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Category: DJF

  • MIL-OSI USA: Under Cantwell Pressure, Admin Releases Critical Wildfire Funds

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

    07.24.25

    Under Cantwell Pressure, Admin Releases Critical Wildfire Funds

    Trump’s Office of Management and Budget had been withholding $20 million already allocated to WA state to prepare for and respond to wildfires

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the Spend Plan for the over $280 million in overdue FY 2025 U.S. Forest Service State, Private and Tribal Forestry (SPTF) funding, including approximately $20 million for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to use for firefighting training and equipment, forest management, and landscape restoration.

     

    “The State of Washington is in the middle of an active and dangerous wildfire season. After questioning the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of Agriculture, I am pleased that Washington — and all states — are finally receiving the funding they need to prepare for and respond to wildfires this summer and in the future,” said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

    “Thank you, Senator Cantwell, for your leadership in securing the release of fiscal year (FY) 2025 Forest Service funding for the State, Private, and Tribal Forestry programs,” said George Geissler, State Forester for Washington. “This critical funding was at risk of being included in a recission by the Trump Administration, but because of your efforts will now be put to work in support of forest health protection, private forest landowners, urban and community forests, and wildfire preparedness and response efforts across the State of Washington. On behalf of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), we thank you for your tireless advocacy in support of our work.”

    SPTF funding is typically released to states months prior to the start of wildfire season to be used to train and equip state, local, and volunteer emergency responders and firefighters. This includes funding for fire academies, personal protection equipment, fire pumps, hoses, nozzles, and other safety gear. Delays risked the funding being rescinded by the Trump Administration and could degrade state and local efforts to prepare for and respond to wildfires this summer and in the future.

    On July 10, Sen. Cantwell questioned U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz about why the Trump Administration was withholding the SPTF funding.

    “It’s a budget that’s already been approved. So why aren’t we releasing the funds that go to the community so that they can best prepare for this fire season?” Sen. Cantwell asked during the July 10 Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.

    “We have not made a determination yet, but that’s something that is being evaluated,” Schultz responded. “We can’t commit that that’s for sure going to go out yet.”

    Video of Sen. Cantwell’s questioning of Schultz is HERE; a transcript is HERE.

    On July 16, Sen. Cantwell participated in a virtual briefing hosted by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins outlining the current wildfire situation and outlook across the western United States. During the briefing, she questioned Rollins on why OMB continued to withhold $280 million in SPTF funds.

    Nationally, state, local, and volunteer fire departments respond to roughly 80% of all wildfires each year. Last year DNR, along with local first responders, successfully kept over 93% of fires in Washington state at 10 acres or less. Funds from the SPTF can also be used for hazardous fuels work on non-federal land in the wildland urban interface (WUI), to recover land that has been burned, and for forest health management.

    The National Interagency Fire Center outlook predicts high wildfire risk across the entirety of Washington state from July through September 2025, and a high risk in Eastern and Central Washington in October. Six wildfires are currently burning in the state, and as of July 22, more than 37,000 acres have burned in the State of Washington this year.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cantwell Intros Bipartisan Bill to Help Tribes Combat MMIWP Crisis and Fentanyl Trafficking

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

    07.24.25

    Cantwell Intros Bipartisan Bill to Help Tribes Combat MMIWP Crisis and Fentanyl Trafficking

    Bipartisan legislation would boost federal benefits to help recruit and retain tribal law enforcement officers; This week – local, federal, and tribal law enforcement indict 12 individuals in major drug trafficking operation on Yakama Nation lands

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Representative Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04) and Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03) introduced the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act of 2025. The legislation would help tribal police departments hire and retain tribal law enforcement officers by providing access to federal retirement, pension, death, and injury benefits on par with law enforcement officers from non-tribal jurisdictions.

    “Tribes need more law enforcement officers to fight both the fentanyl and murdered and missing indigenous people epidemics and to respond to emergencies in their communities,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act will help tribal communities get the law enforcement resources they need to keep their communities safe.”

    “Tribal police departments work tirelessly to protect and serve our communities in Oklahoma and around the nation,” said Sen. Mullin. “Tribal police should receive equal treatment and resources needed for the safety of their communities without going through excessive red tape. I’m proud to join with my colleagues on this and support our Tribal law enforcement.”

    “As the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis continues to plague tribal communities across the country, tribal law enforcement agencies are facing serious challenges with recruiting and retaining officers and resources,” said Rep. Newhouse. “This bipartisan legislation empowers tribal law enforcement to build and maintain strong, well-trained forces who will be far better equipped to address the MMIW crisis, counter illicit drug flow, and protect tribal communities in Central Washington. I thank members of the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle who understand the scale of these challenges and are helping to lead towards a solution.”

    According to the Department of Interior, public safety and justice at the Bureau of Indian Affairs is funded at just 13% of need and over 25,600 personnel are needed to adequately serve Indian Country. This includes at least 13,000 more tribal law enforcement officers to meet FBI Community Safety Standards.

    “The Colville Tribes strongly supports the ‘Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act.’ The bill would implement long overdue reforms and remove administrative barriers to tribal law officers enforcing federal laws on their reservation lands. It will also assist the Colville Tribes and other tribes in recruiting and retaining officers, which is critical for rural tribes that have large land bases and not enough officers to adequately patrol.” – Jarred-Michael Erickson, Chairman, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

    “Bolstering support for Tribal law enforcement recruitment and retention is crucial to addressing the many serious and systemic public safety issues in Indian Country. The issue is particularly pressing for the Yakama Nation and other tribes with large-land bases and a severe lack of resources to adequately patrol such a vast area. At Yakama we are facing an overwhelming confluence of public safety crises. We have experienced a surge in violent and property crimes, the highest rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/People in the region, and a terrifying rise in outside gang and cartel-related drug activity coming onto our lands, including the pervasive and deadly fentanyl epidemic. The recent coordinated, multi-agency drug trafficking interdiction “Operation Overdrive” that dismantled a large drug distribution network operating on the Yakama Reservation shows what is possible when all levels of government work together to make our communities safer. The Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act will help give the Yakama Nation and other tribes the tools and funding necessary to protect our communities and people who live, work, and raise their families on our lands. The Yakama Nation appreciates Senator Cantwell and Congressman Newhouse’s partnership with us and their continued work to address long-standing impediments to Tribal sovereignty and our public safety efforts.” – Jeremy Takala, Law & Order Committee Chairman, Yakama Nation Tribal Council

    “The Chehalis Tribe strongly supports the bill. Our Tribe is fortunate in that we are able to pay our law enforcement officers competitive salaries but competitive retirement benefits are currently out of reach for Chehalis and most other tribes around the country. If enacted, this will allow Chehalis and other tribes to take care of the officers that patrol and keep our communities safe.” – Dustin Klatush, Chairman, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation

    “Many tribal police departments are chronically understaffed and massively underfunded. The Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act would level the playing field for tribal police benefits, retirement, and pension, allowing tribes to improve retention and recruitment of officers on tribal lands. Ultimately, passage of the act would help improve overall safety in tribal communities. We are grateful to Senator Cantwell, Congressman Newhouse, Congresswoman, Gluesenkamp Perez, and their colleagues for championing this act and hope the overwhelming tribal support will ensure its approval.” – Chairman Glen Nenema, Kalispel Tribe of Indians

    “As a tribal law enforcement officer and an elected tribal leader, I know firsthand how hard it is to recruit and retain law enforcement officers. This bill will make it so much easier to achieve that objective by ensuring tribal law enforcement officers have access to proper retirement benefits. This bill will make our community safer.” – Vice-President Everett Ekdahl, Jr. Keweenaw Bay Indian Community

    “The Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act will provide tribal nations with the tools necessary to recruit and retain law enforcements officers. It shows Congress’s commitment to public safety on tribal lands and the fair treatment of tribal law enforcement officers. We are grateful for Senator Cantwell, Congressman Newhouse, and Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez for their leadership on this important issue.” – Chairman Leonard Forsman, Suquamish Tribe

    “The Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act represents a crucial advancement in ensuring that tribal law enforcement agencies, such as Hopi Law Enforcement Services, have the support they need to protect those that live and work on the Hopi Reservation. The Hopi Tribe is grateful to Senator Cantwell, Congressman Newhouse, Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez, and their colleagues for their leadership strengthening recruitment, retention, and public safety across tribal nations.” – Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma, Hopi Tribe

    “Access to resources is critical to improving the recruitment and retention tribal law enforcement officers. The Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act removes administrative barriers and provides the necessary reforms to protect our community. The Nisqually Tribe thanks Senator Cantwell and Representative Newhouse for their leadership in strengthening safety and security across tribal communities.” – Chairman Ken Choke, Nisqually Tribe

    “Jurisdictional gaps in Indian Country have allowed far too many criminals to fall through the cracks. We appreciate Senator Cantwell’s leadership in taking meaningful action to close these gaps. By allowing qualified Tribal officers operating under 638 contracts to enforce federal law and receive federal protections, this bill strengthens our ability to respond to serious criminal activity on our reservation.” Chairman Anthony Hillaire, Lummi Nation

    Combatting the Fentanyl Epidemic

    Sen. Cantwell is a strong advocate for increasing the presence of tribal law enforcement officers on reservations to help combat the fentanyl epidemic and Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) crisis among Native communities.

    Sen. Cantwell first introduced the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act in July 2023. The bipartisan bill was first considered at a U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on May 1, 2024. During a hearing on the fentanyl crisis in Indian Country later that month, Sen. Cantwell pressed federal officials about the need to help tribes hire and keep more tribal law enforcement officers and highlighted several tribes in Washington state that urgently need more resources to improve chronic understaffing issues.

    In October 2023, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee requesting that the committee hold an oversight hearing on how to address the fentanyl crisis in Indian Country. Soon after, the committee announced two hearings on the topic. At the November 2023 hearing titled: “Fentanyl in Native Communities: Native Perspectives on Addressing the Growing Crisis,” Sen. Cantwell invited Lummi Nation Chairman Anthony Hillarie to testify.

    In December 2023, Vanessa Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, and Glen Melville, Deputy Bureau Director at the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services and member of the Makah Tribe, participated in the second hearing titled: “Fentanyl in Native Communities: Examining the Federal Response to the Growing Crisis.” At the hearing, both Waldref and Melville commented that fentanyl traffickers often target tribal lands due to lack of tribal law enforcement.

    A background document on Sen. Cantwell’s legislative track record and advocacy to combat the fentanyl crisis is available HERE.

