Category: Canada

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement on Iran and the Middle East
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

News story

G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement on Iran and the Middle East

Joint Statement of the G7 Foreign Ministers on Iran and the Middle East
Joint statement:

We the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, met in The Hague on June 25, 2025, where we discussed recent events in the Middle East.

We reiterate our support for the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by U.S. President Trump, and urge all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.

We appreciate Qatar’s important role in facilitating the ceasefire and express our full solidarity to Qatar and Iraq following the recent strikes by Iran and its proxies and partners against their territory. We welcome all efforts in the region towards stabilization and de-escalation.

We reaffirm that the Islamic Republic of Iran can never have nuclear weapons, and urge Iran to refrain from reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities. We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program.

In order to have a sustainable and credible resolution, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors. We condemn calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi.

We underscore the centrality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is essential that Iran remains party to and fully implements its obligations under the Treaty.

We reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we reaffirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.

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Email the FCDO Newsdesk (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

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Published 2 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 3, 2025
MIL-OSI: NowVertical’s Integration Strategy Accelerates Account Expansion and Cross-Market Growth

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NowVertical Group Inc. (TSXV: NOW) (“NowVertical” or the “Company”), a leading data and AI solutions provider, today provided an update on the execution of its “One Brand, One Business” integration strategy, highlighting continued margin expansion and deeper enterprise penetration across North America and Latin America.

Over the past twelve months, one of our NA&EMEA Strategic Accounts – a Fortune 500 technology business and one of eight US $1 million-plus 2024 engagements for NowVertical – has transitioned from siloed local analytics and reporting to a cross-region reporting programme delivered by NowVertical. By coordinating experts across several time zones under one operating framework, the NowVertical broadened its engagement across EMEA and APAC providing end-to-end campaign planning and quarterly executive business reviews. This capability expansion, engagement enhancement and global delivery approach has been unlocked through the ‘One Brand, One Business’ Strategy, which is integrating delivery operations across the group. The success of this integrated approach is cementing NowVertical as a key data and AI partner for the client whilst also improving margins.

A parallel engagement with a global life-sciences leader and a NowVertical strategic account in Latin America underscores the scalability of the model. A multi-country delivery team is driving a data-modernisation programme, consolidating legacy data estates onto Google Cloud, enabling real-time analytics and rolling out an enhanced platform in new markets for the client. The result is faster commercial insight for the client and a repeatable playbook for NowVertical, already fuelling follow-on work in Mexico and Colombia.

“These programmes show exactly why we moved to a unified operating structure,” said Sandeep Mendiratta, CEO of NowVertical. “By operating as one integrated business, we’re not only unlocking higher-margin work and accelerating account growth, but also delivering phenomenal value to our clients. We’re helping them move faster, make better decisions, and ultimately generate more revenue from their data. This model is creating durable, recurring revenue streams for NowVertical and measurable business impact for our clients.”

The Company sees the growing contribution from cross-border, capability-integrated engagements to support its path to a US $50 million run-rate revenue and US $10 million EBITDA target while reinforcing its position as a trusted, full-stack data and AI partner to enterprise clients worldwide.

About NowVertical Group Inc.

NowVertical is a global data and analytics company which helps clients transform data into tangible business value with AI, fast. Offering a comprehensive suite of solutions and services, the Company enables clients to quickly harness the full potential of their data, driving measurable outcomes and accelerating potential return on investment. Enterprises optimize decision-making, improve operational efficiency, and unlock long-term value from their data using the Company’s AI-Infused first party and third-party technologies. NowVertical is growing organically and through strategic acquisitions.

For further details about NowVertical, please visit www.nowvertical.com.

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.

For further information, please contact:

Andre Garber, CDO
IR@nowvertical.com

Investor Relations: Bristol Capital Ltd.
Stefan Eftychiou
stefan@bristolir.com
+1(905)326-1888 x60

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (together “forward-looking statements”), including, with respect to the availability of funds under the Facilities, the ability of NowVertical to utilize funds under the Facilities, the effect of the Facilities on NowVertical’s operations contemplated in this press release on NowVertical’s business, finances and operations. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies, certain of which are unknown. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “should”, “will”, “could”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe” or “continue”, or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by inherent risks and uncertainties, including: adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the data analytics and artificial intelligence sectors in general; regulatory and legislative changes; that future results may vary from historical results; inability to service the Company’s debt; any inability to realize the expected benefits and synergies of acquisitions or dispositions; that market competition may affect the business, results and financial condition of the Company and other risk factors identified in documents filed by the Company under its profile at www.sedarplus.com, including the Company’s management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The MIL Network –

July 3, 2025

MIL-OSI: YieldMax® ETFs Announces Distributions on SMCY, ULTY, MSTY, WNTR, LFGY, and Others

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

CHICAGO and MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax® today announced distributions for the YieldMax® Weekly Payers and Group D 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*	$0.4223	40.43%	0.04%	99.14%	7/3/25	7/7/25
GPTY	YieldMax® AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF	*Weekly*	$0.3182	35.46%	0.00%	100.00%	7/3/25	7/7/25
LFGY	YieldMax® Crypto Industry & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF	*Weekly*	$0.4669	60.87%	0.00%	100.00%	7/3/25	7/7/25
QDTY	YieldMax® Nasdaq 100 0DTE Covered Call ETF	*Weekly*	$0.1618	19.16%	0.00%	100.00%	7/3/25	7/7/25
RDTY	YieldMax® R2000 0DTE Covered Call ETF	*Weekly*	$0.2361	26.39%	1.65%	100.00%	7/3/25	7/7/25
SDTY	YieldMax® S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call ETF	*Weekly*	$0.1638	18.96%	0.07%	100.00%	7/3/25	7/7/25
ULTY	YieldMax® Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF	*Weekly*	$0.0952	80.23%	0.00%	98.10%	7/3/25	7/7/25
YMAG	YieldMax® Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs	*Weekly*	$0.0554	19.05%	63.17%	77.84%	7/3/25	7/7/25
YMAX	YieldMax® Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs	*Weekly*	$0.1574	60.04%	82.40%	96.10%	7/3/25	7/7/25
AIYY	YieldMax® AI Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$0.1600	47.92%	3.46%	93.73%	7/3/25	7/7/25
AMZY	YieldMax® AMZN Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$0.5900	46.94%	2.86%	94.61%	7/3/25	7/7/25
APLY	YieldMax® AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$0.2695	26.93%	3.38%	87.98%	7/3/25	7/7/25
DISO	YieldMax® DIS Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$0.4163	36.54%	2.97%	93.52%	7/3/25	7/7/25
MSTY	YieldMax® MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$1.2382	77.14%	1.80%	96.86%	7/3/25	7/7/25
SMCY	YieldMax® SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$1.6102	101.78%	3.09%	97.25%	7/3/25	7/7/25
WNTR	YieldMax® Short MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$1.8550	65.38%	3.19%	96.58%	7/3/25	7/7/25
XYZY	YieldMax® XYZ Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$0.4398	56.14%	2.57%	97.95%	7/3/25	7/7/25
YQQQ	YieldMax® Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF	Every 4 weeks	$0.2338	21.22%	3.41%	84.56%	7/3/25	7/7/25
Weekly Payers & Group A ETFs scheduled for next week: CHPY GPTY LFGY QDTY RDTY SDTY UTLY YMAG YMAX BRKC CRSH FEAT FIVY GOOY OARK SNOY TSLY TSMY XOMO YBIT

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 (866) 864-3968.

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, 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%. YMAG has a management fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.83% for a gross expense ratio of 1.12%. 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 of 1.40%, and a net 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 July 1, 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 June 30, 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 indicates how much the distribution reflects an investor’s initial investment. The figures shown for each Fund in the table above are estimates and may later be determined to be taxable net investment income, short-term gains, long-term gains (to the extent permitted by law), or return of capital. Actual amounts and sources for tax reporting will depend upon the Fund’s investment activities during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Your broker will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year to tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

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 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, BRK.B), 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. 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.

Risk Disclosures (applicable only to CHPY)

Semiconductor Industry Risk. Semiconductor companies may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, and such competition may have an adverse effect on their profit margins. Semiconductor companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Semiconductor companies’ supply chain and operations are dependent on the availability of materials that meet exacting standards and the use of third parties to provide components and services.

The products of semiconductor companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Capital equipment expenditures could be substantial, and equipment generally suffers from rapid obsolescence. Companies in the semiconductor industry are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights would adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

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 –

July 2, 2025

MIL-OSI: Dayforce offre aux PME canadiennes les moyens de réussir grâce à Powerpay par Dayforce

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dayforce, Inc. (NYSE : DAY; TSX : DAY), un chef de file mondial en gestion du capital humain qui améliore la vie au travail, a annoncé aujourd’hui le repositionnement de marque de sa solution de gestion de la paie et de gestion des RH pour les PME sous le nom de Powerpay par Dayforce, ce qui signifie que l’entreprise met l’accent sur une nouvelle approche stratégique et s’engage de manière continue à répondre aux besoins uniques et en constante évolution de plus de 46 000 clients à travers le Canada.

Les PME représentent le moteur de l’économie canadienne, en ajoutant des milliards de dollars à son PIB chaque année et en représentant presque l’ensemble du paysage commercial. Mais il n’a jamais été aussi complexe de gérer une PME. Avec l’apport de centaines de modifications législatives chaque année, les propriétaires d’entreprise doivent composer avec un contexte de conformité et de réglementations sur l’emploi en constante évolution. Pour demeurer concentrés sur la croissance de leur entreprise, ils ont besoin d’outils simples et fiables qui les aident à payer leurs employés de manière exacte et conforme.

« Powerpay représente notre engagement envers les PME canadiennes. Nous comprenons vos défis, soutenons vos ambitions et favorisons votre réussite », déclare David Ossip, président et chef de la direction chez Dayforce. « Powerpay est une solution conçue pour simplifier la conformité, permettre aux propriétaires d’entreprises de gagner du temps et les aider à se concentrer sur ce qui compte le plus, c’est-à-dire leur entreprise. Nous sommes fiers de contribuer à transformer l’exploitation, la croissance et la prospérité des entreprises canadiennes ».

En plus du repositionnement de la marque, la solution Powerpay offre également une expérience plus intuitive et conviviale grâce à des fonctions améliorées de suivi des heures et de rémunération. Les mises à jour récentes apportées à la solution, notamment l’Assistant Nouvelle embauche et la fonction d’inscription libre-service de masse, sont axées sur les employés et les gestionnaires afin de les aider à rationaliser l’intégration et les tâches quotidiennes. Ces améliorations favorisent l’efficacité, offrent une meilleure visibilité sur les données relatives aux effectifs et soutiennent une prise de décisions plus rapide et plus confiante.

« Powerpay a transformé la façon dont nous gérons la paie », indique Krista Hanes, directrice de l’administration et des services aux entreprises chez Apollo Property Management. « La plateforme est intuitive, évolutive et convient parfaitement à une entreprise comme la nôtre qui gère plusieurs traitements de la paie. Elle offre une tranquillité d’esprit à nos équipes des RH et des finances, en sachant que la paie est toujours traitée de façon exacte et à temps. Nous considérons Powerpay comme un partenaire de confiance et sommes enthousiastes à l’idée de savoir ce que nous réserve l’avenir. »

Croissance de l’équipe de direction de Powerpay

Dans le cadre de l’engagement de l’entreprise envers une croissance et une innovation durables, Behrad Bayanpour a été nommé directeur général de Powerpay. Dans son rôle de vice-président directeur de la stratégie et de la croissance chez Dayforce, il supervise les ventes, les produits, l’ingénierie et les services, et apporte une vision ciblée pour faire évoluer la mission de Powerpay qui consiste à fournir des solutions fiables, sécurisées et conformes aux propriétaires d’entreprise à travers le Canada.

« Tandis que nous tirons parti de l’élan de Powerpay, notre engagement à autonomiser les PME canadiennes n’a jamais été aussi élevé », déclare M. Bayanpour. « Nous ne fournissons pas seulement une plateforme, nous forgeons également des partenariats qui alimentent la croissance, stimulent l’innovation et aident les PME à naviguer avec confiance et optimisme dans un monde en constante évolution. »

Pour en savoir plus, veuillez consulter le nouveau site Web powerpay.ca.

À propos de Dayforce
Dayforce améliore la vie au travail. Tout ce que nous faisons en tant que chef de file mondial en technologie de gestion du capital humain vise à aider des milliers de clients et des millions d’employés à travers le monde à accomplir leur vocation. Grâce à notre plateforme de gestion du capital humain optimisée par l’IA qui facilite la gestion des RH, de la paie, des heures, des talents et des analyses de données, les organisations de toutes tailles et de tous les secteurs d’activité bénéficient de la simplicité à grande échelle qu’offre Dayforce pour aider à libérer le potentiel de leurs effectifs, à exercer leurs activités en toute confiance et à réaliser une valeur quantifiable. Pour en savoir plus, visitez le dayforce.com.

Pour communiquer avec l’équipe de relations publiques de Dayforce
Patrick Allen
patrick.allen@dayforce.com
647 417-2208

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Dayforce Empowers Canadian Small and Mid-Sized Businesses with Powerpay by Dayforce

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dayforce, Inc. (NYSE: DAY; TSX: DAY), a global human capital management (HCM) leader that makes work life better, today announced the rebranding of its payroll and HR solution for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) as Powerpay by Dayforce, signaling a renewed strategic focus and ongoing commitment to meeting the unique and evolving needs of its more than 46,000 customers across Canada.

SMBs drive Canada’s economy, contributing billions to its GDP each year and representing nearly the entire business landscape. But running one has never been more complex. With hundreds of legislative changes introduced annually, business owners face a fast-changing landscape of compliance and employment regulations. To stay focused on growth, they need simple, reliable tools that help pay their people accurately and compliantly.

“Powerpay represents our commitment to Canadian small and mid-sized businesses. We see your challenges, we support your ambitions, and we’re building for your successes,” said David Ossip, Chair and CEO at Dayforce. “Powerpay is designed to simplify compliance, save time, and help business owners focus on what matters most – their companies. We’re proud to help transform the way Canadian businesses operate, grow, and thrive.”

Timed with the rebrand, Powerpay also now delivers a more intuitive, user-friendly experience with enhanced time tracking and compensation features. Built with both employees and managers in mind, recent updates – including the New Hire Wizard and bulk self-service enrollment – help streamline onboarding and day-to-day tasks. These improvements boost efficiency, offer better visibility into workforce data, and support faster, more confident decision-making.

