpredictable nature, negotiations will not be easy.

Although Trump could have withdrawn from the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), he has not done so, and zero-tariffs remain in effect for products that are certified as being North American origin under the CUSMA rules. This could be a solid starting point for future trade negotiations.

At the same time, Carney and his team must work to stabilize the Canadian economy against the unprecedented threat of Trump’s tariffs by strengthening the domestic economy, diversifying Canada’s exports and reducing the country’s dependence on the U.S.

Pulling away from the world’s largest economy will not be easy for Canadian businesses, given the deep integration of Canada’s economy with that of the U.S.

Still, expanding trade with the European Union, the U.K., Africa and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — and exploring other opportunities to reducing trade barriers with nations in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America — will enlarge Canada’s export market.

By doing all this, Canada can not only prepare for a tough round of U.S. trade talks but also position itself as a stronger, more self-reliant global trading partner.

Berhane Elfu 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. Mark Carney won: Here are the key economic priorities for his new government – https://theconversation.com/mark-carney-won-here-are-the-key-economic-priorities-for-his-new-government-255477

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Strengthening democracy
Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)
[. Direct democracy processes like referendums, recall and citizen initiative petitions provide further opportunities for Albertans to be heard and express their views. The proposed Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, would make Alberta’s elections and other democratic processes more open, secure and accessible.

“I believe that democracy thrives when people trust the process. These changes would make elections at every level in Alberta more accessible and transparent while protecting their integrity, ensuring confidence in the outcomes. We are also creating more opportunities for Albertans to be involved in direct democracy and to have their say on issues that matter to them.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

Fair and free elections are the foundation of democracy, and Alberta’s government is taking action to protect them. The proposed changes include:

Banning the use of electronic tabulators and other automated voting machines, requiring all ballots to be counted by hand to protect election integrity.

Eliminating vouching at voting stations to strengthen identification and verification processes.

Requiring unofficial vote counts to be completed within 12 hours of polls closing to provide timely, reliable results.

Voters being required to cast their ballot in their constituency of residence or by requesting a special ballot.

Expanding access to special ballots, allowing any voter to request one without needing to provide a reason while protecting integrity by requiring voters to personally request their special ballot (with exceptions for those needing assistance due to a disability).

Updating the Recall Act to make it easier for Albertans to hold elected officials accountable by lowering the signature threshold and extending the timeframe to collect signatures.

Improving the Citizen Initiative Act process by setting the threshold for all successful petitions at 10 per cent of eligible voters who participated in the last general election.

“Albertans rightly expect their government to make sure democratic processes are fair and transparent with accurate and timely results. These proposed amendments would deliver on my mandate to review and make changes to strengthen public trust in the integrity of our elections.”

Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Additional amendments under the Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 would:

Allow corporate and union contributions for provincial elections while maintaining transparency and accountability through existing financial disclosure requirements.

Improve access to voting for First Nations and Métis Settlements during referendums and Senate elections.

Enhance emergency response provisions for voting disruptions during referendums and Senate elections.

These changes would help ensure that Alberta’s democratic processes are open, secure, and reflective of the will of Albertans, while creating new opportunities for greater public participation.

Quick facts

The Election Act governs the process for provincial elections, by-elections and plebiscites in Alberta and creates the office of the chief electoral officer, the head of Elections Alberta.

The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act governs the financing of provincial elections, Senate elections and referendums, including rules for registered political parties, constituency associations, candidates, leadership contestants and third parties.

The Alberta Senate Election Act governs the process for Senate elections in Alberta.

The Referendum Act governs the process for referendums in Alberta.

The Recall Act outlines the process for Albertans to initiate the recall of an elected MLA.

The Citizen Initiative Act allows eligible voters in Alberta to propose legislative or policy initiatives, constitutional referendum questions and establishes rules for advertising and spending.

Related information

Improving consistency and fairness in Alberta’s democratic processes

Bill 54: Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025

Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 fact sheet

Related news

Strengthening Alberta’s local elections (April 25, 2024)

Accountable and transparent local elections (October 18, 2024)

Multimedia

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MIL OSI Canada News –
April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Larsen Releases Statement on Trump’s First 100 Days
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

Larsen Releases Statement on Trump’s First 100 Days

Washington, D.C., April 29, 2025
Today, Rep. Rick Larsen released a statement on President Trump’s first 100 days in office:

“Let’s look at some numbers to judge the President’s performance.
- 5.5% – the increase in the cost of eggs in Everett since Trump took office. (Source: comparing prices in Everett grocery stores.)
- 8.91% – the increase in the cost of gas in Washington state since Trump took office. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
- $4,600 – the increased costs each year that the average family will face because of Trump’s reckless trade war. (Source: Center for American Progress)
- 65,000 – the decrease in the number of border crossings from Canada into Whatcom County compared to the same time in March 2024. (Source: NBC News)
- $9.6 trillion – the stock market value that has been wiped out since Trump took office. (Source: MarketWatch)
- 60,000 – the number of federal workers fired by Musk and DOGE (Source: Seattle Times)
- $4.5 trillion – the amount of tax cuts over ten years in the Republican Rip-Off budget, paid for by slashing health care, education, food assistance and other critical services people in Northwest Washington rely on. (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
- 210 – the number of lawsuits filed by Americans across the country in the past 14 weeks directly challenging Trump’s orders. (Source: House Judiciary Committee)
- 108 – the number of court orders from federal judges to block or pause Trump’s lawless and unconstitutional actions. (Source: House Judiciary Committee)
“In his first 100 days, President Trump has driven costs up, cut critical services and trampled on the Constitution. Alongside House Democrats, I am pushing back on the Trump administration in Congress, in the courts and in our communities to protect my friends and neighbors in Northwest Washington.

“Your first-hand experiences are essential in this fight. I need to hear from you about how the Trump administration has impacted your life, your job and your loved ones. You can share your story here: https://democraticleader.house.gov/shareyourstory.”

###
MIL OSI USA News –
April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI: ChampionX Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ChampionX Corporation (NASDAQ: CHX) (“ChampionX” or the “Company”) today announced first quarter of 2025 results. Revenue was $864.5 million, net income attributable to ChampionX was $85.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $190.9 million. Income before income taxes margin was 12.1% and adjusted EBITDA margin was 22.1%. Cash from operating activities was $66.8 million and free cash flow was $38.6 million.

CEO Commentary

“The first quarter demonstrated the resilience of our ChampionX portfolio as we delivered strong adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, and generated positive free cash flow. These results reflect the commitment of our ChampionX employees around the world who express daily an unwavering focus on delivering value-added solutions for our customers’ most important challenges. I am thankful and humbled to lead such a talented and dedicated team,” ChampionX’s President and Chief Executive Officer Sivasankaran “Soma” Somasundaram said.

“During the first quarter of 2025, we generated revenue of $864 million, which decreased 5% sequentially, in line with our expectations, driven primarily by a typical seasonal decline in international operations. We generated net income attributable to ChampionX of $86 million, income before income taxes margin of 12.1%, and we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $191 million, representing a 22.1% adjusted EBITDA margin, our second-highest level as ChampionX, which speaks to the continued productivity and profitability focus of our team.

“Cash flow from operating activities was $67 million during the first quarter, which represented 78% of net income attributable to ChampionX, and we generated free cash flow of $39 million, our 12th consecutive quarter of positive free cash flow. Our balance sheet and financial position remain strong, ending the first quarter with approximately $1.2 billion of liquidity, including $527 million of cash and $674 million of available capacity on our revolving credit facility.

“As a leading global provider of production optimization solutions for the energy industry, ChampionX is uniquely well-positioned to help operators meet the objective of maximizing the value of their producing assets, particularly against the backdrop of the ongoing structural shift toward capital discipline and moderating capital spending in the upstream and midstream industries. As global oil production grows, our differentiated and resilient production-oriented portfolio drives our expectation of positive performance relative to general oil and gas market activity in 2025.

“Amid recent changes in international trade policies, ChampionX is continuing to put its continuous improvement culture to work every day to successfully deliver products and technologies designed to improve our cost structure and drive efficiencies. We are leveraging our global and flexible supply chain footprint, long-standing supplier partnerships, pricing adjustments, and productivity initiatives to address tariff impacts, and we will continue to be there to serve our customers and deliver differentiated margin and free cash flow performance.”