    Fighting Against MMIWP Crisis

    In 2020, Sen. Cantwell’s Savanna’s Act was signed into law to help federal, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies better respond to cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and people by improving coordination among all levels of law enforcement, increasing data collection and information sharing, and providing tribal governments with vital resources.

    In May 2023, Sen. Cantwell announced she sent a letter to the Biden Administration urging them to prioritize funding to assist Tribes and organizations working to combat the MMIWP crisis.

    Following Sen. Cantwell’s urging, in June 2023 the U.S. Department of Justice announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program, which dedicated five Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five coordinators to the task of resolving the cases of missing and murdered indigenous people. This included dedicated personnel based in Eastern Washington.

    In October 2024, Sen. Cantwell announced $6.9 million in federal funding for state and municipal law enforcement agencies, tribal justice departments and programs, and medical examiner offices to help fight the fentanyl crisis, gun violence, and violence against women and children.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Capito, Warnock Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Boost Child Care Workforce, Increase Access to Early Head Start Programs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) last week introduced the bipartisan Head Start Education and Development Workforce Advancement and Yield (HEADWAY) Act. The legislation would address early child care workforce shortages by allowing Early Head Start classroom teachers to teach and earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential simultaneously. As of February 2023, nearly 20% of Head Start and Early Head Start staff positions remained vacant nationwide.

    The HEADWAY Act would also help pave the way for greater hiring flexibility, attract more qualified candidates to the profession of early childhood education, and ensure that Early Head Start classrooms are fully staffed.

    “Workforce shortages in child care centers, including in Head Start and Early Head Start, can be particularly challenging for families and communities because so many parents rely on consistent childcare to be able to work. I am proud to help introduce the HEADWAY Act, which will add staff to Early Head Start classrooms, and give early-career child care workers the skills, mentorship, and experience they need to thrive,” Senator Capito said.

    “I’m where I am today because of programs like Head Start,” Senator Warnock said. “Ensuring our nation’s children have access to quality child care and excellent teachers is crucial, which is why I am so pleased to work across the aisle with Senator Capito on this effort. As the father of two young kids, I know how crucial education is during those formative years to their continued growth.”

    The HEADWAY Act will allow Head Start to fulfill its commitment to providing high-quality, early childhood education for children from vulnerable families, laying the foundation for their future success. The HEADWAY Act will support Early Head Start professionals and give program directors the flexibility they need to respond to employment trends, while still maintaining the high standards and professionalization of the field.

    A copy of the bill text can be found here.

    The one-pager can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Increase Hospital Transparency for New and Expecting Parents

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
    July 24, 2025

    Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Increase Hospital Transparency for New and Expecting Parents

    Washington, DC — Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), and Rick Scott (R-Florida) today introduced the Neonatal Care Transparency Act, legislation that would require hospitals to publicly disclose at what life-saving care will be provided to an infant.

    “When faced with an early birth parents should be able to ensure that the delivery hospital is equipped and prepared to provide care for their child. This bill will provide parents with the information needed to welcome their child into the world safely,” said Senator Cotton.

    “Children are God’s greatest gift to the world, and expecting parents deserve peace of mind knowing their delivery hospital is fully prepared to care for their newborn. I am proud to join my colleagues in ensuring hospitals are transparent on how life-saving care will be provided to premature infants,” said Senator Lummis.

    “Families shouldn’t face uncertainty during early labor about whether their premature baby will receive life-saving care from a hospital or not. When a baby’s survival is on the line, parents deserve clear information. I’m proud to support this legislation that requires hospitals to be transparent about their policies. It’s a commonsense measure that protects vulnerable infants and supports families in critical moments,” said Senator Hyde-Smith.

    “Becoming a parent is one of the great things in this life, and parents deserve complete transparency throughout the process. This bill will ensure hospitals are upfront about the care they can provide so they’re giving families all the information they need to make the most informed decisions to protect their child,” said Senator Scott.

    Bill text is here.

    The Neonatal Care Transparency Act would:

    • Require hospitals to publicly disclose:
      • The minimum gestational age at which life-saving care will be provided to an infant in the case of a premature birth; and
      • The process by which the hospital would transfer the infant and mother to the nearest neonatal ICU if the hospital does not have the capacity to provide life-saving care to a preemie.
    • Require health care practitioners to disclose the policies above during an initial consultation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Increase Hospital Transparency for New and Expecting Parents

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
    July 24, 2025

    Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Increase Hospital Transparency for New and Expecting Parents

    Washington, DC — Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), and Rick Scott (R-Florida) today introduced the Neonatal Care Transparency Act, legislation that would require hospitals to publicly disclose at what life-saving care will be provided to an infant.

    “When faced with an early birth parents should be able to ensure that the delivery hospital is equipped and prepared to provide care for their child. This bill will provide parents with the information needed to welcome their child into the world safely,” said Senator Cotton.

    “Children are God’s greatest gift to the world, and expecting parents deserve peace of mind knowing their delivery hospital is fully prepared to care for their newborn. I am proud to join my colleagues in ensuring hospitals are transparent on how life-saving care will be provided to premature infants,” said Senator Lummis.

    “Families shouldn’t face uncertainty during early labor about whether their premature baby will receive life-saving care from a hospital or not. When a baby’s survival is on the line, parents deserve clear information. I’m proud to support this legislation that requires hospitals to be transparent about their policies. It’s a commonsense measure that protects vulnerable infants and supports families in critical moments,” said Senator Hyde-Smith.

    “Becoming a parent is one of the great things in this life, and parents deserve complete transparency throughout the process. This bill will ensure hospitals are upfront about the care they can provide so they’re giving families all the information they need to make the most informed decisions to protect their child,” said Senator Scott.

    Bill text is here.

    The Neonatal Care Transparency Act would:

    • Require hospitals to publicly disclose:
      • The minimum gestational age at which life-saving care will be provided to an infant in the case of a premature birth; and
      • The process by which the hospital would transfer the infant and mother to the nearest neonatal ICU if the hospital does not have the capacity to provide life-saving care to a preemie.
    • Require health care practitioners to disclose the policies above during an initial consultation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • From Trade to Technology: India-Maldives cooperation set to expand

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a landmark visit to the United Kingdom on Thursday, setting the stage for the next phase of his two-nation tour as he departed for the Maldives. This marks his third visit to the island nation and the first by a head of government during the tenure of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu.

    The visit is expected to deepen the growing partnership between India and the Maldives, especially under the framework of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership, adopted during President Muizzu’s visit to India in October 2024.

    Expanding Economic Ties
    India’s economic and trade relationship with the Maldives has transformed in recent years into a multi-dimensional partnership encompassing trade, infrastructure, finance, and technology. The foundation of this relationship was laid in 1981 when both countries signed a bilateral trade agreement under which India assured the export of essential commodities to the Maldives.

    In April 2025, India approved the highest-ever quotas for essential goods exports to the Maldives, reaffirming its commitment to the welfare of its maritime neighbour.

    Trade between the two nations has grown substantially-from crossing the USD 300 million mark in 2021 to exceeding USD 500 million in 2022. In 2023, bilateral trade stood at USD 548 million. This surge was driven by the launch of a dedicated cargo vessel service in September 2020 and several Lines of Credit (LoC) projects initiated since 2021. Visa-free access for Indian business travellers, granted in February 2022, further encouraged commercial engagement.

    India primarily exports pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, cement, agricultural products, and construction materials to the Maldives. In return, scrap metals make up a bulk of Indian imports from the Maldives. Notably, duty-free tuna exports from the Maldives to India were introduced in August 2022, aiming to boost the island nation’s seafood sector.

    Strategic Financial Cooperation
    The State Bank of India (SBI), operational in the Maldives since 1974, has played a key role in supporting economic infrastructure by financing resort development and marine exports. In November 2022, India extended a USD 100 million financial support package via SBI Malè by subscribing to Maldivian government domestic T-bonds backed by a sovereign guarantee from India. The support was renewed in 2024 with an interest-free extension under a unique government-to-government arrangement.

    In response to further budgetary needs, India offered an additional USD 400 million currency swap facility in October 2024. This follows a 2022 agreement signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the Maldives Monetary Authority under the SAARC framework, allowing up to USD 200 million in withdrawals.

    Digital and FinTech Partnerships
    In August 2024, India and the Maldives signed an agreement enabling the use of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the Maldives. This development, facilitated during the visit of India’s External Affairs Minister to Malè, represents a critical step toward digital and financial integration between the two nations.

    To further enhance economic cooperation, Maldivian Finance Minister Moosa Zameer visited New Delhi in December 2024 to participate in the Global Economic Policy Forum. He held bilateral meetings with India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and engaged with business leaders from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to explore investment opportunities.

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Exempt Small Businesses from Trump Tariffs on Canada

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a top member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ed Markey (D-MA) in introducing the Creating Access to Necessary American-Canadian Duty Adjustments (CANADA) Act, bipartisan legislation that would exempt United States-owned small businesses from the sweeping tariffs imposed on Canadian products.

    “President Trump’s tariffs are increasing prices on everyday goods and making it harder for businesses and working families to get by,” said Senator Shaheen. “Canada is New Hampshire’s northern neighbor and largest trading partner, meaning Granite State small businesses are especially hard hit by these blanket tariffs. By shielding small businesses from rising costs incurred by the President’s trade war, our legislation would give Main Street some much-needed relief and certainty to plan for the future and keep their businesses afloat.”

    The Trump administration has made more than 60 different tariff announcements already this term. These tariffs have been difficult to navigate for small businesses across the United States—especially in New Hampshire, where Canada is the state’s largest trading partner. Tariffs lead to supply chain disruptions, increased costs of goods and materials, smaller profits and higher costs for consumers.

    You can find the full bill text here.

    Senator Shaheen is helping lead efforts in Congress to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump’s tariffs. Last month, Shaheen led 30 Senators in filing an amicus brief in a key case, Oregon v. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the Trump Administration’s abuse of emergency powers to impose tariffs. In January, Shaheen introduced the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act which would limit the president’s ability to leverage sweeping tariffs that increase costs for American consumers and families. Her effort to pass this bill by unanimous consent was blocked by Senate Republicans.