“Powerpay has transformed how we manage payroll,” said Krista Hanes, Director of Administration & Corporate Services at Apollo Property Management. “The platform is intuitive, scalable, and a great fit for a business like ours that runs multiple payrolls. It gives our HR and finance teams peace of mind, knowing payroll is always accurate and on time. We see Powerpay as a trusted partner and are excited about what’s ahead.”

Powerpay leadership team growth

As part of the company’s dedication to sustained growth and innovation, Behrad Bayanpour has been appointed General Manager of Powerpay. In his role as SVP of Strategy and Growth at Dayforce, he oversees Sales, Product, Engineering, and Services, and brings a focused vision to advance Powerpay’s mission of delivering reliable, secure, and compliant solutions to business owners across Canada.

“As we build on Powerpay’s momentum, our commitment to empowering Canada’s small and mid-sized businesses has never been stronger,” said Bayanpour. “We’re not just providing a platform — we’re forging partnerships that fuel growth, drive innovation, and help SMBs navigate an evolving landscape with confidence and optimism.”

Learn more at the new dedicated site: powerpay.ca.

About Dayforce
Dayforce makes work life better. Everything we do as a global leader in HCM technology is focused on enabling thousands of customers and millions of employees around the world do the work they’re meant to do. With our single AI-powered people platform for HR, Pay, Time, Talent, and Analytics, organizations of all sizes and industries are benefiting from simplicity at scale with Dayforce to help unlock their full workforce potential, operate with confidence, and realize quantifiable value. To learn more, visit dayforce.com.

Media Contact
Patrick Allen
patrick.allen@dayforce.com
(647) 417-2208

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Dayforce Empowers Canadian Small and Mid-Sized Businesses with Powerpay by Dayforce

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dayforce, Inc. (NYSE: DAY; TSX: DAY), a global human capital management (HCM) leader that makes work life better, today announced the rebranding of its payroll and HR solution for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) as Powerpay by Dayforce, signaling a renewed strategic focus and ongoing commitment to meeting the unique and evolving needs of its more than 46,000 customers across Canada.

SMBs drive Canada’s economy, contributing billions to its GDP each year and representing nearly the entire business landscape. But running one has never been more complex. With hundreds of legislative changes introduced annually, business owners face a fast-changing landscape of compliance and employment regulations. To stay focused on growth, they need simple, reliable tools that help pay their people accurately and compliantly.

“Powerpay represents our commitment to Canadian small and mid-sized businesses. We see your challenges, we support your ambitions, and we’re building for your successes,” said David Ossip, Chair and CEO at Dayforce. “Powerpay is designed to simplify compliance, save time, and help business owners focus on what matters most – their companies. We’re proud to help transform the way Canadian businesses operate, grow, and thrive.”

Timed with the rebrand, Powerpay also now delivers a more intuitive, user-friendly experience with enhanced time tracking and compensation features. Built with both employees and managers in mind, recent updates – including the New Hire Wizard and bulk self-service enrollment – help streamline onboarding and day-to-day tasks. These improvements boost efficiency, offer better visibility into workforce data, and support faster, more confident decision-making.

“Powerpay has transformed how we manage payroll,” said Krista Hanes, Director of Administration & Corporate Services at Apollo Property Management. “The platform is intuitive, scalable, and a great fit for a business like ours that runs multiple payrolls. It gives our HR and finance teams peace of mind, knowing payroll is always accurate and on time. We see Powerpay as a trusted partner and are excited about what’s ahead.”

Powerpay leadership team growth

As part of the company’s dedication to sustained growth and innovation, Behrad Bayanpour has been appointed General Manager of Powerpay. In his role as SVP of Strategy and Growth at Dayforce, he oversees Sales, Product, Engineering, and Services, and brings a focused vision to advance Powerpay’s mission of delivering reliable, secure, and compliant solutions to business owners across Canada.

“As we build on Powerpay’s momentum, our commitment to empowering Canada’s small and mid-sized businesses has never been stronger,” said Bayanpour. “We’re not just providing a platform — we’re forging partnerships that fuel growth, drive innovation, and help SMBs navigate an evolving landscape with confidence and optimism.”

Learn more at the new dedicated site: powerpay.ca.

About Dayforce
Dayforce makes work life better. Everything we do as a global leader in HCM technology is focused on enabling thousands of customers and millions of employees around the world do the work they’re meant to do. With our single AI-powered people platform for HR, Pay, Time, Talent, and Analytics, organizations of all sizes and industries are benefiting from simplicity at scale with Dayforce to help unlock their full workforce potential, operate with confidence, and realize quantifiable value. To learn more, visit dayforce.com.

Media Contact
Patrick Allen
patrick.allen@dayforce.com
(647) 417-2208

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Rivalry Reports Full-Year 2024 Results as Strategic Turnaround Takes Hold, Operating Loss Narrows, and Efficiency Improves
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rivalry Corp. (the “Company” or “Rivalry”) (TSXV: RVLY), an internationally regulated sports betting and media company, announces its financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

While Rivalry’s 2024 financials reflect only the earliest signals of its company-wide restructuring, the foundational work – most of which began in the second half of 2024 – is now beginning to show results in 2025. The Company narrowed its net loss, reduced operating expenses by 17%, and entered the new year leaner, more focused, and closer to breakeven.

“We made hard decisions last year – rebuilding the product, cutting costs, and refining our approach to players – and those changes are beginning to show signs of positive impact,” said Steven Salz, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivalry. “The latter half of 2024 set the stage, and we’re encouraged by the progress seen so far in 2025.”

FY2024 Highlights
- Net revenue of $13.6 million, compared to $16.2 million in 2023.
- Operating expenses decreased 17% to $32.2 million, down from $38.8 million.
- Net loss of $22.4 million, compared to $23.8 million.
- Deferred revenue of $4.1 million related to pre-sales of Rivalry’s on-platform crypto token.
- Year-end cash of $2.7 million, with materially lower run-rate operating expenses entering 2025¹.
Organizational Rebuild & Operating Leverage

Rivalry spent the latter part of 2024 and into Q1 2025 executing a comprehensive overhaul across its cost base, product, player strategy, and operational structure. With most changes now implemented, early signs of progress are emerging. Highlights include:
- Lean operating model, with breakeven net revenue now approximately $600,000 USD/month, down from over $2 million USD/month a year ago. Further reductions to operating costs are planned in Q3 2025 to lower the breakeven point even more.
- Restructured VIP program and onboarding, improving retention and monetization from high-value players.
- Expanded casino product, improving baseline stability through missions, races, and progression-based systems.
- Platform upgrades enhancing site speed, responsiveness, and conversion.
- Crypto-native infrastructure overhaul, including a rebuilt cashier, improved user experience (“UX”), and token-ready architecture to support long-term on-chain growth.
These efforts have driven early improvements across the Company’s core key performance indicators in 2025:
- Net revenue per active user and wagers per user at record levels (excluding customary outliers).
- Deposit growth in nearly every month from November 2024 through June 2025, despite minimal marketing spend.
- Monthly new first-time depositors (FTDs) up approximately 40% since January 2025 on flat monthly spend. Average payback on cohorts acquired during this period was approximately 1.5 months, highlighting improved customer acquisition efficiency.
2025 Momentum and Execution

In the first half of 2025, Rivalry continued executing against its strategic turnaround, with a focus on increasing player value, tightening operational efficiency, and accelerating near-term revenue drivers. Key initiatives included:
- Loyalty Program v2: Building on the success of the end-2024 launch, the next iteration of Rivalry’s on-site loyalty program is in development, designed to deepen progression, improve engagement, and anchor major campaigns throughout Q3 2025.
- New Promo Engine: Launching this summer, the rebuilt system introduces immediate-match deposit offers and new promo types, integrated directly into onboarding and reactivation flows to lift first time deposits and retention.
- Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) and Always-On Optimization: Active performance reviews of core flows, geo-targeted reactivation campaigns, and structural upgrades to improve output across the customer lifecycle.
- VIP & High-Value-Player Activity: Fully structured outreach live across geos, with segmentation, high-touch CRM, and LTV-based targeting to reactivate high-value-players.
- Cashier & Site Speed: Continued improvements to platform speed, including faster load times, and reduced friction in cashier UX.
- Ongoing UX Improvements: Consistent updates across the site aimed at visual polish, design coherence, and front-end responsiveness to deliver a cleaner, more reliable user experience.
These initiatives have laid a foundation entering the second half of 2025. The focus now is on maintaining momentum, tightening execution, and scaling revenue through improved player economics and operational leverage.

Strategic Review

The Company’s previously announced evaluation of strategic alternatives remains ongoing. Rivalry continues to explore a range of potential outcomes aimed at maximizing shareholder value. There is no assurance regarding the timing or results of this review.

Outlook

While the 2024 annual results capture only the early innings of Rivalry’s strategic transformation, the changes made throughout the year have meaningfully repositioned the Company. With a leaner cost structure, stronger product, and increasing revenue efficiency, Rivalry is entering the second half of 2025 with sharper operational discipline and renewed focus.

Additional updates will be provided alongside the release of the Company’s financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2025, which are expected to be released on or prior to July 14, 2025.

Unsecured Loan

The Company also announces that it has secured a US$475,000 principal amount senior unsecured loan from its existing senior lender, maturing on September 30, 2025, with an interest rate of 10% per annum (the “Loan”). The Loan reinforces the Company’s senior lender’s support for the Company’s ongoing strategic review process and provides the Company with additional flexibility to continue pursuing its strategic initiatives to maximize long-term stakeholder value.

Update Regarding Management Cease Trade Order

The Company is providing this update on the status of a management cease trade order granted on May 1, 2025 (the “MCTO“) by its principal regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC“), under National Policy 12-203 – Management Cease Trade Orders (“NP 12-203“). On May 2, 2025, the Company announced that there would be a delay in the filing of its annual financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis and related CEO and CFO certificates for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (collectively, the “Annual Filings”), as required under applicable Canadian securities laws (the “Default Announcement“). On June 18, 2025 the Company further announced that it expects to file its unaudited financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and related certifications (collectively, the “Q1 Filings“) on or prior to July 14, 2025. Although the Annual Filings have now been filed, the OSC has advised the Company that the MCTO will remain in place until the Q1 Filings have been completed.

The Company advises that: (i) there have been no material changes to the information contained in the Default Announcement; (ii) it intends to continue to comply with the alternative information guidelines of NP 12-203; and (iii) except as previously disclosed, there are no subsequent specified defaults (actual or anticipated) within the meaning of NP 12-203.

The MCTO will remain in effect until the Company is no longer in default with respect to its filing requirements and the OSC lifts the cease trade order.

About Rivalry

Rivalry Corp. wholly owns and operates Rivalry Limited, a leading sport betting and media company offering fully regulated online wagering on esports, traditional sports, and casino for the digital generation. Based in Toronto, Rivalry operates a global team in more than 20 countries and growing. Rivalry Limited has held an Isle of Man license since 2018, considered one of the premier online gambling jurisdictions, as well as an internet gaming registration in Ontario, and is currently in the process of obtaining additional country licenses. With world class creative execution and brand positioning in online culture, a native crypto token, and demonstrated market leadership among digital-first users Rivalry is shaping the future of online gambling for a generation born on the internet.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. 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 press release.

Company Contact:
Steven Salz, Co-founder & CEO
ss@rivalry.com

Investor Contact:
investors@rivalry.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). 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 “anticipate”, “achieve”, “could”, “believe”, “plan”, “intend”, “objective”, “continuous”, “ongoing”, “estimate”, “outlook”, “expect”, “project” and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expected filing date of the Q1 Filings, the impact of the Company’s strategic overhaul across its cost base, product, player strategy, and operational structure on its operating results and the results of the Company’s ongoing strategic review.

Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management of the Company at the date the statements are made based on information then available to the Company. Various factors and assumptions are applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to and involve a number of known and unknown, variables, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause the Company’s actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations; the ability to obtain and maintain required licenses; the esports and sports betting industry being a heavily regulated industry; the complex and evolving regulatory environment for the online gaming and online gambling industry; the success of esports and other betting products are not guaranteed; changes in public perception of the esports and online gambling industry; failure to retain or add customers; the Company having a limited operating history; negative cash flow from operations and the Company’s ability to operate as a going concern; operational risks; cybersecurity risks; reliance on management; reliance on third parties and third-party networks; exchange rate risks; risks related to cryptocurrency transactions; risk of intellectual property infringement or invalid claims; the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and general economic, market and business conditions. For additional risks, please see the Company’s management’s discussion and analysis for the 12 months ended December 31, 2024 under the heading “Risk Factors”, and other disclosure documents available on the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

No assurance can be given that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

^¹ Includes cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash.

The MIL Network –
July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Hut 8 Secures Five-Year Capacity Contracts with IESO for 310 MW of Power Generation Assets
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MIAMI, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq | TSX: HUT) (“Hut 8” or the “Company”), an energy infrastructure platform integrating power, digital infrastructure, and compute at scale to fuel next-generation, energy-intensive use cases such as Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing, today announced that each of its four natural gas-fired power plants in Ontario (collectively, the “Portfolio”) has been awarded a five-year capacity contract with the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (“IESO”). The Portfolio is owned and operated by Far North Power Corp. (“Far North”), an entity formed by Hut 8 and Macquarie Equipment Finance Ltd. (“Macquarie”), a subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited, a global financial services group.

The contracts were awarded to Far North following successful bids submitted into the competitive IESO Medium-Term 2 (“MT2”) capacity auction and will commence on May 1, 2026. The contracted assets total 310 MW of nameplate capacity across four sites: Iroquois Falls, Kingston, Kapuskasing, and North Bay. The contracts include a weighted average capacity payment of approximately CAD $530 per MW-business day in Year 1 with partial inflation indexation that allows for potential increases over time.

“Securing these contracts is a testament to the commercial and regulatory fluency of our power-native team,” said Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8. “It reflects our proactive approach to portfolio management and our focus on identifying value-accretive opportunities to maximize returns on our Power assets.”

“This milestone for Far North is affirmation of the business and our relationship with Hut 8,” said Joshua Stevens, Managing Director in Macquarie Group’s Commodities and Global Markets business. “These contracts position the Far North power plants in Ontario for long-term relevance in a capacity-constrained power market, demonstrating the value we strive to bring as a capital provider.”