Agreement to be Acquired by SLB

On April 2, 2024, SLB (NYSE: SLB) and ChampionX jointly announced a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) for SLB to purchase ChampionX in an all-stock transaction. The transaction was unanimously approved by the ChampionX board of directors and the transaction received the approval of the ChampionX stockholders at a special meeting held on June 18, 2024. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

ChampionX may continue to pay its regular quarterly cash dividends with customary record and payment dates, subject to certain limitations under the Merger Agreement. Given the pending acquisition of ChampionX by SLB, ChampionX has discontinued providing quarterly guidance and will not host a conference call or webcast to discuss its first quarter 2025 results.

Production Chemical Technologies

Production Chemical Technologies revenue in the first quarter of 2025 was $523.4 million, a decrease of $46.3 million, or 8%, sequentially, due primarily to seasonally lower international sales volumes.

Segment operating profit was $82.2 million and adjusted segment EBITDA was $109.1 million. Segment operating profit margin was 15.7%, a sequential decrease of 248 basis points, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 20.8%, a sequential decrease of 259 basis points. The sequential decrease in segment operating profit margin and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was driven by lower sales volumes.

Production & Automation Technologies

Production & Automation Technologies revenue in the first quarter of 2025 was $264.4 million, a decrease of $5.2 million, or 2%, sequentially, due primarily to seasonally lower international sales volumes. Revenue from digital products was $57.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, a sequential decrease of 7%, driven by seasonally lower customer activity in North America.

Segment operating profit was $37.6 million and adjusted segment EBITDA was $70.3 million. Segment operating profit margin was 14.2%, a sequential decrease of 27 basis points, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 26.6%, a sequential increase of 34 basis points. The decrease in segment operating profit margin and the increase in adjusted segment EBITDA margin was driven by lower sales volumes, offset somewhat by productivity improvements.

Drilling Technologies

Drilling Technologies revenue in the first quarter of 2025 was $50.5 million, a decrease of $1.4 million, or 3%, sequentially, driven primarily by lower North America sales volumes.

Segment operating profit was $8.2 million and adjusted segment EBITDA was $10.2 million. Segment operating profit margin was 16.2%, compared to 20.6% in the prior quarter, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 20.3%, a decrease of 346 basis points, sequentially, due primarily to lower volumes.

Reservoir Chemical Technologies

Reservoir Chemical Technologies revenue in the first quarter of 2025 was $26.9 million, an increase of $5.0 million, or 23%, sequentially, driven by higher sales volumes in the U.S. and internationally.

Segment operating profit was $5.5 million and adjusted segment EBITDA was $6.3 million. Segment operating profit margin was 20.5%, an increase of 1008 basis points, sequentially, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 23.6%, an increase of 647 basis points, sequentially. The increase in segment operating profit margin and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was driven by higher sales volumes together with a more favorable product mix.

Other Business Highlights: Production Chemical Technologies and Reservoir Chemical Technologies

Awarded several first fill contracts for new conventional and unconventional fields in the Middle East region.
The North America Offshore production chemicals team was awarded the contract for an upcoming major capital project in the Gulf of America. The win was the culmination of years’ worth of work developing technical solutions to address the project’s most impactful challenges.
Commenced the initial deliveries of a significant volume of hydrate inhibitor for a major new FPSO, supporting an independent Australian operator.
Awarded program of competitive process water treatment applications in Canada after performing comprehensive technical assessments and value-added recommendations.
Completed our second RENEWIQ^® (production and reservoir chemistry delivered through one trailer) joint offering for frac treating.
Reservoir group was awarded RENEWIQ work for the application of our production enhancement PROE completion chemistry to improve production over the life of wells. This program, combined with our one-site PCT service expertise, continues to bring differentiated solutions to operators in the Permian Basin.
Started the Unconventional Water team to support North America Land Water applications.
Recently won four different contracts after re-entering the US Land market with our H2S scavenger program.
Providing chemistries supporting a Canadian customer that is scheduled to commission and start up a new thermal asset in August 2025.

Other Business Highlights: Production & Automation Technologies

Awarded a multi-year contract for production optimization software by a customer in Indonesia. 4000+ wells were successfully migrated in Q1 to our XSPOC^® production optimization software, delivering data-driven insights to help the customer make informed production decisions across their field for all artificial lift systems.
Continue to see strong market adoption of new digital technologies as operators look for cost-effective, scalable monitoring solutions. More than 450 SmartSpin^® wireless rod rotator sensors have been installed in the field and 120+ of the recently launched SMARTEN™^® Lite rod pump controller have been deployed.
ChampionX’s RMSpumptools, in partnership with our UNBRIDLED^® ESP Systems team, continues to grow sales of Automatic Diverter Valves (ADV) in the Permian for a major oil company. This key technology offers customers better sand and solids management in ESP systems and acts as a safety device for ESPs featuring a PMM motor.
Following two 6-month trial installations, RMSpumptools has received an order for its Y-chek systems by a Middle East national oil company. This success sets the direction for expansion of this Y-chek solution.
Completed the first 30+ well trial with a major producer in the Permian basin of the newly offered chemical injection assurance (CIA) software module on the modern, secure, and scalable Connexia^® platform. The CIA software provides fully integrated chemical measurement and delivery data as well as control and optimization capabilities.
The SMARTEN XE ESP control system is a leader in the ESP control market. In Q1, ChampionX secured a new customer based on the advanced capabilities of the SMARTEN XE controller. The system’s ability to deliver enhanced performance across multi-pad projects was central to the customer’s decision. Since launch, ChampionX has installed hundreds of ESPs with SMARTEN XE controls, improving the operation of customers’ ESP systems.
Launched newly designed LOOKOUT^® optimization services to provide real-time data with full ESP system control, advanced data visualization, integrated communications, and direct access to a team of multi-disciplined artificial lift experts. Powered by a modern digital backbone, LOOKOUT optimization services enable streamlined integration of diverse data sources and control solutions. LOOKOUT also leverages the full capabilities of the SMARTEN XE ESP control system, delivering advanced automation for ESP operations.
ChampionX’s Integrated Production Optimization (IPO) business continues to expand. A Permian operator, following a series of acquisitions, has expanded implementation of the IPO solution across newly acquired acreage – placing all new wells and ESP replacements under the IPO program. IPO has consistently delivered measurable production uplift, enhanced equipment reliability, stabilized reservoir pressure drawdown, and optimized chemical spend for the operator.
ChampionX’s Norris Sucker Rods has been awarded a large contract for the supply of approximately 35,000 sucker rods for a major customer in India. ChampionX won the contract based on superior reliability and in-country technical support, according to the customer.
Norris Rods received a large bulk order for sucker rods from a U.S. independent producer to assure supply for future operations and to mitigate the impact of tariffs. Norris Rods are manufactured from U.S. steel at the Company’s factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

About Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to financial results determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), this news release presents non-GAAP financial measures. Management believes that adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income attributable to ChampionX and adjusted diluted earnings per share attributable to ChampionX, provide useful information to investors regarding the Company’s financial condition and results of operations because they reflect the core operating results of our businesses and help facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods. In addition, free cash flow, free cash flow to adjusted EBITDA ratio, and free cash flow to revenue ratio are used by management to measure our ability to generate positive cash flow for debt reduction and to support our strategic objectives. Although management believes the aforementioned non-GAAP financial measures are good tools for internal use and the investment community in evaluating ChampionX’s overall financial performance, the foregoing non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is included in the accompanying financial tables.