    In recent months, Shaheen has traveled across the Granite State to discuss the impact of tariffs on New Hampshire’s tourism industry and to visit businesses impacted by President Trump’s trade war including Colby Footwear, Chatila’s Bakery, C&J, DCI Furniture, Mount Cabot Maple, American Calan Inc. and NH Ball Bearings. In May, Shaheen led U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) on a bipartisan delegation visit to Ottawa, Canada where they met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, members of his cabinet, the Business Council of Canada and other leading Canadian companies and business groups to reaffirm the strong U.S.-Canada partnership and support for our bilateral relationship among Congress and the American people.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Helps Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Streamline Housing Regulations, Increase Supply of Affordable Housing in Rural Communities

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in introducing bipartisan legislation to streamline rural housing regulations between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by requiring the two agencies to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to align housing standards. The Streamlining Rural Housing Act would simplify the process to build housing, lowering the cost and shortening project timelines for developers.

    “To address the shortage of quality, affordable housing in rural areas, federal regulations need to work for communities rather than against them,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m glad to join my colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation that would improve and streamline environmental reviews and housing unit inspections so that we can build more homes and lower costs where it’s needed most.”

    “The Council for Affordable and Rural Housing (CARH) applauds the efforts of Senators Moran, Ricketts, Shaheen, and Gallego in introducing this important legislation which will help streamline program requirements at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development (RD) programs,” said Colleen Fisher, Executive Director of CARH. “Many times when housing developers and owners are operating a property here is a need to have multiple sources of funding so that the property can cash flow and rents are at levels that low-income residents can afford. When this occurs, the agencies require separate if not identical inspections, somewhat negating the purpose of having the multiple layers of funding, thus increasing regulatory costs. By requiring one inspection, operating costs will be reduced or redirected toward services on properties. The approach envisioned in the bill has been supported by several different Administrations, with the goal of reducing regulatory burdens and improving the delivery of affordable housing programs.”

    Specifically, the Streamlining Rural Housing Act would:

    • Require HUD and USDA to enter into a memorandum of understanding to align housing standards.
    • Require the creation of an advisory group to consult with the agencies on the MOU’s implementation. This group would include rural affordable housing nonprofit organizations, state housing agencies, home builders, property management companies, multifamily property owners and housing contract administrators.
    • Require HUD and USDA to report to the appropriate committees on recommendations for legislative, regulatory or administrative actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of combined funding housing projects.

    The full text of the legislation can be found here.

    As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA) Subcommittee, Shaheen has continually worked to ensure rural communities have the federal funding needed to tackle the housing affordability crisis. In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Ag-FDA Appropriations bill, Shaheen fought to fully fund the Rental Assistance program so that participating families can remain housed, provides funding to preserve the existing affordable housing portfolio and makes $1 billion in financing available for very low-income homebuyers, many of whom are first-time homeowners. In the FY24 Ag-FDA bill, Shaheen two Shaheen-led provisions were signed into law to help to preserve existing rural housing, build new housing in rural areas and protect low-income renters in rural areas from losing their homes.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray, Booker, Schumer, Duckworth, DeLauro Reintroduce Bicameral Legislation to Increase Access to Fertility Treatment

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    Washington, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) along with U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) reintroduced the bicameral Access to Fertility Treatment and Care Act, legislation that would require more health insurers to provide coverage for infertility treatment, as well as fertility preservation services for individuals who undergo medically necessary procedures that may cause infertility, such as chemotherapy.

    “Infertility is a painful struggle for millions of people in America, and the steep cost of infertility treatment like IVF prevents many of them from growing their families—that’s just wrong. The Access to Fertility Treatment and Services Act would require more insurance plans, including TRICARE and the VA coverage our veterans and their families rely on, to cover infertility treatment without raising insurance costs or copays. We should be doing everything we can to support families and make it easier to have and raise children in America, and our legislation is one important step in that direction,” said Senator Murray.

    “Everyone’s path to parenthood is different, and the decision to pursue fertility treatments is deeply personal,” said Senator Booker. “Nobody should have to choose between financial stability and the opportunity to have a family. On top of that, people who find themselves at the daunting intersection of a cancer diagnosis and fertility challenges should have access to affordable fertility services. This legislation would require more insurance plans to cover fertility treatments so that Americans no longer face barriers to care when deciding to start a family.” 

    “While Republicans have tried to brand themselves as the pro-family party, Senate Democrats are putting forward actual solutions to help the millions of Americans grappling with the financial and medical realities of safely growing their families,” said Leader Schumer. “Infertility can – and does – affect so many in our communities, and while Republicans continue their relentless attacks on reproductive rights, I will keep fighting to protect access to affordable health care and am proud to support this legislation which offers hope and opportunity to many with this deeply personal decision.”

    “Millions of Americans depend on IVF to build a family—and yet, this treatment is too often out of reach for so many because of exorbitant, out-of-pocket costs,” said Senator Duckworth. “If Donald Trump really wants to deliver on his campaign promise to ensure IVF is covered for those who rely on it, he’d call on Republicans to support our bill that would expand coverage for so many more Americans. Otherwise, all the pro-IVF talking points are just more empty promises from people who have proven time and again they have no interest in actually taking any meaningful action to protect IVF access.”

    “When people don’t have insurance coverage for fertility care, they are forced to make impossible choices between paying for treatment or affording essentials,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “The emotional and physical toll of trying to build a family is already heavy. We should not add a crushing financial burden on top of it. This bill ensures that all families have the insurance coverage they deserve. Americans should have the opportunity to grow their families without sacrificing their basic needs.”

    “Every day providers encounter patients who need medical treatments like IVF to build their families, but have to forego, delay, or stop treatment because they cannot afford it,” said Sean Tipton, ASRM Chief Advocacy & Policy Officer. “While ASRM has championed progress on state-level IVF mandates, we firmly believe that access to health care should not depend on your zip code. For this reason, we remain grateful to Sen. Booker and Rep. DeLauro for their tireless leadership on the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act. It is well past time for Congress to pass this critical legislation and achieve access to family building care for all Americans.”

    “Every day, millions of Americans face heartbreaking and unnecessary barriers to building their families, simply because they can’t afford the out-of-pocket medical costs. Access to fertility treatment should not depend on your income, your zip code, or your employer. The ‘Access to Fertility Treatment and Care Act’ is a critical step toward ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to pursue their dream of having a family. On behalf of RESOLVE and the family-building community, I thank Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for their steadfast leadership in championing equitable access to care,” said Danielle Melfi, President & CEO, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association.

    Despite the prevalence of infertility – a reported one in six couples have challenges conceiving – coverage for treatment options is limited. In 2024, nearly half of large employers voluntarily offered fertility benefits and 97% of those offering benefits reported no significant increase in costs to their medical plans.

    Specifically, the Access to Fertility Treatment and Care Act would:

    1. Require most private health insurance plans, as well as plans offered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Medicaid, TRICARE, ERISA, and the VA, to provide coverage for treatment of infertility without raising insurance or copayment costs.
    2. Ensure these plans cover fertility preservation services for individuals who undergo a medically necessary procedure that may cause infertility.

    The bill is endorsed by the following organizations: Alliance for Fertility Preservation, Endocrine Society, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, National Women’s Political Caucus, American Society for Reductive Medicine, Resolve, MomsRising, In Our Own Voice: National Black, Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, National partnership for Women and Families, Invisible Project, Human Rights Campaign, Families USA, National  LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, Service Women’s Action Network, Guttmacher, ACOG, and AllPaths Family Building.

    The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

    The full text of the bill can be found HERE.

    Senators Murray has been leading the charge to protect IVF for the millions of Americans who rely on it nationwide. Last Congress, Murray introduced the Right to IVF Act in the Senate—which would establish a nationwide right to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) and lower the costs of IVF treatment for middle-class families. The Right to IVF Act also includes Senator Murray’s longtime bill—the Veteran Families Health Services Act—to help veterans and servicemembers, who experience higher rates of infertility and encounter restrictive laws and policies before they can access IVF services.

    Despite many Republicans publicly claiming to support IVF, nearly every Senate Republican voted against the bill in June twice last year. Overall, Republicans blocked legislation that would protect IVF nationwide three separate times last year.

    Senator Murray has been fighting for over a decade to expand access to IVF care for veterans and servicemembers, and  protect servicemembers’ and veterans’ access to the reproductive care they deserve. She has introduced multiple pieces of legislation to address the challenges veterans face when starting a family after their service, and in 2012, Senator Murray secured Senate passage of a provision to end the ban on IVF services at VA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Opening Remarks at Full Committee Mark Up of Interior-Environment and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development Bills

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks as the committee meets to consider the draft fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations acts.

    Senator Murray’s opening remarks, as delivered, are below:

    “Thank you very much, Chair Collins, and thank you to Senator Murkowski and Senator Merkley, our Interior subcommittee leads, and Senators Hyde-Smith and Gillibrand, our THUD subcommittee leaders, for working so hard and working together to hammer out two bipartisan bills.

    “May not be the bills I would have written on my own, certainly more I would love to see us do and investments and accountability measures I’d like to see. But these bills are serious bipartisan compromises that reject many of the truly harmful cuts Trump and House Republicans are pushing for, and maintains crucial programs that help make sure folks back home have a roof over their heads; safe, reliable transportation; and clean air and water.

    “In the Interior bill, we were able to put together a bill that protects public lands and national parks, invests in fighting wildfires, helps live up to our obligations to Tribes, and invests in critical work protecting our environment—and our families.

    “And in the THUD bill, we were able to maintain crucial investments to address the housing crisis reject Trump’s deep cuts to rental assistance programs that make sure millions of families have a roof over their head and invest in transportation infrastructure across the board—including a much needed increase to hire more air traffic controllers.

    “These are worthwhile investments—and they show just what is possible if we work together and exactly why a bipartisan process is a better path for everyone than the Trump bills House Republicans seem intent on writing—or another slush fund CR.

    “Now, Russ Vought may want to break this process—and make it more partisan, he said so. He may want to set Congress on a track for a shutdown. But we, on this committee, can reject that partisan vision that hurts working families everywhere. And we can reject the painful cuts and policies they’re trying to inflict in our communities—just as these bills do.

    “In fact, I think most of us here recognize that we have to reject that path.

    “Because, at the end of the day—passing funding bills here in the Senate takes 60 votes.

    “And that means the Trump-Vought path is choosing a dead end and a shut down.

    “I won’t pretend the work ahead is going to be easy—I think every one of us knows, compromise means doing hard work, making hard choices.