Transaction Highlights
- Creditworthy Offtaker: Government-backed counterparty rated AA3 (Positive) by Moody’s
- Cash Flow Stabilization: Transition from short-term seasonal capacity agreements to fixed five-year contracts enhances revenue certainty and reduces earnings volatility
- Upside Potential: Additional cash flow potential through energy sales into the Ontario market, where IESO projects 75% electricity demand growth by 2050 and a capacity shortfall of up to 5.8 GW by 2030, supporting increased reliance on existing dispatchable assets
About Hut 8

Hut 8 Corp. is an energy infrastructure platform integrating power, digital infrastructure, and compute at scale to fuel next-generation, energy-intensive use cases such as Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing. We take a power-first, innovation-driven approach to developing, commercializing, and operating the critical infrastructure that underpins the breakthrough technologies of today and tomorrow. Our platform spans 1,020 megawatts of energy capacity under management across 15 sites in the United States and Canada: five Bitcoin mining, hosting, and Managed Services sites in Alberta, New York, and Texas, five high performance computing data centers in British Columbia and Ontario, four power generation assets in Ontario, and one non-operational site in Alberta. For more information, visit www.hut8.com and follow us on X at @Hut8Corp.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward–Looking Information

This press release includes “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws, respectively (collectively, “forward-looking information”). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events, or developments that Hut 8 expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including statements relating to the commencement date of the MT2 contracts, the pricing and other terms of the MT2 contracts, the upside and additional cash flow potential through energy sales into the Ontario market anticipated, and the benefits to Hut 8 and Far North of the MT2 contracts, and other such matters is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “allow”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “predict”, “can”, “might”, “potential”, “predict”, “is designed to”, “likely,” or similar expressions.

Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts, but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future events based on certain material factors and assumptions at the time the statement was made. While considered reasonable by Hut 8 as of the date of this press release, such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, failure of critical systems; geopolitical, social, economic, and other events and circumstances; competition from current and future competitors; risks related to power requirements; cybersecurity threats and breaches; hazards and operational risks; changes in leasing arrangements; Internet-related disruptions; dependence on key personnel; having a limited operating history; attracting and retaining customers; entering into new offerings or lines of business; price fluctuations and rapidly changing technologies; construction of new data centers, data center expansions, or data center redevelopment; predicting facility requirements; strategic alliances or joint ventures; operating and expanding internationally; failing to grow hashrate; purchasing miners; relying on third-party mining pool service providers; uncertainty in the development and acceptance of the Bitcoin network; Bitcoin halving events; competition from other methods of investing in Bitcoin; concentration of Bitcoin holdings; hedging transactions; potential liquidity constraints; legal, regulatory, governmental, and technological uncertainties; physical risks related to climate change; involvement in legal proceedings; trading volatility; and other risks described from time to time in Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see the Company’s recent and upcoming annual and quarterly reports and other continuous disclosure documents, which are available under the Company’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov and SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Hut 8 Corp. Investor Relations
Sue Ennis
ir@hut8.com

Hut 8 Corp. Public Relations
Gautier Lemyze-Young
media@hut8.com

The MIL Network –
July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Oxfam reaction to Spain, Brazil and South Africa launching a new coalition to tax the super-rich

Source: Oxfam –

In response to Spain, Brazil and South Africa’s new global coalition to tax the super-rich, launched today at the Fourth Financing for Development Conference in Seville, Oxfam Tax Justice Policy Lead Susana Ruiz said:

“We welcome the leadership of Brazil, Spain and South Africa in calling for taxes on the super-rich. People around the world are pushing for more countries to reject the corrupting political influence of oligarchies. Taxation of the super-rich is a vital tool to secure sustainable development and fight inequalities. The wealth of the richest 1% has surged $33.9 trillion since 2015, enough to end annual poverty 22 times, yet billionaires only pay around 0.3% in real taxes.

“This extreme inequality is being driven by a financial system that puts the interests of a wealthy few above everyone else. This concentration of wealth is blocking progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and keeping over three billion people living in poverty: over half of poor countries are spending more on debt repayments than on healthcare or education.

“In a tense geopolitical environment, Spain, Brazil and South Africa have taken an important step in forging an alliance here at the UN conference in Seville to show political will for taxation of the super-rich. Now other countries must follow their lead and join forces. This year, the FFD in Seville, COP30 in Brazil and G20 in South Africa are key opportunities for international cooperation to tax the super-rich and invest in a sustainable future that puts human rights and equality at its core.”

Download the Oxfam report “From Private Profit to Public Power: Financing Development, Not Oligarchy“ which was launched ahead of the Fourth Financing for Development Conference with new analysis on economic inequality.

Greenpeace and Oxfam International commissioned a study this month on public opinion on taxing the super-rich. The research was conducted by first party data company Dynata in May-June 2025, in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Kenya, Italy, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US. The survey had approximately 1200 respondents per country, with a margin of error of +-2.83%. Together, these countries represent close to half the world’s population. See the results here.

Oxfam will be hosting a major high-level event together with Club de Madrid, at 7pm on July 1, 2025, in Seville, joined by high-level government representatives on the media briefing note. Journalists are invited to attend and will be prioritized for questions. Please register here.

Moreover, an official side event on inequality and tax reform will take place at 2.30pm on July 1, 2025, at the FIBES Exhibition Centre room 20 joined by high-level government representatives from Brazil, Spain and South Africa, international organizations and global experts. See note here.

MIL OSI NGO –

July 2, 2025
Wimbledon: Sinner remains ice cool as Gauff, Pegula and Zverev join bonfire of seeds

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

World number one Jannik Sinner stayed ice cool to move serenely into the Wimbledon second round but it was a second successive day of upsets at a sizzling All England Club as a succession of seeded players crashed and burned on Tuesday.

American second seed Coco Gauff, chasing a French Open-Wimbledon double after her Paris triumph, was the day’s most surprising casualty, losing 7-6(3) 6-1 to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska as the sun set on a sultry day.

Gauff’s compatriot Taylor Fritz, the world number five, survived a five-set firefight by the skin of his teeth against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

But the same could not be said of 13 of the men’s seeds who fell at the first hurdle – a Wimbledon record since 32 seeds were introduced in 2001.

Nine seeds also perished in the women’s first round while the eight top-10 seeds to go out across both singles draws amounted to the highest at a Grand Slam in the professional era.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev was the most notable men’s casualty, the third seed losing 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 to France’s Arthur Rinderknech in a marathon duel that began on Monday and was locked at one set apiece overnight.

“I’m not sure he’s ever played a match like that in his life,” said Zverev, who is still chasing a first Grand Slam title after 38 attempts.

Italian Lorenzo Musetti, seeded seventh, was bundled out on Court Two by Nikoloz Basilashvili – the same court where earlier American women’s third seed Jessica Pegula was sent packing 6-2 6-3 by Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

A red-hot Sinner never looked like joining the exodus as he beat fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 in a victorious return to the Grand Slam stage after his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month.

“I tried to put the friendship away for a couple of hours,” Sinner, who conceded only four points when he landed his first serve, told reporters.

Novak Djokovic closed out the day’s action on the main showcourt by getting past Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 despite being hampered by a stomach bug midway through his match. He will face Briton Dan Evans next.

After seven British players won singles matches on Monday – a professional era record at Wimbledon – home fans had more to cheer on Tuesday as fourth seed Jack Draper, his nation’s big hope, avoided any dramas by easing past Argentina’s Sebastian Baez who retired hurt trailing 6-2 6-2 2-1.

In total, 10 British players have reached round two.

KREJCIKOVA TESTED

Women’s defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was tested by promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala but after a slow start she found her form to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Centre Court after last year’s surprise triumph.

“I mean, what the hell (kind of tennis) she played in the first set?” said Krejcikova, praising her opponent.

“She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines, so wow, wow. She’s going to be really good in a couple of years.”

Five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, seeded eight, has yet to conquer Wimbledon but showed positive signs when she beat Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1 while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva advanced after a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mayar Sherif.

Both might have expected Gauff to be a major obstacle but the world number two subsided against Yastremska.

“I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” Gauff said about the spell following her Paris triumph last month.

“I didn’t feel I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”

The women’s draw is now without three of its top five seeds after number five Zheng Qinwen of China, the Olympic champion, suffered a third successive Wimbledon first-round defeat, beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova.

“I believe if I get through the first match, I will start to play better and better (on grass),” Zheng said. “The problem is the first match for me is complicated.”

Many will lament the exit of Wimbledon dark horse Alexander Bublik, seeded 28th. The Kazakh showman is guaranteed entertainment with his array of trick shots but he was unable to avoid the exit door, as he was dragged into battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2.

Late in the day yet another seed fell when Frenchman Ugo Umbert was beaten by veteran countryman Gael Monfils, again defying his 38 years to edge a five-setter.

American Fritz survived, though, letting out a huge roar as he beat Perricard 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 in a match carried forward from Monday. Perricard’s consolation for losing the cliffhanger was a 153 mph serve – a Wimbledon record.

Tommy Paul took out Briton Johannus Monday with little fuss, the 13th seed cruising through 6-4 6-4 6-2, but it was the end of the road for fellow American and 30th seed Alex Michelsen who fell 6-2 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.

Zeynep Sonmez became the first Turkish woman to reach the second round at the grasscourt Grand Slam when she battled past Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(3) 6-3.

Victoria Mboko found out a few hours before she faced Magdalena Frech that she had entered the main draw as a Lucky Loser due to Anastasia Potapova’s withdrawal and the Canadian teenager rode her luck to stun the 25th seed 6-3 6-2.

Fourteen years after first adding her name to the Wimbledon honours board, twice champion Petra Kvitova performed her last dance on the lawns, the Czech losing 6-3 6-1 to American 10th seed Emma Navarro.

(Reuters)

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI China: US ramps up trade pressure on multiple fronts as 90-day tariff deadline approaches

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

Days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to halt trade talks and impose tariffs, Canada scrapped its planned digital services tax on Sunday. The White House praised the move, saying talks would resume immediately and declaring that Canada had “caved” to the United States.

The United States is scrambling to wind up trade talks with a large number of trading partners as the self-imposed deadline of July 9 is approaching. Following Canada’s concession, Trump is continuing his efforts to press multiple trade partners.

While the EU stood firm on protecting its digital sovereignty and rejected U.S. demands to include digital laws in trade talks, Trump moved on to Japan on Sunday, accusing it of refusing to buy American rice amid a shortage and threatening a formal trade complaint shortly after labeling U.S.-Japan trade “unfair.”

U-turn on talks

Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced Sunday that Canada will rescind its digital services tax as it prepares for a broader trade agreement with the United States.

The tax, which was designed to take effect on Monday, would impose a 3 percent levy on the revenue of U.S. multinational companies like Amazon, Google and Meta earned from Canadian users.

“It’s very simple: Canadian Prime Minister (Mark) Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday at a briefing.

Leavitt’s comments followed remarks by National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who said the United States will restart trade negotiations with Canada immediately.

According to him, the White House is likely to push other countries to abandon their digital services taxes in future trade negotiations, building on Canada’s recent reversal.

“My expectation is that the digital services taxes around the world will be taken off, and that that will be a key part of the … ongoing trade negotiations that we have,” Hassett was quoted by CNBC as saying.

Hassett suggested that countries planning to maintain or introduce digital services taxes could face the “wrath” from U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer over what he called “unfair trade practices.”

Ineffective strategy

Washington’s pressure tactics didn’t prove effective with the EU, where officials have firmly rejected including digital legislation in trade talks with the United States.

“Our legislation will not be changed. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the U.S.,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a briefing Monday.

Washington has repeatedly slammed the EU’s digital regulations, including the DMA and DSA, as unfair and called for looser oversight of American tech firms. In February, the White House warned it might retaliate if EU regulators targeted U.S. companies under those rules.

Regnier emphasized that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made it clear that EU legislation is not up for negotiation, “and this also includes, of course, our digital legislation,” he said.

“We’re not going to adjust the implementation of our legislation based on the actions of third countries. If we started to do that, then we would have to do it with numerous third countries,” Regnier added.

Nevertheless, the spokesperson said that the Commission remains committed to reaching a trade deal with the United States by July 9.

Trump had earlier said the talks were “going nowhere” and threatened a 50 percent tariff on all EU imports starting June 1. After a call with von der Leyen, he agreed to postpone the hike until July 9.

European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic said on Monday that he would travel to Washington on Tuesday to try to avoid higher U.S. tariffs and reach a deal “fair for both sides.”

Currently, the EU faces 50 percent U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and 25 percent on automobiles, alongside 10 percent baseline duties on most other exports.

Next on list

In a Truth Social post on Monday afternoon, Trump claimed that the Japanese people and their government were “spoiled” because they wouldn’t buy American rice.

“To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,” Trump wrote. “In other words, we’ll just be sending them a letter.”

Yet rice, like the EU’s digital regulations, is not on the Japanese menu for trade talks with the United States.

On Tuesday, Japanese Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, who is also the chief representative in tariff negotiations with the U.S. administration, said that his country will not sacrifice the agricultural sector as part of its tariff talks with the United States, adding that he would continue to negotiate with his U.S. counterparts to protect Japan’s national interests.

“I have repeatedly stated that agriculture is the foundation of the nation,” he told a press conference.

Trump’s rice complaint followed another swipe at Tokyo’s trade practices. In an interview aired on Fox News a day earlier, he slammed Japan for importing too few American cars, saying, “They won’t take our cars, and yet we take millions and millions of their cars into the United States. It’s not fair,” he said.

“I could send one (letter) to Japan: ‘Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story. You’re going to pay a 25 percent tariff on your cars,’” Trump said during the interview.

MIL OSI China News –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Invasive carp threaten the Great Lakes − and reveal a surprising twist in national politics

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mike Shriberg, Professor of Practice & Engagement, School for Environment & Sustainability, University of Michigan

Invasive Asian carp are spreading up the Mississippi River system and already clog the Illinois River. AP Photo/John Flesher

In his second term, President Donald Trump has not taken many actions that draw near-universal praise from across the political spectrum. But there is at least one of these political anomalies, and it illustrates the broad appeal of environmental protection and conservation projects – particularly when it concerns an ecosystem of vital importance to millions of Americans.

In May 2025, Trump issued a presidential memorandum supporting the construction of a physical barrier that is key to keeping invasive carp out of the Great Lakes. These fish have made their way up the Mississippi River system and could have dire ecological consequences if they enter the Great Lakes.

It was not a given that Trump would back this project, which had long been supported by environmental and conservation organizations. But two very different strategies from two Democratic governors – both potential presidential candidates in 2028 – reflected the importance of the Great Lakes to America.

As a water policy and politics scholar focused on the Great Lakes, I see this development not only as an environmental and conservation milestone, but also a potential pathway for more political unity in the U.S.