About ChampionX

ChampionX is a global leader in chemistry solutions, artificial lift systems, and highly engineered equipment and technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely, efficiently, and sustainably around the world. ChampionX’s expertise, innovative products, and digital technologies provide enhanced oil and gas production, transportation, and real-time emissions monitoring throughout the lifecycle of a well. To learn more about ChampionX, visit our website at www.ChampionX.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the proposed transaction between SLB and ChampionX, including statements regarding the benefits of the transaction and the anticipated timing of the transaction, and information regarding the businesses of SLB and ChampionX, including expectations regarding outlook and all underlying assumptions, SLB’s and ChampionX’s objectives, plans and strategies, information relating to operating trends in markets where SLB and ChampionX operate, statements that contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition and all other statements other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that SLB or ChampionX intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Such statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions made based on information currently available to management. All statements in this communication, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements that may be identified by the use of the words “outlook,” “guidance,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “should,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “targets,” “may,” “can,” “believe,” “predict,” “potential,” “projected,” “projections,” “precursor,” “forecast,” “ambition,” “goal,” “scheduled,” “think,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “see,” “likely,” and other similar expressions or variations, but not all forward-looking statements include such words. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and which may cause SLB’s or ChampionX’s actual results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors and risks that may impact future results and performance include, but are not limited to those factors and risks described in Part I, “Item 1. Business”, “Item 1A. Risk Factors”, and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in SLB’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 22, 2025 and Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in ChampionX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 5, 2025, and each of their respective, subsequent Current Reports on Form 8-K. These include, but are not limited to, and in each case as a possible result of the proposed transaction on each of SLB and ChampionX: the ultimate outcome of the proposed transaction between SLB and ChampionX, including the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction; the ability to operate the SLB and ChampionX respective businesses, including business disruptions; difficulties in retaining and hiring key personnel and employees; the ability to maintain favorable business relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners; the terms and timing of the proposed transaction; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transaction; the anticipated or actual tax treatment of the proposed transaction; the ability to satisfy closing conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction (including the adoption of the merger agreement in respect of the proposed transaction by ChampionX stockholders); other risks related to the completion of the proposed transaction and actions related thereto; the ability of SLB and ChampionX to integrate the business successfully and to achieve anticipated synergies and value creation from the proposed transaction; changes in demand for SLB’s or ChampionX’s products and services; global market, political and economic conditions, including in the countries in which SLB and ChampionX operate; the ability to secure government regulatory approvals on the terms expected, at all or in a timely manner; the extent of growth of the oilfield services market generally, including for chemical solutions in production and midstream operations; the global macro-economic environment, including headwinds caused by inflation, rising interest rates, unfavorable currency exchange rates, and potential recessionary or depressionary conditions; the impact of shifts in prices or margins of the products that SLB or ChampionX sells or services that SLB or ChampionX provides, including due to a shift towards lower margin products or services; cyber-attacks, information security and data privacy; the impact of public health crises, such as pandemics (including COVID-19) and epidemics and any related company or government policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or government policies or actions to maintain the functioning of national or global economies and markets; trends in crude oil and natural gas prices, including trends in chemical solutions across the oil and natural gas industries, that may affect the drilling and production activity, profitability and financial stability of SLB’s and ChampionX’s customers and therefore the demand for, and profitability of, their products and services; litigation and regulatory proceedings, including any proceedings that may be instituted against SLB or ChampionX related to the proposed transaction; failure to effectively and timely address energy transitions that could adversely affect the businesses of SLB or ChampionX, results of operations, and cash flows of SLB or ChampionX; and disruptions of SLB’s or ChampionX’s information technology systems.

These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed transaction, are included in the Form S-4 and proxy statement/prospectus that was filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in the registration statement on Form S-4 are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to SLB’s and ChampionX’s respective periodic reports and other filings with the SEC, including the risk factors identified in SLB’s and ChampionX’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, respectively, and SLB’s and ChampionX’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof. Neither SLB nor ChampionX undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Investor Contact: Byron Pope
byron.pope@championx.com
281-602-0094

Media Contact: John Breed
john.breed@championx.com
281-403-5751

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(UNAUDITED)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
(in thousands, except per share amounts)		2025			2024			2024
Revenue	$	864,464		$	912,037		$	922,141
Cost of goods and services		572,938			600,154			622,937
Gross profit		291,526			311,883			299,204
Costs and expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expense		177,045			184,722			172,414
(Gain) loss on sale-leaseback transaction		—			—			(29,883	)
Interest expense, net		13,196			12,375			13,935
Foreign currency transaction losses (gains), net		1,504			1,697			55
Other expense (income), net		(4,631	)		(5,026	)		2,927
Income before income taxes		104,412			118,115			139,756
Provision for income taxes		15,384			33,204			26,596
Net income		89,028			84,911			113,160
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest		3,231			2,145			237
Net income attributable to ChampionX	$	85,797		$	82,766		$	112,923

Earnings per share attributable to ChampionX:
Basic	$	0.45		$	0.43		$	0.59
Diluted	$	0.44		$	0.43		$	0.58

Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Basic		191,143			190,586			190,803
Diluted		193,709			193,487			193,964

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)

(in thousands)	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024
*ASSETS*
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	526,559		$	507,681
Receivables, net		417,639			466,782
Inventories, net		497,183			496,831
Assets held for sale		241,791			14,001
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		85,617			78,602
Total current assets		1,768,789			1,563,897

Property, plant and equipment, net		729,931			755,422
Goodwill		619,505			718,944
Intangible assets, net		247,907			258,614
Other non-current assets		134,258			173,375
Total assets	$	3,500,390		$	3,470,252

*LIABILITIES AND EQUITY*
Current Liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	$	6,203		$	6,203
Accounts payable		498,335			455,531
Liabilities held for sale		61,415			—
Other current liabilities		218,943			324,138
Total current liabilities		784,896			785,872

Long-term debt		590,746			591,453
Other long-term liabilities		220,054			261,749
Stockholders’ equity:
ChampionX stockholders’ equity		1,916,726			1,846,437
Noncontrolling interest		(12,032	)		(15,259	)
Total liabilities and equity	$	3,500,390		$	3,470,252

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands)		2025			2024
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	89,028		$	113,160
Depreciation and amortization		60,056			59,580
(Gain) loss on sale-leaseback transaction		—			(29,883	)
Loss on Argentina Blue Chip Swap transaction		—			4,092
Deferred income taxes		(10,941	)		(12,903	)
Loss (gain) on disposal of fixed assets		1,616			1,107
Receivables		13,937			62,915
Inventories		(25,569	)		(39,873	)
Accounts payable		40,675			68,248
Other assets		(19,955	)		(602	)
Leased assets		(6,665	)		(4,254	)
Other operating items, net		(75,380	)		(48,079	)
Net cash flows provided by operating activities		66,802			173,508

Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures		(31,250	)		(31,912	)
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets		3,004			2,390
Proceeds from sale-leaseback transaction		—			44,292
Purchase of investments		—			(17,162	)
Sale of investments		—			13,070
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired		—			(21,472	)
Net cash used for investing activities		(28,246	)		(10,794	)

Cash flows from financing activities:
Repayment of long-term debt		(1,551	)		(1,551	)
Repurchases of common stock		—			(49,399	)
Dividends paid		(18,110	)		(16,247	)
Other		(488	)		3,104
Net cash used for financing activities		(20,149	)		(64,093	)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		471			(1,161	)

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		18,878			97,460
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		507,681			288,557
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	526,559		$	386,017

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
BUSINESS SEGMENT DATA
(UNAUDITED)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
(in thousands)		2025			2024			2024
Segment revenue:
Production Chemical Technologies	$	523,390		$	569,662		$	590,108
Production & Automation Technologies		264,377			269,568			252,614
Drilling Technologies		50,530			51,942			55,206
Reservoir Chemical Technologies		26,926			21,937			24,705
Corporate and other		(759	)		(1,072	)		(492	)
Total revenue	$	864,464		$	912,037		$	922,141

Income before income taxes:
Segment operating profit (loss):
Production Chemical Technologies	$	82,172		$	103,567		$	87,832
Production & Automation Technologies		37,554			39,027			28,470
Drilling Technologies		8,174			10,703			44,402
Reservoir Chemical Technologies		5,529			2,294			3,746
Total segment operating profit		133,429			155,591			164,450
Corporate and other		15,821			25,101			10,759
Interest expense, net		13,196			12,375			13,935
Income before income taxes	$	104,412		$	118,115		$	139,756