    “And it requires trust—something that unfortunately continues to be chipped away at. I hope that trajectory can be reversed—and I look forward to more discussion on each of the bills before us today.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Interior-Environment, Transportation-HUD Bills

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    Committee approves Interior-Environment bill in a 26-2 vote — BILL SUMMARY HERE

    Committee approves Transportation-HUD bill in a 27-1 vote — BILL SUMMARY HERE

    ***WATCH and READ: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***

    Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee met for a full committee markup to consider its draft fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations acts.

    “These may not be the bills I would have written on my own. There’s more I certainly want to see us do and investments and accountability measures I’ll keep pushing for. But these bills are serious, bipartisan compromises that reject so many of the truly harmful cuts Trump and House Republicans are pushing for and that maintain crucial programs that help make sure folks back home have a roof over their head, safe, reliable transportation, and clean air and water,” said Vice Chair Patty Murray in her opening remarks. “Now, Russ Vought may want to break this process and make it more partisan. He may want to set Congress on track for a shutdown. But we can reject that partisan vision that hurts working families everywhere. And we can reject the painful cuts and policies Trump and Vought are trying to inflict in our communities—just as these bills do.”

    In a 26-2 vote, the Committee approved the draft fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

    “Oregonians turned out in record numbers during my town halls to deliver a clear message—we need to do everything we can to fight against harmful federal funding cuts and to instead double down on supporting our public lands, Tribal communities, and clean air and water for all,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “This bipartisan bill protects funding for operating the National Park System, National Refuge System, National Forest System, our National Conservation Lands, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, making a bold statement to the Trump Administration that Congress intends to fight back against any attempt to rip away public lands from public use. I’ll continue to work with members from both parties to invest in our country’s and our children’s futures.”

    “When it comes to protecting our public lands, this bill provides critical funding for our National Parks and our Forest Service and rejects the absolutely paltry level Trump put forward, as well as the House Republican level. It also prevents our national parks from being sold off. It ensures federal firefighters will not face a pay cut, and it fully funds wild fire prevention and suppression. When it comes to our obligations to our Tribes, we were able to provide $12 billion across Tribal programs—rejecting Trump efforts to cut Tribal safety, Tribal schools, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and advanced appropriations for the Indian Health Service,” said Vice Chair Murray in comments on the bill. “This bill also protects clean water and air programs and continues vital, cutting-edge research that protects families’ health and wellbeing which is under threat from this administration. No doubt, there is more I’d like to do here but this is a solid bipartisan bill to sustain critical programs that protect our environment and families’ health in the face of Trump cuts.”

    The following amendments to the bill were considered during today’s mark up:

    • Manager’s package offered by Chair Murkowski.
      • Adopted unanimously.
    • Reed amendment to prevent the Trump administration from redirecting funding Congress provided for the National Endowment of the Humanities to fund its plans to create a sculpture garden of notable Americans at its discretion.
      • Debated; withdrawn.
    • Heinrich amendment to require the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Department of the Interior to maintain at least the same number of full-time equivalents as they had in September 2020 to ensure adequate staffing at our national parks and for wildfire prevention and response.
      • Republicans rejected the amendment in a 15-14 party-line vote.

    A summary of the bill is available HERE.

    Final bill text, report, Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) projects, and adopted amendments will be available HERE later today.

    In a 27-1 vote, the Committee approved the draft fiscal year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

    “I would like to thank Chair Collins, Vice Chair Murray, and Chair Hyde-Smith for their leadership and support of this bipartisan bill. As ranking member of the Transportation and Housing Subcommittee, I am committed to working with Democrats and Republicans alike to find bipartisan solutions to meet the needs of my constituents. This bill provides safe and efficient travel by fully funding the FAA and by making investments in Amtrak and transit projects critical to New York. It also protects families, seniors, and people with disabilities who rely on HUD rental and homeless assistance programs, while also investing in affordable housing. The bill soundly rejects the harmful proposals from the Trump administration and will help lower costs for all Americans,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

    “While I still want to do more to address the housing crisis—and I am not going to stop pushing on that—I’m glad to say this bill rejects President Trump’s proposed cuts to rental assistance that would have put 10 million people at risk of eviction—mostly kids, seniors, and people with disabilities. This bill delivers funding to help ensure no one is kicked out of their home, and keep families stably housed,” Vice Chair Murray said in comments on the bill. “When it comes to transportation, this bill includes a much-needed increase for FAA to hire air traffic controllers, modernize equipment, and more. It also invests in highway safety, rail safety, and pipeline safety—not to mention investments in our ports and shipyards. It rejects Trump’s cuts to the essential air services that would have cut off so many small and rural communities. It rejects House Republicans’ proposal to slash Capital Investment Grants by 98%. And of course, it rejects Trump’s plan to eliminate BUILD grants. This is a program I helped launch that supports major construction projects across the country.”

    The following amendments to the bill were considered during today’s mark up:

    • Manager’s package offered by Chair Hyde-Smith.
      • Adopted unanimously.
    • Merkley amendment to prohibit funds provided in any fiscal year 2026 appropriations act from being eligible for rescissions or deferrals under the Impoundment Control Act’s fast-track procedures, ensuring they can only be considered through annual appropriations bills.
      • Republicans rejected the amendment in a 15-14 party line vote.

    A summary of the bill is available HERE.

    Final bill text, report, Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) projects, and adopted amendments will be available HERE later today.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: AARP Endorses Cassidy Bill to Eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Medicare Advantage Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

    WASHINGTON – The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) endorsed the No Unreasonable Payments, Coding, or Diagnoses for the Elderly (No UPCODE) Act. The landmark legislation introduced earlier this year by U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) improves the way Medicare Advantage plans assess patients’ health risks and reduce overpayments for care. Medicare Advantage is a program that millions of seniors rely on to deliver high-quality care.
    “AARP believes that the No UPCODE Act is a commonsense solution that protects older Americans, strengthens oversight, and helps to ensure the long-term sustainability of Medicare,” said Bill Sweeney, AARP’s senior vice president for government affairs.
    “This bill addresses a problem both Republicans and Democrats have labeled as waste, fraud, and abuse. AARP agrees the No UPCODE Act protects seniors by preserving benefits and eliminating waste,” said Dr. Cassidy. “When companies upcode, taxpayers foot the bill and patients get nothing. That’s wrong.”
    Traditional Medicare plans reimburse providers for the cost of treatments rendered, while Medicare Advantage is paid a standard rate based on the health of an individual patient. Because of this, Medicare Advantage plans have a financial incentive to make beneficiaries appear sicker than they may be to receive a higher Medicare reimbursement. This bill will save $200 billion to $270 billion over 10 years.
    The No UPCODE Act would eliminate those incentives by:

    Developing a risk-adjustment model that uses two years of diagnostic data instead of just one year.
    Limiting the ability to use old or unrelated medical conditions when determining the cost of care. 
    Ensuring Medicare is only charged for treatment related to relevant medical conditions.
    Closing the gap between how a patient is assessed under traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

    Background
    Earlier this year, Cassidy discussed his No UPCODE Act during U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Director nominee Mehmet Oz’s confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Brownley Introduces Legislation to Protect Survivor Benefits for Veterans’ Spouses

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)

    Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) announced the introduction of the Veterans’ Surviving Spouse Equity Act, legislation to ensure surviving spouses of veterans are not unfairly denied benefits due to outdated marriage laws. The bill would align spousal benefits eligibility between the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and correct long-standing inconsistencies in VA law that prevent veteran spouses from accessing the survivor benefits their life partners earned in service to our country. 

    “After hearing from a constituent who was denied survivor benefits because of outdated marriage laws, I introduced this bill to rectify this wrong,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “She had spent years caring for her veteran spouse, yet after his passing, she was left to navigate a cold and unforgiving bureaucracy that refused to recognize their life together. Sadly, her story is not unique. Across the country, too many surviving spouses are being forced to navigate a bureaucratic maze of outdated and inconsistent marriage laws at one of the most difficult times in their lives – after the loss of their life partner. The Veterans’ Surviving Spouse Equity Act will ensure these spouses are seen, heard, and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. When a veteran serves our country, their family serves too. It’s time our laws reflect that.”

    Under current law, surviving spouses are eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits; however, eligibility is limited to spouses who were married to the veteran for at least one year or who had a child with the veteran. A significant challenge for surviving spouses of veterans is that VA relies on inconsistent definitions of marriage to determine eligibility for survivor benefits. These rules lead to unfair outcomes, denying benefits to long-term partners whose relationships don’t fit narrow legal criteria. 

    While the VA recognizes informal unions like common-law marriages in some cases, eligibility often depends on a confusing patchwork of state laws and a couple’s awareness of those laws. For example, a couple in a common-law marriage living in California (a state that does not recognize common-law marriage) may be denied benefits, while a similar couple in Colorado would qualify. To make matters worse, surviving spouses who know their state does not recognize common-law marriage can actually be at a disadvantage when applying for survivor benefits.

    Additionally, the law requires that couples be legally married for at least one year for the surviving spouse to receive benefits. This arbitrary rule means someone who lived with and cared for a veteran for many years but was legally married for only six months may be denied benefits, while someone married for just over a year would qualify. In some instances, VA has even determined that a civil or religious marriage within the last year of a veteran’s life terminates an existing common-law marriage, restarting the one-year clock and further complicating eligibility.

    Unlike VA, the Social Security Administration (SSA), pursuant to Section 1614 of the Social Security Act, permits a spouse to qualify for survivor benefits if they hold “themselves out to the community in which they reside as husband and wife.”

    The Veterans Surviving Spouse Equity Act would synchronize spousal qualifications between SSA and VA, allowing VA to recognize a surviving spouse if they lived with the veteran in the same household for at least one year continuously until the veteran’s death, and if the couple held themselves out as married to their community, regardless of whether there was a legal or religious marriage during that year.

    The Veterans’ Surviving Spouse Equity Act is endorsed by Minority Veterans of America.

    Read the full text of the bill here.

    ###

    Issues: 119th Congress, Veterans’ Affairs

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Crash at Wingfield

    Source: New South Wales – News

    The Port River Expressway has reopened after an overnight crash.

    The single vehicle collision occurred on the Port River Expressway at Wingfield about 2.45am on Friday 25 July.

    A car hit a light pole on the median strip and ended up in a ditch.

    The driver, a 32-year-old Elizabeth North man, was extricated from the wrecked car by emergency services and taken to hospital with serious injuries.

    His passenger, a 21-year-old Elizabeth Downs woman, also sustained injuries and was taken to hospital.