A feared invasion

Perhaps nothing alarms Great Lakes ecologists more than the potential for invasive carp from Asia to establish a breeding population in the Great Lakes. These fish were intentionally introduced in the U.S. Southeast by private fish farm and wastewater treatment operators as a means to control algae in aquaculture and sewage treatment ponds. Sometime in the 1990s, the fish escaped from those ponds and moved rapidly up the Mississippi River system, including into the Illinois River, which connects to the Great Lakes.

Sometimes said to “breed like mosquitoes and eat like hogs,” these fish can consume up to 40% of their body weight each day, outcompeting many native species and literally sucking up other species and food sources.

Studies of Lake Erie, for example, predict that if the carp enter and thrive, they could make up approximately one-third of the fish biomass of the entire lake within 20 years, replacing popular sportfishing species such as walleye and other ecologically and economically important species.

Invasive carp are generally not eaten in the U.S. and are not desirable for sportfishing. In fact, silver carp have a propensity to jump up to 10 feet out of the water when startled by a boat motor. That can make parts of the Illinois River, which is packed with the invasive fish, almost impossible to fish or even maneuver a boat.

Look out! Silver carp fly out of the water, obstructing boats and hitting people trying to enjoy a river in Indiana.

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam solution

Originally, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River were not connected to each other. But in 1900, the city of Chicago connected them to avoid sending its sewage into Lake Michigan, from which the city draws its drinking water.

The most complete way to block the carp from invading the Great Lakes would be to undo that connection – but that would recreate sewage and flooding issues for Chicago, or require other expensive infrastructure upgrades. The more practical, short-term alternative is to modify the historic Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois, by adding several obstacles that together would block the carp from swimming farther upriver toward the Great Lakes.

The barrier, estimated to cost US$1.15 billion, was authorized by Congress in 2020 and 2022 after many years of intense planning and negotiations. For the first phase of construction, the project received $226 million in federal money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to complement $114 million in state funding – $64 million from Michigan and $50 million from Illinois.

On the first day of Trump’s second term, however, he paused a wide swath of federal funding, including funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. And that’s when two different political strategies emerged.

A brief documentary explains the construction of a connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin.

Pritzker vs. Whitmer vs. Trump

Illinois, a state that has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992, has the most financially at stake in the Brandon Road project because the project requires the state to acquire land and operate the barrier. When Trump issued his order, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, postponed the purchase of a key piece of land, blaming the “Trump Administration’s lack of clarity and commitment” to the project. Pritzker essentially dared Trump to be the reason for the collapse of the Great Lakes ecosystem and fisheries.

Another Democrat, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a swing state with the most at stake economically and ecologically if these carp species enter the Great Lakes, took a very different approach. She went to the White House to talk with Trump about invasive carp and other issues. She defended her nonconfrontational approach to critics, though she also hid her face from cameras when Trump surprised her with an Oval Office press conference. When Trump visited Michigan, she stood beside him as they praised each other.

When Trump released the federal funding in early May, Pritzker kept up his adversarial language, saying he was “glad that the Trump administration heard our calls … and decided to finally meet their obligation.” Whitmer stayed more conciliatory, calling the funding decision a “huge win that will protect our Great Lakes and secure our economy.” She said she was “grateful to the president for his commitment.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greets President Donald Trump as he arrives in her state in late April 2025.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Why unity on carp?

Whether coordinated or not, the net result of Pritzker’s and Whitmer’s actions drew praise from both sides of the aisle but was little noticed nationally.

Trump’s support for the project was a rare moment of political unity and an extremely unusual example of leading Democrats being on the same page as Trump. I attribute this surprising outcome to two key factors.

First, the Great Lakes region holds disproportionate power in presidential elections. Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have backed the eventual winner in every presidential race for the past 20 years. This swing state power has been used by advocates and state political leaders to drive funding for Great Lakes protection for many years.

Second, Great Lakes are the uniting force in the region. According to polling from the International Joint Commission, the binational body charged with overseeing waterways that cross the U.S.-Canada border, there is “nearly unanimous support (96%) for the importance of government investment in Great Lakes protections” from residents of the region.

There aren’t any other issues with such high voter resonance, so politicians want to be sure Great Lakes voters are happy. For example, Vice President JD Vance has been particularly vocal about the Great Lakes. And Great Lakes restoration funding was one of the few things in the presidential budget that Democrats and Republicans agreed on.

Both Pritzker and Whitmer likely had state-based and national motivations in mind and big aspirations at stake.

Their combined effort has put the project back on track: As of May 12, 2025, Pritzker authorized Illinois to sign the land-purchase agreement he had paused back in February.

And perhaps the governors have identified a new area for unity in a divided United States: Conservation and environmental issues have broad public support, particularly when they involve iconic natural resources, shared values and popular outdoor pursuits such as fishing and boating. Even when political strategies diverge, the results can bring bipartisan satisfaction.

Mike Shriberg was previously the Great Lakes Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation, which entailed being a co-chair (and, for part of the time, Director) of the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition.

– ref. Invasive carp threaten the Great Lakes − and reveal a surprising twist in national politics – https://theconversation.com/invasive-carp-threaten-the-great-lakes-and-reveal-a-surprising-twist-in-national-politics-257707

MIL OSI –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: How Trump plays with new media says a lot about him – as it did with FDR, Kennedy and Obama

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sara Polak, University Lecturer in American Studies, Leiden University

There is a strange and worrying parallel between the breakneck speed at which Donald Trump has operated in the first few months of his presidency and the ever-accelerating pace at which information moves on social media platforms. Where in his first term he used Twitter, now, the 47th US president is using his own platform, TruthSocial, to announce changes of direction that are sometimes so fundamental that they change decades of US policy.

Social media has become a key tool of governing for Trump’s administration. He uses it both to make announcements and to drum up support for those announcements. His social media posts can move the markets and make or break careers. They can even, it seems, stop wars.

So when he used TruthSocial to announce a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 23, giving the two countries a deadline to stop firing missiles, it appears that neither of the antagonists were fully aware of the situation, given they carried on attacking each other. So an all-caps message followed: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS,” he posted. “BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!” – adding, just in case anyone had any doubt he was serious: “DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.”

Trump’s use of his TruthSocial platform began as he sought to re-establish himself from the political wilderness after the insurrection of January 6 2021. It has now become a tool of his extreme power and his willingness to use (and abuse) it – globally as well as domestically.

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He’s the latest in a string of US presidents known for their adroit use of whichever is the medium most guaranteed to connect with the greatest number of people. From Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt’s adept cultivation of print journalists in the early 20th century through Franklin D. Roosevelt’s comforting use of radio as it gained popularity and John F. Kennedy’s mastery of the rising medium of television, presidents have expanded their reach and influence through adept use of media.

FDR’s “fireside chats”, broadcast on the radio throughout the US in the 1930s, reached an estimated 80% of the population, showing he understood the key media principle of reach. Roosevelt would address his listeners as “my friends” and Americans came to understand them as seemingly intimate conversations with their president.

FDR dominated the airwaves at a time when many Americans hardly understood the important role that the federal government played in their own lives – and millions of households were only just getting mains electricity (thanks to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936). But radios were becoming a common mass medium and FDR perfectly understood how to use it. If you listen to the fireside chats, FDR may sound patrician – and at times formal – but his tone is also friendly, thoughtful and reassuring.

In Germany at around the same time, Adolf Hitler’s massive stadium speeches were very effective for people who were in the stadium and being lifted by the intensity of the crowd and all the carefully thought out visual cues. But when broadcast on radio, Hitler had nothing like Roosevelt’s ability to connect with people on a personal level.

Roosevelt was hardly the first leader – or even the first US president – to speak on the radio. But he was the first to master the medium. He figured out how to use its potential to deliver a key implicit message: that his government should and did take on a central role in people’s lives.

Equally, John F. Kennedy can be said to have “discovered” political television. Not just as a medium for political campaigns, debates and speeches – but also for putting across to a mass audience his role as the embodiment of American decency, beauty and masculinity: JFK’s White House as Camelot.

JFK was considered a master of the fast-growing medium of television.

Both Roosevelt and Kennedy were in several ways physically disabled and lived with chronic illness, yet through the “new medium” of their time were able to project an image of quintessentially American strength and trustworthiness. In part this was their own doing – but it’s also a testament to the power of the media they used for their time.

Mastering the medium

These possibilities of a medium used to its best advantage – for example, to be heard around the US, but still to project a sense of intimacy – have become known as the “affordances” of a medium. The medium afforded Roosevelt space to be authentic without showing his disability. Kennedy appeared young, fit and handsome – even when dependent on painkillers.

When a new medium is introduced, people start to play around with its affordances – and this applies to politicians too. Political leaders who develop a special aptitude for using the new medium to emphasise their unique style can become particularly successful, as has Donald Trump with his use of social media.

The US president rose to power helped by his adept use of many of Twitter’s attributes – the imposed brevity of his messages, the ease of retweeting, the tendency for other users to “pile on” (and the user anonymity, which tends to encourage pile-ons) to polarise American public debate.

Trump was forced off Twitter after the Capitol Hill insurrection of January 6 2021. So he came back with his own platform, TruthSocial, where he can also make the rules. And now he uses the platform to make foreign policy, trumpeting his positions (which can change with bewildering speed) on TruthSocial well before they can be announced by the White House press team, which often has to scramble to catch up.

When Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan penned his famous phrase: “The medium is the message” in his groundbreaking 1964 study, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, he meant to say that media form and content are not as distinct from one another as one might think and that the form of a medium of communication can shape society as much as its content. In Donald Trump’s use of social media, we are seeing this idea at work.

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

– ref. How Trump plays with new media says a lot about him – as it did with FDR, Kennedy and Obama – https://theconversation.com/how-trump-plays-with-new-media-says-a-lot-about-him-as-it-did-with-fdr-kennedy-and-obama-248923

MIL OSI –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Dune director Denis Villeneuve will helm the next Bond – but what will his 007 be like?

Source: The Conversation – UK – By William Proctor, Associate Professor in Popular Culture, Bournemouth University

Wiki Commons/Canva, CC BY-SA

The James Bond franchise has lain dormant for four years, since Daniel Craig’s swansong as 007, No Time to Die. A legal quarrel between Bond’s producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and Amazon Studios resulted in a stalemate and production on a new Bond film has remained in limbo.

Nevertheless, speculation has been rife about which actor will next play Ian Fleming’s super-spy (the latest actor to be associated with the role is former Spider-man Tom Holland).

When news surfaced in February 2025 that Amazon MGM (Amazon purchased MGM in 2021) had effectively become Bond’s new custodians, critics and audiences alike expressed concern – to put it lightly. Many feared that Jeff Bezos was more interested in stimulating Amazon Prime membership by driving multiple content streams through spin-offs and merchandising than protecting Fleming’s legacy.

However, last week’s announcement that Denis Villeneuve has been appointed as the director of the 26th Bond film is a savvy move. It’s a declaration of intent that seeks to promote and market Amazon MGM as safe harbour for the Bond franchise.

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The announcement positions the next era of Bond as a prestigious exercise helmed by “a cinematic master”, not a journeyman director. Villeneuve was previously offered the opportunity to direct No Time to Die, but turned the role down because of his commitment to the Dune films.

By appointing Villeneuve, Amazon has managed to radically shift the public debate. Villeneuve is “much more than a technical director”, wrote Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw. “He is an alpha-grade auteur in the same league as Christopher Nolan.”

Other critics have pointed to his rare ability to “combine blockbuster momentum (and ticket sales) with the finer, more nuanced sensibilities of a filmmaker always concerned with slowing down, honing in on character and theme”.

Although Sam Mendes, director of Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), came with artistic status, Villeneuve is something different – a marquee name frequently described as an auteur.

Villeneuve talks about his love for Bond.

Since his transition from making mostly low-key independent films in his native Canada to his arrival in Hollywood with Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal (2013), Villeneuve has amassed an impressively eclectic filmography.

He has proven that he is as comfortable shooting realistic crime thrillers (Sicario, 2015) and surrealist cinema that David Lynch would be proud of (Enemy, 2013), as he is with science fiction (Arrival, 2016, Blade Runner 2049, 2017, and the Dune films, 2021 and 2024).

Villeneuve’s Bond

Although Sicario may be the closest in terms of genre to the Bond films, establishing Villeneuve as a director who can expertly shoot action sequences, it is nevertheless difficult at this stage to conceptualise what a Villeneuve Bond film might be like.

Some critics have suggested that the director’s cinematic resume, eclectic as it is, might not bode well for Bond. The Hollywood Reporter’s film critic Benjamin Svetkey, for instance, worries that Villeneuve’s “lugubrious, meditative filmmaking” is sorely lacking in humour – which could be fatal for 007. “A certain amount of wit and winking is critical to the character,” he claims.

It is early days for Amazon MGM and Villeneuve. As yet, there is reportedly no treatment, no script, no writer and – more pointedly – no actor appointed to the role. Whatever happens, the 26th Bond film is likely to be a hard reboot that wipes the slate clean (again) after the fate of 007 in No Time to Die.

Villeneuve’s choice for Bond is unlikely to be as cartoonish as Pierce Brosnan’s iteration.

Although Villeneuve has said that he intends to honour tradition and that Bond is “sacred territory” for him, Bond’s capacity for revision and regeneration has been key to the franchise’s longevity.

As socoiologists Tony Bennett and Janet Woollacott argue in their seminal study, Bond and Beyond, the figure of Bond has over the past six decades “been differently constructed at different moments,” with “different sets of ideological and cultural concerns”.

So what kind of Bond film Villeneuve ends up directing largely depends on the story and whichever actor is anointed as the next James Bond. It is doubtful that audiences will expect a campy pantomime Bond like Roger Moore, or a Bond with an invisible car, like Pierce Brosnan in the cartoonish Die Another Day (2002). Villeneuve’s choice of Casino Royale as his favourite 007 may provide a clue. But it is also unlikely that the director will be satisfied with slavishly repeating the past.

William Proctor 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. Dune director Denis Villeneuve will helm the next Bond – but what will his 007 be like? – https://theconversation.com/dune-director-denis-villeneuve-will-helm-the-next-bond-but-what-will-his-007-be-like-260140

MIL OSI –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Plains All American’s 2024 Schedule K-3 Now Available

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HOUSTON, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (Nasdaq: PAA) (the “Partnership”) announced today that its 2024 Schedule K-3 reflecting items of international tax relevance is available online. Unitholders requiring this information may access their Schedules K-3 at www.taxpackagesupport.com/plainsallamerican.

A limited number of unitholders (primarily foreign unitholders, unitholders computing a foreign tax credit on their tax return and certain corporate and/or partnership unitholders) may need the detailed information disclosed on Schedule K-3 for their specific reporting requirements. To the extent Schedule K-3 is applicable to your federal income tax return filing needs, we encourage you to review the information contained on this form and refer to the appropriate federal laws and guidance or consult with your tax advisor.