Operating profit margin / income before income taxes margin:
Production Chemical Technologies		15.7	%		18.2	%		14.9	%
Production & Automation Technologies		14.2	%		14.5	%		11.3	%
Drilling Technologies		16.2	%		20.6	%		80.4	%
Reservoir Chemical Technologies		20.5	%		10.5	%		15.2	%
ChampionX Consolidated		12.1	%		13.0	%		15.2	%

Adjusted EBITDA
Production Chemical Technologies	$	109,065		$	133,475		$	118,031
Production & Automation Technologies		70,269			70,739			60,340
Drilling Technologies		10,237			12,321			16,074
Reservoir Chemical Technologies		6,347			3,751			5,346
Corporate and other		(5,049	)		(8,021	)		(8,079	)
Adjusted EBITDA	$	190,869		$	212,265		$	191,712

Adjusted EBITDA margin
Production Chemical Technologies		20.8	%		23.4	%		20.0	%
Production & Automation Technologies		26.6	%		26.2	%		23.9	%
Drilling Technologies		20.3	%		23.7	%		29.1	%
Reservoir Chemical Technologies		23.6	%		17.1	%		21.6	%
ChampionX Consolidated		22.1	%		23.3	%		20.8	%

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
(in thousands)		2025			2024			2024
Net income attributable to ChampionX	$	85,797		$	82,766		$	112,923
Pre-tax adjustments:
(Gain) loss on sale leaseback transaction⁽¹⁾		—			—			(29,883	)
Russia sanctions compliance and impacts⁽²⁾		28			73			152
Restructuring and other related charges		1,059			2,704			1,709
Merger transaction costs⁽³⁾		10,232			14,434			—
Acquisition costs and related adjustments⁽⁴⁾		—			75			1,232
Intellectual property defense		382			158			779
Merger-related indemnification responsibility⁽⁵⁾		—			100			—
Tulsa, Oklahoma storm damage		—			—			305
Foreign currency transaction losses (gains), net		1,504			1,697			55
Loss on Argentina Blue Chip Swap transaction		—			—			4,092
Tax impact of adjustments		(2,971	)		(5,565	)		5,066
Adjusted net income attributable to ChampionX		96,031			96,442			96,430
Tax impact of adjustments		2,971			5,565			(5,066	)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest		3,231			2,145			237
Depreciation and amortization		60,056			62,534			59,580
Provision for income taxes		15,384			33,204			26,596
Interest expense, net		13,196			12,375			13,935
Adjusted EBITDA	$	190,869		$	212,265		$	191,712

_______________________

_{(1) Amount represents the gain on the sale and leaseback of certain buildings and land.}
_{(2) Includes charges incurred related to legal and professional fees to comply with, as well as additional foreign currency exchange losses associated with, the sanctions imposed in Russia.}
_{(3) Includes costs incurred in relation to the Merger Agreement with Schlumberger Limited, including third party legal and professional fees.}
_{(4) Includes costs incurred for the acquisition of businesses.}
_{(5) Expense related to the June 3, 2020 merger transaction with Ecolab in which we acquired the Chemical Technologies business.}

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
(in thousands)		2025			2024			2024
Diluted earnings per share attributable to ChampionX	$	0.44		$	0.43		$	0.58
Per share adjustments:
(Gain) loss on sale leaseback transaction and disposal group		—			—			(0.15	)
Russia sanctions compliance and impacts		—			—			—
Restructuring and other related charges		0.01			0.01			0.01
Merger transaction costs		0.05			0.07			—
Acquisition costs and related adjustments		—			—			0.01
Intellectual property defense		—			—			—
Merger-related indemnification responsibility		—			—			—
Tulsa, Oklahoma storm damage		—			—			—
Foreign currency transaction losses (gains), net		0.01			0.01			—
Loss on Argentina Blue Chip Swap transaction		—			—			0.02
Tax impact of adjustments		(0.01	)		(0.02	)		0.03
Adjusted diluted earnings per share attributable to ChampionX	$	0.50		$	0.50		$	0.50

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES BY SEGMENT
(UNAUDITED)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
(in thousands)		2025			2024			2024
Production Chemical Technologies
Segment operating profit	$	82,172		$	103,567		$	87,832
Non-GAAP adjustments		1,658			2,251			3,933
Depreciation and amortization		25,235			27,657			26,266
Segment adjusted EBITDA	$	109,065		$	133,475		$	118,031

Production & Automation Technologies
Segment operating profit	$	37,554		$	39,027		$	28,470
Non-GAAP adjustments		764			75			2,076
Depreciation and amortization		31,951			31,637			29,794
Segment adjusted EBITDA	$	70,269		$	70,739		$	60,340

Drilling Technologies
Segment operating profit	$	8,174		$	10,703		$	44,402
Non-GAAP adjustments		766			306			(29,883	)
Depreciation and amortization		1,297			1,312			1,555
Segment adjusted EBITDA	$	10,237		$	12,321		$	16,074

Reservoir Chemical Technologies
Segment operating profit	$	5,529		$	2,294		$	3,746
Non-GAAP adjustments		(278	)		39			16
Depreciation and amortization		1,096			1,418			1,584
Segment adjusted EBITDA	$	6,347		$	3,751		$	5,346

Corporate and other
Segment operating profit	$	(29,017	)	$	(37,476	)	$	(24,694	)
Non-GAAP adjustments		10,295			16,570			2,299
Depreciation and amortization		477			510			381
Interest expense, net		13,196			12,375			13,935
Segment adjusted EBITDA	$	(5,049	)	$	(8,021	)	$	(8,079	)

Free Cash Flow

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
(in thousands)		2025			2024			2024
Free Cash Flow
Cash flows from operating activities	$	66,802		$	207,250		$	173,508
Less: Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from sale of fixed assets		(28,246	)		(37,117	)		(29,522	)
Free cash flow	$	38,556		$	170,133		$	143,986

Cash From Operating Activities to Revenue Ratio
Cash flows from operating activities	$	66,802		$	207,250		$	173,508
Revenue	$	864,464		$	912,037		$	922,141

Cash from operating activities to revenue ratio		8	%		23	%		19	%

Free Cash Flow to Revenue Ratio
Free cash flow	$	38,556		$	170,133		$	143,986
Revenue	$	864,464		$	912,037		$	922,141

Free cash flow to revenue ratio		4	%		19	%		16	%

Free Cash Flow to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio
Free cash flow	$	38,556		$	170,133		$	143,986
Adjusted EBITDA	$	190,869		$	212,265		$	191,712

Free cash flow to adjusted EBITDA ratio		20	%		80	%		75	%

The MIL Network –

April 30, 2025

MIL-OSI Global: The impact of strategic voting in Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Terri Givens, Professor, Political Science, University of British Columbia

Initially expected to result in a decisive Conservative victory, the Canadian federal election took a dramatic turn as Mark Carney led the Liberals to victory. It also offered an important lesson in the power of strategic voting — driven not just by domestic politics but by external pressures from the United States and a re-energized Liberal campaign.

In December 2024, the Conservative Party was leading the Liberal Party by more than 20 points in the polls. But Justin Trudeau’s resignation, combined with U.S. President Donald Trump’s antagonistic stance towards Canada, triggered a sharp shift in public opinion.

When Carney stepped in as prime minister and party leader, the stage was set for a Liberal comeback. But what had been seen as a referendum on the 10-year rule of the Liberal Party ended up being focused on the existential threat posed by Trump’s tariffs and his calls to turn Canada into the 51st state.

During the campaign, many voters discussed their intention to switch from the Conservatives to the Liberals.

The pushback against the Conservatives, and in particular their leader, Pierre Poilievre, led to him losing in his own riding, although the Conservatives gained more seats overall.

The Liberals benefited from strategic voting, but it was the NDP that appeared to lose the most from this strategy.

The NDP went from winning 25 seats in the previous election to only seven, while their leader Jagmeet Singh also lost in his riding, leading to his resignation as party leader.

Strategic voting on display

My first book, Voting Radical Right in Western Europe (2009), focused on the impact of strategic voting. At the time, I observed that political parties would often try to induce voters to vote strategically for a party or candidate that might not otherwise be their first choice.

This type of strategic voting was clearly on display in the second round of the French presidential election in 2002, when Jean-Marie Le Pen of the far right National Front faced Jacques Chirac in the second round.