    The road was closed until 5am but has since reopened.

    The car was towed from the scene.

    Investigations into the crash are continuing.

    Anyone who witnessed the collision or has any dashcam footage is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

    191115

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Kokomo Police Department Officer Charged with Sexually Assaulting 14-Year-old Girl

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A federal grand jury in Indianapolis, Indiana, returned a two-count indictment, unsealed today, charging former Kokomo Police Department officer Sinmi Asomuyide with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and with lying to state investigators to try to cover up the assault.

    The first count of the indictment charges Asomuyide, who was 31 years old, with willfully depriving Minor #1, who was 14 years old, of her constitutional rights by sexually assaulting her.  The first count also charges that the defendant’s conduct included kidnapping.

    The second count of the indictment charges Asomuyide with lying to the Indiana State Police to try to cover up the assault by, among other things, denying having sexual contact with Minor #1 and denying that there would be any reason for the presence of his semen in his squad car when, in fact, he ejaculated inside his squad car after causing Minor #1’s hand to touch his exposed penis.

    If convicted, Asomuyide faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

    Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Interim U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Wheeler for the Southern District of Indiana, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy O’Malley of the FBI Indianapolis Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI Indianapolis Field Office is investigating the case, with the cooperation of the Kokomo Police Department; Bloomington Police Department; and Indiana State Police.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Blackett for the Southern District of Indiana and Senior Sex Crimes Counsel Tara Allison of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

    This investigation is ongoing.  Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China commends South Africa’s positive actions to uphold one-China principle

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) — China highly appreciates South Africa’s positive actions in upholding the one-China principle and UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Thursday.

    The South African government has reportedly issued a notice stating that the “Taipei Trade Office” in the country’s administrative capital Pretoria will no longer be recognised. South Africa has requested that the office be moved from Pretoria to Johannesburg. The “Taipei Liaison Office in Cape Town” will now be known as the “Taipei Trade Office”.

    Commenting on South Africa’s decision at a daily press briefing, Guo Jiakun recalled that the one-China principle is the political basis for the establishment and development of China’s diplomatic relations with other countries, as well as the basic norm of international relations and the prevailing consensus of the international community.

    “This also reflects the true meaning of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between China and South Africa in the new era,” the diplomat stressed, adding that China is willing to continue to firmly support each other on issues affecting the fundamental interests of the two sides together with South Africa. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Last person on Interpol’s Red Notice list of 100 fugitives in Asia returned to China

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) — Fugitive suspect Zhou Jinghua, the last person on the International Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol) 100 most wanted fugitives list of “red notices” to be in Asia, has been repatriated to China thanks to cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities in China and Thailand. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: ECB keeps key interest rates unchanged

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    FRANKFURT AM MAIN, July 24 (Xinhua) — The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave key interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

    The deposit rate, with which the Central Bank regulates monetary policy, remains unchanged at 2 percent.

    According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, inflation in the eurozone rose from 1.9 percent in May to 2 percent in June. Domestic price pressures continue to ease and wage growth is slowing, the ECB said in a statement.

    Thus, inflation in the eurozone fluctuates around the target indicator of 2%. The Central Bank has once again confirmed its determination to ensure its stabilization in the medium term.

    “The Governing Council stands ready to adjust all instruments within its mandate to ensure that inflation remains stabilised at the 2% target over the medium term and that the smooth functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism is maintained,” the regulator said in a statement. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Passenger car production in Russia fell by 2 percent in January-June

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    Moscow, July 24 (Xinhua) — Russia produced 326,000 passenger cars in the first half of 2025, down 2.1 percent from the same period a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation published on Thursday.

    In June, 45 thousand passenger cars were produced in Russia. This is 28.2 percent less than in June 2024.

    In the first half of 2025, the country saw a 23.9 percent reduction in truck production. During this period, 68.8 thousand units were produced in Russia. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Russian President promised to fully implement plans for the development of the Russian Navy

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    Moscow, July 24 /Xinhua/ — Russia will not back down from creating modern Russian Navy forces, all planned actions will be implemented in full, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a flag-raising ceremony on the nuclear-powered missile submarine “Prince Pozharsky” on Thursday.

    “We will definitely and fully implement the planned creation of a modern navy, ensure the security of Russia and our national interests in all areas of the World Ocean. There can be no doubt about this,” the head of state noted.

    According to him, the construction of strategic missile submarines is a priority for the Russian Federation, since it allows it to ensure the global balance of power.

    The moment of raising the flag to the Russian anthem marked the inclusion of the nuclear-powered vessel in the country’s Navy.

    The nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Knyaz Pozharsky was launched in Severodvinsk in 2024. Being the fourth serial nuclear submarine of the Borey-A project, it belongs to the fourth generation of nuclear-powered submarines.

    “Prince Pozharsky” is equipped with modern missile and torpedo weapon systems, navigation, radio-technical and hydroacoustic weapons. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Deputy Secretary-General, at High-level Political Forum’s Africa Day, Says Investment Crucial for Development in Continent’s ‘Resilient, Determined, Unstoppable’ Nations

    Source: United Nations 4

    Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the occasion of Africa Day at the High-level Political Forum 2025:

    It is a great honour to join you here today.

    As we celebrate Africa Day within this High-Level Political Forum, we gather not only to take stock, but to bear witness to something extraordinary:  a continent that refuses to be defined by its starting point but instead chooses to measure itself by how far it has travelled.

    Make no mistake:  Africa began its sustainable development journey on the back foot.  Colonial legacies that took wealth and left behind fractured institutions.  Climate catastrophes that wash away decades of progress in a single season.  Conflicts that force entire populations to abandon everything they have built.  These are daily realities that test the resolve of every African nation.

    Yet here we stand, with 10 countries presenting their Voluntary National Reviews this year as testaments to resilience.  Angola achieving its strongest economic growth in a decade while building over 12,000 new schools.  Ethiopia sustaining remarkable growth while powering its entire electrical grid from renewable sources.  The Gambia driving robust development across agriculture, tourism and services.

    These efforts are part of a broader continental push to realize the vision of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  In the Voluntary National Reviews, we see that vision coming to life. More than 100 other Voluntary National Reviews have been prepared in the last decade since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted and tell promising stories of progress across the Continent.

    But let us be clear on the full scale of the challenges facing Africa.  When a country like Sudan facing conflict sees the vast majority of its factories destroyed with unemployment soaring to crushing levels, we are reminded that progress is neither linear nor guaranteed.

    When young people across our continent still struggle to find decent work, we know that our most precious resource — our youth — still faces barriers that deny them their rightful place in building tomorrow’s Africa.

    When Africa gets the fundamentals right, like quality education for every child, the path to higher ground becomes clearer.  Digital transformation, climate resilience, economic justice:  these are no longer distant summits, but peaks within reach, and Africa has always been a continent of climbers.

    Consider the women breaking barriers across our continent.  In parliaments from Rwanda to Eswatini to Ghana, women are claiming seats of power once denied to them.  Across Lesotho, widows now possess rights over family property that previous generations could never imagine.  Each a seismic shift in how African societies recognize the power and potential of half their population.

    Our youth, too, are not passive recipients of change — they are its architects. From Nigeria’s digital revolution to technology driven governance in Seychelles to Morocco’s role in advancing AI [artificial intelligence] research, young Africans are coding and designing the future every step of the way.

    That said, we should not romanticize the road ahead.  At this moment, at this rate, the SDGs are beyond reach in Africa.  We have five years to 2030.  Five years to transform systems that took decades to build.  Five years to close gaps, and the widest gap remains finance.

    Finance is the engine of progress.  Without it, schools don’t get built, clinics stay empty, and peace remains out of reach. The global financial system is not working for Africa.  Borrowing costs are too high, debt burdens are too heavy, and the money that could change lives is tied up in systems that are too slow, too narrow, and too risk averse.

    The Sevilla Commitment is a step forward, a promise to get resources flowing faster, fairer and at the scale we need.  The next five years will test not only our ambition, but our ability to deliver on the most basic promises of dignity and justice — especially in the areas where progress remains most elusive.

    Many women still face gender-based violence that steals their safety, their dignity, and their dreams.  We must dismantle the structural barriers that persist like shadows, following women from childhood through their adult lives.  Our young people deserve more than we have given them.  We must invest urgently in skills development, particularly in the digital and green sectors where Africa can lead the world.

    The bigger picture also betrays an all-too-present imbalance:  too often, African countries are absent from the tables where global decisions are made, yet they are first to feel the impact.

    The Pact for the Future is working to change that.  It calls for more inclusive, representative global governance that reflects today’s realities, not a snapshot of yesterday.  It recognizes that sustainable development cannot be built on a foundation of exclusion, and by adopting the Pact, countries committed to ensuring Africa is where it belongs:  at the table, shaping the decisions that shape our world.  And we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that countries have the UN support and capacity needed to do just that.

    The Secretary-General’s UN80 Initiative also builds on the existing reforms and plots an ambitious path forward to ensure that those we serve have the optimal level and type of capacity in country.

    Africa’s journey toward 2030, 2063 and beyond is not a sprint, it’s a relay race, where each nation, each community, each individual, carries the baton forward.

    The Africa Sustainable Development Report that we are launching today represents both the progress, and the challenges, from a continent still writing its greatest chapter.  It is a declaration that future generations will inherit not the limitations we face, but the possibilities we create.  Above all, they speak to a refusal to accept that history determines destiny.

    I want to thank the African Union, the Economic Commission of Africa, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for preparing this crucial piece of work.  Let it be our map for the road ahead.  Let us build on the foundation of commitment it represents.

    The relay baton is in our hands.  The finish line is in sight, and from what I have seen, African nations — resilient, determined, unstoppable — are ready to run.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Serious crash at Tranmere

    Source: New South Wales – News

    Emergency services are at the scene of a serious crash at Tranmere.

    The collision occurred on Glynburn Road, near Richardson Avenue, Tranmere, just before 6am on Friday 25 July.

    Glynburn Road is expected to be closed to southbound traffic from Arthur Street this morning and motorists should avoid the area.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Disaster Assistance Available for Those Impacted by Rowena Fire

    Source: US State of Oregon

    elp is now available for those recovering from the Rowena Fire. At the request of Governor Tina Kotek, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved an Administrative Disaster Declaration, opening the door for low-interest federal loans to assist impacted residents and business owners.