To receive an electronic copy of your Schedule K-3 via email, unitholders may call Tax Package Support toll free at (866) 872-2829.

About Plains:
PAA is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and provides logistics services for crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL). PAA owns an extensive network of pipeline gathering and transportation systems, in addition to terminalling, storage, processing, fractionation and other infrastructure assets serving key producing basins, transportation corridors and major market hubs and export outlets in the United States and Canada. On average, PAA handles approximately 8 million barrels per day of crude oil and NGL.

PAGP is a publicly traded entity that owns an indirect, non-economic controlling general partner interest in PAA and an indirect limited partner interest in PAA, one of the largest energy infrastructure and logistics companies in North America.

PAA and PAGP are headquartered in Houston, Texas. More information is available at www.plains.com.

Investor Relations Contacts:
Blake Fernandez
Michael Gladstein
PlainsIR@plains.com
(866) 809-1291

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Plains All American’s 2024 Schedule K-3 Now Available

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HOUSTON, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (Nasdaq: PAA) (the “Partnership”) announced today that its 2024 Schedule K-3 reflecting items of international tax relevance is available online. Unitholders requiring this information may access their Schedules K-3 at www.taxpackagesupport.com/plainsallamerican.

A limited number of unitholders (primarily foreign unitholders, unitholders computing a foreign tax credit on their tax return and certain corporate and/or partnership unitholders) may need the detailed information disclosed on Schedule K-3 for their specific reporting requirements. To the extent Schedule K-3 is applicable to your federal income tax return filing needs, we encourage you to review the information contained on this form and refer to the appropriate federal laws and guidance or consult with your tax advisor.

To receive an electronic copy of your Schedule K-3 via email, unitholders may call Tax Package Support toll free at (866) 872-2829.

About Plains:
PAA is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and provides logistics services for crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL). PAA owns an extensive network of pipeline gathering and transportation systems, in addition to terminalling, storage, processing, fractionation and other infrastructure assets serving key producing basins, transportation corridors and major market hubs and export outlets in the United States and Canada. On average, PAA handles approximately 8 million barrels per day of crude oil and NGL.

PAGP is a publicly traded entity that owns an indirect, non-economic controlling general partner interest in PAA and an indirect limited partner interest in PAA, one of the largest energy infrastructure and logistics companies in North America.

PAA and PAGP are headquartered in Houston, Texas. More information is available at www.plains.com.

Investor Relations Contacts:
Blake Fernandez
Michael Gladstein
PlainsIR@plains.com
(866) 809-1291

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Horizon Bancorp, Inc. Announces Conference Call to Review Second Quarter Results on July 24

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (NASDAQ GS: HBNC) – Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (“Horizon” or the “Company”) will host a conference call at 7:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, July 24, 2025 to review its second quarter 2025 financial results.

The Company’s second quarter 2025 news release will be published after markets close on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. It will be available at investor.horizonbank.com.

Participants may access the live conference call on July 24, 2025 at 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET) by dialing 833-974-2379 from the United States, 866-450-4696 from Canada, or 412-317-5772 from international locations and requesting the “Horizon Bancorp Call.” Please dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the call.

A telephone replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the end of the conference call through August 1, 2025. The telephone replay may be accessed by dialing 877-344-7529 from the United States, 855-669-9658 from Canada, or 412-317-0088 from other international locations and entering the access code 5878909.

About Horizon Bancorp, Inc.

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: HBNC) is the $7.6 billion-asset commercial bank holding company for Horizon Bank, which serves customers across diverse and economically attractive Midwestern markets through convenient digital and virtual tools, as well as its Indiana and Michigan branches. Horizon’s retail offerings include prime residential and other secured consumer lending to in-market customers, as well as a range of personal banking and wealth management solutions. Horizon also provides a comprehensive array of in-market business banking and treasury management services, as well as equipment financing solutions for customers regionally and nationally, with commercial lending representing over half of total loans. More information on Horizon, headquartered in Northwest Indiana’s Michigan City, is available at horizonbank.com and investor.horizonbank.com.

Contact: Mark E. Secor

Chief Administration Officer

Phone: 219-873-2611

Date: July 1, 2025

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Horizon Bancorp, Inc. Announces Conference Call to Review Second Quarter Results on July 24

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (NASDAQ GS: HBNC) – Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (“Horizon” or the “Company”) will host a conference call at 7:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, July 24, 2025 to review its second quarter 2025 financial results.

The Company’s second quarter 2025 news release will be published after markets close on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. It will be available at investor.horizonbank.com.

Participants may access the live conference call on July 24, 2025 at 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET) by dialing 833-974-2379 from the United States, 866-450-4696 from Canada, or 412-317-5772 from international locations and requesting the “Horizon Bancorp Call.” Please dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the call.

A telephone replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the end of the conference call through August 1, 2025. The telephone replay may be accessed by dialing 877-344-7529 from the United States, 855-669-9658 from Canada, or 412-317-0088 from other international locations and entering the access code 5878909.

About Horizon Bancorp, Inc.

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: HBNC) is the $7.6 billion-asset commercial bank holding company for Horizon Bank, which serves customers across diverse and economically attractive Midwestern markets through convenient digital and virtual tools, as well as its Indiana and Michigan branches. Horizon’s retail offerings include prime residential and other secured consumer lending to in-market customers, as well as a range of personal banking and wealth management solutions. Horizon also provides a comprehensive array of in-market business banking and treasury management services, as well as equipment financing solutions for customers regionally and nationally, with commercial lending representing over half of total loans. More information on Horizon, headquartered in Northwest Indiana’s Michigan City, is available at horizonbank.com and investor.horizonbank.com.

Contact: Mark E. Secor

Chief Administration Officer

Phone: 219-873-2611

Date: July 1, 2025

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: July 1st, 2025 Heinrich Votes Against Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Betrayal of New Mexico Families to Give Tax Handouts to Billionaires

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) stood up for New Mexico families by voting against Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation that funds Republicans’ tax handouts for billionaires at the expense of working people.
For over 27 hours, Heinrich pushed to amend Republicans’ reconciliation legislation, repeatedly voting to lower costs for families, block cuts to Medicaid, protect rural hospitals in New Mexico, extend tax credits for health care premiums, and prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance.
“The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. The largest transfer of wealth to the rich in American history. The largest cut to food assistance in American history. The largest increase to the national deficit in American history: That’s what this bill represents. And it has one effect — billionaires win, American families lose. It’s a betrayal of working families masquerading as legislation.
“If signed into law, this bill will hike electricity bills, leave tens of millions uninsured, cut food assistance for millions more, shutter hundreds of nursing homes, force rural hospitals to close, and send health insurance premiums soaring. The consequences of this bill will be deadly — and Republicans will own every single one.
“Senate Republicans had a choice: stand with working families or bend to billionaires. They chose greed, cruelty, and a callous disregard for the people they represent. New Mexicans and all Americans will suffer for it. I urge all Americans to raise their voices and call on their elected leaders in the House of Representatives to stop this disaster before it becomes law.”
Last night, Senate Republicans blocked Heinrich’s efforts to:
Fight Increasing Costs
Senate Republicans voted against:
Lowering health care costs for working families and small businesses and ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Protecting food assistance for kids, veterans, and seniors, including 223,000 New Mexicans from losing all or part of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in just the first year this bill is enacted into law.
Preventing cuts to Medicaid that could lead to increased costs for people with private insurance.
Increasing the Child Tax Credit by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Lower energy prices for families and small businesses by preserving the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits.
Providing permanent tax relief for overtime wages for working class Americans.
Protect families and small businesses from cost increases by ending the trade war with Canada.
Preventing any policy changes that raise the cost of electricity prices.

Protect Rural Hospitals
Senate Republicans voted against:
Preventing rural hospitals from closing, converting, reducing, or stopping services, including emergency care, mental health care, and labor and delivery services.
As a result, this bill could cause 6 to 8 rural hospitals to close in New Mexico, according to the New Mexico Hospital Association.

Protect Medicaid
Senate Republicans voted against:
Stopping cuts to Medicaid and preventing over 90,000 New Mexicans from losing their coverage within the first year alone.
Stopping cuts to Medicaid that put 4 four nursing homes in New Mexico at risk of closure.
Stopping cuts to Medicaid that help fund substance use disorder treatment.
Protecting millions of Americans from losing their health care as a result of new administrative burdens and paperwork requirements.
Extending the health care premium tax credits created in the Affordable Care Act to prevent millions of people from losing health insurance.
Keeping labor and delivery units open by stopping cuts to Medicaid that fund 40% of births nationwide and nearly 50% of births in rural communities.
Ensuring access to reproductive care — including cancer screenings and birth control – by keeping Planned Parenthood funded.
Expanding Medicaid to cover dental, vision, and hearing and to cut the price of prescription drugs under Medicare in half.

Protect Our National Security
Senate Republicans voted against:
The financial, health, and well-being of our nation’s veterans by prohibiting any federal agency from carrying out mass firings of veterans.

Prioritize Working Families Over Billionaires
Senate Republicans voted against:
Preventing tax handouts for people making over $10 million a year.
Preventing tax handouts for people and corporations making over $100 million a year.
Preventing tax handouts for people making over $500 million a year.
Preventing tax handouts for people making over $1 billion a year.
Preventing tax handouts for corporations making over $1 billion a year.
Preventing more than $37 trillion from being added to the debt in 30 years—more debt than has accumulated over the past 249 years.

Below is a list of amendments that Heinrich filed to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people:
Amendment to stop a new burdensome requirement that could strip health care from 64,000 New Mexicans on Medicaid.
Amendment to stop a $268 million cost shift that could force New Mexico to cut SNAP benefits and kick families off their food assistance.
Amendment to protect food assistance for hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans by stopping harsh, burdensome work requirements that would cut SNAP benefits for families, including 39,790 New Mexicans who could lose their benefits altogether.
Amendment to expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing and cut prescription drug prices under Medicare by 50%.
Amendment to ensure no increase in cost for middle class families or individuals using Medicaid, CHIP, or private insurance marketplaces established by the ACA.
Amendment to lower student loan payments by blocking a plan to force borrowers into a more expensive repayment option.
Amendment to protect students from losing their Pell Grants to cover the cost of rising tuition costs.
Amendment to protect a tax credit that helps families keep energy costs low by incentivizing clean energy upgrades like installing home heat pumps.
Amendment to protect a tax credit that helps families save on energy bills and make their homes more comfortable and energy efficient.
Amendment to protect a tax credit that incentivizes developers and home builders to build energy-efficient homes.
Amendment to remove a provision in the bill that bars workers providing Medicaid home- and community-based services from obtaining job-based health insurance, retirement benefits, skills training, and the option to have a voice on the job through a union.
Amendment to save the Inflation Reduction Act’s EPA Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles grant program that makes our air cleaner, improves public health, spurs important energy and fuel savings for public school districts, and creates high-quality jobs.
Amendment to protect funding for air pollution reductions, greenhouse gas corporate reporting, methane emissions and waste reduction, environmental and climate justice block grants.
Amendment to protect the $7,500 clean vehicle tax credit to help Americans with the upfront cost of electric vehicles.
Amendment to provide $200 million in economic assistance for facilities and businesses harmed by the New World screwworm outbreak.
Amendment to provide $500 million to combat the spread of and eradicate the New World screwworm through surveillance, training, biosecurity, research, and the construction of sterile fly production and dispersal facilities.
Amendment to protect mixed-status families by removing unjust new vetting rules that discourage adults from sponsoring unaccompanied children in need of care.
Amendment to eliminate $2 billion in wasteful spending for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would fund unjust, extreme immigration enforcement measures that target vulnerable migrants and expand deportation efforts.
Amendment to block nearly $30 billion from funding U.S. Immigration and Customs’ (ICE) extreme and unconstitutional immigration enforcement agenda.
Amendment to stop steep new immigration fees that would block immigrants from applying for legal status and push more strain onto New Mexico border communities and law enforcement.
Amendment to stop $46 billion in wasteful spending on President Trump’s border wall, which bypasses environmental regulations and threatens important wildlife habitats for dozens of endangered species, including Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona.
Amendment to shift funding away from unproductive, invasive background checks on immigrant families and instead invest in child welfare professionals at DHS to ensure unaccompanied kids receive safe, supportive care.
Amendment to ban the President, Vice President, Senate-appointed Executive Branch Officials, Members of Congress, Special Government Employees, and their spouses and children from directly or indirectly issuing or profiting from cryptocurrencies.
Below is a total list of amendments that Heinrich filed in his capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people:
Amendment to ensure meaningful Tribal consultation occurs on federal oil and gas leasing projects.
Amendment that decouples Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) oil and gas leasing from renewable energy approvals.
Amendment to protect clean energy manufacturing jobs.
Amendment striking metallurgical coal from 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit, which has no phase out.
Amendment prohibiting companies from receiving a royalty rate reduction authorized under OBBB if the price of oil rises above the price at the time of enactment, protecting taxpayers from high oil prices and pain at the pump.
Amendment to strike provisions that would increase electricity prices on American households and force a debate on how OBBB raises costs.
Amendment to strike the new Loan Program Office (LPO) title named “Energy Dominance Financing, which will give $1 billion to fund only coal, oil and gas projects, instead of opening financing to cleaner, cheaper energy options.
Amendment reserving $100 million for Tribal Energy Projects from the $1 billion provided for “Energy Dominance Financing” program.
Amendment to strike $1 billion from “Energy Dominance Financing,” which primarily finance coal, oil, and gas projects.
Amendment grandfathering LPO pipeline projects in “Energy Dominance Financing,” ensuring that projects currently in LPO’s pipeline are still considered under the new program.
Amendment eliminating Inflation Reduction Act recissions.
Amendment to strike provision that expands oil and gas leasing in the National Preserve in Alaska, to protect Alaskan lands from additional leases.
In February, Heinrich attempted to amend Republicans’ resolution by offering an amendment to reinstate blocked grants for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and ensure law enforcement can hold predators and abusers accountable. Republicans voted against his amendment. Watch Heinrich’s video here.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Activities of Secretary-General in Canada, 16-18 June

Source: United Nations 4

On Monday afternoon, 16 June, the Secretary-General travelled to Canada, where he was invited to take part in an outreach session of the G7 leaders summit in Kananaskis, in the province of Alberta.

On Monday evening, in Calgary, the Secretary-General attended a dinner organized for the outreach leaders by the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General travelled to Kananaskis, where he took part in a discussion titled “Energy security: diversification, technology and investment to ensure access and affordability in a changing world”. This session included G7 leaders, as well as other leaders invited to the outreach segment of the summit.