Some left-leaning voters went to the polls with clothespins on their noses or latex gloves on to vote for Chirac and keep Le Pen out of the presidency.

This strategy worked again in the July 2024 legislative elections in France, where the left and mainstream right-leaning parties came together to make sure that they didn’t split the vote in districts where it could lead to a win by the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally). In both cases, voters chose more moderate candidates, reducing the influence of the far right.

Electoral systems are often designed to encourage voters to choose a more moderate candidate. This approach includes putting electoral hurdles in place. For example, parties in Germany have to win at least five per cent of the vote or win three district seats to enter the legislature.

This approach had been successful since the Second World War in keeping far right parties out of the legislature — that is until the recent success of the Alternative for Germany party.

The ability of that party to gain votes in the former East Germany has been the main reason for its success.

Winners and losers in Canada

Canada presents an interesting case for strategic voting. In the lead-up to the federal election, many voters were posting suggestions for strategic voting in districts where the vote was being split between parties, particularly on the left.

For example, there was a close race in a riding in British Columbia between the Green and Conservative candidates. I noticed social media posts in which voters were encouraged to shift their vote from the NDP or Liberal candidates to give the Green candidate a better chance of winning the riding.

As of April 25, Conservatives were expected to win the riding, but on election night, Elizabeth May from the Green Party won with 39 per cent of the vote, with the Conservative candidate falling to third place behind the Liberals.

Given the fact that the Canadian electoral system is winner-take-all in each riding, it’s important that voters understand the broader impact of their vote on the national outcome.

It’s likely that many voters switched their votes from their smaller, preferred party — particularly the NPD — to one of the main parties, depending on the kind of poll projections they might have been seeing in their ridings.

This situation exemplifies the importance of parties providing clear information on potential outcomes to encourage voters to use their vote strategically to get a desired outcome at the national level.

Terri Givens 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. The impact of strategic voting in Canada – https://theconversation.com/the-impact-of-strategic-voting-in-canada-255489

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI USA News: 100 DAYS OF HOAXES: Cutting Through the Fake News
Source: The White House
Since President Donald J. Trump took office 100 days ago, it has been a nonstop deluge of hoaxes and lies from Democrats and their allies in the Fake News suffering from terminal cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