    If the fire damaged your home, business, property, or vehicle, you may be eligible for an SBA disaster loan to help with repairs or replacement. These loans are available to small businesses, homeowners, and renters.

    Starting Friday, July 18, SBA representatives will be on-site at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) in The Dalles to offer personal, one-on-one assistance. They can answer questions, explain the loan process, and help you complete your application.

    The DLOC is located at The Gloria Center, 2505 W. Seventh St., The Dalles, and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    To learn more or apply online, visit www.sba.gov/disaster

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Action against ATM fraud in Romania and UK stopped by joint investigation team with Eurojust support

    Source: Eurojust

    Authorities in Romania and the United Kingdom have taken concerted action to block criminals who illegally withdrew cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) on a large scale. By using specialised computer programs and devices, the Romanian criminal network managed to steal an estimated EUR 580 000. The criminal group was also involved in other types of payment and card fraud. 

    During an operation in Romania, two suspects were identified and brought in for questioning. In the UK, prosecutions have already been initiated against eight members of the group, following an action day in December 2024.

    © DIICOT Poliția Română

    Eurojust supported a joint investigation team of the Romanian and British authorities, which investigated the case. The Agency also assisted with the preparation of the action day in Romania. Europol provided data analysis support, in addition to sending an analyst to Romania and organising meetings to prepare for the operations on the ground.

    The criminal network was formed last year in the Romanian city of Bacău, mainly consisting of family members and friends. They adopted a derogatory term aimed at the police as their so-called trademark, which they used on social media, on custom license plates and on clothes they wore.

    Most of the money was stolen in the UK by pretending to take money from an ATM with a bank card, removing the screen of the ATM and then cancelling the transaction. This allowed them to reach into the ATM itself and take all the cash inside, before ending the transaction.

    The criminals also counterfeited public transport cards, which they distributed across the UK with the help of individuals of Turkish origin. Furthermore, they committed card fraud by using software that identifies card numbers and then generates illicit income through fraudulent payments.

    The proceeds of the criminal activities were invested in luxury cars, jewellery, real estate and expensive holidays. The gang members being prosecuted in the UK and those brought in for questioning in Romania are suspected of cyber fraud, membership of an organised crime group, money laundering and forgery of payment instruments. 

    During the action day in Romania, a total of 18 places were searched and real estate, vehicles electronic devices and cash were seized. 

    The operations against the criminal network were carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:

    • Romania: Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) – Bacău Regional Service; Romanian Police – Anti Cybercrime Service of Bacău County Organised Crime Brigade
    • United Kingdom: Crown Prosecution Service; Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USNS Comfort Departs Dominican Republic After Fourth CP25 Mission Stop

    Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

    The Mercy-class hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) departed from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, July 21, 2025, after a four-day mission stop during Continuing Promise 2025 (CP25). At the Dominican mission stop, Comfort’s team provided medical and dental care, veterinary subject matter exchanges, medical subject matter exchanges, a humanitarian aid and disaster response workshop, band performances, and a beach clean-up event.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Miles Franklin 2025: Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities is a haunting comedy about tyranny. Is it the funniest winner ever?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joseph Steinberg, Forrest Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, English & Literary Studies, The University of Western Australia

    Siang Lu David Kelly/UQP

    The Miles Franklin judges described Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities, winner of the 2025 award, as “a grand farce and a haunting meditation on diaspora”. To my mind, it is perhaps the funniest novel ever to have won the Miles Franklin. In the last decade, its closest competitor would be Melissa Lucashenko’s boisterous, brilliant Too Much Lip.

    Turn the clock back a few more years, and it’d square off against the puerile humour of Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet, the zany folly of Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda, and Thea Astley’s biting satire The Acolyte. It’d remain a strong contender even in such company.

    Lu earned a reputation for satire with his first novel, The Whitewash, in which he lampooned the racial politics of the film industry. Ghost Cities extends this skit, while dialling it up to 11.

    “Sitting within a tradition in Australian writing that explores failed expatriation and cultural fraud, Lu’s novel is also something strikingly new,” the judges said, praising its “absurdist bravura”.

    A comedy of tyranny

    Lu’s sense of humour relies on hyperbole. Over some 300 pages, the characters in Ghost Cities tie themselves in knots over a ludicrous series of edicts, demands and directives issued by a pair of dictators who grow crueller and more capricious with every chapter.

    Ghost Cities is a comedy of tyranny in two plots, told via alternating chapters. One begins in a semi-recognisable Sydney, then relocates to the fictitious ghost city of Port Man Tou; the other is a fable set in China’s Imperial City and its labyrinths millennia ago.


    Ghost Cities begins in the latter timeline, with the mock-heroic tale of Emperor Lu Huang Du’s ascension to the imperial throne and the beginning of his dictatorial rule. What defines his character, from the very first page, is his yawning ego; he yearns for an exceptional origin myth, a tale of patricide and regicide. The failure to fabricate myths of this kind later leads him to banish a trio of scholars to the Sixth Level of Hell and burn every book in the Imperial Library. What he wants is a hymn to his own “cunning, ruthless strategy and force of will”. But the truth is ignoble.

    Emperors should not come to power through inaction. They should not do so by “gawping as their purple-faced fathers clawed and sputtered on what would later be determined to be an awkwardly lodged chicken bone”. They should not “wait, in lacklustre fealty, for that final breathless minute to expire”. They should certainly not then proceed to order the death of every chicken in the land, because of the deranged belief “their traitorous bones were conspiring against His Imperial bloodline”. And they would be well advised not then to issue an edict forbidding the “breeding, eating and harbouring of poultry”, which leads the sons of “a hundred fallen agrarians” to swear vengeance.

    Perverse as he is, there is real pleasure to be found in tracking the consequences of Lu Huang Du’s whims. From his banishment of his brother, Lu Dong Pu, for the crime of intercepting an assassin’s blade, to his attempt to elude his prophesied death by conscripting a thousand lookalikes from among his citizens, the emperor is a character governed at every turn by an unspeakable fear of his own mortality.

    Through him, and the chapters that recount the consequences of his wildly temperamental rule in the form of an absurd fable, Lu offers a sharp yet entertaining study in the abuse of state power by the narcissistic and incompetent.

    Ghost Cities’ second dictator is a director named Baby Bao, who embarks on an egotistical undertaking of his own. His ambition is to create a “historical biopic of the infamous Indomitable Emperor Lu Huang Hu”, a self-styled piece of “cinematic history, a twenty-seven hour extravaganza – no intermission – in simultaneous worldwide release!”. Such a biopic would work primarily to reinforce his delusion that he is biologically “destined for greatness”, by illustrating his belief that his lineage can be traced to the emperor. The conceit makes gleefully explicit the egotism buried in so many artistic projects.

    The emperor is later opposed by his brother, Lu Dong Pu, and his nephew, Lu Shan Liang; his counterpart, Xiang Lu (note the resemblance of both their names to their author’s), is a phoney translator hired by the director after he goes viral for his ignorance of Chinese.

    Indecencies on indignities

    Siang Lu shares an interest in anagrams (and chess) with Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov, who appears in his own fiction under names such as Vivian Darkbloom and Adam von Librikov.


    Ghost Cities also includes a long, loosely iambic poem titled “Six Levels of Hell”, which narrates Lu Dong Pu’s escape from labyrinthine imprisonment beneath the Imperial City. Lu’s allusions to other texts are too various to properly discuss here. They include John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Jorge Luis Borges’ Labyrinths, Nabokov’s Pale Fire and Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. These references extend Ghost Cities’ concern with the relationship between dictators, architects and artisans, rampaging gods and those humbler deities behind smaller creations.

    Women play an important role in Lu’s twin fables, albeit a comparatively subtle one. Wuer, first Lu Dong Pu’s wife and later (against her will) the Imperial Consort, records her husband’s torment in the poem Six Levels of Hell and mourns the death of Lu Shan Liang’s twin brother in a moving parenthetical aside. Yuan (who shares a name with Siang Lu’s wife), a translator and eventually Xiang Lu’s lover, is an intelligent interlocutor.

    But Ghost Cities is at its best when it piles indecencies on indignities – when it all goes totally wrong. When piglets are appointed to office. When the swine sits in the chair, and rules as it sees fit.

    Joseph Steinberg 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. Miles Franklin 2025: Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities is a haunting comedy about tyranny. Is it the funniest winner ever? – https://theconversation.com/miles-franklin-2025-siang-lus-ghost-cities-is-a-haunting-comedy-about-tyranny-is-it-the-funniest-winner-ever-261584

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Columbia’s $200M deal with Trump administration sets a precedent for other universities to bend to the government’s will

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Cantwell, Associate Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University

    Students at Columbia University in New York City on April 14, 2025. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

    Columbia University agreed on July 23, 2025, to pay a US$200 million fine to the federal government and to settle allegations that it did not create a safe environment for Jewish students during Palestinian rights protests in 2024.

    The deal will restore the vast majority of the $400 million in federal grants and contracts that Columbia was previously awarded, before the administration withdrew the funding in March 2025.

    It marks the first financial and political agreement a university has reached with the Trump administration in its push for more control over higher education – and stands to have significant ripple effects for how other universities and colleges carry out their basic operations.

    Amy Lieberman, the education editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Brendan Cantwell, a scholar of higher education at Michigan State University, to understand what’s exactly in this agreement – and the lasting precedent it may set on government intervention in higher education.

    Palestinian rights demonstrators march through Columbia University on Oct. 7, 2024, marking one year of the war between Hamas and Israel.
    Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

    What’s in the deal Columbia made with the Trump administration?

    The agreement requires Columbia to make a $200 million payment to the federal government. Columbia will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

    Columbia will need to keep detailed statistics about student applicants – including their race and ethnicity, grades and SAT scores – as well as information about faculty and staff hiring decisions. Columbia will then have to share this data with the federal government.

    In exchange, the federal government will release most of the $400 million in frozen grant money previously awarded to Columbia and allow faculty at the university to compete for future federal grants.

    How does this deal address antisemitism?

    The Trump administration has cited antisemitism against students and faculty on campuses to justify its broad incursion into the business of universities around the country.

    Antisemitism is a real and legitimate concern in U.S. society and higher education, including at Columbia.

    But the federal complaint the administration made against Columbia was not actually about antisemitism. The administration made a formal accusation of antisemitism at Columbia in May of this year but suspended grants to the university in March. The federal government had initially acknowledged that cutting federal research grants did nothing to address the climate for Jewish students on campus, for example.