The session was closed, but in his remarks, the Secretary-General emphasized that energy security is no longer just about barrels and pipelines. It is about renewable energy and united action to support accessibility, affordability and supercharge sustainable development. 

Throughout the day, the Secretary-General had informal meetings with leaders attending the summit and discussed a broad range of topics, including the situation in the Middle East.

On Wednesday morning, 18 June, the Secretary-General travelled back to New York.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: IAM Union International Officers Sworn in for New Term During Ceremony Honoring Union Democracy, Member-Led Leadership

Source: US GOIAM Union

The IAM Union marked a powerful moment of renewal as its newly elected International Officers were sworn in for a four-year term during an installation ceremony that celebrated the union’s democratic foundation and its future-facing vision.

Held before an audience of IAM members, retirees, staff, and labor allies, the ceremony at the IAM’s Headquarters was a reminder that in the IAM Union, leadership is chosen by the membership. Each officer sworn in was elected directly by the IAM’s rank-and-file membership.

WATCH: 2025 IAM Union International Officer Installation Ceremony

International President Brian Bryant, a longtime member of Local S6, was sworn in to continue to lead the IAM through a period of bold organizing, strategic growth, and deep commitment to equity and inclusion. In his remarks, Bryant offered heartfelt thanks to the membership, his fellow Executive Council members, the IAM’s staff, and his family.

PHOTOS: 2025 IAM Union International Officer Installation Ceremony

“To our membership—thank you,” said Bryant. “Thank you for placing your trust in this leadership team. That trust is not something we take lightly. It’s something we earn—every day, in every fight, in every shop floor conversation, contract campaign, organizing drive, and legislative battle.”

Bryant also reinforced the union’s evolving identity.

“We must be clear: This union stands for all workers. No matter where you were born. No matter who you love. No matter who you worship. No matter how you got here,” said Bryant. “If you work for a living—you deserve justice on the job. You deserve the power of a union contract. And you deserve to be treated with dignity.”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler also delivered remarks during the ceremony, celebrating the IAM Union’s legacy and applauding the union’s future-facing leadership.

“What brings us together is this belief that all work has dignity and that we all deserve the freedom, fairness and security,” said Shuler. “Those are the values that unite every worker, and that’s what we’re going to fight for every single day. We’re going to organize everywhere — just like the IAM is by taking on the largest companies in the world.”

The following officers were sworn in for a four-year term, beginning July 1, 2025:

International President
Brian Bryant (Local S6)

General Secretary-Treasurer
Dora Cervantes (Local 2198)

Canadian General Vice President
David Chartrand (Local 712)*

U.S. General Vice Presidents
David Sullivan (Local S6)
Richie Johnsen (Local 1781)
Craig Martin (Local 470)
Jody Bennett (Local 2771)
Sam Cicinelli (Local 701)
Robert “Bobby” Martinez (Local 933)

Law Committee
Eric Johnston (Local 235)
Ryan Haehnlein (Local 701)
Teressa Peart (Local 774)
Olu Ajetomobi (Local 1781)
Sal Vasquez (Local 311)

Delegates to the AFL-CIO
E. Michael Vartabedian (Local 264)
Sharon Sugiyama (Local 2339G)
Richard Jackson (Local 751A)

Delegate to the Canadian Labour Congress
Christy Slauenwhite (Local 764)*

*Elected solely by IAM members in Canada

Administering the oath of office was retired IAM International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger, who led the union from 1997 to 2016. Buffenbarger’s presence and role in the ceremony served as a bridge between generations of IAM leadership and reinforced the enduring principles that guide the union.

The installation ceremony featured spiritual and inspirational reflection from Derrick Monk, a member of IAM Local 1776, a District 141 Trustee, and Senior Pastor of the Divine Covenant Outreach Center in Philadelphia. Monk set the tone for the ceremony with an invocation that called on unity, courage, and the shared responsibility of leadership.

As the IAM Union looks ahead, this newly installed leadership team is charged with growing the union across traditional and emerging industries, empowering members through strong contracts, and continuing to lead with integrity, inclusion, and determination.

“All of us, together, are the stewards of something powerful,” said Bryant. “We inherit this union not just to protect it, but to grow it. To make it bolder, more inclusive, and more powerful than ever.”

The post IAM Union International Officers Sworn in for New Term During Ceremony Honoring Union Democracy, Member-Led Leadership appeared first on IAM Union.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: General Assembly Endorses Nice Ocean Conference Declaration, Adopts $5.38 Billion Peacekeeping Budget

Source: United Nations 4

The General Assembly today endorsed the political declaration of the United Nations Ocean Conference, which establishes multilateral ocean governance. It also adopted the $5.38 billion peacekeeping budget for the year starting 1 July.

Titled “Our Ocean, Our Future: United for Urgent Action” (A/79/L.97), the declaration was adopted by acclamation at the close of the Conference held earlier this month in Nice, France. However, today’s formal endorsement by the 193-member Assembly required a recorded vote, with 162 in favour to 1 against (United States), with no abstentions.

Several delegations objected to the vote, with the representative of France, co-host of the Conference along with Costa Rica, highlighting its strong political declaration and robust initiatives for the future as “a victory for the ocean”. “The ocean doesn’t know borders” and neither should “our efforts to protect it”, said Costa Rica’s delegate, noting his country’s “steadfast” commitment to protecting the oceans. He welcomed the momentum generated at the Conference for an early entry into force of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). He also hailed promises to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement to end subsidies for overfishing and decisive support for a plastic pollution convention as soon as possible.

Brazil’s representative noted that the seas are “the planet’s main climate regulator” but “are running a fever”, while Australia’s delegate saw the adoption of this text as a testament to a collective commitment to address the urgency of climate change, biodiversity loss, and ocean pollution. The United States’ delegate said the focus on implementing Sustainable Development Goal 14 is inconsistent with its position on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Iraq’s delegate, speaking for the Group of 77 and China, noted that implementing Goal 14 requires more ambitious financial action, fulfillment of commitments made through intergovernmental agreements, and increased resources for small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries.

For her part, Venezuela’s delegate noted she had joined the consensus, while reiterating that it was not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is “not the only single legal and regulatory framework for oceans and seas” — a position echoed by representatives of Iran, Türkiye, and El Salvador.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s representative disassociated his delegation from all paragraphs referring to the 2030 Agenda and the Pact for the Future, as well as all paragraphs contradicting the guiding principles of the protection of life, liberty, and private property.

The Russian Federation’s delegate disassociated from the consensus on paragraph 26 of the declaration, which emphasizes the importance of the early entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement. The instrument would undermine the provisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks, with its norms allowing for impingement on the mandates and competencies of fisheries organizations.

Japan’s representative hailed the adoption as “not the end but just the beginning of our renewed commitment to achieving SDG 14”, while Singapore’s delegate stated that the Convention on the Law of the Sea remains the “constitution for the oceans”, calling on Member States to fully respect it.

$5.38 Billion Budget for Peacekeeping Operations

Acting on the recommendations of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the Assembly also allocated a budget of $5.38 billion to 11 UN peacekeeping operations, the support account for these operations, the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, and the Logistics Base in Brindisi. These resolutions were adopted without a vote, with the exception of the resolution on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) (A/C.5/79/L.36/Rev.1), which was adopted by 147 votes in favour to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, United States), with 1 abstention (Paraguay), after an oral amendment proposed by Israel was rejected by 5 votes in favour (Argentina, Canada, Israel, Paraguay, United States) to 83 against, with 57 abstentions.

The Assembly further adopted a draft resolution on the “Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects” (A/79/424/Add.1), which was approved and forwarded by its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).

Tackling Illicit Trafficking in Wildlife

The Assembly then adopted, by 157 votes in favour to 1 against (United States), with no abstentions, a draft resolution (A/79/L.96) submitted by the representative of Germany, by which the Assembly urges Member States to reinforce their efforts and adopt effective measures, as necessary, including by using special investigative techniques, consistent with article 20 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish crimes that affect the environment, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife and wildlife products, which encompasses poaching and illegal harvesting of timber, including fauna and flora as protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Speaking in explanation of position, the United States delegate noted that the text contained matters that “should be discussed in Vienna-based anti-crime fora rather than in the General Assembly”. Further, he opposed the use of the term “gender mainstreaming,” insisting on the “biological reality of sex”. For his part, Argentina’s representative dissociated his delegation from all paragraphs concerning the 2030 Agenda and those that go against the protection of life and private property, including preambular paragraphs 1, 2, 18, 34 and operative paragraph 27.

Promoting Interreligious, Intercultural Dialogue, Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech

The Assembly also adopted a draft resolution (A/79/L.98) on combating hate speech, introduced by Morocco, by a recorded vote of 111 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 44 abstentions. By the text, the Assembly called upon Member States to increase understanding about the spread and impact of hate speech, while continuing to adhere to relevant international human rights law obligations, as well as relevant United Nations instruments, in particular the Rabat Plan of Action. Further, the Assembly called upon digital technology companies and developers to continue to develop solutions and publicly communicate actions to counter potential harms, including hate speech, bias and discrimination, from artificial intelligence-enabled content, including such measures as ensuring data integrity, incorporation of safeguards into artificial intelligence model training processes, identification of artificial-intelligence-generated material, authenticity certification for content and origins, labelling, watermarking and other techniques.

Poland’s delegate, speaking for the European Union, whose members abstained from voting, emphasized that freedom of belief and religion applies to individuals, not objects or symbols, expressing reservations about preambular paragraph 14.

The wording of that paragraph presents “serious concerns” in terms of freedom of expression and religious pluralism, noted the representative of Costa Rica, which further emphasized that combating hate speech cannot be achieved at the expense of freedom of expression.

Hungary’s delegate indicated she could not support operative paragraph 23, which highlights one specific group, migrants, while the representative of the United Kingdom, who also abstained, refused to consider a text criticizing religion as incitement to hatred.

Any restriction on freedom of expression must be circumscribed by law, necessary, and proportionate, argued Switzerland’s delegate, emphasizing that human rights protect individual beings, not religions or objects. Furthermore, defamation of religions or religious defamation are not legal concepts recognized under international law. For all these reasons, she voiced regret over the wording of preambular paragraph 14.

For his part, Brazil’s delegate dissociated itself from paragraphs 11, 12, and 13, given that there is no agreed definition of hate speech and that this concept could be politicized. Canada’s representative remained committed to the principle that everyone can exercise their freedom of belief and religion without fear of violence, also welcoming the attention paid to new technologies, while voicing concern over the wording of preambular paragraph 14 on acts directed against religious symbols and holy books.

The Wiphala for Living Well in Harmony, Balance, Complementarity with Mother Earth

The Assembly further adopted, by a recorded vote of 139 votes in favour to 2 against (United States, Israel), with 5 abstentions (Canada, Georgia, Paraguay, Peru, Türkiye), a draft resolution (A/79/L.95) introduced by Bolivia, who noted the Wiphala is “an age-old symbol born out of the deepest roots of Indigenous Peoples,” an expression of “the seven colors of the rainbow” and living in harmony with Mother Earth. By the text, the Assembly called upon the international community to advance in the understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all peoples and cultures, and to strengthen efforts to eradicate manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including against Indigenous Peoples, and promote respect for the diversity of their cultural manifestations, traditions, practices and knowledge systems.

The United States representative, speaking before the vote, noted his delegation opposed the resolution’s focus on a single Indigenous community, further stating that the symbol remains controversial.

Mexico’s representative voiced regret that the Wiphala is limited to Bolivia and nearby regions, while Peru’s delegate pointed out that the text does not sufficiently detail the exact cultural origin of the symbol, and that the concept does not have a defined definition in a UN context.

While recognizing the cultural importance of the Wiphala for certain peoples of the Andean region, Canada’s delegate considered it inappropriate for the Assembly to designate a symbol specific to a geographical area as representing all Indigenous Peoples internationally. This choice must be made by the Indigenous Peoples themselves, not by the UN, he said.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Morocco: His Majesty (HM) the King Congratulates Canada’s Governor General on National Day

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His Majesty King Mohammed VI sent a message of congratulations to the Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency Mary May Simon, on the occasion of her country’s national day.

In this message, the Sovereign extends His sincere congratulations to May Simon and His warmest wishes for the happiness and prosperity of the Canadian people.

The Kingdom of Morocco looks forward to working together with Canada to strengthen their bilateral cooperation in all areas of common interest, HM the King underlines.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

MIL OSI Africa –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: GAZA: Starvation or Gunfire – This is Not a Humanitarian Response
Source: Amnesty International –

NGOs call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies. The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarized zones where they face daily gunfire and mass casualties while trying to access food and are denied other life-saving supplies.

Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families. The weeks following the launch of the Israeli distribution scheme have been some of the deadliest and most violent since October 2023.

In less than four weeks, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and almost 4,000 injured just trying to access or distribute food. Israeli forces and armed groups – some reportedly operating with backing from Israeli authorities – now routinely open fire on desperate civilians risking everything just to survive.

The humanitarian system is being deliberately and systematically dismantled by the Government of Israel’s blockade and restrictions, a blockade now being used to justify shutting down nearly all other aid operations in favour of a deadly, military-controlled alternative that neither protects civilians nor meets basic needs. These measures are designed to sustain a cycle of desperation, danger, and death. Experienced humanitarian actors remain ready to deliver life-saving assistance at scale. Yet more than 100 days since Israeli authorities reimposed a near-total blockade on aid and commercial goods, Gaza’s humanitarian conditions are collapsing faster than at any point in the past 20 months.

Under the Israeli government’s new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites with a single entry point. There, thousands are released into chaotic enclosures to fight for limited food supplies. These areas have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. Orphaned children and caregivers are among the dead, with children harmed in over half of the attacks on civilians at these sites. With Gaza’s healthcare system in ruins, many of those shot are left to bleed out alone, beyond the reach of ambulances and denied lifesaving medical care.

Amidst severe hunger and famine-like conditions, many families tell us they are now too weak to compete for food rations. Those who do manage to obtain food often return with only a few basic items – nearly impossible to prepare without clean water or fuel to cook with. Fuel is nearly depleted, bringing critical lifesaving services – including bakeries, water systems, ambulances, and hospitals – to a standstill. Families are sheltering under plastic sheets, operating makeshift kitchens amid the rubble, without fuel, clean water, sanitation, or electricity.

This is not a humanitarian response.