In no particular order, here are some of the most egregious hoaxes peddled by the usual suspects so far in President Trump’s second term:
- HOAX: Fake News CNN attempted to “fact check” President Trump’s claim that the Biden Administration spent millions on “making mice transgender.”
- FACT: After their so-called “fact check” was thoroughly debunked, they were forced to update it in disgrace and admit the claim was, in fact, true.
- HOAX: The Fake News claimed the Department of Defense removed Gen. Colin Powell’s name from a list of notable Americans buried at Arlington Cemetery.
- FACT: No service members’ names were removed from that section — and Gen. Powell’s name remains among those listed.
- HOAX: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) claimed “no president” presided over more plane crashes during their first month in office as President Trump.
- FACT: “There were 55 aviation accidents in the U.S. between Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 21, 2021, and Feb. 17, 2021, compared to 35 during the same period for Trump,” Fox News reported.
- HOAX: Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and Chicago Public Schools officials claimed, without bothering to verify, that ICE agents had conducted a “raid” at an elementary school — a false claim echoed by media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune.
- FACT: It was actually the U.S. Secret Service investigating a threat unrelated to immigration.
- HOAX: Far-left influencers and other leftist hacks falsely claimed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk were out to “cut Social Security.”
- FACT: They were referencing an interview in which Musk was clearly referring to the tremendous amount of waste, fraud, and abuse within entitlement programs.
- HOAX: The media smeared DOGE as “young, inexperienced engineers” engineering a “government takeover.”
- FACT: In reality, DOGE is led by seasoned industry professionals, including successful CEOs who paused their lives to aid in the effort of streamlining government and holding the bureaucracy accountable.
- HOAX: NBC’s Peter Alexander peddled the lie that “constituents in some traditionally red districts” were unhappy with President Trump’s effort to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in government.
- FACT: The same “protests” cited by the Fake News were funded and organized by far-left special interest groups.
- HOAX: NPR claimed NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — who were stuck on the International Space Station for more than nine months following problems with their spacecraft — were “not stranded.”
- FACT: NPR itself had described the astronauts as stranded in prior reporting, and only seemed to take issue with the description once President Trump and Elon Musk made it a priority to bring them home.
- HOAX: A foreign Fake News outlet reported that President Trump “shut down” the British prime minister during a news conference.
- FACT: In reality, President Trump was simply moving on from a reporter who was trying to goad the two leaders into division.
- HOAX: NPR falsely claimed the White House was actively searching for a new secretary of defense.
- FACT: This lie was immediately shut down by multiple Trump Administration officials, including President Trump himself.
- HOAX: The Fake News attempted to paint illegal immigrant gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia as an innocent “Maryland father” who was unjustly deported by the Trump Administration — and actively censored the truth about him.
- FACT: Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and was deported to his home country amid overwhelming evidence of his gang affiliation.
- HOAX: Deranged “filmmaker” Michael Moore questioned whether deported illegal immigrants would go on to cure cancer or stop “that asteroid (sic) that’s gonna hit us.”
- FACT: Moore’s statement was a strong early contender for the dumbest, most ridiculous statement of the year considering those deported illegal immigrants were violent criminals.
- HOAX: The Fake News portrayed Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas radical who led violent protests at Columbia, as an innocent graduate student with an absolute right to remain in the U.S.
- FACT: An immigration judge ruled Khalil — who is not a U.S. citizen — can be deported.
- HOAX: The Financial Times reported that Senior White House Counselor Peter Navarro wanted to remove Canada from the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing network.
- FACT: Mr. Navarro immediately shut down this fake story.
- HOAX: A foreign Fake News reporter claimed President Trump referred to European nations as “parasites.”
- FACT: President Trump immediately pushed back on this ridiculous claim — as did the Italian prime minister.
- HOAX: Fake News CNN’s Brianna Keilar implied the Trump Administration was somehow wrong for stopping illegal immigrants from stealing taxpayer dollars in the form of welfare benefits.
- FACT: Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller summarily embarrassed her with the facts: “The federal government will find EVERY illegal alien who is stealing American taxpayer dollars — and that’s what Americans expect to happen. I don’t even fathom the premise of your question.”
- HOAX: A favorite refrain of the Fake News is that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is “anti-vaccine.”
- FACT: Kennedy debunked the lie in his confirmation hearings: “This has been repeatedly debunked … Bringing this up right now is dishonest.”
- HOAX: WIRED falsely claimed the Social Security Administration is “shifting its public communication exclusively to X” under President Trump.
- FACT: Not happening.
- HOAX: Reuters falsely reported that the Trump Administration “stalled a United Nations program in Mexico aimed at stopping imported fentanyl chemicals from reaching the country’s drug cartels.”
- FACT: The Department of State is actually trying to expand the initiative.
- FACT: The Fake News frequently pushed the lie that as part of the Trump administration, Secretary Kennedy would implement a national abortion ban and “restrict or even ban medication abortion without a single act of Congress.”
- FACT: Secretary Kennedy consistently pledged to implement President Trump’s policies — which include leaving abortion to the states, ending barbaric late-term abortions, protecting conscientious objections, and ending federal funding for abortions.
- HOAX: Fake News savant Tara Palmeri falsely reported that President Trump’s proposal for Gaza was conceived by Jared Kushner.
- FACT: This lie was immediately and summarily debunked by the Trump Administration: “The worst reporter in America makes up fake news for clout because she has no real sources. Sit down, dummy.”
- HOAX: Sen. Chris Murphy, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and media outlets claimed President Trump’s directive to pause radical, wasteful government spending meant an end to Medicaid, food assistance, and other individual assistance programs.
- FACT: Individual assistance programs — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, etc. — were explicitly excluded, as was made clear by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and the Office of Management and Budget. Only unnecessary spending — DEI, Green New Scam, NGOs that undermine the national interest — were included in the directive.
- HOAX: A “physicians advocacy group” was widely cited as opposing President Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
- FACT: The “advocacy group” was really an astroturfed partisan organization funded by prominent left-wing donors — and accepted fake signatures.
- HOAX: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and other Democrats pushed the lie that DOGE posted “classified information” on their website.
- FACT: That alleged “classified information” was really just an employment headcount — which has been publicly available for years.
- HOAX: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) claimed Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called all Venezuelan immigrants “dirtbags.”
- FACT: Secretary Noem actually called illegal immigrant members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang “dirtbags,” which is true.
- HOAX: The New York Times wrote that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., wanted to “ban fluoride in drinking water” and “reverse … one of the most important public health practices in the country’s history.”
- FACT: New York Times made no mention of their own reporting that fluoride may be “linked to lower IQ scores in children.”
- HOAX: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) repeatedly lied about President Trump “going after” Social Security.
- FACT: President Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect Social Security and make it more robust for American citizens.
- HOAX: Sen. Mark Kelley (D-AZ) attempted to scare veterans by shamelessly claiming their care was in jeopardy due to “layoffs” at VA hospitals.
- FACT: The lie was debunked by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins: “What changes are you talking about? We’ve not had those layoffs… I put $360 million back into community care… It’s concerning to me that a veteran would actually tell stories to veterans that are not true.”
- HOAX: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) exploited the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport plane crash tragedy by claiming President Trump “froze the hiring” of air traffic controllers.
- FACT: Air traffic controllers were exempt from the federal hiring freeze.
- HOAX: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) implied that “cutting” members of an aviation advisory committee was somehow a cause of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport plane crash tragedy.
- FACT: The advisory group hadn’t met since 2023 and was comprised of business and union leaders who gave “advice” to the TSA and had nothing to do with actual air travel.
- HOAX: A far-left writer claimed Elon Musk and DOGE staffers “illegally installed a commercial server to control federal HR databases that contain sensitive personal information, including SSNs, home addresses, and medical histories.”
- FACT: A top official confirmed “there’s nothing illegal and no server, just more made up tall tales from uninformed career bureaucrats.”
- HOAX: The Washington Post alleged the Trump Administration was setting “quotas” for immigration authorities — and gave the administration just four minutes to comment before publishing.
- FACT: As usual, this was a fake story.
- HOAX: Online liberal activists claimed President Trump “took down” President Obama’s portrait in the White House.
- FACT: Obama’s portrait was not taken down — it was simply moved only feet away from its previous location.
- HOAX: Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) claimed Attorney General Pam Bondi created a “weaponizing task force.”
- FACT: It was a task force to END weaponization at the Department of Justice.
- HOAX: CBS News reported that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a “makeup studio” be installed inside the Pentagon.
- FACT: It was a “totally fake story,” and the alleged studio was really an existing green room with no frills.
- HOAX: Politico reported the Trump Administration was debating lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, including the Nord Stream pipeline.
- FACT: This was debunked by both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
- HOAX: An illegal immigrant in U.S. custody “simply disappeared,” The New York Times reported.
- FACT: The illegal immigrant was a confirmed member of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang. An immigration judge ordered his removal, and he was deported along with other threats to national security.
- HOAX: The Wall Street Journal alleged that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was receiving sensitive information on a personal phone while in Moscow and that Russian Intelligence must’ve had access to the information.
- FACT: This was a total fabrication. Special Envoy Witkoff did not even have a personal phone with him in Russia. He had only a government phone; a secure line of communication.
- HOAX: The Wall Street Journal claimed the Trump Administration “sought to portray” deported criminal illegal immigrant gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia as “violent.”
- FACT: Abrego Garcia’s own wife filed an order of protection against him and testified that he brutally beat her.
- HOAX: An AP reporter claimed that FAA staff who worked on “radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, among others” were “harassed on Facebook” by DOGE.
- FACT: That was a total lie. DOGE doesn’t have a Facebook page and no professionals who perform critical safety functions were fired.
- HOAX: The Daily Beast claimed Vice President JD Vance “broke one of the most notorious Vatican rules during his Easter weekend visit” by being photographed in the Sistine Chapel.
- FACT: Buried all the way down in the 14th paragraph, The Daily Beast admitted the vice president was given special permission by the Vatican to have photographs taken inside the Sistine Chapel.
- HOAX: Left-wing social media accounts promoted fake, AI-generated audio of Vice President Vance “disparaging Elon Musk in private.”
- FACT: The audio was debunked as fake.
- HOAX: The New York Times reported that funding for the Women’s Health Initiative was being slashed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
- FACT: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., himself declared this Fake News and recognized the project is “mission critical.”
- HOAX: Fox News’s Jennifer Griffin gave legitimacy to a hoax from delusional Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requested nearly $140,000 in “upgrades” to his government residence.
- FACT: This lie was debunked by Secretary Hegseth — and it was so outrageous, even the AP was forced to admit it was completely fake.
- HOAX: Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and many others claimed the Supreme Court ordered the return of illegal immigrant gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States.
- FACT: Even CNN admitted that’s not what happened: “They did not order the administration to return him to the United States … they could’ve said ‘we order him returned,’ but they didn’t do that.”
- HOAX: Joe Biden accused the Trump Administration of “taking aim at Social Security.”
- FACT: As usual, he was lying — President Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect Social Security.
- HOAX: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) claimed the arrest of a Milwaukee judge who helped an illegal immigrant evade arrest was “unprecedented.”
- FACT: It wasn’t; it has happened before.
- HOAX: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called the arrest of a Milwaukee judge who helped an illegal immigrant evade arrest a “gravely serious and drastic move.”
- FACT: The judge violated the law by obstructing an ICE arrest of an illegal immigrant.
- HOAX: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) claimed the arrest of the Milwaukee judge who obstructed an apprehension of a criminal illegal immigrant “threatens the rule of law.”
- FACT: It literally does the opposite because no one is above the law.
- HOAX: Politico claimed the Trump Administration “wipe[d] out firefighter health and safety programs.”
- FACT: The programs remain a top priority for the administration — and will remain intact.
- HOAX: Sen. Elizabeth Warren claimed that President Trump’s policies make it so “no one wants to make investments in the United States.”
- FACT: President Trump has secured more than $5 trillion in investments since taking office, which is expected to create more than 451,000 new jobs — and the list is only expected to grow.
- HOAX: NBC’s Kristen Welker peddled a Fake News hoax that the Trump Administration was deporting children.
- FACT: Secretary of State Marco Rubio shut down her desperate attempt at a hoax by highlighting how the mother, who was in the country illegally, made that choice all on her own.
- HOAX: The New York Times implied President Trump was alone in wearing a blue suit to the funeral of Pope Francis.
- FACT: Photos show dozens of world leaders and other attendees — many situated near President Trump — also wearing blue clothing.
- HOAX: Teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten accused President Trump of taking teachers’ salaries and giving them to “billionaires” by cutting the Department of Education.
- FACT: President Trump has repeatedly called teachers “the most important people in this country” who should be paid more, not less. The federal government does not pay the salaries of teachers; state and local governments do.
- HOAX: The Fake News and their predictable allies ran with a story that claimed an American citizen was detained by authorities after he informed them he was, in fact, a citizen.
- FACT: That’s not what happened. The individual “approached Border Patrol in Tucson and stated he had entered the U.S. illegally through Nogales. He said he wanted to turn himself in and completed a sworn statement identifying as a Mexican citizen who had entered unlawfully … A few days later, his family presented documents showing U.S. citizenship. The charges were dismissed, and he was released to his family.”
- HOAX: PBS News claimed “DOGE operatives attempted to gain access to secure spaces,” implying they attempted to access classified information without approval.
- FACT: This wasn’t even remotely true.
- HOAX: The AP falsely claimed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Trump is “very good friends” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- FACT: The AP was humiliatingly forced to retract its story, admitting they were wrong. Stephanie Ruhle also had to issue a correction. DNI Gabbard was referencing President Trump’s relationship with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
- HOAX: Student visa holders should have unfettered access to do whatever they want in the United States.
- FACT: Wrong. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “When you apply to enter the United States and you get a visa, you are a guest… If you tell us when you apply for a visa ‘I’m coming to the U.S. to participate in pro-Hamas events,’ that runs counter to the foreign policy interest of the United States… If you had told us you were going to do that, we never would have given you the visa.”
MIL OSI USA News –
April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty to Harboring an Unlawful Alien that Illegally Crossed from Canada into the United States

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

CONCORD – A Guatemalan man pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to transporting an unlawful alien, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.