    When the federal government investigates civil rights violations, it usually conducts site visits and does very thorough investigations. We never saw such a government report about antisemitism at Columbia or other universities.

    The settlement that Columbia has entered into with the administration also doesn’t do much about antisemitism.

    The agreement includes Columbia redefining antisemitism with a broader definition that is also used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The definition now includes “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” – a description that is also used by the U.S. State Department and several European governments but some critics say conflates antisemitism with anti-Zionism.

    Instead, the agreement primarily has to do with faculty hiring and admissions decisions. The federal government alleges that Columbia is discriminating against white and Asian applicants, and that this will allow the government to ensure that everybody who is admitted is considered only on the basis of merit.

    The administration could argue that changing hiring practices to get faculty who are less hostile to Jewish students could change the campus climate, but the agreement doesn’t really identify ways in which the university contributed to or ignored antisemitic conduct.

    Is this a new issue?

    There has been a long-running issue that conservatives and members of the Trump administration – dating back to his first term – have with higher education. The Trump administration and other conservatives have said for years that higher education is too liberal.

    The protests were the flash point that put Columbia in the administration’s crosshairs, as well as claims that Columbia was creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.

    The administration’s complaints aren’t limited to Columbia. Harvard is in a protracted conflict with the administration, and the administration has launched investigations into dozens of other schools around the country. These universities are butting heads with the administration over the same grievance that higher education is too liberal. There are also specific claims about antisemitism on university campuses and the privileges given to nonwhite students in admissions or campus life.

    While the administration has a common set of complaints about a range of universities, there is a mix of schools that the administration is taking issue with. Some of them, such as Harvard, are very high profile. The Department of Justice forced out the president at the University of Virginia in January 2025 on the grounds that he had not done enough to root out diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the public university. The University of Virginia may have been a target for the administration because a Republican governor appointed most members of its governance board and agreed with Trump’s complaints.

    How could this change the makeup of Columbia’s student population?

    The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Harvard’s affirmative action program, which considered race in admissions, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This effectively ended race-based affirmative action for all U.S. colleges and universities.

    Now, with the Columbia deal, the government could say that it would expect to see a proportion of students who are white increase and students who are Black and Latino to decrease at Columbia. That’s a legal approach that America First Legal, a conservative legal advocacy group founded by Stephen Miller, a Trump administration official, has already tried.

    Back in February 2025, America First Legal alleged in a federal lawsuit that the University of California, Los Angeles, was using illegal admissions criteria, because of the number of Black and Latino students that were admitted by the school. That lawsuit is ongoing.

    Claire Shipman, Columbia University’s acting president, speaks during the school’s May 2025 commencement ceremony.
    Jeenah Moon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    What does this agreement mean for US higher education as a whole?

    It is an enormous, unprecedented shift in how the federal government works with higher education. Since the McCarthy era in the 1940s and ’50s, when professors were blacklisted and fired because of their alleged communism, Americans have not seen the federal government interrogate education.

    The federal government does have a role in securing people’s civil rights, including in the context of higher education, but this is very, very different from how the federal government has done civil rights investigations and entered into agreements with universities in the past.

    This agreement is very broad and gives the federal government oversight of things that have long been under universities’ control, such as whom they hire to teach and which students they admit.

    The federal government is now saying it has the right to look over universities’ shoulders and guide them in this work that has long been considered independent. And the government is willing to be extremely coercive to get universities to comply.

    What signal does this agreement send to other universities?

    This agreement sets a precedent for the government to direct colleges and universities to comply with its political agenda. This violates the long tradition of academic independence that had helped to make the U.S. higher education system the envy of the world.

    Columbia can afford paying $200 million to the federal government. Most universities can’t afford to pay $200 million.

    And most campuses cannot survive without federal resources, whether that comes in the form of student financial aid or research grants. This agreement sets a standard for other universities that, if they don’t immediately do what the federal government wants them to do, the government could impose penalties that are so high it could end their ability to operate.

    Brendan Cantwell is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University.

    – ref. Columbia’s $200M deal with Trump administration sets a precedent for other universities to bend to the government’s will – https://theconversation.com/columbias-200m-deal-with-trump-administration-sets-a-precedent-for-other-universities-to-bend-to-the-governments-will-261902

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: AI will soon be able to audit all published research – what will that mean for public trust in science?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Kaurov, PhD Candidate in Science and Society, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    Jamillah Knowles & Digit/Better Images of AI, CC BY-SA

    Self-correction is fundamental to science. One of its most important forms is peer review, when anonymous experts scrutinise research before it is published. This helps safeguard the accuracy of the written record.

    Yet problems slip through. A range of grassroots and institutional initiatives work to identify problematic papers, strengthen the peer-review process, and clean up the scientific record through retractions or journal closures. But these efforts are imperfect and resource intensive.

    Soon, artificial intelligence (AI) will be able to supercharge these efforts. What might that mean for public trust in science?

    Peer review isn’t catching everything

    In recent decades, the digital age and disciplinary diversification have sparked an explosion in the number of scientific papers being published, the number of journals in existence, and the influence of for-profit publishing.

    This has opened the doors for exploitation. Opportunistic “paper mills” sell quick publication with minimal review to academics desperate for credentials, while publishers generate substantial profits through huge article-processing fees.

    Corporations have also seized the opportunity to fund low-quality research and ghostwrite papers intended to distort the weight of evidence, influence public policy and alter public opinion in favour of their products.

    These ongoing challenges highlight the insufficiency of peer review as the primary guardian of scientific reliability. In response, efforts have sprung up to bolster the integrity of the scientific enterprise.

    Retraction Watch actively tracks withdrawn papers and other academic misconduct. Academic sleuths and initiatives such as Data Collada identify manipulated data and figures.

    Investigative journalists expose corporate influence. A new field of meta-science (science of science) attempts to measure the processes of science and to uncover biases and flaws.

    Not all bad science has a major impact, but some certainly does. It doesn’t just stay within academia; it often seeps into public understanding and policy.

    In a recent investigation, we examined a widely-cited safety review of the herbicide glyphosate, which appeared to be independent and comprehensive. In reality, documents produced during legal proceedings against Monsanto revealed that the paper had been ghostwritten by Monsanto employees and published in a journal with ties to the tobacco industry.

    Even after this was exposed, the paper continued to shape citations, policy documents and Wikipedia pages worldwide.

    When problems like this are uncovered, they can make their way into public conversations, where they are not necessarily perceived as triumphant acts of self-correction. Rather, they may be taken as proof that something is rotten in the state of science. This “science is broken” narrative undermines public trust.

    Scientists know that a lot of scientific work is inconsequential, but the public may interpret this differently.
    Jamillah Knowles & We and AI, CC BY-SA

    AI is already helping police the literature

    Until recently, technological assistance in self-correction was mostly limited to plagiarism detectors. But things are changing. Machine-learning services such as ImageTwin and Proofig now scan millions of figures for signs of duplication, manipulation and AI generation.

    Natural language processing tools flag “tortured phrases” – the telltale word salads of paper mills. Bibliometric dashboards such as one by Semantic Scholar trace whether papers are cited in support or contradiction.

    AI – especially agentic, reasoning-capable models increasingly proficient in mathematics and logic – will soon uncover more subtle flaws.

    For example, the Black Spatula Project explores the ability of the latest AI models to check published mathematical proofs at scale, automatically identifying algebraic inconsistencies that eluded human reviewers. Our own work mentioned above also substantially relies on large language models to process large volumes of text.

    Given full-text access and sufficient computing power, these systems could soon enable a global audit of the scholarly record. A comprehensive audit will likely find some outright fraud and a much larger mass of routine, journeyman work with garden-variety errors.

    We do not know yet how prevalent fraud is, but what we do know is that an awful lot of scientific work is inconsequential. Scientists know this; it’s much discussed that a good deal of published work is never or very rarely cited.

    To outsiders, this revelation may be as jarring as uncovering fraud, because it collides with the image of dramatic, heroic scientific discovery that populates university press releases and trade press treatments.

    What might give this audit added weight is its AI author, which may be seen as (and may in fact be) impartial and competent, and therefore reliable.

    As a result, these findings will be vulnerable to exploitation in disinformation campaigns, particularly since AI is already being used to that end.

    Reframing the scientific ideal

    Safeguarding public trust requires redefining the scientist’s role in more transparent, realistic terms. Much of today’s research is incremental, career‑sustaining work rooted in education, mentorship and public engagement.

    If we are to be honest with ourselves and with the public, we must abandon the incentives that pressure universities and scientific publishers, as well as scientists themselves, to exaggerate the significance of their work. Truly ground-breaking work is rare. But that does not render the rest of scientific work useless.

    A more humble and honest portrayal of the scientist as a contributor to a collective, evolving understanding will be more robust to AI-driven scrutiny than the myth of science as a parade of individual breakthroughs.

    A sweeping, cross-disciplinary audit is on the horizon. It could come from a government watchdog, a think tank, an anti-science group or a corporation seeking to undermine public trust in science.

    Scientists can already anticipate what it will reveal. If the scientific community prepares for the findings – or better still, takes the lead – the audit could inspire a disciplined renewal. But if we delay, the cracks it uncovers may be misinterpreted as fractures in the scientific enterprise itself.

    Science has never derived its strength from infallibility. Its credibility lies in the willingness to correct and repair. We must now demonstrate that willingness publicly, before trust is broken.

    Naomi Oreskes has received funding from various academic and philanthropic organisations. Currently, her research is partly funded by the Rockefeller Family Fund and the Maine Community Fund. She also receives royalties from her publications and honoraria for speaking events.