Concentrating more than two million people into further confined areas for a chance to feed their families is not a plan to save lives. For 20 months, more than two million people have been subjected to relentless bombardment, the weaponization of food, water and other aid, repeated forced displacement, and systematic dehumanization – all under the watch of the international community. The Sphere Association, which sets minimum standards for quality humanitarian aid, has warned that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s approach does not adhere to core humanitarian standards and principles.
This normalization of suffering must not be allowed to stand. States must reject the false choice between deadly, military-controlled food distributions and total denial of aid. States must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including prohibitions on forced displacement, indiscriminate attacks, and obstruction of humanitarian aid. States must ensure accountability for grave violations of international law.

We, the undersigned organizations, once again call on all third states to:
- Take concrete measures to end the suffocating siege and uphold the right of civilians in Gaza to safely access aid and receive protection.
- Urge donors not to fund militarized aid schemes that violate international law, do not adhere to humanitarian principles, deepen harm, and risk complicity in atrocities.
- Support the restoration of a unified, UN-led coordination mechanism—grounded in international humanitarian law and inclusive of UNRWA, Palestinian civil society, and the wider humanitarian community—to meet people’s needs.
We reiterate our urgent calls for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, full humanitarian access at scale, and an end to the pervasive impunity that enables these atrocities and denies Palestinians their basic dignity.

Editor’s Note
- On 15 June, the Red Cross field hospital in Al Mawasi received at least 170 patients injured while trying to reach a food distribution site. The following day, 16 June, more than 200 patients arrived at the same facility – the highest number recorded in a single mass casualty incident in Gaza. Of that number, 28 Palestinians were declared dead. A WHO official underscored the deadly pattern: “The recent food distribution initiatives by non-UN actors every time result in mass casualty incidents.”
- These deaths add to the broader toll: since October 2023, over 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 17,000 children.
List of signatory organizations:

ABCD Bethlehem, ACT Alliance, Act Church of Sweden, Action Against Hunger (ACF), Action Corps, ActionAid, Age International, Agricultural Development Association – PARC, Al Ard for Agricultural Development, Al-Najd Developmental Forum, American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International, Amos Trust, Anera, Anti-Slavery International, Arab Educational Institute – Pax Christi Bethlehem, Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz, Asociación de Solidaridad Internacional UNADIKUM, Association for Civil Rights Israel (ACRI), Association Switzerland Palestine, B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Beesan Charitable Association, Bimkom – Planning and Human Rights, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Botswana Watch Organisation, Breaking the Silence, Broederlijk Delen, CADUS e.V., Caritas Germany, Caritas International Belgium, Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Jerusalem, Caritas Middle East and North Africa, Center of Jewish Nonviolence, CESIDA – Spanish Coordinator of HIV and AIDS., Children Not Numbers, Choose Love, Christian Aid, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), CIDSE – International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations, CNCD-11.11.11, codepink, Combatants for Peace, Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe, Congregations of St Joseph, COOPERATIVE AGRICULUTAL ASSOCIATION, Cordaid, Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), Coventry Friends of Palestine, Cultures of Resistance, DanChurchAid, Danish Refugee Council, DAWN, Diakonia, Ekō, Embrace the Middle East, Emmaüs International, Entraide et Fraternité, Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Justice Network, EuroMed Rights, FÓRUM DE POLÍTICA FEMINISTA, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), Fund for Global Human Rights, Fundación Mundubat, Gaza Culture and Development Group (GCDG), Gaza Society for Sustainable Agriculture and Friendly Environment (SAFE), German Platform of Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs (VENRO), Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Glia, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P), Greenpeace, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Hands for Charity, HEKS/EPER(Swiss Church Aid), HelpAge International, Human Security Collective, Humanité Solidarité Médecine (HuSoMe ONG), Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International, Humanity Above All, INARA, Independent Catholic News, Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), INTERSOS, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Jewish Network for Palestine, Jüdische Stimme für Demokratie und Gerechtigkeit in Israel/Palästina, JVJP, Just Foreign Policy, Just Treatment, Kairos Ireland, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Martin Etxea Elkartea, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Médecins du Monde International Network, Médecins Sans Frontières, MedGlobal, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Medico International, medico international schweiz, Medicos sin fronteras (MSF – Spain), Mennonite Central Committee, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Mothers Manifesto, MPower Change Action Fund, Muslim Aid, Mwatana for Human Rights, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian People’s Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam International, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA), Parents Against Child Detentions, Partners for Palestine, Partners for Progressive Israel, PAX, Pax Christi Australia, Pax Christi England and Wales, Pax Christi International, Pax Christi Italy, pax christi Munich, Pax Christi Scotland, Pax Christi USA, Peace Direct, Peace Watch Switzerland, Penny Appeal Canada, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Plan International, Plataforma de Solidaridad con Palestina de Sevilla, Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine, Polish-Palestinian Justice Initiative KAKTUS, Première Urgence Internationale, Presbyterian Church (USA), Quixote Center, Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary – NGO, ReThinking Foreign Policy, Right to Movement, Rumbo a Gaza-Freedom Flotilla, Saferworld, Saskatoon Chapter of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Save the Children, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, Solsoc, Stichting Heimat International Foundation, STOPAIDS, Støtteforeningen Det Danske Hus i Palæstina, Terre des Hommes International Federation, Terre des hommes Lausanne, Terres des Hommes Italia, The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD UK), The Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church USA Bay Area, The Rights Forum, Union of Agricultural Work Committees-UAWC, United Against Inhumanity (UAI), Universities Allied for Essential Medicines UK, US-Lutheran Palestine Israel Justice Network, Vento di Terra, War Child Alliance, War on Want, Welthungerhilfe, and Yesh Din.
MIL OSI NGO –
July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: OTC Markets Group Launches OTCID™ Basic Market, In Major Structural Upgrade to U.S. OTC Equities Markets

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEW YORK, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for over 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today launched the OTCID™ Basic Market, a major structural upgrade that redefines the baseline for disclosure in the over-the-counter (OTC) equities space.

With the elimination of the Pink Current Market, the new OTCID™ Basic Market introduces a more transparent framework for companies that choose to engage with U.S. investors through consistent, ongoing reporting.

The move reflects OTC Markets Group’s broader strategy to enhance market clarity, reduce investor uncertainty, and offer compliant companies a more defined pathway to grow their presence in U.S. public markets.

Companies trading on the OTCID™ Basic Market are now required to meet specific disclosure benchmarks, including timely quarterly and annual financials, management certifications, and updated company profile information. These foundational requirements ensure that investors, brokers, regulators, and data providers can rely on timely, accurate information from issuers of securities.

“We’re supporting companies that choose to connect with the market and commit to timely, consistent, ongoing disclosure, as the best public companies understand that their data drives market quality” said Cromwell Coulson, President and CEO of OTC Markets Group. “When companies provide reliable information, that data flows directly into investor screens and broker-dealer machines, enhancing transparency, improving price discovery, and driving better outcomes across the market.”

1237 securities from the US and key international markets, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and Hong Kong have already taken the necessary steps to meet OTCID requirements, reinforcing their commitment to timely disclosure and direct engagement with U.S. investors.

For many, OTCID is a strategic entry point, not a final destination. Investor-focused issuers continue to move up the market. Since January, 61 companies, including Bayer AG and OMV AG, have qualified for the OTCQX^® Best Market, underscoring growing demand among issuers for higher visibility, stronger governance, and deeper, digital engagement with U.S. investors.

Companies that fail to meet the new OTCID’s requirements have been downgraded to either the Pink Limited™ Market or the Expert Restricted Market. Pink Limited™ Market serves as a warning to investors, flagging securities with limited to no issuer involvement, including companies with limited, outdated, or inconsistent disclosures. The Expert Market continues to include securities that fail to meet even the most basic public disclosure requirements under SEC Rule 15c2-11. Quotes in Expert Market securities are not available to retail investors.

By setting sharper distinctions between active and inactive issuers, OTC Markets Group is delivering on its mission to foster informed investment decisions and build a more efficient public market.

For more information, visit www.otcmarkets.com/OTCID

About OTC Markets Group Inc.
OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our public markets: OTCQX^® Best Market, OTCQB^® Venture Market, OTCID™ Basic Market and Pink Limited™ Market. Our OTC Link^® Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading. Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.

OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, OTC Link NQB, and MOON ATS™ are each SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

Media Contact:

Media@otcmarkets.com

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Banco Santander Chile: Second Quarter 2025 Analyst and Investor Webcast / Conference Call

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SANTIAGO, Chile, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — You are cordially invited to participate in Banco Santander Chile’s (NYSE: BSAC) conference call-webcast on Tuesday August 5, 2025, at 11.00 AM (ET time) where we will discuss 2Q 2025 financial results. The Bank’s Officers participating in the conference call are: Patricia Pérez, CFO, Cristian Vicuña, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of IR and Andrés Sansone, Chief Economist. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

The Management Commentary report will be published on July 31, 2025, before the market opens. The quiet period begins on July 17.

To participate, the webcast presentation can be viewed at: https://mm.closir.com/slides?id=720987

Or please dial in using any of the below numbers:
United Kingdom +44 203 984 9844
USA +1 718 866 4614
Austria +43 720 022981
Brazil +556120171549
Canada +1 587 855 1318
Chile +56228401484
Czech Republic +420 910 880101
Estonia +372 609 4102
Finland +35 8753 26 4477
France +33 1758 50 878
Germany +49 30 25 555 323
Hong Kong +852 3001 6551
Mexico +52 55 1168 9973
Peru +51 1 7060950
Poland +48 22 124 49 59
Russia +7 495 283 98 58
Singapore +65 3138 6816
South Africa +27872500455
South Korea +82 70 4732 5006
Sweden +46 10 551 30 20
Turkey +90 850 390 7512
Ukraine +380 89 324 0624

Participant Passcode: 720987
Please dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the starting time of the conference.

If you have any questions, please contact Cristian Vicuña at Banco Santander Chile at Cristian.vicuna@santander.cl, Rowena Lambert at Rowena.lambert@santander.cl or María Magdalena Rosende at Maria.rosende@santander.cl

CONTACT INFORMATION

Cristian Vicuña
Investor Relations
Banco Santander Chile
Bandera 140, Floor 20
Santiago, Chile
Email: irelations@santander.cl
Website: www.santander.cl

Banco Santander Chile is one of the companies with the highest risk classifications in Latin America with an A2 rating from Moody’s, A- from Standard and Poor’s, A+ from Japan Credit Rating Agency, AA- from HR Ratings and A from KBRA. All our ratings as of the date of this report have a Stable Outlook.

As of March 31, 2025, the bank had total assets of Ch$67,059,423 million (US$70,284 million), total gross loans (including those owed by banks) at amortized cost of Ch$41,098,666 million (US$43,075 million), total deposits of Ch$30,607,715 million (US$32,080 million), and bank owners’ equity of Ch$4,400,233 million (US$4,612 million). The BIS capital ratio was 16.9%, with a core capital ratio of 10.7%. As of March 31, 2025, Santander Chile employed 8,712 people and had 237 branches throughout Chile.

The MIL Network –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Dune director Denis Villeneuve will helm the next Bond – but what will his 007 be like?

Source: The Conversation – UK – By William Proctor, Associate Professor in Popular Culture, Bournemouth University

Wiki Commons/Canva, CC BY-SA

The James Bond franchise has lain dormant for four years, since Daniel Craig’s swansong as 007, No Time to Die. A legal quarrel between Bond’s producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and Amazon Studios resulted in a stalemate and production on a new Bond film has remained in limbo.

Nevertheless, speculation has been rife about which actor will next play Ian Fleming’s super-spy (the latest actor to be associated with the role is former Spider-man Tom Holland).

When news surfaced in February 2025 that Amazon MGM (Amazon purchased MGM in 2021) had effectively become Bond’s new custodians, critics and audiences alike expressed concern – to put it lightly. Many feared that Jeff Bezos was more interested in stimulating Amazon Prime membership by driving multiple content streams through spin-offs and merchandising than protecting Fleming’s legacy.

However, last week’s announcement that Denis Villeneuve has been appointed as the director of the 26th Bond film is a savvy move. It’s a declaration of intent that seeks to promote and market Amazon MGM as safe harbour for the Bond franchise.

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

The announcement positions the next era of Bond as a prestigious exercise helmed by “a cinematic master”, not a journeyman director. Villeneuve was previously offered the opportunity to direct No Time to Die, but turned the role down because of his commitment to the Dune films.

By appointing Villeneuve, Amazon has managed to radically shift the public debate. Villeneuve is “much more than a technical director”, wrote Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw. “He is an alpha-grade auteur in the same league as Christopher Nolan.”

Other critics have pointed to his rare ability to “combine blockbuster momentum (and ticket sales) with the finer, more nuanced sensibilities of a filmmaker always concerned with slowing down, honing in on character and theme”.

Although Sam Mendes, director of Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), came with artistic status, Villeneuve is something different – a marquee name frequently described as an auteur.

Villeneuve talks about his love for Bond.

Since his transition from making mostly low-key independent films in his native Canada to his arrival in Hollywood with Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal (2013), Villeneuve has amassed an impressively eclectic filmography.

He has proven that he is as comfortable shooting realistic crime thrillers (Sicario, 2015) and surrealist cinema that David Lynch would be proud of (Enemy, 2013), as he is with science fiction (Arrival, 2016, Blade Runner 2049, 2017, and the Dune films, 2021 and 2024).

Villeneuve’s Bond

Although Sicario may be the closest in terms of genre to the Bond films, establishing Villeneuve as a director who can expertly shoot action sequences, it is nevertheless difficult at this stage to conceptualise what a Villeneuve Bond film might be like.

Some critics have suggested that the director’s cinematic resume, eclectic as it is, might not bode well for Bond. The Hollywood Reporter’s film critic Benjamin Svetkey, for instance, worries that Villeneuve’s “lugubrious, meditative filmmaking” is sorely lacking in humour – which could be fatal for 007. “A certain amount of wit and winking is critical to the character,” he claims.

It is early days for Amazon MGM and Villeneuve. As yet, there is reportedly no treatment, no script, no writer and – more pointedly – no actor appointed to the role. Whatever happens, the 26th Bond film is likely to be a hard reboot that wipes the slate clean (again) after the fate of 007 in No Time to Die.

Villeneuve’s choice for Bond is unlikely to be as cartoonish as Pierce Brosnan’s iteration.

Although Villeneuve has said that he intends to honour tradition and that Bond is “sacred territory” for him, Bond’s capacity for revision and regeneration has been key to the franchise’s longevity.

As socoiologists Tony Bennett and Janet Woollacott argue in their seminal study, Bond and Beyond, the figure of Bond has over the past six decades “been differently constructed at different moments,” with “different sets of ideological and cultural concerns”.

So what kind of Bond film Villeneuve ends up directing largely depends on the story and whichever actor is anointed as the next James Bond. It is doubtful that audiences will expect a campy pantomime Bond like Roger Moore, or a Bond with an invisible car, like Pierce Brosnan in the cartoonish Die Another Day (2002). Villeneuve’s choice of Casino Royale as his favourite 007 may provide a clue. But it is also unlikely that the director will be satisfied with slavishly repeating the past.

William Proctor 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. Dune director Denis Villeneuve will helm the next Bond – but what will his 007 be like? – https://theconversation.com/dune-director-denis-villeneuve-will-helm-the-next-bond-but-what-will-his-007-be-like-260140

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Canadian Man Arrested and Detained for Role in Deadly Alien Smuggling Conspiracy at the U.S.’s Northern Border

Source: US State of North Dakota

Note: View the indictment here and detention letter here.

WASHINGTON — A dual Canadian American citizen was arrested on Sunday, June 15, for his role in a deadly human smuggling conspiracy that left a family of four, including two children under the age of three, dead in the St. Lawrence River. Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States via the Massena, New York, Port of Entry.

Timothy Oakes, 34, from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation (AMIR), Canada, was previously arraigned on numerous human smuggling offenses in the Northern District of New York District Court and had his detention hearing earlier today and will remain detained. Oakes was indicted on April 9 for conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for profit, and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. United States based co-conspirators Dakota Montour, 31, and Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, 43, both of Akwesasne-Mohawk, New York, and Janet Terrance, 45, of Hogansburg, New York, entered guilty pleas on Jan. 23, Oct. 8, 2024, and March 6, respectively.

“As alleged, Oakes and his co-conspirators profited from a human smuggling operation with a singular, cold-hearted aim: making money by bringing illegal aliens into the United States, regardless of the danger to human life involved,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their greed resulted in the deaths of a mother, a father, and two small children, as well as one of the defendants’ own brothers. The Criminal Division will continue to disrupt and dismantle these organizations and bring justice to smugglers whose actions result in senseless deaths.”

“This case shows the terrible perils of illegally crossing the border,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York. “Four family members died because a smuggling network put them in harm’s way. My office is proud to partner with Joint Task Force Alpha to continue to combat dangerous human smuggling and trafficking organizations that operate on our northern border.”

“Oakes’ arrest comes as part of our nearly two-year long investigation into a transnational criminal organization responsible for the large-scale smuggling of aliens from Canada into the United States,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Buffalo Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan. “ICE HSI leverages its full range of authorities to combat and dismantle the heinous networks of greedy criminals who illicitly sell dangerous, sometimes fatal, passage through our nation’s northern border. We are extremely grateful for a multitude of law enforcement agency partners on the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce who join us in this fight to bring smugglers to justice.”

“Two toddler aged children and their parents were the tragic victims of an alien smuggling attempt gone horribly wrong,” said Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector. “Their deaths were a direct result of callous smugglers who exploited the vulnerable. Due to unrelenting perseverance and investigative efforts by multiple law enforcement agencies, those responsible will be held accountable. Our pursuit of justice persists until justice is served.”

According to court documents, Oakes was a key facilitator in a human smuggling organization (HSO) that smuggled aliens from Canada into northern New York. Oakes, working with the HSO, routinely smuggled aliens into the United States by piloting boats across the St. Lawrence River. Additionally, Oakes used his home as a staging area for aliens before the HSO smuggled them into the United States. Oakes earned approximately $1,000 for every alien whom he smuggled across the St. Lawrence River into the United States.

In March 2023, Oakes housed a Romanian family of four, together with other aliens, for about 24 hours. He then transported the family and a boat to a public boat launch. His brother, Casey Oakes, attempted to use the boat to smuggle the Romanian family into the United States, but the boat capsized, killing all four members of the family, as well as Casey Oakes.

Terrance, Montour, and Sharrow admitted in their plea agreements that in late March 2023, they were employed to illegally transport a Romanian family of four — a mother, father, one-year-old boy, and two-year-old girl — from Canada into New York. Specifically, Montour admitted that he was aware of the dangerous weather conditions on the day of the tragedy — high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility — yet another co-conspirator still loaded the family of four into the small boat to attempt to cross the St. Lawrence River.

HSI Massena engaged in an extensive years-long investigation of the case, with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, New York State Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, Ontario Provincial Police, Sûreté du Québec, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Cornwall Police Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support with foreign legal assistance requests.

The defendant’s vehicle with light blue boat in tow on March 29, 2023, at 9:29 p.m., consistent with the boat found in the river during recovery efforts.

The investigation is a result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations and eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating within the Americas that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border, including the Northern District of New York. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 380 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 340 U.S. convictions; more than 290 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The investigation is being conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

Trial Attorney Jenna E. Reed of the Criminal Division’s HRSP and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

This case 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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Canadian Man Arrested and Detained for Role in Deadly Alien Smuggling Conspiracy at the U.S.’s Northern Border

Source: United States Attorneys General

Note: View the indictment here and detention letter here.

WASHINGTON — A dual Canadian American citizen was arrested on Sunday, June 15, for his role in a deadly human smuggling conspiracy that left a family of four, including two children under the age of three, dead in the St. Lawrence River. Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States via the Massena, New York, Port of Entry.

Timothy Oakes, 34, from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation (AMIR), Canada, was previously arraigned on numerous human smuggling offenses in the Northern District of New York District Court and had his detention hearing earlier today and will remain detained. Oakes was indicted on April 9 for conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for profit, and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. United States based co-conspirators Dakota Montour, 31, and Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, 43, both of Akwesasne-Mohawk, New York, and Janet Terrance, 45, of Hogansburg, New York, entered guilty pleas on Jan. 23, Oct. 8, 2024, and March 6, respectively.

“As alleged, Oakes and his co-conspirators profited from a human smuggling operation with a singular, cold-hearted aim: making money by bringing illegal aliens into the United States, regardless of the danger to human life involved,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their greed resulted in the deaths of a mother, a father, and two small children, as well as one of the defendants’ own brothers. The Criminal Division will continue to disrupt and dismantle these organizations and bring justice to smugglers whose actions result in senseless deaths.”

“This case shows the terrible perils of illegally crossing the border,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York. “Four family members died because a smuggling network put them in harm’s way. My office is proud to partner with Joint Task Force Alpha to continue to combat dangerous human smuggling and trafficking organizations that operate on our northern border.”

“Oakes’ arrest comes as part of our nearly two-year long investigation into a transnational criminal organization responsible for the large-scale smuggling of aliens from Canada into the United States,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Buffalo Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan. “ICE HSI leverages its full range of authorities to combat and dismantle the heinous networks of greedy criminals who illicitly sell dangerous, sometimes fatal, passage through our nation’s northern border. We are extremely grateful for a multitude of law enforcement agency partners on the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce who join us in this fight to bring smugglers to justice.”

“Two toddler aged children and their parents were the tragic victims of an alien smuggling attempt gone horribly wrong,” said Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector. “Their deaths were a direct result of callous smugglers who exploited the vulnerable. Due to unrelenting perseverance and investigative efforts by multiple law enforcement agencies, those responsible will be held accountable. Our pursuit of justice persists until justice is served.”

According to court documents, Oakes was a key facilitator in a human smuggling organization (HSO) that smuggled aliens from Canada into northern New York. Oakes, working with the HSO, routinely smuggled aliens into the United States by piloting boats across the St. Lawrence River. Additionally, Oakes used his home as a staging area for aliens before the HSO smuggled them into the United States. Oakes earned approximately $1,000 for every alien whom he smuggled across the St. Lawrence River into the United States.

In March 2023, Oakes housed a Romanian family of four, together with other aliens, for about 24 hours. He then transported the family and a boat to a public boat launch. His brother, Casey Oakes, attempted to use the boat to smuggle the Romanian family into the United States, but the boat capsized, killing all four members of the family, as well as Casey Oakes.

Terrance, Montour, and Sharrow admitted in their plea agreements that in late March 2023, they were employed to illegally transport a Romanian family of four — a mother, father, one-year-old boy, and two-year-old girl — from Canada into New York. Specifically, Montour admitted that he was aware of the dangerous weather conditions on the day of the tragedy — high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility — yet another co-conspirator still loaded the family of four into the small boat to attempt to cross the St. Lawrence River.

HSI Massena engaged in an extensive years-long investigation of the case, with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, New York State Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, Ontario Provincial Police, Sûreté du Québec, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Cornwall Police Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support with foreign legal assistance requests.

The defendant’s vehicle with light blue boat in tow on March 29, 2023, at 9:29 p.m., consistent with the boat found in the river during recovery efforts.

The investigation is a result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations and eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating within the Americas that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border, including the Northern District of New York. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 380 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 340 U.S. convictions; more than 290 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The investigation is being conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

Trial Attorney Jenna E. Reed of the Criminal Division’s HRSP and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

This case 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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

MIL Security OSI –

July 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: eXp Realty selects Cloze’s AI-powered real estate platform for CRM of Choice program
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

WELLESLEY, Mass., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cloze, the AI-powered real estate platform for sphere selling, today announced its inclusion in eXp Realty’s new CRM of Choice program. Beginning today, eXp Realty agents across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico will be able to select Cloze as their preferred CRM — at no additional cost — as part of their monthly tech package.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the typical REALTOR® earned 41% of their business through referrals and repeat clients, with high-performing agents often seeing a much higher percentage. Yet, 88% of the people an agent interacts with never make it into their CRM. Cloze is the only CRM that tracks calls and texts automatically from an agent’s own phone number, enabling the platform to capture an agent’s entire sphere, not just the 12% that are entered into a traditional CRM. With every communication captured in one place, Cloze’s AI keeps contact info fresh and surfaces relationships—so that agents can capitalize on their entire sphere of influence.

Designed for agents and teams whose growth is powered by real relationships, Cloze offers agents and team leaders tools that deepen client connections, maximize productivity, and drive repeat and referral business. Cloze uses AI to surface the right outreach and follow-ups—so agents get more from their sphere with less effort—thanks to deep integrations with Canva, SkySlope, eXp Access, and more.

“CRM of Choice represents a new chapter in how we support our agents’ growth at eXp,” said Kendall Bonner, Vice President, Industry Relations and Strategic Partnerships, eXp Realty. “Cloze’s use of AI to personalize automation and recommendations for relationship-driven selling gives agents a smarter way to turn everyday connections into lasting business.”

A platform designed around how agents work

At the heart of Cloze is the Cloze Intelligence Engine, which uses AI to automatically build and maintain each agent’s database by capturing real-world activity — emails, calls, texts, and meetings — without requiring manual data entry. The built-in personal assistant then nudges agents to follow up, surfaces action items from conversations, and helps prioritize the relationships that are most likely to drive future deals.

Cloze is uniquely designed to help agents make the most of their sphere of influence:
- Stay organized, automatically—Cloze automatically logs calls, texts, emails, and meetings, pulling in full history, even from the past, to discover warm opportunities
- Focus on what drives Gross Commission Income (GCI)—Cloze AI reminds agents to reconnect and follow-up, surfacing key action items, deadlines, and milestones, including reaching out to past contacts, so agents hit their goals
- Simplify and scale personal outreach—With one platform for both personal and automated outreach, agents can seamlessly move between 1:1 messages, automated marketing, and mail-merged mass outreach without switching tools
- Stay productive while on the go—Cloze’s best-in-class mobile experience through both iOS and Android apps offer full functionality so that agents can run every part of their business from anywhere
Easy, polished marketing—powered by AI and Canva

Cloze’s Canva integration provides a one-click experience to create polished, eXp-branded materials — flyers, postcards, videos, social posts, and more — pre-filled with listing details. Agents can customize and send materials directly from within Cloze, ensuring brand consistency without the design hassle.

In addition, Cloze’s real estate-savvy generative AI can ghostwrite listing descriptions, newsletters, agent bios, one-off emails, and multi-step campaigns — all from a single platform.

Agents and teams who sell to clients that speak different languages can use Cloze’s multi-lingual marketing, which can automatically detect the language of every client to ensure everyone receives marketing materials in their language of choice, automatically.

Embedded into the eXp ecosystem

In addition to Canva, Cloze connects with other tools agents already use, such as eXp-supported systems like SkySlope, Dotloop, Slack, DialSafe, and eXp Access, as well as over 100 additional applications, so that agents can be more productive, all while seamlessly capturing all interactions in one place without manual entry.

Built to support every agent—solo or on a team

Cloze is designed to adapt to how agents actually work—whether they’re growing a solo business or working as part of a team. Shared communication history, lead routing, and visibility keep teams coordinated and on track, while personal contacts and conversations stay private by default. Agents get the structure they need without giving up control, and team leaders gain the visibility they need to support performance and accountability.

“Cloze was built from the ground up to support sphere-based selling — and it’s why agents who use Cloze consistently outperform,” said Dan Foody, CEO and Co-Founder of Cloze. “Our new relationship with eXp Realty will bring these capabilities to even more agents across North America.”

About Cloze

Cloze is an AI-powered sales and marketing platform that helps real estate brokerages, agents, and teams strengthen relationships, automate outreach, and manage lead routing. Real estate leaders like Windermere, Baird & Warner, Brown Harris Stevens, and Sotheby’s International Realty use Cloze’s open platform to create a sales and marketing hub that future-proofs their tech stack. By integrating deeply with existing tools, Cloze makes it easy to add, change, or update those tools whenever needed. For more information on Cloze, visit cloze.com.

Media Relations Contact:
Cloze, Inc.
Alex Coté
press@cloze.com

About eXp World Holdings, Inc.

eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI) (the “Company”) is the holding company for eXp Realty^® and SUCCESS^® Enterprises. eXp Realty is the largest independent real estate brokerage in the world, with nearly 81,000 agents across 27 countries. As a cloud-based, agent-centric brokerage, eXp Realty provides real estate agents industry-leading commission splits, revenue share, equity ownership opportunities, and a global network that empowers agents to build thriving businesses. For more information about eXp World Holdings, Inc., visit: expworldholdings.com.

SUCCESS^® Enterprises, anchored by SUCCESS^® magazine, has been a trusted name in personal and professional development since 1897. As part of the eXp ecosystem, it offers agents access to valuable resources to enhance their skills, grow their businesses, and achieve long-term success. For more information about SUCCESS, visit success.com.

Media Relations Contact:
eXp World Holdings, Inc.
mediarelations@expworldholdings.com

Investor Relations
Denise Garcia
investors@expworldholdings.com

The MIL Network –
July 2, 2025


Contact:	Mark E. Secor
	Chief Administration Officer
Phone:	219-873-2611
Date:	July 1, 2025

Category: Canada

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