Esdras Aaron Calel-Cumes, 29, a Guatemalan man unlawfully residing in Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of Bringing in and Harboring Certain Aliens. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled sentencing for August 11, 2025.

According to the charging documents, on September 9, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detected a male, subsequently identified as Luis Felipe Xiloj-Ambrocio, crossing illegally from Canada to the United States in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. Calel-Cumes traveled from Massachusetts to pick up Xiloj-Ambrocio. At the time of their apprehension by Customs and Border Protection, Calel-Cumes and Xiloj-Ambrocio were driving south on U.S. Route 3.

Neither Xiloj-Ambrocio nor Calel-Cumes have legal immigration status in the United States. Xiloj-Ambrocio previously pleaded guilty in the District of New Hampshire to one count of illegal entry and has been deported. Calel-Cumes faces deportation to Guatemala after completing his sentence.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 5 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

###

MIL Security OSI –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Donald Trump’s first 100 days have badly damaged trust in America both economically and as an ally

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Steve Dunne, PhD researcher, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

As in life, trust matters in international politics. Vital for cooperation and reciprocation, trusting someone nevertheless leaves one vulnerable should they break faith and pursue self-serving goals. As US political scientist Andrew Kydd recognised, trust is the belief that someone “prefers mutual cooperation to exploiting and suckering others”.

Two versions of trust matter in international relations. Strategic trust, in the form of institutionalised agreements and organisations which provide certainty – as well as material incentives – to encourage people and nations to honour their commitments. And moralistic trust, based on what social scientists call an “implicit theory of personality” that involves people making everyday judgements regarding a person’s character and integrity.

A brief look at the liberal post-war economic order shows how trust has proved fundamental. The Bretton Woods system of multilateral institutions that developed after the second world war, including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organization, created a rules-based consistency for mutual benefit.

The WTO, for example, promised members that economic conditions between countries would not opportunistically and suddenly change. If they did, independent recourse was available through its appellate body.

This certainty encouraged many otherwise hesitant states to engage. The collapse of the appellate body in 2019 – after the US, under then-president, Donald Trump, blocked further appointees, thus denying it the required quorum – was a critical first step towards the present crisis in trust.

How is Donald Trump’s presidency shaping up after 100 days? Here’s what the experts think. If you like what you see, sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter.

Across the opening 100 days of his second term, Trump has broken both these conceptions of trust. In doing so, he has devastated – perhaps irreparably – economic confidence in the US.

In terms of strategic trust, look no further than Trump’s attacks on Canada and Mexico. On February 1, Trump threatened near-universal 25% tariffs on exports from America’s two largest trading partners. These tariffs entered into effect on March 4 and were followed by additional duties on aluminum, steel and auto parts.

Viewed from Canada and Mexico, Trump’s actions were an unambiguous breach of trust and the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, which Trump had personally signed in 2020. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, reacted by forewarning that “its clear the US is no longer a reliable partner” and predicted a “fundamentally different relationship” between the two countries going forwards.

When it comes to moralistic trust, Trump was on weak ground before even becoming president. Beyond his business dealings – which have historically involved unpaid vendors and fraudulent practices – as well as serious allegations of abuse, Trump’s first term was marked by numerous reputational failings. These included a historic two impeachments, the second for his role in the January 6 insurrection that attempted to unlawfully overturn the 2020 election result.

“Liberation Day” on April 2, which was when Trump announced the details of his tariffs, delivered a singular blow. The heavy targeting of poorer countries such as Cambodia and Lesotho – while exempting Russia – strengthened reservations about Trump’s character. Equally, the blatant idiocy of many tariffs – most prominently the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are uninhabited save for penguins – further limited confidence in his administration’s competency and judgement.

Combined with Trump’s imperialistic bullying of other nations, from Greenland, to Panama to Ukraine, his remaining integrity in economic affairs has imploded. Although the full effects (and damage) of Trump’s actions on America’s reputation are not yet known, adverse consequences should be expected in both the short and longer terms.

The long and the short

In the short term, decreased economic trust will prolong market volatility. April 3-4 saw the largest-ever two-day loss, as US$6.6 trillion (£5 trillion) was erased from US stocks. Trump’s tariffs are also expected to depress growth, both at home and abroad.

JP Morgan now rates the likelihood of a recession this year at 60% – more than double when Trump took office. Consumer confidence, meanwhile, is at its second lowest since records began.

Increased prices for groceries – two-thirds of US vegetable imports come from Mexico – as well as energy bills – the US imports 61% of its oil from Canada – is also likely. Higher tariffs on goods from China will similarly impact domestic spending.

In the longer-term, diminished economic trust will continue to weaken bond markets, hampering America’s ability to service its colossal national debt. The increased cost of dollar-denominated goods could also spark a debt crisis reminiscent of the 1980s, when Latin America defaulted en masse, causing widespread economic turmoil.

Perhaps most significantly, declining global trust will accelerate processes of de-dollarisation and reduce reliance on the dollar as a reserve currency. The ending of the “exorbitant privilege” – the advantage enjoyed by the US thanks to the dollar being the global reserve currency – could spell disaster vis-à-vis borrowing costs and, ultimately, risk a balance of payments crisis. More broadly, de-dollarisation would leave the US economically marginalised in a more multipolar global economy.

Extending beyond economics, however, Trump’s trade policy will eviscerate American soft power unless corrected. With trust in the US dwindling, an increase in coercive forms of bargaining with international trade partners over more cooperative approaches becomes inevitable. Despite the demonstrable superiority of the latter approach, mutual trust is required to facilitate successful collaboration.

Without trust, negotiation itself becomes an impossibility. And if trust is consistently broken, even those predisposed towards cooperation will be deterred.

The US under Trump is fast becoming untrustworthy. American reliability must now be broadly questioned, from collective security to the rule of law. The effect of this widespread loss of trust – embodied by Trump’s indiscriminate and ill-mannered economic attacks – will be the neutering of US soft power.

The foundation of American strength for decades, its ability to attract and appeal to its allies as an alternative to coercion, is now on life support. Meanwhile, China – purportedly “the greatest threat to America today” – is actively exploiting this decline and accelerating its own soft power initiatives.

If Trump truly wishes to make America great again, then betraying allies through coercive mistreatment is not the answer. Honest engagement that builds trust is.

Steve Dunne receives funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

– ref. Donald Trump’s first 100 days have badly damaged trust in America both economically and as an ally – https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-first-100-days-have-badly-damaged-trust-in-america-both-economically-and-as-an-ally-255150

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Seizure of contraband and unauthorized items at Collins Bay Institution

Source: Government of Canada News (2)

April 29, 2025 – Kingston, Ontario – Correctional Service Canada

On April 22, 2025, as a result of the vigilance of staff members, a package containing contraband and unauthorized items was seized at Collins Bay Institution, a multi-level security federal institution.

The contraband seized included marijuana and graba (a form of khat). The total estimated institutional value of this seizure is $50,000.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has heightened measures to prevent contraband from entering its institutions in order to help ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone. CSC also works in partnership with the police to take action against those who attempt to introduce contraband or unauthorized items into correctional institutions.

CSC has set up a telephone tip line for all federal institutions so that it may receive additional information about activities relating to security at CSC institutions. These activities may be related to drug use or trafficking that may threaten the safety and security of visitors, inmates, and staff members working at CSC institutions.

The toll-free number, 1‑866‑780‑3784, helps ensure that the information shared is protected and that callers remain anonymous.

MIL OSI Canada News –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI: Ninepoint Partners Announces Final April 2025 Cash Distribution for Ninepoint Cash Management Fund – ETF Series

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ninepoint Partners LP (“Ninepoint Partners”) today announced the final April 2025 cash distribution for the Ninepoint Cash Management Fund – ETF Series. The record date for the distribution is April 30, 2025. This distribution is payable on May 7, 2025.

The per-unit final April 2025 distribution is detailed below:

Ninepoint ETF Series Ticker Cash Distribution per unit Notional Distribution per unit CUSIP

Ninepoint Cash Management Fund NSAV $0.11744 $0.00000 65443X105

About Ninepoint Partners

Based in Toronto, Ninepoint Partners LP is one of Canada’s leading alternative investment management firms overseeing approximately $7 billion in assets under management and institutional contracts. Committed to helping investors explore innovative investment solutions that have the potential to enhance returns and manage portfolio risk, Ninepoint offers a diverse set of alternative strategies spanning Equities, Fixed Income, Alternative Income, Real Assets, F/X and Digital Assets

For more information on Ninepoint Partners LP, please visit www.ninepoint.com or for inquiries regarding the offering, please contact us at (416) 943-6707 or (866) 299-9906 or invest@ninepoint.com.

Ninepoint Partners LP is the investment manager to the Ninepoint Funds (collectively, the “Funds”). Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, performance fees (if any), and other expenses all may be associated with investing in the Funds. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer or solicitation by anyone in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. Prospective investors who are not resident in Canada should contact their financial advisor to determine whether securities of the Fund may be lawfully sold in their jurisdiction.

Please note that distribution factors (breakdown between income, capital gains and return of capital) can only be calculated when a fund has reached its year-end. Distribution information should not be relied upon for income tax reporting purposes as this is only a component of total distributions for the year. For accurate distribution amounts for the purpose of filing an income tax return, please refer to the appropriate T3/T5 slips for that particular taxation year. Please refer to the prospectus or offering memorandum of each Fund for details of the Fund’s distribution policy.

The payment of distributions and distribution breakdown, if applicable, is not guaranteed and may fluctuate. The payment of distributions should not be confused with a Fund’s performance, rate of return, or yield. If distributions paid by the Fund are greater than the performance of the Fund, then an investor’s original investment will shrink. Distributions paid as a result of capital gains realized by a Fund and income and dividends earned by a Fund are taxable in the year they are paid. An investor’s adjusted cost base will be reduced by the amount of any returns of capital. If an investor’s adjusted cost base goes below zero, then capital gains tax will have to be paid on the amount below zero.

Sales Inquiries:

Ninepoint Partners LP
Neil Ross
416-945-6227
nross@ninepoint.com

The MIL Network –

April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI: QCI Announces Strategic Entry into the Insurance Sector
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SAN DIEGO, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), a market leader in AI-driven data platforms for highly regulated industries, today announced its expansion into the insurance sector through a new strategic engagement with an insurance intermediary. As part of the collaboration, QCI is designing and deploying a secure, HIPAA-compliant data warehouse to support the intermediary’s ongoing digital transformation efforts.

The solution will provide secure, centralized access to curated data sets, enabling improved operational efficiency, more responsive service delivery, and enhanced data governance.

“We’re excited to work with QCI as we continue investing in the infrastructure needed to support our growth,” said a senior executive from the intermediary firm. “Their experience in building scalable, compliant data environments gives us confidence that our information will be well-managed and accessible to the teams who need it.”

Andrew Cardno, Chief Technology Officer at QCI, added, “This partnership represents an important step for QCI as we apply our platform’s capabilities to a new industry vertical. We’re proud to bring our expertise in secure, AI-powered data systems to the insurance space and help our client advance their data strategy in a meaningful way.”

The data depository will integrate key operational, financial, and customer data into a unified environment, supported by robust governance protocols and role-based access controls. Leveraging QCI’s AI-enabled analytics and scalable infrastructure, the intermediary will be positioned to:
- Consolidate fragmented data sources for improved visibility
- Simplify reporting processes and support compliance activities
- Discover new trends and business insights
- Elevate client service through data-informed interactions
The implementation is already underway, with phased rollouts planned throughout 2025 to deliver incremental value and performance improvements.

ABOUT QCI
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI) has pioneered the revolutionary QCI Enterprise Platform, an artificial intelligence platform that seamlessly integrates player development, marketing, and gaming operations with powerful, real-time tools designed specifically for the gaming and hospitality industries. Our advanced, highly configurable software is deployed in over 250 casino resorts across North America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Latin America, and Europe. The QCI AGI Platform, which manages more than $35 billion in annual gross gaming revenue, stands as a best-in-class solution, whether on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-based, enabling fully coordinated activities across all aspects of gaming or hospitality operations. QCI’s data-driven, AI-powered software propels swift, informed decision-making vital in the ever-changing casino industry, assisting casinos in optimizing resources and profits, crafting effective marketing campaigns, and enhancing customer loyalty. QCI was co-founded by Dr. Ralph Thomas and Mr. Andrew Cardno and is based in San Diego, with additional offices in Las Vegas, St. Louis, Dallas, and Tulsa. Main phone number: (858) 299.5715. Visit us at www.quickcustomintelligence.com.

ABOUT Andrew Cardno
Andrew Cardno is a distinguished figure in the realm of artificial intelligence and data plumbing. With over two decades spearheading private Ph.D. and master’s level research teams, his expertise has made significant waves in data tooling. Andrew’s innate ability to innovate has led him to devise numerous pioneering visualization methods. Of these, the most notable is the deep zoom image format, a groundbreaking innovation that has since become a cornerstone in the majority of today’s mapping tools. His leadership acumen has earned him two coveted Smithsonian Laureates, and teams under his mentorship have clinched 40 industry awards, including three pivotal gaming industry transformation awards. Together with Dr. Ralph Thomas, the duo co-founded Quick Custom Intelligence, amplifying their collaborative innovative capacities. A testament to his inventive prowess, Andrew boasts over 150 patent applications. Across various industries—be it telecommunications with Telstra Australia, retail with giants like Walmart and Best Buy, or the medical sector with esteemed institutions like City Of Hope and UCSD—Andrew’s impact is deeply felt. He has enriched the literature with insights, co-authoring eight influential books with Dr. Thomas and contributing to over 100 industry publications. An advocate for community and diversity, Andrew’s work has touched over 100 Native American Tribal Resorts, underscoring his expansive and inclusive professional endeavors.

Contact:
Laurel Kay, Quick Custom Intelligence
Phone: 858-349-8354

The MIL Network –
April 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Shelburne — Shelburne RCMP Detachment charge a man and recover stolen vehicle

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Shelburne RCMP Detachment has charged a man with multiple offences after responding to a report of a stolen truck.

On April 25 at approximately 9:40 a.m., Shelburne RCMP Detachment responded to a report of a stolen GMC Sierra truck in the Jordan Falls area. During the investigation, officers identified two people of interest.

Officers later received an unrelated report of two people on foot off Morvan Rd. near Shelburne. The two matched the descriptions of the people of interest. Investigators, including an RCMP Police Service Dog, conducted patrols in the area immediately. When one of the people was located, officers learned the other person may be in possession of a firearm.

The Nova Scotia RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) and RCMP Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (drones) operators were dispatched to assist.

At approximately 12:40 p.m., officers located the stolen vehicle abandoned on a side road near Shelburne. The officers seized evidence to support the investigation and returned it to its owner.

Through the investigation, officers identified the suspect as Joseph Hayden, 34, of Jordan Ferry, and learned he was at a home on Sandy Point Rd. in Shelburne. Officers from Shelburne RCMP Detachment and ERT attended and safely arrested Hayden outside the home.

Hayden has been charged with six offences including Motor Vehicle Theft, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Unauthorized Possession of Firearm, and Possession of Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized. He had a first court appearance on April 26 and was remanded into custody.

The other person identified as part of the investigation was arrested and will face a charge of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime. They were released pending an upcoming court appearance.

Hayden was not in possession of a firearm at the time of his arrest. Officers are continuing the investigation and conducting checks to determine if a firearm seized on April 28 at an unrelated call was also used during this incident.

Shelburne RCMP Detachment appreciated cooperation from the public as officers made attempts to locate the suspect and the stolen vehicle.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information who has not yet spoken with police is asked to contact Shelburne RCMP Detachment at 902-875-2490. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.

MIL Security OSI –

April 30, 2025

Ninepoint ETF Series	Ticker	Cash Distribution per unit		Notional Distribution per unit		CUSIP
Ninepoint Cash Management Fund	NSAV	$0.11744		$0.00000		65443X105

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