    Alexander Kaurov 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. AI will soon be able to audit all published research – what will that mean for public trust in science? – https://theconversation.com/ai-will-soon-be-able-to-audit-all-published-research-what-will-that-mean-for-public-trust-in-science-261363

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Chairs First HELP Subcommittee Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
    WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) led his first hearing as Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Education and the American Family with lead advocates for reform in the nation’s educational system. During the hearing, entitled “Empowering Families for Better Educational Results,” witnesses underscored places where the current education system falls short, such as declining literacy rates and the lack of charter schools. Sen. Tuberville emphasized the importance of allowing parents to make choices when it comes to their children’s education and the legislation that will benefit teachers, parents, and children.
    In effort to understand how to improve literacy across the nation, Sen. Tuberville and his Republican colleagues asked the witnesses what policies they believe should be implemented. The witnesses also discussed the preparation and professional development that would empower teachers in the classroom. Finally, Sen. Tuberville asked witnesses about the positive effects that charter schools can have on communities.
    Witnesses included:
    Mr. Tyler Barnett, CEO of New Schools for Alabama
    Ms. Anne Wicks, Don Evans Family Managing Director Opportunity and Democracy George W. Bush Institute
    Ms. Ginny Gentles, Director of Education Freedom and Parental Rights Defense of Freedom Institute
    Mr. Richard Barrera, Board Vice President of San Diego Unified School District
    Read excerpts of the transcript below or watch clips of the hearing on YouTube or Rumble. 
    OPENING STATEMENT:
    TUBERVILLE: “Good afternoon. The Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Education and the American Family will come to order. Thanks for being here. As you can tell, we’re running a little late. It’s a little hectic on the hill today, but we will survive. This afternoon, we’re having a hearing on empowering families for better educational results. Ranking member Blunt Rochester and I will each have an opening statement. The witnesses will have five minutes for their opening statements, and senators will each have five minutes for questions.
    We will obviously have senators coming in and out because [there are] many, many votes today. So, thank you to all the witnesses for being here today. It’s always nice to see a fellow Alabamian here today up here in the swamp. Thanks to Mr. Barnett for coming to visit today. We’ve called this hearing to discuss something very near and dear to my heart. One of the reasons I’m here. I was an educator for decades before I decided to come up here, and over those years, I saw the state of our education system decline. The federal government just kept spending more money and more money in K-12 education, and the more they spent, the worse outcomes became. It was just amazing me to watch it in real time, and it made no sense. It’s the main reason I chose to run for this office.
    I didn’t want to see our kids fail year after year, then I got here and realized that we can fix it, but a lot of things are broken. Four years I’ve been serving here on the HELP Committee, and this year, I finally got this gavel to make sure we could have something like this to where we could bring these things to light. I wanted to focus on our kids’ educational outcomes and figure out where we were failing, and also, where we’re doing good things. That leads us to today.
    That’s why we’re having this hearing.
    We need to take a good, hard look at our K-12 education system and figure out [what we can do] to fix it, to make it better, because the status quo in a lot of areas is not cutting it. That means we need to think outside the box. Since COVID, parents have gotten a lot more engaged and that’s where all the necessary change can start, right at home, family. And, since parents have started paying more attention, they’ve started calling for more and more options.
    Parents across our country are calling for their states to offer more options for their kids outside of failing school systems. States represented by folks on both sides of this dice are working on school choice options in their state legislature. We’ll hear about that issue from our witnesses today. Parents want these options, and we ought to listen to them. In my home state of Alabama last year, we passed the Choose Act, which created an income tax credit for families who choose to enroll their children in private schools or homeschooling.
    Virginia, Florida, Alaska, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Indiana, and Washington are just a few states to name that have implemented or have pending state legislation to create these income tax credits promoting school choice. It’s simple. When we give our parents and students choice, we yield better educational results. We owe our kids this investment. But it doesn’t end there.
    Right now, our kids in a lot of areas can’t read. We have kids entering middle school and high school who aren’t at a third grade reading level. I used to recruit kids. I’d bring them in with 3.5 GPAs. The next thing I know after testing them, they wouldn’t be [at a] sixth grade reading level. Something has got to change with that. States and governors across our country have taken up the literacy challenge and enacted legislation at the state level, where it should be. Ranking member Blunt Rochester’s home state of Delaware passed House Bill 304 that implemented reading assessments three times a school year for kids K-3, and my state passed the Alabama Literacy Act, which does the same thing. And we’re trying. No matter the state, this is a widespread effort, and we will discuss today the methods that are working.
    We’ll talk about the science of reading and how best to implement. In our classrooms, we’ll hear about how we can invest in our teachers, invest to prepare them to tackle this crisis head-on. They need to be set up for success just as much as our students do. I want today to be an opportunity for this committee to have a conversation about what our states are doing, and what [we can] do to support them from here, from the federal level. Our children are the best resource this country has, the best thing we’ve got going.
    And above all, we owe them one thing, an opportunity to succeed. And I look forward to working with all of you towards this common goal. Now, I yield to my ranking member, Senator Blunt Rochester, for her opening statement.”
    […]
    ON HOW THE SUCCESS OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IMPACTS DISTRICT SCHOOLS:
    TUBERVILLE: “Mr. Barnett, we’ve had tremendous growth in the number of students across American enrolling in charter schools. Over four million students to be exact. How does that success of charter schools impact our district public school system?”
    BARNETT: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, there are really two large national studies that speak to this. One comes out of the Progressive Policy Institute, and another comes out of the Forum Institute. Both actually show that the presence of charter schools has, in some way, improved outcomes within district schools. There’s a certain threshold that the Progressive Policy Institute’s study showed somewhere around 30%. So, the presence of charter schools that give up to 30% of students in a given market, the opportunity to enroll has [a] positive net impact on not only charter school performance, but also district performance.”
    […]
    ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PREPARING OUR EDUCATORS TO TEACH THE SCIENCE OF READING METHOD:
    TUBERVILLE: “Ms. Wicks, you talked about teacher preparedness and professional development in your testimony. How important is preparing our educators to teach the science of reading method?”
    WICKS: “Senator, thank you for that important question. It’s critical that we give educators the right preparedness to understand this issue and be able to deploy it in their classrooms. I referenced in my opening remarks that only 25% of educator prep programs are currently teaching the science of reading to their aspiring teachers. And even worse, about 40% of them are teaching the wrong stuff. So, they’re teaching these brand-new teachers the wrong way to teach reading.
    If they’re interested in more—the National Council on Teacher Quality put out that report. They’re the best at studying Teacher Prep programs. And I think this comes down to a matter of state leadership and accreditation.
    They make some recommendations about the importance of setting state standards for what these programs need to be teaching. [We need to] have some way to measure that if it’s through accreditation or others.
    And then to tie the state licensure exams to those standards, to ensure that those candidates have actually learned this and can do it in their classroom. And you see the same thing for sitting teachers who maybe never got this in their training and need that professional development.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you, Ms. Gentles, you know, on both sides of the argument whether President Trump and the Department of Education [is] undermining public school. And because of the work done to expand school choice, do you think there’s a truth to that argument?”
    GENTLES: “Consistently studies show that when states have implemented school choice programs, the nearby public schools have benefited. So increasing competition inspires innovation, and a rising tide lifts all boats. So, we were pleased to see the Executive Order from the President supporting expanding school choice [and] educational freedom, and we’re also pleased to see the Executive Order ordering the Secretary of Education to look into dismantling the Department of Education within […] federal law and with the understanding that the Secretary will be working with Congress on that. Because we do think that […] freeing up states from federal regulations from monitoring, from compliance—all the time that all those bureaucrats at the state and district level are spending on federal paperwork is going to benefit public education. It’s going to benefit public school students. It’s going to benefit public school educators.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Do you think we should give more power back to the states when it [comes to] education?”
    GENTLES: “Absolutely. We need to give power to the states. I think we’ve heard such great news today on what strong state leaders—sensible state leaders—implementing common sense policies are doing. It’s very encouraging to see what’s happening.
    We didn’t mention Louisiana, but Louisiana is a bright spot amidst the 2024 NAEP scores, the only state where fourth grade reading scores exceeded pre-COVID [grades].”
    CASSIDY: “More so than Alabama?”
    GENTLES: “Alabama’s pretty awesome too. It’s been referred to as the southern surge. There’s really good news coming out of the states and encouraging that, fostering that is absolutely the right direction. […] Education policies [are] set at the state level and let’s foster that and let’s get the federal government out of the way.”
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Speaks to DOD Chief of Naval Operations Nominee

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) participated in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today to consider the nomination of Admiral Daryl Caudle to be Chief of Naval Operations. During the hearing, Sen. Tuberville and Admiral Caudle discussed the need to work with our allies as we work to improve our U.S. Naval capabilities, as well as the advantages of using unmanned vessels at sea.
    Excerpts from the interview can be found below and the full interview can be viewed on YouTube or Rumble.
    ON SHIPBUILDING WITH OUR ALLIES:
    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Admiral, congratulations. You’ve earned this. Looking forward to working with you. You know, we talk about shipbuilding, and we do a lot of that in my state of Alabama.
    Now, we’re in the submarine business. But I was also in the education business. We’re 500,000 electricians short in this country. In mine and your lifetime, we can’t catch up. We’re gonna have to use our allies to help build some things.
    What’s your thoughts about that? And, for instance, [South] Korea, they build 5 to our 1 keels. [What] are your thoughts on helping and working with our allies to help build ships in the future?”
    CAUDLE: “Well, Senator, thanks for meeting with me. I enjoyed our time in your office. I wanna work with the Secretary of the Navy and the Department of Defense on looking at this hard. Again, I’ve said this is an all hands on deck [effort]. I don’t know how we do what we need to do without bringing international partners into the capacity problem that we have, while we build up our capacity because we need ships today.
    And, so, there are no magic beans to that. There’s nothing that’s just gonna make that happen. So, the solution space has got to open up. And I think part of that has to look at international partnerships to give us a little bit of a relief valve while we work on our own organic industrial capacity.”
    TUBERVILLE: “As you said, we need them yesterday. And again, this education problem is not going away. Our workforce problem is not going away. We gotta use the best that we know how. And we gotta build ships and we gotta build them fast. But they gotta be good ships, and I think working with our allies is gonna be one way for us to address this problem.”
    ON SAIL DRONES:
    TUBERVILLE: “What’s your thoughts on unmanned vessels like sail drones that we make in our state of Alabama. Are you familiar with those?”
    CAUDLE: “Senator, I am familiar with them. Those are type of technologies that are crucial. Sail drones are part of the fabric of how we improve our Maritime Domain Awareness. You’ve, I’m sure, heard of the instantiations we’ve had with our Task Force 59 in the Arabian Gulf using those type of technologies. We’ve had them in the Gulf of America with our southern border watch. We’re using them there with [U.S.] Fourth Fleet and other places. So, yes, that’s a part of exactly what we need to network persistent capabilities where I don’t want manned vessels spending time just collecting things that unmanned can do much more affordably and effectively.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Yeah. Those have been used well down in the Caribbean on the war on drugs. And we’re proud of how they worked, and we need to continue to expand that there. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. A lot of eyes out there that we don’t have to man [with] people and train people, but it’s good that you go along with it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –